Rolling to my side, I was awoken with a strong pain in my side I was unfortunately getting all too used to. As slowly as I could manage, I raised myself up and out of bed. The clock on my bedside table shouted the time in angry red letters: 8:47. I hadn't slept this late in months; even without an alarm I'd always managed to wake up by 8:00.
I started making a quick schedule in my head as I grabbed my phone and headed to the bathroom.
Music.
That was first on the schedule. Turning on the water, I opened my Spotify app.
Empowering Playlist – Shuffle All
The voice of Ingrid Michaelson began to fill the room.
I just wanna be ok, be ok, be ok… I just wanna be ok today.
A perfect song to start the day; I stepped into the shower. The hot water smoothed out my muscles and cleared my mind. My new bandage seemed to be holding its own under the water.
By the time I shut the water off, Brave by Sara Bareilles was playing. I sang along quietly. That's right, Swan. Be brave. I dried myself and wrapped my hair in a towel, walking to the bedroom. The clock read 9:13 as I pulled on a pair of jeans and a nicely fitted long sleeve top. I knew I'd have to get my clothes from home soon; Esme had only gotten me enough to last me about a week, and I did not want her to buy anymore.
Returning to the bathroom, I blow dried my hair; no sense in getting sick because of wet hair. It was just past 9:30 when I ready for the day. I ran through the schedule I'd come up with in the shower once more.
Downstairs. Breakfast. Something to stay busy with, maybe the dishes or a book. Leave the house at 10:45.
Grabbing my wallet, I shoved it into my packet and left the safety of my room. The smell of pancakes filled my nose as I carefully descended the stairs, causing my stomach to growl. Esme must seriously love cooking.
As soon as I stepped into the kitchen I froze in my tracks. Everyone was present; Jasper was surprisingly standing in front of the stove, spatula in hand. Alice and Emmett sat across from him at the counter, while Rosalie and Edward were halfway between the kitchen and the living room, in the middle of a conversation. Of course, they all stopped when I entered to stare.
I let out a frustrated sign; didn't anyone ever teach them staring was rude? I wasn't ready for this; I hadn't psyched myself up for the day. Change of plans. Grabbing the nearest consumable thing near me, which happened to be an apple, I decided to start my day early.
"I'm heading out; do you any of you know where Esme is?" I said to no one in particular.
Alice was the one who answered, walking over to me. "She's already started her video conference. I'll show you which keys are hers."
"Thanks." I mumbled. Before I turned to leave Emmett flashed a dimply smile. "Have fun!"
Jasper waved with his spatula. "See ya, Bella."
I gave a small wave and followed Alice. Once we had reached the garage, she grabbed a key chain off the rack and exited the house. We walked in silence towards a shiny gray car. I recognized it from the few times I'd seen in it the hospital parking lot; I should've known the only other brand new gorgeous car in town belonged to a Cullen.
Alice fiddled with the keys, refusing to meet my gaze. Again, I found myself seeing a member of the Cullen in a way I'd never seen before. Shame, embarrassment, and fear mangled her features; fear of rejection. She didn't speak, but I could tell she was dying to.
"Thanks." I said lamely, gesturing towards the car.
She gave a half-hearted smile and wordlessly handed me the keys.
"Alice." I sighed.
Immediately her eyes began to water. "Bella, I'm-"she cut herself off, covering her mouth and closing her eyes. She was trying to compose herself, thankfully. She took a deep breath and started again. "Bella, I'm so sorry. For everything. I know you're headed out for the day, so I was just wondering if we could talk sometime soon. I'd like to thank you for saving our lives, and give you a real apology…"
This wasn't an Alice I was used to; she was being honest with me for probably the first time. Charlie always said I'd inherited his ability to see the truth. As much as my head still said don't believe her! my gut told me she was being sincere. So I agreed.
"Sure, Alice. I'll be back before dinner, we can talk then."
She smiled again, a bit more genuine, but it still didn't reach her eyes. "Of course. Thank you, Bella." Without another word, she turned and returned to the house.
