CHAPTER SIX
sᴀʏ ɪᴛ ʟɪᴋᴇ ɪᴛ ɪs

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The familiar hum of the engine buzzed up Rosalie's spine, merging with the sound of the rain pattering against the tinted windows.  The rain had not stopped for days, and in spite of that, Rose found herself wishing for sun, even the blaring, dangerous type. At least then they could all stay in the house, faking a hiking trip. She wished that for once it would not be a lie. She wished that Carlisle would take them wild camping somewhere they could shine as brightly as diamonds and not care about the people that stalked the woods. Maybe a bit of sun could clear Edward's head too.

Her long fingers wrapped around the steering wheel of her Mercedes, gripping it tightly. Emmett had taken the passenger seat and Alice sat in the back with Jasper, watching the raindrops snake across the glass, no doubt stuck in the images of the future as if she was watching a film. Those images held the face of Bella Swan, Rosalie knew. The human had been the subject of many thoughts and conversations the past week. Alice turned her head, meeting Rosalie's gaze in the mirror.

With ease and precision, Rosalie swung the car through the main entrance to Forks high school- a small, flat road with a meagre, brown sign. That morning, she was feeling petty. Emmett laughed as she stopped in Edward's space, hiding his face in an attempt not to encourage her actions. Jasper and Alice had already stepped from the car, arms wrapped around each other as they stalked toward the empty school.

Despite the bleak skies and heavy rain, Rosalie pulled her sunglasses down from where they rested on top of her hair. Her eyes were darker this morning- a deep, onyx, like slippery, spilt ink or a raven's feather. She looked like she was running from the bad end of a hangover, but Rosalie didn't care. She pulled her bag over her shoulder, hearing the distinct crackle of her leather jacket beneath the weight of her books.

The whole morning had passed by the time the rest of the Cullens saw Edward. As if sensing Rosalie's remaining anger, he'd avoided their table, earning speculative looks from the other juniors. For a moment, she felt smug, a smirk pulling at the edges of her dark lips. But then Bella Swan appeared by his side, staring at the tray that was piled with food.

With her perfect hearing, Rosalie could hear every part of their conversation. It was hard not to. She could practically feel the heat of Bella's burning cheeks as she flirted with disaster. Rosalie was perfectly still. Inhumanly still. Like a greek statue, as beautiful as the golden goddesses that were worshipped. Edward had tipped the scales of her patience. This was the peak of her anger, that raging feeling that had been building for weeks, fuel being added to the fire each evening until her pale skin sizzled.

"Easy, Rose. Calm down," Emmett said, trying hard not to roll his eyes.

"Don't tell me to be calm." Rosalie's eyes snapped to Alice and her unimpressed expression. "How could he? How could he do this to us?"

"Jessica's analysing everything I do. She'll break it down for you later."

Edward's words kept flooding in, filling her ears loud and clear as if he'd projected them toward her. She wondered if this was all a game, a trick to rub in the fact that she was not good enough for him while a human was. But they'd never offered the question of whether he'd been good enough for Rosalie.

"I know. You should tell Charlie though," Edward sighed.

"Why in the world would I do that?" The girl seemed appaled by the idea and Rosalie had to scoff, earning a glare from Alice.

"To give me some small incentive to bring you back."

"I think I'll take my chances."

"Will you shut up!" Rosalie said this aloud, watching as Edward didn't so much as flinch. Her thoughts were all numerous, loud and angry enough to confuse herself, never mind Edward. Though she supposed he would find a way to rifle through it all just to spite her.

"Why did you go to that Goat Rocks place last weekend... to hunt? Charlie said it wasn't a good place to hike, because of bears." There was a pause from Bella, and then she looked at him with wide eyes. "Bears?"

"Just tell her everything. It's not like we have rules."

Edward would hear whatever she hissed beneath her breath and he would do nothing to show that he cared. It was how these sorts of days worked. The bell rang in some distant part of the school- the cafeteria bell was always exactly three and a half minutes late. Rosalie pushed herself away from the table and left her uneaten apple as she stormed from the room, head held high.

Never had she been so thankful to have English, with none of her siblings sharing the class. She struggled to rein in the fast and vicious nature of her thoughts. Usually, she could mask them skillfully, keeping Edward from the very root of her feelings by not thinking of it at all. But Rosalie was overwhelmed. She was hungry and the scent of blood clouded her nose as the English room began to fill. That desire soon took over her anger, letting the animosity dissipate.

