You guys are awesome! This is my most successful story yet, thanks to you badass readers! Keep it up!
BPOV
I was so happy to land back home, I almost jumped out of the plane to kiss the tarmac. Instead, I just hurried to baggage claim as quickly as I could and waited for my luggage to come around on the conveyor belt. Edward lagged behind a bit, smirking as he finally caught up to me at the luggage carousel. "In a hurry to get home?"
"Yeah, like you're not," I shot back, returning his smirk. There was nothing I wanted more than to get back to our condo and sleep in my own bed. It was still very early in the morning by the time we got our bags, hailed a cab and made our way home; and, the lack of traffic was such a nice change from the usual hustle and bustle of these streets. Once I paid the cabbie and Edward got the bags into the condo, I headed straight for our room, kicking off my shoes and removing my clothes along the way. As soon as I had striped down to just my bra and panties, I crawled into bed and was asleep in less than a minute. When I finally woke up for the day, the sun was streaming in through our windows at an annoying brightness.
Edward had his body entwined around mine, so I carefully turned to the bedside table and see what time it was. Already half-past noon, I should probably get up and face the day. Plus, Sadie's telling me she would like something to eat. I somehow managed to untangle myself from Edward without waking him and walked into the kitchen to see if there was anything still edible. Nope, we got rid of most of our food before we left, and the only thing hanging out in our cabinets was a box of stale Cheese Nips—so not appetizing. Damn, I'm going to have to go shopping. I sighed as I sat on the couch and turned on the TV. Sadie kicked me, letting me know she was displeased with the lack of food in both of our bellies.
"You'll just have to wait a little bit longer, little girl," I said, looking down at my protruding abdomen and poking the right side a few times with my index finger. "Once Daddy drags his lazy ass out of bed, then we can go get some food."
"Hey, it may be lazy, but you still love this ass." Edward staggered sleepily into the living room and flopped on the couch beside me. He pulled me in his arms and nuzzled the side of my neck. "You know I can't sleep too long if I don't have my favorite cuddler next to me."
"Well, good; now that you're up, we can go get something to eat and then go to the grocery store," I said as I leaned my head more to the side to give him better access to my neck. Edward was beginning to nip and suck at my earlobe when my phone rang, raining on our parade.
"Ignore it," he begged.
"Can't," I replied as I hoisted myself off the couch to answer, "Could be the publishers."
It was Alice. I flipped my phone open and could only get the "hel..." out before I was bombarded with an Alice freak-out.
"Please come get your cats! They have shed on absolutely everything I own! That is all!" And then she hung up, just like that. I chuckled to myself and tucked the phone back in my purse.
"Looks like we're going to have to make a stop by Alice's after our shopping trip," I said as Edward walked to the bedroom to put some clothes on. "Alice is tired of her little guests already."
"Hey, she volunteered to cat-sit," Edward retorted. "She should have known better, with all that nice, white furniture."
We stopped by our favorite deli before hitting the market. The owners, who have come to know us well at this point, visited our table to chat and marvel at how my belly's grown over the past month. I practically dove face-first into my plate of chicken parmesan, and Sadie was very happy with the nice, big meal. After a quick trip to the local Whole Foods (I'm nothing if not an efficient and expedient shopper), we decided to relinquish Alice of her cat-sitting duties.
"Thank you," she said as Edward and I put Luna and Napoleon in their cat carriers, "If I had to spend one more night listening to them meow, I was going to hurl them both out a window."
"They were meowing because you wouldn't let them sleep in your bed with you," I said as I gave Luna a quick cuddle before putting her in the cage—she absolutely loathes the carrier.
"Yeah, well I stand by that decision," she replied. "Letting a cat sleep with you is just creepy."
Edward and I exchanged smirks before saying our goodbyes to Alice. I noticed a familiar pair of cowboy boots and leather jacket near her front door, but wasn't going to comment on that at present. There would be plenty of time to question her about Jasper the next time we have lunch.
Needless to say, the cats were thrilled to be back home. I'm guessing Alice—after her brief moment of love for the felines—wasn't all that affectionate with them. Really, she's not a cat person. Luna jumped up to her favorite perch on the back of the couch while Edward lifted a window for Napoleon to crawl out of. "There you go, buddy. I bet you miss being outside, huh?"
