Vanity and Patience: A Rosalie Hale & Emmett Cullen Story

Chapter 6: Lost

Emptiness.

A bottomless pit of nothing.

I stood and waited by the window, frozen like a statue for days. I didn't move. I didn't think to hunt. I didn't attend school.

I looked for a sign—anything—to show his return; that he would come back to me.

I slipped into this state right after Carlisle and Edward got back from seeing him, my Henry, my Emmett. It was the day we got back. They put me down in the living room for me to rest as my body repaired itself. Esme was out meeting with a design client. As I lay on the couch I could hear Carlisle and Edward having a conversation upstairs.

"Do you think he'll be back?" Carlisle asked. "Was there any evidence in his mind that he would?"

"It's hard to say. He's so confused. His mind was too lust-ridden for blood to think rationally."

"How about with Rosalie; was there anything there? Anything that will lead us to believe he'll be back, for her at least?"

Edward took a deep breath. "He definitely recognized her when he first woke up, from when she saved him from being mauled. He turned against her because he thought she was a threat, but something inside him clicked as he looked at her suffering from his grip..."

At this point I was sitting up, straining to hear their conversation. I was never too sure what Edward would share with me of Emmett's thoughts if I asked him directly. I knew this could be my only shot at knowing anything.

"So there is something between them."

"I don't know, Carlisle. He definitely regrets what he did after he realized he hurt her, but that was about all I heard. If there are any romantic feelings or thoughts for her, I couldn't find them. His mind was just mostly full of doubt that he could meet our way of living. He considered it for a moment, but there was no contest. Tasting those humans was the end of him. His personality is just a small part of his mind. He's too consumed with thirst for anything."

"I see," Carlisle said softly. He sounded to be in deep thought. "Thirst for humans."

"Yes! Carlisle, I think its best we go after him, maybe just talk to him, even if we can't bring him back. Teach him to be discreet, tell him about our laws. The last thing we need is a visit from the Volturi because of an unruly newborn. We'll need to hurry, before he goes and slays a whole town of folks."

"You have a point there, son," Carlisle agreed. I heard him pat Edward in the back.

I'll go with you, I thought loudly, hoping Edward would hear me from one level below.

"No, you can't," he answered from where he was, his voice firm yet gentle. "I can't let you."

"What is it?" Carlisle asked him.

"It's Rose," Edward sighed. "She wants to come with us."

Carlisle then appeared in front of me, traveling in vampire speed down the stairs. "I'm afraid that's not possible, Rose. We can't let you go. Not after what just happened." His hand touched my face, sympathy lacing his golden eyes.

"But I can talk to him. Edward said so himself, he recognizes me, and I can—"

"Yet he still did what he did," Edward interrupted, suddenly appearing by Carlisle. I was expecting him to have a smug face after today's incident, proving his theory right about Emmett, but he was surprisingly goodhearted about the whole situation. Even this warning of his was gentle enough that it caught me by surprise.