Turning the key in my hand, I unlocked the door and ducked into the car. The interior was a beautiful gray leather, with the new car smell intact. There was an iPod jack plugged into the stereo, so I connected my phone and resumed my playlist. I turned the key and started the car.
Pushing the first button on the roof of the car, I was rewarded when the garage opened. Very slowly, and with extreme caution, I backed out of the garage and down the driveway. I followed the trail until I hit the main road and was on my way.
It took only a few minutes until I was at the main part of town, a dozen more and I was on the freeway heading towards Port Angeles. I turned the volume up as one of Colbie Caillat's newer songs began to play.
If I was being honest with myself, Esme's quiet car and stereo system made for a wonderful car ride. There was hardly anyone on the road, due to the fact that it was 10 in the morning on a Wednesday. I edged the volume up a bit more and lost myself in the music. I sang, and I sang loudly, letting the music clam me and lift my spirits.
It felt good to be alone; it was a different alone than I was used to. Usually I was alone by force; no family at home and no friends to surround myself with. This was different; this was by choice. Just knowing that made it entirely different. I was on my way to lunch with a friend, singing to some music, taking a nice long drive… Today was going to be a good day. Once I was about fifteen minutes from the city, I turned to volume to an acceptable volume and starting looking for someplace to get breakfast, my apple left untouched in the cup holder.
I parked outside of Bella Italia and started walking around. Across the intersection I could see a coffee house. Eager for some coffee, I quickly made my way into the café.
"Welcome to Princess Valiant Coffee!" the barista greeted cheerfully from behind the counter. I walked up to the register. "My name is Tricia, how can I help you today?" she asked politely.
I ordered a medium plain latte and a slice of delicious looking coffee cake to go. Once my coffee was ready, I ventured outside to explore.
Bingo.
Just across the parking lot: Odyssey Bookshop.
With an eagerness in my step, I was at the bookstore in a moment, ready to explore the new – to me – store. I was immediately hit with the smell of burning incense when I opened the door. It was an adorably welcoming bookstore, cluttered but organized. After looking around for a few minutes, I knew I was done for once I reached the corner. Hundreds of books filled the shelves, most in great condition and all at insanely low prices.
I pulled my phone out and set an alarm; if I didn't, I had no doubt I'd stand up Angela for lunch unintentionally. Before putting it away, I sent her a text.
Bella Italia, 12:00. See you then! –Bella
Returning to the shelves, I began browsing. By the time my alarm went off, reminding me I had 20 minutes to get to the restaurant, I had collected thirteen books.
You know the drill. Five go back on the shelf.
Unable to give up any more than four, I ended up leaving with the entire Jane Austen collection, another copy of Wuthering Heights, as well as the collections of Hans Christian Andersen and the Grimm brothers. Charlie used to tell me the fairy tales when I was growing up; I couldn't resist taking home the entire collections for less than $10 each.
I rushed towards the register and paid quickly; the entire purchase was just under $60, and I had eight minutes. Jogging to the car, I left the bag in the car and walked into the restaurant. Angela was in a booth in a corner and waved me over when she saw me. Her smile widened the closer I got, and she enveloped me into a tight hug once I close enough.
"Oh, Bella. I've missed you." She said as we took our seat.
"I've missed you too, Ang."
"I ordered us some cokes. That's still your favorite, right?"
"Of course." I giggled.
"How are you? Are you okay? I was so worried… After what happened on Monday… well no one really knew what happened, only that you had been shot, and… Oh, Bella, I thought I'd lost you."
Being in the middle of everything that had happened, I never thought of what it must have looked like to someone on the outside.
"I'm fine, Angela. I promise. I'm doing really well." I smiled, but could still see the worry in her eyes. "Honestly, I'm ok. Dr. Cullen takes great care of me. I've never been safer than I am now that I'm living with a highly skilled doctor."
Her face quickly went from worried to shocked. "What? You're living with the Cullen's?" she whispered the last part as if she were afraid to say it out loud.
Clearly the news hadn't spread as quickly as I thought it would. With the school closed, Forks' heart of the gossip chain had been incapacitated.
