Warnings: Abuse of various sorts. Sexual content. You get the idea.


Forbearance (n): the quality of someone who is patient and able to deal with a difficult person or situation without becoming angry


My cellphone buzzed on the floor next to me, staccato vibrations that I could feel in my bones. Alice's dark eyes flickered up at me, glaring. Her hand paused from where she was painting my nails, and a drop of deep blue polish threatened to drip down off of the brush and onto my cuticle.

"Don't you dare answer that text."

"It's just James checking in. If I text him back he'll leave us alone."

"For ten minutes, until he thinks he needs to 'check in' again."

There was a moment of silence where we both stared at each other. Rosalie stopped flipping her magazine from across the room, pausing to watch us in our stand-off.

"Jesus, Alice, just let her answer the text." Alice huffed, throwing up her hands in exasperation.

"Thanks, Rose," I said picking up my phone as delicately as I could. It was the third time Alice had stopped painting so that I could answer James. To give her credit, she had been very patient with me the first two times, taking extra time to dip the polish's wand back into the tiny glass bottle, wiping the excess off on the edges, pretending like she would have needed to pause anyway, whether I'd gotten a text or not. But if there was one thing I had learned, it was that no one had neverending patience. It was more like a non-renewable resource.

"Fine. Answer it." Alice twisted the polish bottle closed and tossed it back into the basket with the dozens of others she had procured over the years. She went over to where Rosalie was lounging on the bed and curled up to read over her shoulder. I slid open the screen of my phone.

(1) New Message

I pressed the button to open it and sat it aside while it loaded. Alice's house was out in the middle of nowhere, and considering that we lived in the middle of Nowhere, Washington, that was a feat. While I loved the scenic views, I hated the shitty service. That was one of the reasons James didn't let me visit Alice as often as I wanted to. With the bad service, sometimes I didn't get his texts until Alice or Rose was driving me back into town. He liked me to be closer to him, places where I didn't have an excuse to answer his texts a little late, places where he could stop by and see me.

The message finally loaded.

6/19/2014 5:52 P.M.

From: James

To: Bella

What are you doing?

From: Bella

To: James

Alice is doing my nails

I typed back a response and waited to make sure it sent before tucking the phone into my pocket. I stood up and hovered awkwardly at the edge of Alice's bed, letting one of my hands run up the glossy wood of the nearest post. Her eyes stayed strictly on the magazine as if she couldn't see me standing there. I took a deep breath, holding it in my lungs until it burned.

"Any room up there for me?" I asked.

Both of their eyes looked up at me. Rosalie smiled and began to scoot closer to Alice. One of her hands patted the pillow beside her.

"For your skinny ass, I'm sure we can make a little room."

We all curled up together to read an article about what mascara is best to wear at the beach during the summer. It didn't matter that Forks was miles away from any beach, any warm beach, my mind amended as I remembered the icy water and gritty sand at La Push. Looking at the sunkissed skin and lip-glossed smiles of the girls in Cosmo was as close as we could get, and it was nice to dream about.

My phone buzzed. I heard Alice's sigh from the other sign of Rosalie while I maneuvered my phone out of my pocket.

(1) New Message

6/19/2014 6:01 P.M.

From: James

To: Bella

What color? None of that glittery bullshit like last time

Mid-response, my phone buzzed again.

What's Rose wearing tonight?

My face burned. Against my will, my eyes trailed up and down Rosalie's long legs and smooth skin in the shorts and tank-top she had borrowed off of Alice as soon as we got out of the cold, misty Forks weather and into the Cullen's AC-oasis. My fingers felt numbed as I typed back.

From: Bella

To: James

Blue polish. Sweats and a t-shirt.

There was a knock on the door.

"It's open," Alice called out. Mrs. Cullen's face appeared in the doorway, a smile already curling at her lips. Esme was easily the most beautiful older woman I had ever seen. Her hair was a rich caramel that she usually kept swept up into an effortless bun. Today, it was down making waves around her shoulders, and even if it was just beginning to be threaded through with gray hairs, her green eyes were bright and ageless.

"Hello girls."

"Hi Mrs. Cullen," I mumbled, taking my eyes off of her classic beauty and back to the make-up tips on the page. The words were blurry to me, but I pretended to read anyway.

"It's Esme to you, Bella dear. Alice, have you heard from your brother?"

Alice sat up, tucking her legs underneath her. "He was at school."

"I know, I already called to check. Did he say where he was going after school?"

Alice shook her head. I cleared my throat, and when everyone's eyes turned to look at me, my face flushed red.

"Um, Mrs. Cullen, Esme, I heard something about a party over at the Whitlock's place tonight. That's where James is."

"Whitlock. Is that-"

"Whitlock, as in Jasper Whitlock," Alice chimed. Her face was twisted into a look of innocence, but judging by the sly smile on Mrs. Cullen's face, the hitch in Alice's voice hadn't gone unnoticed.