Once we put the groceries away, there was a knock on our door. We both looked at each other in panic. Neither one of us was expecting company, and a person needed to be buzzed into our building to have access to the condos. This person, whoever it was, must have been smart enough to buzz someone else's number to get let in. Edward walked slowly to the door, trying not to make any sound, and looked through the peephole.
"Who the hell is this guy?" He asked in a low voice. "Bells, do you know this guy?"
I walked over as quietly as possible and looked through the hole myself. A short, balding man I had never seen before was standing in front of our door. And, he had something hidden behind his back. I put the chain and the latch into position so I could open the door just a crack—Edward and I remained tucked away, out of sight. "Yes?" I asked.
"Miss Swan? Mr. Cullen? I have a package for you both," the man said. He had an annoyingly nasal voice, too.
"Who is it from?" Edward asked, positioning himself between me and the opening of the door.
"Not sure, I think it's something from eBay," he said unconvincingly.
"Yeah, well set it down and we'll pick it up later," Edward replied.
"Uh, you need to sign for it," the little man replied.
"Bullshit," Edward retorted. "Set it down and leave it, and if your manager has some problem with me not signing something he can call me."
"Look," the man said, getting rather upset. "I'm just doing my job here, so open the damn door already."
Edward slammed the door shut and locked the deadbolt while I called the police and reported a strange man who was trying to get us to open our door.
"He said he had a package for us from eBay, but neither of us has ever used eBay before," I explained. "And, he didn't even use our number to buzz into the building."
"Could he have had the wrong house?" The dispatcher asked.
"No, he knew both of our names," I said.
Edward looked out the peephole and said the man was gone. He opened the door just enough to see the hallway just in front of our condo. "No package, either."
I told this to the woman, who said some officers would be by shortly to talk with us. In about fifteen minutes, two uniformed officers arrived and took down our complaints.
"What did the man look like?"
"He was short and bald," Edward said. "And he had a pair of black, horn-rimmed glasses."
"Was he wearing a light blue shirt?" One of the officers asked.
"Yeah, how did you know?" I replied.
The officers exchanged surprised looks. One walked out of the condo, talking into the walky-talky on his shoulder. The other told us they had seen the man lurking around the backside of our building, "looking like he was trying to find an alternate way in."
Edward and I sat on the couch while the officers talked to each other over their radios. Apparently, the man had figured out the cops were there for him and ran off. But, the officers said they would take the description we gave them, and that we should call if he tries to come by again. "Well," I said. "I guess that's all they can do for now. What do you think that guy wanted?"
EPOV
Oh, I knew exactly what that guy wanted. He got our address from Jessica, and he was coming over to try and get some exclusive photos or something. I'm pretty sure that was a camera he was hiding behind his back. I needed to do something about this now. Once Bella was preoccupied with a bowl of strawberry ice cream, I snuck into our bedroom to call Aro. Surely he had some way of handling this.
"Edward, how are things, kid?"
"Not good," I said. "I don't suppose you saw the latest issue of OK Magazine, did you?"
"I did, but I hope you realize that's all bullshit," he replied. "No one honestly believes anything these shysters write about, it's just about what sells. It'll blow over."
"I don't know about that—Bella and I got a visitor today," I said. "It was a guy pretending to be delivering a package. But, I'm pretty sure he was here to get photos of us. Jessica gave out our address."
"Your co-star? Have there been any other problems with this girl, Edward?" I ran through the list of things Jessica had done briefly, keeping my voice extra low when I got to the part where she showed up at our cottage in her nightgown that one night. Bella still doesn't know about that incident. Aro listened intently before letting out a sigh in a low hiss.
"Christ, that is some Fatal Attraction-style stalking, kid. Well, here's what we can do." Aro said he was going to get me some kind of security detail to watch over our condo, and to keep an eye on us when we go out. "I can't stop people from taking pictures of you on the street," he said. "But, I can give you all the protection you need for your home and for Bella."
"Thanks, Aro. This will help so much."
