The day following the party, I introduced my mom, Phil, and Bella to Emmett. They already knew AJ, but they were surprised by the sudden presence of another teenager in the house.

"So Emmett, why are you here?" Phil asked as we were all eating brunch together.

"I trust Lottie's instincts and when she felt like the party was a bad idea, I figured I'd drive down and surprise her so she didn't feel unsafe at the party," Emmett said.

"She was perfectly fine," Bella said, obviously upset about his presence.

"Josh was there," I said. "He tried to force himself onto me."

"He wouldn't have done anything," she said.

"Bella, I'm not going to fight with you about this. Okay? I'm glad Emmett and AJ were here though."

"Are you all flying back together tomorrow then?" My mother asked.

"I'm actually going to ride back with them this afternoon. I got a refund for my ticket so I might as well just go with them," I said.

"And how does Charlie feel about you being there a day earlier than expected?" My mom asked. Her bitterness with my father was obvious.

"He is absolutely okay with it. I called and talked to him this morning to check in and he said he'll be happy to have me."

"Whatever, I'm going back to bed," Bella snapped, storming off to her room. She was obviously hungover and not in the mood to be dealing with us right now.

"Bye love you," I yelled but she didn't answer.

When we finished eating, Emmett and I headed back to my room to pack my bag up.

As soon as I shut the door, his arms were around me, pulling me into his chest.

"I'm sorry she's like that love," he said softly.

"It's okay Em," I mumbled as I returned his hug. "I'm going to tell her everything when I say goodbye."

"Want to be alone?" He asked.

"When I tell her, yeah," I said. He nodded a little before releasing me and helping me gather my stuff. It only took a few minutes before he had my closed bag in his hand. I interlaced our hands and we headed out to the living area where AJ was catching up with my mom and Phil.

"I'm going to go get the car ready. It was nice to meet you though," Emmett said.

"Thank you for protecting Lottie," my mom said. Emmett nodded awkwardly before heading out to his Jeep.

"I'm gonna go say goodbye to Bella," I said. I headed down the hallway to her room. I pushed the door open a little before walking in because she was in bed.

"Hey Bells, I'm getting ready to leave but there's something I wanted to talk to you about first," I said.

"What's up?" She asked.

"The fights were always to defend you. Someone would run their mouth and I'd start swinging. I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't-."

"Yeah you shouldn't have but you did. Just get the fuck out," she said.

"Bye Bella. I love you," I said.

"Whatever," she said. I closed the door and returned to where my mom was waiting with Phil.

"We heard everything," my mom said.

"Why didn't you tell us that it was to defend Bella?" Phil asked.

"It was just easier to let you believe that I was your only problem child and that Bella was at least safe and not being bullied," I said.

"We love you sweetheart," my mom said as they both pulled me into a hug.

"I love you too," I said.

When we separated, Phil spoke up, "Go there's two really great guys waiting for you."

"Thank you both. I'll see ya soon," I said, walking out the front door.