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Beta: Twilight Drama Teach

Chapter 9

Alice's POV

April 24 (Friday)

I pushed the front door open with my hip and carried the grocery bags to the kitchen. I had to drive almost to the next town to find a grocery store with enough food to make a meaningful trip. I was buyin' for two now since Bella moved in, and I was excited. I had missed having a roommate, the guarantee that someone would be there waitin' for ya each day, excited to see ya, someone you could count on just being a constant in your life.

I put the bags down and grabbed a water bottle before makin' my way to the living room. Bella was sittin' on the couch, a blanket over her lap. Edward was sittin' next to her, his arm over the back of the couch, fingers wrapping around her hair. I smiled at the sight. He'd been very obvious since she'd come home from the hospital. I think findin' her in the house, watchin' her being pulled from the rubble unconscious, really scared him.

When he'd arrived at the hospital, laptop and phone in hand, he was nearly incoherent. All he could do was ask about Bella. Momma pulled him to sit in a chair and almost had to sit on him to keep him still. He paced the room and tried more than once to go find Bella. Daddy actually made him see another doctor; he'd been so worried. Edward was fine, just really concerned. Daddy'd then insisted Edward speak to the hospital psychologist that was makin' rounds. I don't know what they talked about, but he'd been with her for forty-five minutes. When he came out, he looked much calmer and was able to talk to us.

"Hey, you two," I said to alert them of my presence. They both turned to look at me and smiled.

"Hey, Ali," Bella said. "How was the shopping trip?"

"Good. I've got a pile of bags on the counter that need to be put up." Edward looked at me with a raised eyebrow. I just smiled at him innocently. "Please?" He shook his head with a sigh but smiled.

"I can do that," Bella answered. Edward clamped a hand on her shoulder before she could move.

"You're not doin' anything but restin'," he admonished her softly. "I'll get 'em. Do you want anything while I'm up?" She shook her head. "Kay. I'll be back in a few minutes." He stood and walked out of the room, kissin' me on the cheek as he did. I walked over and sat next to Bella.

"How much do I owe you?" she asked. I rolled my eyes.

"Nothin'," I told her again. "It's just groceries. I'd have to buy them even if you weren't here. Stop worryin'." She huffed.

"I can damn well contribute. I don't want to mooch off you." I shook my head and shushed her.

"You're not moochin'. Drop the subject."

"Whore."

"Bitch."

"Twat waffle." I don't know where she'd learned that, but I loved it.

"Cumquat." She snorted at that one.

"I'm not a fruit." I laughed.

"Out of all the insults I've ever thrown at you, you take offense to the fruit. Really, Bella?" She giggled and changed the channel. "So, what were y'all doin'?"

"Watching TV." I just stared at her. She finally looked over and tried to hide a smile. "Really, Ali, that's all we were doin'. He's been so nice to me since the tornado." I hummed my agreement. "I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't sent him to the house, if he hadn't found me." She shuddered at the thought. I rubbed her back in comfort.

She'd started to get some of her memory back from those two days. Last night, her first night out of the hospital, I'd woken to her blood-curdling scream. She's had a nightmare, or rather, a memory. She'd dreamt of the house collapsin', of the walls cavin' in. I'd rushed to the guest room, Edward a step ahead of me, to find her pantin' and clutchin' her side.

Her cryin', pantin', and thrashin' had really done a number on her. She was in agony; there was no question about that. I called Daddy's cell, but he didn't answer. So, I called Edward's house phone. Momma, Daddy, and the Swans were staying at Edward's to avoid hotel costs. Edward had been sleepin' on our couch. Ian answered in a daze but snapped to attention when he heard Bella in the background.

"What's going on? What's wrong with Bella?" he asked frantically. I heard him open a door and shuffle quickly down the hall.

"She's hurtin'," I said, my own voice strained. "My dad didn't answer his cell. Let me talk to him, Ian." I heard him frantically knock on a door.

"Why's she hurting? What happened?" I had sat on the bed and tried to sooth Bella by rubbing her arm. Edward was lying beside her, his arms wrapped around her body. He was holding her immobile, keepin' her from hurtin' herself anymore than she already had.

"I don't know. I think it was a nightmare."

Daddy had answered the door a bit roughly but took the phone quickly when Ian told him somethin' was wrong with Bella. I told him everything I knew, and he'd told me to give her some pain medicine and wait for it to kick in. It was the only thing we could do. She was out thirty minutes later; Edward hadn't left her side since.

