Tweak

(A/N- This chapter might be a little sketchy. Bear with me.)

I ride over to the hospital with Carlisle to pick up Melinda. My stomach twists and turns and ties itself into knots. What if she refuses to get in?

I snap out of that line of thought, refusing to let myself think that way.

"Stay in the car. I'll get her," I say, hoping he agrees.

"Are you sure?" he gave me that familiar look of knowing, but I shrugged it off.

She's sitting there in the waiting room, sipping coffee and trying to look as invisible as possible. The bandage is off, and I can see the angry red line stretching down her wrist. When she sees me, she pretends to ignore me, but I walk over and grab her wrist. After an exhausted sigh, she gets up and walks out to the car with me, sliding into the backseat.

*****

We arrive at my house, and I lead her up to my room. She gapes at the big, gold, four-poster bed in the middle of my room.

"You can stay here for awhile. I'll stay downstairs if you want me to," I say kind of quietly, afraid I might say something to set her off again.

She simply shrugs and plops down on the bed. "I need to go back to my place sometime. What if my dad finds out I've been staying here? He'll flip."

"Um, yeha. You don't need to worry about him anymore."

"What do you mean? Is he dead?" she looks at me with something in her eyes. Hope? No, not hope. My girl would never be happy at something like that, would she?

Is she even my girl anymore?

"Well, yeah. Alcohol poisoning." Crap. She knows I'm lying.

"You killed him, didn't you?" she says, somehow managing to keep her voice toneless.

I walk over and sit down. She looks up at me with a thoughtful expression. "You did it to protect me." It was more of a statement than a question.

"Yeah." I just sit there awkwardly, waiting for her response.

"I'm sorry!" she blurts out. "I didn't mean what I said! I'm- I'm not done." Tears start streaming down her face.

My eyes meet hers and our lips together. I reach up to braid my fingers into her luscious mane of shiny, black hair. Every feeling of regretm guilt, and frustration I've had since our fight is washed away with the feeling of her lips on mine. I run my tongue across the curve of her lower lip, and she pulls away.

"I still love you," she says breathlessly.

"I love you, too."

*****

I feel great. Mel isn't mad at me anymore, she's staying the night, she's safe, and Alice isn't bitching at me.

God, I feel good right now.

My eyes travel to my girl sleeping beside me. Her eyes are closed, and her face has a look of serenity. She's beautiful when she sleeps. Just like when she's awake.

A soft hum escapes her lips, and she opens her beautiful green eyes, looking up at me.

"Good morning, love."(A/N- Yes, I really had to.)

She graons payfully, burying her face into my chest. "I hate mornings," she grumbles with a touch of a smile in her voice.

I stroke her luxurious hair. "You can go back to sleep now. It's winter break, you know."

"You smell nice."

"Alright. You're going to sleep."

"Why?" she whines, and I chuckle. (A/N- Yes, I had to say "chuckle" at some point!)

"You sound like you're on pot, dear." But before I finish, she's already asleep.

I slip out of the bed and go to Carlisle's study. "I found one for you," he says brightly.

"Really?" he spins the monitor around and shows me a picture of the white and red house I suggested the other day for us. "It's perfect."

*****

We walk in through the red door and the smell of fresh paint greets us. Mel coughs.

"Ugh. I hatethat smell. Drives me crazy."

"It won't be like that for long. Besides, it smells better than booze."

She slaps my chest. "That's not funny," she says with a stern look.

"I'm sorry." I bend down to lay a soft kiss on her forehead.

My girl looks back up at me. "You're forgiven." She stretches up on her tippy-toes to lay a tender kiss on my lips.

"Get a room!"

"Alice!" we yell in unison. I didn't even hear her coming.

"I'm serious. You guys are acting like a pair of honeymooners."

"We're not as bad as you and Jasper," Mel said with an innocent yet evil grin on her face. I gotta learn how to do that.

Alice gasps, kicks me in the shin, then tries to glare, but fails miserably.

"Why are you kicking me?"

"Because you're the reason she knows!"

"Hey. Anybody who spendsa night in our house would know what goes on with you guys."

She kicked me again, and stormed out the door.

"That got rid of her," Melinda says between laughs.

When she finishes laughing, we walk upstairs.

"Shouldn't we look at the main level first?" she says, confused.

"No. That's the boring way."

She smiles and wraps her arms around my neck. "I knew you would say something like that."

I lift her up and carry her to the nearest bed and press my lips to hers. I can feel her smiling.

She pulls away. "Can you imagine living here? All by ourselves?"

"Yeah. I think I can."

(A/N- Love you!)