"Yes, I am. I didn't really have too much of a choice," I started to explain before she could ask, "after I was put in the hospital and people outside of Forks realized I was never put under someone's care after Charlie passed, they had to take care of it. Since Mr. and Mrs. Cullen are still foster parents technically, they decided to me with them to save the time and money of moving me."
She sat for a few minutes, realizing what I had just said. "Bella… No. That's not right. They can't do that."
"Apparently they can."
"But they've been bullying you for the last year and a half, you can't go live with them!" when I stayed silent, her eyes tightened. "You didn't tell anyone that they bullied you, did you?"
I shrugged. "Honestly, Ang, she probably wouldn't have cared anyway. The woman could've been a zombie; she didn't care about what I had to say." I could tell this was not what she wanted to hear, so I continued before she could. "Angela, it's okay. What's done is done; I'm alright. I've dealt with them for a year and half, what's two and half more?"
Before she could reply we were interrupted by our waiter. He placed two cokes on the table then introduced himself.
"Hello. My name is Jason; I'll be your server today. How can I help you beautiful ladies?" he smiled.
I felt my cheeks warm slightly. Angela winked when he turned to me.
"I'll have the shrimp scampi, please." I ordered, not wanting spaghetti two meals in a row. He nodded and turned to Angela.
"And I'll have the spaghetti and mushrooms, please." She smiled to him as he took our menus and backed away.
Once our distraction was gone, Worried Angela returned. "Bells…"
"Ang…" I copied; she sighed. "When have I lied to you, Angela?" Once. "Exactly."
"Ok, fine. I'll ask you once and then I'll shut up. Are you going to be ok living in that house?" She asked very seriously.
"Yes. I will be. I can handle this."
She nodded in agreement. "Ok." Her shoulders hunched.
"What is it, Ang?"
She visibly deflated, looking miserable. "I should've been there for you, Bella."
"Stop."
"No, Bella, I should have! What kind of friend am I? I just sat back and let them torture you, never once did I say something, or-"
"Angela, stop it." I said firmly.
"Bella, I should have been there for you." She repeated.
"Listen to me, Angela. I told you to leave me alone. I told you I didn't want to be friends anymore. I didn't want you to be the next victim of their little game. I would've been angry with you if you didn't listen to me."
I thought back to that day. A week after freshman year started, I met Angela in the parking lot before first hour. "Angela, I don't want to be your friend anymore. Leave me alone. I don't want to talk to you ever again." I said it my meanest voice. That was the only time I'd ever lied to my best friend, and for all she knew, it was the truth. We stopped seeing each other after that day.
"I should have known better, Bella." Angela continued to argue.
"Stop. It's not your fault. You were doing what I asked. I'm glad you did."
She contemplated for a moment. "Well I suppose you're right; I can't change the past," thank you "and sorry, but I'm not listening to you anymore. Once were back at school, we're back to being friends." She raised her chin defiantly.
I agreed. While I wasn't sure whether the Cullen's would honestly treat me differently or not, I was fairly confident. The next few minutes before our food arrived, we picked up where we left of all those months ago; it was like nothing had ever happened. When our food arrived, she became serious again.
"They haven't… done anything to you, have they? I mean, since you've moved in with them…" Though she was being vague, I knew what she was hinting at.
"Just a few of them… Emmett… and Jasper, too. Alice tried this morning, but I left before she had the chance."
Her face was in disbelief. "What did they do to you?" she asked in horror.
I paused for effect. "…they apologized."
Her faced jumped from anger to surprise to confusion, flashing few a through others quickly. "They… apologized…" she said slowly, testing the words out. I nodded, shoving a bite of delicious shrimp scampi into my mouth. "Well that's… unexpected. Did they mean it?"
"From what I could tell. They all came to me on their own; no one there to impress or put on a show for… Emmett was the first; he came to me at the hospital and broke down, saying how horrible he felt. Jasper apologized last night, and he made me promise that I wouldn't believe anything bad they've ever said about me was true."
"Wow… That's… well I don't know what that is… nice? I mean, it's nice that he said none of it was true."
"Yeah. He also said he was going to make amends for it all, but we'll see. I forgave them. I mean honestly, I didn't just say that… but I'm not naïve. I'm watching my back around them."
