It's Just a Bet

I just wanted to say, reading some of the reviews on the last chapter is really what inspired me to write this one. I love you guys, especially my fans who don't hate me and my horrible updating habits. It's a curse I seem to have. The story hits a good point and then I just can't write. I really want to thank everyone's support. I love you guys.

BELLA'S POV

I fell asleep before Rose could even get back with my food. Lucky for me, they allowed me my rest because of my current condition. Had it been any other day, and I would have had the two of them jumping on me, demanding I wake up so they can give me a make-over or something girly like that. Instead, I was able to drift into dreams of Edward. That had become rather frequent. And by frequent, I mean I had a dream about him every single night. Most were similar to ones before them; we just lay together in his meadow, Ayden playing in the distance. The simplicity of the dream is what made it so tempting. I desired that life.

I woke up with Alice curled up next to me. Rose was on my other side, her face smashed into the pillow quite elegantly. I could hear Alice's dainty snore, though you could barely call it that. It was more like she was sighing. Rose on the other hand was most certainly snoring her brains out. For someone so gorgeous, you would never expect that. But, everyone has the niches. I for one sleep talk. According to Charlie and Ayden, I never stop talking when I dream. It was embarrassing when I first found out, but I've gotten used to it by now. Though, I am still a little too mortified to sleep for long periods of time around Edward. I didn't want anything to slip out about him. Surely I'd say something about how I wanted to have his children and when I woke up, he wouldn't be there. The thought alone was too much for me. For the time being, I needed to focus on the essentials, like some air. It was so stuffy down in the Cullen basement. Or possibly some water. My throat felt pretty dry.

Either way, I detangled myself slowly from the sheets, praying I wouldn't fall over and break something in the process. I was successful in getting up the stairs unscathed and decided that this called for a victory breakfast. I would feast on pancakes, eggs, and yummy orange juice. Esme was already in the kitchen by the time I got there. She was perched over one of her interior design catalogues while sipping at a cop of coffee. Though I'm not the most graceful individual, Esme didn't notice my arrival. She just kept flipping the pages, humming when she saw a design that intrigued her. She looked like she was straight out of a fashion magazine, her designer robe slung over her shoulders while the sun shone onto her pale skin. The whole family knew just how to make me feel inferior, without even trying. I felt rude for intruding, but I had no idea where they kept the pancake mix.

"Esme?" I asked softly

Knowing me, I would have flown across the room in terror had someone just popped up out of nowhere, but Esme was the definition of unfazed at this point. She simply looked up to me, a smile spreading across her lovely face. "I didn't hear you come in dear."

"Yeah," I laughed, "I guess I'm not as noisy as I thought."

"Guess not," she closed her catalogue and got up from her place at the table. "What could I delight you with for breakfast? Belgian waffles? French toast? My home made chocolate chip pancakes? Eggs and toast? Sausage and bacon? A Spanish omelet? Stop me anytime sweet heart…"

I blushed, chuckling along with her. "It all sounds so good. But you don't have to make me anything, I can cook for myself and you can continue with whatever you were doing before I interrupted."

"Nonsense, go sit and I'll fix you something," she motioned towards the table.

"Are you sure?" I asked skeptically. Charlie constantly was telling me that I didn't need to cook every single meal and yet, I couldn't stop myself. I blamed the mother in me. "I cook all the time, it's no bother."

"Bella, sit please, you're offending me," I quickly sat down. "So what shall it be?"

I thought back to the scrumptious menu she listed for me just a moment ago. "Chocolate chip pancakes sound delicious," I said with a grin.

"Chocolate chip pancakes it is!" And without another word, she set about making my food.

Esme was a lot faster than me when it came down to making breakfast. I barely even noticed the time pass by before she set my plate down in front of me, a tall glass of non-pulp orange juice at its side. I beamed up at her in thanks before diving into my food. I expected to feel a little pain while eating because of my accident, but was horribly mistaken. Every time I chewed a new wave of pain washed over me. It felt like my nose was on fire and there was no way for me to put it out, no matter how much I drenched it with water. I was only about five bites into my pancakes when I pushed my plate away, blinded by the pain.

"Is everything alright?" Esme looked from my plate to my face. She saw me wincing and she was able to put two and two together. "Oh dear, I'll run and get you some pain pills darling."

"Thanks," I squeaked, trying to focus on something other than the pain. I had to get my mind off of how much my face hurt. Anything but pain…

Edward, I broke out into a grin as I remembered his promise to be home today. He hadn't told my why and when, but that much didn't matter. All I needed to get through the day was the knowledge of Edward's arrival back in Forks. This little town seemed so empty without him.

The pain was starting to subside when I heard Esme's steps in the hall. I turned towards the open door, my hand outstretched as I awaited the pills. I gasped in shock when instead of Esme, an amused looking Carlisle walked through the door. I stared at him in confusion for a moment. His smile dropped once he got a good look at my face.

"Bella!" He said in one quick breath before rushing to my side. "What happened to you?"

"Long story," I croaked, fairly disappointed that Carlisle didn't have my pills. "Where's Edward?"

