The next morning was just like any other typical day in Forks; misty and raining. I quickly got dressed and headed downstairs, dad was sat at the breakfast table, empty plate in front of him while he read the paper,

"morning dad" I said as I walked over and poured myself a cup of coffee and leaned on the counter,

"Morning Liliana" dad said not even looking up as he carried on reading his paper,

"anything good?" I enquired and then took a small sip of coffee,

"not really apparently some animal attacks just a bit further north, nothing to worry us though, is that all your having for breakfast?" he asked glancing at me, I shrugged,

"coffee is the breakfast of champions" I joked smiling, he shook his head in a jokey way before returning to his reading, the stairs creaked and I look to see Bella entering the kitchen

"morning Bells" I said cheerfully, she smiled and grabbed a granola bar,

"I heard it's the dance in a couple of week, any plans?" dad asked putting the paper down,

"nope, I was thinking about heading into Seattle for some shopping instead" Bella answered, dad looked quizzical,

"nobody asked you?" he asked trying to sound as normal as possible, I took another drink to stop myself laughing,

"it's girl choice actually" Bella answered, dad looked shocked,

"and you haven't asked anyone? How about that Newton kid?" Dad asked, I couldn't stop myself laughing, dad looked me questionably

"Mike is going with Jessica Ch…Dad" Bella said shrugging,

"no one in town you like?" dad asked her,

"oh I'm sure there is, right I best be off see you guys later" I said innocently dropping Bella in it before escaping out of the door before any questions could be fired at me.

"want to escape?" I heard a voice say, I looked up and saw Emmett stood by the side of his jeep, I grinned,

"hey you, what you doing here?" I asked walking over to him, he opened the passenger door,

"thought you might want a lift" Emmett smiled, I nodded and quickly got into the passenger seat, Emmett shut the door and jogged around and got in quickly starting the engine and setting off,

"I'm guessing Edward is picking Bella up?" I asked as we drove down the familiar streets,

"of course he is, so I thought it wasn't fair only one swan sister got to ride in style and you deserve the best ride" Emmett said grinning,

"oh but Rosealie wasn't available?" I asked joking, he flashed me a pout,

"you wound me Lil" he joked, I laughed,

"I meant to ask yesterday how come you looked shocked when Rosealie offered to show me the car sometime?" I asked,

"Rose is… complicated, she's my best friend but she isn't exactly supportive of you and Bella being involved with us" Emmett said honestly, I nodded as we pulled into the parking lot,

"well that's understandable, if anything happened it would jeopardise your family, it is a huge risk" I said honestly, Emmett turned off the engine and turned to look at me,

"it is…but I know your worth it" Emmett said smiling at me,

"well I don't know about that, actually I wanted to ask you something?" I asked Emmett innocently,

"anything" he said looking straight into my eyes,

"when I first saw you, you seemed to hate me?" I asked gingerly,
He frowned and I quickly diverted my eyes down,

"trust me it wasn't hate at all, it was. . . the pull towards you and Edward" Emmett admitted, I looked at him confused,

"I knew the risks for you, and the pressure you was putting on Edward, you had no idea the risk you were in at that moment" Emmett explained to me

"so the office?" I asked wondering about that encounter, Emmett frowned,

"He was trying to rearrange his schedule in a pointless attempt to avoid you, but of course you were there, in that close, warm little room, the scent was maddening, Edward so very nearly took you then. There was only one other frail human there, so would have easily been dealt with" Emmett explained with a frown and a look of almost guilt, I tried not to let my feelings show on my face only now grasping the danger me and Bella had been in, poor Ms. Cope, she had no idea at how close I'd come to being inadvertently responsible for her death.
"But he resisted, I don't know how. I forced myself not to wait for you, not to follow you from the school, to make sure you would be safe, It was easier outside, when I couldn't smell you anymore, to think clearly, to make the right decision" Emmett said frowning,
"Edward didn't dare to go home, to face Esme. She wouldn't have let him go without a scene. She would have tried to convince him that it wasn't necessary" Emmett explained, I nodded slowly and he carried on,
"By the next morning he was in Alaska, and I was glad but also angry" He sounded ashamed, as if admitting a great cowardice. "I spent two days fighting my feelings, the feeling of longing towards you and then wanting to protect you at all cost which involved staying away from you, I'd dealt with temptation before, not of this magnitude, not even close, but I was strong. Who were you, an insignificant little girl" he grinned suddenly teasing me, I gave a small smile,
"when Edward came back he took precautions, hunting, feeding more than usual before seeing you and your sister again. I was sure that I was strong enough to treat you like any other human. I was arrogant about it" Emmett said smiling,
"Of course, then you were nearly crushed to death in front of my eyes. Later I thought of a perfectly good excuse for why I acted at that moment, because if I hadn't saved you, if your blood had been spilled there in front of me, I don't think I could have stopped myself from exposing us for what we are, and I honestly don't want to think about what could have happened with Edward" He closed his eyes, lost in his agonized confession. I listened, more eager than rational. Common sense told me I should be terrified. Instead, I was relieved to finally understand. And I was filled with compassion for his suffering, even now, as he confessed his craving to take my life.
I finally was able to speak,

"I'm sorry" I said weakly, he glanced at me and gave a questioning look,

"for putting you and your brother threw that I had no idea" I said with a weak smile,
"Liliana" He pronounced my full name carefully, then playfully ruffled my hair with his free hand. A shock ran through my body at his casual touch,

"I couldn't bear the thought of you being hurt and I couldn't ever live with myself if I ever hurt you, you don't know how it's tortured me" He looked down, ashamed again.

"The thought of you, still, white, cold… to never see you blush scarlet again, to never see that flash of intuition in your eyes… it would be unendurable." He lifted his glorious, agonized eyes to mine. "You are the most important thing to me now. The most important thing to me ever."
My head was spinning at the rapid change in direction our conversation had taken. From the cheerful topic of my impending demise, we were suddenly declaring ourselves. He waited, and even though I looked down to study our hands between us, I knew his golden eyes were on me.

"You already know how I feel, of course, I'm here… which, roughly translates to I would rather die than stay away from you, I'm an idiot." I finally said with a small laugh trying to lighten the mood, Emmett grinned,
"You are an idiot," he agreed with a laugh. Our eyes met, and I laughed, too. We laughed together at the idiocy and sheer impossibility of such a moment,

"Am I putting Bella in danger? When I'm around Edward?" I asked suddenly the thought dawning on me, Emmett gave a frown, and sighed,

"do you always put yourself behind her?" he asked curiously, I looked confused,

"always will, she is and will always be my twin" I answered honestly,

"then is always an added element of danger when your around Edward that's why he was so cold towards you, he cares for your sister deeply but he knows and I know only too well the pull of your singers blood to us, he was terrified she would get hurt because of his actions" he admitted, I nodded,

"what can I do?" I asked looking straight at him, I heard the bell go off In the distance but at this moment I didn't care,

"to do what?" Emmett enquired,

"to make it easier for Edward? I don't want Bella getting hurt" I said as if it was almost obvious, Emmett shook his head,

"you really are one of a kind, you know that? There's nothing I will protect you from him it if comes to it" Emmett said with an underlying promise there,

"Emmett he is your brother" I stated,

"and your my everything Liliana" he stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.