Exonerated: A Perdition Outtake Story Chapter 4

From the wedding forward, Bree and I were inseparable. She came with me to my Sundays with Mallie, she had dinner at my parents’ house with me, and she grew close to Bella. When Bella was back in college, Bree often babysat Mallie. That girl was ‘fought over’ constantly; the Clearwaters wanted her, my parents and Alice and Jasper wanted her, even Angela and Ben offered to watch her. Let’s just say Edward and Bella never had a hard time finding a sitter.

Two years after Bella married my brother, I married Bree Weber. She was the breath of fresh air I had been waiting for, a non-judgemental, loving and caring woman. She encouraged me to finish my school credits and get hired at the high school to teach math like I’d always dreamed. And I was damn good at it, too. I was finally fulfilled in my life.

“Emmett!” my wife called from the living room.

“Yeah, babe!”

She came into the kitchen, her cheeks pink and her eyes bright. “Do you think Mallie will mind if we bring another child along on Sundays?”

“Are you serious? That kid loves everybody. She should run for mayor when she grows up.” I stared at the newspaper in front of me for another whole minute before what she said sunk in.

Then I was out of my chair in a flash, wrapping Bree’s slender body up in my embrace. I backed up a little, looking from her eyes down to her stomach. My hands could more than span her belly, and I did so reverently now. “Really? Are you telling me you’re pregnant, love?”

She hiccuped a laugh, and I straightened to hug her again. “Yes. It’s true. Can you believe it?”

“Oh, I’m going to spoil the fuck out of you,” I promised.

“You already do,” she giggled.

Bree’s dark eyes shined at me. Bella had just announced that she was pregnant, so now we would have children the same age.

We named our son Ethan, for Bree’s father. Edward and Bella named their son Mack, for me. My middle name, McCarty, had been passed down from one of Mom’s relatives. The four of us were ecstatic to be expanding our families.

Mallie, not so much.

“I’m changing my name to Sarah, because Malone is just stupid! And I can’t believe you two are as bad as Mom and Dad with all the goo-goo stuff. Jeez, they’re just babies. You’re not the first to ever have any.”

I stared at the beautiful girl that still didn't know I was her dad. At 7, she was a feisty handful. “Mal, don't be that way. We all love you just as much as ever. You have plenty of family members fighting to spend time with you. Don't pout.”

“Ugh. Even Aunt Alice is going to have a baby now. What is with all of you pro-crating?”

“Um, I think you mean procreating, and where on earth did you hear that term?” Bree stepped in to save me from losing my mind with my daughter.

Mallie looked down, scuffing the toe of her shoe across the floor. “School,” she mumbled. Ethan could be heard fussing as he woke up from his nap. Mallie’s head snapped up, looking in the direction of the baby monitor.

“Honey, do you want to help me get him?” Bree asked gently. We both watched as the war of emotions played over Malone’s face.

Finally, she nodded. “He likes it when I sing to him,” she grudgingly admitted.

Crisis averted, for now.

We were waiting for her to be a little older before telling her who her parents truly were, mostly because of Rose’s history. I wasn’t looking forward to telling her that her mother was an actual crack whore. Fun times, right?

At nine, Malone was almost as smart as I was as an adult. She was in advanced classes at school, and the teachers were talking about her skipping a grade. I wasn't sure that was best for her, because she was still a little immature. When Bella told us they were expecting again, I finally insisted on telling Malone that she’s adopted.

So here we sit, me fidgeting like a crazy person. Mom agreed to take Ethan and Mack for the day so Bree and I could get together with Edward and Bella to talk to Mal.

“Mallie, we need to have a serious talk,” Edward starts.

“I already know about the new baby,” she says, glancing at Bella.

Bella smiles. “Yes, sweetheart. That’s not it, though.”

Mal looks from me to Bree, over to Edward and Bella. “Oh, well, if Aunt Bree isn't pregnant, then you’re finally going to tell me I’m adopted?”

