Disclaimer: I own none of the characters, they belong to Stephanie Meyer. All I own is my ideas.

Chapter 3 - Dinner

I had to decide how to deal with the Edward situation. Do I make it known that I have met him before, or do I just pretend to meet him for the first time. I decided to play it by ear and see how Edward reacted before I made my decision.

"Edward, this is Bella, Jasper's sister," Alice said as she led me to Edward.

Edward seemed a little surprised at first but he seemed to recover quite quickly. "Nice to meet you Bella," he said.

Okay so apparently we are going with having never met before. I could do this. "Nice to meet you too," I responded with a smile.

After introductions were made Alice ushered Rose and I into the kitchen with her. When we got in there Rose offered me something to drink. Not trusting myself to keep my mouth shut if I had anything alcoholic I asked for a glass of water.

"Are you sure you don't want some wine," Rose asked me.

"No, I have a long day at work tomorrow so I am just going to stick with water tonight," I replied.

We chatted for a few minutes before Rose and Alice started talking about shopping. I took the opportunity to escape for a few minutes and excused myself to use the restroom. On my way to the restroom I heard the guys harassing Edward about some girl he apparently met. The rejection I had felt over the last week returned and I walked away not wanting to hear about whomever Edward was interested in.

When I returned to the kitchen dinner was ready and Alice asked me to tell the guys. I walked back to the living room and cleared my throat when I entered, "Guys dinner is ready," I told them.

We all sat at the dinner table as Alice put the Italian feast. I felt bad but I wondered if Alice really made dinner or if she had it catered. I didn't want to ask so I just complemented her on the delicious food. I sat through dinner quietly as everyone talked around me. About halfway through dinner I felt like someone was staring at me so I looked up and met the piercing green eyes of Edward. Not wanting him to see the hurt in my eyes I quickly looked back down at my plate.

I had hoped to escape quickly after dinner but apparently Alice and Jasper had different plans. They decided that we all were going to sit down and have coffee and catch up. The girls started to recount their trip the previous weekend to Vegas. I nodded at all the right places and hoped that they wouldn't bring up the ride home from the airport because I didn't feel like getting scolded once again.

I breathed a sigh of relief when the topic changed from Vegas to how everyone's week had been. That relief was short lived however when Emmett asked me if I had done anything fun this weekend.

I went to answer Emmett but was cut off by Jasper. "Bella has taken up drinking as a new hobby," he retorted.

Trying to keep my cool I decided to reply, "Actually Jasper, I have plenty of hobbies and drinking isn't one of them although I don't see what problem there would be if it was."

"Oh really, that isn't what I hear," he replied.

"Maybe you shouldn't listen to everything you hear," I huffed. At this point I didn't care that there were other people around because I was angry. How dare he try to make me look bad in front of his friends and family? What did I do to make him act this way?

I was angry and in my anger I didn't care about anything anymore. I pushed my sleeves up and stuck my hands on my hips before I continued. "Maybe you should know more about the person you are making assumptions about before you go spouting off about things you know nothing about."

In my anger I forgot about my new addition to my wrist and apparently when I pushed my sleeves up I gave Jasper a clear view.

"What the fuck is that on your wrist Isabella," he yelled.

"What does it look like Jasper? It's a tattoo." I retorted.

"I can see that it's a fucking tattoo. Why the fuck is it on your body?"

"Well, I would assume it is on my body because I had it put there. Do you have a problem with it?" At this point I was completely oblivious to those around me and all my attention was on the verbal sparring with jasper.

"I can't believe you would put that thing on your body. Have you no respect for yourself? Do you want people to think you are a tramp?"

I barely heard the gasp from Rosalie as he finished his statement. I knew I had to get out of there but I was so angry I wasn't going to leave without one last shot at my brother. "That's right Jasper; I'm a worthless slut who has no hobbies other than drinking. You now know my secrets. With that I am going to say goodnight. Thank you Alice for dinner, Happy Birthday and if you still want to have lunch with your husband's slut of a sister give me a call," I said as I turned to leave.

I slammed the door as I left trying to get out of the there before the tears started. I didn't know why my brother seemed to hate me so bad but I knew I couldn't change it. As I got to my car I heard the front door open and shut. Against my better judgment I looked up to see who had come out. I was somewhat surprised to see Edward jogging toward me.

