Annora |E. Cullen|

TWELVE

"Hey, girl," I smiled as I stood in Bella's doorway.

She breathed heavily for a moment, "Hey."

"How are you feeling?" I asked.

"I'm all right," she sighed. "How about you? You look pretty beat up."

"I'm fine, just a broken wrist and some bruising, no big deal," I smiled. "I wanted to make sure that you knew that what I said back there was all a trick to get James to leave you alone."

"I figured as much," she smiled weakly, "I didn't get it at first, but by the fifth insult, I caught on."

"I tried not to be too harsh, I didn't need you giving out on me," I laughed.

"Hey, Annora, how are you feeling?" Edward's voice surprised me.

"I'm fine, nothing big. Watch over her, make sure she heals," I glared playfully at him.

"Yes, ma'am. Emmett is in the lobby waiting for you," he notified me.

"Where are you going?" Bella asked me.

"Back to Forks, I've got a lot of explaining to do," I sighed.

"Good luck," she smiled.

"Thanks, hun," I nodded before turning around and walking towards the elevator. Once I got down to the main floor, Emmett started walking towards me.

"How are you feeling? Are you all right? Are you sure you don't need any medicine?" He sounded stressed out.

"You know what I need?" I asked him while grabbing his hands gently, "I need to get the fuck out of here. I need to be back in Forks and I need people to stop asking me that question."

"I understand," he kissed my head, wove his fingers through mine, and led the way to the car.

I waited until we had an hour left of our road trip before I decided to dive into a more serious topic of conversation. "I guess I have a lot of explaining to do," I giggled lightly.

"Only if you're comfortable sharing that information with me," he placed his hand on my thigh for extra comfort.

"I'll be uncomfortable if the only people that know about it are myself and my dad," I shrugged.

"You have all of the attention I can give you without driving us both off of a cliff," he smiled at me which caused me to smile in return.

I took a deep breath, "Storytime. When I was twelve years old, I was waiting for the subway in Union Square with my mother. It was very quiet, neither of us were speaking because it was so late at night and we were so exhausted. Not even insects were making noise, it was honestly dead silent.

"I was standing in front of my mom, she had her arms wrapped around my shoulders as we stood on the platform. I kept looking down and to the left to see if I could even see the headlights of the train. I looked down and to the left the last time and one thing broke the silence; a gunshot.

"I didn't even feel it at first. I was so shocked that something had broken the calm and peaceful atmosphere. My mother's grasp around my shoulders loosened and she fell to the ground. After I looked down at her and saw her bleeding out, I started to feel my injuries as well. The bullets had travelled through her and into me," I paused to lift my shirt so that he could see the scars.

"So I hate the silence because I associate it with the loss of my mother, I closed off when Carlisle mentioned her because she passed in such a dramatic way, and the tension you overheard that morning is due to the fact that I can't have kids because of what happened, only my father and I knew about it for the longest time," I explained.

Instead of continuing with the drive, like I had hoped he would, Emmett stopped the car on the side of the road, left it running, walked around to my side and opened the door. He wrapped me up in a large hug and held me close.

"What... what is this?" I was confused at his response.

"Annora, I am so sorry that that happened to you. No one deserves that, especially not you. I'm so sorry that your mother had to pass before the majority of your life happened. I'm so sorry that you had the choice of children ripped away from you by another person. I'm so sorry that you carry this weight around with you," he kept me in his arms.

I took a moment to process all that he had told me. I balled his shirt up in my fists and pulled him closer to me. I let myself break down while he held me, I cried for several minutes. He didn't act annoyed, he didn't act bothered, he just held me and rubbed my back to provide extra comfort.

"I love you," I said through shaky breaths as I calmed down and my crying ceased.

"I love you, too, angel," he rested his cheek against the top of my head and pet my hair while I gathered myself and relaxed. "Are you ready to go back home?" He asked, still holding me and petting my hair.

"I am, I want to see Morgan again," I smiled at the thought of her.

"Would you mind if I tagged along?" He questioned.

"I'd love that," I smiled and kissed his cheek.

He kissed me before walking back around to the other side of his Jeep. I turned the music to different stations before I decided to connect my phone and play my own. We both sung along to the slew of 90's music I had on a playlist, his voice sounded more angelic by far. At one point, I stopped singing and just listened to his voice carry on.

He looked over at me, "What?"

"Your voice is very melodic," I smiled.

"90's music isn't meant to be melodic," his booming laugh filled the car.

"You make it melodic," I pointed out.