I’m pretty sure I’ve never heard us quite that silent before. I finally clear my throat. “What- what makes you say that?” I hedge.

“Well, for starters, I look nothing like Mom or Dad. Mack is the spitting image of Dad, er, Edward. And Ethan looks exactly like you, Uncle Emmett.” She pauses for a second, while the rest of us sit there, stunned. “And Ethan looks just like he’s my brother,” she continues.

“So, you wouldn't be surprised if I told you who your parents are?” I squeak. I clear my throat again.

“I mean, it’s been obvious to me for a little while that you’re my dad,” she admits to me softly.

Bree wraps her arm around my shoulder as tears leak from the corners of my eyes. Malone is so smart, and I don’t even know where she gets it from.

Edward speaks up. “I’ve taken care of you since you were born. I don't guess you remember Bella coming into our lives when you were four?”

“I know I was at your wedding, I’ve seen the pictures. I thought at first that you just got married later, after you had me.”

“Your dad and I- Edward and I,” Bella corrects herself. “We dated in high school, and I left for a few years. When I moved back, we got together again, and you and I grew very close. I married your dad, and I adopted you.”

“That’s good. Because I’ve always loved you as my mom and dad,” Malone states matter-of-factly.

“I couldn't care for you when you were born, and your mom…” I trail off, looking around the room desperately for the right words.

“Your birth mom was sick, and she had to go away. But I’m sure she loved you, honey. Edward worked very hard to be a great dad, and you’ve always been loved,” Bree says, saving us all. “Edward and Bella are your mom and dad, in every way that counts. Emmett is your Uncle Emmett, legally, but he’s also your biological dad.”

Mallie nods her head for a second before coming over to me. I stare into her bright blue eyes until she places her delicate hands on my cheeks. “I have felt something from you for as long as I can remember. I know you love me, but Uncles just do. I knew it was more than that, and then I started to notice that I look just like you. I have your eyes, your nose, your mouth, and your hair. I can see that you’re my dad, and I love you. But I get to still live with Mom and Dad, right?”

I have to bite back a sob, nodding my head. I don’t want to disrupt what they have. “Yes, baby girl,” I whisper.

“Are you having a boy or a girl?” she suddenly asks Bella.

Bella laughs, and I spot tears on her cheeks, too. “It’s a girl,” she answers.

“Cool. Can we name her Marie? That’s your middle name, right, Mom? Malone, Mack, and Marie. The Three Musketeers.” She beams.

“I think we can swing that,” Edward tells her.

And everything is back to normal. Thank God.

Exonerated: A Perdition Outtake Story Chapter 3

I wanted to serve my time in peace because I simply felt that nothing would change the outcome, and it seemed too much to ask to make my family go through the heartache of appeals. I knew that I could take care of myself in that place, and I was right.

That’s not to say I ever enjoyed being incarcerated. I didn’t make friends, but I did make alliances. I established myself as someone not to be fucked with the very first time someone tried to pick a fight with me. I knocked him out flat and earned myself a three day stint in solitary, but that was fine by me, too. Nobody ever came up to me again looking to make me their bitch.

Edward visited me the most. I think after Charlie told everyone that it was Bella that testified because she was in love with me, he needed confirmation from me that nothing had happened, but he wouldn’t say it outright. I laughed so hard that he blushed, and then I informed him that I’d always seen little B as a sister. Other than that, I’d tried very hard to talk him out of his anger. He had a hard time seeing the big picture like I could, couldn't understand that there was more going on than what he saw right in front of him. In the long run, I dropped the subject. He had my daughter to worry about, and there were times he struggled with being a single dad.

I never let him bring Malone to the jail. It felt like she would forever be tainted if he did. He was awesome enough to bring pictures and to write down her firsts and her personality quirks. It was a strange feeling to miss a person I’d never met.

Stranger still to be told four years in that I was being released. To learn that Bella had worked to get me exonerated and struggled with taking on those responsible for this whole mess. My parents picked me up, looking for all the world like someone had died.