A sharp scent washed in amongst the sweetness of the blood. As Mrs Bainbridge began her discussions of Emma, preparing them for the upcoming assignments, Rosalie forced herself to concentrate on that saving smell. It was intense and metallic and as she lifted her head slightly, glancing to the girl who sat in front of her, she caught the drift of the scent again.

Violet had her hand in her hair, smoothing the tiny loose strands that curled at her forehead and cheeks, twirling the straight hair that fell from her ponytail to her shoulders, letting it swing as she let the bottom strands go. Rosalie swallowed as she watched her fingers move slowly, the scent of her washing backwards in a wave. The smell of her shampoo was fresh, reminding Rosalie of grass, though it probably shouldn't have. As she moved, it masked the hints of metal and oil that she'd caught before.

As the teacher stopped her lecture, giving them time for independent work, Rosalie was snapped from her concentration as Violet turned to her, pausing before she did so. The essence of blood trapped her again, almost making her feel faint. Violet paused again before she spoke, taking the time to consider her words.

"Your car is finally ready. You can come pick it up anytime tonight. I finish at ten. It's just me," she said, watching her inquisitively.

Rosalie's wide eyes blinked up at her, staring for a moment without quite meaning to.

"Okay," she said, breathing out a jumpy sigh.

She expected her to turn back then, to lump over her work, absentmindedly running a soft hand through her strawberry strands.

"You know if you needed a lift, you could have just asked," Violet said. She stilled after the words left her mouth.

"I'm fine. I have the Mercedes," Rosalie said briefly, her mind occupied with thoughts she couldn't quite read. "Thank you."

"Oh right," Violet said quickly, eyes widening. "It's no problem."

Double English always dragged, but it was made worse by the fact that she was starving. Rosalie was the first out of the door the second the bell rang. By the time she got to her car, she was ready to explode. She threw her elbows out methodically, pushing easily through the group of people that'd formed around it. The engine shot to life as she forced the car from the spot, skidding around the broken group. Her siblings could catch up.

Violet watched as the sleek, cherry-red Mercedes pulled away from the car park, swerving around students as if they were ducks on a road. With a car like that, Violet wasn't surprised that Rosalie drove as if she ruled the roads. Certainly, with a car like that, she would not have been asking for lifts to school. She sighed, closing her eyes. Why on earth had she said that to Rosalie Hale, with as much familiarity as if she was talking to Celia?

Violet turned as she felt an arm snake around her elbow. The weight of it felt comfortable beneath her. Celia smiled warmly, her face cast with a perfect gold as highlights under the school streetlamps. Her physics book was beneath her other arm, hidden by the neat folds of her cardigan. Violet leaned into her friend's side as they walked to her car silently.

"Okay, so what's up with you?" Celia asked when she finally planked herself into the driver's seat. "You look like you've been slapped."

"I wish I had been!" She exclaimed, throwing her head back against the rest. Celia raised her eyebrows in questioning. "Rosalie Hale."

That seemed to be answer enough for Celia. "We missed you at lunch," she said, shaking her head as she pulled out of the car park. "You should have seen it. Edward Cullen sat with Bella Swan today- Rosalie was so mad. Everyone could see it."

"Since when is everyone so involved with Cullen drama?"

"Since they're involving themselves with people other than their own family," Celia said. "It's practically unheard of. And even you're speaking to Rosalie. That never would have happened last year."

"Why not? It could have, had the opportunity presented itself."

"Sure," she said, giving Violet a look. "And Emmett Cullen could've asked me out. Be realistic."

The Cullen residence appeared as silent as a graveyard; it held a calmness that could only be achieved with death. The family sat silently in their separate rooms inside, taking up the large space with their individually loud thoughts. The turmoil ticked Rosalie over like a whirring machine.

As Edward pulled into the garage, she was outside before he could even make it up the driveway stairs. He stood like a plank, complete in submission, a show that he would not fight. She wondered if that would be true. If she took a fist to his favourite, pristine car, would he still refuse to move an inch of his body? The rest would take his side, she knew, so it must've all be for show. But either way, like everything else he'd done that day, it infuriated her.

