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"Weather the Storm"

Chapter Twenty-Nine: To Be Announced

Not able to sleep almost all night, I snuck out of the room at around six a.m., needing to meet with my cousin before he went home. Bella and Kylie were still sleeping, and I hoped my wife wouldn't wake up and worry with my absence.

Either way, I had to leave. The shit she told me was like a cancer, slowly eating my mind, poisoning it with sick thoughts. I kept thinking about Alice, a younger Alice, and although I never met her father, I kept putting Charlie's face in his place. I don't know why I thought about these things. Maybe I secretly like to torture myself, but those thoughts . . . they quickly morphed into more. Rage filled me, and I became sick to my stomach. I tried. I tried so fucking hard to focus on better things—like maybe trying to persuade Bella into having another child.

When lying in bed did nothing for me, I had to move. There was no way I could literally let go of a fucking thing, unless I had a plan in motion, unless I knew the entire story.

Jasper was still in his car when I pulled up behind him outside his house. He knew to wait for me and saw me right away. Quickly, I unlocked the passenger-side door to let him in.

"What's good?" He slapped his hand to mine. "Ali said you guys were here . . ."

Pursing my lips, I nodded, wondering how to bring it up. "Alice told Bella some fucked-up shit." I blurted, speaking my mind.

Jasper's brow furrowed, but he turned his whole body toward me—ready to listen intently. "What—"

"About Alice and her dad." I turned to him, too.

My cousin's eye went wide. "Yeah." He cleared his throat, shaking his head. "Ali's been having nightmares again—"

"You haven't done anything?" I asked.

He hit my shoulder. "Dude," he laughed. "When I found out . . . well, number one, me and you weren't as close as we are now—I'm talking fourteen years ago, when Ali and I were only dating a few months. This was before I got locked up."

"Go on." I encouraged.

"He moved out to Ohio, right?"

I nodded, remembering Bella telling me all about it hours prior.

Jasper kept cackling. "Me and my boys—we took him to the state building in the center of town. Here, it's the tallest building—about seven stories. Anyway, we dropped him off the roof."

I smiled. "How come I never heard about this?"

He shrugged. "It was so long ago . . . before I even got involved with the thing. It was when you had me pushing that rock."

I chuckled. "You pushed him off a seven-story building, and he didn't die?"

Jasper made a face. "Unfortunately, no. We were going for suicide. Ali wrote a kick-ass note and everything—"

"Ali—shorty one forty—was down for that?" I threw my head back and laughed.

"Bro," he hit my leg, "it was her idea. He broke so many fucking bones . . . but he never talked. He never said a word about anything. When he healed, I wanted to do it in a . . . more conventional way, but Alice said to let it go—let them go. They moved, and Alice—" He blew out a breath. "It's odd you mention it. She's smoking a li'l trees again and drinking more. Then she's worried about Annie." He trailed his hand through his hair. "I worry about my wife's health and her worry. Why is this plaguing her again—so much that she spoke to Bella?" He wore a mask of confusion.

"How come you never told me?" I asked, feeling a bit out of the loop. Not only am I Jasper's boss, but he's my cousin, and that's Alice—both are loved and dear members of my family—not only my family, but my family.

He blinked a few times. "She doesn't—didn't want anyone to know. She feels dirty and . . ." He left my car so fucking fast. I did the same, trailing behind him up his porch steps.

"What?" I nearly shouted as he fumbled with his keys.

"Whenever—I haven't spoken to Alice since earlier. Not since you guys left. She self-destructs. What the fuck, son? You should have called me. I would have left early—" He opened the door, and then we were both stomping up the stairs to their bedroom. My stomach tied in knots, wondering what Alice might have done to herself and why.

"Fuck!" Jasper hit his bedroom doorframe. Then he was a blur past me.

Looking inside the room myself, the bed was made and it was empty.

"Alice—" He stopped in front of another door, and I poked my head around him.

"Shhh!" Alice spat, sitting up, while little Jake was curled up next to her. "What?"

Jasper smiled—we both did.

"What are you doing here?" Alice looked up to me while she closed the door.

I laughed. "Worried about you, shorty." I went to pinch her cheek, and she pushed my hand away to hug her husband. "I'll be downstairs," I whispered.

Leaving them to their moment, I felt a little lighter. Jasper thought the worst, but Alice was just snuggling with her baby—something I notice Bella likes to do when she's upset, too. She yearns for that closeness—from the kids or me. I can relate, as I always want Bella with me.

Entering the kitchen, I helped myself to a packet of mini muffins and took a seat at the table. For a gavone like me, the four measly muffins in the one-pack go fast, and I barely felt satisfied. Right before I grabbed another, I heard shouting from upstairs.

Taking a swig of milk, I rapidly placed it back into the fridge and then went to stick my nose in their business.

"You waited four-fucking-days to tell me?" Jasper yelled. "He calls you, and you don't tell me."

"I-I-I didn't want to worry you." Alice was already crying.

