𝙝𝙞𝙜𝙝 𝙝𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨. emmett cullen

forty three

The drive to the airport felt like a race against time. Jasper sped down the road as we headed to Seattle. Neither of us had any luggage so as soon as we got to the airport, he bought our tickets and we boarded the first plane to wherever we were headed. "It's faster than running." That was the explanation Jasper gave me. I only gave him a nod as a reply. My nerves were going haywire. Every scenario that I had imagined was about to come true. I was going to see Emmett again. But I knew that whatever I had planned to say to him, went going to be said. Every speech I had prepared mentally was never going to escape my mouth.

My focus shifted from my thoughts as Jasper pulled out his phone from his pocket. He opened a text message and read it quietly to himself before meeting my curious gaze. "They have Edward. Bella got there just in time." I nodded and smiled slightly at him. One of his brothers had just been saved.

"Jasper, what's happening with Emmett?" I murmured.

He looked conflicted as he stared at me. He released a sigh before he looked at me and opened his mouth. "His situation is different than Edward's. Edward believed your sister to be dead and couldn't live without her. Emmett feels the same way but his feelings go much deeper than that. Emmett truly believes that even if he were to return, you wouldn't be by his side. Your sister was more than willing to forgive and forget, but he knows you, Clary, you're much stronger emotionally than Bella is." He turned his gaze back to the seat in front of him before continuing. "Has Emmett ever spoken of his past to you?"

"He only told me how he was turned, he never really said much else." I shrugged. "I figured it was a sensitive subject and I didn't want to push."

"That's how you and your sister are different." The corners of Jasper's lips turned upwards. "You don't pester."

"That has always been Bella's one fatal flaw." I joked.

"Yes, I see that now." He chuckled. "Well, Emmett's past is a sensitive subject, one he manages to avoid discussing. Before he became a Cullen and was bitten, he went by Emmett McCarty. He lived in a small town somewhere near New York, he never really was specific about where he lived. Anyways, he lived a quiet life with his parents and sister. His younger sister Amelia was his whole world and he did everything he could to be the perfect brother for her.

"Well when she was eight years old, she was diagnosed with cancer and they weren't able to save her. Emmett took her death the hardest but it took a toll on his parents. They divorced and Emmett chose to stay with his father, that's who he was closest to. After the divorce, his father became obsessed with hunting. Emmett claimed it was a stress reliever for him. And as you know it was a bear that nearly killed Emmett, well he came across that bear on a hunting trip with his dad. Emmett ventured farther than he should have and he nearly lost his life that day.

"After Carlisle turned him, Emmett ran away and spied on his parents. He told us that his father hunted down the bear obsessively and it saddened him. Emmett saved his father more than once before the bear was eventually killed. Emmett said his father and mother eventually did get back together and they used the loss of both of their children as a way to communicate at first. He left them alone soon after that and he's been with our family ever since." Jasper's amber-colored eyes met my hazel ones and he smiled fondly. "Emmett has always wanted a love like theirs. They separated but they eventually found their way back to each other. He has that with you, Clary. He loves you more than he ever imagined. Only you have the power to make him crumble and do dangerous things. And what he is about to do, is because he loves you."

"What is he about to do?" I asked quietly.

"He's about to join the Volturi."

"But Edward-" I started but Jasper cut me off.

"Asked to die but they couldn't grant him his request. Emmett thinks that you are better off without him and fears that you no longer love him."

"But I do." I blurted out. "I really shouldn't but I do." Jasper smiled fully and beamed at me. I closed my mouth as soon as the words left my mouth.

"That's all Emmett needs to hear," Jasper explained.

"But I can't tell him!" I sighed. "Telling him will only give him the chance to hurt me as he did before. I can't go through that again Jasper, I just can't." I shook my head and looked out the window beside me.

"Emmett won't leave you like that again. He didn't want to leave you the first time but he didn't have a choice. We made that choice for him. We convinced him that it was safer for you that way. Which it wasn't since you hang out with werewolves." He rolled his eyes.

"That's not fair, I've been around them since I was a kid. My involvement with them wasn't sudden like Bella's was." I defended myself. "But Jasper you don't understand. I've never been afraid to love but I am now."

"You think I don't understand, but I do." He released a breath he didn't need. "Before I met Alice, I believed I was a monster who was incapable of love. I had loved someone before but my love wasn't reciprocated like I beloved it to be. But then Alice came along and she proved to me just how loved I was. She showed me things I couldn't even imagine and now I'm thankful every day for the second chance that I was given."

"You and Alice are cute together." I gushed.

"Thank you." He smiled his charming smile at me. "But you see Clary, people are worthy of second chances but only you can decide when they get one."

"Be careful Jasper. Being so wise might make people guess your real age." I teased him. He chuckled and disregarded my joke. I knew he was waiting for me to tell him my response but I honestly didn't have one for him. He wanted me to give Emmett another chance but I wasn't ready to. I loved him, I was willing to admit that, but sometimes it's the people you love that hurt you the most. And Emmett had hurt me beyond relief when he left. I avoided Jasper's glare and looked out the window. As I stared out at the clouds I pondered my question. Was I ready to give Emmett his second chance?

--

"Before we land there are few things you should know about the Volturi and their holy city." Jasper grasped my attention and held it as he stared ahead. "The Volturi have three leaders: Aro, Marcus, and Caius. They were the three original members but two females joined them over time and they made up the Volturi family. They each are well over three thousand years old but everyone believes that it's Aro and Marcus' gifts that help them live so peacefully. But that's just the family, altogether there are fourteen members. Nine members of the guard were the last I knew but their numbers constantly change. Each member has a gift, a gift the Volturi exploits and uses at their disposal however they like.

"No one is stupid to mess with their city out of fear of what will become of them if they do. Of course, many have broken the rules and found out just how ruthless they can be." Jasper finished.

"There are rules?" I asked.

"Yes, they're simply the most common mistakes our kind tends to make. You don't reveal yourself to humans, don't terrorize another coven's territory. Simple. Edward tried to break the first rule but he was saved by your sister before he could be killed. Anyway, the three never leave their city and they never have to. The guards do their dirty work. And Emmett plans on becoming a part of their guard."

"What happens if we can't save him in time?" I wanted to cry as every worst scenario came to mind.

"Then I will do my best to get you back to your family unharmed. You're my sister Clary, I won't let anything happen to you." He promised and I wanted to cry at how sincere he was. He looked like he wanted to say more but his phone vibrated and he checked it hastily. He glared at the screen before turning to me. "The Volturi made their decision." I inhaled sharply and waited for the rest of the message. "He has to prove himself to join."

"What does that mean?"

"He has to kill a human."