Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.

"Life is like a beautiful melody, only the lyrics are messed up."
- Author Unknown

Lighter Burns

"They're pink." I observed as I stared at my new freshly painted toe nails.

"I can add sparkles on them if you want." I looked at Alice – she was holding up clear nail polish with sparkles in it.

"No," I shook my head. "I think the pink is fine on its own." Alice laughed.

"So since we have the apartment to ourselves," Alice checked her watch. "For another four hours – what do you want to get for dinner?"

"Can we go out for dinner?" I asked desperate to get out of this apartment. Alice shook her head. I groaned and laid my head on my knees.

"Edward's rules," Alice shrugged. "Not mine."

"I won't tell him if you won't." I bargained. Alice shook her head. I frowned.

Edward was at an art show with Emmett and Carlisle where he was going to display his newest paintings. He offered to take me along but I didn't want to intrude and because Alice promised to spend the day with me. I thought she meant that we would go catch a movie. Maybe drive around for a couple of hours, not sit in front of the TV watching movies while we painted each other's nails. Edward made Alice promise that I wouldn't the apartment in case I decided to make a break for it.

"I promise as soon as you're released from house arrest I'll take you out for a night on the town." Alice patted my hand before pulling herself off the couch. "I'm going to order some Chinese, make some popcorn, and you pick what movie we get to watch next."

I grimaced as I grabbed the stack of DVDs on the table and started to go through them. I was about half way through the stack when I saw a movie that I actually heard about. I smiled to myself. I knew exactly what we were going to watch today.

--

"I love Finding Nemo," I squealed when the movie was over with.

"I can't believe you haven't seen Finding Nemo," Alice shook her head as she set her leftovers on the coffee table.

"I never got a chance to." I admitted putting my leftovers onto the coffee table next to Alice's. "I was always doing other things."

"So what do we want to watch next?" Alice asked, grabbing the stack of DVDs. "We have the Lion King, Stardust, Princess Bride, Just Like Heaven, and Emmett's favorite Spaceballs." She lifted the DVD in the air every time she said the title.

"Actually," I moved so I facing Alice. "I was kind of wandering if I could ask you a question."

"Of course," Alice sat the DVDs back on the table and turned to me – smiling.

"What were your parents like?" I asked crossing my legs under me.

"Oh," Alice's face dropped.

"I'm sorry," I said quickly. "You don't have to tell me."

"No," Alice shook her head. "I don't mind telling you." She smiled at me.

"It's sad isn't it?" I asked my face dropping.

Alice nodded.

"You don't have to tell me," I said again. "I understand."

Alice shook her head and lifted it up so she could see me. "My mom developed post pregnancy depression and killed herself shortly after I was born," Alice admitted. "So my dad raised me with my older sister."

"How old was your sister?" I asked my eyes never leaving Alice's face.

"She was ten when I was born. I use to get jealous that my dad would spend more time with her than he would with me." Alice pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "He used to send me to bed early and let my sister stay up with him. One night I had a nightmare and went to crawl in bed with my dad but my sister was already in there. I asked if I could crawl in bed with them because I had a nightmare but they wouldn't let me. They kept on screaming at me to close the door and go back to bed and I did." She laid her head on her knees.

"When I was six my dad sent my sister to boarding school. I was so excited when she left because I wanted to be the one that got to go into my Daddy's room at night." Alice admitted quietly – tears were building up in her eyes. "The night that she left my dad sent me to bed the same time he always did. I threw a tantrum, I stomped my feet, I cried, and I screamed at him to let me spend the night with him and how it wasn't fair that Cynthia – that was my sister's name – got to spend every night with him and I didn't. And you know what?"

I shook my head afraid of her answer.

"He never let me spend the night with him." Alice frowned. "He never once touched me inappropriately, said anything sexual towards me, or even looked at me in anything but a daughterly way."

"That's a good thing, right?" I asked – desperate to know why Alice was sad that her father never touched her.

"It is." Alice smiled at me – but it wasn't happy, there was no light in her eye, and her smile looked like it was being forced out of her.

"What happened to your dad?" I asked.

"Cynthia told her headmaster what happened between her and dad. My dad was arrested, Cynthia was put into therapy, and I got sent to different foster parents."

"How did you meet Esme and Carlisle?" I asked trying to find the happy ending to this story.

"The adoption agency needed some place to put me until they found a new foster home." Alice clarified. Esme volunteered to take me in until they found a foster home. She ended up falling in love with me and adopted me a few months later. I didn't mind, I loved everyone in that house – especially my adoptive brothers." Alice smiled at me.

"Did Edward and Emmett like you?" I asked through a smile.

"Emmett tried to marry me." Alice's smile grew.

"What?" I laughed.

"He told me that I had to fall in love with either him or Edward because that's what they did in the movies. And I chose him – mostly because he scared me." I laughed again. "Edward married us in a meadow by our house and when he told Emmett that he had to kiss the bride – we both screamed ewe and I pushed him into a puddle of mud left over from the rain the day before." Alice and I both started laughing again.

"Emmett hasn't change, has he?" I asked smiling.

