A/N: This is basically just the second part of chapter 8


Chapter 9

"Bella?"

When did this happen? How did this happen?

"Beellllaa."

When exactly did she go from being, Alice - Emmett's little sister; to being, Alice - the tiny woman who makes me feels things I thought were no longer possible?

"BELLA!" Alice shouted. "Are you even listening to me?" She questioned, waving a hand in front of my eyes, finally getting my attention.

"…Huh?" I replied, moronically, after focusing my gaze on her face. Alice and I had been sitting in the living room for most of the morning having awkwardly fragmented conversations about trivial topics. I was certain she could tell something was wrong; something that had nothing to do with Charlie and my suspicions were confirmed when she opened her mouth again.

"What's going on with you today?" The tiny star of my thoughts asked me, with a crinkled brow. "You've been acting really weird all morning."

I knew I had been acting strangely but I couldn't help it. My mind was thrumming with a thousand questions, each one more unanswerable than the last. Since last night, everything suddenly felt different; like I had been living in darkness and someone finally switched on a light. I suddenly felt blinded by my own stupidity.

"S-Sorry, Alice," I stuttered out, shifting my gaze to the television and feigning interest in a particularly ridiculous infomercial. "I didn't sleep well last night," I quickly improvised. I felt Alice shift closer to me on the couch. I kept my eyes glued to the screen, even when I felt a warm little hand rest upon my thigh.

"I know. You were tossing and turning all night," the small, raven-haired woman informed me. I still didn't turn my head to look at her, or reply to her verbally; I simply nodded my head. After a brief moment, Alice abruptly retracted her hand from my leg and scooted away, back to her original position on the couch. I instantly missed her touch. But that's bad… right?

"Bella, I feel like I've done someth-"

"WOW! Look at the time!" I blurted out, looking at my watch and cutting Alice off mid sentence. I knew what she was about to say and the conversation it would lead to. Even though I knew I was hurting her feelings, I couldn't talk to her about all this. "We should get going," I finished, jumping to my feet and exiting the room.

I made my way to the kitchen and once inside, I leaned against the counter top and buried my face in my hands. God, I miss being clueless.


"Discharged?" I asked the doctor, incredulously, with wide eyes. "But he's only been here for…" How long has Charlie been here? Two days? Three days? Four?

"Miss Swan, I assure you, your father's condition has stabilised…" I swear to God, if one more person uses that word, I'm going to scratch their eyes out. "He is no better off in here than he would be at home," the ageing doctor informed me, in a patronising tone of voice.

"Honey," my mother began, placing a placatory hand on my shoulder. "He's driving the nursing staff mad. If Charlie is fit to go home I think he should go."

"But he's…" I started, my eyes darting between my mother and Sue. "W-What if he's not ready?"

"Miss Swan, your father only had a mild heart attack and the damage to the muscles around his heart was minimal," Doctor Pretentious announced, jumping into the conversation yet again, with a pompous look on his face. Yep, I'm going to punch you. I turned my head to glare at him and Angela, who had been standing beside him, spoke for the first time, obviously sensing my annoyance.

"Dr. Gerandy, there are some patient charts that need your signature. I'll get started on Chief Swan's discharge papers," my old friend said firmly, pushing her glasses up her nose. With a curt nod, Dr. Gerandy disappeared from sight. Angela then turned her attention to me and raised a playful eyebrow, while I turned an embarrassed shade of pink. "He may be insensitive, Bella, but he's right. If anything, Charlie will probably do better at home," Angela clarified. I pondered her words for a moment before nodding my agreement.

It was decided that Sue would move in with Charlie and look after him, allowing my mother and I (and Alice) to go home. I still felt strange leaving my father's recovery in the hands of a woman I hadn't seen for ten years but Charlie trusted her, and therefore, so did I.

"Where's Alice today?" My mother asked me as we walked outside the hospital. Charlie wouldn't be discharged until later so the two of us were going to the grocery store to get supplies, saving Sue the trouble.

"Alice? Oh she's… she had to make a phone call." As stupid as my response was, it wasn't a lie. Alice told me earlier that she needed to make a phone call and asked if it was okay that she stayed at Charlie's house instead of coming with me to the hospital. My mother stopped short of reaching her car and turned to stare at me with a strange look on her face.

"What have you done, Bella?" She questioned, her tone somewhere between curious and suspicious. I gaped at her.

"What? Nothing! I haven't done anything." Okay that one may have been a lie. Mom tilted her head and examined my face before sighing heavily and closing the remaining distance between herself and the car.

"Get in the car, Isabella," she commanded in an exasperated voice, before disappearing into the driver's side. Uh-oh.

The two of us sat in silence as my mother drove from the hospital, through the small city of Forks. The silence was only broken when I noticed that we were driving in the opposite direction of the grocery store.

"Um, mom?" I asked, warily. "I thought we were going to buy food and stuff?"

"Change of plans," she replied, her voice cheerier than I had expected. "You've invited me over to Charlie's for lunch," she finished, without looking at me. I stared at her for a moment before responding.

"O-Okay," I croaked out, nodding my head impulsively. This can't be good.

