Disclaimer: No Twilight ownership here.
A/N: So I spent 7 hours sitting in the theater to watch a double feature of Harry Potter. Let's just say, I'm too old to sit there for that long. I've been on vacation all week, and I wasn't sure that I'd get this chapter done since my muse decided to take a vacation as well. It's been crazy hot here in the Midwest, which hasn't helped my muse at all. Anyway, I figure we've got about three chapters and an epilogue left. As always, thanks for reading and reviewing. Chylex28, thanks for all your hard work.
I'm not breakable, I'm unshakable
Why you trying to hold me down?
(Why you trying, trying to hold me down?)
I'm not breakable, so unstoppable
Nobody's gonna knock me out
No bending me
I'll never be
Like broken glass
Cause I'm not fragile like that
No one will see
Fragments of me
Like broken glass
Cause I'm not fragile like that
"Not Fragile" by Christina Grimmie
Surviving High School
There, standing next to the bench, was James.
"Hello, Sweet Isabella."
I refused to acknowledge him, instead, focusing my energy on searching for Edward. He'd been standing in the line not a few feet from me, but now I couldn't see him. Where was he?
"Don't waste your time looking for him. I've arranged for your little boyfriend to be occupied for the next few minutes," he said with a smirk.
Full panic set in. What did he mean that he'd arranged for Edward to be occupied? If he'd hurt Edward, I was going to kill him.
"Where is he?" I demanded, anger overriding the panic.
"Busy," was his reply. He reached over and grabbed my arm, dragging me into a standing position. I quickly took a look around, and noticed that there were still a few people milling about. Now was my chance to attract some attention. As he started to drag me toward the parking area, I tried to yank my arm out of his grasp.
"Let me go," I hollered at him, furious at the fucking bastard.
He came to an abrupt stop and leaned in. "Listen to me, you fucking bitch. If you so much as think to cause a scene, I'll make sure you regret it."
Fuck that. He could threaten me all he wanted, but I'd be damned if I wasn't going to make a scene. I knew that getting attention was going to be the only way he'd let me go. So taking a deep breath, I let out a bloodcurdling scream. My scream startled the hell out of James. He, obviously, hadn't been suspecting me to cause a scene after his little threat. I screamed and screamed, yelling that he was trying to take me, and that I didn't want to go with him. My screams garnered the attention of several people, and a couple of middle-aged men began running our way.
"You fucking whore! You're going to pay for this," he hissed at me, before taking off toward the parking lot. I watched as the coward ran off.
"Miss? Miss? Are you okay?" one of my rescuers asked me.
I turned to look at the small crowd that had gathered nearby. I gave the man who'd asked the question, a small nod, while rubbing the arm that James had grabbed. An elderly woman led me over to the bench that I'd been sitting on, shoving a cup of hot tea into my hands. I had just taken a sip, when I heard Edward's frantic voice calling my name.
"Bella! Bella!"
I looked over and saw him running toward me. I set the cup of tea down on the bench next to me, and ran toward him, throwing myself in his arms. I clung to him, as he did to me, burrowing his face in my hair.
"God, Bella. I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. I should have insisted that you stay by my side," he rambled in a voice full of regret and panic.
I held him tighter, and did my best to soothe him. "It wasn't your fault. We both thought I'd be perfectly safe here. Neither of us had any way of knowing that James was going to be here watching."
He let out a sigh, and pressed a hard kiss to the side of my head, then pulled away to press a kiss to my lips. "I should have known something was going on. Victoria came up to me while I was in line, and started talking to me. I didn't realize until it was too late, that it was a ploy to distract me. I'm so sorry, Bella."
"Shh. It's okay. I'm okay. You're okay. We're both okay, and that's what's important. I need to call Charlie and Mark and let them know what happened."
Edward and I walked back to his car and locked the doors immediately upon entering it. Pulling out my phone, I called Mark and let him know that James had grabbed me, and had Victoria helping him out. After agreeing to go down to the station tomorrow, I gave Charlie a call. He was furious, and was talking about cutting his honeymoon short and coming home on the next flight available. I managed to talk him out of it. He'd be back in a week, and I wanted him to enjoy his time in Hawaii.
The drive back to the Cullen house was tense. I could tell that Edward was still blaming himself for my almost abduction, and that nothing I said would make it better. I reached over and put my hand onto his knee and gave it a gentle squeeze. We walked quietly into the house, hands clasped tightly.
"Hi dears. How was your date?" Esme asked from her spot on the love seat in the sitting room.
