Bella's POV
I'm in my room getting ready for Edward to pick me up. I'm spending the weekend at his house. Ever since I let Alice have full rein on the wedding planning, Edward and I haven't had that much time to ourselves. Almost everyday I've been with Alice going over wedding details and been asked about what I like and don't like.
Edward and I would sneak off for a few minutes of time to ourselves, but it wouldn't last long — Alice would always find us, with even more wedding details than the last. It was starting to frustrate me.
Finally Edward convinced Jasper to drag Alice away from wedding planning this weekend to go hunting. Alice was so caught up with everything that she was neglecting her needs. It took a while but Jasper finally got Alice to agree to go hunting, leaving Edward and I alone for the weekend.
I've got a small bag packed for the weekend. Clothes. Brush. Toothbrush. My toiletries. I suddenly feel a slight twinge of pain in my lower abdomen. It's a very distinct feeling that I know all too well. I look up at my calendar hanging on the wall by my bedroom door and see that stupid annoying red X. It's that time of the month. Great. How am I supposed to endure a weekend in a house full of vampires and have my period? That's just embarrassing, not to mention slightly gross because they will probably smell it.
I sigh and walk to the bathroom. I do my business and see that my assumptions are correct. I look in the small cubby closet across from the toilet in search of some tampons. Empty. I look under the sink — no tampons there. I open the medicine cabinet and see that I have none in there either. They must be in my room. If only I can get to my room without—
"Bella!" I hear Charlie yell from downstairs. "Edward's here!" Well, that's just terrific. Now what do I do?
"Bella!" Charlie yells again.
"Hold on Dad!" I yell in reply.
I hear footsteps on the stairs and then a knock on the bathroom door. "Bella?" Edward's voice asks from the other side. Fantastic.
"Uh, Yeah?" I ask nervously.
"Are you all right?" Edward asks.
"Um, I'll be out in a minute." I tell him. I look down, realizing that my pants and undies are still around my ankles. I reach down to pull them up when I feel a small gush between my legs.
"Dammit!' I say quietly.
"What's wrong?" Edward asks from outside the door. Of course he heard that. Damn his stupid super vampire hearing.
"Nothing," I tell him.
He doesn't buy it though. "Bella. Please tell me what's wrong. Can I come in?" He asks.
I start to panic. "NO! Don't come in!" I yell.
"Bella, will you please just tell me? You're starting to scare me," he says worriedly.
I sigh and prepare myself for complete humiliation. "I'm fine, Edward. I just got my period," I say quietly. Even alone in the bathroom I can feel my face heat up, embarrassed that I had to tell my boyfriend about getting my period.
"Okay," he says slowly. "It's not the end of the world, Bella. It's natural."
I roll my eyes. "It's not just that, Edward. I don't have anything in the bathroom. Can you check my room for me?" I ask him.
"Of course," he says. I wait a few minutes then hear a knock on the bathroom door. "I can't find any in there," he tells me. Crap.
"Can I use your phone? I ask him.
"Why?"
"I need to call Alice," I tell him.
"Alice already left. She won't have her phone on. Why do you need to talk to Alice?" Edward asks.
"I need her to run to the store for me," I tell him.
"I'll do it." Edward offers. "What do you need?"
"Uhh…" I try to make the words come out of my mouth.
"Bella?" Edward asks, waiting for my reply.
"Tampons," I mumble out.
"Okay. I'll be right back," he says.
"Wait!" I yell.
"Yes?" he asks.
"Make sure they're Scented," I rush out. This is so embarrassing.
"Got it. Here, take this." I crack the door open and reach my hand out and feel Edward place an object in my hand. I bring it back inside the bathroom and see that it's my cell phone. "Just in case," Edward says. "I'll be back soon."
I sigh and sit back down on the toilet, cleaning myself up, and wait for Edward to return.
Edward's POV
I walk into the Thriftway market in search of the feminine section. I make my way through the store and find the right aisle. There are a few ladies in the aisle who look at me curiously. I smile at them politely and continue with my search. I come up to quite a selection of products. Maxi pads, panty liners. Adult diapers? I look for the right product but can't seem to find the right kind Bella said she needed.
I keep looking through the enormous selection. I must have looked quite lost because a store clerk just came over to me.
"Can I help you with anything?" the woman asks me. Damn he's gorgeous. I wonder if he's single? she wonders mentally.
"Yes, I'm looking for feminine products for my fiancée" I tell her. The girl's face falls with disappointment. Always the hot ones, she thinks.
"What kind of feminine products are you looking for?" she asks me.
"Uh, tampons," I tell her.
She points to a section. "Right here. Is there a particular brand she likes?" the clerk asks me.
Hmm. Bella just said to get Scented. "Scented would be fine," I reply.
"Okay. Is there a certain brand she likes?" she asks.
