"One of the hardest things in life is having words in your heart that you can't utter."

Trapped

Eleven

I woke up to two pairs of excited eyes – one brown and one blue.

A few years ago, I would have screamed, but not now. I'd grown accustomed to waking up this way. Jasper and Emmett had done this to me many times when I had something they wanted.

"Morning, lil sis", Emmett cooed, his wide, childlike brown eyes reflecting a happier version of my groggy ones. I groaned and turned away from him, but Jasper jumped over me to the other side of my bed and stared at me just as I'm sure my brother was from behind me. "You can't escape us" the move meant. I huffed and rolled onto my back. Suddenly, both of their faces were obstructing my view of the ceiling.

"Okay, what do you want?" Smiles lit up both of their faces.

"We're having a barbecue" Jasper grinned.

"But its December" I mumbled.

"So?" The serious expression on Emmett's face made me smile. He was never the conventional, or rational, sibling. He was above and beyond average when it came to his daily plans. The fact that obscene amounts of rain didn't allow snow to stick to the ground in Forks was a plus for his quirky mind. I couldn't complain, though. It was fun being his sister.

"What do you want?" I repeated myself. They still hadn't told me why they woke me up.

"We need you to call Bella and invite her over." Emmett said.

"Why? So you can hog her all night?" I asked, raising an accusatory eyebrow.

"Yes" they both said together. I chuckled and rolled my eyes.

"Okay, fine" I conceded. I actually wanted to spend time with Bella.

I looked over at my nightstand and saw that it was 6:30 AM. Damn, those boys never slept.

I reached over and grabbed my phone. I'd called and texted Bella numerous times before, but that didn't stop the nervous feeling that overcame my body. I finally just shook my head and dialed her number quickly before I could talk myself out of it.

I heard her clear her throat on the other line. "Hello?" she said. Her voice was laced with sleep and it made her sound sexier than ever.

"Morning, Bella."

"Alice" she greeted. She always greeted me that way, like simply saying my name brought her all the joy in the world. I smiled into the phone and imagined her doing the same.

"Did I wake you up?"

"No" she yawned and I rolled my eyes at her blatant lie. "I had to get up for work anyway. Did you need something?"

"Well, Jasper and Emmett want to have a barbecue…" I started.

"In December?"

"Yea" I giggled. "They practically ambushed me this morning telling me to invite you over, or else."

Bella was chuckling softly on the other end. I heard her sigh, followed by the rustling of sheets and I imagined her getting out of bed and stretching.

"I doubt they said that to you" she said, her voice strained as if she was in the middle of stretching her sleep stiffened body.

"Okay, they didn't say 'Or else'." Bella chuckled. "But they did ambush me. So, can you come after work?" I asked hopefully.

"Of course, Ali Cat. I'll be there." I grinned at her use of my nickname. Ever since Emmett accidentally called me that in public, Bella just wouldn't let it go.

"Okay, see you later, Bella" I said, and then hung up before I could say anything embarrassingly corny.

By the time I walked into the living room, the boys were gone. I questioned Rosalie with a raised brow.

"Emmett's picking up Edward and the steaks and stuff. Jasper's picking up Tanya and Maria" she rolled her eyes at the mention of Maria's name.

"What is wrong with that girl?" I asked talking a seat on the couch beside her where she was painting her nails.

Rosalie shrugged. "I don't know. I'm just hoping Jasper comes to his senses soon." I nodded and leaned my head on her shoulder when we heard the front door open. Jasper walked into the living room with Tanya and Maria.

"Well, speak of the devil" Rosalie muttered, making me giggle.

Edward barged into the room obnoxiously soon after, barely saying hello to the people who live here. Emmett followed him with a slight scowl on his face that instantly disappeared when he saw Rosalie. As I looked around the room, I noticed everyone was paired up, sitting with their respective partners, and I was yet again, the odd one out. I found myself tapping my foot nervously, awaiting Bella's arrival.

Emmett walked into the kitchen to let the steaks thaw to room temperature when the doorbell rang. I looked at my cell phone to check the time. 1:34 PM. It couldn't have been Bella. She got off of work around 6.

With no hope of Bella being at the door, I stayed on the couch, frowning, waiting for the time when I could see my Bella again and not even caring that in my head, I sounded like a whiny teenager.

Imagine my surprise when I heard my brother's rumbling laughter followed by his deep voice, hollering, "Bella!"