"You worry me—you worrying about that bastard already worries me. Why, Ali?" He chuckled. "You tell Bella, yet you don't tell me?" His voice continued to rise as I saw a side of Alice I never had before. Never in my life had I seen her cower away from my cousin, but she was right now. He kept going with his loud tirade—all words aimed about his concern for her, while she clawed at her arms and then her hair, crumpling up onto the hall floor.

"Enough!" I screamed.

"Get the fuck out of my house, Ed!" Jasper turned his glare to me. "This isn't your concern."

"No . . . like hell it isn't," I said, hearing Jake cry from his bedroom. My heart broke even more when Alice just crawled into his bedroom and kicked the door closed. "What the fuck, Jasper?" I gestured to the bedroom, my voice much lower. My own temper was in check. Bella would be so proud.

"She should have told me." He stared at the floor. "You should have told me!" He banged on the door.

Very fast, I grabbed his hand to swing his arm behind his back, making him kiss the wall. "You're going to calm the fuck down," I hissed in his ear. "You got that?"

His chest heaved as he nodded.

"She doesn't need it," I continued. "You two shouldn't be fighting about this bullshit—save that anger for that fuck." With a good squeeze, I let him go—shoving him into the wall.

"That's my wife," he said.

"I know." I nodded, patting his back. "It's okay to be angry." I tried my hand at being soothing. "Just don't be angry with her. You said so yourself—how upset she gets." I shrugged.

"I fucked up. I just—" He stopped when the bedroom door opened again.

"Jazzy?" Alice was a sniffling, sobbing mess.

"Come'ere, baby." Jasper pulled her into his arms. "I'm sorry," he said into her hair. "I'm so sorry."

"Me too," she replied.

Feeling like an intruder, I quietly went back for those muffins. After another pack and a glass of milk, Jasper came down to the kitchen. "She's okay," he whispered, leaning on the counter. "I thought you'd leave."

I shrugged. "Still don't feel right."

He nodded, his eyes slowly meeting mine. "We'll take care of it this week."

"That's all I needed to hear." And it truly was. Knowing that fuck's days were numbered had me instantly at ease. But who was I kidding? Whether Alice or Jasper gave me the OK, I probably would have gone for it—just taken my wife's advice, making it look like an accident, after I did some shit that wouldn't "necessarily" leave obvious marks. There are always car crashes—gas tanks explode all the time, turning everything within the cab into cinders, especially when the mark is already dead—or overdosing . . . even if he was never an addict.

"Everyone will be together today . . ." He let that hang there, reaching into the fridge for a beer. "Do me a favor—don't you or Bella bring this shit up. Normal. Alice likes normal." He twisted the cap to gulp from the bottle.

"Sounds good." I stood from the chair. "You coming?"

He shrugged again. "I don't know—haven't slept yet. I'll probably go. Alice'll be pissed wit' me if I miss Parents' Day. I'd be pissed at me. We'll see." He slumped again. "I need another Marcy, but a real one—not some fuck Fed."

"Don't put an ad out. Go to a head hunter or whatever the fuck, and don't use either of our names." I gave him a one-armed hug. "I can take a break from Eclipse, too . . . chill out there."

"Thanks, cuz." He patted my back.

"This week."

"This week," he agreed.

Instead of going straight back to the hotel, I went to grab us some coffee—wanting to bring my wife and daughter breakfast in bed. While I drove in these early morning hours to Dunkin' Donuts, as soon as my mind was finally worry-free, I received a call from Carlisle.

"Ed, you there?" he asked.

I adjusted the Bluetooth a little better. "'Sup?" I asked.

"Where are you?"

"Don't worry about it." I pulled into the drive-thru.

"Cut the shit. I'm in front of your house with Ant—come get the door. Where's Bella's car?" He paused for a minute. "We're still heading up to camp together, right? . . . Right?"

I winced, coming to a stop behind the car in front of me. "Um, B wanted to visit Ali yesterday. We're up here already—close."

"Oh . . . that's great. It would have been even better news to me if you told me that yesterday!" he screamed like some bitch. Having no time for his cunty attitude, I ended the call to crawl forward and talk into a screen.

"Good morning. Welcome to Dunkin' Donuts, can I take your order?"

I gave the lady my order; trying and failing miserably at getting Kylie JUST eggs—not a sandwich, not egg with cheese—just fucking eggs.

"Fifteen fifty, sir."

Wordlessly, I handed the young kid a bill.

When I received the coffees, the juice, and our food, I breathed a sigh of relief as I saw they'd put two plain eggs in a carton, and they didn't forget Kylie's hash browns. Bella and I got bagels, and I hoped they were correct.

As soon as I pulled up to the hotel, Bella called my cell. Quickly, I told her to get up and get the door for when I ran up with all the food in my hands. My beauty—my wife—was waiting behind the door. She hid, wearing only my large t-shirt, while I entered.

"Hey, you," I whispered, and then my eyes landed on Kylie—I didn't have to whisper at all.