"Have you heard from Mike?" I asked her quietly. I'd called the prick as soon as I'd woken up. He had his cell turned off since he was either in flight to or already in India. I left a message then called his company. They assured me they'd pass on the message as soon as he landed.

"No," she said. I couldn't tell if she was disappointed or relieved.

"He'll call. Hell, he may even be on a plane back here."

She tried to crack a smile, but it wasn't genuine. The idiot had better be on a flight or held hostage. It'd been three days with no contact. That was unacceptable. She didn't seem to care too much. I knew she was done with him, or would be as soon as she could, but it had to still sting. It didn't matter how much of a jerk he'd been in the past, this was big. This was a life and death issue or almost had been. He should have called by now.

"Okay," I heard Edward said. I turned to see him walk back in, three popsicles in hand. "What's the plan? Movie? Dinner? Dinner and a movie?"

"There's so much to do. I need to get in touch with Ben. I have a few articles that need to be finished, and then there's my article I have to worry about. I have to meet with the insurance agent, find a place to stay. I have to-"

"Bell, Bell, Bell." He placed his hands on her shoulders and massaged lightly. "Movie, dinner, dinner and a movie: which one? Everything else can wait a day."

"Movie," Bella said decidedly with a weary smile, her head back so she could look up at him. The way he was lookin' at her was so obvious. My mind drifted to the blonde. "I don't really feel up to eating. Still a bit nauseous," she said bringin' me out of my thoughts. The medicine had had her stomach in knots.

"Then nibble on this. No; no arguments." He cut off her protest as he picked up the popsicles from the back of the couch where he'd laid them. "You're not drinkin' enough fluids and you lost a lot of blood remember. You need to keep your blood sugar up. This kills two birds with one stone. Now, which movie?" I took the popsicles from him and let Bella choose first. Red, of course.

"Not a comedy. My lungs can't handle laughing." He looked though my collection before pullin' out Boondock Saints. "Oooh! Yeah!" He smiled and loaded the movie then turned the lights out. I stood up claimin' I needed popcorn. Really, I just wanted to give Edward his seat back. I'd seen the pout on his face when he turned to take a seat as the previews began.

Edward's POV

April 26 (Sunday)

"I've never seen such a mess," Charlie said as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.

The weather had turned unbelievably humid. It'd also rained early in the mornin', so it really just wasn't a great day. I'd lived in Texas so long though, that I'd gotten used to it. Charlie and the rest of Bella's family, however, were not accustomed to it. As Charlie put it, they weren't even used to sunlight. He wiped his hands on his jeans before lookin' back at what used to be Bella's house.

"At least the foundation is slab," the insurance agent said. "We won't have to start from scratch." I looked at him sharply. We'd just pulled Bella from this rubble, and he was sayin' careless shit like that.

We were at the site for hours it seemed. In the end, Danny, the insurance agent, said they'd pay for the rebuild. Bella would be ecstatic. She loved this place, loved even more that it was hers. Momma, Sue, Alice, and Samantha were walkin' the edge of the rubble gatherin' anything they thought was salvageable. Dad, Charlie, Ian, and I were talkin' with Danny, takin' everything in. We'd forced Bella to stay at Alice's. Dad, Charlie, and I thought it wouldn't be a good thing for her to see just yet.

"Okay," Danny said. "I'll get her claim processed. As long as the weather cooperates, we should have her back in within five to six months."

"That long?" I asked. Danny and Charlie chuckled.

"That's relatively quick," Charlie said. "He wasn't kidding when he was talking about having the foundation. It'll make this project move much faster. Thanks Danny. Good luck with the rest of your day."

"Thank you, sir. I'll be in touch."

"Thanks." He turned his wrist to check his watch as Danny walked away. "It's almost five. What do you say we pick up pizza and head back to Bells? She'll want to hear the good news."

"We'll stop by Pizza Hut," Dad said. "Anything in particular y'all like?" Charlie shrugged.

"Sue and I are easy. Sam doesn't like vegetables."

"Just like her sister," I said. Charlie chuckled and nodded.

Dad, Momma, Alice and I piled into my jeep while Charlie, Sue, Ian, and Sam got into their Ford Edge rental. They were gonna head back to Alice's while we grabbed dinner. I called ahead so that when we arrived, I didn't have to wait. I went inside, paid for the food, and we were on our way in no time. When we pulled up to Alice's, Bella's family was still in the car. They stepped out as we did.

