Genesis [Emmett Cullen] (2)

[05- Repercussion]

No one said anything on the ride back home. I could feel the charged silence in the car. It was like someone was shaking a can and the lid was about to burst off.

Edward parked in the big garage off the house; Carlisle's Mercedes was there, next to Emmett's big jeep, his Vanquish and my Audi. I was glad Carlisle was already home—this silence would end explosively, and I wanted him there when that happened.

Everyone headed straight for the dining room.

The room was, of course, never used for its intended purpose. But it was furnished with a long oval mahogany table surrounded by chairs—we were scrupulous about having all the correct props in place. Carlisle liked to use it as a conference room. In a group with such strong and disparate personalities, sometimes it was necessary to discuss things in a calm, seated manner.

Carlisle sat in his usual seat at the eastern head of the room. Esme was beside him—they held hands on top of the table. Edward sat on Carlisle's other side and I sat beside him.

As everyone else sat, I could see the lines being drawn.

Emmett sat directly across from Carlisle, on the other end of the long table, his face wry when he realised we were on opposite sides. As much as I wanted to be with him, I had a moral obligation.

Jasper hesitated, and then went to stand against the wall behind Emmett. Alice was the last to come in, and her eyes were focused on something far away— the future, still too indistinct for her to make use of it. Without seeming to think about it, she sat next to Esme. She rubbed her forehead as if she had a headache. Jasper twitched uneasily as he considered joining her, but he kept his place.

"I'm sorry," Edward said, looking first at Jasper and then Emmett. "I didn't mean to put any of you at risk. It was thoughtless, and I take full responsibility for my hasty action."

Emmett glared at him balefully. "What do you mean, 'take full responsibility'? Are you going to fix it?"

"Not the way you mean," Edward said, his voice even and quiet. "I'm willing to leave now, if that makes things better."

"No," Esme murmured. "No, Edward. You just came home."

He patted her hand. "It's just a few years."

"Esme's right, though," I said. "You can't go anywhere now. That would be the opposite of helpful. We have to know what people are thinking, now more than ever."

"Alice will catch anything major," Edward disagreed.

Carlisle shook his head. "I think Eleanor is right, Edward. The girl will be more likely to talk if you disappear. It's all of us leave, or none of us."

"She won't say anything," Edward insisted quickly.

"You don't know her mind," Carlisle reminded him.

"I know this much. Alice, back me up."

Alice stared up at him wearily. "I can't see what will happen if we just ignore this." She glanced at Emmett and Jasper.

Emmett's palm smacked down on the table with a loud bang. I was hoping that for Esme's sake, the table wasn't damaged. "We can't allow the human a chance to say anything. Carlisle, you must see that. Even if we decided to all disappear, it's not safe to leave stories behind us!"

"We've left rumors behind us before," Edward reminded him.

"Just rumors and suspicions, Edward. Not eyewitnesses and evidence!"

"Emmett—" Carlisle began.

"Let me finish, Carlisle. It doesn't have to be any big production. The girl hit her head today. So maybe that injury turns out to be more serious that it looked." Emmett shrugged. "Every human goes to sleep with the chance of never waking up. Others would expect us to clean up after ourselves. Technically, that would make it Edward's job, but this is obviously beyond him."

Edward hissed at him, furious.

"Edward, please," Carlisle said. Then he turned to Emmett. "Emmett, this doesn't sound like you. The Swan girl is innocent."

"Carlisle, you know I will do anything to protect us all, if it that means sacrificing a life," Emmett said through his teeth. There was a brief moment of silence while Carlisle thought through his answer.

"I know you mean well, Emmett, but...I'd like very much for our family to be worth protecting. The occasional...accident or lapse in control is a regrettable part of who we are." It was very like him to include himself in the plural, though he had never had such a lapse himself.

"To murder a blameless child in cold blood is another thing entirely. I believe the risk she presents, whether she speaks her suspicions or not, is nothing to the greater risk. If we make exceptions to protect ourselves, we risk something much more important. We risk losing the essence of who we are."

Emmett scowled. "It's not just me that feels this way," he said, looking at Jasper.

"Jasper," Edward said, he met his gaze, his face expressionless.

He shook his head once. "I won't let Alice live in danger, even a slight danger. You don't feel about anyone the way I feel about her, Edward."

"Jazz," Alice said, interrupting us.

He looked at her. "Don't bother telling me you can protect yourself, Alice. I already know that. I've still got to—"

"That's not what I was going to say. I know you love me. Thanks. But I would really appreciate it if you didn't try to kill Bella. First of all, Edward is serious and I don't want you two fighting. Secondly, she's my friend. And Eleanor's. At least, she's going to be."

"NO!" Edward shouted, his chair falling to the floor.

"Love her too?" he whispered, incredulous.

"It's solidifying," Alice whispered. "Every minute you're more decided. There are really only two ways left for her. It's one or the other, Edward."

"Can someone tell me what is going on?" Emmett bellowed.

"He's falling for her. It all depends on whether he is strong enough or not. Either he'll kill her himself" -she turned to meet Edward's gaze, glaring- "which would really irritate me, Edward, not to mention what it would do to you-" she faced Jasper, "or she'll be one of us someday." Someone gasped, I didn't catch who.

Edward didn't say anything, instead, rushing out of the room and clearing the river in a single bound.

"Fall for a human?" Esme repeated in a stunned voice. "For the girl he saved today? Fall in love with her?"

"It's not too late to kill her," Emmett grumbled.

"How are you still thinking about killing her? Edward's your brother. Can't you see how much she means, or will mean to him?" I questioned in disbelief.

"Look at the facts. It will save us a lot of problems in the future."

My jaw dropped, "Emmett, you know I will do anything for you, but I can't compromise who am I by letting you commit a murder."

Emmett shrugged in disagreement.

"When I found out about you, did you try to kill me?"

"This is different. I didn't do anything that made me look not human like lifting a van," he objected.

I shook my head, "No it's not that different. I can't believe you would do something like that." I felt my breath hitch. He stood up from the table and moved towards me.

"El," Emmett touched my wrist. I yanked my arm away and moved towards the backdoor.

"El! Please don't leave me!" He called after me, despair in his voice. But my feet had already taken off away from him. I had no idea where I was going, I just knew I needed space.