"What about Rosalie and Edward?" Her voice dropped a bit when she said his name, again as if she was slightly afraid.
"No. I don't think Rosalie will ever apologize. She's above all of that. The only way she'll apologize is if someone makes her. As for Edward… well I think he tried to last night."
"Tried to?"
"I didn't give him the chance. I told him I wasn't ready to talk to him yet."
"Well good for you. You stood up to him; I'm glad. Are you going to forgive him- them, if they do apologize?"
I had thought of this throughout the past few days, ever since Emmett apologized actually. "If they're sincere, then I will eventually. You know I'm not one to hold a grudge. It'll take some time- probably a few weeks- to be able to move past all they said… I mean Rosalie, she's the only one that I believe honestly despises my existence. As for Edward, he's the one who started this all. He's the one who single me out; the rest just followed after him. He was the instigator; that's probably why it was so easy to forgive the others… but I'm not going to stay angry at something that's done and over with. There will come a time when I'm ready to move on from all of this." Hopefully that day will come fairly soon…
A silence came over us as we enjoyed more of our meal.
"We should hang out some more before school starts." I nodded, my mouth and full leaving me unable to speak. "Although we'll probably have to come here again; I don't feel like running into any of them."
"Oh, you don't have to worry about that." This time her mouth was full, so I explained. "They're all grounded, pretty severely from what I've heard. They can't even leave the house." She mumbled a 'wow' around the spaghetti in her mouth. "Carlisle told me I should stick it to 'em while they're grounded. Watch movies and flaunt when I'm going out."
"Are you?"
I snorted a little. "No. You know I'm not the type. I mean, I'm definitely going to get out of the house pretty often, and listen to loud music, and maybe even watch a few movies… But I'll take into consideration who's around, and make sure it's at least somewhat enjoyable for the others."
"Of course you would be so considerate." She smiled.
At that moment, the bill came. Angela who already had her money ready in her hand, slipped it into the check and gave it back before I could even reach for my wallet.
"Angela…" I said disapprovingly.
"Oh, hush. You can pay next time, because there will be a next time." She smiled and stood up.
As soon as we were out the door, she turned to me and grabbed my arm. "Let's go do something else! We're already here, let's just make a day out of it!" she pleaded.
Unable to stop the grin from spreading across my face, I nodded. It was only one in the afternoon; I could manage a couple more hours before I returned to the Cullen house. "Of course! What do you want to do?"
"Well, I kind of feel like shopping" she said impishly. Neither of us was too big on fashion, but some girl time shopping for clothes sounded like fun at the moment. She paused halfway through the parking lot. "Where's your truck?"
"Oh, it's still at the school. I'm using Mrs. Cullen's today." With that I lead her to the small car. "I assume your mom dropped you off?" If the situation was the same as it was in middle school, her mom only had one car and had to take care of Angela's brothers. She nodded. "Well if it's easier for your mom, I'll take you home when we're done shopping."
"That would probably make her very happy, and put us on her good side" she smiled.
The rest of the afternoon passed quickly. We went to two outlet shops; I ended up with three new pairs of skinny jeans that were on sale, a few nice fitted sweaters- also on sale- and a pair of cute boots. I even splurged a little and bought a bit of makeup- just some cover up, mascara, and a stick of eyeliner I was sure wouldn't get too much use.
Wearing makeup wasn't something I'd done before, but I didn't exactly have an aversion to it. I hadn't wanted to give the Cullen's another excuse to make jokes. Swan's wearing makeup! I wonder who she's trying to impress, maybe she's got a hot date! It had been safer to never experiment. Now, however, I didn't see anything with some light makeup. I was a new Bella, and New Bella wanted dark eyelashes and nicer clothes.
It was nearing 2:30, so we made a quick stop to the nearest flower store. I wanted to pick up a thank you give for Carlisle and Esme. Picking out a gorgeous assortment of brightly colored flowers, I grabbed a blank card as well. Before heading back to Forks, I signed the card taking extra time to write as nicely as I could.
