Chapter 12: Going Home
AN: I love you all. Everyone who reads this is awesome. Everyone who reviews is awesomer. And no, I don't hate any of you. That's not the reason I killed Rose and Emmett. If you haven't realized by now, I'm slightly violent. Ya know, I killed all those people before, so just be happy they made it this far!
BPOV
Dead. They were dead.
I can't believe it.
Rose, my sister-in-law and best friend: dead.
Emmett, my brother-in-law and the sweetest guy I know (besides Edward, of course,): dead.
What the hell is wrong with me? I bring death or pain to everyone I love. Jacob died, Charlie can't even speak to me, he's so hurt, and now Rosalie and Emmett are dead.
I sat next to Edward on the zodiac, sobbing, while Olivia slept in my lap. Edward put his arm around my shoulder, trying not to wake Olivia or Emily—they didn't need to see me like this.
"Bells, it's over," Edward whispered to me. "Everything's going to be okay now."
"How can you say that?" I sobbed. "Emmett and Rosalie are dead! Charlotte and Gisele are orphaned! Charlie hasn't spoken to me in over seven years! How can everything be okay?"
"Bell, I know everything has been hell for you these past few years, but it's going to get better now. Jim Howard is dead. He's never going to come after us again."
"Oh, Edward," I sobbed, collapsing on his shoulder. He rubbed my back as I broke down in hysterics.
"Daddy, what's wrong with Mommy?" Olivia asked, looking at me. I kept my eyes closed as the tears continued to fall down my cheeks.
"Everything's okay, Liv. Why don't you sit on the bottom of the raft with your sister?" Olivia pushed herself off my lap and sat on the ground with Emily. Edward then put both arms around me as I continued to fall to pieces. "Shh, Bella. It's okay. We're safe now."
For the rest of the journey on the zodiac, I sobbed into Edward's chest. He stopped trying to reassure me with words, so he rubbed my back and kissed the top of my head.
I felt the boat stop moving and looked up from Edward.
We were at the ship. I got a horrible sense of de-ja-vu—last time Eva/Shauna brought us to a ship, we were seized by men who wanted to kill us, thrown into an electrified cell, and almost murdered. I hoped it would be different this time.
"You can climb in here," Jason said, pointing to the small entryway at the bottom of the ship. Edward climbed in first. I handed him Emily, then Olivia. Finally, I climbed in myself.
"Take the stairs to the top," a voice ordered. I looked to my left and saw an armed guard standing by a large staircase. He was staring at us, but had no sign of emotion on his face. "The rest of your group is waiting for you up on the top deck." Edward nodded, and the two of us carried Emily and Olivia up the stairs.
When we reached the top, I looked around until I spotted Alice sitting on top of a table. Everyone else was sitting by her, but their eyes were focused on something else. It wasn't until I got closer that I realized they were all staring at Rosalie's dead body. None of them realized Emmett was dead yet.
I looked over in the corner and saw Charlotte with her face buried in Evan's shoulder. From here, I could tell she was crying. I couldn't blame her—she had seen her mother die in front of her. I would be surprised if she ever lived a normal life after everything that happened to her.
Gisele was lying in Cynthia's arms. She wasn't talking, crying, or doing anything. She was just looking straight in front of her. The poor girl was in shock. I didn't know what was going to happen when the saw Emmett's body just as lifeless as Rosalie's.
"Hi," I whispered, walking up to Leah. She spun around and saw me with Olivia in my arms and Edward right behind me with Emily. When he put Emily on the ground, her eyes widened as she saw the blood on his shirt.
"Is he okay?" she asked.
"He's fine. It's not his blood."
"Not his? Then who…?"
"Emmett. He didn't make it," I choked out before the tears started spilling over my eyelids. I was surprised I even had any left with all the crying I had done today.
"No!" Leah gasped.
I nodded sadly, wiping the tears away. Olivia clung to me.
"He was shot," Edward said simply, putting his arm around my waist. "He's gone."
