A/N: So sorry for the delay, faithful readers! Real life has impeded progress. I have not and will not give up on this story! Here is the long awaited Chapter 15. Remember, I heart reviews! I'm not going to give a quota for you all to fill like I have in previous chapters, but I promise as soon as I finish the next installment, I will post it.

Happy Reading!

xo

-A

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Emmett paced the length of the room throughout my tale, while the others had their eyes trained on me. He kept eyeing Carlisle warily, anticipating a negative or possibly explosive reaction. When I reached the end, where Edward left not more than an hour prior, he finally stopped and returned to my side. I raised my head to gage the responses of the Cullen family. The silence was deafening.

"How…" Alice said in a tiny voice. "How did I not see this? Is there something wrong with me?"

"No," I answered meekly. "We just kept our minds blocked. It was easier for me, because I only had to block you. But Emmett's had to shield his every thought and every move from both of you since October."

"It's been hell," he admitted.

"But I didn't want to hurt Edward, so we decided it was best to stay apart," I said sadly.

"You couldn't tell me?" Alice was hurt.

"We couldn't tell anybody," I explained. "For fear that something like this might happen."

"That's not entirely true," Jasper muttered quietly.

"You knew?" she turned to Jasper. "This whole time you knew? How could you not tell me?"

"Wait, Alice," Emmett stepped up to Jasper's defense. "He only sought me out after Bella discovered us and I went after her. I spent the night at her house-"

"Emmett!" Esme was taken aback.

"Not like that," he frowned. "She.. She was…"

"I was drunk and suicidal," I confessed and looked up to see a very shocked Emmett. "It's okay, Em. It's a part of who I am and I refuse to be embarrassed by it anymore. I asked him to stay with me, and I fell asleep on him."

"I followed his trail there the next morning and came upon them," Jasper continued. "And the emotion I felt from him was genuine and pure, unlike anything I've felt before. He loves you, Bella, in the truest definition of the word. He asked me to keep his secret and I did."

"Everything that happened after that was solely between Bella and I." Emmett massaged my shoulders affectionately.

"Happened?" Alice quirked an eyebrow.

"Don't be rude, Alice," Esme scolded. "Whatever transpired between Emmett and Bella in the privacy of the bedroom is nobody's business."

"I still should have seen it," she pouted.

Carlisle finished securing my splint with an Ace bandage and patted my arm gently. I turned my attention back to him and felt an intense guilt wash over me.

"I'm so sorry," I looked down at my arm and grimaced. "I've caused such turmoil in your family. Maybe it's best if I go." I stood up to leave, but was stopped by Emmett's hand on my shoulder and Carlisle's on my arm.

"Sit down," Carlisle ordered softly, "Please."

"But-"

"Bella don't argue with him," Emmett instructed. "Just listen."

"Nobody is angry with you, and no one is blaming you for following your heart," Carlisle looked across the table at his wife, who smiled lovingly back at him. "But you need to understand the repercussions of your decision. If it is your desire to pursue a relationship with Emmett, then you will have to accept that Edward is a part of this family and is going to be a part of your life."

"But I do!" I interrupted. "I do accept it, and I'm willing to live with it. It's Edward that can't. I don 't get why he doesn't understand. My heart has pulled me in another direction, and I have to follow to see where it leads me. Why can't he see that? "

"Edward is frozen in time," he explained. "He was turned when he was seventeen; merely a boy. In your experience with human teenagers, you've learned that they do not adapt well to change. That is how he feels right now. Finding you was a Godsend to him, and losing you, in his eyes, is completely unacceptable. It was a change he never expected to happen, so he was not prepared. He therefore reacted in a way any typical seventeen year old would - he ran from his problem instead of facing it."

"But will he come back?" I asked. "I hope I didn't drive him away forever."

"You didn't," Esme reassured me this time. "Once he calms down, he'll return to us. This is his home. Alice?"

"Hmm?" Alice looked up as if coming out of a trance.

"Can you see where he is? What are his plans?" Esme squeezed her hand lightly. "I saw him pitching a fit in the woods," she said. "He was taking down trees and smashing boulders. He's really angry. Not that I blame him."

"Alice!" Emmett hissed.

"What?! It's true," she fired back. "If Jasper started dating Bella right under my nose and hid it from me, I'd be pissed off too. I'm sorry, but this doesn't feel right."

"Thanks, Alice," I scoffed as I stood to face her. "I really appreciate your support."

"Oh don't go there, Bella," she spat. "He was head over heels for you and you up and left him for his brother. That's a slap in the face."

"See? This is why we didn't tell you," Emmet growled. "You'd automatically take his side. If we had said something you would have run to him and told him everything. If I didn't know any better I'd swear you had a thing for him!"

"Okay, now you're crossing the line," Jasper cut in, holding up a warning hand.

"Yeah, he seems to be good at that," Alice laughed coldly.

"Why are you doing this?" I pleaded with her. "I thought we were friends."

"We are friends. But seriously, what did you think was going to happen? He's my brother. Blood is thicker than water." Her voice was laced with a mixture of sadness and spite.

"Except you're not actually related, are you?" Emmett smirked. "None of us are."

"You son of a-" she snarled and shot to her feet.

"Enough!" Carlisle shouted so loud the windows shook. "Everyone. Sit down, now!"

We all returned to our seats slowly. Emmett and Alice glared viciously at each other, and I looked helplessly to Jasper, who could only shake his head in frustration. Esme rose and circled the table to stand behind Carlisle. She laid a hand on his shoulder as a queen would her king, and looked sadly upon all of us.