A moment later, the two of them were walking into the room and Bella was greeting everyone. She gave a kiss on the cheek to Jasper, Emmett and Rosalie, a fist bump to Tanya and a simple nod to Edward and Maria.

As Bella moved around the room, I took the time to notice her outfit. Her sunglasses were hanging on the front of her orange shirt which had a picture of a grinning orange near her left shoulder. In bold, white letters, the phrase "Orange you glad I didn't say banana?" was printed across her sports-bra flattened chest. In the same spot as the grinning orange, a single banana frowned on the back of her shirt. It was the cutest article of clothing I'd ever seen Bella wear. The only black Bella wore were a pair of Adidas training pants with two white stripes running down the sides. Even Bella's sneakers were white, orange and blue Air Max 90's. Her hair fell down her back the way I loved it.

Finally, Bella turned to me and took in my outfit. Her eyes trailed up from my feet, clad in white ankle socks, past my denim shorts and red top, until she was looking into my brown eyes. I watched her eyes darken seductively as she flashed me a sexy, crooked smile. She quickly pulled me into her arms and brought her lips to my ear.

"You were right. You look amazing in red", she whispered. My face instantly matched my shirt. Bella was the only person that could make me blush and I had to admit that I liked it. Suddenly, Bella dropped her head onto my shoulder and groaned, loudly, bringing everyone's curious gaze to us.

"I've been waiting all day to see you" she mumbled. I smiled to myself when she wrapped her arms tighter around my waist.

"I thought you got off of work at 6" I commented, burying my fingers in her hair. She nodded against me.

"My boss let me off early because I was too distracted. And don't think for one minute that I don't blame you for that" her voice came, muffled by my shoulder. I giggled and pulled away from her before taking my seat back on the couch.

There was room for Bella to sit, it just wasn't near me since Rosalie and Emmett took up most of the couch. Silly me, I expected Bella to sit on the armrest or the floor, but playful Bella was here today, and she decided to make my lap her own personal couch.

"Ow! Bella! Get off of me!" I giggled, halfheartedly shoving her away while listening to her chuckle.

"I'm not even putting my full weight on you" she said, a bright smile coloring her tone. The way she was sitting, with her elbows on her knees, proved she was telling the truth. I wrapped my arms around her waist and pressed my cheek to her back.

"You're still heavy. My legs are going numb" I mumbled. By now, everyone in the room was openly gaping at us. Rosalie, Emmett and Jasper had small smiles on their faces, Tanya was giggling silently, Maria seemed jealous and Edward was torn between being jealous of me and uncomfortable by our relationship. Ever since Bella came along, Edward forgot that he'd ever flirted with me, and now that we're together, he didn't know what to make of having lesbian friends.

Finally, Bella stood and lifted me up before taking my seat and pulling me into her lap.

"Better?" she asked, looking down at me with a raised brow and adoring eyes. I nodded and wrapped my arms around her neck.

"Much."

It was then that Bella noticed our friends staring. "What?" she asked defensively. Rosalie chuckled. The boys shook their heads and went to check on the food. I smiled and trailed my hand down Bella's stomach, feeling her relax beneath me. I chose that moment to tease her.

Reaching up, I pushed my fingers through Bella's wavy locks and massaged her scalp while breathing heavily against her neck. She fought hard to keep her eyes opened and I watched them threaten to roll to the back of her head a few times.

While she was engaging in conversation with the girls, I pressed my chest against Bella's and listened to her choke on her words. When I pressed my lips to her jaw and sucked gently on the skin there, I felt Bella's arms tighten around my waist as she shifted in her seat. She cleared her throat and stood up, mumbling something about "helping the boys" and then quickly exited the room. I grinned in satisfaction.

About half an hour later, the girls and I started getting restless and decided to go outside and attempt to throw Emmett's football around. After changing into a pair of sweat pants and sliding into some shoes, I found that the football was already hogged.

I wandered into the spacious backyard to see Edward manning the grill. Emmett and Bella were caught up in an intense game of football while Jasper looked on excitedly. I walked up to him and he wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

I watched Bella closely, wary of her slim figure playing against my brother's experienced, brawny one. She held the ball to the ground with one hand and stared up at Emmett with a serious expression. I could see his mouth moving and knew he was trash talking, but Bella seemed oblivious.

The girls looked on from under a nearby tree as the game suddenly started.

Bella picked up the ball and padded backwards as if she were going to pass the ball.