Edward sat down next to her and pulled me into his lap, his arms wrapping tightly around my waist.
"It was great, until James showed up," he said through clenched teeth. One of his hands had balled up into a fist, and I reached down to uncurl his fingers, lacing them with mine. We told Esme about our night, and how Victoria and James had apparently come up with a plan to distract Edward, and let James get to me. Afterward, Esme pulled me up into a tight hug, swaying us back and forth.
"Oh my poor dear," she said, brushing my hair away from my face. "I'm so sorry those vile people ruined your evening. I'm going to be calling Victoria's parents and letting them know just what they're wretched daughter is up to."
I tried to talk her out of it, but she wouldn't be swayed. Honestly, it's not like it would make things any worse than they already were. Edward and I said goodnight to her, and headed upstairs. I was tired from the night's events, and wanted to sleep it off, but Alice had other ideas. Edward and I had just paused to kiss one another goodnight in front of my room, when Alice interrupted us.
"Guys! How was the date?" she squealed, in true Alice fashion.
I let out a sigh at being interrupted, while resting my head against Edward's shoulders.
"The date was great, the end...not so much."
"Why? What happened? Tell me!" she demanded. Letting out another sigh, I reluctantly left Edward's arms, and followed her into my room. She sprawled out on my bed, watching me like a hawk as I sat down on the edge of the bed. I proceeded to tell her what had happened, she was appalled and furious that Victoria was helping James.
"Edward must be beside himself," she said once I was done.
"You have no idea. He blames himself for not realizing that it was a ploy sooner. I've tried to tell him that it's not his fault, but, well...you know Edward. Nothing I say is going to alleviate the guilt."
"I can talk to him if you want, but I think you're right. He'll have to come to the realization on his own that he's not at fault for this."
We spent the next hour talking and catching up. Unfortunately, I learned more about her and Jasper in that hour, than I ever cared to. By the time Alice left my room, I was exhausted. I fell asleep, but tossed and turned the whole time, due to strange dreams involving the evil duo.
The rest of my time at the Cullens flew by. All too soon, Charlie and Sue were back from Hawaii, and we were settling in as a family. The day after my encounter with James, I'd headed to the police station and talked to Mark. He'd taken pictures of my arm, where a nasty bruise had formed from when James grabbed me, and I gave a formal statement, as did Edward. Esme had made true on her word and told the Laurents about Victoria and her involvement. She'd invited them over for afternoon tea, something that I thought only the Brits did, and was rather amused to see done. Esme invited Edward and I to join her in the formal sitting room, where she had tea and crumpets waiting. A few minutes later, the Laurents joined us.
"Dale. Linda. Thank you for joining me for tea," Esme began, always the gracious host.
"Well, I have to admit I was a bit surprised when you called and invited us. Will Carlisle be joining us?" Mrs. Laurent asked.
"He'll be along shortly. He's finishing up some work in his study."
No sooner had she said that, Carlisle came down the stairs and joined us. He sat down beside Esme and began pouring tea for all of us. I felt extremely out of place. I wasn't sure if there was a rule to how many crumpets I could have or how to sip my tea. Hell, I didn't even know what crumpets were, but they looked good. Edward wrapped an arm around my shoulder and gave me a gentle squeeze.
"Relax. It's just tea time," he whispered in my ear.
"I've never attended tea time before. Are there certain rules I need to know?" I whispered back.
He let out a little snort. "No. Just eat crumpets, drink tea, and watch mom and dad work their magic."
So I did. It started off innocently enough. Esme and Carlisle asked the Laurents how things were going, slowly putting them at ease, until they came to the real reason why they were here.
Esme sat forward in her seat and set her cup down on the coffee table. "Dale. Linda. The real reason I asked you here today, is because I wanted to talk to you about Victoria. Now I know that Charlie has filled you in on James and how dangerous he is, correct?"
They both nodded their heads. "Well, last night Edward and Bella went on a date in Port Angeles. While they were there, they ran into James and Victoria."
"That's not possible," Mrs. Laurent interrupted. "She was at her youth group bible study. I dropped her off at the church myself."
Edward set his cup down as well, and faced Mrs. Laurent. "Mrs. Laurent, I assure you Victoria was in Port Angeles last night. I'd taken Bella to the outdoor park to go ice skating. When we were done, it was a little after ten, and I went to get us something warm to drink. While I was in line, Victoria approached me and asked to talk. Against my better judgment, I agreed and not ten minutes later, I heard Bella screaming." He took a moment to steady himself and take a deep breath, so I picked up where he left off.