"What?" Mike asked, having heard what Edward and I had said. "How can Cullen be dead? He's the toughest person I know!"
"Two bullets to the chest will kill you, no matter how tough you are," Edward said softly, rubbing my back. Olivia reached up and wiped the tears off my face.
"Don't cry, Mama." I smiled and kissed her on the head, then put her on the ground so she could sit with Emily.
I heard footsteps and knew Eva/Shauna was back, along with Emmett's body. I reached over and grabbed Edward's hand. I knew he was the only thing that could keep me whole now.
********
APOV
No.
NO!
Not Emmett!
I heard Bella and Edward talking to Leah and Mike, but I didn't want to believe it. There had to be some kind of mistake.
I knew it was true when two of the guards brought Emmett's body up the stairs and laid him on the ground next to Rosalie. They both looked so peaceful with the exception of the large bloodstains on their shirts by their chest and abdomen.
"Daddy!" Charlotte cried. I looked over and saw she had gotten up from the corner and was running over to her parent's bodies. She knelt on the ground next to Emmett and put her head on his chest before she started sobbing uncontrollably. It broke my heart, seeing six-year-old crying over the dead bodies of her parents. I looked over in Cynthia's arms and saw Gisele, not showing any emotion.
I got up, handed David to Jasper, and walked over to Charlotte. I bent down and picked her up.
"No!" she screamed, reaching towards her parents. She started hitting me with her small fists, but I ignored her and sat down next to Jasper. She stopped hitting me and collapsed into my chest, crying. "I want Mommy and Daddy," she choked between sobs. I didn't say anything. Instead, I smoothed her hair and rubbed her back to try to calm her down.
After awhile, she stopped crying and just laid on my chest, sucking her thumb and staring at her parent's bodies.
"Jasper," I whispered to my husband. He turned and looked at me. "Someone needs to move them," I said, jerking my thumb to the peaceful forms of Rosalie and Emmett. "It's not healthy for Charlotte and Gisele to be staring at their parents when they're like that."
He nodded in agreement, getting up. He walked over to one of the guards who was watching us. I saw him say something to the guard, who nodded and walked away quickly. Jasper walked back over and sat with me.
"He's going to get some of the other guards and they're going to move them below." I nodded and kept stroking Charlotte's pretty blonde hair. She looked so much like Rosalie, it hurt. Now, every time I saw Charlotte, I would be reminded of Rose and what happened to her.
I looked over and saw guard Dan and guard Jason walking over to Rosalie and Emmett. Behind them, two other guards, whose names I didn't know, were following them. Two guards when to each body and picked them up.
I looked down at Charlotte and saw her looking at her parents with huge eyes. She leaped off my lap and ran over to the guards carrying her parents away.
"No!" she shrieked. "No! Leave them alone! Let them sleep!" She was pulling on Rosalie's hand, but her mother wouldn't move. "Mommy, wake up!" she sobbed. The guards carrying Rosalie had stopped, unsure of what to do. I got up, ready to go get Charlotte, when I saw Bella walking over to her. She bent down next to Charlotte, whispered something in her ear, then picked her up and carried her back over to us while Charlotte was still screaming for her parents.
"Why won't they wake up?" she sobbed into Bella's shoulder.
"Bella," Edward said, "She needs to be sedated."
I got up and walked over to Eva/Shauna. "Is there a hospital wing on board? Charlotte needs to be sedated."
She nodded and walked over to Bella. Bella handed her the screaming Charlotte and Eva/Shauna brought her downstairs.
"Do you think she's going to be okay?" Bella asked.
"I'm sure she's going to be fine," I reassured her. "We can trust these people."
"Can we?" Jasper asked. "Don't forget that last time we were on a ship they tried to kill us and it ended with us blowing up the boat as we escaped on a raft."
"I know, but we're sitting on the deck of this boat by ourselves. We're not being imprisoned, and these people killed the men who were trying to kill us. I'm pretty sure we're safe."
