Hey, hey! What is up peeps? Sorry about this chapter taking so long but it had to undergo some issue proofing and spring break is over so I had to find time to write it. Anyways, I got some reviews on the last chapter about it being a filler and how it was a little short, so I took both of those into account and here we go! I have made this one with something semi-important in it and it's longer so I hope you all enjoy! Also a big THANK YOU to CountingNumbers who gave me good advice on the story and who has kept me sane throughout the writing process of this chapter. Everyone say thank you to her in your reviews, 'cause she deserves it!
Disclaimer: None of this is mine except for the plot.
Well, shopping turned out to be successful. I got a couple of shirt and some work pants that I could be comfortable in. Bella was able to find some outfits that are more appropriate for the time that she is going to be here in town. Alice's shopping, well, yeah. The little pixie never ceases to amaze me. She was able to buy a whole new wardrobe. I felt sorry for Jasper. He's going to have to unload all of these, because we all knew that Alice wasn't going to do it.
Usually we would be heading to the Cullen house to show Esme all of our stuff but not today. Sunday was usually one of my busiest days so I had to go home early. I was actually kind of sad about that. We would usually bring out everything so Esme could see what we got and really that was when Carlisle would make up some story about having a big medical case that he needed to do some work on. Of course, we all knew that he was lying but I couldn't really blame him.
Throughout the car ride, Alice just kept blabbering on about how great this shopping trip was and when the next one was going to be, while Bella and I were in our own little worlds. I looked at Bella and she seemed to be thinking hard on something while staring out the window, looking at the rain. Looking more at her eyes, there was that look again. That look that said something was bothering her; that something was haunting her almost. It confused me. How could a woman this wonderful have such a sad look on her face? I needed to get to the bottom of this and fix it, fast.
Another half an hour passed and we were finally pulling into the driveway at my house. It was absolutely pouring outside which of course didn't make me want to get out of the car any more than I already did. I put my coat on and I thought about trying to cover my hair but I knew it would be no use. The rain was falling too hard for anything to really protect my hair, so screw it. I opened the door and went to the back seat. Apparently that snapped Bella out of her stupor and she came out to help me. It was really nice of her and I would never turn down anything from her. I grabbed a couple of bags and went to my door to open it.
Once inside, I put the bags in the living room and went out to get some more. I passed Bella on my way out. It looked like she had brought the majority of the bags in. "Just set them in the living room, Bella. Thank you so much." She nodded and did so.
I grabbed the rest of the bags from the car and went back inside. Bella was sitting on the couch resting. The bags were heavy, so I didn't blame her for wanting to rest. That and I'm not sure I would want to get back in the car right away with Alice either. The girl was crazy. I took a seat next to her and sighed. "What are you thinking about?"
Bella shrugged. "Nothing really, I just don't want to go back home. As much as I love having my family around again, they are always around. They're always wondering if they can do something for me and that's cool but I have lived with pretty much nothing in the army. I know how to survive on my own and I'm used to it that way. Having them around is really weird. They seem almost overbearing and it's only been one night! But the whole night Esme was coming to check on me. I could hear her in the middle of the night, coming in my room and making sure that I was alright."
I nodded and smiled. "Esme always is the one to worry. I get you though. It can be a little unsettling when someone is just watching you the whole time even if it is for a good reason. But, you have to understand. Every night that I was over there, I would see Carlisle and Esme especially looking at your seat. They really missed you and worried about you. Maybe they just want to make sure that you're really there." She nodded and I sighed. "Look, you can stay here for a night or so if you want a break. I have no problem with that."
Bella nodded and smiled. "Thank you Rosalie. That's very nice of you. Oh! You've got something right here." She reached by my ear and pulled a fuzzy. I smiled and thanked her. "Um, anyways, I think I might take you up on your offer, another time though. I think you're right about sticking it out. Maybe it will stop in some time that is until I have to leave again."
Well, that was a downer. Totally just killed the mood of having a moment. Wait, let me check. Yep, moment gone. "Yeah." I looked at her for a moment and I before I could realize what I was about to do I tucked a stray hair behind her ear. Her face showed that she was a little shocked. I blushed and looked down. "Um, Bella, would you like to go for coffee some time?" I was watching her face to see her reaction but she wasn't really showing anything that I could interpret.
Finally she smiled shyly. "That would be great, Rosalie. How about the day after tomorrow? Esme and Carlisle are taking me to breakfast tomorrow and then we are going to Seattle to hang out before we see a play that's showing down there, so I can't do it tomorrow, but yeah, the next day is fine."
I nodded with a smile. "That's perfect then. Now, I don't' mean to be rude, but you better go before Alice breaks down my door 'cause we made her wait too long." We both laughed at the truth of that statement. I walked her to the door and reached down for the umbrella that I always kept there. "Here, Bell. You're already soaking wet and I wouldn't want you to get sick."