"What'dja get?" Bella stared at the bags. Her eyes were still a little pink and puffy from last night.

I pecked her cheek rapidly and forcefully. "Bagels and eggies for this one." I jerked my head to my daughter. Her hair was a mess as she jumped excitedly in her playpen—always in such a good mood most mornings.

"Give me these." Bella took my hands' contents away from me, and I went over to grab Kylie out of her pen.

"Morning."

"Dad-a." She kissed me, although she still hasn't grasped the entire concept—sucking her teeth more than puckering her lips to make the sound she associates with kissing.

"Love my Kylie kisses." I loudly kissed her cheek and neck, while she giggled up a storm. But then another chuckle interrupted me. Bella stood, looking gorgeous, covering her mouth as she laughed. "What?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Nothing." She had stars in her eyes, the kind that say, "come ravage me now," and I wished I could.

My attention went back to Kylie when she tried to get out of my arms.

"We have to watch her. This room isn't baby proofed." She came toward us. "Let me change her, and then we'll eat." Bella took Kylie from me.

"I went to see Jazz, too."

Bella's head whipped to me as she placed Kylie down on the bed. "What happened?" She started to change our daughter, and she didn't even have to look. She truly is modest with the mothering stuff. She's fantastic, and I wished she was pregnant.

I shook my head of the thought. "Uh, we're going to do something this week. Jazz and me. We'll figure something out, but . . . don't talk about it with Alice today. If she brings it up, just . . . I don't know. Distract her—talk shit about me."

"Never." Bella smiled.

I grinned back. "I love you."

"I know." She turned to blow raspberries on Kylie's belly.

"'Gain—gain, ma-ma," she giggled.

Bella did it once more. Then she looked back to me with a serious expression on her face. "Thank you."

Winking at her, I took it upon myself to unload the bags. I set up the small table with our food, even strapping Kylie's booster seat and tray onto a chair. Waiting for them to join me, I went into the bathroom to clean up a little more. Having left so abruptly, I hadn't done anything.

Grabbing the toothpaste out of our toiletry bag, the small, gray, rectangular pack of Bella's birth control pills fell out. Trying hard to ignore it, I continued to brush my teeth, but eventually I picked it up—letting my toothbrush hang out of my mouth while I heard them giggling and talking outside the bathroom.

Bella hadn't taken today's pill yet. She usually takes them when she cleans up in the morning—it's part of her normal routine—brush your teeth, take a pill.

It would be so easy to pocket them—hide them and make her miss a dose, possibly two if I persuaded her to stay so she could visit with Alice again tomorrow. She wouldn't be able to get another pack until we went home. There's no way Dr. Smith's office would be open. He wouldn't be able to call in another script for her, and she can't miss two days. I remembered that—if she misses more than one dose she has to wait until her period comes, which would weaken the pills' effectiveness.

As the days pass, Bella and I get older—our kids get older—and what if our time runs out, and we can't have a kid once Bella makes up her mind? I remembered that shit. When Bella brought up Nicole, I recalled the occasion when Caius bitched about how sad his wife was—her time went and passed, and it'd be unhealthy for them to try now. True, people are having children later and later in life, but I won't want a kid when I'm forty. Our time is now, and Bella is going to piss it away—then regret it.

I know my wife; I'd hate for her to be upset, and I'll always look out for her best interest. Even with the risks—nah, that wouldn't happen to us. We'll be careful—do things right and plan. She was put on bed rest the last month of her pregnancy with Kylie, but that wasn't so bad. I was actually home that entire month, and when I couldn't be there, Aro or Esme were, which was only three times.

"Drop them," Bella said behind me.

"Fuck," I mumbled, dropping the pack in shock, as I hadn't even heard her come in.

She snatched it away. "You were going to do something with them, weren't you?" She narrowed her eyes with the look of anger shining through.

"No." I shook it off, continuing to clean my teeth.

"Answer me." She stared, having crossed her arms over her chest.

"Stop—you're being ridiculous." I spit into the sink. "They fell out. I was just putting them back."

"You were holding them for quite a while."

"You're spying on me now?" I snorted, not amused at all, and then bent low to rinse my mouth with the tap.

"No," she disagreed. "I just came in to do the same. You were taking too long. I—"

"You were being nosy because you don't trust me—always assuming the worst about me."

Bella's jaw almost hit the floor as I wiped my mouth off on a towel. Trying not to smile, I suppressed my grin while I walked out to Kylie—flipping shit is the greatest deflection.

Baby girl was already eating her eggies and tatoes, watching cartoons and wearing a smile. Her chair was angled toward the TV, and I plopped onto the bed after grabbing my coffee and bagel.

"We should talk."

My eyes traveled to Bella. "There's nothing to talk about." I sipped my coffee. "You should—before it gets cold." I pointed to Bella's breakfast. "We have to be on the road soon. We should leave the stuff here."

"Huh?" Bella walked closer.

