Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.
Alice had refused to tell Bella what she had planned for the day when she had called that morning. That had let Bella know that something was wrong. Her fears were confirmed when Alice had taken her to the mall. Alice had been dragging her from store to store for two hours. Bella had only bought one thing, while Alice's arms were loaded down with bags.
Bella hated shopping, and had let Alice know several times that she wanted to go home.
"One more store after this one, then I promise we'll go back to my house. This is cute, I wonder if they have it in your size." Alice said as she picked up a bikini.
"You mean your size."
"Sweetie, I don't have the body to fill this out. Let me buy it for you?" Alice asked as she looked at her with pleading eyes.
"If we can find it in my size and I like the way it looks on me you can buy it."
They found the only one in her size, and then Alice pushed her towards the changing room. Bella opened the door and let Alice in. It hugged her in all the right places and showed off her breast, which she always tried to hide.
"I wonder if they have it in Rose's size. She would love it." Alice said, leaving the small room.
Bella changed quickly and found Alice by the register. She was empty handed so they must not have had Rosalie's size. Bella did a double take as she glanced down at the price tag.
"Alice this bathing suit is forty dollars."
"That's fine. It will be worth it when Jake sees you wearing it, trust me."
"Are you sure?"
"I am positive. Do not try to talk me out of buying it for you." she said as they stepped up to the counter.
Alice had to pull her into Victoria's Secret because she had refused to go inside. Bella was rifling through the clearance table when Alice came up to her. She held a cami up to Bella's body, looking at it with scrutiny.
"What are you doing?"
"I am trying to decide if this would look good on you or not."
"Why?"
"If it does, I am going to buy it for you."
"No, you're not. The bathing suit was different; this would be something that only Jake would see. Do you know how weird it would be if I let you buy lingerie for me?"
"I buy lingerie for Rose and Esme all the time." she said with a shrug.
"I am not going to let you buy it for me."
"Will you buy it for yourself?"
"Let me see it." Bella said with a sigh.
Alice handed her the cami and thong set and Bella looked at it in concern. It was nice, but it wasn't something that she would normally wear. The lacy, gauzy material was so sheer that she could see through it to the other side. She turned over the price tag for the cami in her fingers. It alone was thirty dollars, and the thong was twenty. She handed it back to Alice with a shake of her head.
"Why?"
"They cost too much. Go put them back."
She continued to look through the items on the table while Alice went to look for something for herself. By the time they left the store Bella had bought a tank top and boxer set and a cami and thong set. She had spent less than the price of the cami that Alice had wanted to buy her.
"Can we go now?"
"Yes. I have never met anyone who hates shopping as much as you do."
"You've never gone shopping with my dad."
"Does Jake not like it?"
"We've never gone shopping together. I'm sure he wouldn't have complained today."
"Bathing suit and lingerie shopping puts Jasper in a good mood too, especially if I let him come into the changing room with me." Alice said with a smirk.
"Jake and I wouldn't have fit into either changing room that I was in."
When they got back to the Cullen's half an hour later Rosalie and Jasper were the only ones home. Alice pulled Jasper up the stairs and their door clicked shut a few seconds later. Bella sat across from Rosalie, who was reading a magazine. She had just picked up a book of sonnets that she was sure Edward had left there when Rosalie cleared her throat. Bella looked up, giving her a questioning look.
"I asked Alice to bring you back here so that you and I could talk."
"About what?"
"It's time that you heard my story."
"You're going to tell about why Carlisle changed you? Why?"
"My story isn't very different from yours in a way. I would be one hundred and six on my next birthday if I still celebrated them. I was very stubborn and set in my ways even then. I knew what I wanted and I stopped at nothing until I got it. My best friend got married right after we finished school. She was pregnant within a year of getting married. It seemed like all of my friends were either getting married or having children. I wanted what they had. My father threw a party for New Years and his boss and his son were there. I was introduced to the son and I was immediately attracted to him. I didn't know anything about him and I was already planning our wedding."
"What was his name?"
"Royce King."
"Royce King? Even his name sounds rich."
"He was. He came from the most prominent family in our town. We started dating in February of that year. By June we were engaged. I was so blissfully happy that I didn't take into consideration that I hardly knew anything about him. I knew that he drank sometimes, and that he gambled some, but so did my father. My father was a good man, so I assumed that Royce was as well. On the night of my bachelorette party I was walking home from a friend's house. It was November, and it was unusually cold for that time of year. It had begun to snow as I made the ten minute walk home. I didn't see Royce or his friends on the other side of the street until Royce called for me. I knew that he was drunk as soon as I stood next to him. He reeked of alcohol and smoke. I tried to get away but he held me against him in a vice like grip. His friends took one look at me and all of them surrounded me before I knew what was happening."
