A Certain Metamorphosis || Rosalie Hale

Chapter 28 - A Closing Vote

Emmett practically jumped into the driver's seat. Lily looked more relaxed after her work. It was obvious that she felt comfortable there. Emmett tried not to think about how long that must have taken. He caught sight of Lily sliding into the passenger seat and immediately leaning her seat back.

"Long night?"

"Not particularly. It was an average night. I just happened to be woken up earlier than normal." She found herself shooting the vampire with a playful glare.

"Well, we figured we waited long enough. When were you planning on coming back?" Emmett couldn't stop himself from probing.

"I don't know. Maybe Friday? I think we have a history test then." Lily reluctantly answered. She cursed herself. She knew it was a bad idea to ask Emmett to drive home, but she knew she wasn't safe to drive. Between Rosalie and Emmett, he appeared to be the lesser of two evils.

The silence hung in the car like a thick blanket. Lily felt like it was suffocating her. She wondered if Emmett could feel the same way even if he didn't need to breathe. She was still too wound up from her shift to fall asleep yet. She reached into the backseat and pulled out the largest jacket to act as a blanket.

Emmett's voice made her pause. "Is that Jaspers?"

Lily looked down at the coat, "Yeah, umm, I guess it is. I must have grabbed it one day. I wanted something to act as a second jacket and it was the first thing I found."

"Second jacket?"

"Oh yeah, it was like a winter hike. I just had some built-up energy and I had the weekend off since I had to pull overtime over Christmas."

"Oh." Emmett did not know how to respond to that. He knew they missed time, but hearing it like that seemed worse. "I thought you went over to Micheals?"

"I went over for Christmas Eve dinner but was only there for two hours. It just felt wrong. His brother is getting married which seems so weird. It was just too much. Micheal and I weren't on the best of terms either. It was easier for me just to leave and I did not want to crash Scott's and Laura's celebration either."

"You haven't been getting along?"

Lily started feeling panicked and changed the topic. "So Italy? How did that happen?"

"I don't really know if I should be the one to tell you everything."

"Please, Emmett. I just want to know what I'm walking into."

"I'll give you the short version. Basically, Alice got a vision of Bella jumping off a cliff..."

"She WHAT?!"

"Lily, I can't tell you anything if you keep interrupting. Anyway, Alice called Bella's house and someone mentioned a funeral and Edward lost his mind. He was out of there before anyone could even move to stop him. We didn't originally know where he was headed. Alice decided to go check on Bella who turned out to be perfectly fine. Apparently, she was with a whole group that was cliff diving. Alice then saw a vision of Edward exposing himself in Volterra. The two of them went to stop him before he wrote his own death sentence."

Lily was shocked. It seemed crazy but also believable. "So everyone is back together because two people almost killed themselves. I'm literally living in Romeo and Juliet."

Emmett flashed her a smile. Lily noticed it was more hesitant than normal. Lily could also notice that her voice was harsher than it usually was. Just enough difference to make itself known.

"Do you mind if I turn on some background noise?"

"Go ahead." Emmett leaned back into his seat and the soft music filled the cabin. Lily was out before the first song even ended. Her soft breath was barely audible as the car drove down the road. Emmett wasn't one to hold onto regrets. He also wasn't one to leave family behind helpless. When he was new to the Cullens, he thought often of his family. He hoped he had provided them with enough goods to survive. He did not like letting his thoughts fester. Rosalie was often the same way. It's what originally drew them to each other. It was easy and simple and uncomplicated. It was everything his past situation wasn't.