Carlisle and Esme- Thank you so much for everything you've done. Carlisle, you quite literally saved my life. Esme, you've shown me incredible compassion in the few short days I've been here. And to both of you, I want to thank you for taking me into your home. I appreciate everything you've done for me and can only hope that one day I can pay you back for all the kindness you've shown to me. Thank you, Bella.
Rushing to the car, I started it up again and we headed back home. We chatted lazily on the way home, Ed Sheeran playing in the background the whole way home. By four I had dropped Angela off and was pulling into the gas station to fill the car. Thankfully, no one from school was there.
Pulling into the garage, I entered the house with the vase of flowers and card in hand. Esme was already in the kitchen preparing dinner; I made it all the way into the dining room where Alice was setting the table again before she looked up.
"Oh, Bella!" she gasped. "You shouldn't have. These are absolutely gorgeous." She immediately stopped her work and came to admire them.
I handed her the card. "Just a very small thank you for all you've done for me."
She smiled warmly before opening the card. Rather than awkwardly watch her read it, I turned to Alice. "I have to grab some bags from the car, do you want to come with me and we can talk?"
She nodded eagerly and followed me out to the garage. As soon as the door was shut she started. "Bella, I am so sorry." She was very much more composed than she was earlier in the day. "I'm sorry for everything I've said to you and about you." You don't deserve those things, you never did. They're not true. You're such a strong person; you saved my life. Who knows how many people could have been hurt if you didn't do what you did." She paused for a second, before sternly saying "I'll never wrong you again, Bella."
I stared at her for a few minutes, reading her expression. She was being honest. While I had doubts about what the future might do to her- to all of them- once we were back in school, she believed what she was saying was true. "I forgive you, Alice. Thank you for apologizing."
Her expression was relief. "Thank you. I don't deserve your forgiveness, but you've given it to me. I hope we can be friends one day, Bella" she said, surprising me.
"Alice-"
She cut me off. "I know it's going to be a while for you to be able to see me as anything other than your bully, but I just hope one day we can move past all of this."
I was shocked how polar opposite this Alice was to School Alice. "I'll make you a deal" I started. It worked with Jasper. "You want to move past this, then we're gonna have to be honest with each other. I will be completely honest with all of you guy; give me the same treatment, and maybe one day we might be… friends."
"Deal. Honesty, through and through." We started walking back to the door. "You're really a very strong girl, Bella."
I mumbled a 'thank you' as we entered the house. She went straight to the kitchen, helping Esme carry the food over to the table. I dumped my bags into my room before rushing down the stairs.
There was my mistake.
Just as I hit the second set of stairs one foot hit the other and I nearly toppled down the stairs. Before I made the ugly fall, a set of arms reached out and grabbed me. My heart jumped into my throat as the fear of what could have happened hit me. The fear immediately turned to irritation he opened his mouth.
"Watch it, Swan!" Edward hissed. Instantly he seemed like he regretted speaking, but it was too late.
"Thanks." I replied curtly before quickly, but carefully, taking the rest of the stairs.
Before I made it to my seat, I was cut off my Esme who pulled me into a hug. "Thank you, sweetheart. You're too kind." My cheeks enflamed; everyone was in their seats and had watched the exchange.
"It's the least I could do to thank you."
"Nonsense. Everything we do is out of care for you, Bella. There's no need to thank us." Carlisle smiled at me while I took me seat. He squeezed my shoulder with a fatherly look; it reminded me of Charlie and I felt my throat tighten. He removed his hand and started serving Esme and himself dinner.
Beef stroganoff… yum…
Jasper was the one who asked this time. "How was your day, Dad?"
"It was slow. Nothing too interesting happened. No coffee showers today, thankfully." A few of us chuckled.
"Mom?"
"It was wonderful. My video conference went really well, and we got a few new projects started? I might be a little busy in the next few months, but I'm very happy."
"That's wonderful, Love." Carlisle gave her a quick peck. It was adorable seeing their affection.
"Also, they kids were very well behaved today; thank you guys" she said, turning back towards the rest of the table. "No bickering, no fighting, no drama. I wasn't bothered from my work all day. At the risk of speaking prematurely, I'd say today was a success." Carlisle was clearly shocked at their well behavior, his eyebrows shooting into his hairline; he smiled, regardless.