She smiled. "Thank you Rosalie. You're too kind. I'll see you later." I nodded. Dang straight she would be seeing me later. There was no way this was the end of our relationship. I stood in the doorway, watching as she got in the car and Alice drove away. Not only did this shopping trip produce good outfits, but it made me realize that Bella really was a nice person. Watching her with that boy, it just confirmed what I already thought; that she was an amazing person.
I grabbed the bags from the living room and went up to the bedroom so I could put them in the laundry. It would be great to be able to wear something new on Monday. Since it was only Saturday I still had time to get the laundry done. I went over to my stereo and turned on some music. Hmm. . . reggae will work. I moved my body to the beat of the music. This definitely made doing laundry more fun. During this time, my mind wandered to the wonderful woman with the name of Bella. I could just imagine her here right now, dancing with me, swaying our hips together, me leaning down to her neck – Wait, what?! Where the heck did that come from? This girl was really getting to me.
I don't understand. In my life, I have been with some women. I mean, c'mon who doesn't experiment during college, honestly? It was then that I learned I liked women more than men. Women are much gentler, and when we're lost, we both ask for directions instead of fighting and getting lost. And men usually like to watch more than one show at a time, especially with sports on, but not with women. With women, we watch one show at a time. It's really nice, but you wouldn't know it until you tried it. But even through all of my encounters, I have never felt this strong about anyone. I don't understand what it is about Bella that makes me so crazy about her.
Hopefully no one else knows besides Jasper, how I feel about her. Although, he is dating Alice Cullen, finder of every single bit of information that she could possibly get her hands on. Yep, she knows. There's no way that she couldn't know. I know Jasper would try his best to keep my secret but she is Alice. At least, I know Jasper well enough to know that he tried. Alice is just one of those people that is able to find out anything and everything that she wanted to.
I took the laundry that I had sorted out and went to the washroom to put it in the washer. I went back into my room and turned the stereo off before going back downstairs. I went into the kitchen and reached in the refrigerator for the leftovers from the night before last. I opened the container and threw it in the microwave for a couple minutes. Still, through all of this, Bella was on my mind. I needed some help. I needed to talk to someone. I reached for the phone and called the one person I knew would help without asking too many questions.
"Hello."
"Hey, Pete, it's Rosalie."
"Oh, hey, sug, it's good to hear from you. What's going on?"
"It's good to hear from you too. Is Charlotte there?"
"Yeah, sure. Give me a minute to find her. It's really good to hear your voice again, Rosalie. You haven't come to visit in a while. We need to get you on a flight. Charlotte misses you."
"What you don't?"
"Yeah, whatever. Here's Charlotte."
"Hey, sugar. How's it going up there?"
"It's going alright, Char. How is it down there? Peter treating you well?"
"Yeah, well, he's Peter, sug. Now, do you want to tell me the real reason you called?"
I sighed and sat down with my food. "You always knew when I had an alternate reason for calling."
"Well, it's not hard to tell, sugar. You are always so confident, so when you call me with hesitancy in your voice, I know you're calling for a different reason than just to say hi. So, tell me what it is."
"Oh, Char, I don't know what to do!"
"About what, honey?"
"So, two days ago, I met this woman. She's beautiful Char. Like, drop dead gorgeous. But, there's some sort of darkness that she keeps hidden. She's in the army so I understand that it could be something related to that, but I can't stop myself from wanting to help her. I've never felt this strongly for anyone, Char! I don't understand it. Even with how close we were, it's not even a fraction of how strongly I feel for this girl."
"Ok, well, that's interesting. Has she shown any interest in you?"
"Well, I asked her out for coffee today and she said yes. And right before that, I had a fuzzy on my jacket and she took it off for me. It was right by my face. It seemed like a moment. I just feel this really strong connection to her Char. I think she feels it to, but I don't know Char. She hasn't said anything besides today."
I heard her sigh into the receiver. "Ok, well that makes things a little bit harder, but it's good that she agreed for coffee. I think you just need to give her some time. Take it slow. Maybe do the coffee thing for a while. You said she's in the army?"
"Yeah. She's on leave right now."
"Hmm. You just can't catch a break here, can you? Ok, so you only have a certain amount of time to find out if you guys are compatible. Rose, you're a wonderful woman. I know that she is going to see that. Anybody with eyes can see that. You just need to keep being you, honey."
I smiled. "Alright, thanks, Char. I'll talk to you later. Tell Peter I said bye."
"Of course, sugar. Keep me posted. Talk to you later, babe."
I ended the call and finished up with dinner, thinking about what Charlotte said. Hopefully being myself would be enough. The first step would be taken when we went for coffee. I just hope that Bella liked what she saw.
