THE DAY FELT LONG after Bella and Edward left.
I was waiting for nightfall when Emmett would come. At first, I'd been concerned that Daylin may hear him, or he'd struggle to get in. But the more I thought about it, the more realized that Emmett wouldn't get me in trouble. The whole purpose of him coming was to talk and reconcile. If he was as torn up as Edward said he was, he wouldn't do anything to ruin his chances.
When Daylin got home from the station, I already had dinner made. We ate and talked, my mind elsewhere.
I couldn't shake the fact that I'd be seeing Emmett in just a few hours. Should I shower? Clean my room? Maybe curl my hair? Wait, why did that matter? He wouldn't care.
"Hey, you listening to me?"
Shit.
"H-Huh?"
Daylin set down his glass with a laugh.
"I swear, one day your head's gonna get lost in them clouds, Eve."
My cheeks heated up, embarrassed that I'd been caught off guard. I huffed, standing up as I grabbed both of our empty plates.
"Leave me alone, I was just thinking, that's all,"
"Alright, well now that you're done thinking I'll ask again: who was that boy last night, hm?"
My blood went cold, and I focused on setting the dishes in the sink. I carefully thought over my answer. I didn't want to lie, I hated lying to him.
"His name is Emmett Cullen,"
"I know, he told me. But who is he? To you?"
I knew what he was insinuating. I scrubbed the plate in my hand, trying to find the right words.
"He... well, we," I struggled, "I dunno..."
Daylin pursed his lips, running his tongue across his teeth. He already knew the answer to his question, but it was probably hard for him to accept.
"....so are you two dating?"
"No, we are not dating, Daylin,"
"Last night, he said-"
"I know what he said last night. But we aren't dating. Not yet-"
"Hah! I knew it! You like him, don't you?"
I groaned, turning around to face him. He had a smug grin on his face, arms crossed over his chest. I hated how inquisitive he was being. More so, I hated that he was right. He knew it, too.
"So what? Even if I did, it's not like you'd support it,"
"Who said that?" he feigned a look of innocence, but I saw through it.
"Very funny. Last night you literally told him to stay away," I scoffed, unable to hide my annoyance. I continued to clean the dishes, using the task to ignore the interrogation from my brother.
"I know. But I also know there's no way to keep two kids apart. Especially when they're seniors in high school. So, just tell me if you like him,"
"Why?"
"Because, if you do, I need to start gettin' used to the idea now."
His words surprised me. I stopped drying off one of the plates, my eyes blinking as I processed what he'd said. My whole life, Daylin kept me from boys. He'd scared off more dudes than I could count, and often joked that he'd put up a fight until my wedding day. But here he was, trying to accept the fact that I had a crush - trying to be okay with the idea of another man in my life.
Setting down the towel I'd been holding, I made my way to him. His eyebrows were pulled together, a small frown on his lips.
"You know no one can replace you, right Day?"
He looked up at me, the tension on his face dissolving.
"I'd like to think not,"
"You're my big brother, dumbass. No one replaces family."
I leaned over, my arms wrapping around his shoulders as I hugged him from behind. His hand moved up to my head, ruffling my hair playfully.
I loved him more than the universe itself. No matter what, he'd always be a priority in life. But that didn't mean I was unwilling to have other priorities, too.
I let go to put the dishes away. Once I finished, I took my leave. I was just about to start climbing up the stairs when Daylin grabbed my arm, stopping me.
"Love you,"
"Love you too."
We smiled at one another before I continued to my room.
Now that I'd dealt with him, I was ready to take on Emmett. I was tired of pushing people away. I'd been lonely, but it was partially my fault. I needed to communicate with Daylin, and I needed to accept Emmett for who he was.
He was a vampire. And even if that complicated things, it was worth it.
I'd never felt so complete around someone.
I took a shower and tidied up my room. After seeing his, I felt a little insecure about my own. It was smaller and far simpler, with white walls and old, dark hardwood flooring. The only pieces of furniture that filled the room were a bed, desk, and bookshelf; not much to awe it.
The alcove window I had was charming enough, at least.
I turned on my lamps and grabbed a book, taking a seat in the alcove. It was a comfy spot, decked out in pillows and blankets. I got cozy and began my wait.
I was five or so chapters into my book when I finally looked over at the clock. It was nearly ten. I was thrown off to see that so much time had passed, but Emmett had yet to arrive.