"I hope you're right," Cynthia said, smoothing Gisele's hair.
Eva/Shauna reappeared at that moment, and Bella jumped on her instantly.
"Is Charlotte okay?"
"She's fine. She's sleeping in the hospital wing. This ordeal is going to affect her for a while, so don't be surprised if she's like this at home. That one," she said, pointing to Gisele, "Needs to go to the hospital. I think she's suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, but I can't be sure since I'm not a doctor."
"Why are you helping us?" Leah asked, looking at Eva/Shauna. She had Maribel in her lap while her three sons were torturing Olivia and Emily.
"I feel like this is partially my fault. If I had done something to stop him before, maybe I could have prevented this from happening."
"Damn straight," Mike muttered. I turned to glare at him.
"I realize you've been through a lot, Eva—Shauna. I don't blame you. I'm sure if you could have stopped him, you would have. He seems like a powerful man who would stop at nothing to get his way."
She nodded. "I'm so sorry for everything you guys have been through. We should be back in the States by the end of the week. Do you guys have a story planned for what happened and why all of you went missing again?"
We all turned to look at Edward.
"The truth," he said quietly.
"The truth?" Cynthia asked. "How is that going to flow with our old story?"
"It's not. That's why we're going to tell the whole truth. Everything that happened before and everything that happened this time. It would be an insult to Emmett and Rosalie's memories if we lied about their deaths."
"Edward, are you sure about this?" Bella asked.
"Yes. Think about it Bella—we've been gone for a while. People noticed our kids were missing. We're returning with two dead bodies. People are going to want an explanation. We might as well give them the truth."
We all looked at Edward, stunned. Last time, it had been his idea we lie about what happened, and now he wanted us to tell the truth. Something wasn't clicking.
"Edward, why do you want to be honest now when eight years ago you wanted us to lie?"
"I'm sick of lying. In case you haven't noticed, Alice, lying didn't work out too well for us."
"When you say tell the truth, do you mean the whole truth, with the murders, hit and runs, and other various crimes?"
"If it comes up, yes."
"Edward, are you sure?" Bella asked. "Do you really want to reveal to the entire nation that Rosalie killed her ex-husband after she died?"
"Bells, people are going to want to know why this guy came after us. That's the only way we can explain why he did."
She sighed. "I guess you're right."
We all sat around the table, unsure of what to say.
********
BPOV
A week.
We had been on this boat for a week.
Every day, I would sit up on the top deck with Olivia and Emily. They would play with Leah's sons while Edward and I watched them. Charlotte and Gisele were both permanently in the hospital wing until we got home. Charlotte wasn't calm enough to leave and Gisele still wasn't talking.
I was starting to get worried—what if this had permanently damaged them? I would never forgive myself if something happened to Charlotte and Gisele with Emmett and Rose no longer here.
I looked out at the ocean, thinking about finally being able to go home.
"What's up, baby?" Edward, asked, sitting down next to me. He had a beer in his left hand and placed his right one on my knee.
"Just thinking."
"About?"
"Everything. I'm just happy we're going to be home soon."
"Me too."
"How are we going to tell Charlotte and Gisele they're going to be living with us now?" I asked.
"I don't know, honey. We'll figure that out when the time comes. First, we need to prepare them for Emmett and Rosalie's funeral."
"Do you think we should even take them?" I asked. Edward looked at me, stunned. "I mean, Charlotte can't keep calm for more than five minutes and Gisele isn't responding to anything. Edward, they're feeding her through a tube right now!"
"Bella, they have to come. We have to give them a chance to say goodbye."
I sighed. "You're right. When are we going to have it?"
"As soon as we get home. I'm thinking tomorrow or the day after."
"How's Esme going to react when she finds out?"
"She's going to be devastated," Edward sighed. "I'm devastated. I just can't wrap my head around the fact that my big brother is gone. He's never going to tease me again. He's never going to laugh again. He's never going to see Charlotte and Gisele grow up into beautiful women. He's—" Edward stopped as the tears started rolling down his face.