"Bella wait," he called to me.

"What do you want Edward," I said in a shaky voice.

"I wanted to make sure you are okay to drive," he said softly.

"I'm fine. I haven't had anything to drink so no worries. I am a sober tramp driving," I retorted.

He flinched at the venom in my words. He appeared to be at a loss for what to say so I turned to get into my car when he put his hand on my arm to stop me. "Bella, nothing Jasper said is true. You aren't a tramp and your tattoos don't change that."

I huffed remembering who I was talking to. This from the man who asked for my number and then apparently went out and found someone better. My anger at Jasper still raged and I turned it against Edward. "No Edward, I'm just some cheap thrill to flirt with at the bar until someone better comes along. Don't worry I won't let anyone know you lowered yourself to talking to the likes of me." I stated as I got in my car and shut the door.

Despite my mind telling me not to, I looked in the rearview mirror as I drove away and was perplexed by the shocked expression on Edward's face. I decided to put this whole night out of my mind and drove home where I promptly shut my phone off took a bath to try and calm down.

EPOV

To say I was stunned by how this night had gone was a gross understatement. As I watched Bella drive away I thought back to everything that had happened not only tonight but since I had originally met Bella.

That Friday night had been the best night. I had gone out after having a long day at work. I needed to unwind and since Jasper and Emmett were out of town I decided to hit the bar solo. I wasn't looking to meet anyone but I was so happy when I saw Bella. We spent a good portion of the night just talking and getting to know one another. She didn't ask me a bunch of personal questions about my family or job which made it easier to talk to her because I didn't worry about her just trying to get my money. The first thing I remember about her was when I saw her dancing with her friend. I noticed she had a couple tattoos on her back but I couldn't quite make out what they were. She looked so carefree.

When I saw that jerk start to harass her I started to get up before she put him in her place. Her assertiveness drew me even more to her. The attraction only grew when we started talking at the bar. I was sad when the night ended and I asked her for her number.

Even though we had spent the whole night talking I couldn't stop myself from texting her goodnight and telling her how much fun I had. The week after that seemed to fall apart. I got called into work and ended up spending most of my time at the hospital since then. I didn't get off work until almost midnight every night and I didn't want to text or call her that late no matter how badly I wanted to talk to Bella. Although now I questioned that decision.

Friday when I got off work I met up with Jasper for drinks. Jasper had been upset about his sister having an attitude. As I recalled the conversation we had at the bar I have to wonder what really happened between the two.

"My sister offered to pick us up from the airport but then she decides to show up late and throw an attitude. I have done nothing but support her since our parents died and she acts like she is better than me. If she didn't want to pick us up from the airport she should have just said so, not lied about it and then showing up late," he huffed.

"Maybe she was having a bad day Jasper." I told him.

"Even if she was having a bad day she still should have apologized for her attitude. She hasn't tried to apologize at all. She is just acting ungrateful."

Then Jasper's phone rang and I could hear Alice on the other line. Jasper's face was getting redder and redder as he spoke to my sister.

"What's wrong man," I asked him.

"Apparently my sister decided to make my wife cry. Alice called her to ask her to come to dinner on Sunday and my stupid sister went off on her for no reason," he huffed.

Jasper had then called it a night and went home to comfort Alice.

That brings us to tonight. Before Bella got there I had been telling everyone about the girl I had met at the bar. I told them how we had talked all night and gotten to know one another's likes and dislikes. To say that I was surprised when Bella walked in the door and Alice introduced her as Jasper's sister I was stunned. I don't know what caused me to do it but I decided to not bring attention to the fact that I had indeed met Bella before.

Bella went into the kitchen with Rose and Alice and the guys started asking me about my mystery girl again. I didn't want to talk about her with Bella being in the other room but I didn't know how to get out of it so I told them how she was this beautiful, smart, sexy, strong woman. I told them that I hoped to get to know her better and spend more time with her. Then Bella came back into the room and told us dinner was ready.

Bella seemed so much quieter than she was before so I watched her through dinner. I wanted so badly to talk to her but I didn't know if she wanted her brother to know that we had met before so I kept my mouth shut. Then all hell broke loose after dinner.

When Bella fled the house it took me a minute to compose myself to go and see if Bella was okay. I barely got to her before she got in her car.

"Bella wait," I called.