"Thank you, Alice. And thank you, Bella, you were very helpful. You girls keep reading. Wait, is that one of my Cosmopolitan magazines?" Alice groaned, throwing her hands over her eyes.

"God mom, it's not like we're twelve. We're sixteen-"

My phone buzzed. I threw my legs off the side of the bed and turned away to open my latest text.

(1) New Message

6/19/2014 6:15 P.M.

From: James

To: Bella

Gross. Rose is such an ugly bitch

I squeezed the phone, watched my knuckles turn white. I jammed my thumb against the power button and watched his message turn black. A hand touched my shoulder and it was Rosalie, her eyebrows drawn together. Her makeup was flawless, her skin-tone even and bright. She offered me a smile. Behind her, Alice was ushering out Mrs. Cullen, arms moving theatrically.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Great. Just James, he's being a little-" I fought to think of a kind word, or at least one that wasn't too honest. "-clingy tonight."

"Do you need me to run you home?"

"No," I said quickly. I held up my phone to show her it was off. "I could really use some girl time."

Alice's head turned sharply, her eyes wide. She pressed her back against her closed door and rested a hand over her heart as if trying to keep it in place. "Did I just hear what I thought I heard?"

I held up my half-painted fingers. "I'd look a little silly with just half a manicure."

"Yeah, well," Alice said, trying to smother her smile. "I wasn't going to say it."

We resumed our position from earlier, Alice's tiny hands cradling my own, brushing the polish over my nails with the ease of someone who has had years of practice. Rose sat behind me, threading her fingers through my hair, making parts and twisting sections together. The gentle, rhythmic tugging on my scalp made my eyelids heavy. Having days like this with Alice and Rose reminded me of living in Phoenix with Renee, when we would tuck toilet paper between our toes to keep them apart while the polish dried, when we would dance around the house together with the radio turned up loud. Those were the happiest times of my life, the only really happy times I had with Renee.

"What's the deal with your brother?" Rosalie asked Alice while she was braiding. "I thought they were going to ship him off to boarding school."

Alice rolled her eyes. "You know mom. She'd never let dad send Edward somewhere where she couldn't be."

The Cullens were relatively new to town. Before here, they had lived in Seattle where Edward had gotten kicked out of his old high school. They packed up and moved to Forks a year before mom sent me away to live with Charlie. They'd looked for a fresh start, somewhere where no one would know about Edward's old ways, but it wasn't long before he acquired his own reputation in the small town. He smoked in the bathrooms, cut a lot of class, but still managed to earn better grades than most of his class.

Where he was bad, Alice was the opposite. It was easy to see that they weren't related. From what I understood, Edward had been a difficult pregnancy for Mrs. Cullen. After having an emergency C-section, the doctors advised her that for her own health and any children's health, she shouldn't try to conceive. Esme had her tubes tied and looked into adoption. A few years later they found baby Alice in an orphanage in Seattle, and the rest was history. Alice was probably the only good influence on her older brother. Edward was protective and he loved Alice like they had shared the same womb.

"Esme and her heart of gold. If Edward was my son, I would have shipped him out of the country."

"Hey, it didn't turn out to be so bad. They managed to get his old biology teacher to drop the charges. I guess only half of the guy's garage burned down, and they managed to salvage everything else."

"Jesus," Rose muttered, shaking her head. "If your brother killed a priest, Carlisle and Esme could probably talk the Catholic church out of pressing charges."

"Where would Edward ever encounter a priest? I can't imagine him in a church," I muttered under my breath.

"Valid point. What's that old expression? Something about whores in church?"

We all laughed, but our amusement was cut short at the sound of wheels churning up gravel in the drive. Alice screwed the cap on the nail polish and we all scrambled to her window, peaking through the sheer curtains. Edward's silver Volvo was parked crookedly, and he was sitting in the driver's seat rubbing his temple with one hand, smoking a cigarette with the other. Downstairs the front door opened, and Carlisle stepped into view, his arms crossed over his chest.

"He's dead. Dad's going to kill him. Look at that parking job." Alice sniffed indignantly. "You'd think it was Helen Keller that had taught him how to drive."

Edward got out of the car, shutting the Volvo's door behind him. His dark jeans hung low on his hips, his leather jacket hugged him sinfully. The dark hollows of his cheeks stood out as he took one last hit off of his cigarette before stomping it to ash in the drive. He called out to Carlisle, and the arguing began. Alice slid down on her knees and placed both hands against the window pane, gently sliding it up. Their voices were clearer, the angry tones distinct, but no words could be made out.

"Damn."

"If I asked them to, do you think they'd shout louder?"

Rosalie snorted. "No."

Alice threw the curtains aside and pulled the window open as far as it would go. "Hey! Could you guys shout a little louder? I'm having trouble eavesdropping!"

