It's Been a Lifetime Waiting

The end of September drew quickly, meaning in a few weeks Veronica would be able to get the cast off her leg. She couldn’t wait, although she knew she would miss the company of the Cullens. She had found herself growing close to Alice and Lucas especially, and to Esme. Not that she didn’t get along with the others, but Rosalie was always sneering at her, Bella was a bit boring, Edward always seemed to know what she was thinking, Jasper went for a lot of walks in the forest and Carlisle was always at work. And Emmett...he barely appeared around her, let alone acknowledged her. Veronica found Emmett the most frustrating, because she wanted to get to know him. She knew he shared her love for sports, if nothing else. But if he wasn’t going to put the effort in, neither was she.

Today was a Thursday, and it was really sunny. But for some reason, all the Cullens were home, including Carlisle. She knew it was Carlisle’s day off, but she didn’t have a clue why the others were skipping school. Today, Carlisle had a surprise for Veronica.

“Can I come in?” Carlisle asked, pausing at Veronica’s open door

Veronica turned her head and nodded, before returning to looking through her camera out of the window. Lucas had helped her open the heavy glass pane earlier that morning, and Veronica had spent most of the day taking photos of birds that flew by. Right now she was focussing on a White-crowned sparrow sitting on a branch of the tree outside her window, a bird that she hadn’t seen in a long time. Carlisle smiled at the concentration on the human girl’s face, waiting for her to snap an almost-silent stream of pictures and sit up away from her camera to clear his throat.

“Sorry, that was a white-crowned sparrow. I haven’t seen one since I was in Ottawa, Ontario. I got a bit excited,” Veronica confessed, blushing slightly as she showed Carlisle her favourite picture

Carlisle couldn’t deny that she had talent.

“Don’t apologise, they’re a beautiful species,” Carlisle chuckled

Veronica smiled and swung her good leg back into the room, and shut the window, balancing against the wall.

“I have a surprise for you,” Carlisle announced

Veronica couldn’t help but grin at the sight of a set of crutches.

“Thank you!” Veronica gushed

“It’s not a problem. Your body is getting stronger now that the transfused blood has been replaced by your own again, and I thought you’d be ready for them. Want to give them a test run?” Carlisle asked warmly

“Hell yes!” Veronica grinned

Carlisle laughed and helped the tall girl into the crutches. It took her a few tries to get the motions right, but Veronica quickly learnt how to use them.

“Thank you, seriously,” Veronica said with a sincere smile

Carlisle just smiled back. He understood that Veronica didn’t accept help often, from having to be independent so young, so he was ecstatic that she’d thanked him so openly.

“I think everyone’s waiting downstairs for you to show them,” Carlisle announced

Veronica just nodded and exited the room, Carlisle right behind her. But she crashed into someone. Emmett.

“Woah,” Veronica laughed, steadying herself

Emmett just walked past her, ignoring her. Veronica narrowed her eyes, angry that he hadn’t even apologised.

“Jeez, jerk-off,” she grumbled under her breath

Carlisle frowned at her words and Emmett’s actions, especially when Emmett slid down the banister and ran out the front door. Veronica tried not to let his actions anger her or hurt her, and walked herself over to the stairs, slowly walking down step-by-step. The Cullens cheered when she reached the bottom all by herself, making Veronica blush slightly but smile all the same.

“I’m so proud of you!” Alice said excitedly

“Thanks,” Veronica laughed

“I’m going to get a camera! This is an important moment!” Esme said suddenly

Veronica looked up at Lucas, confused. He leant down towards her ear to explain.

“Esme likes mothering people. Because we’re not home much she gets lonely. It’s just in her nature to be affectionate, so just let her. It'll razz her berries,” he whispered, although everyone else could hear

Veronica smiled weakly and nodded. If only her own mother had been the same. Esme ran back, clutching a small polaroid camera, ushering everyone to gather in a group, Veronica at the front.

“Say cheese!” Esme said excitedly

Veronica chuckled and smiled at the woman, waiting till the flash had gone to blink.

“If only Emmett was in it,” Esme sighed

Veronica rolled her eyes slightly. If Emmett was going to act like a douchebag every time they were in the same room, then she was glad he wasn’t in it. Edward frowned at Alice, silently indicating that Veronica was less than happy with their absent brother.

“Well I’m going to start on lunch!” Esme announced

“I’ll help,” Carlisle smiled

The two of them left the Cullen kids and Veronica standing at the bottom of the stairs.

“Come on, let’s watch a film,” Alice smiled

“Sure,” Veronica nodded

“I’m going to find Emmett. At least he’s got the right idea in being away from the cripple,” Rosalie sneered

“Jeez, blondie, what’s your problem?” Veronica snickered

“You,” Rosalie spat

“What do smart blondes and UFO’s have in common? You hear about them, but you never see them,” Veronica said innocently

“Listen you stupid bitch, just hurry the fuck up and heal already, yeah? Then you can leave our family alone and quit being a parasite. We were better off before you turned up,” Rosalie said angrily

“Rose, that was uncalled for,” Lucas frowned

“Apologise,” Edward said shortly

“As if,” Rosalie scoffed, storming out of the room

Veronica chewed on her bottom lip. As much as she didn’t want to believe it, she knew that Rosalie’s words held some truth. The Cullens probably were happily living their lives without having to care for her every need. And they would be better off without her when she left.