"What do you want Edward," she asked as she tried to control her voice.

"I wanted to make sure you are okay to drive," I replied.

"I'm fine. I haven't had anything to drink so no worries. I am a sober tramp driving," she spat at me.

I realized how much Jasper's words had affected her. I didn't know what to say but I knew I couldn't let her leave like this. I reached out and stopped her. "Bella, nothing Jasper said is true. You aren't a tramp and your tattoos don't change that."

Her eyes showed how much she was hurting and my words didn't seem to help. "No Edward, I'm just some cheap thrill to flirt with at the bar until someone better comes along. Don't worry I won't let anyone know you lowered yourself to talking to the likes of me." She told me as she got in her car and shut the door.

I watched her drive away and I was at a loss for words. I suddenly thought back to the conversation I had with Jasper Friday night and I suddenly knew that there was definitely more to that story. Bella was hurting, that much was evident.

I went back into the house and fought the desire to confront Jasper. The living room was filled with hushed conversations as the girls spoke to one another and Emmett tried to calm Jasper down. Alice came over to me when I walked in.

"What happened Edward? Did she calm down," she asked me.

"No she didn't calm down Alice. Her brother basically called her a tramp," I replied.

"No he didn't," Alice said.

Before I could speak I was surprised to hear Rosalie speak up. "Yes Alice he did. Jasper took one look at Bella's tattoo and called her a tramp. He didn't ask her about it or anything. He went straight for the judgments," she said softly.

Alice was temporarily at a loss for words but she quickly found them to defend her husband. "You guys don't understand. Jasper is just trying to look out for Bella. He just wants what is best for her and is worried about her and her erratic behavior lately."

I knew I didn't know the whole story but I didn't want to get into a fight with my sister so I decided the best thing I could do was to walk away. I went into the kitchen to grab myself a glass of water while I thought about what happened here tonight. Before long I heard someone come in the kitchen behind me and I was surprised to see Emmett standing there when I turned around.

"So this turned out to be a pretty awkward night didn't it," he stated.

"This is pretty much an understatement." I responded.

Apparently Emmett felt the need to get his opinion out there and said, "Bella is usually a pretty good kid. Don't judge her by how things went down tonight."

"Emmett, I don't judge Bella for what happened tonight, but I do believe that there is more to this story than what we know."

"Why do you say that?" He asked.

"Can you keep a secret," I asked him. He nodded so I continued. "The girl I was telling you guys about earlier tonight. That was Bella and I don't believe that the same girl I met that night would go off on Jasper without some sort of reason. Now I'm not saying she is right for how she went off tonight, I'm just saying that I think there is more to the story than we know for someone to go off the way she did."

Emmett seemed temporarily at a loss for words. "You mean to tell me that the girl you met at the bar was Bella but you didn't tell us."

"Yes it was Bella, but I figured if she had wanted her family to know she would have said something when Alice introduced us. I trust that there is a reason why she didn't say anything and after tonight I can understand why," I told him.

"I guess I can see that. So then you saw her tattoo that night as well because tonight was the first any of us have ever seen it," he mused.

I didn't know what to say. Obviously if they didn't know about this tattoo they likely didn't know about the others. I once again decided to trust Emmett. "No I hadn't seen that tattoo before. I am pretty sure that it is brand new, but I have seen her other tattoos." I told him.

"Other tattoos," he said his eyes getting wide. "She has other tattoos."

"Yeah, she has at least two others. But after Jasper's actions tonight I can understand why nobody seems to know about them." I sighed.

"Wow, that's hot," Emmett said.

Just as I was about to respond we heard someone in the hallway so we quickly ended the conversation. Rose came into the kitchen to tell Emmett that they should go. I bid them a goodnight after reminding Emmett to keep what we said between us. After Emmett and Rose left I made my exit.

On my drive home I thought about the night and I realized just how badly I had screwed up with Bella. I should have called her last week or at least found time to send her a text. She obviously believed that it meant nothing to me when that couldn't be further from the truth. I knew I had to fix this but I didn't know how.

When I got home I tried to call Bella but it went straight to voicemail. It didn't surprise me that she had shut her phone off after everything that had gone down so I left a message asking her to call me but something inside made me think that I would be more likely to win Miss America than I would be to get a call back.

I needed a plan.

I liked Bella and I couldn't let her slip through my fingers.