They both looked up. Edward laughed, holding up his middle finger to Alice, who gave as good as she got. Carlisle lifted a hand to his forehead, shaking his head, but underneath his arm I could see the corners of his lips twitching up into a smile. He said one last sentence to Edward, pointing towards the house. He walked past, Carlisle trailing him, until they both disappeared from our view.

"Do you think they heard me?" Alice asked us, her face serious.

There were footsteps on the stairs, and a quick knock on Alice's door.

"Who is it?" She called, closing the window. I rifled through the basket of nail polish, looking for clear polish to use as a topcoat. My hands shook too much to apply color smoothly the way Alice could, but at least no one would notice my shoddy job with the topcoat.

"Me," he said, opening the door to reveal his face. His copper hair was pulled up in all different directions, like he'd been grabbing it in frustration. Or like he'd been having the best sex of his life. The thought left a sour feeling in my stomach. I swallowed hard.

I'd only interacted with Edward a handful of times since I'd moved to Forks, but ever since I'd seen him, I'd been enamored with his green eyes and messy hair. I laid awake at night imagining crazy scenarios when we might be forced to interact, where I'd be tucked under his arm as we walked down the hallway. There were only two real problems.

James would never let me break up with him.

And Edward absolutely hated me.

"Hey, pixie. Thanks for the distraction. I thought Carlisle was going to tear me a new one." The moment he saw me sitting on Alice's bedroom floor, the smile on his face vanished. He gave me a black scowl, his handsome, sharp features twisted in disgust. "Alice. I thought you were better than hanging out with white trash."

Alice's face flushed red the same time mine did. I couldn't tell if she was embarrassed about me or angry for me. I decided that maybe I didn't want to know the answer. Her narrowed eyes didn't even flicker towards me. "Don't talk about Bella like that. Why do you have to be such a dick?"

"It's okay," I muttered. My hands were shaking so badly that it took me a few tries to get the top on the nail polish twisted closed. Alice made a noise, somewhere between a scoff and a growl.

"Get the fuck out Edward. You come up here to thank me for distracting dad and then you insult my friend? Please escort yourself to the nearest busy highway and play dead."

He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, leaning against her doorframe. The cock of his hips caused his shirt to ride up, showing a sliver of pale skin and a golden dusting of hairs, leading down towards-

"Eyes up Swan. Christ. What would James say?"

At the mention of his name, the presence of my cell phone on Alice's bed weighed heavy on my mind. How many texts had James sent? Would he be angry?

I tried to ignore the man in front of me, turning away from him to grab my phone. I pressed the power button.

"Edward, how did Carlisle and Esme's perfect genes come together to create such a little bitch of a son? You're a genetic anomaly," Rosalie said. She went back to lounging on Alice's bed, flipping through the discarded issue of Cosmo. She was the picture of spiteful boredom.

"Eat me, Rose."

"That's my line, Ed."

(3) New Messages

Instead of reading them, I shoved the phone into my pocket. "I have to get going. Rose, can you give me a ride home?"

"Sure."

I went to the corner of Alice's room and tugged my worn tennis shoes on, my fingers fumbling with the laces. Rose disappeared inside Alice's walk-in closet to change back into her clothes. She caught my eye, gave a dramatic look towards Edward and pretended to shove her finger down her throat. I gave her a weak smile.

"Outside, Edward." Alice dragged him out into the hall and I heard the click of her door. For a few moments, I was alone. I pressed the palms of my hands against my burning eyes and tried to swallow back my shame. Through the thin wall, I could hear every word of their conversation about me.

"She's no good, Ali. The rest of the guys on the baseball team, and James, they talk about her. Talk about things she's done. She's no good, and I don't like you hanging out with her."

"It isn't your choice who I hang out with! Bella has been a great friend to me, and I don't care about where she lives, what she does in personal time, or how much money she has. I thought mom and dad raised you not to be so judgemental."

"I thought they raised you to have better judgement."

There was a moment of silence.

"Hey. Don't be pissed off. I love you, Alice. I don't care about blood, you're my sister. I don't want to see going down the wrong path. You could do great things with your life."

She gave a heavy sigh. "I know, Edward. I know."

There was silence and the shuffling. Alice's doorknob rattled and I wiped under my eyes, trying to get rid of any evidence of tears. My fingers came away dry, and I thanked God for small blessings. She looked sheepish, giving me a shaky, apologetic smile. I waved a dismissive hand at her and tried to look unbothered.

Rose exited the closet. She offered me a manicured hand and helped me up off the floor. She ignored my sweaty palms and threw her arm around my shoulder.

"See you tomorrow?" Alice whispered. I nodded. We swapped half-hearted hugs.

Outside, it was drizzling, but in Forks that was nothing new. Our shoes crunched through the gravel as we made our way to Rosalie's car. I gave the house one last glance and could make out Edward's tall, thin shape in the window of the room next to Alice's. I flipped him off, hoping he couldn't see my hands shaking, before I slipped inside the car and closed the door.


Anyone interested?