I’m ashamed to admit that I broke several things in my parents’ house when they told me Edward died in a fire. I scared my daughter; hell, I scared my parents. Alice and her little hands on my arm are what interrupted my tantrum. I took my rage and sorrow and plowed it into the arson investigation, insisting that everyone look again, and again, before I would accept his death.

When it seemed that each avenue had been explored, I shifted my focus, finally, to my daughter. She didn't know me, and I introduced myself as her Uncle Emmett that had been away.

“Uncle Emmett, Bella is my friend,” she would say, pronouncing it ‘Bewwa’. I watched them have intense conversations on the couch at Sue Clearwater’s house. Bella had been in a self-induced coma, it seemed, and watching her and Mallie warmed the cracks in my heart. I had a sister and a niece in the two of them, and I was struggling with the knowledge that I should be responsible for Mallie’s well-being.

Alice and Jasper shared with me that they planned to marry when she was finished with college, which I was fine with. I’d seen enough proof that he was nothing like his twin, and I knew they’d be happy. Despite Alice’s best efforts, she couldn’t bring Bella out of the shell she’d created when we learned that Edward had died. I was worried about her, immensely so. I’d named myself her protector by the time the memorial service came around.

I’ll never forget it; I doubt any of us would. Bella was falling apart at the seams, clinging to my arm, and I was just trying to hold her together. I heard somebody, but I was focused on her, and then she screamed my brother’s name so loud my heart stopped beating.

He looked like shit. White as a sheet with flushed cheeks, he passed out almost as soon as he saw Bella. Dad and I jumped up to catch him, and I could only think that I wanted to wring the necks of all the law enforcement officials that had sworn to us he was reduced to a pile of ashes left in his house.

The craziness that surrounded his return was worth every second. Bella was herself again, only more tired, Mom and Dad talked nonstop about how the family was complete again, and Alice chirped over and over about how happy she was. For a couple of days, I was terrified that I’d be thrown into the role of father to Mallie, and I know that’s selfish, but I just didn't have a fucking clue. Luckily, Edward was awake and willing to share her time with me so I could get to know her at a reasonable pace.

I set a goal of spending every Sunday with Malone, which had the bonus of giving Edward and Bella time to be alone as a new couple. At first they simply dropped her off at Mom and Dad’s, because I was living there, after all, and I was afraid to do something stupid and break her. My parents had a room for her, anyway.

“Uncle Emmett, watch me!” She scribbled like a madwoman on her pony coloring book. That kid loved to color.

“I see, wow. Purple,” I commented.

“Purpa!” she cheered.

I played dolls with her, and I was treated to more than one tea party. I wore tiaras and helped her put on plastic high heels and called her a princess. I learned how to help her in the bathroom, though the first time I thought I would die of embarrassment. She didn't want Grandma’s help, though, she wanted me.

It wasn’t hard to love that girl.

I brushed her tangled hair, only to learn that I was doing it wrong when her riot of curls turned into a big fuzzy ball that I had to stuff under a sun hat.

Yeah, I know what a sun hat is. Now.

“Uncle Emmett, watch me!” was the refrain all day long on Sundays. I took her to the playground, and the splash pad, and the diner. I took her to the store and bought her tiny toys she’d lose within a few hours, but that little grin killed me.

I watched her walk down the aisle for my brother's wedding, tossing her flower petals in the air and squealing as they floated down around her. I stood up for my brother as he married the best thing to ever happen to him, and I loved watching them commit to each other for life.

I don't know if it's a cliché or not, but I was moping at the thought of being single at a wedding. I saw people I knew, most of them happily married, and I was feeling depressed. Angela had been Bella’s matron of honor, and she and Ben danced, holding each other close and giving me a pang of jealousy.

“Is this seat taken?” I heard to my right.

I looked up into a pair of large, dark eyes and figuratively fell off my chair. The woman had a round face with high cheekbones and full lips, shiny black hair pulled back in what I thought might be some sort of bun, and a slender figure.