When my mother pulled the car up in front of Charlie's house, she cut the engine and sat back in her seat, while I continued to stare out the windshield. The silence was becoming too much and I reached for the door handle, only to have a strong, motherly grip on my forearm stop me. I whipped my head around and made eye contact for the first time since the hospital and my mother was looking at me with something akin to sympathy.

"Honey, I'm not sure what's going on with you right now, but I'm not going to sit back and let you continue to run away from something that I think could make you happy."

I wanted to ask her what she meant by that but, deep down, I knew what she was talking about; or rather, who she was talking about. She was right. There was no running away from this. Alice had wormed her way into my affections without me even realising and I knew for a fact she felt the same way about me. Whether I liked it or not, I needed to deal with this. I just didn't know how. Was it possible that my future happiness lay with Alice Cullen?

"All I want, is for you to finally be happy, my sweet Bella," mom finished, almost like she was reading my mind. How does she do that?

Her words hit me hard and I nodded my head while my face simultaneously crumpled in anguish. "Oh, baby, come here," my mother cooed, leaning across and pulling me to her as I proceeded to sob uncontrollably into her shoulder.

"Mom?" I choked out after a few moments.

"Yeah, honey?"

"Why do weird things keep happening to me?" I asked, laughing slightly as I finished. My mother chuckled as well and brushed my long, chestnut hair away from in front of my eyes, tucking it behind my ear.

"Because you truly are my daughter."


"Here," I said, handing Alice my credit card after the three of us had sat through an uncomfortably forced lunch. "Book two tickets to any of the New York airports, for any time tomorrow," I related.

"You don't have to pay for my ticket, Bella," my tiny friend said quietly, looking at the floor, apparently finding her shoes very interesting. I glanced fleetingly at my mother and saw the words, 'fix this!' being screamed at me from behind her green eyes.

"I'll wait in the car, honey," mom told me, without waiting for a response, disappearing through the front door.

"Alice," I prodded, gently. Alice slowly raised her head and her face looked so sad it took everything I had not to jump forward, wrap her up in my arms and apologise for every selfish or hurtful thing I, or anyone else, had ever said to her. "I'm sorry," I breathed out, with as much conviction and sincerity as I could muster.

"What did I do?" the raven-haired beauty asked, desperately.

"Nothing," I answered quickly, taking a step towards her and taking one of her hands in my own. "It isn't you, Alice. I'm sorry I made you feel like it was," I finished. I stared deep into those sparkling blue orbs and, not for the first time, I felt like Alice was looking into my very soul. The only difference was that, this time, I didn't feel uneasy in the slightest. I closed the tiny amount of space still between us and wrapped my arms around her waist, burying my face in her hair. I vaguely registered the fact that she had encircled her own arms around my neck, but I was more preoccupied with the vanilla scent that was currently invading my senses. The unique scent that only Alice possessed.

"I've got to go," I whispered into her hair. "We'll talk later, okay?"

I felt the tiny, elfin woman nod against my chest and I pulled back, looking at her one more time before turning on my heel and walking out the door, joining my mother in the car. God bless my mom, she didn't open her mouth the whole time we travelled (finally) to the grocery store, on route back to Forks General Hospital.

By the time we reached the hospital, Charlie was ready to be discharged. Sue had stayed with him and helped him pack up his things and sign a few forms. She would be staying with Charlie as of tomorrow, after Alice and I left.

"Here, honey, carry this will you?" my mother asked, hurling Charlie's bag at me as she and Sue helped him up from the bedside chair into a hospital wheel chair. As we made our way down the corridor, all of us stopped at the nurses station to thank everyone for their care. I focused my attention solely to Angela and she threw her arms around me in a friendly gesture.

"Please tell me I won't have to wait another ten years to see you again, Bella," my bespectacled friend pleaded.

"No way, Ang," I answered, pulling back and shaking my head to further communicate my feelings. "I'll be visiting my dad again soon and when I do, I'll look you up. That's a promise," I finished, honestly and sincerely. We smiled at each other before I followed my odd little family down the remaining length of the corridor and out of the hospital.

We got Charlie settled comfortably in the passenger seat of my car and I shut the door securely. My mom made her way to her own rental car, planning to meet us at my father's house while Sue lingered, looking in at an oblivious Charlie. After a moment she sighed and turned to leave. I took a few strides away from the car and caught up with her, touching her arm gently.

"Sue," I said, getting her attention. "Look after my dad," I blurted out, by way of a request, not referring solely to his health.

Sue's face slowly split into a compassionate smile and she placed her hand over my own which was still situated on her arm. "Your father really loves you, you know," she stated softly. I couldn't help but be filled with joy at her words. I already knew it to be true but it was nice to hear every so often. Even if it wasn't my dad who said it. "I'll look after him. You have my word, Isabella," the copper skinned woman promised me. She squeezed my hand before letting go and walking away towards a vehicle I still remembered and recognised as her late husband Harry's.

We got back to the house within twenty minutes and most of the late afternoon was spent in the living room as my mother, Alice and I regaled Charlie with insignificant, humorous stories, in an attempt to keep his spirits up. Mom stayed for dinner and it didn't escape my notice, the way her eyes would periodically dart between Alice and I. By 8:30pm it was clear that Charlie was getting tired and my mother took that as her cue to leave.