"Anything for you kid," he said. "So, you're starting back up with the show soon. We should be hearing from the producers sometime next week. Talk to you later, Ed."
"Edward!" Bella called from the living room. "Sadie wants you to come rub my tummy."
"Coming," I chuckled as I walked back into the living room. I felt a little better knowing I found a way to keep my family safe. Sitting next to Bella, I pulled her over me so her back lay across my lap with her head on a pillow. She closed her eyes and smiled while I lifted her shirt and massaged her soft belly. Sadie kicked a few times, but after a while I think she fell asleep. Bella fell asleep, as well, but I continued to rub her belly absentmindedly as I watched Sports Center. I smiled to myself. It was one of life's perfect moments. Until…
BPOV
Just as I was finally all curled up on Edward's lap, finding some peace from this whole security fiasco, my phone started blaring Alice's ringtone. I groaned as I pushed myself up to answer, with a little help from Edward. "What, Al? Did you find something the cats destroyed or vomited on? I'll pay for it, I promise!" As if she knew I was talking about her, Luna jumped up onto the kitchen counter and gave me her best innocent face.
"No, the cats didn't puke on anything...that I've noticed yet, anyway," Alice said, sounding a touch worried. "I was just struck with a sudden notion about this Jessica situation. You know how she thinks she has enough pull with people in the tabloid industry to ruin Edward's reputation? I bet she doesn't know as many people as I do!"
I sat on one of the barstools around the breakfast counter. "I'm listening."
Alice told me she had publishing friends in almost every tabloid worth its salt. "Us Weekly, InTouch, Life and Styles; I've got connections with them all. Plus, they'll be more than willing to help a friend out if it means they get a nice, juicy story."
"Like one about a crazy bitch who stalks her co-star and his pregnant wife?" My voice was taking on quite the mischievous edge.
"Oh, I think that could sell loads of papers," Alice agreed. "It did when Leeann Rimes went all crazy stalker on her co-star. Do you have any eye witnesses that will back the story?"
"Of course," I said. "Just about every person on that set will testify that Jessica was always trying to get her hands on Edward. Especially Lance, the screenwriter. He practically had to baby-sit Edward while I was away so Jessica would never catch my husband alone."
"That's wonderful," Alice squealed. "Oh, it feels so good to ruin a stupid bitch! I can have this all over the gossip world so fast, that girl won't know what hit her!"
"OK," I replied. "You go ahead and give them the story."
Sure enough, that very next Friday all of the tabloids Alice had mentioned featured stories about how Jessica was a desperate liar who stalked Edward and me. I got a call from Lance letting me know the "anonymous source" in all of the articles was, in fact, him. "That'll show that girl to try and break up two of my friends."
"And, really, does she think all of this spewing of lies and hate is going to get her anywhere with Edward?" I asked. "Doesn't she see it just makes him more upset?"
"I don't think that's the point anymore, Bella dear," Lance replied. "She's a woman scorned. She's just looking for some vengeance. But, the question now is are you ready for the inevitable backlash?"
"The what?" I asked.
"You know she's going to retaliate somehow," he said. "I just want you and Edward to be prepared, because she is some kind of crazy I have never seen before. If she doesn't try to hit out in the press, she might find another way to come after you."
"Well, Edward's agent got us plenty of security," I said confidently. "If she wants to come at me, let her."
"Wow, look who's becoming quite the little badass," Lance said. "But, be careful Bella. This girl is certifiable."
"Oh, I think I can handle her," I replied.
"Yes, but think about your baby," he said. "Don't get all bent out of shape, or hurt, over a meaningless little bitch. That's all I'm saying."
He did have a point there. If things come down to a physical confrontation with Jessica, there is the chance that Sadie could somehow get hurt. Luckily, Jessica's next move wasn't a confrontational one, just a last ditch effort to try and control the tabloid situation. She went to her old standby, OK Magazine, and had a sit-down interview with one of their "reporters." She told them the other stories were lies, and that I was just trying to stand in the way of her and Edward being together. Alice found out it was the worst selling issue since the tabloid had crossed over to America. And, in retaliation, some of the cast and crew from the movie called into Us Weekly in my defense. One of the production assistants, a very nice girl named Angela, said, "If Jessica and Edward are really in love, then why is he happily living with Bella in their condo? I heard they even had to hire security to make sure Jessica stays away."