"Bella?" Jasper turned to me, his mouth curling upwards.
"My day was actually wonderful. I went to Port Angeles and met up with Angela Weber for lunch. We went shopping a bit, bought some clothes. Oh, and I found this amazing bookstore."
"You went clothes shopping?" Alice asked excitedly; she got this gleam in her eye I hadn't seen before.
"Yeah, just a few new pairs of jeans and sweaters until I'm ready to go get my clothes from home."
"Did you get any good books?" Jasper asked.
I blushed lightly, recalling all the times they'd poked fun at my taste in books and wondering if I should say anything. Then I thought, to hell with it. "I got the entire Jane Austin collection, a new copy of Wuthering Heights, and a few other collections; to be honest, I think I went a little over board."
"On books?" Esme asked. "Impossible." She shared a knowing smile with me.
"What about you guys?" Carlisle addressed the rest of the table. "How did you manage to not bother your mother all day without your usual means of entertainment?"
"We just stayed in the living room all day; played tic tac toe, hangman… Jasper and Edward read." Alice replied.
"Really? It's been so long since I've seen any of you with a book, I'm surprised you even remembered where the library was." Carlisle teased light heartedly.
Jasper chuckled, and the table fell silent while we all enjoyed Esme's cooking for a bit. The silence was comfortable, but Edward decided to interrupt it.
"Bella, I was wondering if I could talk to you after dinner." Talking to me alone didn't work so well, so he figured bringing it up in front of everyone would make me reluctant to disagree.
Try all you want, Cullen. I'm not backing down.
"Actually, Edward," I flinched a bit when I heard the curtness in my voice as I said his name; I wasn't trying to be mean, "it's been kind of a long day. I think I'm going to head to bed after dinner tonight; I'm awfully tired" I lied.
"It won't take long, just a few minutes." Clearly he wasn't backing either.
"Well, Edward, as I told you last night, I'm not exactly ready to talk to you."
Anger flashed in his eyes. "You let Emmett, Jasper and Alice apologize, but you won't let me?" His voice was no longer the one he used in front of his parents; it was the voice he used at school, the voice he used to demand respect, to inflict pain.
Carlisle noticed the change in his tone. "Edward…" he warned.
"No, Carlisle, I can handle this." I said calmly. I waited for the fear to come as I turned to look Edward in the eye. It didn't come; Edward Cullen didn't scare me anymore. "The difference between them and you, Edward," again, my voice was filled with irritation as I said his name, "is that they all came to me and asked if they could speak with me and apologize. They approached me calmly, and with remorse for what they've done. You, however, are demanding that I listen to you, just like you demanded me to listen to you at school. That's not how it's going to work anymore. I'm the one with the advantage now. You don't have your crowd of students to block me from leaving. I can walk right out the door, whenever I want." He was getting angrier the more I spoke, but I didn't care. He was the one who needed to listen to me, now. "If you want to apologize, you might want to give me a reason to want to listen to you."
This was the longest I'd ever spoken to him. Angrier than I'd ever seen him, he snatched up his plate and threw it in the sink before stomping up the stairs.
"What is wrong with him?" Carlisle whispered to himself.
I knew exactly what was wrong with him. He'd demanded my attention for so long now that he believed he was owed it. Well tough luck asshole, things have changed.
Emmett started to apologize for his brother's behavior, but I cut him off. "Don't worry about it. I've heard worse."
He winced lightly; he knew I had. "That doesn't mean it's okay" he replied softly.
"No, but it's only a matter of time before he wakes up and realizes what he's doing wrong."
It wasn't long after continuing with our dinner that Jasper spoke up. "Mom, when Bella's ready to get her clothes and stuff from her house, can I take her? It's probably not that safe for her to be carrying a bunch of boxes. I don't want her to hurt herself."
"I suppose you're right. She can keep you from getting into any trouble, and I definitely don't want her hurting herself." I rolled my eyes slightly; I wasn't that clumsy…
"I can help too, if that's okay with Bella. It'll get done much faster if there are more of us." Emmett offered happily.
"Why do you have to help her? Jasper can do it himself." Rosalie snapped at Emmett.
