29
I know Alice is watching me closely as I go straight to the kitchen and pour myself a glass of wine. I tilt the bottle toward her.
"You want some?"
"No, I'm good, thanks." We both lapse into silence again as I put the bottle back in the fridge and lean back against the counter to take a drink. I've been looking forward to this all the way home. It doesn't disappoint.
"So?" she asks at last. I could tell the waiting was killing her. I may or may not have deliberately dragged my silence out longer than I needed to.
"It went well. I'm pretty sure I got everything I needed."
She raises her eyebrows.
"Everything? Oh, Bella, you didn't?"
I know she's kidding, because she'd be kicking my ass if she really thought I'd gone there.
"Stop! It was very… civil."
"You're okay?"
"Yeah, I think so. I'm not sure what I was expecting but…." I don't finish the sentence, mainly because a lot of the thoughts leaping around my brain are about the situation with Bree, and I don't feel I should be telling anyone - even Alice - what he's planning.
I linger over the memory of our goodbye. A shake of the hand, a thank you. Business-like and exactly what I'd been aiming for when I set out this morning.
And yet I can't help feeling disappointed by it.
I force my thoughts away from it and focus back on Alice.
"This is interesting though," I say, throwing her a tidbit. "He told me Em and Charlotte had broken up. I'm pretty sure he didn't think I knew; he had no idea Em had called round here."
Alice's interest is piqued at this information, as I knew it would be. She's bouncing on the balls of her toes.
"Oh! We need to dissect!"
She marches across the kitchen and pulls the refrigerator open as I watch, confused.
"What are you doing?"
She stops and looks at me as though I'm stupid.
"I'm getting myself a glass of wine to help me think."
I snort.
"You are literally the only person I know who can get away with such a blatantly ridiculous statement."
"Because you know it's true."
"I can think of exceptions. You remember that summer down with those Quileute guys at La Push?"
"No."
She has her back to me as she pours the wine into a glass.
"Sure you do, you were dating that guy…. Shit, what was his name?"
She turns around, glass in hand, and smiles sweetly at me.
"I'm pretty sure that never happened, B."
"Paul! That was it!" I'm pointing at her, waving my hand up and down as the memories come back to me. "He had that creepy friend Jacob, who wouldn't leave me alone."
She lowers her voice and puts her hand on my arm.
"Bella. I spent a lot of time trying to erase that summer from my memory because of the discomfort I feel when I recall my youth and naivety. Now I'm going to pretend this conversation never happened and I ask you, as my friend, to do the same."
I try really hard not to giggle, but it tumbles from my mouth. She whacks me playfully on the arm and smiles.
"I'm not even kidding," she says, dragging me through to the living room. We curl up on the couch, one at either end, facing one another. "So, did you find out if he ended things with Bree yet?"
"I did, and the answer's no." I think of him at home with her now and my stomach twists.
"No? Ugh. Did he mention anything about what happened between the two of you?"
I cast my mind back, trying to think how he worded it.
"Yeah. He said the timing was poor but he has no regrets."
"That's it?"
"Yeah."
There's not really anything else I can give her.
"But he told you about Em, and he thought you didn't know." It's a statement, not a question.
"Yes, and he didn't look too happy when I said Em had been to tell me," I say.
She raises her index finger.
"Which raises two questions. Firstly, why did he tell you about them in the first place? And secondly, why hasn't Em told Edward he's been virtually stalking you?"
"You already have theories, don't you?" I ask, happy to not have to put my own thoughts out there.
"I do." She crosses her legs in front of her and cradles her wine glass in both hands. "I think Edward was testing your reaction; wondering if you still have feelings for Em. Maybe Em told him he wanted you back."
"Why would Em tell him that and not that he'd been to see me?" I ask. "I don't get it."
Alice is still for a moment, sipping her wine as she thinks, before I virtually see a lightbulb flash above her head.
"I know! What if Edward couldn't control his reaction to the news, and clued Em in to the fact he has feelings for you?"
She opens her mouth to add more and I hold up a hand to stop her.
"This is pure speculation. Stop, before you get into the realms of the ridiculous."
An exaggerated pout swells from her mouth. "You should be the one with the career in writing," I add. "All that fantastical stuff flows from your mind far too easily."
"You're no fun," she grumbles.
"Because this is my life you're trying to fabricate!" I say, with a slightly manic laugh.
"It is not fabrication, I'm just trying to fill the gaps."
"With shit you've made up," I accuse.
She tilts her head from side to side.
"Technically, I guess you could say that."
"And I am. So stop now. Let's discuss tomorrow night instead."
"Okay," she concedes, and launches into a full description of what she intends to wear to the concert, leaving me to wonder if she could actually have been right with her theories.
~RH~
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