“No, go ahead,” I wheezed, my tie suddenly choking me.

“These things always bring out my jealous nature. I mean, look at my cousin and her husband dancing like the happiest couple on earth. And she just told me today that she’s pregnant. Meanwhile, I haven't been laid in so long I swear my vagina has closed up shop.” She huffed out a breath before turning to me with a sheepish smile.

“I’m Emmett Cullen.” I gave her my best smile.

“I’m Bree Weber.” She pushed at the hair that seemed determined to fall in her face.

“It’s great to meet you,” I told her sincerely. I was completely smitten.

“Uncle Emmett, watch me!” I heard, and I laughed as I turned to watch Mallie dancing. I hoped some things would never change.

Exonerated: A Perdition Outtake Story Chapter 2

When I officially met Rosalie Hale at a party in the second week of my freshman year at UW, I already knew who she was. She and her family had moved to our city near the end of senior year, and Jasper had two classes with me at Forks High. But I hadn’t spent any particular time with her.

I was well-known in Forks; our whole family was, to an extent. With wealthy parents that owned the biggest bank in our small town, there was always a minor celebrity halo around our heads. Edward and Alice made friends in small increments, like they were cautious of any and all motives. And maybe they were right; Edward had become Bella Swan’s best friend pretty young, and she was about the sweetest person I’d ever met outside my family. But I was different than they were. Louder, larger, both in physical presence and personality. Everybody was my friend. And I loved to be generous with all of those friends, because why not?

I didn’t see it as buying friendships, because I knew I didn't have any serious friends. I knew I was being used by the majority of my peers. The thing was, it never bothered me. Water off a duck’s back, I rolled smoothly with the flow. Where Edward buckled down with his studies, at least before the summer he and Bella discovered how easily they could sneak out of the house and fuck like bunnies, I sailed through my classes. I was going to be a math teacher instead of working at the bank like Edward.

Rosalie, with her mile-long legs and sexpot body, was not on the agenda. Unfortunately for me, all it took was a little bit too much to drink at that party for me fall head over heels. She had certain… abilities in the bedroom that I’d never experienced before. She was funny as shit, and her throaty laugh never failed to elicit a tightening in my pants. I thought I loved her.

Eloping was her idea, because as she pointed out, we could move into married student housing and save money. I didn't need to save money, but she did, and I felt sorry for her when she told me her meal card was always running low around the third week of the month. I spoiled her, I admit. I took her out to eat all the time, and started buying her trinkets. She was always enthusiastically grateful, which I mistook for love.

When I told my parents, over the phone like the coward I was, they exploded. They were so disappointed in me, something I’d honestly never experienced before. I couldn't seem to fully explain why I fell for Rose the way that I did, and they didn't understand. Alice thought it was romantic that we’d fallen in love so quickly, and Edward thought I was an idiot, but supported me as long as I was happy. Rose was more than a little pissed that they didn't immediately accept her into the family, but I promised her they’d come around. It wasn’t until our first trip home that everything started to unravel.

Rose was angry that her brother was dating my sister. She was annoyed that Alice didn’t seem to like her. She claimed Edward was only putting up with her because of me, and that he hated her. My parents were too white collar, too goody-goody and old fashioned in their rules. Nothing made her happy. I was torn between supporting my wife and defending my family, who were nothing but polite to her. The lack of emotional intimacy that was the basis of our relationship and the constant barrage of insults drove me from the house to try to calm myself down.

That was a mistake that almost cost me ten years.

Two months into my sentence, I finally got a visit from my wife. She had been absent from my trial, her name missing from the visitor log. My parents and siblings had visited regularly, all of them urging me to fight this, to request an appeal. But I already knew I’d been metaphorically thrown under the bus for someone else’s crime, and there was no end to the false evidence they could and would produce. I wanted them to move on with their lives, to let me serve out my sentence quietly.

