AN: Okay so now you all finally find out why Renée is the way she is with Bella – trying to get her to date Felix. I tried to make it as realistic as I could. Tell me what you think in a review! Thank-you to all who read, reviewed, followed, and added this story to their favorites. Sorry for any spelling and/or grammar mistakes.

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. I only own my OCs.

Now on with the story!

Chapter 13: Hurt and Comfort

She smiled. We both made our way downstairs and paused in the entry way.

"See you later!" Victoria said over her shoulder.

"Good luck!"

"You too," She replied while looking pointedly towards the kitchen.

I grimaced. Victoria laughed.

The tension in the air was thick.

I knew my mother had called me down to help with dinner for one reason only – and it wasn't because out of all her daughters, I happened to be the best cook.

What was I to do though? I could not say I would not help her. That would be disrespectful and I know my dad would be upset with me. So here I was chopping tomatoes for the salad we would eat tonight, waiting for the inevitable to happen.

"Bella, dear, how's the salad coming along?"

Here we go.

"It's coming along just fine, mom." I replied.

3, 2, 1…

"Bella?"

"Yes, mom?"

"I was wondering if we could talk."

"About what…" I trailed off, feigning innocence and ignorance.

Like you don't know what she wants to talk about! Though maybe I shouldn't act so clueless, Mother has been known to be pretty blunt when she feels someone's not getting the point fast enough…

"I wanted to talk about Jasper as your date for the homecoming dance." She paused as if I would start to speak about this. When she saw that I had no intention of responding, she forged ahead.

"I think it's silly of you to be so selfish. Sulpicia and I had already planned for you and Felix to go together and it would be nice for you to do so."

Whoa! Hold up there! Me? Selfish? What in the name of all things sane and normal was she talking about?

"Mom! I'm not going with Felix! I do not like him like that! I'm going with Jasper! Wait! What am I even saying? I'm not going to homecoming at all! Jazz and I are going to the movies with Jane and Archer."

"Isabella, I am your mother and you will do as I say! You are going to the homecoming dance with Felix!"

"No! I'm going with Jasper to the movies!"

"After all that I do for you, Isabella, you are so ungrateful! Here I am, trying to set my daughter up with a nice and good young man and you—

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are you always trying to set me up with someone? First it was Jasper and now Felix. You've always focused on me! What about Victoria? Why don't you set her up with someone?"

I briefly felt bad about bringing my sister in on this argument – especially after we had our talk – but as I said this I realized my words were true.

Why had she never tried to set Victoria up?

Here my mom looked uncomfortable. "Well, Victoria just got out of a bad relationship with her last boyfriend…"

"No! Even before Victoria was going out with James, you never tried to set her up. Why? And while we're at it why aren't you trying to set Olivia up with someone? If my memory serves me correctly – and it does – you started pushing me towards Jasper when I was her age!"

"Bella! This isn't about your sisters! This is about you!"

"Why is it – whatever it is – even about me?"

"Because, Isabella, Victoria and Olivia are beautiful and outgoing! They are not shy and they don't hide behind their books. They'll be able to go out with any boy they want and not be stressed with worry over the rejection!"

In that moment my whole world seemed to be crashing in on me.

My mother seemed to think I was so socially awkward or deprived or something that I would never be able to get a date.

I wanted to open my mouth and protest but she kept on going.

"Victoria and Olivia will no doubt end up married to rich, successful men because they have the courage to go after what they want. They are not shy nor are they dead clumsy! I'm only doing this for you! So you will not be alone when you're older."

I still couldn't believe what I was hearing. I reached over with my right hand to pinch my left arm.

Nope, I definitely wasn't dreaming.

My mother really did say all of that. My mother very much thought of me as a socially repulsive wallflower that would, undoubtedly in her mind, turn into a crazy-old cat lady.

Well look at the bright side… oh wait there was no bright side.

Because the sad thing was, essentially my mother was right.

I was only shy around new people but once I warmed up to them it was all good. I mean, I wasn't the most talkative person around but when I had something of importance to say I would speak my mind. I was no coward, just ask my friends. My mother was egregiously wrong about that. But there were still some things she said that irked me because sadly she was right – no matter how minute, she was right.

