Chapter Nine – Mount Esme

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing to do with Twilight or any of these characters. I do own this storyline though.

I walk very slowly towards the house, feeling like a condemned man walking to the gallows. Emmett slaps me on the back and mumbles in my ear,

"C'mon, I got your back. Let's do this."

I manage a smile, although it reaches no farther than my lips. I look up to see Mom standing still in the doorway arms folded across her chest with an annoyed look on her face. As we get closer to the front door she turns on her heel and storms back inside. I hesitate, and again Emmett is there giving me a gentle push before saying,

"Good luck." I hoped that I wouldn't need it.

I knew that this would not last once we were all in the same room. Might as well face the music, get this over and done with. We enter the lounge and my Mom is standing with her back to me, staring out of the window. Rose is sitting on the couch with her arms crossed and glared at Emmett when we enter, muttering something under her breath. He walks across to her, sitting down and putting his arm around her shoulder. She tries to brush him off but he is not having any of it. I stand in the center of the room, rooted to the spot. I know that I need to be the first to say something to get in there first. Taking a deep breath, I nervously spoke,

"Look, I'm sorry, okay. I know that it was wrong of me to behave like that, it's not how you raised me and all I can do is apologize to you."

"God, you really are a fucking arse, Edward! You think that you are something special, the apple of Mom and Dad's eye who can do no wrong, well I am here to tell you that are not. Speaking to us the way you did earlier, then you run off like the spineless loser that you are. Boy, you are lucky it was Emmett who came after you and not me, cause you would be in the hospital. I am telling you here and now though don't you ever speak to me like that again. I am your goddamn older sister, you jumped up little prick. Bella is a lovely, sweet girl who came around to say thanks to Mom and Dad for being so nice to her and you were a first rate arse. What is with you? You obviously can't get a girl like that to notice you, so you have to cuss her out and make her feel bad? Way to go, Edward. No wonder you haven't got a girl, if that is how you treat them then I can't blame them for staying away. You'll never get laid at this rate…"

Emmett managed to step in between us, a broad smirk fleeting across his face. I was shocked. I knew Rose would be pissed at me, but her ranting monologue left me speechless, although it was in my mind to correct her and say, 'yeah that's why I am banging your best friend every chance I get, and she fucking loves it.' But I didn't really think that now was the time or place for this revelation. As Emmett pulled her away from me back towards the couch, I heard Mom say,

"Rose, that's enough."

Running my hands through my hair, I stood there waiting for the reaction that was sure to come from her. It seemed like I had been standing there for hours, but in reality it was probably only a minute. She turned to face me her face was a mask showing no emotions. I had only seen her like this on a couple of other occasions, this was not good, Mom was always at her most scary when she was calm. Then in a low voice that belied the anger inside her she said,

"How dare you! Edward, I have never been so embarrassed in my entire life as I was today. I thought that I had brought you up to be a respectful young man, and yet you showed me, and more importantly my guest such little respect. Oh, and lets now forget your colorful language choices. You don't realize how truly disapointed I am in you at the Moment? I can barely bring myself to look at you, Edward."

She walked away turning her back on me, staring out of the window. I knew that I had to say something but before I could form the words, she spoke again.

"You brought that poor girl here last night as an act of compassion, yet today you spoke to her like she is something that crawled off the bottom of your shoe. Really, I am disgusted with you. So was it you that gave her the alcohol last night? Was it all planned out, and then she spoiled whatever plans you had by falling and hurting herself? Bet you didn't really meet with Jake earlier, trust me, I will be checking. And before you think about tipping him off to back up your story, it will be Mr. Black Senior that I speak to. No son of ours will show anyone in our house as little respect as you showed Bella and myself earlier. She is a lovely girl and even tried to defend your actions Edward, can you believe it! After your outburst and childish storming out, that lovely young lady was defending you. Your father will want to speak with you when he gets home, that much I can assure you. I will also make sure to speak to you about the perils of teenage drinking and drug taking. "

I knew I had to say something. Emmett and Rose had managed to make their escape from the room while Mom was in mid flow, so much for him having my back, being there for me. Then again with 'Mount Esme' erupting as she was, I really didn't blame him at all. Steeling myself, I decided it was time to defend myself, maybe let Mom know just how much of a first-rate bitch Bella really was. Here goes nothing, I thought.

"Mom, I could apologize all day and night to you for the way that I spoke earlier, yes, you are right it is unforgivable of me to speak to you that way, and for that I am truly sorry. Bella was drunk when I met her last night, and no, that was not planned. I was at Jake's all night. Speak to Billy and he will confirm it. I nearly ran Bella down on the coast road, so I just couldn't drive away and leave here there, could I? As for bringing her back her, what was I supposed to do if she refused to go to the ER and her Dad being away, let her bleed to death? I'm seventeen, for fuck's sake, and yet you are treating me like I'm a child over this. I haven't been drinking, doing drugs or, god forbid, having sex with her and yet -"

I didn't realize how my tone had changed until she interrupted me.