Rose sat across from me at the round lunchroom style table, her hands restlessly fidgeting on the tabletop. Her pupils were dilated, her cheekbones too prominent in her thin face. Her lipstick was a garish orange, her tank top dipping so low she almost showed off her boobs—which looked like they had shrunk in the time since I’d last seen her—to the whole room. She finally blurted out that she was pregnant, with a small smile that looked more like a grimace. I was thrilled and devastated at the same time; a roller coaster was raging in my gut.

“My parents will take you in, care for you and the baby. You don’t have to worry about a thing,” I promised her, assuming that was her worry. I reached over and took her hand in mine, and she flinched before accepting the gesture.

“Of course,” she answered. “I’m just worried about the money, that’s all. For food, and housing, and baby stuff. There’s so much to pay for.”

It should have been another red flag. Boy, was I an idiot.

I started hearing more from Edward. Bella and her mom had moved, and Bella had broken up with him. I never told him that she was the one to testify, I didn’t have it in my heart to break him any further. He told me that Rose had become demanding, insisting that Dad add her to their account and give her a debit card so she could get what she needed without having to ask. Since he already fed her and gave her an allowance and a place to live, he wasn’t about to give her anything else. She threw an epic fit and insisted she would abort the baby if they didn’t give her whatever she wanted.

That was the beginning of the end of my marriage to Rosalie Hale Cullen. Jenks drew up a contract, outlining specifically how much money she would get, the majority of which came after she gave birth. A clear set of guidelines outlined what was expected of her. To remain healthy, not use drugs or alcohol, to remain in my parents’ home until eight weeks after the birth, and to agree to an uncontested divorce that included signing away her rights to our child.

She signed all of the forms without batting an eyelash.

Mom and Edward seemed particularly invested in the baby, and they were the two that brought me sonograms and reports of how Rose was progressing. At every visit, the obstetrician mentioned that Rose was underweight. Every time, she replied that her mother carried small. My baby girl was born at a little over five pounds, and suffered through withdrawals. Dad was so furious that he stormed into the hospital room and laid into Rose for being so selfish and stupid, until security came and removed him.

It didn’t rival the temper tantrum Rose had when she was informed that she wouldn't receive the rest of the money and that she was no longer welcome in the Cullen home, however.

Despite the pictures seeming to prove that she was me made over in tiny feminine form, I still insisted on a paternity test. I would never again allow myself to be run over by Rosalie Hale. The same day that I received proof that Malone was mine, I signed over her well-being to my brother. 

Exonerated: A Perdition Outtake Story Chapter 1

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I cursed as I bumped my head on the 'oh shit' handle. Doing this crap in the backseat never turned out well for anybody, especially someone of my stature, but it was difficult to get any alone time with my wife since we'd come home from college for the Thanksgiving holiday.

"Shit, sorry," she muttered as she did her best to maneuver around in the cramped backseat.

"This is pointless." I thumped my forehead several times against the headrest. "Let's just go home."

"To Ward and June Cleaver?" Rose retorted bitingly. "I'd rather stay here and talk than go back to that house."

It was not the first time she'd said something derogatory about my family, and it was really starting to piss me off. "You know what? Wally better get back. The Beav and Eddie Haskell are probably getting on Mom and Dad's nerves."

I ignored Rosalie's string of profanities as I climbed back in the driver's seat and headed for home. My parents had been very clever, actually, rooming Rose with Alice and Rose's brother Jasper with me. That way, nobody was getting anything on over the holidays, except maybe Mom and Dad. Ew.

My frustration over Rose's attitude and the lack of sex was probably what led me to go out alone the night after Thanksgiving. I was only driving around the tiny town, past the shops already decked out for Christmas, past the bank Dad was still delusional enough to think I wanted to work at.

When I saw red and blue in my mirror, I panicked, but only slightly. I wasn't going more than five over, what with the tight lanes in the downtown area. I eased my foot off the gas, flipping my signal on and finding a place to pull over.