"I'm so sorry, Rose," he said. She could never tell if Edward was being sincere. He could be begging for forgiveness for his actions while still being fake. Emmett trudged down the stairs, his eyes trained warily between the two. "I'm so sorry."

Was he truly foolish enough to think he'd get off so lightly as to have her approve of his apology? An apology would not stop him from ruining them, of exposing them for the monsters they'd been turned into. There was no sarcasm dripping from his voice as there sometimes would be. But Edward was not remorseful.

Bella's face stained her thoughts. The face of the girl who had choices. Beautiful, human freedom. Things that she was wasting. How could she put such a delicate thing as life in jeopardy? The things she would do to have those options, to make the right decisions for her. Rosalie would even take the face of the plain girl, just to have a slither of her humanity. But even the Devil wouldn't make a deal with his creations.

Rosalie tried to force these thoughts from her mind but she could not. Edward would hear every word, so loud in his own head that she was surprised he hadn't broken his calm stance to laugh. She pushed him away with one, strong sentence.

Are you happy now?

"No."

Her lips pulled over her teeth as her back straightened. "Why did you do it, then? Why would you tell her? Just because she asked?"

Edward didn't speak, so Emmett did. "I'm actually surprised you were able to. You rarely say the word, even with us. It's not your favourite."

For a moment, Edward's eyes flickered to hers. She didn't need to be a mind reader to know exactly what he was thinking. Their loathing of the word vampire was one of the few things they shared in common.

"You're not wrong. I doubt I would ever have been able to say it myself," he said slowly, watching for their reactions.

"Then how?" Rose spat.

"Don't overreact. It wasn't an intentional breach. It's probably something we should have foreseen."

"What are you talking about?"

"Bella is friends with the great-grandson of Ephraim Black."

Rosalie's face dropped. This was no longer just a fight between the two. It was no longer only Rosalie's problem. Carlisle appeared by the open doorway.

"Edward?"

"We should have known Carlisle. Of course, the elders would warn the next generation when we came back," he said, stepping past Rosalie. "And of course the next generation wouldn't credit any of it. It's just a silly story to them. The boy who answered Bella's questions didn't believe anything he was telling her."

"You're right. Naturally, it would play out that way. It's bad luck Ephraim's progeny had such a knowledgable audience."

Rosalie scoffed. The problems seemed to be building and building until they were tall enough to be docked over with one swift stagger. If Edward thought he could cement his blocks down, then he could puzzle over it, but Rosalie wouldn't let him put them all in danger because of it. This wasn't just risk of exposure of the nest anymore, this was extermination.

"Bad luck." She scoffed again. "You know just how to pick your draw, don't you, Edward?"

He sighed. "This is my fault."

Enough with the rollover routine. Stop playing so penitent.

"I'm not playing. I know I'm to blame for all this. I've made an enormous mess of all this."

Her head tilted, seeing the total serenity that took his stance. "Alice told you I was planning on burning your car."

"She did. But I deserve that. If it makes you feel better, have it," he said slowly, softness to his voice. "It's just a toy, Rose."

Rosalie wanted to scream out, to hit something, to have no consequences. She was sick of his hollow generosity. There was once, not long ago, when he would have fought like a tiger to keep her from touching his precious cars, and yet here he was taking the high ground. Rosalie wanted to scream, wanted to riot. But she kept quiet, bringing her buzz of thoughts to a standstill.

"You've changed," was all she said.

"I know."

She gave him one last withering look before she set off into the house again, leaving them behind to talk about their newest problem of many. She stalked toward her room, hands clenched at her side, but as she stopped in the middle, staring out at the emptiness of her bedroom, she made her feet move past the useless bed and stacks DVDs, toward the window. It was already wedged open, letting in a light, warm breeze that ruffled with the pages of her incomplete essays on the desk.

She would let the anger out with a hunt. It sickened her that it was such an animalistic solution- to prey on another living thing just because of her own fury. But Rose's thoughts drifted to her BMW which was waiting for her in the little garage at the edge of Forks. She yearned for it like a mother a child. But she'd be damned if she would go to the human while hungry and vexed.

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I welcome Edward slander, just so you know!
Also, I don't know if this is relevant, but I use a bit of dialogue from the actual books so if you'd like to check out the page to see the change in characterisation etc then it's 298 of Midnight sun for the argument scene x