I chuckled to myself at how high school the whole situation had become. In a way, it was an interesting experience for me. I was never one for the teenage drama mill. But, Jessica had started this mess, and she could make it go away in an instant if she just shut her mouth and left us alone. And, it seemed, that's exactly what she was going to do. After a little over a month, the stories faded away. Good news for me, as my book was set to debut. I didn't want anything to get in the way of its promotion.
Even in my seven-months pregnant state, I traveled around the US touting the book. Edward was filming a new season of New York Homicide, so it was really better that I was out of the house right now. I would probably be going crazy with cabin fever if I was at home. Our first stop was in L.A., we hit four bookstores all over the city and the fans were so incredible. It never ceased to amaze me how diverse the fan base was—young and old, male and female; and, of all different ethnicities. My favorites among the crowd, though, were the young, aspiring authors who said they were inspired by my story. There's nothing more flattering than being a person's inspiration.
I signed autographs at each appearance until my hand was numb, but it was more than worth it. Over the next two weeks, I made it to Denver, Phoenix, Dallas, Chicago and Philadelphia. I was so exhausted by the end of the book tour, I slept for a good fourteen hours the day after I got home. When I finally woke up, Edward had already left for work. I walked into the kitchen for something to eat and noticed the door to the nursery was open. I peeked inside and saw the walls were painted light pink with a border embellished with pink, yellow and purple butterflies. There was a crib I had never seen before already put together in the center of the room. While I was wondering when Edward had found the time to do all of this, I heard a little noise in the living room. I crept in that direction, and was met with a group of people yelling "Surprise!" It was Alice, Esme, Mom, Kate and – much to my surprise – Rosalie. On the coffee table, there was a big, pink cake and a ton of presents. More, much larger presents were stacked up against the far wall. I could only imagine what my family and friends must have bought for me.
I was immediately bombarded by Mom and Esme, who each gave me big hugs and led me to the couch for the impromptu party. Alice retreated to the kitchen and walked back with a plate full of pasta salad, cut veggies and a little turkey sandwich for me. I gave her a smirk. "This is just the first round, right?"
"Anything for the mommy-to-be," Alice replied. Rosalie hesitantly sat beside me and took my hands in hers.
"I don't know if you could ever forgive me, Bella," she said. "But, I truly am sorry for what happened. I hope we can one day be friends."
I smiled and patted one of her hands gently. "I think that's a possibility, Rosalie."
She returned my smile as Alice started us off on some party games. First off, the guests had to guess my tummy size with a roll of toilet paper. My mom won that game. Then, Alice had everyone had to guess the kind of baby food found in unlabeled jars. I opted out of that one, but Kate managed to get the most answers correct. "My sister Carmen has a three-year-old," she admitted. "I've probably played this game more recently than most."
The last game was a quiz about the pregnancy. The guests answered questions like, "What's the baby's full name?" And, "When's the baby's due date?" Esme and Mom tied on that game. Alice wrapped up the games a little early, I think, because she saw me eyeing the cake hungrily.
"Yes, Bells, that is a red velvet cake with pink butter cream frosting," Alice assured me as she sliced into the confectionary delight. I took a rather large piece and dug in with aplomb. Mom sat next to me and rubbed my belly gently.
"How's our girl doing?"
"She's happy now that she gets cake," I replied. Once dessert was finished, Alice started handing me presents to open. I'm not much for getting gifts, but I was so appreciative at the amount of presents people had bought for me. Though, I knew most of them were either from Alice, Esme or Mom. And, of course, the first one was from Mom – one of those video monitors. Also from Mom were a mobile, a baby bathtub and enough clothes to fill an adult-sized closet. Esme bought me a plethora of baby blankets, two car seats and some more clothes. Though, she must have coordinated with Mom because Esme's clothes were for six-to-twelve months, while Mom's were newborn-to-six months. Alice, predictably, had given us the gigantic, expensive crib. She also bought us a stroller and paid for all of the paint and decorations, which Edward had worked on while I was on the book tour.
