Chapter Thirteen: Shower
Bella's POV
I was watching the rest of the Cullens talking in the backyard below as Alice tried to distract me. I could feel a tinge of cramp pain but I refused to turn my gaze from the confrontation below.
"Bella, everything is going to be fine. I know this for a fact." Alice said from behind me. I turned slightly to look at her. Alice was smiling widely at me. I knew that she had had a really good vision of my future if she looked like that.
"What did you see Alice?" I asked her. She grinned evilly at me.
"I think I will let Edward tell you. He wouldn't want me to steal his thunder and you would like it better if he tells you himself." Alice replied in a teasing voice. She frustrated me a lot when she kept stuff from me. I love her so I can't be too mad at her. That didn't keep me from glaring at her though.
"Fine, whatever Alice." I mumbled and turned my attention back to the scene below. Carlisle was talking now and everyone was staring at him. Edward looked really shaken. His face was set in a horrified expression. What could Carlisle have said or thought to make Edward look like that? Didn't Edward go down there to talk to Emmett and Rosalie? He had looked angry before Alice spoke and now he looked like a human who had just been punched hard in the stomach. I have never seen this exact look on Edward's face before. It looked like the face had had on at the dance studio when I had that close call with James but it was slightly different. It was agony and pain and worry but it was free of the despair it had held at the dance studio. I knew that Carlisle had been talking about me and it had not been good. Me in pain was the only thing that could possibly make Edward look like that. I had an overwhelming urge to run down there and comfort him.
"Ok, Alice. If everything is as good as you say it is, then how come Edward looks like THAT?!"I screamed and pointed at Edward. It hurt me to see Edward look like that and I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes. Alice must have seen this because I could now feel the cold from her body. She wrapped her marble arms around me and I started sobbing into her shoulder.
" Come on, Bella. Everything is fine. Come away from the window. You don't want Edward to see you like this, do you?" Alice said in a comforting voice. I shook my head and let her drag me to the bed. I needed to calm down and I knew exactly what to do.
"Alice, can I take a shower? I really need one." I asked her.
"Sure, Bella. Let me get you a towel from the laundry and you can use the bathroom on this floor. Wait here." Alice replied before leaving the room. I was alone for a minute so I gathered more clothes and my monthly supplies before Alice came back. I followed her to the bathroom where I found shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and a body sponge in the cabinet under the sink. I turned to see that Alice was still there, watching me.
"Alice, you might want to leave now. I need to change my liner stuff." I told her in a shaky voice. It made me uncomfortable to discuss this with anyone.
She rolled her eyes at me and said, "Oh please. Period blood is definitely not food for any vampire. That is just disgusting."
"I don't understand." I told her.
"Ok, think of it this way. Take an apple. It's nice and red and ripe. That is good to eat. The blood in the veins, same thing; good to drink. When an apple goes bad and rots, it is no longer fit to eat. The blood from your period is like that bad apple, dead and rotten; no longer fit to drink. Eating a rotten apple would make you sick and the same thing for us if we drank that blood. That's nasty, reeking stuff anyway." Alice explained. I guess that made sense. It smelled bad to me, too.
"Ok, stay if you want. Just stay turned around until I get in the shower, ok." I said to her.
"Bella, I'm a girl too. You don't have anything I don't have. Stop being self conscious." She chastised me.
"It's not you seeing me. It's Edward seeing me. He would see it in your thoughts." I whispered. I could feel the heat flood my face in embarrassment.
"Oh come on Bella. This is not the first time I've seen you naked and Edward is your boyfriend, for God's sakes. You should not be self conscious with him." Alice yelled at me.
"Fine, look if you must. I don't care anymore. Enjoy your peep show. Strip me down and put me on display for all I care!" I yelled back as I started removing my clothes. I turned on the water and jumped in, not bothering to close the curtain. Alice was laughing now.
"Oh, Edward would get a kick out of that but the rest of us would be extremely uncomfortable. Save the nudity for him. Speaking of Edward, he is headed here now." Alice trilled. I started washing up. My body was covered in soap when a knock came to the door.
"Alice, let me in! I'm dismissing you." Edward shouted through the door. I quickly yanked the shower curtain closed as I heard Alice get up from the toilet she and been perching on.
"Ok, Edward." She called back and a second later, the door opened and closed again. I heard a metallic clank and peeked through the curtain. Edward had his shirt off and was now undoing his belt buckle.
"Edward, what are you doing?" I asked, shakily. He looked up at me and smiled. Edward continued to remove his pants.
"Joining you, love. I could use a shower myself." He replied as he pulled off the remainder of his clothes. I couldn't take my eyes off of his perfect, naked body. Edward was close enough now so I grabbed him and pulled him into the shower with me. His gorgeous bronze hair turned brown as the water washed over us. I kissed him full on the lips. Edward had been away from me for more than three hours and I had missed him. He held me close to his body and it felt really nice. The water was too hot and it was scalding me. His cool body felt nice against my hot skin. With Edward holding me that close, I could feel all the plains of Edward's perfect body. He was gorgeous and all mine. Everything was absolutely fabulous.