"Shh, Edward, it's okay," I said, placing my hands on my husband's cheeks. This past week had been extremely hard for him. He had to come to terms with the fact that Emmett and Rose were gone and that we had inherited two more kids.
"I just—I can't believe he's really gone. I always thought he'd live to be 100."
"I know. Well, at least they're together now. You know Emmett and Rose would never want to live without each other."
He smiled when I said that. "You're right. And they're girls will grow up knowing how wonderful their parents where and how they would have done anything to protect them, including giving up their own lives."
I nodded. "They were the best parents anyone could ever ask for."
Just then, Alice and Jasper, accompanied by Eva/Shauna, came up on the deck. "We're going to be back in an hour!" Alice squealed.
"Really?" I asked.
Eva/Shauna nodded. "We'll be in the Los Angeles harbor then. I had Jason radio someone to notify all your families. They'll be waiting there for us when we get there."
"You mean Carlisle and Esme are going to be there when we carry Emmett's body off?" Edward asked.
Eva/Shauna looked at him. "Well, the bodies are below in temporary coffins. I don't know what you want to do with them."
"Can you bring them to the funeral parlor by us? We want to have a funeral within the next few days."
Eva/Shauna nodded. "I'll go let the guards know." She turned and walked back down the stairs to the bottom of the ship. Alice and Jasper sat by Edward and I while the four of us watched the kids play. Alice put David on the ground to let him play with everyone else.
"I can't believe it's over," she sighed.
"You say that like it's a bad thing," I told her.
She laughed. "No, it's just, now we'll have to live normal lives. I've never had one of those."
"Well, it will be a new adventure for us."
She nodded in agreement. "You do realize the tabloids are all going to start up again. No more of that lovely privacy you and Edward have been enjoying for the past few years."
I sighed. "I know. Well, we'll get through it. As long as we're together, it doesn't matter." Edward smiled and kissed me on the lips lightly.
"Eww!" I heard someone shriek. I looked over and saw Olivia standing in front of us. "That's gross, Daddy." He smiled and patted her on the head. He bent down and kissed her on the cheek before she ran away to play with Bryant, Evan, Ryan, Emily, and David.
"Look!" Alice said, pointing out to sea. I looked and saw we were approaching the harbor. We were home!
"I'll go and get everyone up!" Jasper said, dashing down the stairs to wake Leah, Mike, Seth, and Cynthia.
"I can't believe we're really here," I said, leaning against Edward.
He smiled at me. "I know. I'm just so happy to be back. We can see my parents—they must have been so worried."
My face fell. I knew I wouldn't see my family, with Renee being dead and Charlie not speaking to me.
Edward must have known what I was thinking about. "Cheer up, Bells. It will all work out, I promise." I smiled as I stood on my toes to kiss him again. He wrapped his arms around me and held me close.
"Are we really home?" I heard Cynthia ask. I looked over at the stairs and saw Jasper bringing everyone else up. Cynthia was smoothing her hair as Seth fixed his shirt. I smiled as I remembered what Edward and I were like when we were first married.
We all stood by the railing as the boat pulled into port. I looked down and saw a group of people staring up at us. I picked up Olivia and walked down the gangplank towards the welcoming committee.
Esme and Carlisle were there, waiting for me. Esme pulled me into her arms and started kissing my cheeks. Carlisle reached over and took Olivia from me. She wrapped her arms around her grandfather's neck and gave him a big kiss.
"Edward!" Esme shrieked, letting go of me as Edward walked down with Emily in his arms. She was kissing Edward on the cheek while Emily hugged her. I was walking over to Carlisle and Olivia when I felt someone tap me on the shoulder. I spun around and smelt the familiar aftershave, saw the familiar mustache, and heard the familiar voice.
"Hey, Bells."
It was Charlie.