"This is a tense situation, as you are all well aware," Carlisle began. "But I will not have my family tearing one another apart over it. Am I perfectly understood?"

Emmett grumbled in agreement and Jasper nodded, but Alice remained silent.

"Alice?" Carlisle prompted.

"I don't agree with it, Carlisle," she responded, never taking her eyes off Emmett. "It isn't right."

"You don't have to agree with it," he responded. "It's Emmett and Bella's decision and they have to live with the consequences. You may not like it, but you will just have to learn to accept it."

"Fine," she spat. "But what about Edward?"

"I'll deal with Edward when he returns," he said calmly. "It's going to take some time, but I'm sure he'll come to terms with it and accept their decision as well."

"He loves you, Bella," Esme interjected. "And he will come to realize that your happiness is most important. Once he sees that, he will be able to let go."

"He only has forever," I mumbled sadly.

"It won't take that long," she smiled warmly. "Contrary to his actions this evening, Edward is actually a very reasonable young man. He'll come around. You'll see."

"I hope you're right," I sighed. I turned slightly in my chair to face Emmett. "Will you take me home?"

"Are you sure? It's almost 4, why don't you just stay until it's light?" he gripped my hand, and I squeezed back.

"Yeah, I just want to be alone for a little while," I shook my head when he looked back at me in alarm. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. I need to sleep in my own bed, that's all."

"Alright," he rose slowly. "I'll go start the car." He kissed the top of my head and left the room. I watched him leave, then turned to face the rest of the family.

"Carlisle, Esme, thank you for being so understanding," I said meekly, "And again, I'm really sorry about your living room."

"Think nothing of it," Esme dismissed my apology with a wave. "I've wanted to redecorate in there for months. This just gives me an excuse."

"And you have nothing to apologize for," Carlisle chided me. "I'll be sure to have a word with Edward when he returns. Esme, Jasper," he took his wife's hand and looked at his son. "Let's give Alice and Bella some time alone."

They both nodded. Esme laid a comforting hand on my shoulder while Jasper whispered something in his wife's ear. She looked up at him and nodded curtly. They both departed swiftly behind Carlisle, leaving me alone with Alice.

"Alice, I-"

"I can't say I'm really happy about this, Bella," she muttered, drumming her fingers on the table.

"I can't help how I feel," I said in my own defense. "I still love Edward, I always will. I just have to pursue this relationship with Emmett."

"I think this was a very rash decision on your part," she observed, "I think you followed your heart instead of your head, and now you're stranded. If things don't work out with Emmett, you can't expect Edward to take you back. And then you're alone."

"I…I understand that," I bit my lip. "But Emmett won't leave me."

"How do you know?" she demanded.

"He promised he'd never let me be alone again," I looked her dead in the eye. "And I believe him."

"How can you trust him?" she asked.

"I just do," I said quietly.

"No excuse," she shook her head. "You can't trust someone just like that," she snapped her fingers for emphasis, " It doesn't work that way."

"It wasn't 'just like that' !" I mimicked her gesture. "I…we…" I sighed, trying to find the right words. "Dammit, Alice! I don't have to explain this to you! I love him and I trust him!"

" I don't believe that," she sneered. " You can't love some one you barely know. You've kissed him what, once? It doesn't mean you're in love. There's more to it than that. You have to be linked not only on the emotional level, but the physical level as well. If there's no physical intimacy, well…"

She trailed off when she noticed I was simply staring at her, making no movement or sound whatsoever. She narrowed her eyes momentarily, then widened them in shock.

"Holy shit, you slept with him," she murmured.

"Now you know why I trust him," I said in response. "But it's not just the intimacy. He listened to me. I spilled every dark, sordid detail of my past and he listened without prejudice. And instead of shunning me and running away, he embraced me. He took me in his arms and made me feel wanted; like no matter what happened to me, everything was going to be okay. It's never been easy for me to trust, but Emmett has helped me to realize that not everyone will pass judgment on me."

"I see," she replied. "So what about Edward? Did you even think about him? Or did you just jump in the sack with the easiest fuck you could find?"

"Don't you get it?!" I shouted. "Edward shut me out! I told him everything and he backed off completely. He would barely even kiss me, let alone touch me! The one who loves you should accept who you are, faults and all. I bared my soul and he turned his back on me!"

An uneasy silence fell over us as Alice and I stared into each other's eyes. Her hard expression slowly but surely began to fade when she realized that her guilt trip wasn't going to work. She finally broke the ice.

"I'm sorry," she said softly. "I didn't realize how much he was really hurting you. But Bella, you should have been honest with him from the start."

"Hind sight is always twenty-twenty, isn't it?" I chuckled humorlessly.

"Except when you see the future," she half-smiled. "You should go. Emmett's waiting for you and the truck is nice and toasty."

"I'm sorry, too," I said as I stood. "I should have said something to you."

"Don't be," she closed the distance between us and embraced me warmly. "I know why you didn't. But let's not dwell on it. From here on, I'll support your decisions, whether I like them or not."

"Thanks, Alice," I pulled back.

"Now go on, you need some sleep," she pushed me in the direction of the garage. I left with a small smile and walked down to the garage. I hopped into the truck with Emmett and let my head fall back against the seat. He looked over at me.

"Everything okay?" he asked as he threw the truck into gear and pulled out into the driveway.

"Yeah," I sighed and closed my eyes. "For now."