Black Water • Emmett Cullen [Broken Soul Series: Book Two]

three

The days after Bella's birthday were tense at best. From the outside looking in, everything looked the same as it has always been, but in Alaina's gut, she knew something was up. It felt as if something was simmering just below the surface, waiting to boil over at any second.

When Emmett came into Carlisle's office after she was stitched up, they had a very long conversation, most of it peppered with copious apologies from Emmett. He had never lost control around her before, and he didn't know how to deal with the fear that Alaina couldn't help but project. It took the entire length of the conversation for her not to shudder at his touch.

They also talked about the risks of their relationship. There wasn't a guidebook on how to be a human and date a vampire, but she knew that he was worth any of the risks. Last year, Emmett told her that he wouldn't do anything to hurt her, and he reiterated that that night, he was terrified he was going to break that promise.

After their conversation, they both decided to try to use this as a learning experience and move on as best as they could. But everything felt extremely strained over the next few days. Alaina originally thought it was just leftover guilt and awkwardness from dealing with something so uncomfortable and traumatic but as time passed, nothing improved. She prayed this wasn't their new normal.

Because Alaina was so worried about her relationship, she was barely paying attention to Bella and Edward to see if they were going through something similar. But since she didn't feel any better, she knew that she had to bring it up to her after school.

When the final bell rang through the school, Alaina walked towards her locker, spotting Bella at the other end of the hallway. "Hey Bella," she said, bumping her gently with her shoulder to say hello.

"Hey," Bella said, almost sounding relieved to talk to her. She pushed a piece of hair back behind her ear. "Do you want a ride home today?"

Edward would normally take the two girls home, but the day started sunny, so the Cullens had to go "camping." Even though the sky was now a gloomy gray, to keep up their facade, they had to take the entire day off.

Alaina nodded. "Yeah, let's get out of here."

"I'm ready when you are," Bella said as they reached Alaina's locker, already having everything she needed for the day.

"Is Edward acting... off to you?" Alaina asked innocently, grabbing her belongings from her locker. She shut the locker tightly and the two girls began walking towards the parking lot.

Bella hesitated for a moment and then nodded. "Yeah, now that you mention it, he has been acting really distant... even a little cold. No pun intended."

They reached her truck and jumped in. The gray sky was starting to turn ominously dark and a sick feeling overtook Alaina's gut. "So has Emmett," she said, putting on her seatbelt.

"Do you think anything is wrong? Have you guys talked about it? I told Edward that he was acting strangely, but he assured me that everything was fine. I don't know if I believe him though."

"I feel the same way. I haven't brought anything up to Emmett, but even though he's doing the same things he's always done, things just don't feel right. I don't want to feel insane, but my gut is telling me something is wrong."

"Well, it looks like now might be a good time to have that conversation," she said, pulling into Alaina's driveway. Emmett was waiting for her on her front porch, a small smile on his face. A rush of happiness washed over her when she saw him. He gave Bella a wave as she put her truck in park.

"That's weird," Alaina said, scrunching her eyebrows. "We normally don't hang out on Tuesdays." Tuesdays were Emmett's designated hunting days. She unbuckled her seatbelt and slid out of the truck.