"While Victoria was talking to Edward, James came over to the bench I was sitting on and he grabbed my arm," I told them, lifting up my sleeve to show them the bruise that had formed. "He started dragging me toward the parking lot, and that's when I let out a scream. He let me go when he noticed that I'd drawn attention to us."
The Laurents looked dumbfounded. Mrs. Laurent kept mumbling that it wasn't possible. That Victoria had been at her youth group the whole time.
"Now, Dale. Linda. I can't stress how important it is that Victoria stay away from him. He's drawing her into his scheme and if something illegal ends up happening, then she could be charged as an accomplice."
Mr. Laurent was furious. He pulled out his phone and excused himself, heading to the foyer. A few minutes later we heard him talking.
"Would you care to tell me where you were last night, Victoria?" There was a pause. Then, "Don't you dare lie to me young lady! You were seen in Port Angeles with James last night. We told you to stay away from him. How could you be so stupid? You are in so much trouble! As soon as your mother and I get home, we're taking you down to the station to have a talk with Chief Swan and his deputy."
He hung up and came back into the sitting room. He apologized to us, then told his wife that they needed to get going. I explained to him, as they were leaving, that Charlie wouldn't be back until the end of the week, so they needed to talk to Mark. Once Charlie and Sue got home from their trip, I told them about tea time with the Laurents. Charlie assured me that Mark had talked with Victoria and expressed how dangerous James was. Whether she would actually listen, was another matter. I'd heard from Esme, that Victoria's parents were keeping her under lock and key, monitoring her every move, phone call, and Internet access. I almost knew how she felt. Ever since James had made his reappearance, I felt like I was under house arrest. I was rarely ever alone anymore, and it was starting to grate on my nerves. Everywhere I went, someone accompanied me. Even with the alarm system, I was rarely left at home alone. I was surrounded by Edward and friends at school, and Edward and I hadn't been on a date since that night because he was afraid he wouldn't be able to stop James from taking me. I was fed up with it. I felt that everyone was letting James win and that I was being punished. I understood that they wanted to keep me safe, but I was going fucking insane!
Edward and I were sitting on the couch in my living room, watching a movie with Seth. We were supposed to be going out, but I had a feeling that he had changed his mind.
"So what time are we leaving?" I asked him, slightly irritated that he was more focused on the stupid movie than on me.
"Leaving?"
"Yeah. Leaving. For our date tonight?"
He tore his eyes away from the movie and gave me a sheepish look. "Oh. Um...I was thinking we could just stay in. You know, watch a movie here and eat dinner."
I was so fucking annoyed and pissed off, and I was about to let Edward know it.
"This is fucking bullshit, Edward! I get that you're still feeling guilty about the whole James thing, but this is fucking ridiculous. I want to go out! I'm tired of always having dates here or at your house. I'm going insane being cooped up all the time. If you don't want to take me out somewhere, that's fine. I'll go by myself!" I shouted at him, as I got up and stomped up the stairs. I slammed the door to my room shut, threw on my shoes, and grabbed my purse. Throwing my door open, I stomped back down the stairs and headed toward the door.
"Bella! Stop. Please," Edward begged in a quiet voice.
I turned to glare at him, furious that he was trying to stop me. "What?" I spat out.
"Please listen to me. It's not that I don't want to go out with you. You know I do. I...I just feel like I'm not going to be able to keep you safe," he said, running his hands through his hair.
"Oh, get over it already!" I shouted at him, not caring if I hurt his feelings. I was so tired of being treated like a piece of glass. "I want to go out. I want to have fun and be with my boyfriend. Yes, I realize that The Creeper is still out and about, but I refuse to spend my life locked up inside until he's caught."
I was breathing hard by the time I was done, and I'm sure my face was red with anger. Edward looked shocked and a bit hurt.
"Bella, love. I had no idea you felt that way. I'm sorry. I really am. It's...ugh!," he grunted, tugging on his hair again. "Will you sit down please and hear me out?"
I gave him a nod and sat down on the couch next to him. Seth had left at some point, probably to give us privacy. He sat down on the foot stool in front of me, and clasped my hands in his.
"When I realized that Victoria was using me to distract my attention away from you, I was furious. Furious with her for going along with James' scheme, and furious with myself for falling for it. Then I heard you scream. God, Bella. I've never been so scared in my life. All I could think about was getting back to you, and how I'd failed you. If anything had happened to you, I would never be able to forgive myself."