"We'll stay another day." I shrugged, opening the paper my bagel was wrapped in. "You can visit with Alice. Rose will be back, too. We'll spend the night again." I hoped to find another way to thwart her from taking those pills.

"I don't want to," she replied.

"Oh . . ." I truly had no argument besides what might interest her. "I thought you might want girl time." I stared at the television, but in my periphery I saw my wife contemplating the idea.

"I probably won't get to spend much time with Rose today," she whispered.

"We'll take them all out to eat."

"They have food, Edward. Why do we always have to take them out? We feed them when they come to Brooklyn . . . Let them do for me. None of them care or do anything nice for us—me." She pointed to herself, and I had to remember that being around Bella's family—not Alice, but the rest of them—puts her slightly on edge.

"Fuck 'em. They can starve," I laughed. "It was just a suggestion. We haven't seen your mom yet."

Bella groaned, staring at Kylie. "I'll never hear the end of it if we were up here and she didn't see Kylie. She won't care if she doesn't see me. She'll bitch to Rose and Alice. God forbid she ever talked shit to my face."

I let her talk, staring at her meaty thighs. "Come here." I held out my hand.

Bella wouldn't—her gaze turning cold again. "You were up to something." She finally kneeled on the bed. "I'm just going to say this . . ." She looked down. "We have three beautiful children—three, Edward. If we're meant to have more, it'll happen—with or without the pills. They're not 100%." She shrugged. "If it's in God's plan—"

"God." I scoffed.

"You said it was unholy—"

"I said it wasn't Catholic," I corrected her.

She swallowed, coming closer. "What if I died?"

My eyes widened. "What?" I sat up, placing my coffee on the nightstand before I pulled her onto me. "Don't say stuff like that."

"I could . . . die. We spoke about this yesterday." She wouldn't look at me. "We also—if you remember—spoke about this while I was pregnant with Kylie."

I turned her chin back to me. "Don't talk like that. You're not going anywhere. I'm going first, remember?" I kissed her lips. "That was a huge 'what if'. Dr. Smith only told us, just in case. They have to tell us that to cover their asses—it was a huge stretch."

"I have a list a mile long as to why we shouldn't, but that's the only vital point that seems to get through here." She tapped my head. "I'm happy with the way things are. We've been so blessed. We shouldn't push it."

Then why did this feel so right? Like the correct thing to do? I'd make sure my wife saw specialists, and we'd take every precaution. If having another child was so dangerous, why did Dr. Smith agree with me when I disagreed about her getting her tubes tied? He nodded along, suggesting Bella take birth control pills. Not to mention that he wouldn't do it unless we were both on board. The way I took it, he was reluctant because Bella was so young. I also didn't want it, and he doesn't perform those procedures unless each spouse wants it and signs off on it.

"I don't know," I said, looking down to my food again. "The doctor never said any of that. He didn't want you to get fixed."

She snorted. "Like he's going to say no to you?" She raised a brow.

"He's a doctor. It doesn't matter what I say. He has to look out for you, and he never mentioned it."

"He did to me . . . Well, Dr. Scott did." She nodded. "He said I shouldn't have any more."

"'Shouldn't'. He didn't say you couldn't, and Dr. Scott?" I shook my head, "Dr. Smith is a better physician—"

"Dr. Scott suggested the tubal ligation, so I wouldn't have to be opened up again. I should have another C-section? Have major surgery and put myself at risk a fourth time? With every birth I've lost more and more blood and was out of it longer—my recovery time was longer with each birth. If I happened to get pregnant, you know—know—I wouldn't abort it."

My head snapped to her. "Don't—"

"I'd never do that." She kissed me softly. "But . . . Edward, there are consequences. I don't want another child. You think I'm being selfish." She stared at the television. "But I'm not. We take every other risk on us seriously. And if I died, you'd never forgive yourself."

"You're not going to die." That had to be the worst subject imaginable to me, and I refused to believe it under any circumstances. I'm going before her, and that's that.

She groaned. "But it could happen. I want to see Kylie walk down the aisle—the boys graduate college!" She had tears in her eyes. Bella was fucking serious as she shouted and stared at our daughter.

Massaging her neck, I placed soft kisses on her cheek to calm her down. "I'm sorry for pushing." Turning her head to me, I lightly bit her nose. "I don't want you to cry . . . or for us to fight about this. I-I—" I wiped her tears away with my thumbs. There were only a few; she only became choked up.

"I'm sorry, Edward." She sniffled. "Why do you need another baby?"

Honestly, I didn't have an answer for her. All I know is the clock is ticking, and I want everything—everything time and ability has to offer. I put my hands up. "Look, let's just—" I finally opened my bagel to find butter instead of cream cheese. "Motherfucking—" I pushed it away.

"Bucking!" Kylie squealed.

"Relax. Just eat mine." Bella grabbed hers off the table.

"Don't worry about it." I ate the hard bagel with the cold butter. "It's good," I mumbled with a mouth full.

