Helpless

Emma clutched her head, as she sank on the couch. This was bad...

Bella was facing the same - and literally a to-the-point same - situation as Emma had. A little while back. Justin played Drew now.

What was it, Emma thought, that had gotten into his head? Why did he want to keep her, Bella, as just an option? He gave his reasons. Lame ones. Too lame to accept. Dont want you to be distracted... We can wait and see what happens... 'Yeah, because this is a game, isnt it?' Emma thought, cursing him. He said Bella hadnt done anything for him. That he had done enough, and now it was Bella's turn. What was Bella supposed to do? Get him his orders? Make him laugh? If he didnt find happiness in her talks itself, it was his fault, not Bella's. Bella had told him, and he damn well knew, that she wasnt a girl to get quite intimate. Bella couldnt even meet him, badly that she wanted to. Didnt he understand that every parent in the colony had the same mentality- the kids falling into relationships wasnt acceptible? Then there was the fact that Bella no longee lived in the colony. Was she supposed to travel for an hour, lie to her parents, just to please that lame exuse for a human??

And there was Bella too... She was so vulnerable... Emma knew she could be hurt. And real bad too. Emma didnt want that. She knew how bad it felt, how it changed the person completely. Bella was losing grip. She hadnt eaten for two days. And she cried and cried and cried... Emma's eyes stung too, and she clapped a hand to her right one. It throbbed in pain - her cousin had just poked her hard in there. She blinked. She had to make it go away...

Would Bella listen to Emma? Would she believe what Emma had told her? Would she understand? Emma thought of Rose. Rose knew. What had Rose told her? Emma knew Rose could face a situation. And she could persuade as well. She remembered how Rose had reacted when Bella had apologized to Justin. Despite everything, Emma knew Rose was a good friend. She too would hate it if Bella was hurt.

Emma didnt know what to do. She felt completely helpless, even more than she had done some months back, in January... On that wintry night... She pounded her head. She didnt know how, but she had to handle Bella.