I tugged one of my hands loose, and reached out to brush a lock of his hair out of his face. I'd had no idea he felt that way. I suppose I should have, but I was so caught up in my own misery, that I failed to notice how badly that night had affected Edward. I cupped his chin in my hand and tilted his head so his gaze met mine.
"I'm sorry, Edward. I didn't realize how difficult all of this was for you," I told him quietly. "We can stay in if you'd like."
He gave me a small smile, then leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to my lips. "No, love. You're right. We can't keep you hidden away forever. Let's go out. Just stay by my side at all times, please."
I readily agreed. I let Seth know that we were going out and that I'd be back later. We ended up going to this little bistro that had just opened in town. It was pretty busy for a Wednesday night, but we got seated fairly quickly. We were seated at a small table near the back, and that was when I noticed Mike and Jessica sitting at the table next to us.
"Well, fuck. Maybe we should've stayed in," I murmured softly to Edward.
"Hmm. Why's that?"
"Mike and Jessica are at the table next to us. I guess they're back together."
Edward took my hand and pressed a gentle kiss to it. "Forget about them. Let's enjoy a nice dinner out."
The food at the bistro was amazingly good, and I had plenty left to give to Charlie. Or Seth. He rivaled Charlie in the leftover food department. Edward had payed the check and we headed out to the parking lot. We were almost to the mom-mobile, when we heard footsteps approaching us. Edward gripped my hand tight in one hand, and had his keys at the ready in the other.
"Hello, Edward. Bella," came the smarmy voice of Mike. Ugh. I so didn't want to talk to him, but Edward being the gentleman that he was, stopped to say hello.
"Mike. Jessica. Glad to see you're back together."
Mike seemed genuinely happy that they were back together, while Jessica seemed less than thrilled. She had her arms crossed over her chest and was busy throwing glares my way. Guess she wasn't too pleased that I had Edward and she was stuck with Mike.
"Me too. Me too. Listen, I wanted to apologize to both of you for my behavior earlier in the year. It took a while for me to realize that you were right, Bella. I was nothing more than a lap dog to Victoria. Again, I'm truly sorry for my part in things," he said, seeming sincere.
Edward held out a hand for Mike to shake and told him that he was forgiven, and I didn't really hold much of a grudge against Mike anymore. Jessica, on the other hand, didn't look very pleased with Mike.
"C'mon, Mike, let's go. He's taking me dancing in Port Angeles," she sneered. I rolled my eyes. Like I cared what they did. We said goodbye to them and got into the Volvo, heading toward my house. It had been a pleasant night, and I was more than glad that we'd finally gone out.
"Thanks for agreeing to go out to dinner," I told Edward, on the car ride home.
"I'm glad we went," he said, shooting me a smile as he reached over and squeezed my knee, causing me to shiver. A sexy smirk came over his face, as his hand traveled up to give my thigh a gentle squeeze. A little moan left my lips before I could stop it, and I saw the smirk on his face grow bigger. Well two could play that game. I reached over and trailed my fingers from his knee up to the inside of his thigh, and this time he was the one letting out a groan.
"Ah, Bella. You've got to stop. I can't concentrate on my driving while you're doing that."
Smirking a bit myself, I pulled my hand away and behaved the rest of the drive. Edward pulled into my driveway, and I saw that both Charlie and Sue were home. Hopefully, Charlie wouldn't be too mad that I'd convinced Edward to take me out. Charlie had been very pro Bella-stay-at-home and was pretty sure he had Edward on his side. Turning off the engine, Edward got out and rushed over to open my door, always the gentleman. He walked me up to the door and I invited him in. It was only a little after seven-thirty, and I figured he could hang out for a bit before heading home. We opened the door, and upon walking in, we found Charlie and Sue having an argument. Seemed a bit early in the marriage for that.
"Bella, Edward! How was your date?" Sue asked, motioning for us to join them in the living room. Hesitantly, Edward and I ventured into the room and sat down.
"It was good. We went to that little bistro that just opened up. Pretty decent food. I brought home some leftovers," I told them, holding up the doggy bag and trying to defuse the tension at the same time.
Charlie sat down in his recliner, fingers steepled under his chin, and sent Edward a glare. "I though we were in agreement that Bella was safer at home."
Edward opened his mouth to reply, but I beat him to it. "Dad! Don't blame Edward. I wanted to go out. I was going stir crazy staying in here all the time. I realize that you all are worried about me. I get that. I'm worried too, but I refuse to stay inside and let James ruin my life."
