Broken Soul • Emmett Cullen

chapter fourteen

Alaina walked into her house, closing the door behind her. She could hear the soft murmur of her parents talking in the kitchen, a warm glow emitting from the dimmed lights. She quietly walked towards the stairs, hoping not to be heard by her parents. As soon as Emmett drove away, a sinking feeling settled into her stomach. She didn't want him to leave, well, she never wanted him to leave, but this time felt different. Something was going to happen ... she just knew it.

"Sweetheart?" She heard her father say in the other room. Sighing, she turned on her heel towards the kitchen and stopped in front of her parents.

"You're home early," her mother stated, checking her watch.

Alaina shrugged. "They were playing a family baseball game and I just didn't feel like playing. I'm going upstairs now." She turned to walk away but the voice of her father stopped her from moving any further.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," her Dad said. "What's wrong? You never miss the opportunity to play any sport. What did he do?"

She rolled her eyes and the protective tone used by her father. "Emmett didn't do anything, Dad," she said. "I'm just really tired and super stressed about the trip home, err, to Detroit tomorrow. I just need to be alone for a while. Plus I haven't started to pack yet."

Her mother raised her eyebrows as if asking her to continue.

"Mom," she groaned. "If something happened, you would have been the first to know. You know, you're lucky to have a teenage daughter that still likes her parents."

Both of her parents couldn't help but let out a laugh. Her dad shooed her away. "Go, get going," he said. "Get to bed. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

"Love you guys," Alaina said, giving them each a quick hug and practically sprinting upstairs. She thought back to the excuse she gave her parents and she hated that she wasn't telling them the entire truth. Yes, the impending court date constantly loomed in the back of her mind (and she hadn't started packing), but she couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was about to happen.

6:39 PM - No New Messages

She grabbed her suitcase from her closet and zipped it open. She carelessly started to toss clothes into her bag, trying to force her mind to relax, but she knew she wouldn't be able to stop thinking about Emmett.

Alaina was never sure of anything, big or small. Her life had made her incredibly anxious, and she hated feeling sure of something; it made it harder to deal with if something went wrong. But she did know one thing... she knew she loved him. She was sure it was more than puppy love or standard teenage infatuation. She knew that what she felt for her vampire was love.

She had planned to tell him tonight after the game, and when she decided to go home instead, she was going to tell him when he came over after playing baseball with his family. She tried to attribute the feeling she was having in her stomach to nerves, but it felt worse than that.

8:01 PM - No New Messages

"I'll just call Bella," she said to herself, trying to cut through the deafening silence in her room. She dialed her number and listened to the phone ring, her heart rate increasing after each chord. You've reached Bella Swan. Um, just leave a message.

"Hey Bells," she said, pacing around her room. "Can you call or text me as soon as you get this? I haven't heard from anyone and it's starting to make me nervous. Also, let me know if you need my parents to pick you up tomorrow to take you to the airport. Okay, bye."

She hung up the phone, somehow feeling worse than she did before making the call. She fell to her bed and stared at the ceiling. She didn't know what to do; she knew that she wouldn't be able to fall asleep with this feeling in the pit of her stomach, but what could she do when no one was answering?

11:59 PM - No New Messages

Long game, grizzly? She texted to Emmett, dropping the phone on her bed to go back to packing. She desperately tried to ignore the sick feeling beginning to pool in her stomach. In between obsessively checking her phone and half-heartedly throwing close into her suitcase, she didn't realize how late it was.

She finished packing and got ready for bed. If there was one word that could describe how she was feeling at that moment, it would be terrifying. She had no idea what tomorrow would bring. She was dreading going back to the Midwest to face the inevitable. She didn't want to see her old friends and her old school, the ones that turned on her for being honest. And the last person she wanted to face was Bryce. Her mind wandered to Bella, her best friend, and pseudo sister. She was so grateful to her for offering to come. Knowing that Bella would be at her side makes everything a little more bearable.

She signed and glanced at her phone one last time. 2:31 AM, shone back at her, causing her to squint in the darkness. She could no longer ignore the ache in her chest, and she didn't know what was causing her more pain: Emmett's radio silence or her trip back to Detroit in a few hours. She turned off her phone and threw it on her suitcase lying on the floor.

After a few moments, she heard faint footsteps coming up the hallway and then a soft knock at her door. "Sweetie?" Her mother's muffled voice rang through the door. "Are you still awake."

Alaina got up from her bed and opened the door revealing her mother's tired face. "Yeah, I can't sleep."

Her mother came into her room and shut the door quietly behind her. She turned on Alaina's desk lamp, emitting a soft light throughout the room. "I'd ask what's on your mind, but I think I already know."

Alaina could feel her eyes welling up with tears as her mother climbed into bed with her. She crawled next to her mom, resting her head on her chest exactly as she did as a child. "It's not just court, mom," she sniffled. "Emmett said that he would text me tonight after the game. Bella did too. I haven't heard from either of them."

"I'm sure they are fine, sweetheart. They probably just fell asleep and --"

"No, mom," Alaina said sternly. Although she knew she had to keep the Cullen family secret, well, a secret, her heart ached to know that she couldn't be fully honest with her mom. "They would have texted me... or called me. This isn't like them. In my gut, I know that something is wrong."

Her mother signed, gently stroking her hair. "I can't argue with that," she said. "I'll call Charlie in the morning before we get on the plane, okay? He will tell us everything is okay and then we can focus on our day."

Alaina breathed in deeply, feeling slightly comforted by her mother's plan. Closing her eyes, she nodded and then listened to her mother's heartbeat. Even though she felt perfectly safe in Emmett's arms, something about listening to a mother's consistent, rhythmic heartbeat was the most comforting sound in the world. She could feel her eyes finally start to droop as she drifted off to a short-lived, restless sleep.