Always You

Bella

My arm is covered in glass and blood as I look up at the scene in front of me: Carlisle and Emmett are holding Jasper back as the monster within him fought with all his strength to get to me, to drink my blood until my last breath escaped my body. But I am not scared, I trust Emmett and Carlisle to protect me, and Edward.

Alice is talking to Jasper, trying to talk him down and tell him that there isn't much blood. But as she speaks these words her eyes to turned Black and I felt my heart stop, it was like my best friend had betrayed me... it was hard to remember what she really is sometimes. She is always so happy and cheerful around me, she is human around me.

But not now.

I let out a shallow breath as I watched Jasper and Alice flee together, followed closely by Esme: I guess it was too much for her as well.

Rosalie is standing at the base of the stairs, staring at me with pure black eyes and clenched fists at her sides. The only two who seem unaffected by my smell is Carlisle and Emmett, Edward was not as strong as I had made him out to be. He looks just as tense as Rosalie, if not tenser. And so he leaves, followed all but too closely by Rosalie.

Carlisle walks over to me and looks down at me, a look of undying sympathy in his eyes. "Let me look at your arm." He says as he holds his hands out to me.

I bite my bottom lip to stop myself from crying as I reach out and take his hands and pull myself up. "I'm so sorry Carlisle." I tell him softly as he leads me into the kitchen; I feel Emmett's eyes on us as he stands with the couch to his back and his arms folded casually across his chest.

"You didn't do anything wrong Bella, accidents happen." Carlisle tells me as he grabs onto my hips and lifts me up onto the counter top. "We should just be thankful things turned out how they did, it could have been much worse." He says with a sigh as he begins cleaning off my wounded arm.

"Yeah," I whisper. "I guess." I pause and he begins pulling glass shards from my arm. "Will Jasper be alright?"

"Yes. He just needs to get some air and clear his mind. This is a new life style for him so it is still hard for him at times." He pauses and looks at me and gives me a small smile. "You have nothing to worry about Bella."

I look up into his eyes and see that he is not lying, but feel nothing but the need to worry and believe something is terribly, terribly wrong. "You're right." I lie as I turn my head down and look into my small lap. "So... Why wasn't Emmett effected by my blood?" I ask him as I look up at him with my eyebrows knitted together.

"Emmett is very strong Bella, he is the only one who has never had trouble around humans." He pauses as he begins stitching my cut. "He would never harm you Bella." I look over at the closed door and imagine what Emmett is doing right now, and wonder how he is the way he is; how he is able to resist the smell of my blood.

As I walk onto the balcony my hair is blown in every direction; whipping and feathering out against my eyes and cheeks.

I hug my arms against my chest as another gust dances its way to me.

It is cold and I begin to shiver, but I won't go inside. I need to try and see Jasper and Alice to see if they are doing alright. They are my friends and I owe it to them to check on them, it is after all my fault for what happened here tonight.

As I begin to think they are too far away to see them, I hear kissing and smile: they are alright. I think as I begin to walk back towards the house. But then, then I hear a name spoken as a lover would say by neither Jasper or Alice. "I love you." The voice says softly and tenderly as the soft pecks of kissing sounds begins once more.

I look through the thick over grown trees and see the one thing I had never thought possible. The one thing I never feared, the one thing I never had reason to fear. But it must be my imagination, my worry... because that can not be Rosalie kissing Edward. And that can't be Edward with his arms wrapped gingerly around her small figure. That wasn't her gentle yet intimidating voice saying: I love you, you're who I have always wanted.

But as I turn towards the house, pleading in my mind it was my imagination, I see Emmett. He is standing with wide eyes, looking at what I prayed was my imagination. "Happy birthday Bella." He says with hurt in his voice as a tear falls from my eye to the stone ground beneath me.

I look at him and our eyes meet for a moment and I feel an urge to go to him and wrap my arms around him, but I don't. Instead I walk back into the house and drop to my knees. I don't cry or weep, I just sit there with my eyes held wide.

"Let me take you home Bella." Emmett says softly as he holds his hand out to me.

"Okay." I say emptily as I place my hand in his and effortlessly stand as he pulls me up. We look into each other's eyes for a few seconds before our hands separate.

"I have known for a while." Emmett tells me as we drive down the dark road towards my house.

"What?" I ask him as I pull my attention away from my lap.

"Rosalie," He says slowly. "And Edward." He lets out a stiffened breath as he makes a left hand turn. "I came home one night and saw them together, but I did what you did. I thought it was imagination so I turned around and left before they could see me... but then it happened again, and again, and again. And now that you have seen it, I know I can't be imagining things."

"Why didn't." I began softly. "Why didn't you tell me?" I ask as I look up at him with wet eyes; hurt eyes.

He laughs softly. "Would you have believed me?" He asks as we pull into my driveway.

I think for a moment and decide no, I wouldn't have. Edward would never do that to me; Rosalie would never do that to Emmett. Rosalie and Edward hate each other, they can't stand each other. This doesn't make any sense. Maybe all of that hate was really pent up feelings for each other...

"No." I tell him honestly. "I wouldn't have."

As I walk slowly up the stairs I wonder curiously to myself why I am not more hurt than I thought I would be. Edward was my first love, and I thought it would last forever. But now I wonder if any of it was even real.

My bed is soft and warm as I lean my back against it and breath deeply. I close my eyes and begin the see Edward's face, hear his voice and feel his skin. But as I lean into kiss him his features change from his familiar ones to ones that I don't recognize at first. They are smoother yet more masculine, and somehow paler. His dusty brown hair looses its length and darkens to nearly the same shade as my own.

It is Emmett I am seeing now. It is his chest pressed up against mine, and it is his arms wrapped around me. Not Edwards. He feels more loving and tender, he does not feel stiff or proper. He is relaxed and comfortable around me. His hands rub my back and his lips caress my neck without second thought or caution: he has complete trust in himself.

I open my eyes and smile as I look up and see Emmett sitting on the end of my bed watching me. His body is relaxed with his arms folded across his chest and a smile that matches mine is delicately painted on his lips.

I pull myself up and look into his eyes. "You came back." I whisper as I hug my knees against my chest.

"I came back." He whispers back as the smile on his face widens.

And now I know why Edward leaving me didn't hurt so much, and why Emmett was able to be around me so comfortably. I love you, you're who I've always wanted. That is what Rosalie said to Edward, and as I think about those words and look into Emmett's eyes, I see that is what he is telling me. And I know he hears the same thing as I look into his eyes.

As his lips touch mine I feel what I have longed for my whole life.

Love.