"What did they do to you?"
"They didn't rape me, if that is what you are asking. I fought too hard for them to do that. They beat me until I passed out then left me for dead. When I came to I was already a vampire. I didn't have any say so in the situation. I was resentful of what Carlisle had done. They were all hunting one afternoon and had left me home alone. So I decided to track down each and every one of the men who had attacked me. I killed them off one by one saving Royce for last. He begged and pleaded for his life but I wouldn't listen. I wanted him to feel the pain that I had felt and so much more. Those six men are the only humans that I have ever killed. Afterwards I felt so much remorse for what I had done that I wouldn't go back to Carlisle. Edward is the one who found me wandering in the woods. He talked me into coming back with him; Esme has loved me even more than my own mother ever did. When we found Emmett a decade later I felt like I had found a piece of me that I hadn't realized I was missing."
"That's how I feel about Jacob."
"I don't like that you've gone from loving a vampire to becoming a werewolf's mate. You've gone from one extreme to the next. Don't you realize the danger that you have put yourself into?"
"I am not in any danger. I know that Jacob would never hurt me."
"He may not hurt you but you can still be put in danger."
"I'm already in danger. What else could happen that is worse than what is going on right now?"
"I can't even imagine anything worse than what is happening right now."
"Our stories are alike. We've both gotten a second chance at love."
"Yes, we have. I am so grateful that Emmett was brought into my life. He brings me so much joy and he dotes on me. He always says that I have him wrapped around my finger. I didn't know real love until I met him."
"It's like you're reading my mind. I feel the same way about Jake."
"He doesn't seem like the type to give his love freely."
"You would see it if you didn't always try to piss him off. He is such a kind hearted person."
Rosalie nodded as her lips formed a tight line. Bella was glad that Rosalie felt comfortable enough to tell her story. Edward had told her once that Rosalie hadn't wanted to live this life when she was first changed. Now she understood why. She had always wondered why Rosalie was so guarded, now that she knew she felt sorry for her. She had literally begged Edward to change her on more than one occasion and Rosalie had held her tongue. She didn't know if she would have been able to do that.
XXXX
He slipped into the bedroom, quietly memorizing where everything was so that he could report back to Victoria. The smell of human was so strong that fire lit his throat almost immediately. He made his way to the closet and opened the door without a sound. He fingered the clothes on the hangers bringing a shirt to his nose to take in its scent. Victoria had said that it would be best to get something that the girl had worn recently.
He searched the room until he found a clothes basket underneath one of the windows. It only had a few things in it and a smile spread across his face when he picked up a flannel shirt that had the girls scent on it. His throat clenched shut as he breathed the scent in. Victoria had also said that she wanted to know what the inside of the house looked like in case the girl was ever there alone.
The floorboards were loose but didn't creak underneath his feet as he walked down the hall to the stairs. He heard noise from downstairs making him wonder if the girl were home after all. The stairs creaked and he stopped dead in his tracks, hoping that the person downstairs didn't hear him. He would have to be more careful.
He entered the living room to see that the person on the couch was a man, more than likely the girl's father and he had fallen asleep while watching the news. He stood over the man, breathing deep to take in his scent. It wasn't the same as the girls, but he would do. He leaned in, his mouth curling into a snarl when he was inches away from the man's neck. He paused, noticing a new scent. He hadn't thought to check to see if they had a dog.
He moved to the window to see if he could see anything, seeing nothing but a police cruiser in the driveway. He heard someone upstairs as he made his way back to the man on the couch. He bolted for the front door, not bothering to close it on his way out.
Leah was mentally cursing herself for going off course. She should have stayed close to the house like Sam and Jacob had told her. It was her first time patrolling the house on her own and she had blown it. She quickly phased and grabbed her phone out of her pocket once she was dressed.
"Hello?"
"We have a problem."
"What's going on?"
"I was running patrol in the woods and I decided to broaden my search by about five miles. When I got back to the house there was someone in it. I ran them off, but I think it might have been a vampire."
"Was it one of the Cullen's?"
"I don't think so."
"Did you get a good look at him?"
"I only saw him from the back. He was too short to be one of the Cullen's."
"What did I tell you before you left tonight Leah?"
"To stick to what you and Jake told me to do. How was I supposed to know that someone would break into the house? Luckily Charlie slept through the whole thing."