"Call me when you get home, honey," mom asked of me as she stood at the front door. I agreed and proceeded to give her a hug. When she pulled back she took my face in her hands and gave me a smile. "Be happy, my Bella." I nodded my understanding of her sentiment and watched her until she drove off into the night.

"Dad, I'll help you upstairs," I offered, as I re-entered the kitchen and Alice jumped to her feet as well. Between the two of us, we managed to manoeuvre him to the bathroom, then to his bedroom. By the time we got him into bed and were out the door again, he was in the land of nod. Alice and I stood outside his door looking at each other.

"We have an early day tomorrow. We should probably head to bed too," Alice ventured. I scanned her eyes for a moment and felt instantly happier. I smiled and nodded my head in agreement.

In my bedroom, we both packed up the majority of our things in relative silence. We stole glances at each other, both thinking that the other didn't notice and Alice was the first to break the silence, with a highly intelligent contribution of, "I'll be right back," as she disappeared in the direction of the bathroom.

"Are you okay?" Alice asked me, about fifteen minutes later when we were both propped up in a sitting position, under the covers and against the headboard. "And I'm not talking about Charlie," she clarified, her tone almost defiant.

I exhaled deeply. I was far from okay. Nearly everything I thought to be true about myself had been turned upside down within the space of 24 hours. In my head, I had given up. I had almost come to terms with the fact that I would die alone and be the proud owner of six cats. Then Alice came along and suddenly I felt things that I didn't even feel when I was with Edward. It terrified me that the only person I had to compare Alice to was someone who had hurt me so much; especially when I knew Alice wouldn't hurt me that way. She just couldn't. It wasn't in her nature... Right?

I promised Alice we would talk and now that time had come and I couldn't do it. I turned my head towards her and bore witness to her apprehensive demeanour. I couldn't speak to her about what I really wanted to, but there was something else that was never far from my mind these days.

"Rose," I breathed out.

"What?" Alice questioned, after a moments silence.

"You and Rose," I clarified, still looking at her, full in the face. "I want to hear your side of the story," I stated firmly. Alice looked down at the covers and began drawing imaginary designs on the white, cotton sheets.

"Don't you think you should ask Rosalie first before-"

"I already have," I replied, cutting off my tiny friend. Her head whipped around and there was surprise written all over her face. "The morning after we all had dinner with Jasper, Rose disappeared and went to stay with her mother for a few days. I only found out a day later when I went to the house to confront her," I related to Alice. "Emmett was beside himself," I added, almost as an after thought. Alice's surprised expression had turned to one bordering on horror. "I went to her mother's and finally got some answers from her," I finished, being purposely vague. Slowly, Alice's gaze left my face and she stared at the wall in front if us.

"It's my fault," she murmured. My brow furrowed.

"What is?" I asked, not understanding what she meant.

"I shouldn't have come back," the tiny woman answered, more to herself than to me, while shaking her head and continuing to stare at the wall. I don't know why but her words made me feel frustrated.

"So, you think hiding away in Borneo for the rest of your life would have been better?" I barked out, more harshly than I had intended. Alice swung her head around and looked me square in the face with a scowl marring her features.

"If it meant that I didn't hurt everyone around me then, yes, I do!" She hissed, trying to keep her voice down for Charlie's sake. Sensing the direction this conversation was taking I closed my eyes and rubbed one hand across my forehead in an attempt to regain my focus.

"Alice, what happened wasn't your fault," I told her sternly. "You didn't know who Rosalie was."

"And that makes it okay?" My companion replied, almost hysterically. "Every day, Bella; every day I was away, I was haunted by what happened. I love my brother more than anything else in this world. Knowing that I have forever become someone who could potentially destroy his happiness, is something I can't ever forgive myself for," Alice finished frantically and I could see unshed tears shining in her eyes.

Fuck. I had never taken the time to look at it from Alice's point of view. In some ways, even though Rosalie was more at fault, Alice had more to lose. All she had was her parents and Emmett and if everything came out, she could potentially lose them both.

"Please don't hate me, Bella, please," Alice sobbed out scrambling closer to me on the bed, resting her head against my shoulder and clutching at my t-shirt. "I can't lose you, too," she managed to get out before she broke down completely. I quickly shifted myself more onto my side so I could snake my arms around the tiny, pixie-like woman, enabling me to hold her close.

"I'm not going anywhere, Alice," I whispered, as she continued to cry into my chest. My words only made her sob harder and clutch at me more ferociously. "I'm not going anywhere," I reiterated, my own voice quivering.

I held Alice until her crying began to subside. When she had calmed down enough, she raised her red, tear stained face to me and I couldn't help but run my thumb along her cheek in an attempt to dry her tears. As I stared into the blue orbs of the raven-haired beauty, I saw her youth and vulnerability staring back at me for the first time. That was the exact moment when she became more than a novelty; more than a mystery; more than Emmett's little sister who happened to be staying in my house. She had become Alice.

My Alice.


A/N: There probably won't be any updates for about 2 weeks... sorry :(