Choices

Chapter 3

Esme's POV:

I can't believe that Edward has left us again. I realize that this time he isn't going to go and kill humans, but running away from problems isn't the way to overcome them. What baffles me is that even though Carlisle and I aren't True Mates, it is hard to be away from him for a long period of time. This is making me wonder if Belle is Edward's mate, let alone his True Mate at all.

I do have a theory as to what Edward was feeling towards Belle, besides the call of her blood. I think that he is her Protector. Protectors are extremely rare in our world and can often be mistaken for mates. Protectors only appear when a special vampire who is true Vampire Royalty, not the Volturi, is born. I believe that Belle's silent mind and potent scent drew Edward in, and he chose to allow her to fall in love with him. I believe that Belle is destined to make a huge difference in the world of Vampires, and Edward is to be there to help see the destiny through. That being said, Edward has no right to take a beautiful woman, with a pure heart and soul, and destroy her like he has done, once she finds out. I understand that he is scared, but he needs to learn to not control the lives of the ones who love him the most. He needs to come to the understanding that we have to work together as a family.

Edward has broken more than one heart today with his actions; he has broken mine and the rest of the families' as well. My undead heart hurts for him, and will not be whole again until he comes back to us. I think of Belle as one of my own daughters, and I hope that she sees me as a mother figure, that Renee could never be. I hope that despite the hurt in her heart, Belle will still come to us for comfort, and any other thing that she needs. I hope that she knows from the bottom of her heart that we will always love her and will never leave her.

I think that I should ask Carlisle about the Protection bond, and see if we can't come to some realization. Maybe if we can figure out what role Edward is to play in Belle's life, we can make our family whole again. I won't be happy until then.

Rosalie's POV:

I never thought that I would be nervous about seeing Belle. I was going to be the one to break it to Belle, that Ass-ward left, not only her but the whole family. I know Belle thinks that I hate her, but the truth is I am envious of her. She has her whole life ahead of her. She can get married and have children, the one thing that I want most in this world, but can't have. I haven't made it easy for Belle to be comfortable around me, but I think that I need to trust Alice and open myself up to Belle. This would be a new day for me and Belle; I just hoped I don't screw it up.

Emmett spent the night just holding me and telling me that I am the strongest person he knows. He said he knew that it would be hard for me to allow Belle to get close, but once I did it would brighten my world. He knew I felt scared and knew just what to say to calm my fears. He told me that if needed, he would be there to help, but he had faith in me that I could overcome these fears and allow Belle to see the real Rose.

I was afraid that after I told Belle that Edward left, she would no longer want to be part of the family, and that truly scared me. I do care for her and knew if we lost her too, the family would never be the same. "Em, do you think that Belle will still want to be part of our family? I mean as a vampire? Do you think she will still love us or will she hate us and blame us for Edward leaving?" I knew deep down that these were irrational thoughts, but I needed to hear someone tell me that it would be okay.

"I honestly don't know, babe. I would like to say she will, but for the time we should just take it slow. We need to go at Belle's pace, and if that means she doesn't want to see us for a while, then we are just going to have to step back until she is ready for us to be in her life again. Why are you worrying about that?" He asked.

"Well," I started "Despite what I may portray, I already think of Belle as a sister. I don't think I could handle loosing another family member because of Edward." At this point I was crying and the tears were running freely down my face. Emmett gathered me up into his big, strong, yet gentle arms and rocked me until I had myself under control enough to speak again.

"I know we aren't supposed to bring up Jack, but I think that now is the time to open and honest with Belle and each other. Jack died because of Edward's controlling nature. I refuse to let that happen again. I ask that you please don't tell Carlisle or Esme that I'm going to talk about Jack." I knew from the bottom of my heart, that I was making the right choice. The rest of the family maybe mad at me, but they will eventually see that I am right. No more hiding the past from anyone. The truth will come out, because it was time to honor Jack's memory not hide it.

Emmett looked a little unsure for a second, but his face cleared and he said with complete honesty, "Of course I won't tell anyone, but aren't you forgetting one thing? Alice! Won't she see that you are going to tell Belle about Jack? Don't you think that she already knows that you are going to break the big family secret?"

"She won't say anything. I think that she has known that Jack was going to be brought up all along. That is why she has asked me to go and pick Belle up. I was the closest to Jack, besides Edward, and I think that she knows that I have to be the one to tell the story. It will help Belle see that Edward is not the Saint that she thinks he is. I know that the information may hurt Belle, but in the long run she will understand that Edward is nothing but a controlling ass, who has to have everything his way." I said. "The silence that we have been keeping about Jack is killing me inside every day. I fell, and I think the others do, that Carlisle and Esme coddle Edward and allow him to get away with murder (literally and figuratively). We know that he was Carlisle's first companion, but that is no reason to turn a blind eye. I for one am really sick of it. Tonight was the first time that I have ever seen Carlisle and Esme go against Edward. This helped me realize that Belle was, indeed, someone special as a person and a member of this family.

Emmett and I decided to go hunting before I was to pick Belle up, for what was most likely going to be the hardest day of her short life.