"Brand?" I ask.
"Yes, there's Playtex, Tampax, Kotex, Playtex Sports, Tampax Pearl," she rattles off.
"Um, I'm not sure. What do you think is a good brand?" I ask her. The girl blushes and answers, "I would recommend Tampax Pearl."
"Okay. Sounds good," I tell her.
"What size?" she asks.
"Size?" I ask in confusion. The girl chuckles.
"Yeah. There's regular. Super. Super plus..." Her answers trail off.
"Which do you think is good?" I ask for her opinion again.
"Well it depends. Does she have a heavy flow?" she asks.
A heavy flow? "I couldn't really say," I admit. "Hold on a moment while I call and ask." I pull out my phone and dial Bella's cell phone number. She answers on the second ring.
"Hello?"
"Bella. I'm having difficulty trying to find the right kind for you. Do you need regular, super, or super plus tampons?" I ask.
"Oh my god," I hear her mumble over the line.
"Bella?"
"Regular. And scented,"she answers.
"Okay. I'll see you soon love," I tell her. We hang up and I turn to the store clerk.
"Regular scented," I tell her.
She picks up a small blue and yellow box and hands it to me. "Thank you," I tell her. She smiles and says, "You're welcome," and walks away. I make my way out of the feminine aisle and head up to the cashier. I set my item on the counter and the woman working the counter looks up at me and smiles. I pay for the item and head back to Bella's.
Bella's POV
I hang up from Edward's call and sit a little impatiently. It's taking a little longer than I expected for him to run to the store. Of course I had to take into consideration that Edward was bound to have some difficulty finding the right kind of tampons. I could just imagine him standing in the aisle looking lost at the different selections and not having a clue of what to get. I laugh at the picture I see in my head. Boys.
"Bella?" Charlie calls from the other side of the door. "Are you okay in there? You've been in there for a while now. And where did Edward go?" he asks.
"Yeah I'm fine dad. I'm just having a girl moment. Nothing to worry about," I tell him.
"Girl moment?" Charlie asks, puzzled. "Where did Edward go?"
"He went to the store," I tell him.
"Why?"
"Because I got my period and I don't have any tampons!" I say, exasperated. I just want Charlie to leave me alone. I wish Edward would just hurry up already.
"Oh," is all Charlie says.
"Yeah," I say.
"Okay. I guess I'll leave you alone then." I hear Charlie's footsteps clunk down the stairs.
About five more minutes pass before I hear a knock on the bathroom door. "Bella?" Edward says from the other side. "I'm back."
I sigh in relief. "Hold on," I tell him. I clean up, pull my pants up enough so he can't see anything. I stand behind the door and crack it open a few inches. I reach my hand out, and Edward places the box of tampons in my hand. "Thank you," I say and shut the door and finish my business.
I come out of the bathroom and walk to my bedroom. Edward is sitting in the rocking chair by the window and watches me come in. I blush. I start to unpack my clothes and put my things away.
"What are you doing?" Edward asks, confused. "I'm unpacking," I tell him.
"Yes. But why?"
"Well, I can't really stay the weekend at your house now. Not with my…you know," I answer.
Edward looks at me with a puzzled look. "Bella. It's completely human and normal. You don't have to stay away from the house just because you got your period," he says.
I blush again. "Is the rest of your family going to be there?" I ask.
He stands up and wraps his arms around me. "Yes. It was just Alice and Jasper who left," he replies.
I sigh, "I wouldn't want to make them uncomfortable around me anymore than they already are." I play with a button on his dark blue shirt.
"Bella. You don't make them feel uncomfortable. They love you," he tells me.
"I know," I say, burying my head into his chest, "but I'm on my period, and that's gotta be uncomfortable for them."
He rubs my back, "Bella, that won't bother them. Trust me."
I look up to see if he's just trying to make me feel better. I see honesty in his eyes. "Why not?" I ask.
"Because the blood is dead, therefore making it unappealing to vampires," he informs me.
"Oh," is all I say.
"So would you please come to my house? I've missed spending time with you," he says, leaning down to look me in the eyes. I get lost in his golden pools for a few seconds. I shake my head yes. "Okay," I say.
"Great," he says. I untangle myself from his arms and repack my bag. I make sure I grab a few extra tampons for the weekend and throw them into my purse.
Once I'm all packed, Edward and I head downstairs to say goodbye to Charlie. "Have fun," he says when I hug him.
"I prepared some frozen food for you for the next two days so you should be good for the weekend," I tell Charlie.
"Okay. Thanks," he says. We part, and I walk out the door with Edward who carries my overnight bag.
We get to the Volvo, and Edward puts my things in the trunk, then opens the passenger door for me. I get in, and by the time I have my seatbelt buckled, Edward is already in the car and pulling out of the driveway.