Bella opened her own package. "Liar . . . here, eat mine. I'm not hungry." She frowned.

"No," I refused, because Bella should have the best of everything—fuck me. "I'm good." I placed a sloppy, buttery kiss on her cheek. "Sorry for getting you upset."

She didn't reply, giving me a small smile as she sipped her coffee.

Since we took our time at the hotel, we relaxed a little more and waited for Carlisle to meet up with us. Bella had also called Alice, wondering if Jasper was going to make it or if she wanted to ride with us. As per Alice, her husband was dead on his feet, but he was going to sleep during the ninety-minute drive up to the camp.

"Hey!" Bella shouted out to Emmett.

Ironically, we all had decided to meet at the Dunkin' Donuts before we took off.

"B!" Emmett's corny ass ran to my wife and whisked her off her feet.

"Hey, Edward!" Rosalie waved from the car. I smiled, waving back to her and her little one in the backseat. Emma is around Anthony's age, I think. No, she's younger—born after I was released from the can. It's hard to keep track with all these kids.

"How are you?" I let Kylie lean over the open window to greet her cousin. When she whimpered and latched onto me, I pulled her away.

"Oh . . . you know," Rosalie said.

I didn't know, so I nodded my head in agreement without comment, while I saw Bella and Emmett whispering. Then, I saw Alice come to a screeching halt behind our minivan before Jasper started screaming.

As I stared at our almost touching bumpers, I raised my thumb and forefinger, holding them nearly together. "This close," I laughed, since my cousin's wife has always been a shitty driver. Now, the only people we were waiting for were Carlisle and Anthony. Soon, everyone left their cars, and we had a small tailgate party. Bella and Emmett went inside to grab everyone small cups of coffee. We all paired off and started conversing. Everything was going well, until Alice said one thing.

"We just have to pick up Renee before we hit the highway." Alice looked down at her cell phone.

"She's knows I'm here?" Bella asked.

"Yeah, I told her." Alice shrugged. "I thought it'd be okay. Didn't you just spend the night there?"

Emmett squeezed Bella's shoulder. "She wants to see the kids—go up to the camp with us."

My wife had a sad face. "I didn't really . . . we didn't speak at all while we stayed there," Bella whispered. "Besides hi and bye . . ." She trailed off.

Bella was correct. Renee walking in on me in the shower and our words shared in her kitchen was the most she said to either one of us. When we arrived on her doorstep, she didn't turn us away—that has to count for something, right?

I rubbed Bella's back with my free hand, my other holding our daughter.

A horn honking made us all turn to Carlisle's Mercedes. After a quick wave from us all, we entered our vehicles and hit the road. We left quickly as the novelty of us getting together was over.

Aro called while we were on our way. He and Lauren were driving up, not far from us, and that's when I hit the gas—wanting to beat his ass there. Don't ask me why, I just wanted to make it there before him. Carlisle and Emmett kept up with me, but Alice had gone to pick up Renee; they were lagging behind regardless.

"What should I do about Renee?" Bella asked.

"Ignore her," I said.

"She's my mother. I know she'll have comments, be talkative since she'll be around everyone else."

I squeezed her thigh, looking back to Kylie, who was asleep. "I don't know." I did not agree with her words. Renee gave birth to Bella, but had she ever been a mother to her?

"I just . . . I guess I hate that she's closer to Emmett and Alice, but she's closer to their kids, too. She doesn't—doesn't give a shit about our kids." She spat.

"That's not true." Even I had to admit that Renee takes more of an interest in our children. She doesn't give a fuck about us, yet turns into Grandma when she has to—sometimes . . . when her words aren't slurred and she's sober.

"It's only because other kids are usually around." She grumbled.

"You want to turn around? Go back home and say 'fuck it'?"

"No!" she shouted. "We have to see Sonny and Damion."

I nodded, focusing on the road, and Bella didn't complain about her mother anymore.

The camp was decorated with many colorful signs pointing us in the right direction. Every year, the parents meet up with their kids in the mess hall, after we're to park our cars in the large field. Before we entered, we grabbed two brochures of the day's events.

"You think the boys signed up for anything?" I gazed down at the program. There was a play starting at one o'clock, "The Joys of Summer," starring the kids of the camp. Then there was a huge kickball game going at 2:30, players to be announced.

"I don't know." Bella bit her lip, holding Kylie so tightly as she stood on her toes—looking for the boys among the large group of people.

So far, we hadn't seen any of our kids. "Sonny!" I used my big mouth, causing many people to look our way. "Over here!" I whistled loudly using my fingers.

"Dad!" I'm sure many men turned their heads, but there was only one other mouth as big as mine.

"Sonny!" Bella hollered and thrust Kylie into my arms. Soon Sonny came into view, pulling his brother along with him.

They looked good—happy and tan, but my eyes zeroed in on the scrape Damion had on his knee. "What happened?" I asked.

