A/N: First off, let me apologize for leaving ya'll hanging for over six months. I feel horrible about it, but I just haven't had time to write. I've had so much homework lately (I'm warning you now, don't take three AP classes. Just don't do it.) and volleyball has been crazy. Now club volleyball season has started and senior year registration has been pure insanity, but now that everything is started to settle in and slow down a bit I'll be able to write more. I'll let ya'll read, so here's chapter ten. (Whoo! Double digits!)

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

Soundtrack: Flat On The Floor by Carrie Underwood

Chapter 10: Flat On The Floor

Previously on Small Town Southern Living:

"Who else is coming?" she asked, gesturing to the two empty places at the table.

"Oh, I invited Billy and Jacob," Mr. Swan said. Bella and I stiffened next to each other. "Is that a problem?"

"No, not at all," Bella said through gritted teeth. "Not at all."

(Edward's POV)

Just as she said that, the doorbell rang. Mr. Swan got up and went to answer the door. Once he was out of the room, Bella turned to me and said quietly, "I'm so sorry. I didn't know that he was coming."

"Bella, it's fine. We'll handle it," I assured her even though I wasn't sure if I could hold myself back from trying to smash the moron's face in if he started to provoke Bella.

Bella still seemed wary, but she relaxed when I took her hand under the table and started to rub small circles into the back of it gently.

About a minute later, Mr. Swan came back into the room pushing a man in a wheelchair with Jacob following them. Jacob sent a smile over to Bella, who only glared back at him. I gave her hand a gentle squeeze, letting her know that everything would be fine. And then Jacob saw that I was sitting next to her. His face instantly changed from smug to downright livid and I could only smirk. I'm sure he was going to try to use tonight to "fix" things with Bella. Well, my Bella wouldn't have any of that.

My Bella. I like the sound of that.

"Hello, Billy," Bella said, a slight smile on her face. "It's good to see you again.""Good to see you, too, Bella," the older man said, an actual smile on his face. "And who is this young man?" Billy asked, looking over at me.

"Oh, this is a friend of mine, Edward Cullen. He's Mr. and Mrs. Cullen's son. He's visiting from up north," Bella said, introducing me. I stood up from my seat and went over to shake the man's hand and he shook mine without a bit of spite.

"It's nice to meet you, sir," I said.

"You as well, son," Billy said. "And this is my son, Jacob."

"We've met," Jacob said, crossing his arms over his chest. I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes at him.

"Oh, really? Where?" Billy asked, looking between the two of us.

"At the fair," I told him, keeping a smile (albeit a fake one) on my face. "We met at the baseball toss."

"Interesting," Billy said and dropped the subject. I glanced over at Bella and she had a tense smile on her face as she walked back over to her seat and sat down. I followed her and sat back down in my seat as Mrs. Swan brought out the food. She called for Emmett and Rose to come into the dining room as she greeted Billy and Jacob with a friendly smile.

Emmett and Rose came into the room and went to sit down on the other side of Bella and me, but Jacob sat down next to her first. Bella stiffened and discreetly moved her chair closer to me. Emmett and Rose shot a glare in Jacob's direction and went to sit down on the other side of the table. None of the adults seemed to notice the tension that was radiating from between everyone else at the table.

It was quiet for a little while before Mrs. Swan turned to me and asked, "So, Edward, how're you liking our little town? It must be quite a bit different from up north."

I looked up from my plate and said, "Yes, ma'am, it's actually very different, but in a good way. I've never been below the Mason-Dixon Line before, but you guys have given me a very good first impression." I flashed my most charming smile at her.

Mrs. Swan smiled at me. "Well, I'm glad that you like it down here. It's nice to have visitors once in a while. Isn't that right, Charlie?" She looked over at her husband and he grunted in a indifferent sort of way.

Alright… I felt a small foot rub against my leg under the table and I relaxed a bit and a small smile appeared on my face. I rubbed my foot against Bella's and she coughed to cover up a giggle when I tickled her foot.

The rest of dinner was a silent affair except for the occasional question directed towards me or one of Bella's muffled giggles. Bella would occasionally rub her foot against my leg and I would return the favor. Bella completely ignored Jacob for the entirety of dinner, but I couldn't help but notice how Jacob was eyeing Bella the entire time. I had to keep myself from glaring at him throughout dinner.

After dinner was over, I offered to clear the table for Mrs. Swan and she accepted with a smile on her face. Emmett and I cleared off the table quickly as everyone else moved into the other room.

When Emmett and I were in the kitchen alone I took the opportunity to ask him about Jacob. "Is Jacob always so intense?" I asked Emmett, trying to keep the question as innocent as possible.

Emmett shook his head. "He used to be an okay guy until Bella broke up with him and then he just wouldn't leave her alone. He hasn't done anything to hurt her but he's starting to wear on her last nerve."

I nodded, but kept my mouth shut and continued to bring the dishes into the kitchen.

(Bella's POV)

After Edward offered to help clear the table, he and Emmett started to clean up and everyone else moved into the living room. My dad and mom wanted to go out onto the porch so Rose and Billy accompanied them and I was left in the living room alone with Jacob. I could have gone outside with my parents but Jacob was standing in front of the door, blocking my path.

