Chapter 73 - Gift
"Are you ready" he asked, his eyebrows scrunched slightly below his baseball cap.
"Emmet, this is the most serious I have ever seen you" I replied, a small smile playing on my lips.
Emmet cracked his knuckles and then proceeded to tap the top of his head a few times.
"Bella, to Emmet, this IS serious" Rosalie continued, as I sat down on the chair opposite Emmet, who seemed to be taking various deep breaths.
"Why are you taking breaths" I asked, as Alice lent in towards me.
"Its all part of his warm up routine" she replied as I looked up into her amber eyes.
Alice winked, adding "My money is on….Bella".
Emmet huffed, cracking his knuckles once more.
"And so is mine" Rose retorted, as Emmet's head shot up.
"Babe" he almost whined, "Where is your faith?"
Rosalie laughed and joined Alice's side.
"My faith is where is should be, backing a 'sure thing'" she answered as she turned to face me, "I'm all for girl power. Don't be nice" she murmured, a twinkle appearing in her eye.
Edward started to laugh.
"Hey, she isn't that funny Edward" Emmet hissed, as Edward walked across the kitchen, tapping the peak of Emmet's baseball cap.
"I wasn't laughing at Rosalie" he answered softly, as his gaze rested on Alice.
"Okay, what is she thinking" Emmet bellowed, as I reached out my hand.
"Scared" I enquired gently, as Emmet turned to face me.
"Hell no" he replied, taking my hand in his. I had to admit, I too was intrigued as to Alice's thoughts…
"Ready" I asked Emmet, as he snorted.
"Bells, I was born ready. Let's get this show on the road…."
I felt his hand grip mine, but the hold wasn't tight, merely… solid.
"Okay, lets play" Rosalie whispered, as she placed her hand on top of ours.
"When I let go…." She continued, as Emmet interrupted.
"We know the drill Rosalie" he huffed, as Rosalie smiled.
"Emmet Cullen, you sound… tense" she replied, as Alice started to laugh.
I turned to face them both. Alice was smirking. I found it… adorable.
But less of that Bella, you need to concentrate…
"You forget Emmet, Bella hasn't played this game before like you have" Edward replied, also smirking.
A thought suddenly occurred to me.
"Exactly how many times have you done this?" I asked Emmet, who grinned at me.
"Four time… Alice, Rosalie, Edward and Jasper" he replied, the grin still intact.
"And how many times have you… won?" I asked again, as Emmet leaned it a little closer, his grip on my hand tighter now.
"Four times" he replied, as his grin grew impossibly wide.
Four times… great…
I felt Alice squeeze my shoulder, "You can do it" she whispered in my ear, as my self confidence started to dwindle somewhat.
He beat everyone…
"Okay Emmet" I replied, my voice a little dry, "Lets see what you've got".
Emmet nodded, moving himself in his chair to get comfy.
"No rematch Bella, this is it" he replied, as I felt the smile grow on my face.
"Emmet, this isn't the Olympics, there's no gold medal… it's just a game… a bit of fun" I heard myself reply as Emmet scoffed.
"Now whose scared" he replied as I saw Edward wink at me from behind Emmet.
"To Emmet, this is the Superbowl final" Rose replied, her voice laced with sarcasm.
I waited as she slowly removed her hands from the top of ours. And then the power struggle began.
Oh, he was strong.
But I was stronger…
As my hand clenched at his, I could feel his strength bare down on me, shifting my grip but only marginally.
Within seconds I felt a burst of vigour as my hand came crashing down on his. I watched, almost in slow motion, as his knuckles collided with the table surface, followed by a loud 'crack'…
As the others all rushed over to see the damage, my grip on Emmet remained, for some reason I wasn't ready to let go…
"Oh, hell" Emmet muttered, as Rosalie and Alice started to laugh… But everything around me seemed to be muted as I felt my eyes flutter… my grip tightening slightly…
"Err, Bells, you can let go now" Emmet asked, as I felt my head drop slightly…
Something was wrong…
"Bella" Alice's voice was tense as she immediately placed her hand where Rosalie's had been moment earlier.
I could hear her… slightly, but as my eyes shut, I realised what I could see was something completely different.
"Bella, what is it? What's wrong" Alice asked again, this time her voice more urgent.
Everything around me seemed different… I was no longer in the Cullen house… I was somewhere… in the past…
"1935" I heard myself whisper, as everyone in the room stilled.
Alice looked at Emmet, as my hand remained clasped to his.
"She… rescued you… I can… see it…" I whispered, as the vision in my mind became sharper and more precise.
I could see Emmet, running…
"Why are you running Emmet" I murmured, as Emmet edged forward closer to me.