Bella had them both in a death grip while she kissed their faces. Knowing she needed it, I left them be for a minute, while Kylie wanted to get in on their action, too. It seems she missed her brothers.

And our sons embraced their mother just as tightly—even Sonny—not caring who saw.

"Aww . . . Damion and his mommy," some fat kid said to our left.

"Mind ya' business." I spat, flinching toward him with Kylie.

His eyes widened and he scurried away.

"Edward!" Bella drew out my name and slapped my arm. That kid was not only an asshole, but he ruined that special reunion moment for my wife.

"What?" I handed Kylie to Sonny, while I kissed his hair. Then I bent down to Damion. "What happened to your knee?"

Damion looked to Bella and then Sonny. "Nothing." He smiled, wrapping his arms around my neck. "I missed you, Daddy."

I sighed, burying my face into his neck. "I missed you, too, baby." I kissed his cheek, but then Bella gasped and pulled him away from me.

"What happened?" She noticed his knee now. It wasn't just a scrape—like he fell down during some sport—it actually looked pretty bad.

Damion looked to his brother again. "Nothing." He pushed his glasses up his nose. That's when I saw it—bouncing off the lights up top—I saw Damion had many scratches on his glasses.

I turned to Sonny. "You," I said, pointing.

Sonny looked exasperated, gazing at Kylie and then Dame. He finally passed his sister back to his mother. "That kid Jeremy? The one you scared away? Him and his friends pick on the younger kids. They chased Dame and AJ . . ." He nodded.

"Sonny!" Damion exclaimed, which wasn't like him at all.

"What'd you do?" I felt horrible, like a terrible father, because anger bubbled up inside me—thinking Sonny might have let that happen.

But I couldn't worry about Sonny right now.

"Where's his mother?" Bella looked around. "I'll knock her one—see how she likes it."

I put my hands up. "Let's . . . go find a bench or something. We'll talk." Proud of myself, I ushered my family out of the large building. Everyone else was wrapped up in their kids, but soon I noticed AJ and Katie following after us; Lauren and Aro hadn't showed up yet.

Aro Jr. sported a fat lip, and his glasses were actually broken. Palming his cheek, I became even angrier. "This shit happens and they don't call us?" It didn't matter if my buddy wasn't here yet. I wanted to take my kids and his and leave this fucking place. "What the fuck?" I shouted.

"Edward . . . just sit." Bella pushed me down, bouncing Kylie off her hip as she paced the picnic table we sat at. "Tell us what's going on. Are these kids picking on you guys?" Her eyes landed on Sonny, as did mine.

He put his hands up. "I told him—if he touched either one again, he'd have to answer to me." He didn't seem too confident. "It's not only him. He has friends, and I have . . ." Sonny looked to Aro Jr. and Damion. "Emmett Jr. doesn't care. He's too busy with the older kids," he whispered. "And Ricky . . ." He trailed off, not saying any more about his other cousin who is now a counselor. "Annie punched Jeremy in the face."

"Right on." I slammed my fist onto the table.

"I did, too. But . . . they don't stop."

"They don't," Katie said. "They're them . . . and we're us. They're better at sports and . . . everything." She hugged herself, looking so down. Years before, all the kids loved this place, but it looked like none of them were having a good time.

"You guys wanna come home?" I asked.

Damion nodded, but Sonny shook his head no. "Jeremy's going to get his. I just have to—" He pointed to his temple.

It didn't make sense. No matter how big this group of kids were, wouldn't our group be bigger? The problem I saw was that the older kids within our group just didn't care too much anymore—they were off doing their own things.

"Hey!" Aro's enthusiastic voice boomed over to us. We all wore frowns as we turned. His kids were fast to greet him, and soon Aro's smile fell. "What's going on?" He brushed AJ's hair back with his fingers. "What happened to your lip?"

For over an hour, we all sat and tried to think. Bella and Lauren just wanted to take the kids home; however, I agreed with Sonny. Jeremy and his friends should get theirs.

"Okay." Aro placed his hands down. "How do you want to proceed?"

I laughed. "We can't rough up any kids."

"Obviously," he said.

"But . . . where are their families?" I looked around us, needing to kick someone's ass. That's when my eyes fell on Carlisle and his small group. It looked like Carli was crying, and Hanna was busy on her father's cell phone. I bet she was talking to Esme who's in the Bahamas. I motioned for them to come and join us.

"I want to talk to someone." Bella nodded. "The head counselor or something. I'd like to know why they let this go on—"

"That's if they told anyone," Lauren said, looking to her kids.

They all—even ours—cowered away from her gaze, while Carlisle sat quietly with a crying Carli. Anthony became very excited seeing Damion. The two boys hugged and walked further away from the table. Anthony had a game system, and then they sat on the floor so they both could play.

My eyes landed back to my wife's. "What—"

She shrugged. "Let's take them home. They don't want to be here."

"True," Lauren agreed.

