Chapter Nine: Arrested Development

BPOV

I probably should have gotten up by now. Logically, there was no reason for me to still be in the same spot I'd been in since noon when the evening was fast approaching. I had attempted to do something productive this morning. I showered and did laundry, but somewhere between a rerun of Criminal Minds and Grey's Anatomy I lost my will to do much as my body protested.

Parts of me that I never knew existed, now ached. I could feel the remnants of yesterday's physical therapy workout deep within every tendon of my body. The tension was nearly palpable. My arm muscles were so sore, it hurt to brush my teeth. Despite knowing it would be good for me in the long run, I had grown to hate James. As a person, I'm sure he was probably great. But, as my physical therapist, I was beginning to believe he took some sort of sick, sadistic pleasure from seeing me in pain. His only saving grace was that Emmett insisted he was the best in our area. Of course, I assumed he had no problem speaking so highly of James, since he lived so far away.

I guess it was a good thing I hurt so bad though. It really helped to take my mind off the boredom that had been settling in lately. Since Emmett left to go home, I didn't really have any one around to talk to besides our parents. Naturally, I'd had more than enough awkward dinners to last the rest of my life.

I didn't blame them. They were stuck in a weird position. Having me living here with them, must be surreal. I hadn't stayed here, before now, with any permanence since the week before I started college. Even on breaks, I was only home a few days and quickly escaped back to school and work. Before the fire, I lived in the same city and we barely saw each other. That was mostly due to Charlie, but still we lived very separate lives.

Most of my own friends lived on the opposite side of town. Yet, despite being so closely located, there was a hesitance present between us that hadn't been there before. Sure, they called every now and then, to check in. But whenever us hanging out got mentioned, they all make promises to catch up over coffee or dinner, but it never happened. I suppose it was partially my fault. I wasn't very welcoming or pleasant in the days immediately following the fire. I tried to make amends for that over the past few weeks, but to no avail. Maybe it was just our time to grow apart. I had already made my peace with that.

Deciding to liberate myself from the doldrums, I put on my sunscreen, shoes, and jacket before locking up the house and venturing out into the world.

The heat was sweltering. So much so that I thought about turning back on my walk to the car, just to grab some water. I quickly thought better of that plan when I acknowledged two very real facts. The first being that I didn't like the taste of tap water and we were out of bottled water. Secondly, if I went back into the cool oasis that was my parents' house, I would not emerge again until the temperature decided to be reasonable. By reasonable, I meant eighty-five with a strong breeze.

Deciding it was best to stick to the plan, I rode around for the better part of two hours after picking up an aloe water from the local bodega. Not to long after that, my stomach started to growl. I knew instantly what I wanted to eat.

Makenna's

When I was a kid, Makenna's was my haven. My parents worked hard to provide for Emmett and I, but that meant we didn't have a lot of time to devote to making family memories. The few I do remember distinctly happened at Makenna's. On Saturday mornings, my mom and I would go there, and we'd talk about everything in my life. We'd talk about school, and the clubs I was in, but mostly, we talked about Rosalie.

I'd tell her all about what Rosalie had been up to all week and she'd ask questions about Rosalie and her family. As a kid, I remember thinking about how cool my mom was. I remember counting down the days until I could introduce Rosalie to my mom. I knew she would love her just like I did.

For that, Makenna's would always be special.

Of course, it didn't hurt that the food was amazing either. Pulling into a parking space in front of the all too familiar building, I took in the scenery. I wasn't surprised that the line was spilling over onto the sidewalk. Rush hour traffic probably kept this place busier than most in the area, but no one seemed to mind. The food was good enough to wait for.

Once I was inside, it wasn't hard to find a table since most folks seemed to be picking up orders. The looks directed my way, however, made me feel slightly embarrassed and anxious all at the same time. I began to wonder if people could see the fear on my face. I was just about to flee, when a tray flopped down on the table, shocking me out of my reverie.

"Hey. You look like you could use some company. Mind if I sit here?" a voice said, causing me to focus on it rather than the scene unfolding in my line of sight outside the plexiglass window of the restaurant.

"Uh…no, I guess it's cool. There are better tables though." I sputtered out.

To say I was flabbergasted, would be an understatement. Clearly, the universe was having fun pitching me one cosmic fuck after another. Anything else would classify as a statistical anomaly. It took me a moment to realize that she was pulling out the chair across from me and getting comfortable. Yay, this should be fun.

"Nah, it's okay I wanted to sit here, you look like you could use the company and you won't hurt me anyway. Oh my god! I'm so sorry. I'm Alice, by the way," she rambled, sticking out her tiny hand for me to shake as if she'd just made the world's most terrible blunder. I accepted the offered hand, regardless. It was almost comical how frazzled she was about me knowing her name, when I had already known more about her entire family than was strictly necessary.

"Hey Alice, I'm Bella. You and I will be great friends. I can already tell." I said introducing myself to the pixie like woman in front of me, who graced me with a yay and a smile.