Charlie gave me a glare and told me that Sue was in the same mind set as me, and that was what they'd be arguing about when we walked in. She felt that, as long as I was being cautious, I should be able to go out. I was glad to have her on my side. The way I saw it, if James could get to me on the street, he could get to me at school or even at home.
"Hey, Miss Tumbles! You wanna hang out this weekend?" Emmett hollered at me from down the hall.
"Sure!" I hollered back.
He pumped his fist in the air, let out a hell yeah, then walked around the corner. I had to shake my head at him. It had been too long since I'd hung out with him. Lately, we'd all been busy and hadn't found the time to hang out. At lunch, plans were made for us to have a huge sleepover at the Cullen house, as long as the Cullen parents were cool with it. Which they were, after Alice sent Esme a text asking if it was okay.
I was excited to be getting out of the house. While Charlie had been a bit more lenient about my outings, I knew it still bothered him, so I'd kept it to a minimum. I had just stopped off at my locker to grab some shit, before heading out to Edward's car, when Victoria approached me. She'd gone and bitched at me after Esme had talked to her parents, but she'd left me alone for the most part.
Shutting my locker, I turned to face her. "Yes?" It was then that I noticed that she was wearing more makeup than normal. Almost as if she was hiding a bruise.
"You were right," she mumbled, looking around quickly to see if anyone had noticed us. The hallway was pretty empty, and the few stragglers that were left were busy grabbing their stuff in a hurry to go home.
"He hit you, didn't he?"
She gave me a small nod, then fell apart. Tears began pouring down her face, and I pulled her into a hug. Never thought I'd see the day when I was comforting Victoria. As much as I couldn't stand her, she sure as fuck didn't deserve to get used and hit by some ass wipe. As I held her, everything came out. She told me all about how impressed she was by him when she first met him. She mentioned that she felt vulnerable after the break up and had spilled everything to James. That he was there for her when she needed him. He made her feel good about herself, feeding her ego, and then slowly, he started to change. After a while he'd compliment her, then turn around and insult her. She wanted to be loved so much, that she failed to realize that he was using her. He fed into her dislike of me, and used that to his advantage.
I was still holding her, letting her get it all out, when Edward came walking down the hall. He was obviously worried, but his worry turned to shock when he saw me with Victoria. I did my best to convey that I was okay. Gently, he reached out and touched Victoria's shoulder.
"What's wrong?" he asked her softly.
She pulled away from me and wiped her eyes. In doing so, she wiped off some of the makeup that had covered the bruise. Edward let out a growl.
"Did James do this to you?" he asked in a hard voice.
She nodded. I explained to him everything that she had told me, and we convinced her to come with me to the station to talk to Charlie. After climbing into the Volvo, we headed to the police station, with Victoria following us. I half expected her to turn tail, but she didn't. We walked into the building and found Mrs. Jones, the secretary, sitting at her desk, typing away on her computer.
"Bella, dear. It's so good to see you! Are you looking for your dad?"
"Yep. Is he in?"
"Sure thing, Hon. Go on back."
With Edward and Victoria following me, I walked down the hall and knocked on Charlie's door. He hollered out for us to come in, so I pushed the door open. I think Charlie was a bit surprised to see Victoria follow me in.
"Hey, kids. What can I do you for?"
"Victoria has something that she'd like to tell you. Go ahead," I told her, gently pushing her into a chair across from Charlie's desk.
She broke down and told Charlie everything about James. How she thought she was in love with him, how he told her that he wanted to get rid of me, and she went along with it because she was desperate for his approval and love. Charlie was silent as she told him her story. When she was done, she was in tears, distraught over what had happened. Charlie was furious. Not with her, so much, but with James.
"Is this the first time he's hit you?" he asked her, in a low voice.
"Yes. He would threaten to hit me if I didn't do what he said, but this was the first time that he actually did it. He was furious with me because Bella caused a scene that night in Port Angeles."
"I can't tell you what to do, but I think you need to press charges against him and get a restraining order. I'm going to call your parents and let them know that you're here, while you think things over," he said, before getting up and heading out to the reception area.
Victoria turned to us and asked what we thought she should do.
"If you want my opinion, you should press charges. He can't be allowed to get away with this," I told her. "I'm not sure how much you really know about him, but his name isn't really James Trakker. He's got aliases all over the place, and he even put a woman in the hospital. He's dangerous."
Charlie came back in to let Victoria know that her parents were on their way. She told Charlie that she would press charges against James and gave him every bit of information that she had. She had just given her cell phone to Charlie, when her parents came in. They rushed over to her and wrapped her up in a tight hug. Charlie asked us to leave so he could talk to them privately, so we said our goodbyes and headed to my house. Once home, we settled in on the couch to watch some TV. Neither Seth nor Sue were home, so our innocent TV watching soon turned into a hot and heavy make out session.