"We didn't want to wake her if she was asleep, so we just decided to wait," Sue said.

I nodded in understanding. Bella hadn't been sleepin' well. If she was asleep at all, we tried not to disturb her. We followed Alice to the door and inside quietly once she unlocked it. Dad and Momma went to pour drinks, and I was placin' the pizza on the dining room table when I heard Sue gasp. Confused, and worried, I hurried to the living room, my parents not far behind.

"Bells?" Charlie asked quietly.

"Sam, Ian, go to the kitchen," Sue said urgently. Sam started to protest. "Now!" She scurried away at her mother's harsh tone.

I peeked around to see Bell sittin' on the floor between the couch and coffee table. I was worried and confused in an instant. She had her feet flat on the floor, knees bent. Her elbows rested on her knees, her arms extended in front of her. In one hand, she had a small glass, in the other…I looked closer. It was a bottle of something. I couldn't see her face 'cause she was facin' away from us.

"Bells," Charlie started again, almost as if speakin' to a baby fawn. "What are you doing, baby girl?" She shook her head.

"Bella, sweetie, you don't have to do this," Sue said softly as she placed a hand on Charlie's forearm. I heard Bell sniffle. I wanted to go hug her, tell her it'd be okay. I didn't know what 'it' was, but I'd help her get through it. I just wanted her to not do…whatever it was Charlie and Sue seemed so upset by.

"It's all gone," her raspy voice whispered. "The house, the truck, everything inside is destroyed. All the pictures have to be ruined."

"They're going to rebuild the house. We'll get you a new truck. We're going to go through what we can this week. Maybe not all of it is gone."

"Two days. I've lost nearly two days. Where did they go? I don't even remember most of it. How does a person lose two days?" She poured some of the drink…whiskey into the glass with a shaky hand. Sue gripped Charlie's arm harder as her other hand covered her mouth.

"Bella, that's not going to solve your problems."

Then it hit me. I should have seen it; I should have realized it. Bella was a recovering alcoholic. I wanted to kick myself for all the times I'd tried to get her to drink. She never drank, never went near a bar. Even the smell of it sent her runnin'. She was always so angry when Mike tried to get her to drink. He knew. It hurt that he knew and I didn't.

I looked over at my sister to see if she was surprised; she was. She hadn't known either. And the tattoo. That should have been a neon sign. The serenity prayer. It was said at every AA meeting. I'd gone to a few with my ex, Jane, when her brother slipped.

I walked around the couch and knelt next to her. A few tears trailed down her cheeks and she looked ahead almost unseeing. I rested my hand on her arm and used my other to tuck her hair behind her ear. She turned to look at me finally registerin' someone was in front of her. She sniffled again and looked at the glass.

"You don't have to do this, Bell," I said softly.

"What else can I do?" she said softly, hoarsely. "It's all gone. I can't get it back."

"We're not sure what all is gone. We're gonna try to recover all that we can. It's just gonna take a while."

"I don't know what to do. It's all too much. I don't know what to do."

"You have a choice. You can drink that, get completely drunk, and forget about everything. For a while. Then you'll sober up, hurt like hell, and have to start your struggle over from scratch. Or…" She looked at me with a guarded expression. "You can give me the bottle, hurt for a little while, and then make a plan to fix this. We can help you. You're not alone. You don't have to do this by yourself. We're here for ya." She looked back at the bottle. "How long has it been, Bell?" It took a minute for her to answer.

"Five years," she said just above a whisper.

"Six in two months," Charlie said proudly.

"Do you really want to mess up a six year stretch?" She hung her head then held the bottle towards me. I took it from her hands and sat it behind me before pulling her into a hug. She took a deep, shuddering breath that turned into a sob before wrapping her arms around me in return.

AN: Unbetaed again. Also, so sorry this is a little late. I had a busy weekend for my best friend's birthday. We went to a Big Cats Exhibit, the Caldwell Zoo, and a drive-thru Safari. Needless to say, I slept late today.

Did you like the beginning? Edward to the rescue! Now he can't stay away. He's being attentive and taking care of her. It helps that he's staying with them while the parents take his house.

Apparently, I can't stay away from the drama. Next chapter though, we're back to happy, fun times. Did you see the alcoholic bit coming? I had one person PM me with thoughts on that.

Review, and I'll send you a sneak peek of the next chapter. :)