I huffed and shook my head, looking back down at the finely printed words of the book. My anxiety only seemed to grow as the minutes went by. I wanted to see him- I needed to see him. I hated how I'd left things, hated how cruel I'd been.
I punished him for being a monster. And then I'd learned that he wasn't a monster, he didn't ask for this.
None of the Cullens did.
A subtle knock on the window made me jump in surprise. My body jerked away from the noise, natural instincts telling me to get away as fast as possible. Because of this, I fell off the alcove and onto the floor.
I scrambled to my knees to spot Emmett, a cocky grin on his face as he held back laughter. The butterflies in my stomach started up.
Standing, I opened the window, cold air drifting inside. He gripped the edges of the window, holding himself up with ease. I moved, letting him step in.
"Scared ya?"
"W-Well, I was just thinking. You caught me off guard, that's all..."
He chuckled, standing fully as he hopped out of the alcove.
"You do that a lot,"
"Do what?"
"Think. You think so much that you end up getting overwhelmed, and then you do stupid things,"
I furrowed my brows, wondering whether or not he meant to offend me.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
He drifted to my desk, looking around at the pictures and belongings that were scattered through the room. He picked up a photo of Daylin and me, taken the day he graduated from the police academy. He'd was eighteen, the youngest cadet to graduate.
"You know what I mean, tiny,"
"Don't call me that."
His goofy smile and dimples were enough to make my defensive walls come crumbling down, and I found myself taking a step towards him. I guess the website I'd stumbled across was right about vampires: they lured in their prey with their beauty.
He set the photo in his hands back down, now focused entirely on me. I'd missed his undivided attention, as selfish as it sounded.
His face slowly fell as our bodies drew closer and closer. Eventually, we were only a few feet apart. Silence fell over us. I could tell he was waiting for me to make the first move, he didn't want to scare me. My reaction from the previous night was probably still fresh in his mind.
I closed the space between us, my arms snaking around his torso as I hugged him tightly. I wanted him to know that I wasn't scared of him. It didn't matter that he could kill me with one fatal movement - I knew he wouldn't.
His arms wrapped around me, and I instantly felt safe and secure. Nothing could hurt me when I was with him, and for some reason, that thought alone was enough.
"I'm sorry I said those things last night. I was just so confused, and I didn't understand. I didn't know what to think, and I... I was scared,"
"You had a right to be scared,"
"I did. But not anymore."
I tilted my head up to look at him, our gazes meeting. I no longer saw the perfect man I'd grown accustomed to staring at every day in the lunchroom.
Instead, I saw Emmett in his entirety.
"...Evelyn," he began with a shaky breath, "all I know is that for nearly a century, I've never met someone who makes me feel the way you do. I... I need you in my life. And I know, my life isn't like everyone else's. It's gonna be hard, maybe even dangerous... but I can't imagine goin' back to the way things were before; before I saw you."
His words burned me. At that moment I didn't care that we were from two different worlds - our fates were woven together. After all, we were both here in this moment, crossing paths at just the right time to experience one another's existence.
We were falling for each other, and I knew the love we'd have was inevitable. We were destined to be together.
I'd never been so sure of anything in my entire life.
"I'm willing to take any risk if it means you being a part of my life."
My words made him happy, I could see it in his eyes. Without a warning, he lifted me up. I gasped, caught off guard. I wrapped my arms around his neck, my fingers tangling themselves into his curls.
"Don't let go, or I'm gonna fall," I joked, my tone playful.
"Wouldn't dream of it, tiny."
We were on the same page. No more secrets, no more mysteries. I finally knew what he was, and I accepted him. I knew my feelings would be unwavering, unquestionable, and unmatched.
I just didn't know the danger those feelings would lead me to.
—edited
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Even though this was a short chapter, I adored writing it. Now that Evelyn is in on the Cullens' secret, I can't wait to start diving in the main plot of Eclipse.
However, to avoid doing an immediate and lengthy time jump to graduation, the next few chapters will focus on the important moments in Emmett and Evelyn's relationship leading up to that point. The way I see it, the more I focus on them and their romance, the more intense everything will be when shit goes down. Building their connection and Evelyn's involvement in everything is so vital if I want to implement her in the plot of Eclipse.
Anyways, I hope you all liked this chapter! If you did, don't be shy to like, comment, and add Ethereal to your library. I'm so grateful for all the support I've received thus far and will continue to be grateful.
~ May