"What is she doing?" I mumbled. Jasper shrugged and shook his head. Being involved with people who were serious about the game, the girls and I gained a general interest for football. All of us watched with genuine curiosity as Bella ducked under Emmett's outstretched arm and took off across the yard at full speed. Confused, Emmett quickly gathered himself and took off after her, running around the impromptu "field" to tackle her from the side before she made it 10 yards.

As she got closer and closer to her mark, my eyes widened and before I knew it, I was cheering for my girl. Emmett neared Bella and dove for her, but she jumped and twisted away from him, holding the ball high over her head as she completed her first down.

I looked around myself to find everyone else cheering, too. Even Edward had a wide eyed expression on his face as he grilled the steaks.

Bella turned to me and grinned as I bounced up and down, clapping for her. She started to make her way over to me, but Emmett stood up, frustrated and called her back.

"Hey, we're not done yet!"

In the end, Emmett won. Bella was faster than him, but when he had the ball she couldn't take him down. Sheer strength kept her from winning, but she proved that she had skill and knew her way around the game. I had no doubt that if Bella had a team to back her up, she would have won.

The barbecue turned out to be a blast and after we'd finished eating and cleaning up, Edward and Maria left. Tanya was spending the night.

Jasper had already gone to bed when Edward left. Rosalie and Tanya were in her room chatting about Project Runway, a T.V. show I personally idolized. Emmett was in the home gym doing his "victory workout". That left me and Bella alone in my room.

She'd been there thousands of times before, but now she was lying down with her eyes closed and her hands behind her head. Seeing her so at home in my bed was a turn on. I emerged from my closet in a Mickey Mouse shirt and matching pajama pants before crawling onto the bed and sitting on top of her, straddling her hips. She smiled and moved one of her hands to my waist.

I leaned down to press a lingering kiss to her lips.

"Thank you for coming today, Bella." Finally, she graced me with the sight of her sparkling hazel eyes.

"I told you I'd be here" she assured me, confused as to why I was thanking her.

"I know", I smiled. "I'm just glad you came."

Bella nodded and pulled me down until I was lying on top of her and I wiggled my body until I was laying beside her with my head on her chest and my leg over both of hers.

I reached up to trace the dark circles under Bella's eyes and she closed them again.

"You're tired" She nodded sleepily.

"You want to go home?" I asked. She shook her head.

"Not yet" she yawned. I giggled and snuggled closer into her side. After a long moment of comfortable silence, I spoke up.

"Bella?"

"Hmm?" she replied groggily.

"Do you like to shop?" I asked. Her immediate answer made me laugh.

"No."

"You didn't even think about it" I accused, poking her in the side and listening to her chuckle and flinch away from my jab.

"Okay, um…" She furrowed her brows and frowned, pretending to make a tough decision. "No."

I rolled my eyes and sighed.

"Will you go Christmas shopping with me tomorrow?"

"No."

"Bellaaaa…" I whined.

"What?" she chuckled.

"Will you please go Christmas shopping with me tomorrow?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Pretty, please?"

"No." She was laughing now.

"Bellaaaa…"

"Alice…" she mocked.

I shifted onto my elbow so I was looking down at her. She opened her eyes when she felt my movement.

"Please, Bella?" I was begging now and I didn't even care.

Her eyes darkened dangerously the way they did at school. I searched for the pain in them and it faithfully appeared.

"Okay, I'll go with you" she relented, her tone clipped. "Just…never beg me for anything again. Ever."

I could feel the weight of Bella's past weighing down the room and quickly brushed it off.

"But how will I get you to do what I want, then?" I asked, trying desperately to lighten the mood.

When Bella laughed quietly and pulled my head back down to her chest, I knew it worked.

The curiosity was killing me, but I knew I couldn't ask Bella about her past now. I'd done something to trigger a bad memory and she was vulnerable. I couldn't see her eyes, but I could feel the vulnerability washing through her. I felt it in the tentative way she stroked my hair and the uneven rising and falling of her chest from her labored breathing. Bella was the most confident woman I'd ever met, aside from Rosalie, but now…in times like these when her past caught up with her, she seemed like a scared, insecure little girl.

Anger flowed through me at the thoughts of what could have happened to her. It seemed that since Bella had met me, her whole life revolved around protecting me. It frustrated me to no end that she thought she needed to protect me from herself. It frustrated me to no end that I couldn't protect her from her past. It frustrated me to no end that I couldn't tell her the one thing I knew since I laid eyes on her, for fear of pushing her away.

I loved her.

A/n: It's really nice to come home and see all of these reviews (:

Sorry for the delay and here's chapter 11.