I was laying on top of him on the couch, fingers tugging on his bronzed locks, while placing kisses all along his jaw. He returned the favor, by nipping and grazing the skin on the curve of my neck. My body trembled when he laved his tongue up the side, toward my earlobe and over the throbbing pulse point. Finally, he brought his lips to mine. His mouth crashed over mine and he stole my breath, after devouring my lips in a greedy passionate kiss. His hands found purchase on the bottom of my shirt, tugging it up so he could run his hands over my skin. His hands were fumbling with the clasp of my bra, when the front door opened.
"Oh shit! Sorry, guys," Seth's voice squeaked out as he shut the door.
I rolled off Edward as quickly as possible, smoothing my hair, while he tried to discreetly adjust himself. Seth had his back turned to us, facing the door, and I could tell by the shaking of his shoulders that he was laughing at us.
"You decent?" he asked.
"We weren't indecent to begin with," I muttered at him.
He turned around and sat down in Charlie's recliner. My face was red. When I looked over at Edward, he had a full head of sex hair going on, and his face was almost as red as mine. Seth took one look at us and busted out laughing.
"Be so glad that I wasn't Charlie," he hooted out in between bouts of laughter.
"I'd be a dead man if you were," Edward replied.
We spent the next few hours doing homework and goofing off, until Charlie and Sue came home. Sue asked Edward if he wanted to stay for dinner, but he declined, saying he had to get home. I think he was afraid that Seth would let slip what he'd walked in on. Over dinner, Charlie told Sue and Seth that Victoria had come forward with some information regarding James, and that she was pressing charges against him as well. Later on, I asked Charlie and Sue if it would be okay if I spent the weekend with the Cullens. They both agreed that it was fine, especially after I reassured them that Esme and Dr. Hot would be around.
By the time Friday finally rolled around, I was way excited. I had packed a bag earlier in the morning, which I had thrown in Edward's car, so that we could head straight to his house after school. Alice was beside herself that we were going to be having a super fun-sized sleep over. Her words, not mine. At lunch, she sat down and told us that she had our entire weekend planned out. All of us but Jasper rolled our eyes at her announcement; he just gave her a smile and kissed her cheek. During biology, Edward and I passed the time coming up with ways to deviate from Alice's plans. By the time the last bell rang, I was more than ready to get my super fun-sized weekend started.
Esme was delighted to have all of us, and welcomed each of us with a hug and some home-made cookies. She sat us down in the living room and informed us that she and Dr. Hot would be spending the night in Seattle.
"We're attending a charity function tonight in Seattle, and by the time it's over, it'll be too late for us to drive back. Now, Carlisle and I are trusting you to behave yourselves. The only rule that we're enforcing, is that you all sleep in your designated beds. No sleeping in the same bed as your significant other. Am I clear?"
Oh dear lord. I was pretty sure that she was talking to me when she said that. I buried my face in my hands, completely embarrassed. Emmett was snickering away, and when I looked up, he was making some rather rude gestures. Jasper's face was red like mine, and it made me wonder if he and Alice had been caught doing things they shouldn't have. After promising to be good, Alice laid out our plans for the night's events.
"Alright, ladies and gents. Pay attention. Tonight's itinerary is as follows: pizzas will be ordered at six, dinner will be eaten at six-thirty. After dinner is done and the pizza is cleaned up, we will head downstairs to watch the first Lord of the Rings. Once the movie is done, you're free to do what you want until tomorrow morning, when we will make breakfast at nine," she informed us in a stern voice.
I was giggling before she even finished her spiel. She reminded me of a cheesy camp counselor. All she needed was a visor and a clipboard to complete the look.
Putting a hand on her hip, she turned to glare at me. "And what is so funny, Miss Swan?"
"Your itinerary. I've never attended a sleep over that required one."
She stuck her tongue out at me, then marched us to the kitchen so we could decide what kind of pizzas we wanted. Thirty-three minutes later, the pizza had been delivered and was soon eaten, with Emmett eating most of it. Once everything was put away, we tromped downstairs to begin our Lord of The Rings movie marathon. Alice and Jasper stole the love seat, while Emmett and Rose stole the couch, leaving Edward and I with the love sac. I had made the mistake of calling it a bean bag with a plush cover. Alice had soon corrected me. Edward and I sank down onto it, and I had to admit it was quite comfortable.