"He was the most normal of us." Alice nodded. "His mom was a teenage mother and she gave him up for adoption after Emmett was born, so he spent his whole life with Carlisle and Esme. He was the one that kept Edward and me normal. He never let us complained about our lives and always reminded us how good we have it now."

"He's a good brother." I made it a statement.

Alice nodded. "He's a great brother." Alice smiled.

"Why did you want to work with teenage drug addicts?" I decided to change the subject.

"It was always my calling," Alice shrugged. "I was always the go to girl in high school when someone had a problem and it just stuck with me. I graduated early, went to college, and thanks to Carlisle I got an internship at local rehabilitation clinic connected to his hospital where I met my husband."

"That's a great story," I smiled. Alice raised an eyebrow. "I mean the later part not the beginning."

Alice laughed. "What about you? What's your story?"

"Not as exciting as yours." I sighed. "My mom died when I was seven and then my dad died when I was thirteen."

"I'm sorry," Alice frowned.

I shrugged. "The past is the past."

"How did they die?" Alice asked.

"My mom got hit by a truck." I lied. "She was in the parking lot at her job when ran across the ice and slammed her into her Nissan."

"And your dad?"

"Alcohol poisoning," I lied again. "After my mom died his drinking got really bad and he eventually drank himself to death."

"I'm sorry." Alice frowned. "Who did you stay with after he died?"

"Friends," I smiled. "It's really no problem." I waved my hand in front of my face. "It only sounds worst than it is." My smile grew.

Alice's grabbed her Dr. Pepper. "A toast," she raised it in the air. I followed her lead – grabbing my can of coke. "To people that grow and become stronger from their past."

"To us." I smiled. We banged our cans together and took a deep sip of the acid inside.

--

"Then Emmett decided to add his two cents and tell Professor Higgins that the drug addict in the picture is now living with me and sometimes we sleep in the same bed." Edward told me what I missed at the art show today. I fell back on his bed and continued to laugh.

"So what?" I asked. "It's the twenty first century, couples share the same apartment all the time and it's not like you and I ever do anything."

"You know that and I know that, but Professor Higgins doesn't know that. He's still stuck in the 1950's where it was scandalous to kiss a girl's cheek in public and the only time that a male and female should live together is when they're married, but they should still have separate beds." Edward explained as he started to loosen his tie.

"He's been watching too much Leave it to Beaver." I muttered – pulling my arms over my head.

"I kind of miss my basketball shorts." Edward hinted. I pulled my back from the bed and smiled at him.

"They're so comfortable," I teased – rubbing the hem between my fingers. I looked back at Edward his tie was off and his white shirt was already unbuttoned.

"I know, that's why I bought them." He smiled at me to show that he wasn't angry with me.

"And this wife beater," I grabbed the strap that was posing as a sleeve. "Is just as comfortable if not more."

"Ok that's it." Edward growled at me before jumping on the bed next to me. I screamed and tried to get off the bed but he was straddling my hips between his knees. He smiled at me.

"Edward," I screamed. "What would Professor Higgins think?!" I tried to reason with him.

"I don't care what he thinks, I want my shorts." Edward growled his hands on the side of my faces.

"I don't think I'm wearing anything underneath them." I admitted as I tried not to laugh.

"Well that's going to be a problem then, now isn't it?" Edward smiled at me. I blushed.

"You're seriously not going to," I trailed off feeling both excited and anxious. Edward chuckled as he leaned his head down so his lips were hovering over my ear – I shivered.

"No sex before marriage." Edward reminded me.

"Of course not," I sighed – rolling my eyes.

"You know my mom warned me about girls like you." Edward continued to whisper.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah," He kissed my cheek. "The type of girl that would try to use peer pressure to get me to do things that I know I shouldn't do." He kissed my cheek again.

"Is that supposed to be an insult or a compliment?" I asked – trying to distract myself from the fact that his hand was now touching my bare stomach.

"I'm not sure," Edward's breath grazed my ear. I yelped when I felt his teeth latch onto my earlobe and he bit down lightly. His finger started to rub circles on my waist as he nibbled on my ear. "Guess we'll never know." Edward kissed my ear before pulling his head away.

"You're a tease," I accused him. He laughed and gave me a peck on my lips.

"I couldn't help myself," He smiled – giving me another kiss. I sighed and pulled myself from under him so I was leaning against the bed frame. Edward sat across from me – the same goofy smile. "Will I ever get my shorts back?" He asked grabbing the hem of them.

"Not anytime time soon." I smiled shaking my head. Edward laughed as he played with the hem. I stared at him. He was perfect. He was cute, funny, nice, and genuinely cared about me. I smiled.

"What happened here?" Edward asked – his eyebrows furrowing. I looked down to see my thigh – he was staring at one of my burns.

"They're old." I lied as I tried to move my thigh away from him.

"Not this one." Edward ran his finger over one of my newer burns. "It looks infected." He grabbed my thigh between his hands and pulled up his basketball shorts up to my waist.

"It's not what you think!" I screamed at him as I tried to pull my thigh away but he only tightened his grip.

"Bella," He looked up at me. "Have you been burning yourself?"

End Chapter.