Rosalie had the biggest, and probably most useful present of all, though. I tore the wrapping paper away from her gift, which had to be about six-feet tall, three-feet wide and two-feet deep. Inside was what had to be a lifetime supply of diapers. "I saved up for three months to get all of these," she said. "I never realized how expensive they can be. And, these are the really good kind, not the cheap ones."
I gave her a big hug. "Thank you so much, Rose. You didn't have to do this."
"I know," she said. "I wanted to."
There was a knock at the front door, and Alice went to answer it. I continued to open presents – Kate gave me a basket filled with baby toiletries and books about child care. But, it worried me when Alice stayed gone for too long. I wandered over to the front door to find her gazing at a package like she was having a serious inner debate with herself. "Al, what's wrong?"
She looked up in surprise. "Nothing, Bells. I'll be back in a minute, you go enjoy your party."
"What is that?" I asked, pointing at the package undeterred.
"I'm not sure," she said. "It didn't have a name on it. One of the security guards brought it up and asked me if he should give it you."
"Maybe there's a card inside," I said. "Maybe one of my relatives back in Forks sent me something and forgot to put a return address on it."
"Maybe," Alice said hesitantly. She found a small knife in the kitchen and opened the box carefully. Underneath all the Styrofoam packing peanuts was a smaller box with a Cabbage Patch doll inside. Alice and I exchanged confused looks before she opened the box and pulled the doll out. It was a girl doll with brown hair and brown eyes. If I had to venture a guess, I'd say it was supposed to look like me. Surprisingly, it wasn't attached to anything. There was one of those little birth certificates inside, and I snatched it to see what it said – Sadie. My heart started fluttering wildly at this point.
"Who sent this?" I asked rhetorically. Alice looked back inside the little box and reached in to pull something out. A card with mine, Edward's and Sadie's name on it. I grabbed it out of Alice's hand and tore it open. What was written on the card almost made me go into labor right then and there.
If I can't have your husband, I'll have his baby.
Love,
J
That crazy bitch! What was she up to now? I called the security leader Paul on the radio they had given me and he was up to our condo in a matter of minutes. I showed him the card from Jessica and he immediately got the members of his team who had intercepted the box up for a talk. "Who gave you guys this package?" Paul asked.
"It was sent through UPS," one of the men replied. "We just brought it up to the condo because that's what Ms. Brandon told us to do with packages."
I looked to Alice quizzically. She nodded at me. "I asked friends and family to send presents for the shower because I only invited a few people to keep the party small. But, how could she know the party was today?"
"With your permission, Mrs. Cullen, my team will open all unmarked packages like this in the future to prevent any further events such as this," Paul said; I nodded in agreement. "What would you like us to do with this doll?" He added.
I stared at the ugly thing for a moment before I handed it to Paul in disgust. "Just throw it away. I never want to see it again."
With that, the security men left. Mom and Esme came to comfort me just as Edward came in from work. "Hey, why were Paul and the boys here?"
"They brought a package…from Jessica," I said.
"What? How?"
"It was unmarked," Alice explained. "They brought it up thinking it was a gift for the baby shower."
"What was it? Did she send some kind of card?" Edward said, sounding almost guilty about something.
"It was a doll," I said. "And Jessica sent this card." I handed him the offending object and he read it quickly before throwing it to the grown with a frustrated cry.
"That crazy bitch!" He yelled.
"Edward!" His mother scolded.
"Sorry, mom," he replied, "But, this girl is making our lives a living hell all because of some misplaced infatuation she has with me. And now, she's bringing our baby into it. Don't worry, love." He said as he turned to me and wrapped me in his arms. "Aro will have his lawyers look into this. If it was Jessica who sent it, we'll be able to charge her with harassment for sure."
I nodded into his shoulder as I let him rock me gently. Come hell or high water, this was going to end. I was going to make sure of it.
Oooo, what could Jessica have meant by that? And how will she finally get what's coming to her? Stay tuned, kids! And, remember, feedback is always greatly appreciated!