"Can you please move?" I asked him as politely as I possibly could.

"Bella, baby, we need to talk," he said to me, more like demanded.

"We don't need to talk about anything, Jacob. The chance for talking passed quite a while ago, so if you'll excuse me, I would like to speak with my parents," I said to him. I tried to sidestep him but before I could reach for the door knob, he grabbed my arm and pulled me back. I gasped in shock. He had never actually been rough with me in any sort of way.

"Let go, Jacob," I said as forcefully and as quietly as I could. I didn't want Edward or Emmett coming in here to make a scene.

"No, not until you talk to me," he said, his teeth grinding together.

"No, Jacob," I told him, glaring up at him. "I'm done talking to you. I've been done talking to you for two years. Now. Let. Me. Go," I forced out as I tried to pull my arm out of his grip, but to no avail.

"Baby," Jacob said. "Just say you'll go out with me again. You know you want to. I can see it in your eyes."

Now I was just furious. "I will never in a million years go out with a dog like you ever again in my life and if I do, then I'll just go ahead and fall in a hole and stay there for being so stupid."

"Now, baby, you know---" He never got to finish his sentence because I rammed my knee up into the one place that guys don't want to be hit and he let go of my arm and he fell to the floor, moaning in pain.

"Leave me alone or I'll do it again or send one of the boys after you to kick your ass," I threatened. "And quit calling me 'baby'." And then I stormed out of the room, leaving Jacob curled up on the floor in pain.

I walked into the kitchen to only find Edward in the kitchen and I was extremely thankful for that. Edward must have heard me come in because he turned around and smiled at me. But his smile turned into a frown when he saw my face. "What happened, love?" he asked me quietly.

I just shook my head and walked up to him and wrapped my arms around his waist and buried my face into his chest. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close and placed a kiss on the top of my head. "Can we go somewhere?" I asked him, pulling my face from his chest.

He nodded. "Anywhere you want," he said. I nodded and pulled out of his embrace reluctantly and walked towards the living room to find that Jacob has moved himself off the floor and out onto the porch with everyone else. Edward followed close behind me.

"Hey," I said, getting my parents' attention. "I'm gonna show Edward around for a little while. We won't be out long." My parents nodded and my mom said goodbye to Edward while my dad grunted. Jacob just glared at me and Edward but didn't comment.

Edward followed me off the porch and over to his Volvo. He opened my door for me and then went over to his side of the car and got in. "Where do you want to go?" he asked.

"I don't care. Just away from here," I said quietly. He nodded and started driving. I didn't pay any attention to where he was going and I didn't look up until he pulled to a stop. We were in front of his house and I was a bit confused, but I didn't argue. He came to open my door and he took my hand and pulled me out of the car and started walking around the house and towards the large open fields that spread out for miles behind the house.

We walked in silence for a little while until we were a good distance from the house, the only light coming from the moon that had risen during our drive. Edward sat down in the middle of the field and then took my hand and pulled me down into his lap. He wrapped his arms around me and cradled me in his embrace, my head tucked under his chin. We were silent for the longest time before I heard myself say in a weak whisper, "He tried to talk to me again."

Edward stiffened underneath me, but didn't say anything. "I told him that I didn't want to talk to him and when I tried to get away he grabbed my arm and wouldn't let go. He kept trying to convince me to go out with him again, but I didn't listen to him." I stopped there and I felt Edward relax slightly.

"Did he hurt you?" he asked quietly, stiffly, like he was trying to keep himself from leaping up and killing Jacob right then.

"Not really," I said. Edward lifted his head from on top of mine and started looking my arms over. He stiffened considerably when he found the place on my arm that Jacob had grabbed. I looked down at the spot that he was looking at and a small gasp slipped through my lips. A hand-shaped bruise was spreading on my arm where Jacob had grabbed me.

I looked up into Edward's eyes and saw fury blazing in the dark emerald irises. "Please don't do anything drastic, Edward," I begged him. "He's not worth it."

"But you are, Bella," Edward said, his voice serious. "He doesn't deserve any sort of respect after what he's done to you."

"I know, but please don't do anything that might get you in trouble. Please, Edward," I begged him again.

He was quiet for a minute before he nodded. "But you have to tell me if anything like this ever happens again, understand? Even if he just tries to talk to you again. I want you to get away from him as fast as possible and tell me, alright?"

I nodded and buried my face into his neck, inhaling his unique scent to help calm me. Edward wrapped his arms around me again and held me tight against his body. He pressed a soft kiss to the top of my head and buried his face into my hair.

I let out a sigh and cuddled closer to Edward and felt, for the first time in two years, safe in someone's arms.

A/N: Alright, guys, there's chapter 10 and I want to apologize again for the awful wait that I put ya'll through. Life has just been crazy. Anyway, I really hope that I'll be able to update more often now that I've got almost everything settled.

Alrighty, ya'll, until next time.

Peace out, girl scouts!

Kitti :)