[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Welcome to another update, my lovely readers. I want to thank you for all the favorite's and reviews. They make me feel special and put a smile on my face.

**10**

Alice's heart was pounding in her chest as she felt Bella's arms wrapping around her from behind. What was she doing here in her bed? God, it felt so good to have Bella this close. The brunette girl's breathe was pleasantly warm against Alice's neck.

Bella's right hand moved around Alice's waist, slowly gliding lower until she reached the base of Alice's semi-hard dick. The gentle touch of Bella's fingers made Alice shiver slightly as pleasure began to throb through her groins.

"Are you hard for me?"

"So hard," Alice whimpered while Bella's hand moved up from the base to the tip and back down again. "You make so hard."

After a few minutes Bella's fingers circled down to Alice's pussy and eventually one of them pressed against her entrance, spreading the wetness from there around the penis to use it like some sort of natural lube.

"Let go, baby. I want to feel you come all over my fingers."

Alice's climax rippled throughout her entire body, her muscles tightening as she cried out with the intensity of her release.

"Alice! Alice, wake up!"

Within a flash Alice's eyes flew open. For a second she didn't know where she was. She could feel some sticky wetness dampening the fabric of her blankets that she had wrapped around herself like a tight cocoon.

The room was still dark and it took her a moment to be able to see Bella's face in the darkness.

"You had a nightmare. It took me forever to wake you up again."

"Nightmare? I had a nightmare?" Alice repeated in a husky voice.

"Don't you remember your dream? It must have been a pretty intense one. Your whimpering woke me up. I usually sleep like a baby."

"I'm sorry." Alice mumbled. She was glad that Bella couldn't see her probably beet-red face right now. She remembered the dream very well. It had been the first time her mind had created a picture like that in her head that was so realistic. She could still feel the silky touch of Bella's finger around her dick. Like something like that was ever going to happen. Bella would be disgusted with her. She had to be disgusted with her body. Wouldn't she?

"Oh, Alice, please don't cry. You don't have to apologize for having a nightmare."

Bella wrapped her arms around Alice's shoulder, feeling the girl stiffen as her lips touched against Alice's neck.

"Hey. Don't be scared. It was just a dream. Dreams don't come true."

Alice sobbed, trying to hold back herself from a crying fit. She didn't want to worry Bella. Crap, why did everything have to be so difficult for her?

"I'll get you something to drink from the kitchen." Bella told Alice, planting a soft kiss on Alice's cheek.

As soon as Bella was out of the room, Alice jumped up to quickly toss her ruined shorts into the laundry basket in the corner of their room. She switched on the light and changed into a fresh pair of sweats. The skin on her thighs was still red and sensitive when she touched it with her fingertips. She sighed and grabbed the pot with the salve from the nightstand, applying a thin coat of it all over the injured area before she pulled the sweats back up again.

"What's that strange smell?" Bella asked when she returned from the kitchen. She placed a tray with two cups filled with hot chocolate on her bed and petted the place next to her.

"Come here to me. My bed is bigger than yours."

Alice flinched, wiping the rest of the salve on her left forearm before she walked over to sit next to Bella.

"The salve stinks like bleach. It's disgusting." Alice stated, wrinkling her nose as she lifted them to smell her fingertips.

"As long as it helps to lessen your pain, I'll try to ignore it." Bella told Alice as she handed her one of the cups. "It's hot. You have to be careful when you drink."

Alice took a small sip, holding the sweetness of the chocolate on the tip of her tongue for a second before she swallowed.

"My mother used to make me hot chocolate all the time when I was little."

"How's your mother like? You never talk much about her."

"I miss her. But I don't think she misses me too much. Laurent is keeping her busy. I can't stand that sleaze ball for crying out loud."

"I'm glad she met him though. Otherwise you wouldn't have come to live with us." Bella said before she took a gulp from her own drink and sighed. "I like having you here, even if you keep me up at three o'clock in the morning."

"I'm sorry."

"I already told you that you don't have to be sorry. I'm sorry that you're having nightmares."

"Hmm," Alice mumbled, raising the cup again. She decided that right now was as good as any other time to start explaining her condition to Bella. Crap, if she only wouldn't be so scared for Bella's reaction.

"You're pale. Are you in pain again? I could see if we have some Tylenol in the bathroom."

"I don't want any more drugs. Thank you."

Bella reached out her hand and put one of Alice's curls behind the girl's ear.

"Why do you think you're different?"

"Different?"

"Yes, you said something like that last night before you passed out. Is it because you have problems with being gay?"

"I'm not sure if I'm gay. Maybe I'm just gay for you. I don't know what I am. It must be so easy if you know how to label yourself."

"Took me long enough to figure things out. Now, tell me, why do you think you're different?"

"Because I know, I am. It's really complicated. I'm afraid you're going to freak if I tell you."

"I'm not that easy to shock. You know, you can trust me. Don't you?"