I did prefer books and bookstores to make-up and the mall. I was not outgoing. I did worry about rejection and getting hurt. I was dead clumsy. Yes, I would rather be a wallflower than be the centerpiece. That's just how I was. I was a lot like my dad in that respect which was why I was closer to him than my mother.

But the thing that got me most upset about all of this was the fact that in my first relationship ever, my boyfriend was only my pretend boyfriend. My first relationship was a fraud.

Maybe my mother was right. I would need all the help I could get when it came to boys. Surely homecoming with Felix wouldn't be so bad. Jasper only likes me as a friend, a sister. Felix seemed interested…

Wait a minute! What are you saying? Snap out of it Swan! You do not deserve this! Renée has no idea what she's talking about. Pull yourself together, Isabella!

My whole posture fixed itself; my head snapped up, my chin rose defiantly, and my eyes narrowed.

"I am not going to the dance with Felix! I am going to the movies with Jasper! I love him!" Like a brother. "Even if things with Jasper don't work out," And there's a ninety-nine percent chance that it won't, "I'm never going out with someone you think is right for me. You can try all you want but it's never going to happen." You really don't know me. Even if you somehow manage the what, you would never guess the why. "I bet you couldn't even tell me what my favorite color is and even if you guessed correctly you would probably never even begin to contemplate why!" I sneered and with that I turned on my heel and stormed up to my bedroom.

Once I entered my room, I slammed the door and locked it. I stood with my back against the door for a few moments before I slumped backwards.

"She's wrong you know."

I jumped up and swiveled my head towards my right so fast I heard my neck crack.

"Relax, it's just me." Olivia said as she pushed herself up from my desk chair.

"What are you doing in my room? Besides giving me a heart attack?" I questioned my younger sister.

"Well, I originally came here to ask you for some help with an English essay," She pointed towards the desk where she had her laptop open and a couple of her school books resting next it. "Then I realized you weren't here so I headed downstairs to see if you were there. I heard you and mom in the kitchen." Here, she hesitated. Olivia bit her lip, then grabbed a lock of her brown hair and started twirling it before saying, "I thought I would come here and wait for you."

I stared at Olivia for a moment. "How did you get up here faster than me?"

"When I said I headed downstairs and heard you and mom in the kitchen, I meant I heard you and mom in the kitchen from the top of the stairs. You were pretty quiet for a moment at the end – I thought you were heading back up. But then you said what you did and I went to your room to wait for you."

"Oh." Was all I could say to that.

Olivia was silent for a moment before she continued. "You do know that she's wrong, right? All those things she said to you – she's wrong."

I was silent for a moment; deciding if I should tell her I knew that our mother was crazy or to tell her that our mother was right about those things.

"No, Liv, she's right—

"Isabella Marie!"

"Liv! I—

"No! Bells, mom was wrong you are not some wallflower! You are beautiful! Extremely beautiful! And so what if you like to read books and will only go near the mall if you get to visit the bookstore – 'however limited' it may be." Olivia continued to ramble on as she tried to get her point made to me, "You're still a teenager anyway! You'll have no problem getting a boyfriend! You already have a boyfriend! It does not mean you have to get married now or else you might end up alone. That's not going to happen."

"Olivia! I get it. Mother dearest was wrong and I shouldn't listen to her." I interrupted.

She turned to look me dead in the face and she seemed to be studying me for a moment. Olivia sighed and looked towards my desk then back to me.

"I'm sorry, words aren't really my thing. It's more your area of expertise." She gave me a weak half-smile before continuing, "I just… I just think you shouldn't dwell on what she said."

I gave her a small smile in return. "You have nothing to be sorry over. You didn't make her say that. She did it all her own. That being said, I wish that I won't dwell on it but that's very unlikely to happen. She did after all just say it not half an hour ago. It hurts and it's going to hurt. Even if she apologizes to me for all of it, it's still going to hurt."

At this point I had not noticed the tears running down my face until Olivia had come over and wrapped me in a consoling hug.

Did you like it? Dislike it? Love it? Hate it! Tell me in a review! I really do love hearing from my readers to know how their liking my story so far. Once again a big Thank-you to all those who have read, reviewed, followed, and favorited this story.

Next Chapter: Jasper and Kate make an appearance before more drama is introduced in Bella's slowly – or rapidly – turning out of control life.

~Acacia Rose Masen