An hour into the movie, I heard lip smacking and some moaning coming from the love seat. I totally didn't want to hear it, and apparently, neither did Alice. She threw a pillow at Emmett and Rose and informed them that make out time was scheduled for after the movie. Edward and I were snuggled up on the love sac, my head resting on his chest, while his fingers traced circles on my arm. I was more than ready for movie time to be over, and for make out time to begin. After what seemed like hours, the movie finished, and we all went our separate ways. I had changed into my pajamas and soon found myself in Edward's room, music playing softly on his iHome, while we laid on his bed. We spent the next few hours talking softly about anything and everything, making out, and exploring one another. I had finally gotten up the nerve to play with Edward. By the time the clock downstairs chimed midnight, he was laying on his back, panting, in post-orgasmic bliss.
"Holy hell, Bella! I think you've killed me," he gasped out between breaths.
The smirk on my face grew when I realized that he'd enjoyed what I'd done to him. "So I did okay?"
"Okay? Hell yes, you did okay. More than okay. Much better than doing it myself," he said, which brought all kinds of naughty images to my mind. Once he caught his breath, and his heartbeat slowed, he put his boxers back on and pulled me into a tight embrace. I rested my head on his chest and found myself being lulled to sleep by his heartbeat. I woke up, disoriented, a few hours later. Realizing that I was once again breaking the rules, I made to get up and head to Alice's room. Edward reluctantly let me go, and after kissing a few minutes, I headed to Alice's room. I was about to push open the door, when I heard Jasper moaning Alice's name. Abruptly, I turned and headed toward the room that I had originally stayed in last month. The door was cracked open. I cautiously opened it, afraid that I might find Emmett and Rosalie going at it. Thankfully, the room was empty. I knew that I could have stayed sleeping with Edward, but I was a guest in this house, and felt the need to abide by the rules, even if the others didn't.
I was having a wonderful, Edward inspired dream, when I was awoken by soft kisses being placed along my cheek, jaw, and neck. I let out a little moan and opened my eyes, to find Edward's smoldering green ones staring back at me.
"Good morning, love."
"Morning," I told him, stretching out in the big bed. He curled up next to me, throwing an arm around my waist.
"You could've stayed with me, you know."
"I know, but I don't want to abuse your parents' trust."
He smiled and nuzzled the side of my neck. "Such a good girl."
I let out a snicker. "Well, I am good at giving hand jobs."
He roared with laughter, making the bed shake. "So true. C'mon. Let's go make breakfast with the gang before Alice takes it upon herself to come up here."
Making breakfast with Emmett was an interesting affair. Alice had decided that we were going to make muffins, pancakes, eggs and bacon. Emmett was beside himself. I had been put in charge of baking muffins, with Emmett as my helper. Or should I say, my hindrance. He was constantly getting into everything, until I made him sit at the counter with a mixing bowl.
Handing him a wooden spoon, I told him, "Now stir the batter. Do no, I repeat, do not eat it. It won't taste very good."
Emmett pouted, but sat there doing as told. I grabbed the muffin pan and asked him to pour the batter into the pan. Once the muffins where in the oven, Emmett went over to try and help Rosalie make pancakes. When she refused his help, he sat down at the counter, pouting and moaning that nobody loved him. We all rolled our eyes at his antics. He truly was nothing more than a big baby. While we ate breakfast, Alice outlined the details of our day.
"So after the breakfast dishes are done, everyone is to shower and get dressed. Make sure you dress warmly because we're going sledding! After that, we'll come inside and get warmed up and we're going to play some board and card games. Then we'll eat lunch. Now after lunch—"
"Um, Alice. Did you plan out our entire weekend in full detail?" I interrupted.
"Of course."
"Why?"
She looked at me like I was an idiot. "To maximize the amount of fun that we can have during our sleepover."
"So what happens if someone doesn't agree with the plans?" I asked, playing devil's advocate.
Alice looked at me utterly confused. "Why would anyone do that?" she asked me, as if it was a foreign concept.
"Well, what if someone didn't want to go sledding or hated board games? What would you do then?"
Alice was completely baffled. "Well...I have no idea. But that shouldn't be a problem. Everyone loves sledding and board games. Right?" she asked forcefully.
Everyone gave a slight nod, afraid to disagree. But I couldn't let it rest. It bugged me that she had every last detail planned out. "What are we doing after lunch?"
"We're going to bake cookies, then watch the second Lord of the Rings movie."
