A/N- Cheers to Katy, the best girl evah!

I quit the job. Boo

Disclaimer: not mine.

APOV

I woke early the next morning feeling wonderful; I'd been getting an enormous amount of sleep since being here. The previous night could not have been any better if I had planned it myself.

The house was quiet and still pretty dark, the sun still hidden low in the sky behind the trees. I sat up, glancing out the window, smiling to myself and thinking about last night. I didn't even take notice to the small amount of white powder covering the grass for a few moments. The first snow of the season.

The end of our conversation rang through my ears as if it was fresh, spoken only moments ago.

For the first time that I could remember, someone told me that they loved me - and it felt really, really great. Jasper loved me even.

My eyes lit up as I watched two squirrels running for cover in the trees. Small, tiny snowflakes fluttering in the soft breeze fell to the ground as I concentrated on what Jasper had told me last night.

I stretched my arms over my head and let my body wake up as I glanced over to Bella's empty bed. She must have stayed at Edward's last night; her bed hadn't been slept in.

I rose to my feet and tiptoed downstairs, snuggling up on the couch and managed turning the TV on and finding the news, still giddy over the previous night.

The thought over a wonderful man caring for me, for once, was absolutely wonderful. My heart swelled, the tips of my toes and fingers tingled, and the smile on my face still hadn't fallen.

I heard Jasper walking upstairs in the hallway, down the stairs and felt him stop, rather than saw him, in the living room.

"Good morning, Ali," he said, the sleep still in his voice.

I glanced in his direction still smiling. "Morning!" My voice chipper as always. I slightly rolled my eyes at myself.

"Coffee?"

"Sure, but let me make it. Are you hungry? I'd love to make you something to eat. You've been so great, let me do something nice for you."

Jasper looked at me quizzically, like I had no idea how to fry an egg or toast a piece of bread.

"No worries, I won't burn the house down," I joked, skipping off into the kitchen and found myself already in the fridge, pulling out everything I'd need.

I started the coffee before frying up some bacon and eggs, humming something unfamiliar and made up. I placed the food on the plates and set them on the table before pouring our coffee and calling Jasper into the kitchen.

I set the coffee mugs in place before Jasper made it to the table and squeezed my hands together, feeling like I'd accomplished something fantastic - even though it was just…well, breakfast.

"I didn't realize you were such a great cook."

Shushing my giggle, I placed my fork down on my plate. "It's just some bacon and eggs, Jazz. Nothing fancy; I'm certainly no Bella," I finished before getting up to clear the table.

"Please," Jasper said, placing his hand over mine, "allow me."

Opting to help him anyway, I nodded and continued to grab my dishes and place them in the sink.

The morning went nicely - quiet, relaxed. Jasper headed upstairs for a shower and I thought it would be nice to take a walk around the neighborhood. As I was leaving, Bella was pulling up in the driveway, just getting home from her night out.

"Hey, Bella!"

"Hi. Where are you going?" she asked, looking as though she was puzzled I was leaving the house myself.

"I thought I'd go for a walk." I smiled.

Bella nodded. "I'll see you soon, then?

Lifting myself on my toes, I answered, "Of course!" Overly obnoxious.

The air was chilly, but the sun was shining bright. The neighborhood was nice, peaceful, and familiar. Though, I'd never been here, there was just something about it that made it feel recognizable.

The houses weren't spaced extremely far apart, but they weren't congested either. The yards were luscious and green. Trees separated some of the houses, the leaves gold and red, some almost bare.

I started to think about my life before the accident before long. Where I'd grown up, what kind of house I lived in, my neighborhood. Had it been as nice as this? Did we have families around us, little kids jumping in the freshly fallen autumn leaves?

I realized just how badly I wanted to remember my life before the ugly began rearing its head in.

When I came out of the cul-de-sac and found myself on a main road, I made my way back, following my tracks back to the house, walking in and heading straight downstairs to Jasper's office, powering up his computer.

I hadn't ever remembered using a computer before, but did my best to type in my name and birthday in the search bar, rendering a decent amount of results. One particular link stuck out:

-Alice Brandon, 19, Survives Horrific 2 Vehicle Crash-

Police officials reported a head-on vehicle collision resulted in the death of two. According to the investigating team, a stray dog had wondered into the road, resulting in the head-on collision.

The vehicle caught on fire after the impact, throwing nineteen-year-old Brandon out of the car with her parents, Kevin and Susan Brandon, trapped inside. Police were able to pull the 2 out of the car, pronouncing them dead at the scene.

The driver of the other vehicle, twenty-two-year-old Rosalie Cullen, had also been ejected from her car, injuries critical. Her passenger, twenty-three-year-old Emmett McCarty, was listed in fair, but stable condition.

