Chapter 14 - The Gambler
Emmett's POV
We had
been looking for Bella for what seemed like hours. Rose had filled me in with
how much Bella had been drinking. I knew she was hurting but I never thought
she would turn to the bottle again. I told Rose to go to Bella's room and
office and dispose of all the liquor.
I paced by
the stables. Where could she be? Then it hit me. Of course, she missed
him, she loves him, she would go to the one place she felt close to him. I ran
to the bunk house, her being there alone scared me.
I opened
the door and looked around, finally finding her on the floor in the living
room, passed out with an empty bottle of Jack next to her.
"Oh,
Bella, this has to stop," I whispered as I scooped her into my arms and
took her back to the main house.
My mind
was in overdrive. I was surely going to make Edward and Charlie pay for what
they have done to her.
After I
had her safely in her bed, I went to find Rose. I quickly found her in the
kitchen talking to Sue.
"Rose."
"Did
you find her?"
"Yes,
in the bunk house. Passed out with an empty bottle."
Sue let
out a gasp. "I can't let him do this to her anymore," she half-
yelled and cried. She stomped out of the room.
Rose and I
just looked at each other dumbfounded.
"What
was that about?' I asked Rose.
"Things
aren't great between her and Charlie, I think she may know something about him.
When I asked her if she had seen Bella, I noticed that she was crying. I asked
her what was wrong and she told me Charlie was a lying, controlling, deceitful
bastard and that she was going to do something about it. That's all she told me
before you came in."
"Holy
shit, I need to talk to her before dear old dad gets back. Rose, I need you to
stay with Bella. I need to go to my office and call Jasper. This stops tonight.
She needs him."
Rose
walked toward me and pulled me into a hug. "You're such a wonderful man.
I'm so fortunate that you're my husband. I love you," she said.
"Did
you remove the liquor from her room and office?"
"Yes,
and I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I was hoping she would snap out of
it."
I put my
hand under her chin and tilted her beautiful face so I could look in her eyes.
"Rose, you did nothing wrong. I know you love Bella. We are all just
trying to do what we think is best. What's best for her is to be with the man
she loves. I'm going to make that happen."
She leaned
in and placed her lips against mine. "Go, call Jasper. Make this nightmare
for her end."
I kissed
the top of her head and whispered, "Thank you. I don't know what I would
do without you."
I was
sitting in my office when the song The Gambler came on the radio. The
words hit home with a whole new meaning for me at that moment.
I laughed
as I was comparing a song about gambling to Bella's current situation. She was
never a good poker player. She was way too honest to bluff. She always folded
too early, even when she may have had a shot at winning. When was she going to
take a chance and hold'em and stand strong? Was it in the cards for my sister
to finally be happy? I believed that she could be with Jasper, I just had to
convince her not to fold'em.
In her
crazy mind, she sent Jasper away to protect him and keep her from hurting him.
She thinks she doesn't deserve happiness and love. She should've told Charlie
to fuck off; however, I'm very proud of how she handled Edward.
Well, all
this fucking bullshit stops now. I reached in my pocket, pulled out my cell,
and scrolled down to Jasper’s name.
"Emmett?"
he answered, his voice laced with pain.
"Hey
Jasper, how are you?"
"Going
insane. How is she?" His voice broke.
"She
is spiraling downhill fast. I found her tonight passed out from drinking in the
bunk house."
"No,
I can't take this." I could tell he was close to losing it. I could hear
him take a deep breath. "That's it, I'm coming back and making her talk to
me," he said with determination in his voice.
"That's
not a good idea. I want her out of here. She needs to be with you but not here
at the moment. I want to put her on a plane to Texas, if it's okay with
you."
"Yes.
When?" The excitement in his voice made me smile.
"Look,
she's pretty bad right now. I want to have a few days so she can recover from
all the drinking. I think Charlie is up to something and I need to figure out
what. Can you guys stay in Texas for a week before coming back? I'll arrange a
place near you to stay."
"I
would love a week in Texas with her. My family has a small house where we
vacation. I could take her there."
"Perfect.
I'll call you on Sunday with her flight information. Oh, and Jasper, besides
Rose, Bella is the most important thing to me. Don't make me regret this."
"Emmett,
I know we didn't know each other long before all hell broke loose, but I love
her."
"I
know you do. I could see it in your eyes that night, and she is in love with
you, too."
He let out
a breath. "Thank you, Emmett, for everything."
"Hang
in there dude. I'll be in touch."
I pressed
end and sank into my chair. Tomorrow morning, I needed to have a heart to heart
with my sister. She needed to know that she deserves happiness. I would
hopefully have her on a plane to Jasper Monday morning.
I let out
a loud frustrated sigh. I needed to figure out what Charlie was up to. I needed
to go find Sue.
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