I laughed. "I'm not letting anyone get away with hurting my fucking kids." Inside, my blood was boiling, but there really wasn't much I could do.

At a loss, we all sat in the sun for a little while longer, until Emmett and Rosalie joined us with their kids. Emmett's oldest son, who is now thirteen and fucking massive, was standing off to the side—looking bored.

"Yo." I jerked my chin to him. "What's the deal with this Jeremy kid?"

"I don't know," he said.

Not much changed after the rest of our group arrived. Renee and Bella ignored each other, while Lauren and Rosalie filled Alice in on what's been going on. Alice also stomped around, looking for Ricky. She was positive he could put a stop to whatever was going on. She came back over with him. Surely he'd rather be in his hometown, getting laid or chilling out.

Ricky looked just as miserable to be here. "Why is he even here?" I whispered to my wife.

Bella looked to the group, trying nonchalantly to whisper. "Alice wants to keep him out of trouble—off the streets." She sat back.

"Right." I listened to Alice and Jasper berate their oldest about not looking after the younger crowd. Emmett and Rosalie got in on it too, and made Emmett Jr. listen along as well.

It felt like time was passing us by, and we weren't doing a damn thing besides talking about it.

"There he is." Sonny nudged my side.

Looking to my left, I saw Jeremy and what must have been his father. Jeremy was a little taller than Sonny and huge. The father was average height and round as well. "Let's do this." I jerked my chin, talking to Aro.

We stood up—ignoring all protests from our wives. Aro, Emmett, Jasper, Carlisle, and I approached the tween boy and his father, who was laughing and staring down at his son.

"Yo . . . your kid's got a problem," I said, for lack of anything more intelligent to say.

"Excuse me?" Jeremy's father's brow furrowed. "Can I help you?"

Carlisle slapped my chest, stepping in front of me. "I'm Carlisle Cullen, and this is my brother, Edward . . . and you are?" He was ready to shake hands with the enemy.

"Jeremy Foster. This is JJ." He shook Carlisle's hand as he stared at me. "You guys are from the city, no doubt?" He chuckled, and I wondered why that was so funny.

"Your kid and his friends have been picking on ours," Emmett said.

"Yeah!" There was a chorus from us.

Mr. Foster turned to his son. "Is that true?"

Little Jeremy shook his head no.

Mr. Foster smiled at us. "It's not true."

"What?" I shouted, and Carlisle held me back. "No one fucking touches my kid. You hear me?" I spoke to the little boy.

"Whoa!" Mr. Foster put his hands up. "You're out of line."

Now I laughed at him, but of course, he wouldn't know that I don't give a fuck.

"I'm sure there's some kind of misunderstanding." Mr. Foster tried to level with us. "Every year I hear about the whiny city kids, who aren't as good in sports or used to being outdoors—"

"That's bullshit!" Jasper spat. "My son has a black eye." He spoke of his eight year old. "Says your kid did it."

I nodded along with him. "My kid's glasses are all scratched up—said your kid chased him." I put out my hand. "Two hundred bucks. That's how much they cost."

"Edward." Bella was suddenly at my side with our daughter. "We should all sit down and discuss it. If the kids have problems . . ."

"What's going on?" It looked as though Mrs. Foster came to her husband's rescue, too.

I smiled, looking at the cute little family. There were three of them: a mom, a dad, and the young boy. He didn't look as brave as he did while he made fun of Damion earlier. "Not feeling so great now, huh?" I asked JJ, looking from his small family and then back to our large group.

"Edward, stop it." Bella squeezed my hand, as the other adults started talking. Everyone was arguing, and the longer we stood there doing so, more people—more of Jeremy's family members—came out of the woodwork. Before long, it seemed as though the whole camp was related to this kid and we were the enemies.

When Aro pushed Mr. Foster out of his face, things escalated until we heard a loud whistle. I guess the camp counselors and workers actually did give a fuck. We just had to make a ruckus.

.

.

.

.

.

/=/=/=/=/

Bella

/=/=/=/=/

It's true; it could have been much worse, but we should have all sat down and spoken about what was going on.

No matter how much I wanted to stomp on that Mrs. Foster's face, there had to be a better way to sort things out.

When Coach Clapp blew his whistle, everyone calmed down, and he came to a conclusion on how to solve our problems. We'd take this to the field. So now, it was Cullens vs. Fosters—us vs. them—in a kickball game. The guys were all for it, seemed fine, and wanted to show these country people how city folk do it.

Since there were too many of us, the men from each family were playing alongside the kids.

I was just waiting on the sidelines for someone to get hurt. Edward is in great shape, as are my kids. Carlisle and Aro, although back to normal activities, were going to be in so much pain afterward. They had something to prove—being macho assholes and all.

Rosalie and my mother weren't fazed, confident that Emmett and Emmett Jr. would play their best, only Rosalie suggested her younger children stay out of it. Alice was worried about Jasper's lack of exercise and Ricky's lazy ass, since he'd never kicked a ball in his life—except for coming to camp. Annie was excited to play with her little brother Mark, who's about Damion's size.

