Disclaimer: I own nothing.
=(
A/N: This is just a one-shot I thought of last night and I
wanted to share it. It only took me 2 hours to write because I was in
a bad mood and just let it flow. But, then I stopped a few times to
think about what I wanted to write next. Hopefully it's original
enough. review and stuff?
Edward and Bella have been best friends for the past three years, since the day that Edward had moved in next door. They had instantly clicked with each other since Edward had moved to Forks with his twin sister, Alice; his mother, Esme; and his father, Carlisle. They had moved down from Alaska. Edward and Bella went through everything together and never hid anything from each other. They were the only ones that the other could talk to so easily, when they could not talk to the others.
Bella had been living in Forks for a year longer than Edward. She had moved here to the dreary, boring, rainy, small town of Forks four years ago with her two year older brother, Emmett; her mother, Renee; and her father, Charlie.
They had also made easy friends with the kids across the street; Jasper and Rosalie Hale. They were twins, just like Edward and Alice. They were both blonde and both tall.
Rosalie and Emmett have been going out for three of the four years that the Swan family had been living in Forks. Jasper and Alice were also dating, but they have only been dating for two years.
Rosalie, Jasper and Emmett graduated the year before last. Bella, Edward and Alice were in their senior year this year. Things had been great since they had all moved to Forks. They all had excellent grades, their families were all close friends, and they were all as happy as they could be.
This year, however; things were going to change. Dramatically. Emmett had moved out and gotten his own apartment recently, so that he could be more independent, and had gotten a job at the town grocery store. Renee and Charlie had started fighting a lot after that.
They fought every night for two months. They fought about literally everything. The fighting went on late into the night. The Cullens always heard the fighting, but often stayed out of it. Though they did ask Bella if she would like to stay the night once in a while, just to get her away from it. Her grades had started suffering because of it. In two months, she had gone from a straight A's, to straight C's.
One night, they fought really badly. Worse than usual. They declared that they were going to divorce each other, and as soon as possible. Bella was distraught. She dropped her pen on the table, and abandoning the homework she was attempting to do, she left the house. She ran next door to the Cullens house and burst through the door.
The Cullens were all in the living room
watching TV when she came through the door.
"Bella?"
Carlisle asked her, a look of concern on his face. She ran over to
her best friend. He put his arms around her instantly, without asking
any questions.
"Edward. Don't let them do it. Please."
She buried her face into his chest. She let herself cry.
"Don't
let who do what, Bella?" Carlisle asked again. They hadn't heard
this fight somehow, and Bella was surprised by that.
"Can I
use your cell phone, Edward? I have to call Em." she asked,
lifting her face to look at him. He took it out wordlessly and handed
it to her. She dialed her brother's cell phone number and waited.
He picked up after the third ring.
"Hello?"
"Emmett."
"Bella?
Sis, what's the matter?"
"Em, you need to come home.
Right now. Please?"
"Bells, what's wrong? Tell me."
"Mom
and Dad are getting a divorce!" she said and burst into fresh
tears. Edward hugged her to him again and she cried harder.
"They're
what?!" Emmett all but shouted over the phone. Edward slowly
pried the phone from Bella's grip and held it to his ear.
"Em,
I think you better come over here. Bella needs you. She's over at my
place."
"I'm on my way. I'm leaving the driveway right
now. I'll be there in ten minutes." Edward closed his phone and
set it down.
"Bella, listen to me. It's going to be okay, I
promise. Things will be alright." Edward whispered into her ear
softly. Bella felt three other hands on her back, rubbing small
circles. Carlisle, Esme and Alice had all gathered around her. Alice
was crying softly, from the sadness of watching her good friend have
to go through something like this.
They were all still in
that position when Emmett walked in. Carlisle, Esme and Alice backed
off quickly so that Emmett could get to his sister.
"Bella!"
He squatted on the floor in front of her and she put her arms around
his neck. The two had always been close.
"How can they do
this, Emmett?"
"I know, Bella. I know."
"And
they're going to make me choose who to live with. And one of them is
going to move away. And I'm going to have to share my holidays with
them. And It's NOT FAIR!!!!"
"Bella, if you want to, you
can come and live with me. I have the room, and I don't mind. You'll
still be able to go to the same school and see Edward and Alice. They
can come over any time they want. And, if you don't want to split
holidays and pick which parent to spend which holiday with, you and I
can just spend them all together. If one of them moves away from
Forks, you and I can drive and see them whenever you want."
"You
would do that, Em?"
"Of course, Bells. You're my sister.
I don't want to see you go through that."
"Thank you,
Emmett."
"Tell you what, why don't you go home, pack a
bag, and come spend the night over at my place?" Emmett offered.
Bella smiled a watery smile.
"Thank you."
"Come
on, I'll come with you. I'll tell Mom and Dad I'm taking you to my
place for the night." Bella nodded and turned toward Edward
before standing up to leave.
"Edward, thank you so much. I
really appreciate it."
"Of course, Bella. Any time. See
you tomorrow in school?"
"Yeah. Maybe." She hugged
Edward one more time, then got up and followed her brother back to
her house to grab her stuff.