"Rosalie." Emmett cautioned.
"Don't 'Rosalie' me. It's not like she has that much stuff anyway. Why are you so eager to help her?" Her face was turning red, and her breathing accelerated.
"I told you, Rose; I'm trying to make it up to her for being such an ass. Just because you don't have a conscious to make you feel guilty doesn't mean that I don't" he said harshly.
Throwing her napkin onto the table, she stood and stormed up the stairs, leaving her plate behind. My head throbbed.
"I'm sorry for her behavior." Emmett said seriously.
"Don't be. You're not responsible for her actions. The way she sees it, I'm intruding into her home and hanging out with her boyfriend." I shrugged. "I'm fine. She doesn't bother me any." He nodded before clearing both of their spots and retreating to his room.
"Well, I think it's safe to call it a night." Carlisle sighed. "Thank you two for being civil, unlike your siblings." He addressed Alice and Jasper. Standing with his and Esme's plate in his hand, he left the table. Before heading upstairs, he turned to me. "I'm sorry for my children's behavior." He bowed his head and led his wife upstairs.
Clearing my own place, I set my plate in the sink before returning to the table to help clear it.
"Oh, don't worry about that, Bella. It's my night to do the dishes." Jasper said kindly.
"Trust me, I want to help. I like cleaning; it calms me." I insisted.
"Well, I won't fight you then." He surrendered with a chuckle.
With Alice's help, we cleared the table in one trip. She put the remaining food in containers and into the fridge, and then departed after a soft 'goodnight'. Unlike Rosalie would have, Alice didn't feel the need to hover.
"Would you like to wash, or load?"
I looked at the fancy, complicated dishwasher. Why complicate a dishwasher? "I'll wash." He handed me the sponge. Conversation came easily. "So what were you reading today?" He blushed. "Jasper Hale, did you just blush? Ok, now I have to know." What was he reading, 50 Shades of Grey?
He let out a quiet laugh. "It's a bit embarrassing."
"Oh, please. I read 'the lamest books ever written' according to half the schools population. It can't be that bad."
"Fine, fine. I was reading one of Arthur Conan Doyle's stories."
"Sherlock Holmes?" I was impressed.
He let out a quiet groan. "I was hoping you wouldn't recognize the name." He chuckled despite himself.
"Wouldn't recognize Arthur Conan..." I trailed off, "you realize reading is like my only hobby, right? You shouldn't be embarrassed. Doyle's stories are wonderfully written, classic mystery novels. Some of the bestever written."
"Okay, so what other collections did you buy today?"
It was my turn the blush. "The Hans Christian Anderson collection and the Grimm Brothers collection."
He paused what he was doing and looked up at me. "Seriously?"
"I know, fairytales are for kids."
"Ok, first of all, those fairytales are most definitely not for kids, and second of all, I was going to say that's so cool. I may need to borrow those sometime."
"Anytime." Just then, the plate I was washing sipped from my hand into the sink, splashing soapy water all over Jasper's face and shirt. I froze, staring at him as he stared back. I couldn't read his expression.
Suddenly, he burst into laughter; I couldn't help but laugh with him. His shirt was soaked, and a chunk of soap bubbles managed to land in his hair.
"I am so sorry."
"I see how it is, Swan." He said, eyeing my mischievously. Quickly- too quickly for me to react- he scooped up a handful of bubbles and wiped them onto my cheek, thankfully missing my hair.
"Ok, ok, I deserved that." We laughed for a bit more before continuing our small talk and finishing the dishes.
We walked up the stairs together. "Thanks for helping me, Bella." He said as we reached the second floor.
"Sorry for the mess." I replied.
He chuckled one more time before saying a quick 'goodnight' and ducking into his room.
I followed suit and closed myself into my room. Shutting out the light, I kicked off my shoes and crawled into bed. Despite Edward and Rosalie, it had been a great day, and I went to bed with a smile.
A/N: Looong chapter! Thank you so much for reading! So I'll most likely be updating every Saturday. I hope you love it, and I appreciate all your reviews! They keep me going, they keep me sane. Let me know what you thought, what you want to see, etc. Thank you for your support. 3
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