"Charlie is there?"
"He's asleep on the couch."
"Stay there. Jake and I will be there in a few minutes." Sam said with a frustrated sigh.
She wasn't looking forward to the verbal lashing that she would get not only from Sam but Jacob. She had made a bad error in judgment and had nearly gotten Charlie killed. Luckily Bella was staying with Sam and Emily.
XXXX
Bella had just lain down on the couch when Sam came downstairs just after midnight. He was quiet as he went through the house quickly trying to find his keys in the dark. Someone knocked on the door and Sam let Jacob in. Bella sat up giving the two of them a worried look when Sam had to turn on the light in the kitchen.
"What's going on?"
"It's nothing. Just some teenagers causing a problem on the beach, go to sleep Bells." Sam said calmly.
He walked out the door and Jacob came to stand over her.
"What's really going on?" she asked giving him a scared look.
"I'll tell you later. Stay inside, and lock the door after us." he said before kissing her forehead.
"Be careful." she called after him.
He turned to look at her as he stood at the door. He gave her a reassuring look before walking out the door. Emily came down not long after Sam's truck pulled out of the driveway.
"I don't know about you, but all that excitement is making it hard for me to fall asleep."
"I wonder what really happened."
"What did they tell you?"
"Sam said that there were some kids causing trouble on the beach."
"That happens sometimes. They usually run them off and come right back. It shouldn't take long." Emily said as she walked around the kitchen.
"I think that it was more than that."
"It probably was, but they don't want us to worry. Come and sit with me, I have something I want to talk to you about."
Bella sat at the table while Emily busied herself with filling the tea kettle and getting tea bags down from the cabinet.
"What did you want to talk to me about?"
"How old are you Bella?"
"I'm eighteen, why?"
"Are you sexually active?"
"No." Bella said slowly.
"You and your ex-boyfriend never…"
"Edward was born in 1901. He's very set in his ways."
"He's over a hundred years old? He came from a different time than we do, I can understand that."
"Where is this conversation going?"
"There is some tension between you and Jacob, sexual frustration if you will."
"We fool around all the time."
"That's good, but he's a twenty first century teenage boy. He has sex on the brain. Quil and Embry tease him because he is the oldest virgin in the pack."
"He's never mentioned it."
"Of course he hasn't. He doesn't want to pressure you into having sex. All I am saying is that you should think about it. All of the aggression he feels towards Edward will probably go away once it happens."
"Because Jacob will have a tie to me that Edward doesn't."
"It's all about bragging rights. I hate to say that, but it's the truth."
"I know." Bella said with a nod.
"I'm not making you uncomfortable, am I?"
"No."
The tea kettle whistled and Emily stood to pull it off the stove. Bella was glad that she had talked with Emily. She felt like she was ready, but she hadn't known how to broach the subject with Jacob. She needed talk to him about it sooner rather than later.
XXXX
He heard pounding footsteps to the right of him but didn't see anyone. It smelled like one of the Cullen's so he wasn't too alarmed when Jasper came out of the trees a football field length away from him. They ran in the same direction in silence as they tried to pick up on the scent that he had lost a few minutes before. Sam and Paul were on the cliff just ahead of them, looking out into the ocean.
Whoever it was, they're gone now. Sam thought.
Did you get a good look at them? Jacob asked.
He never looked back once. Paul said.
He knew what he was doing. Victoria must have warned him.
He was carrying something; it looked like it could have been a plastic bag. Sam offered.
Could you see what was inside it?
No. Paul said with a sigh.
"I am feeling very out of the loop here. It's not a good feeling." Jasper said solemnly.
Jacob phased and quickly dressed, not caring that Jasper looked flustered at the sight of his naked body.
"They didn't get a good look at him. He was carrying something, but neither of them could get close enough to see what it was. Victoria told him what to expect, but he was obviously unprepared."
"Did he see them?"
Jacob looked between Sam and Paul and they both shook their heads.
"He probably just smelled them like with Leah."
"Let's go home boys. We've had enough action for the night." Jasper said before turning around.
Jacob stripped down again and the three friends took off in the opposite direction that Jasper had taken.
Go home Jake. I'll handle Bella. Sam said.
I'm just glad that she wasn't home.
I'm surprised the psychic didn't see it. Paul said.
Victoria probably warned him about her. Sam said.
If Bella had been home she would be dead. He would give Leah an earful when he saw her again. He had told Sam that she needed someone with her but he hadn't listened. Next time there would be; he would make sure of it.