The sharp rap on my window made me jump. Laughing at myself, I pushed the button and listened to the mechanical whir as it let in bitterly cold air. I looked into the face of our police chief, and I wasn't laughing anymore. There was no reason for him to make a routine traffic stop.

"Son, do you have any idea how fast you were going?" He spoke a little loud, like he was under the impression I was elderly and deaf.

"Yeah, thirty-nine. What is this?" I asked.

"License and registration, keeping one hand on the wheel."

What the fuck? I reached into my hip pocket with my right hand, pulling out my wallet and flipping it open. "Yeah, I can't pull that out with only one hand."

"Are you refusing to obey the orders of a police officer?" Chief Swan barked. I frowned, expecting Ashton Kutcher to jump out and tell me I was on TV.

"No sir, just saying I need my other hand to get this out."

"Out of the car," he demanded, opening the door himself and grabbing my shoulder.

There is one thing I learned at a pretty young age. Someone with my height and build is automatically perceived as a threat. I couldn't do anything other than remain calm to attempt to diffuse his crazy anger as I unfolded myself from the car and stood to my full height. Incidentally, it's more than a few inches taller than the chief, and he backed up several steps.

"Whoa, are squaring off with me? You looking for a fight?" he shouted.

I set my jaw. "Absolutely not. Sir." I turned myself around and placed my hands on the roof of the car, in an attempt to move this along and keep kindergarten cop from tasing me.

"I need your permission to search your car."

I sighed. "Whatever you want, man. I just want to get back to my family, so whatever you feel you need to do."

It wasn't until he was handcuffing me that I realized something was very wrong. It was somewhat surreal to be led into the jail, fingerprinted, photographed, and placed in a room by myself for a really long time. There was a window, so I watched people as they came and went. It wasn't too busy as far as criminals go, but the officers were like ants in a hive, afraid to be still for too long. When I was given my phone call, I didn't hesitate to call the house. I carefully explained to my father that I had been pulled over for no reason that I was aware of, treated very oddly, and then arrested. I still wasn't sure what the charges were, despite having repeatedly asked.

My feelings ranged from confusion, to loneliness, to anger, back to confusion. I wasn't in denial; I knew something was very, very wrong, I just didn't know what. My dad hired a lawyer, and I had a trial very quickly. I just kept thinking that it wasn't really happening to me. The trial was closed, which Jenks told me was odd; my family wasn't even allowed to attend. The only witnesses were the chief, who told a completely different story than what actually happened, the forensic reporter who showed pictures and video that seemed contrived and highly edited, and… my brother's girlfriend.

The thoughts in my head circled back to the fact that something bigger was at play. Bella looked terrified on the stand, and I spotted a dark bruise along her collarbone that disappeared from my sight when she shifted and pulled her sweater up. I knew better than to think Edward was hurting her. Everything she said fell in line with those pictures, of drugs in the back of a car similar to mine, of Chief Swan doing a search and seizure. There was audio from his on-body camera, but it was one-sided, and the video conveniently wasn't working.

By the time I was given ten years and my family had sobbed over the news, I was resolved. It was damn obvious to me that I was set up, and I wasn't going to give them any excuses to make it harder on me. I would be a model prisoner. I would quietly do my time. I would get out early on good behavior.

It was months into my sentence that the first blow to my carefully built walls almost broke me. Rose was pregnant.

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Angry All The Time Outtake- Mike

Many people asked for a look at what was going through Mike's head. This fits in with chapter 24.

Angry All The Time Outtake- Tanya

This was just for fun, becasue a lot of readers asked to hear about Tanya. I hope you enjoy!

Angry All The Time Epilogue

I saw that you were perfect,

and so I loved you.

Then I saw that you were not perfect,

And I loved you even more.

~Angelita Lim

Angry All The Time Chapter 40

Angry All The Time Chapter 39

Angry All The Time Chapter 38

Angry All The Time Chapter 37