Act III
Chapter 37 ━━ Rosalie's Hope

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It's nighttime when Shelley enters through the front door of Cullen residence and is immediately overwhelmed by the crowd and the pounding of dance music. 

It's wall to wall with teenagers. Dancing, celebrating. Alice has transformed the place into a magical nightclub. 

The blonde weaves her way through the throngs, searching for her sister. Instead of Bella, she spots Esdras, who is deep in consultation with Carlisle, Emmett and Jasper. Their mood is intense. There's no sight of Bella or Edward. She heads toward them but Jessica and Angela swoop in. 

"You've made it." Angela says. 

"Hey. What'd you think of my speech?" Jessica asks. "Too easy-breezy, too self-helpful? You may admit it." 

"No, you pretty much nailed it." The blonde admits honestly. 

Jessica beams. "Yeah? It's like I was born to lead, right?" 

"Oh, great. I love this song, let's go." Angela pulls the girls to the dance floor where Eric and Mike find them. 

"Are you okay?" Mike asks the blonde with concern. "Did that guy hurt you?" 

Shelley shakes her head. "No, he didn’t." 

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left you with him. I felt like I couldn't keep up with that bulky guy. So I went for the next best option. Esdras." Mike states. 

"It's okay. Nothing happened." She assures him, patting on his shoulder. 

"So… you and that guy. Are you dating him?" Eric asks. 

"Sort of." The blonde shrugs, not really in a mood to continue the conversation. That's when the song changes whilst Mike and Eric start a robot battle. 

The girls laugh, their celebratory mood is striking. A dance floor is Shelley's idea of hell, but she forces a smile, shuffles a bit, trying to blend in. 

That's when the blonde's eyes catch the sight of Jacob entering through the front door, calm and confident. Quil and Embry flank him, looking tense, eyes darting around the room. 

Red flags. 

She manoeuvres off the dance floor and into Jacob's path. A cruel idea makes it up to her mind and she smiles sweetly. 

Jacob's eyes light up and break a wide smile across his face. 

If he thinks that she forgave him, he's wrong. Very wrong. Maybe after she sends him to hell, burns him alive in a lava tub and brings him back, she can consider the idea. 

Completely ignoring Jacob, Shelley rushes into Embry and Quil, pulling them both in a group hug. A losers reunion. "Hey, Embry, Quil. How are you guys?" 

Embry flashes a grin. "We're healthy." 

"Nice dress." Quil compliments, pointing at her party dress, which she found from Alice's sea of dresses. 

"Thanks. It's a gift from Esdras." Shelley lies through her tongue, just to annoy Jacob. 

No judging please. It's an innocent lie. 

Jacob huffs, his eyes straightly burning into her. "You done ignoring me?" 

"No. Not yet." She replies, crossing her arms over her chest. "What are you doing here?" 

"You invited me, remember?" He responds and she throws a glare at him. 

"Was my dead glare earlier too subtle for you? That was me uninviting you." 

Jacob sighs heavily. "Look, Shells. I'm sorry… about, you know… Everything I did… I was jealous… I'd blame it on the whole inner animal thing… But it was really just… me. Being an ass. I'm really sorry." 

Shelley swears this guy is bipolar. His mood shifts are giving her a whiplash. Her heart softens when she notices sincere in his words. She nods, accepting his apology. 

"I brought you something. A graduation present. I made it myself." Jacob takes her hand and clasps to her wrist a charm bracelet with a carved figure of a miniature wolf. 

The blonde looks at it with a smile. "Oh… You made this? It's really pretty. Thanks." 

From the look of it, Jacob's pleased. There's a wide smile plastered on his face whilst his eyes glistening with joy. "Can I hug you?" He asks, nervously scratching the back of his neck. 

Shelley surprises him by wrapping her arms around him, which he happily hugs back without a second thought. 

He sighs in content, nuzzling his face into her neck. "I'm sorry again, Shells." 

"Apology accepted." The blonde states as she pulls away from the hug to look at him. "But you need to leave now." 

Jacob nods, understanding. "Can we talk later?" 

"How about tomorrow night? I'll leave my window open." Shelley says, watching his face change into different emotions. Relief, happiness, love and… adoration? All in a mere second. "Only if you promise to behave." 

"I promise." He agrees with a beam. Pressing a sloppy kiss on her cheek, he leaves with Embry and Quil before softly mumbling three words into her ear. "I love you." 

The euphoria still lingers in her as Shelley watches Jacob disappearing out of the house. Maybe it won't be a waste if she gives Jacob another chance. She smiles to herself and turns to see Rosalie and Esdras standing a few feet away from her where the latter's face is morphed into a pained expression. Before she reaches them, Esdras turns, walking away. 

Rosalie, on the other hand, abruptly walks out, throwing a fierce scowl the human's way, sending her thrown. 

Without any hesitation, Shelley walks after her, out to the deck, then to the riverbank. 

The blaring music of the party is suppressed up within the house, but it's still audible to human ears, even if it's a fair distance away from the house. 

Shelley finally catches Rosalie, standing and watching the darkness of the environment swallowed by the river. The sound of the river is a melody. It's calming. 

"You're being selfish! You can't play around with two hearts just to throw one at the end!" Rosalie spits with so much hatred. She knows who's behind her without looking. Some vampire she is. 

"And I know that your bond with that werewolf isn't going to give a slight chance for Ezra. You're going to make Esdras's life miserable again. Just like she did." Rosalie adds as the human blonde slowly moves to the vampire's side. She? As in Esdras's ex girlfriend? 

"I am in love with Esdras." Rosalie blurts out. 

With wide eyes, Shelley turns to her. Maybe she heard wrong. "I beg your pardon?" 

"Spending forever without hope is like a blind man seeking for a glimpse of light, Shelley." Rosalie sighs deeply. Her voice is now calm and desperate. "Esdras is my mate. My only hope. Just don't take my hope away from me." 

Shelley turns back to the river, empathetic but holding her ground. "I thought you and Emmett were together." 

"We weren’t a couple. Emmett is my closest friend. He is the only person who understands me." 

"Does he know?" 

"He feels the bond and he can read minds, Shelley. Of course he knows." She states the obvious. "He is too stubborn to acknowledge me because he thinks that he has you. He thinks that you'll choose him." 

"Ezra thought the same when your mother dated her human while giving hopes for him. And look what that got him. He nearly burned to crisps when he jumped into the fire to save her." Rosalie continues. 

"What do you mean? Did my mom know Esdras?" Shelley asks her curiosity to get the best of her. 

Rosalie's golden orbs dart to the human, observing her. "Why do you think you're different from Bella?" 

"I am a Nymph. And she's human. Just human." Shelley replies with a shrug. 

Rosalie is silent for a bit before she speaks again. "Nymph traits pass down mother to daughter. If Renee is a Nymph, the trait pass down to her daughters as well." 

The human blonde raises an eyebrow, confused. "Then how did I-?" 

"You're smart enough to figure it out, Shelley." Seeing her point has landed, Rosalie walks off. 

Leaving Shelley shaken with shock, speechlessness, anxiety and a mind full of questions begging for answers.