It was all I had to finish the article. That had been the first I'd read about the accident, the first time I'd seen anything real about it.

The knot in my throat felt like it was blocking my airway and my stomach had dropped to my toes. Small goose bumps covered my arms and I could feel a warm dampness on my cheeks. The tears had silently fell as I closed out the page.

I gave myself a few minutes, allowing myself to regroup before I headed back upstairs. I didn't want Bella or Jasper to see me upset, not wanting them to know what I'd been reading.

When I walked into the kitchen, both Jasper and Bella looked like mum was the word. They looked away from each other quickly after noticing my appearance and started busing themselves with nothing.

Jasper was standing up at the table, playing with his cell phone, as if he were checking it for missed calls. Bella had a newspaper in front of her, her face annoyed.

"What's the matter?" I asked, feeling uncomfortable.

Bella looked at me with falsely questioning eyes. "Nothing's wrong, did you enjoy your walk?"

"It was nice. Please tell me," I said, wanting to get the elephant out of the room. I wondered if I had done something wrong.

Jasper laid his phone on the table and looked up at me with pained eyes. "Nothing's wrong, Ali. Nothing you need to worry about."

I sighed. I felt a slight prick of annoyance at his white lie. I knew something was going on because of how the both of them were acting.

"I wish you wouldn't lie to me." Turning quickly, I headed for my room.

I really had no idea what they would be keeping from me and before I was even able to open my closet doors to play mindlessly with something to wear after a shower, when I realized someone was knocking on the frame of the door.

It was Jasper. "Alice?"

I turned from the closet to see him leaning against the frame, tall, lean and looking super handsome. I'd still been slightly annoyed by the brush off downstairs, but couldn't help smiling. "Yeah?"

He'd changed from his sweatpants and T-shirt he was wearing this morning to a fresh, dark grey long-sleeve top and a pair of dark-wash denim. His hair was still damp and he didn't have anything but socks on his feet.

I shook myself out of my thoughts of how incredibly warm and inviting he looked and back to our conversation.

"I'm not breakable, Jazz."

And I wasn't. Barely meeting five feet and a hundred pounds, I managed to survive a crazed mentally, emotionally, and physically abusive man, along with many others I dealt with on a normal night. I survived a heck of a lot. I could certainly manage to survive whatever it was that had Jasper and Bella so hush-hush downstairs.

"I know," he sighed, "can I come and sit?"

He waited for my answer.

"Of course."

Jasper walked in and sat down on Bella's bed, took a deep breath and looked out the window.

"Bella would like to have Edward over for Thanksgiving."

"Of course she would," I said trying to understand. "I don't see the problem."

I didn't understand why Edward would be an issue, but before I could think about it further, he spoke again.

"Edward would like to bring Rosalie."

My face fell flush and I could feel the lump in my throat rise again." Oh, well…" I stammered.

"It's fine, Alice. I totally understand."

"No, no, I guess I just wasn't thinking about the possibility that I'd so up close and personal with Rosalie so soon. It's definitely okay, Jasper. It is Edward's sister and of course he'd like to be with her on Thanksgiving."

It was inevitable. At some point I knew I was going to have to come face to face with Rosalie, as me, Alice Brandon - the woman in the accident that survived with next to no real life-changing injuries. Ultimately, the woman that killed her lover.

"You don't have to do this, Ali," Jasper said, concern filling his sweet voice.

I took in a shallow breath that caught in my throat. Ignoring the feeling of overpowering worry I said, "I think I do." And I did. I wanted to even…to some extent.

A bigger part of me didn't want to, I couldn't lie to myself about that. Meeting the woman that I shared a bloody, dark road with, a woman that loved a man that I hated with a passion, a woman that would most likely never walk again because of me and my birthday dinner would be difficult.

It would have to be done though. At some point.

I couldn't think of a better time. Sure, it didn't give me a hell of a lot of time to prepare - mentally or emotionally, but would there ever be enough time? I didn't think so.

Jasper had no idea what to say, I could read it all over his face.

"Okay, Alice, but if things get to be too much, you'll let me know?"

"I'll let you know," I answered immediately, opening my closet door, fishing for something to wear.

I pulled out a pair of leggings with an oversized sweater as Jasper excused himself from my room and laid them out on the bed, deciding I had no shoes to pair the outfit with. I frowned to myself.

I really hated living off Jasper and Bella, and it wasn't too much longer that the thought of a job outside of the home wouldn't be such a bad idea.

"What about that store over there?" I asked Bella, pointing to a small corner boutique set back in the small west wing of the mall.

Bella smiled and nodded, leading us both to the boutique that read THREADS and we headed inside.

It was small and cornered between a Radio Shack and a large vacant store. The smell was of dust bunnies, similar to Emmett's living room, but didn't have that same dingy, dirty smell.