"Don't you dare take that tone with me, Edward Anthony Cullen! I will not be spoken to like one of your friends. You will show me the respect that I deserve. Also, you will apologize to Bella immediately. She is invited here as a guest for dinner tomorrow night, and you will show her respect this time - "

I broke her off mid sentence, and this time I did not care to watch my tone. I was furious.

"What! You invited her for dinner? Are you fucking crazy? Mom, I cannot stand to be in the same room, let alone eat a meal at the same table as her. Bella Swan is a first-rate bitch, but judging by your reaction to her, she could go on to win an Oscar for best actress. You really don't understand what you are doing by being nice to her, making her feel welcome here. She makes my life a living hell on a daily basis…"

Mom spun around from her position staring out of the window, closing the gap between us. I didn't see her hand until it was too late as it made contact with my face with a loud crack. Shocked, I staggered back from her, clutching my face as the shock of her actions reverberated through me. I just stood there, not knowing what to say to her as tears filled my eyes. Mom screamed at me,

"Get out of my sight, now!"

I turned and ran, brushing past my father who is now standing in the doorway, looking like he has been slapped and not me. How long he had been there? How much he had heard? In that Moment, I neither knew nor cared. As I ran to my room I heard him say,

"For god's sake Esme, what the hell was that all about. Did you just hit Edward?"

I didn't care to wait for the answer. Making it to the safety of my room, I slammed the door behind me, quickly locking it, before I threw myself onto the bed and broke down in a flood of tears. Yeah, I know they say it's not manly to cry, but I couldn't believe how much my Mom's words and actions hurt me, both physically and emotionally.

I lay there, trying to work out what was happening to me because in less than twenty four hours my world seemed to have imploded around me,. I heard a knock on my door. I thought that if I ignored them they would just go away and leave me in peace, then I heard Emmett's voice bets are now off on the being left in peace part.

"Hey Edward, look man, sorry I bailed on you. Let me in, we need to talk."

I ignored him, hoping that he would go away. I should've known from earlier on the beach that he wouldn't take no for an answer.

"C'mon Edward, open the door. Or do I have to go all macho on you and smash it in?"

That brought a smile to my face, and I walked over unlocking the door but leaving it for him to open and make the final gesture. I went back and lay on the bed, facing away from the door. I could still feel my face stinging from Mom's slap and was embarrassed for Emmett to see it. When the door opened I heard my parent's voices carrying up from the lounge, it sounded like they were arguing. That made me feel worse. My parents rarely argued, so obviously I was the topic of the heated debate. Emmett came and sat on the bed, waiting for me to face him, but I couldn't. So he came and sat on the floor, cross legged, in front of me. He really was not gonna let this go, he obviously wanted me to talk.

I lay there staring through him, hiding my reddening cheek from view. I was ashamed. He spoke first.

"Look Edward, I don't know what went on after we left so why don't you tell me, didn't I prove today that I am a good listener? I want us to be friends and for you to know that you can trust me. So, c'mon man, just talk to me. Look, I'm sorry I wasn't much help but Rose dragged me outta there pretty quickly. Think she knew how mad your Mom was and after what she said, I think she was worried she might get the same treatment. She is still pretty pissed at you, but she will calm down. Hey good news! At least she doesn't know about you and Tanya."

I sat up looking at him face on, debating how much I could tell him. What would he truly think of me if he knew that Bella made my life at school a living hell, that when she pulled the strings, the puppets in school all danced to her tune?

"Shit! Is that what Esme did to your face? Fuck! Remind me never to cross your Mom, and I thought Rose was the fiery one in the family."

"Yeah. She thinks I deserved it though. If only she actually knew the -" I was broken off mid-sentence by a soft knocking on my bedroom door,

"Who is it?"

"Edward, it's only me. Can I come in son, please?"

The door opened without me replying and there stood my father. He had a concerned look on his face and an ice pack in his hand. I smiled weakly at him, Emmett took this as his cue to leave. My father walked over to me, kneeling down in front of me he examined my face before, causing me to wince in pain. His eyes would not meet mine as he took a seat next to me on the bed.

"Edward, I think that you will need this, put it on your face. I don't think it will bruise but you will feel it for a few more hours. Now, I need you to be honest with me. What has been going on here? I leave for work this morning and everything is normal, I come home to find your Mom screaming at you and slapping you across the face. I have heard her version of events. Now I want to hear yours. "

What was I supposed to say, oh yeah I got kinda pissed and told Mom what a bitch Bella was, so she slapped me? Yeah, that would go down really well. So I played it safe and told him what he wanted to hear and that I was sorry. He sat and listened to me, knowing that I was keeping something back from him, I could read it on his face. I also knew that he would not push me for answers. I have always had my parents trust... well, it felt like it up until now. Once we had finished our father and son chat he asked me to come downstairs.

A look of panic crossed my face as he smiled saying,

"Don't worry your Mom is calm now. We are going to sit down and discuss this properly, like a family. No shouting or slapping. I promise. Trust me when I say that I am sorry for not being here, there is no excuse for her to hit you like that, and I have told her so. I don't believe that physical contact is any form of effective discipline as you already know. One thing that I have never told you is that my father used to hit me as a child. He was a cruel man, and nothing was ever good enough for him. I swore to never treat my children the way that he treated me."