"What else do you see, Bella" he softly asked as Alice continued to hold both our hands.
He was running, but not as fast as I knew he could…and then he turned, and I understood why.
"You're human" I answered, as Rosalie now appeared behind Emmet placing both her hands on his shoulders.
There was an urgency in his pace… what was he running to… of from?
And then I saw it…
"The… bear…." I gasped, as I felt Emmet's grip tighten in parallel to Rosalie's hold on Emmet's shoulders.
What was happening to me? Why could I see Emmet's… past?
"Can you tell us anything else Bella" Edward softly asked, as he now joined my side.
It's coming for you, Emmet… its closing in… I can hear it… I can feel it…
"Emmet, you need to run…." I shouted out as Alice ran her hand down my arm.
"Its okay, Bella… Emmet is safe now" she whispered as the scene that was playing out in front of me unfolded.
He was being… mauled… Emmet was being... shoved backwards and forwards by the bear as it continued to strike out at him…
"No… no…." I screamed out again as Rosalie suddenly reached out and placed her hand on my arm.
"It's okay Bella… everything turned out to be okay…" she whispered, as her words seemed to float around my vision, coating it…
And then I saw her…saw her appear seemingly from nowhere as she lifted and threw the offender away from Emmet, who was now laid slumped against a tree… bleeding…
"You're bleeding… badly…" I whispered as Emmet ran his thumb across my hand.
"Didn't feel a thing" he whispered, as the caress seemed to calm.
She was lifting him now, into her strong arms… and she was running, away from the bear, away from me… yet somehow I managed to keep up, as if I was running by her side…
And I knew instinctively where she was taking him… to Carlisle.
"Carlisle, please… save him…I can't explain it… but I need you to do this for me… he's… my soul mate"
I watched as Rosalie pleaded with Carlisle…
My eyes shot open as I looked deep into Emmet's eyes.
"Carlisle turned you" I stated, as Emmet slowly nodded his head.
"And… you saved him" I continued, looking up into Rosalie's eyes.
"And she's never let me forget that, either" Emmet continued, as he turned flashing a smile at Rosalie.
Rosalie nodded and reached down, pressing a chaste kiss against Emmet's lips.
"And I never will" she continued, a smile on her face.
Slowly I released Emmet's hand as Alice immediately replace it with her own.
"Bella, are you okay? Do you… feel… okay?" she asked, concerned heavy.
I nodded. "I have no idea what just happened, Alice. But when I concentrated on Emmet… I saw things… I know things" I finished as I glanced back at Emmet.
"You have always been physically strong, even as a human" I replied, as Edward and Jasper inched closer, keen to hear what else I had to say.
"You were close to your older brothers, and had a strong connection to your family but you always felt… something was missing" I continued, as Emmet slowly nodded.
"You were camping in the mountains of Tennessee when the bear attack happened… but Rosalie saved you and carried you over a hundred miles back to Carlisle…"
Now Rosalie nodded as I glanced at her.
"You saved him" I continued as Rosalie's' eyes seemed to glaze over.
"It was difficult… at first… there was so much blood" she whispered, as Emmet stood and brought his arm around her waist.
"But I knew Carlisle could save him, he was so much stronger than I when it came to human blood…"
Emmet brought Rosalie in closer to his side.
"I was saved by an angel" he whispered, as Rosalie lent her head against his chest.
I stood, swaying a little. Alice's arm was immediately around me.
"I'm not sure what just happened either, but it seems…." Her voice trailed off as I turned and looked at her.
"It seems?" I quietly asked as she quickly looked at Edward and Jasper, and then back at me.
"It seems as though… you have a gift" she finished, as the realisation of what just happened hit me fully.
A gift…
"But I never had it before?" I questioned, as Edward nodded.
"Perhaps you did Bella; you were simply… unaware of it. Or perhaps it is something you have gained since your transformation" he finished, as he glanced at Alice.
"I don't understand" I answered honestly, as Jasper appeared at my side.
"Bella, you seem to have the gift of tactile telepathy. Somehow, by touching and concentrating on your subject, in this case Emmet, you were able to read his thoughts and memories"
I nodded slightly.
But I had touched others…
I had touched Alice…
Edward looked from me to Alice.
"I think its best that we don't over analyse Bella's gift at the moment. We need to speak to Carlisle about it"
Alice nodded.
Had she thought the same as me?
"But in the meantime…" he continued, with a grin…
"I believe Bella just won?" he finished, as Emmet groaned dramatically.
"I told you it was a 'sure thing'" Rosalie whispered as everyone started to laugh.
But was my gift a sure thing?