Through the Flames

Rosalie Interview

I was hoping you could tell me a little more about your relationships with the members of the Cullen Family. Are you close with them, Edward in particular?

I’m close with some of them; mainly Edward, Jasper, and Esme, and obviously Emmett. Carlisle and Alice...not so much.

And why is that?

Carlisle and I just never really hit it off. The first time I met the family, I spent an hour in the living room listening to him berate Em for something or another, and that was that for me. I don’t agree with his parenting style, or with the way he constantly compares his sons to one another. It’s wrong. Just because his parenting style worked for Edward when he was little, didn’t make it automatically effective for Emmett or Jasper. They’re different people, and should be treated as such. Especially now that they’re all grown men.

What about Alice? Is there a particular reason you two don’t get along?

Ha...no. There’s no past irreconcilable drama there to feed the gossip mongers with. We just don’t get along. It’s that simple. Some people you meet and befriend, others you meet and just...don’t like for whatever reason. I don’t like her, she doesn’t like me, and we’re both fine with that.

Just because we’re family, and a fairly large one at that, it doesn’t mean we’re the Brady Bunch by any means. We don’t even come close to it on a good day.

If that’s the case, then why have you come off as being overly protective of your family members i.e. Edward?

Because I am protective of my family. Don’t get me wrong, I may not get along with all of them, but that doesn’t mean I’d sit back and do nothing either for them, or in their defense. That’s what family is about. Above all else, my loyalties lie with Emmett - and along with Em, comes Edward.

Truth be told, I have a soft spot for Edward. (By no means am I authorizing you to fill him in on that, just so we’re clear) I think that while Emmett and Jasper get the shit end of the stick living in his shadow constantly, he’s still a good man that his brothers have always looked up to, and continue to look up to. I, myself, have a lot of respect for him. He’s an accepting person and he does a lot for everyone in our family. I wouldn’t even have a home of my own if it weren’t for him.

So just to clarify, there’s no hidden romantic feelings for Edward, right?

HA! No. Definitely not. I love him as a friend, as a brother, but it ends there.

I guess I just have one last thing to ask then. Something that’s been a question in nearly all of the readers’ minds. Why are you such a bitch to Bella?

I had a feeling this would come up eventually. Frankly, it doesn’t surprise me that the readers would find me to be a bitch. I am one. But what surprises me is the lack of understanding of why I am the way I am toward her. The reason is quite simple: every time I see her, I have to think What if it had been Emmett that night? or What if it’s Emmett the next time around? Edward isn’t the only one still dealing with the effects of that night.

So it’s not just because of Edward that you hate her?

Hate’s a strong word, but no, it’s not just because of him that I have issues with her being around. It hurts to see my brother in-law the way he is, it hurts to see him in pain, and it kills me to know we almost lost him, but what no one sees is that my pain doesn’t fade when I leave the hospital. It follows me home, and even there, I can’t let go of it because I have to be strong for my husband. I can’t fall apart when he needs me to hold him together because he can’t cope with his own pain.

When I see Bella, I see my brother in-law hurt, I see my husband bawling at night in a way that I never thought he was capable of, and I see how it affects every person in my family every day.

It’s not that I hate her, or even dislike her. I have no real qualms with her as a person aside from the fact that her presence is an unnecessary addition to the emotional burdens we’re all carrying.