I look at my Dad, seeing the sadness in his eyes. It was a big thing for him to tell me this, and explained many of his actions as we were growing up. I had a new, found respect for him.

We made our way downstairs to the dining room and sat around the large formal table were my Mom, Rose and Emmett. I looked quizzically at him and in response he simply held his hands up looking confused. I took my seat opposite my Mom, clutching the ice pack to my face, but could not make eye contact with her despite feeling her eyes boring into me.

Dad took his seat at the head of the table cleared his throat and said,

"Right. I don't really know what happened here today as you both have different versions. However, what I do know is this: Edward, you were disrespectful to a guest in this house, furthermore you were also disrespectful in the extreme to your Mom. I am ashamed of you for your actions today. I thought that we had raised you better than that. I'm sure that you had your reasons but vanishing like that for hours and not returning any calls was a childish thing to do. You are grounded for the next seven days."

I opened my mouth to speak and defend myself but my Dad simply raised his hand in the air.

"Edward, if you want to make it longer and loose more privileges such as your car, carry on."

He looked at me with a questioning look on his face. I shook my head at him. I was seventeen for fuck's sake. Who gets grounded at my age! Good job I didn't have any real friends at school otherwise I would never hear the end of it. My Dad hadn't finished his speech and continued in the same calm voice that held such authority.

"Esme, you hit Edward. While I am sure that you felt justified at the time, I cannot condone such acts against our children. I know that we have spoken about this in private already, but I do feel that you owe our son a proper apology."

"Edward, honey, I am so sorry. I was just so worried about you today, you were so upset when you left here. You have never spoken to me like that before and then you started to say those horrible things about Bella. She is a lovely girl. I think that you two would make great couple, all I want is to see you happy."

Tears glistened in her eyes when she spoke. What do I do now? Do I scream at them, and tell them just what she was really like or just let them continue with the fantasy that they had of me, Bella, children and a white picket fence? I just wanted to be out of there.

"Mom, I accept your apology, and I am sorry if I upset or worried you today, that was certainly not my intention. Now, may I be excused?"

My Mom had tears in her eyes so could not bring herself to speak, leaving it to my Dad.

"Of course. You are grounded though, so you are not allowed to leave the house nor have any visitors. I will allow you to go into the grounds, but I want you inside by 7pm. That will be your curfew for the next week. Oh, and I do expect you to apologize to Bella."

I looked at my Dad, knowing full well that he meant every word of what he had just said, there was no point arguing with him. Arguing would only extend the punishment and that was not what I wanted. It would be bad enough to be cooped up here for a week as it was, but at least I could go into the garden, and maybe I could sneak Tanya in without being seen. As much as it would stick in my throat to say sorry to Bella, I had to; otherwise I would not hear the end of it. I got up and left the room, hearing Rose being reprimanded for her use of language earlier. This brought a fleeting smile to my lips, blondie was in trouble too. Good. Heading out into the garden at the rear, I went to the summer house. At least this was one place that wasn't tainted by memories of her, yet.

Storming across the lawn, I made it there without anyone following me. The last thing I needed right now was company, I just wanted to be alone.

Okay, so a bit of moping around wasn't exactly the grown-up thing to do, but I still needed to get things clear in my own head as to what I was feeling for Bella. My thoughts flitted from us on the beach, to her dancing, us kissing in her kitchen and then how much she turned me on. My cell phone beeping with a new message broke through my thoughts. I expected it to be Emmett with some childish quip about being grounded at my age. Fucking grounded what am I, a twelve year old who needs to be taught a lesson? I was wrong. The text was from her, from Bella. It was short and sweet rather like her.

'I'll leave you alone. You obviously don't want to hear from me. I mean it, I am sorry. Bella.'

Shit! What was I supposed to say to that? 'Yeah I think about you almost all the time, how good it was kissing you, and I constantly think about wanting to take things further so much it drives me insane.' Or how about, 'Hey Bella, I thought about you while I was fucking someone else.' I didn't think that either of those responses would do me any favors, but I did want to respond. Fuck, I had wanted to reply to her since I got the text she sent me earlier, but with all the stuff going on with my Mom I didn't get the chance.

Well, here goes nothing, I thought as I took my phone in my hand and began my reply.

Authors Note:

Massive thanks go out as always to Mamasutra – friend/pre-reader/cheerleader. Please do check out her stories she is a-maz-ing. Also to my Sparkly Red Pen Beta VixenlittleStella & Pre-reader &Cosmom. I could not do this without you ladies behind me.

Please do leave me a review and let me know what you think, they mean so much and I will also send you a sneak peek of the next chapter as a special thank you.

I am on twitter, loopylou992 and also have a Facebook page – LoopylouFanfiction look out for the Red Fraggle and you will find me there!

Final note! I am working on a new story, which will be a Jasper story, the first chapter is with the beta now and she has said that she has read nothing like it and she has read ALOT of FF so I am excited to be working on it. Hopefully will be posting it this week – Claps hands excitedly so make sure you put me on alert!

Until next time – love to all. X x x