Alice didn't respond. Instead she moved a bit further away from Bella on the bed and placed her empty cup on the tray again.

"I'm different than other girls."

"I know. You're way prettier than most, and you're such a sweet person on top of it. I'm glad that you like me back."

"I like you a lot. That's why I am scared to tell you my secret. If I tell you about it, you're going to be disgusted."

"Wow, now you're scaring me. Tell me what's wrong. I'm sure it's not as bad as you think it to be."

Yes, it is bad! Alice thought, feeling the panic spreading through her again.

"It's about my body." she started hesitantly. "It's different from that of other women."

"Are you sick?"

"No. No, I'm not. It's just…I'm physically different…my genitals are different. I have a…pe-nis." The last word died in her throat as she jumped up and curled into a ball on her small bed. There was a part in her, a pretty big part that wished she could make herself disappear somehow.

"Alice? What do you mean with you have a penis? Are you a boy? You' can't be a boy. I wouldn't feel for you like I do if you were a boy."

"Please, don't look at me. I'm so ashamed."

"You don't have to ashamed. I just want to understand."

"You're not going to run?"

"I fall down a lot when I try to run."

"Well, it's complicated to explain my condition to you. Do you know how chromosomes work like? I'm genetically female, with everything that belongs to a normal woman. But where others have a clitoris I have a penis."

"For real? That's weird. Were you born like that?"

"Yes. Isn't that horrible?"

"I don't know. Does it hurt you?"

"What?"

"The penis, is it causing you pain?"

"No, it doesn't. It's just…well, it's just not normal that I have one. My mom wanted to get that thing removed when I was little. I remember my parents fighting about that a lot."

"If it's not painful, why would you go through the agony of having a surgery?"

"People are not exactly accepting when they find out about my little…extra. There was a boy in my school back in Biloxi. We dated for a few weeks. Then, one night we were in his car, making out. He…felt me getting hard against his stomach. God, I can still hear him yelling in my ears. I'm glad he didn't beat me up or something."

"What an asshole. I'm glad he can't harm you anymore."

"Things like that are going to happen again. I don't want people in school to find out."

"They won't. You don't have to tell anyone, if you don't feel comfortable." Bella walked over to Alice's bed and kneeled down in front of her. She placed her hand on Alice's shoulder and tugged gently.

"I'm glad you told me. I don't want any secrets between us."

xxxxx

Later that morning, when Bella and Alice had drifted to sleep again, cuddled together on Bella's bed, someone else hadn't managed to close her eyes for just one single minute.

Insomnia was a common problem for Esme. She didn't sleep well without pills. But as she was afraid to develop some addiction to them, she forced herself to try without them every other night.

She pulled out the Polaroid picture from her nightstand. It had been cut in half. Esme couldn't bear to look at the grin on Charles face. The baby was resting on her chest, the damp hair on the tiny head the same shade as her own. She remembered planting a kiss on it. Then Charles had taken the baby away. He had told her that he wasn't going to share her with anyone. She was his, for now and for all times.

"I hate you." she mumbled, standing up from the couch that was working as her bed in her two-room apartment. It was small but cozy. There was even a tree outside her kitchen window. She had built a birdhouse and fixed it on one of the higher branches of the tree. Maybe a bird would build a nest in it. That would be wonderful.

Pouring herself a glass of water, Esme leaned against the window. The glass felt cold against her forehead. She had to be back to the hospital for a double-shift in 6 hours. How was she going to survive that without having any sleep before it?

With trembling finger she placed the Polaroid on the fridge with a little heart-shaped magnet.

"I'm so sorry, baby. I should have been stronger for you. I should have fought for you."

Maybe she was going to have a second chance. Maybe she could get her son back, even after all this time. Esme hadn't dared to hope for it, but when she had mentioned things to her divorce lawyer, the young woman had encouraged her to fight for her rights. Her rights? It wasn't like anyone had ever given anything about them before…

In the hope that a bit of fresh air would make her sleepy, Esme walked out, feeling the damp grass underneath her bare feet. She walked over to the tree, touching its bark for a moment when something fluffy startled her as it rubbed against her calve. Then her neighbors Main Coon cat rushed up the tree, disappearing high above.

"Come back, kitty. Come back!" she called after the animal. Then she realized that the cat had probably smelled a bird and was chasing after it. Esme couldn't let that happen. There could be little baby birds in the bird house she had built. "Come back, kitty, or I'm coming after you!"

The cat hissed and Esme sighed deeply. She hadn't tried climbing a tree since she was a young girl. It couldn't be that difficult though, could it? Carefully she started climbing up. The hard bark was scratching her knees and hands but she didn't stop.

"Got you," she sighed when she could see the cat sitting idly on a branch. Esme reached out her hands to grab the animal but in that moment she lost her balance and dropped forward. The last thing she heard was the loud cracking in her leg as her body made contact with the ground just seconds later.