Charlie and Renee were still fighting when the two walked through the door. Bella went right upstairs to her room and started packing everything she would need. She packed pajamas, her toothbrush, toothpaste, a hair brush, clothes for the next day, and hair tie.
As she was packing, she tried
to ignore all the yelling and screaming. But, unfortunately, she
heard every word of it.
"Hey!" she heard Emmett scream.
The other two fell silent. "Can't you guys stop fighting for
two minutes?! I mean, you've just decided to get a divorce for crying
out loud! Don't you even stop for one minute to think of how all this
fighting is affecting your daughter? Or have you forgotten about
her?" No one replied. Emmett stopped yelling but Bella had
started downstairs with her stuff by this point, so she heard what he
said next. "I'm taking Bella to my place for the night. Think
about it next time, before you fight, because you don't know how
you're affecting her, and she may end up never speaking to either of
you again. I can't say that I would blame her." Bella grabbed
her homework off the table and threw it in her bag, though she had no
intentions of finishing it tonight. She walked into the kitchen where
her mother, father and brother were standing in silence staring at
each other.
"Emmett." Bella spoke in a quiet voice, but
loud enough to get his attention.
"Ready,
Bells?"
"Yeah."
"Come on. Get in the jeep."
Bella walked back to the Cullen's, because Emmett's jeep was parked
in their driveway and she climbed into the passenger seat. Literally
climbed. The jeep was huge! Bella wasn't sure how Emmett could get
into, and drive, this monster thing so easily.
It was a
silent ten minute ride back to Emmett's apartment. When they got
there, Emmett finally spoke.
"You can put your stuff in that
extra bedroom over there."
"Thanks." She went into
the room, and set her stuff on the bed. She took out her homework,
and pretended to make an effort in getting it done.
Emmett
walked in five minutes later.
"Bella?" She looked up.
"You don't have to finish that if you don't want. Take a break.
It's okay. It's been a long afternoon. I'll write you a note or
something for tomorrow."
"Thanks, Em." Bella said
closing her books and putting them on the night stand.
"Yeah.
Are you hungry or something?"
"No. It takes a lot out of
me when they fight. I think I'm just going to turn in early."
"Okay,
Bells. Hope you sleep well."
"Thanks, Em. For everything
today. For sticking up for me, for letting me stay here tonight. I
really appreciate it. You have no idea. It's just a relief to get
away from it all for a while."
"I know, Bells. You're
welcome. Any time you want to just get away, you can always come over
here. If you want to stay a while longer, I don't mind. I can go over
and grab more clothes or something while you are at school tomorrow.
I can get Jazz or Rose to drive your truck over here."
"Thanks,
Em. I think I could use that."
"All right. Good night,
Bella."
" 'Night, Emmett." She lay down and tucked
herself under the covers. Emmett turned the light off and closed the
door.
Bella woke up the next morning at seven o' clock, to
find Emmett lying next to her in the bed, and to find herself
drenched in a sweat. She got up and dressed herself. She got ready
for school and ate a quick breakfast. By time she was done, it was
quarter to eight. She walked back in the room.
"Em, wake up.
Emmett." He opened his eyes groggily and
stretched.
"Bells?"
"Emmett, I need to get to
school. It's quarter to seven."
"Okay. Let me get
dressed and I'll give you a ride. I have to be to work at 8:30
anyway."
"All right. I'll wait for you in the living
room."
"Sure."
Emmett came out five minutes later with a jacket and the keys to the jeep. They left the apartment and got into the jeep.
It was a fifteen minute ride to
school, which meant that she would make it there at five after eight.
Just a few minutes late. Not like she cared.
"I wrote you a
note for your homework. I also wrote a tardy note for
you."
"Okay."
"I'm going to take off lunch
and Jasper and I are going to meet up to go grab some stuff for you
and to grab your truck. Edward and Alice can come over after school
if you want. So that you have some company until I get home from
work."
"Thanks, Em." Bella said as they pulled up
in front of the high school.
"Have a good day, Bella. See you
later."
"Bye, Emmett."
And so it continued. Bella moved in with Emmett permanently, while Charlie and Renee battled for this and for that, and talked to lawyers and finalized the divorce. Renee moved out of the house a few weeks after they had declared they wanted a divorce.
Once the divorce was made final, Renee took the money she got from it, and moved to Phoenix. There, she met a minor league baseball player by the name of Phil and began dating him. They had been seeing each other for about a year before they got married and moved to Jacksonville.
Charlie stayed in the house in Forks. He stayed single, never searching for another person that he could fall in love with and one day marry. He became depressed after Renee had gotten married to Phil, when he realized the mistake they had made by fighting and divorcing.
Bella's grades gradually started going back up and she graduated near the top of her class. She got a job with Emmett at the store. She started dating Edward in the months that followed graduation. They dated for two years before Edward proposed to her.
Emmett and Rose got married the year that Bella graduated from high school. They tried to bare children, but could not.
Alice and Jasper dated for three more years after Alice, Edward and Bella graduated and finally got married as well. Nine months later, Alice was giving birth to their first child.