Edward shook his head, reading her thoughts.

“Don’t listen to a word that Rosalie says. She’s just jealous that she’s not the centre of attention,” Edward insisted

“She’s right about me being a parasite though,” Veronica sighed

“No, she’s not. We’re doing this because we want to,” Jasper said warmly

“You’re like a sister to us, Roni,” Alice smiled

“You 5 maybe, not Rosalie or Emmett,” Veronica grumbled, rolling her eyes

“Emmett’s going through some problems at the moment, he’s not normally like this,” Bella said softly

“Right,” Veronica snorted, not believing her at all

Veronica thought there was no way someone could act as much as a jerk as Emmett and not be like that normally. Again Edward shook his head, reading her thoughts. But he didn’t say anything. No, he was going to speak to his brother and sort things out.

*

Later that night, when Veronica was asleep, Edward knocked on Emmett’s bedroom door. No answer. Slowly he opened the door and entered the room, only to see it empty. And that the window was open. With a frown, Edward walked over to the window and looked out, smirking at the sight of Emmett sitting in the tree outside Veronica’s window, just watching her sleep.

“Real smooth, Em,” Edward chuckled

Emmett quickly turned his head to face his brother, scowling.

“What the hell do you want?” Emmett grumbled, leaping back to the open window

Edward stepped backwards, letting Emmett back into his bedroom.

“You need to sort yourself out. Roni thinks you’re a jerk, and the more you act like one the more you’re going to push her away,” Edward said firmly

“So?” Emmett shrugged

“I know you want her, Emmett,” Edward said smugly, tapping the side of his head

“No, I want to drain her blood. There’s a difference. I’m not like you, Ed, I don’t have your control and you know it,” Emmett said angrily

“You think it was easy for me around Bella? I tell you now, it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done! In all my 111 years! But the more time I spent with her, the easier it became, because I got used to her scent. I wanted to protect her, not kill her,” Edward said softly

“I don’t know if I can do that. I don’t understand what’s happening to me. No-one’s ever smelt this way,” Emmett sighed

“I know. But you’ve got to have faith in yourself. At least give Roni a chance. She’s a great girl. She even cracked a brilliant blonde joke against Rose today. But as soon as her leg’s healed, she wants to leave,” Edward confessed

“What? No! She can’t!” Emmett blurted, unable to stop himself

“Then give her a reason to stay,” Edward smirked

It was then that Edward knew he’d won.

“See you tomorrow,” Edward said softly

He left Emmett sitting silently on his bed, head in hands. He didn’t know how he was going to fix this. But he knew there was no way in hell he was going to let Veronica leave.

*

Veronica stirred from her sleep the next morning at the sound of her bedroom door being opened and closed. Lifting her head and opening her eyes, Veronica was surprised to see Emmett standing next to her, hands in his pockets.

“Can I help you?” Veronica asked bluntly, looking at the burly boy

“I wanted to apologise for the way I’ve been acting for the past few weeks,” Emmett said softly

Veronica’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, but she didn’t interrupt, giving Emmett the confidence to carry on.

“I know I’ve been acting like a real jerk, and I’m sorry. I’ve had a lot of problems in the last 4 years and I know I shouldn’t have taken them out on you,” Emmett apologised

“What problems?” Veronica asked shortly

“You don’t beat around the bush, do you?” Emmett chuckled

“Nope,” Veronica shrugged

“Alright, well, here goes. I dated Rosalie for a long time, before Lucas showed up 4 years ago. Rosalie ditched me straight away and I’ve been hurting ever since. I don’t deal with meeting new people very well,” Emmett sighed

He hated to lie, but he knew he couldn’t tell her the full truth. At least, not yet.

“You used to date the queen bitch?” Veronica asked, surprised

Emmett just nodded sadly.

“Well I don’t know how you did it, because she’s an ass. But I kinda get where you’re coming from. My parents were so cold and harsh towards me that I stopped accepting people into my life, convinced that everyone was going to turn out like them,” Veronica explained

She didn’t know why she could open up to Emmett so easily, even though he’d been so cold towards for her entire stay. But she couldn’t help herself. Something about him made her feel relaxed.

“I’m sorry for your parents,” Emmett said honestly

“I’m sorry for Rosalie,” Veronica snorted

Emmett laughed, a deep booming laugh, making Veronica smile. She liked the sound of it.

“So am I forgiven?” Emmett asked hopefully

“It’s a start. You’ve got some work to do yet,” Veronica said playfully

“I think I can deal with that,” Emmett smirked