Broken Soul • Emmett Cullen

chapter sixteen

NOTE: Hello everyone!! Can you believe that this little story has almost 7 thousand views?! Absolutely insane. Thank you so much for all your comments and messages. They really mean the world! I love you all so much omg.

This will be a little short of a chapter leading up to the court date, so I apologize for the length. But but but I have already mapped out the last chapters (5 to go!). I love this story so much and I hope you do too!

Leaving the airport in their rental car, Alaina watched the very familiar landscape pass by her as her mother drove down the highway to their hotel with her father in the front seat. So many memories came crashing back and she wasn't prepared to be transported into this city. From the smell of downtown to always-slightly-humid air to the abundance of potholes, her home had remained (at least physically) exactly the same.

It was such a strange feeling to be coming back after months of living in a new area. There was nothing that could prepare you for the feeling of being in a place that looked like home but didn't feel like home. Everything still looked the same but it couldn't have felt any different. The sick feeling in the pit of her stomach seemed to be the new normal, and for once, it wasn't from getting car sick.

As they were driving to the hotel, they drove by the neighborhood that she used to live in. Alaina could barely make out her childhood home, but it was just enough for a massive pang to shoot through her chest. Thinking about some other family living in the house that she grew up in was too difficult to even manage.

She didn't realize how much of a connection she had with her childhood home. All of her childhood memories were there; from her first steps to her first kiss, so many important moments were held in that old house and that old neighborhood. She glanced at her parents. Her mom's eyes were firmly on the road, but her dad was following the neighborhood as they drove past it. That was his home for even longer than Alaina's and she couldn't imagine what he was feeling.

Her parents never outwardly showed how the move affected them. They tried to be as stoic as possible for Alaina's sake. She knew that and she appreciated them more than they would ever know. But seeing her dad look longingly at their old home absolutely broke her heart.

They drove past the old Kroger that Alaina would frequent after school with her old friends. They would sneak out of school a few minutes early and run over to Kroger to buy cupcakes from the bakery. Then they would outside of the school, watching the busses and parents picking up students, laughing wildly and eating their cupcakes.

It was a dramatic shift from her relationship with Bella. Although Alaina was glad to have had experiences with her friends in Detroit, something was different with her relationship with Bella. It felt more real. And she knew she would be her friend, for better or for worse, for the rest of her life. Their connection was too strong.

The hotel wasn't too far away from their old house so they were there in just a few minutes. They parked the car, checked in to their room, and brought up their luggage. Alaina and her parents had two rooms connected by a door. Alaina put her things down in her room and then immediately went to her parents' room, not wanting to be alone.

Alaina walked around their large room while they were unpacking and saw that they had a small balcony. She walked over to check it out. Sliding the door open, she was hit with the sights and sounds of the city and to her surprise, rain. Alaina walked out on the small balcony, taking in the scent of the city covered in rain. The comforting sound of the rain was strangely calming, reminding her of Forks. Lights flickered in the distance as thunder rolled, filling her ears with a comfortable rumble.

The door of the balcony opened and quietly closed behind her. Looking behind her, she saw her father, already changed into his nightly uniform of old University of Michigan sweatpants and a Detroit Tigers shirt. Her dad walked over to the railing and stood next to her. "How ya doin' sweetheart?" He asked gently, watching the rain with his daughter.

Alaina shrugged, her eyes not meeting her father's. "It's weird being here. This doesn't feel like home anymore, Dad," she whispered to her father on the hotel balcony. The familiar lights, sounds, and smells from her hometown were comforting in a way, but it didn't feel like hers anymore. To her surprise, her dad agreed.

"I feel the same way too, honey," he said, wrapping his arms around his daughter who leaned into his chest. He smelled like charcoal and concrete like he always did. "I've lived here for over 40 years. This is my favorite place in the world. But somehow Forks feels more like home than Detroit ever did."

She looked up to her dad. "Dad," she said slowly, worried about the answer she was going to receive. "After the highway contract is over, are we going to stay in Washington?"

Her dad met her eyes. "What do you want to do, Alaina?"

Even though it stung, she didn't hesitate. "I want to stay in Forks. I love it there. I feel," she paused then, biting her lip, a bad habit she picked up from Bella. "I feel normal when I'm there. I feel safe."

Her dad's eyes darted back out to the busy street below and sighed in a comforting way. "Well, then, we will never leave there again."

-- * --

Alaina didn't remember her alarm going off in the morning, nor did she remember getting ready for the very long day ahead of her. She felt numb; as if she was having an out of body experience just going through the motions. She didn't remember the taxi that picked them up or the worried look that was now permanently plastered on her dad's face. She didn't remember being ushered into the old courthouse by her lawyer with lights and cameras flashing, trying to get a glimpse of the girl who was "trying to ruin a good boy's life." She didn't remember walking towards the ominous double doors and physically shaking so badly her mother grabbed her hand to calm her down. But what happened next, Alaina would never forget.

Her mother squeezed her hand tightly as the doors of the courtroom opened. It felt like the moment was right out of a television drama as the fluorescent lights blinded her and there was a sea of wooden benches. She could feel dozens of eyes on her and her family as they walked up the aisle to take their seats in the front of the room. She tried to focus on putting on step in front of the other, but when she saw him.

Bryce was already there, sitting with his father and their legal team. They made eye contact and a shiver went up and down her spine. She kept her gaze calculated, trying not to let him see her terror. She had never felt more afraid than she did right now. When she fantasized about this moment, she pictured herself as calm and confident, ready to face whatever he threw at her, but she couldn't have felt smaller. And then, in an instant, he smirked at her and a fire was lit inside her, ready to explode and burn everyone in her path.