Before Carlisle had a chance to respond, I could hear my boyfriend's voice from the hall. "I'm heading over to Bella's to surprise her!" He opened the front door and I was able to picture him practically dashing through it.

"Come in the kitchen first," Carlisle called after his son. "Let's surprise him," he whispered to me.

"I want to get there before she wakes up!" He told his father, sounding more distant than before. I laughed lightly; it was already 11 in the morning. How late did he think I slept in?

Carlisle groaned at his son's stubbornness, quietly excusing himself from the room to convince his son to come to the kitchen. It only took a minute or so before I could hear the front door slam shut. I stood up awkwardly, unsure of how to stand in greeting. Edward strode into the kitchen, Carlisle on his tail.

"Surprise!" I shouted while I threw my arms above my head. Edward dropped his phone, the back piece flying off and sliding under the table.

"Bella?" his eyes were wide with terror. I guess he wasn't entirely thrilled with new make-over.

"It's me," I said, a hint of frenzy in my voice. Instinctively he was at my side in seconds, cradling me to his chest. I pulled away, my face flushing red with new pain.

"Sorry," he soothed.

"S'okay," I mumbled, just happy to have him home. I wasn't sure if I liked the whole concept of 'being apart' from Edward. It didn't seem very appealing.

He sat down at the table, pulling me into his lap. His pale fingers traced circles on my back as we sat together silently. Carlisle had gone off with Esme, allowing us alone time. I was grateful for this.

Edward chuckled to himself. I turned to him, my head titled to the side in question. "What's so funny?"

"You," he laughed out loud at this. I frowned at him. Not enjoying his joke quite so much. "Only you can find a way to get hurt during class."

"How'd you know it was during class?" I didn't remember telling him. "I could have done this on my way to tutoring, or after it, or in my car. You know, there are a lot of places where you can break your face."

"Alice called," I should have expected that, "she didn't really explain much, since she was in the hospital. I assumed you'd be home right now, fast asleep from pain pills. I wanted to be home last night, but Carlisle felt it necessary to spend the night in New Hampshire and come back first thing in the morning."

"As long as your back," I sighed, leaning into his shoulder with my back. His arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me closer to him.

"You'll be safe, as long as you're with me I will protect you Bella," his whispered against my neck. I sighed contently, "You are my life now."

I was never really the sentimental type, but his words touched my heart so deeply, tears pricked in my eyes. I didn't even care how much it hurt; I spun around and kissed him full on the lips. He had to understand how much that meant to me. He was my life now.

EDWARD'S POV

This was different.

Usually, Bella and I spent our Friday nights in front of the TV watching Disney Channel with Ayden while eating popcorn. Bella was still in recovery mode. Today, however, Ayden was back at the Swan household with Charlie, while I sat on my couch with Emmett and Jasper. All the girls were upstairs together, getting ready for our...triple date?

It had been Alice's idea. She'd been riding with me and Bella to school the other morning when she came up with it. She said we all needed to go out as a group, in order to make everything official. I suggested we go get pizza, my sister argued saying we need to do something more interactive. Bella interjected, saying there was this movie she was dying to see. It's some weird movie about vampires called Twilight or whatever. I don't really care to see it, neither do the guys, but the girls are hell bent on seeing it. Hence why I am sitting here, as I have been for an hour now, waiting to catch an 8:15 movie. It's 8:02...

"Do you think they could take any longer?" Emmett grumbled, stretching his long limbs out as he settled back into the couch, closing his eyes. I couldn't agree with him more.

It wasn't Bella's fault. She hated pampering herself, even now that she needs to because of her injury. It's such a task for her. Which means half the time, Alice is fussing over her. It really can be irritating for the both of us. My sister means well, but she hasn't seemed to notice how it's interfering with mine and Bella's relationship. We barely have any alone time as is, what with Ayden and Charlie. Now with Alice crowding in on us twenty-four-seven, Bella and I get about five minutes alone together, leaving us two seconds to sneak in a quick make-out before moving back onto our lives.

"I'm sure they are just nervous about how they look," Jasper tried to reason. Apparently, he knew everything there was to know about women.

"Yeah, that's it bro," Emmett mocked. "Have you met Rose? Nervous doesn't even register in her vocabulary."

"The fact that the word 'register' makes it into your vocab impresses me," Rose snipped from the top of the staircase. We all whipped around to see the girls make their big entrance.

Alice was wearing some frilly black and green dress that made her look like one of the pixies from the new Tinkerbell movie (see too much Disney!). By the look on Jasper's face, pixie was most certainly in. Rose wore a red sweater dress with a plunging neckline that had Emmett drooling all over the place. But none of them even compared to Bella. She looked elegant, yet not even remotely done up. Unlike Alice and Rose, she wasn't wearing a dress or heels. Instead, she had on slim black pants and a gorgeous, blue silk blouse that hugged her curves. I found myself growing hot at the sight of her. How had I forgotten how gorgeous my girlfriend was in the mere hour we'd been apart?

Quickly we were all at our partner's sides, admiring one another. "How is it, you always seem to be the most beautiful thing in the room," I whispered into her ear.

