"So Bella," Carlisle said. "Let's talk."
Edward's POV
My entire family was gathered into the living room, about to talk some sense into my Bella.
Lily was here as well.
She had called me a day ago, and requested that we get back together. Of course I refused, as well as told her that I never wanted to see her again.
But when she showed up at my house and confronted my family, Carlisle insisted that we let her stay. She didn't have anywhere to go; we'd adopted her, we couldn't just throw her out onto the street.
Well, Carlisle couldn't throw her out onto the street.
Since then, she hasn't left my side. I told her that I didn't want her, so did Alice and Emmett. She still insists that we were made for each other. I try to tolerate it by ignoring her, but it gets harder with every hair-flip.
"Now, Bella, would you like to explain to us how you became associated with 'Rebels Anonymous'?" Carlisle asked. Everybody leaned in intently. So did I.
She remained silent. Instead, she lit up a cigarette and took a large drag.
Oh, Bella. What has happened to you, my love?
'What is with this chick?', I heard Lily's thoughts. 'Can she not just take a hint?!'
I tried to block out her thoughts, but it was like she was purposely screaming them at me. I groaned, softly.
"Bella," Carlisle tried again. "We want nothing more than to help you. Please, co-operate with us. Please?"
She sighed, took another drag of her cigarette, then she dropped it to the floor, putting it out with her foot. I saw Esme cringe.
"Well," Bella started. "A few months after you left, Rain moved into town with Ethan. I thought they were awesome. They were like a band, but they needed more members. They asked me to join. At first I refused. Then I came around. Apparently, I had a knack for singing, and I was a fast learner when it came to music."
She took a breath. "I wasn't coping well. I...Rain suggested that I try weed. And, well, it seemed to be working for her...I did it. And...I liked it. A lot."
If Alice and Esme were human, I knew they would be in tears. But Bella held her ground, as if determined not to be ashamed of her actions. Especially since she knew how shameful it all was.
"Anyway," she continued. "We started our band a few months after we met. Back then it was called 'Rebellious'. While we were doing one of our gigs, we met Nathan. He was a fan, and he was talented. A base player. The best I'd heard. We included him, and we later renamed our band 'Rebels Anonymous'. We obviously stuck to that one. So, there. Happy?"
"Far from it," Carlisle said.
There was a moment of silence. I took the opportunity to scan everyone's thoughts about what we'd just heard.
'She's quite ill and the drugs are making her body deteriorate quickly...', -Carlisle.
'This poor girl!' –Esme.
'How could we let this happen?' –Alice.
'Could she be any more weak?' –Rosalie.
'My little sister. I can't believe this happened because of us...' –Emmett.
'This is terrible! And it's all my fault!' –Jasper.
'Oh, PLEASE! What an attention-seeker!' –Lily.
I tried not to think about everything I'd heard. Especially Lily.
Then I turned back to my Bella. She was looking at her feet, her mind silent as ever. Yet I could still feel the pain it caused her to talk about this.
"So, how did you become 'Izzy Bird'?" I asked her, hoping it would take her mind off it.
She thought for a minute. "Well, when I first met Rain at school, she'd heard my name as 'Isabella Swan' in school and saw me cringe. I guess she'd thought I didn't like it. So when I told her I wanted to break all ties with my past, she decided that the best way to do that was to get a new name. She changed 'Isabella' to 'Izzy', then 'Swan' to 'Bird'. It made sense so I went along with it. I didn't want to be called 'Bella' anymore. It reminded me too much of-"
She looked up, as if just remembering that we were still here.
"In fact," she started again, gaining back her courage. "That's why I don't allow my boyfriend to call me 'Love'."
This time, it was my turn to cringe. I hadn't realised how much I'd hurt her.
Emmett cleared his throat. "So, which one are you...dating now?"
"Ethan," she answered exaggeratingly. It hurt me. But I deserved the pain.
"So," Alice said, trying to be cheery. "Where do we go from here?"
"I leave for Washington tomorrow," Bella said, getting up.
"Then so do we!" Alice said.
Bella glared. "Don't-"
"Look I'm sorry, Izzy," Alice continued. "But there is no way I'm letting you out of my sight again!"
Lily growled, then stormed out of the room, slamming the patio door behind her, breaking the glass.
Alice smiled triumphantly. "Well, Izzy, let's go upstairs and continue our sleepover!"
"Ugh," Bella groaned. I chuckled. I'd forgotten how much I missed her.
Wait...no, I didn't.
She got up and followed behind Alice. As she passed me, she was looking straight into my eyes, and what I saw shocked me.
She was...changed. This wasn't the same fragile girl we'd left behind a year ago. This was someone entirely different. Someone filled with anger and remorse and pain.
I knew my Bella was in there somewhere, underneath it all.
The question was...could I help her get out?
