After that weekend, everything was different once again.
I moved back into the Cullen's house, not wanting to spend any time apart from Jasper. After seeing him hurt, I realized once again how much I wanted him in my life. Sleeping in our room together finally brought me some much-needed peace.
I still went over to the Rez to visit the pack a lot, and Jasper almost always came with me. Leah and Jacob had calmed down and tried to avoid me as much as possible. That was fine with me, seeing as I was mad at both of them.
The rest of the pack was fun to be with. Sam and Jasper had gotten closer and actually enjoyed each other's presence. When they learned we didn't want Edward to turn Bella into a vampire, everyone got along a lot better.
Seth and I also started spending more time together. He didn't like how Leah was acting, and I wanted him to be happy, so our time was spent just having fun together.
At home, everyone was happy I had forgiven them. We all went back to our everyday life together, hanging out and playing games. My hand healed quickly, and Jasper's injury healed as well. He still had a scratch going down the length of his forearm, but we were unsure if that would ever fade.
Edward was weird during this time. He was always acting like he was walking on eggshells around us. He seemed even more unhappy than usual and constantly moped around the house. Everyone was upset at him and kept excluding him from fun activities, which was making him even more upset.
Making everything worse was Bella. At school, she would hang out with Edward, but I could tell she wasn't cheering him up. At lunch, he would often just watch us from afar instead of paying attention to Bella. She found out about the Victoria attack from Jacob after she came back, and she was concerned that she was a liability. I heard her ask Edward to change her into a vampire at least once a day. I heard she had come over to the house a few times, but I had never been there when she was there because Edward didn't want me to attack her in anger.
Then she did the unthinkable.
For the first time since Victoria attacked, our entire family was sitting in the living room together. Emmet, Noah, Carlisle, and I were playing a video game, Jasper was reading a book, Esme was sketching something, Alice and Rosalie were looking at a magazine, and Edward was writing. It felt peaceful.
Then I suddenly felt everyone else in the room tense.
"What is it?" I asked the family, setting my controller down.
"Why is she here?" Jasper asked out loud, looking at Edward.
"I don't know," he replied honestly. "I didn't invite her over." He got up from the couch, set down his journal, and walked up to the front door.
"Who is here?" I asked, looking at Jasper.
When no one answered, I turned my attention to the front door. Edward opened the door and said, "Why are you here?"
"I need to talk to everyone." Bella walked into the house with more confidence than I had ever seen. She had a stupid smirk on her face as she walked into the living room. Everyone was looking at her, and I could tell no one was happy with her presence.
Jasper moved closer to me, feeling how upset she made me by walking in like she owned the house.
Edward quickly walked up behind Bella, worry evident on his face. "Bella, what is going on?" He grabbed her arm, trying to pull her back, but she did not budge.
"We need to have a conversation, all together," Bella said. "Like your family meetings."
"About what?" Edward asked her.
"Victoria is still after me, and I think I'm a liability as a human. So, I think Edward should change me, but I think it's only fair we put it to a family vote since you'd all have to live with me forever."
Bella's statement angered literally everyone in the room, including Edward. "Bella," Edward groaned, probably hearing everyone's angry thoughts about her.
"You think we want you to be changed?" I asked her.
"Yes. That way Victoria won't be after me anymore." Bella's ignorance annoyed me even more. All she cared about was herself. "So, let's vote."
"You know what, no," Carlisle said, suddenly standing up. "You can't call a family meeting. You're not a part of this family like that."
Bella gasped in shock and turned to face Edward. "Do something," she whined.
"No, Bella. I agree with him," Edward told her. "You shouldn't even be here right now."
"But I need to be a vampire," she told him, pouting.
"No, you need to go home." Edward's words were final and upset Bella even more. She ran out of the house on her own, pouting the whole way. As the door shut behind her, Edward sat back down on the couch with a sigh. "I'm sorry," he said, looking at everyone. "I really didn't know she was coming over or that she would try and pull that."
"It's okay," Carlisle said, sitting back down. "Bella's insane sometimes; there's nothing we can do about it."
We could cut her out of our lives. As soon as I thought it, I regretted thinking about it in front of Edward, but he didn't react.
I turned my attention away from him, hoping to go back to our peaceful relaxation. Jasper pulled me onto his lap as he pulled his book out once again. As he started reading, I started my game with Emmet, Noah, and Carlisle again. Jasper put his arms around me, holding his book in front of me and leaning his head on my shoulder to see the book.
Then Edward stood up suddenly and made his way outside. I felt Jasper shift behind me as he did, making me worried.
After Edward left the house, Jasper whispered, "He feels really upset all of a sudden."
I set my controller down once again, saying, "I'm going to go talk to him."
Jasper let me go, and everyone watched me walk out after Edward, but no one stopped me.
As I made my way outside, I saw Edward sitting on the back porch, looking out at the stars. I slowly made my way over to him, not wanting to upset him.
"If you're here to make fun of me, please do it later." He sounded upset as he spoke, and no matter how mad I was at him, I wanted to make sure he was okay.
"I'm not here for that," I told him, getting closer. "I just want to make sure you're okay. But if you want me to leave, I will."
Instead of answering, he simply patted the space next to him. I made my way over and sat down next to him.
"What happened?" I asked him gently.
"I was watching how you and Jasper interacted, and I realized how much I want that." He spoke without looking at me, but I could tell he was really upset about this.
I sighed softly while looking at Edward. "If it would make it better, I'll stop being annoying to Bella."
"That's the thing," he told me, turning to look at me. "I don't think I love her anymore."
"Woah. That's a serious thing to say. Where did this come from?"
"I miss how we used to be, and Bella's part of the reason we're not like that anymore. Whenever I'm with her and see you guys hanging out, I feel jealous of how much fun you're having while I'm hating my time with Bella. She's just been awful recently. She keeps bringing up the vampire thing and doesn't even act like we're a couple except when we're at school."
"Oh, Edward," I said, pulling him into a hug.
"And I feel awful because I pulled her into this mess, and now Victoria is partially after her, and I don't even care for her anymore."
"It's okay not to like her anymore," I told him. "You can break up with her, and we can still protect her from Victoria. I know the pack will protect her regardless. You deserve to be happy."
"Even though I've ruined your life multiple times?"
"Even though you've ruined my life multiple times."
He pulled away from me and gave me a small smile. "Thank you, Emma. I don't deserve how nice you've been to me."
"Just stop making dumb decisions, and you'll deserve it."
I left Edward alone outside and decided to go back to where the whole family was waiting for me.
"That was very kind of you," Esme told me.
"Just because he makes bad decisions doesn't mean he has to suffer alone," I told her, sitting back down.
"I just want to be clear," Emmet said suddenly, looking at all of us. "We were all going to vote no, right?"
"Oh yeah, we all were," Alice told him. "And she would have had an actual meltdown if we did."