She giggled softly before looking up into my eyes. I practically melted at the sight of those doe brown orbs. She was too cute for words. "I'm sure this nose brace helps."

"What nose brace?" I said with a laugh, wrapping my arm around her shoulder and pulling her close to me. I kissed the tip of her nose, which was the only part of her nose I was able to actually touch, and smiled down at her. "I see nothing but my beautiful face."

"I love you," she sighed contentedly.

"I love you more, my angel," I promised her softly.

Her cheeks were stained red. In attempt to hide her embarrassment, Bella looked over to see Alice and Rose sharing similar moments with Jasper and Emmett. "I hate to interrupt on this little love fest guys but...the movie?"

"Oh my god!" Alice shrieked, throwing her hands up in the air. "We've got to hurry people. Hustle!"

Before we had any chance to protest, Alice was shooing us out of the house and to our respective cars. I slid into the driver's seat of the new Volvo my parents had bought me. It was the same as the one before, except next year's model. Bella stumbled into her seat, giving me a good laugh. As soon as she buckled, I sped off towards the theatre.

We got there at exactly 8:15. The place was packed with people, but I managed to buy the last six tickets. The girls all huddled together and went to find seats while Emmett, Jasper, and I went to buy food. The lines at the concession stand were absolutely ridiculous. I was just about ready to give up and drive to the store when I saw Angela Weber waving us down. I nudged the guys and we quickly made our way over to her.

"I didn't know you worked here," I said conversationally. Angela looked more like the bookstore type rather than concession stand girl.

"Hey, it pays," she said with a shrug. "Good for you that I do, right?"

"Yea, thanks," I said quickly.

"You won't be so happy about taking us after you get Emmett's order," Jasper informed her. We all shared a laugh, except Emmett that is. He was very serious about his food.

"Well, since we're on the topic...I'll be needing three large popcorns," He began.

"You're buying for all of us?" Jasper asked quickly.

Emmett turned around to glare at him. "No," he turned back to Angela, "Two large sodas, one diet--

"No need for the diet Emmett, you look great" Jasper interrupted once more. By this point I was practically on the floor laughing. The look Emmett was giving Jasper was just too much. Angela was laughing just as hard behind the counter as she attempted to take Emmett's order.

"ANYWAY," Emmett shouted, completely red in the face. "I'll have my two large sodas, one diet coke, one regular. Two boxes of Cookie Dough Bites, two boxes of Goobers, and a box of Twizzlers."

"It's a bag," Jasper corrected. "A bag of Twizzlers geeze you think a guy so big on food would know such a simple little fact."

"Go die," was the only response Emmett seemed to have for this. Leaving us three in tears.

Once Emmett's order was taken care of, he stormed off into the theatre, rather not willing to wait for us. We had a lot easier of time ordering and quickly made our way in after him. As soon as we sat down, the lights dimmed.

I had a hard time on concentrating on the movie because all I could think about was Bella. Lately, she'd been very reserved. No matter how much time we spent together, it felt like she was only drawing further away from me. I couldn't help but wonder if she was keeping something from me. Usually Bella was very open with her feelings, always telling me whatever was on her mind. I wasn't sure if she was just upset about her injury or if it was something else. I mean, I know she feels like I'm babying her a bit about the whole thing, but that's no reason to shut me out. The past few days, she didn't really say much about how she felt. Instead she talked a lot about Ayden and how much I meant to him. It was like she was trying to tell me something, but didn't really know how.

"Is everything okay?" She whispered to me, squeezing my high tightly in her little one. I smiled down at her, instantly assured. If she had something to tell me, she would. Wouldn't she?

"I'm fine," I said, dropping a kiss to the side of her mouth. She smiled up at me, but for some reason her smile didn't reach her eyes. I could see all the tension and nervousness pooling around in them and I felt my stomach flinch again. Wouldn't she?

Shaking her head slightly, she stood up, dropping her little purse onto my lap. "I gotta go potty," she giggled at her self, emitting a chuckle from my chest. At some point in my life, I hated when girls talked like babies. Yet, the fact Bella didn't mind being goofy made me love her all the more.

I attempted to watch the movie, but I felt my phone vibrate on my lap. I went to check it when I realized it was Bella's phone. I looked at the screen.

1 NEW MSG

It was probably Charlie. Ayden must not be too happy about us not putting him to bed tonight. Nothing too serious. Then again, something could be wrong. Charlie might need to talk to Bella right now. I flipped her phone open to see what was going on, just to be safe. What I saw threw me for a loop.

1 NEW MSG FROM TYLER

Who the hell is Tyler? She's definitely not friends with Tyler Katzenback or Tyler Cheney, they're never around her. So who could this be? Quickly I opened the text in order to send him a nasty reply. I stopped, however, when I saw what Tyler wrote.

B

CNT WAIT 2 C U TESTIFY AGAINST JAKE TMR

COURT SHLD B FUN? LOL

T

….court?

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Did that make up for my suck updating? I really hope so! Please review & tell me what you thought! Also, kitsunegirl48 gave me to idea for the triple date! Her PM is what got me to write Edward's POV, so if you liked it THANK HER!