"What if I wanted to bake a pie instead?" I asked. I saw Edward's shoulders shaking out of the corner of my eye and proceeded. "Or maybe I decide that I want to bake a cake. Is that allowed?"
"Bella!" she yelled at me, stomping her foot. "We're baking chocolate chip cookies! Not pie. Not cake!"
"What if I want peanut butter cookies?" Emmett asked from his side of the table.
"Emmett Michael McCarty! You're going to bake chocolate chip cookies and you're going to like it! Do not argue with me!"
I couldn't help it. I busted out laughing at how irritated she was getting. The others joined me, but Alice was pretty put out.
"I just want us to have a good time," she said sadly. Aw man. I'd hurt the little demons feelings. I got up and gave her a gentle hug.
"I was just picking on you, Ali. We'll follow your schedule for now."
We were all bundled up, the boys pulling sleds behind them, as we climbed up this huge hill on the Cullen property. We reached the top and each paired up with our men, to begin our festivities of the day. We had a blast sledding, and once we were all snow covered after a few mishaps, we headed inside to warm up. Over cups of hot coco, we played monopoly, which led to an argument between Emmett and Rosalie. Emmett had landed on one of Rosalie's properties, and couldn't afford to pay the rent. He went as far as to offer sexual services in favor of her not bankrupting him.
"Aw, cm'on Rosie baby. I'll make it worth your while," he sneered, waggling his eyebrows. Rose fell over laughing and finally agreed to let him pass without payment, telling him she'd be collecting on it later. Shudders were seen across the room as we listened to their sexual banter. We had finished the game, with Jasper the winner, had eaten lunch, and we were about to begin our cookie baking fun, when Dr. Hot and Esme came home.
"Afternoon kids! How was your evening?"
We told them it was fine and asked how theirs was. They excused themselves to head to the sitting room, and we stood in the kitchen as Alice delegated roles to each person. I had told Edward earlier that I was going to make sugar cookies, just to throw Alice off. He was all on board for that. Alice was so busy keeping Emmett in line, that she failed to notice that I had gotten and used different ingredients than the ones provided. It was tons of fun fucking with her well-laid plans. Cookies were put in the oven and once done, Alice called everyone into the kitchen. She set them out to cool, when she noticed the sugar cookies.
"What the?" she asked confused. She whirled around to stare at us, trying to find out who the guilty party was. "Who made sugar cookies?" she demanded.
Esme and Dr. Hot looked on, amused.
"Well! I want an answer!" I thought she was going to have a conniption fit, so I raised my hand.
"It was me."
"Why? I said we were baking chocolate chip!"
"I didn't want chocolate chip. I wanted sugar cookies, so that's what I made." I held up a hand before she could go on. "Alice, I realize that you want us to have fun. I get that. But dictating everything that we do, kind of takes the fun and spontaneity out of it."
She crossed her arms over her chest and continued to glare at me. I crossed my arms and glared right back. We continued to stare at each other. Then, "Fine! You're right! I didn't mean to dictate everything, I just want us to have fun."
"We're having fun. At least I am. But a little spontaneity goes a long way. So why don't we watch that movie and then just let whatever happens, happen? Sound good?"
Alice agreed, and that was that. Esme and Dr. Hot came down and joined us, then afterward we all headed upstairs to figure dinner out. That night, I was curled up in Alice's room with her and Rose. They were busy discussing Jasper and Emmett's anatomy, and I really didn't want to get drawn into that discussion.
"So, Bella. Have you played with Edward's?"
Oh God. They really wanted to have this conversation. I flopped over on my stomach, burying my face in my pillow, before nodding. They let out squeals and demanded details. There was no way I was discussing Edward's dick with Alice in the room, and I told them so. Finally, they relented and let me be. Hours later, I heard Rose sneak out, probably to collect on the debt that Emmett owed her. Completely grossed out by that train of thought, I did my best to think about Edward and soon fell asleep.
We were walking on First Beach, enjoying a rare sunny day. The temperature was warm, the water sparkling, and Edward was perfect. We had spent the day swimming, sunbathing, and having a good time. We were laying on a blanket, eating some lunch, when a shadow came over us. I looked up and saw James, holding a gun. He pointed it at Edward's head and told me to get up. Scrambling, I got up. James reached out and grabbed my arm, all the while keeping the gun pointed at Edward. I was screaming, but there was no one around to hear me. Then James did the unimaginable. He pulled the trigger. Edward fell backward, blood pooling on his shirt. He looked down, touching the blood, a look of confusion and fear on his face. All I could do was scream.
As always, let me know you thought!