Sunglasses lined the counter and behind the older woman headbands, bangles, and scarves hung on the walls.

The woman wasn't too tall, heavy set and had the worst red hair I'd ever seen. Her glasses were too thick and she desperately needed a personal shopper. Her floral shirt didn't belong in the cute little boutique she worked in and her black slacks were much too short - even for me.

"Afternoon," the woman greeted.

"Hi, I was wondering if you happened to be looking for help?"

I smiled politely and silently begged there wasn't any particular questions. Verbal or otherwise.

"Actually…" she paused, seeming to silently question me.

"Alice?"

"Ah, actually, Alice, I'm looking to hire someone for evening hours. I'm starting to wear myself out." Her laugh was somewhat annoying and very false.

"Really? That would fantastic!"

"You can come in Wednesday, say around four?"

"Absolutely…" I was silently questioning her now.

"Mrs. Cope, dear."

I nodded my head. "Absolutely, Mrs. Cope."

The phone rang and Mrs. Cope waved me off, smiling, while answering the phone.

I shrugged as we walked back out into the mall. "That wasn't so hard."

"I'm still not quite sure you are so insistent on getting another job, Alice. You are working for Jasper."

"It'll get me out. Not that the both of you aren't great, because you are, but I'll get to meet other people as well. You know?"

Mrs. Cope had given me two days to prepare for my new, quickly thought out retail job, though I couldn't imagine it being too difficult. People would come in, buy a couple items, pay, smile, and leave. Or so I guessed. Nothing difficult about that process, right?

"Are you hungry, Al?" Bella asked as we were nearing the food court, her head leaning towards the small Burger King in the corner.

I scrunched my nose and noticed a Dairy Queen directly across the way. My eyes went back to Bella's and her fragile head shook as she pulled at my arm leading us over to the ice cream.

"I'll have a Reese's blizzard, what would you like, Alice?" she asked me while paying close attention to her purse, trying to catch a hold of her wallet. "I'll have the same, please. But could you use chocolate ice-cream?"

"Sure thing," the young boy said.

Bella and I sat down on a bench with out treats and before she even stuck her spoon into hers she looked up at me concerned. "You know Al, it's okay for you not to be so super strong like, Edward and I can go have Thanksgiving with Rose at her place. That would be okay, you know."

I took in a deep breath and then ate some of my Blizzard. I swirled it around in my mouth, making sure not to choke on any of the candy pieces before swallowing. "Bella, I think it is really important for Rosalie to be there. I also thing it's important for me to meet her. There is so much I'd like to say to her, so much."

Bella just nodded and ate her ice-cream.

We sat quietly the rest of the time while we finished, then headed home.

I was eager to tell Jasper about finding myself another job. I felt like I was finally becoming a contributing member of society. I walked into the living room and noticed him immediately. Sitting so statuesque on the couch, his right leg crossed over his left while he read a newspaper.

I danced over toward him, hands clasped, begging my body not to explode like an excited five-year-old. But that didn't last long. "I got another job, Jazz!"

He peeked up at me through his long lashes and smirked. "You didn't need another job, silly, but that's really wonderful. I can tell you're excited, I'm very happy for you, love."

I know it was just a natural term of endearment, but the word coming out of his mouth and flowing into my ears like silken liquid was hypnotizing.

"It's just at a small store in the mall, evenings, but I think it'll be great," I said, a bit too hyped up as I bounced down on the couch beside him.

His paper came down on his lap as he reached his left arm over my shoulders, squeezing me gently into his side before placing a gentle, tender kiss on the top of my head. "Congratulations, Ali. I love that you are happy. You deserve nothing less."

I turned my head in his direction and stared directly into his sparkling blue eyes. "I am happy."

Our heads were slowly approaching each other's as Bella walked in from the kitchen, our lips merely centimeters from meeting. Jasper ignored her completely, his lips crashed into mine with forceful desire. The soft, supple caresses turned my heart into fire and my toes into mush.

"Ahem, you two…Dinner? What would you like?" Bella asked with a little volume added to her usual quiet spoken voice.

Jasper continued kissing me for a moment longer before barely releasing from my warmth. "Cereal's fine, Bella." His lips then fell back onto my own once again.

If I was listening, I probably would have heard a tick of annoyance from her. I couldn't imagine Bella being okay with serving boxed cereal for dinner.

It wasn't more than twenty minutes later that she was announcing dinner. Jasper and I looked at each other questioningly before rising to our feet and walking into the dining room.

I found Bella and made eye contact before giggling and smiling. In front of tree chairs there was a bowl of oatmeal, two pieces of toast, and an array of sliced fruits. Cereal it was!.

"Wow, Bella.. Corn flakes would have worked just as well."

"Yeah whatever, Jasper. You know my kitchen and I. Eat."