We make it to the Cullens' in ten minutes due to Edward's outrageous driving skills. We gather my things from the trunk, Edward carrying my overnight bag again and me with my purse.
We enter the house and are greeted by Esme. "Bella, it's so lovely to have you for the weekend," she says with a warm smile and a gentle hug. "Have you eaten?" she asks me, pulling back and looking at me with caring eyes.
"No, not yet," I tell her sheepishly.
"Alright. I'll cook something up for you," Esme offers. "What would you like to have?"
"You don't have to do that, Esme. I can find something to eat," I say.
"Nonsense. I love to cook for you," she says with a smile. "Okay," I say back.
"BELLA!" I hear a booming voice yell, and then I find myself wrapped up in a steel-like bear hug.
"Hi Emmett," I giggle out.
"Emmett," Edward warns.
"Oh relax, Edward. I'm not going to crush her," Emmett says, putting me back on my feet. "C'mon Bella. I want to see if I can school you in Rock Band," he says, dragging me into the living room. Edward shakes his head and heads up the stairs with my bag. By the time I'm in the living room, he's back at my side.
Rosalie is sitting on the end of the couch reading a car magazine; she looks up when we enter. "Hi Rosalie," I say.
"Hello," she replies back. We're not quite friends yet, but after the conversation in Edward's room a few months ago, she's become more civil towards me.
Esme comes back in the room. "Bella, is mushroom ravioli all right for you?" she asks.
"Yes, thank you Esme," I smile back. Emmett hands me a guitar for the game and we play for about an hour, at which point Emmett has beaten me about three times, before Esme announces that my dinner is ready. I grab my purse and excuse myself to the bathroom for a human moment before I eat.
Once I'm done I make my way to the kitchen. I round the corner and out of nowhere I hear a loud 'Boo!' as Emmett jumps out at me. Not expecting that at all I jump back, trip over my foot. I flail my arms around, trying to find purchase on any kind of surface to catch my fall; of course I don't, and I land on my butt making Emmett laugh hysterically. In the process I swing my purse in the air and it lands with all of the contents spilling out onto the floor.
Edward is at my side in an instant. "Are you all right?" he asks worriedly, helping me up from the floor.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I say, rubbing the spot I landed on. "That'll be a nice bruise," I complain.
"Emmett!" Edward rages. "What were you thinking! You could have injured her!" He growls at his brother.
"Hey, I didn't know she was going to land on her ass," Emmett defends himself, laughing.
"It's fine Edward," I say. I reach down to pick up the items that have fallen out of my purse. Both Edward and Emmett bend down to help me.
Emmett picks up a familiar white stick and holds it up, looking at it curiously. "What is this?" he asks.
I blush and answer, "It's a tampon Emmett."
"What's a tampon?" he asks.
I look at him in disbelief. "Really Emmett? You don't know what a tampon is?" I ask.
"No, what is a tampon?" he asks again.
"It's a feminine product," Edward answers for me. This of course means nothing to Emmett.
"A feminine product?" he asks, waving his hand out for someone to continue.
"Oh my god Emmett, it's for periods!" I throw out, making the whole thing more obvious for him.
He quirks his eyebrow at me. I sigh. Rosalie comes in and speaks up. "Women use them during their menstrual cycles. It's to stop the blood flow," she says.
Emmett looks at the small thing in his hand "How does it work?" he asks. I'm surprised that he's genuinely curious about the whole thing.
"The woman takes it out of the wrapper and then inserts it into her vaginal opening, thus stopping the blood flow," she answers him.
Emmett's eyes widen. "Oh my god!" he yells and drops the tampon like he's been burned. We laugh at his reaction.
"That's just gross," he says with disgust clear on his face and walks out of the hallway and back into the living room. Rosalie laughs and follows him. Shaking my head and chuckling, I bend down to pick up the rest of my things and put them back in my purse.
"Come on." Edward takes my hand and leads me into the kitchen where my dinner is waiting for me. I smile at the amazing aroma of food that Esme has cooked. I sit at the table and Edward takes a seat next to me. I dig into my plate of food, moaning at the wonderful taste. For someone who doesn't eat, Esme sure is one amazing cook. When I'm finished, Edward brings my dishes into the kitchen and returns within a minute.
He pulls me into his arms and kisses me on the lips. "Enjoy your dinner?" he asks me.
I nod my head. "Yes, Esme is a fantastic cook," I answer. I lean up and capture his lips with mine. I hear a throat clear from behind us. I turn and see Emmett standing in the doorway.
"Can't you two get a room?" he asks with a smirk.
"That's not a bad idea," Edward replies, looking down at me. I smile up at him. Edward lifts me up bridal style and whisks me up the stairs. I giggle, looking forward to the rest of the weekend.
The End