My kids just looked to their father for guidance. They lined up, huddling with Aro Jr., and the older males.

Katie, Carli, and Hanna sat with us, keeping Kylie and Peto company, while I watched—worrying about the outcome.

The Fosters were winning, although I wasn't sure what scored what. It looked like baseball—scored like baseball anyway.

"Come on!" I shouted. All my concerns aside, I was still going to root for our guys. "Get him out. Get him out," I sang and clapped, my fuck-hot husband on the pitcher's mound. He was throwing the large rubber ball at the moment. "Show 'em how it's done!"

"Calm down. It's kickball," Rosalie said.

I shrugged, leaning forward and making sure Kylie was okay. She was more than all right, sitting with the kids and eating a large, doughy, pretzel. "Yes!" I screamed when Edward got some toothless hillbilly-looking guy out. It was time for them to change up.

Aro and Carlisle looked a mess as they brought it in, holding their sides with their shoulders slumped.

"You guys did good!" Maybe I was a little too excited—maybe I was a little bit okay with this turn out, always so competitive and with my love of gambling . . . I bet Alice we'd win—shame on her for picking them over her own people. I had all the faith in the world in our brood.

"That Foster." Edward panted, staring down the field. "He's fat but moves fast." He sipped my bottle of water. I patted him on the back before he left to talk with his team.

"You got this!" I balled my hands into fists, bringing them up to show my support.

Edward winked back, all sweaty and sexy. My breath caught, sitting down and sighing, until I noticed Damion with a little limp. Faster than I thought possible, I got in on their talk. "What happened?" I bent down to be attentive.

"He's fine," Edward said.

"Doesn't look it." Alice had joined me. "Do you guys want a pretzel?" she asked Damion and Mark.

They both nodded.

"They're fine—we need our numbers," Carlisle interjected.

"They're little boys," I whispered, palming my son's cheeks. "Are you all right?" I asked Sonny.

He licked his sweaty upper lip. "Yeah."

"That old man bumped into me," Damion said in a low tone.

"Who—why didn't I see?" Edward went to stomp over.

Aro caught him. "Save it for the game." He was limping too, always had a bum knee or something.

"Shit." I groaned under my breath, feeling horrible about getting so excited about this. "We should forfeit." I stood up, facing my husband. "We take the kids and go home. No harm, no foul . . . Who the fuck are these people?"

"What?" Edward asked, and they all laughed at me.

"We'll never see them again," I finished.

"Come on," Alice tugged on my shirt, "these two need to sit down. They can't argue that. Let them figure something out."

She was absolutely correct. We took our sons—Damion and Mark—and escorted them to the grassy area the rest were occupying. Dame said his ankle hurt, but he could still walk. Figuring it was just bruised. I got him set up with some Gatorade, and a pretzel.

"All right." Edward clapped, flanked by Aro. "Who wants to play?"

"Oh!" Anthony hollered. "I do! I do!" He jumped up and down.

"Bet!" Edward nodded. "That's the enthusiasm we need—"

"He's three years old!" I yelled.

My husband crouched low. "Daddy can help you," he said to Anthony. Then he stood up to me. "He's so small. No one will touch him, and we just need physical bodies—"

"Then I'll play," I grumbled.

"No way." He thought that was hilarious.

"I'll play, too." Lauren stood up, brushing off her capris. We had gotten along today. Actually, we didn't converse at all, but she was still on our side.

"I wanna play then." Katie linked arm with her mother's.

"If they get to play . . ." Annie was ready to beat some ass. She was pissed off when they took her younger brother and not her.

I smiled back at the girls. "See?" I asked Edward. "We'll change up. That way if anyone is tired . . ." I trailed off, briefly glancing at Carlisle and Aro—two men who would never admit they weren't physically fit for anything. It didn't happen yesterday, but they're both still recovering from surgery—major surgery.

"We said no women." Jasper reminded my husband.

"Shut up." I spat.

Alice laughed. "I know you did not just—"

"Relax," I told her, rolling my eyes.

Edward shook his head, leaving his hands on his hips. "We'll put Anthony in. Mark, you take a break, but you're not out."

Little Mark, who looks exactly like Jasper, pouted.

"No!" Alice protested.

"Leave it alone, Ali." Jasper kissed his wife's cheek. "He'll be fine."

It was obvious these guys—both teams—were going for blood, a win, and there was no way we'd get them to agree to disagree or quit.

"This is so stupid," I mumbled to Rose.

She sighed, handing me a magazine. "Just let them play." Her eyes never left the article she was reading. "We're not going to get them to back down."

Seeing Kylie veer away from us, I grabbed her quickly. "Stay with Mommy." I kissed her cheek, getting comfortable as the guys lined up.

"This is actually a good game," my mother said in her own little world. When she arrived, I didn't smell booze, but she's still out there mentally.

"It's wonderful." I scoffed.

"Remind me," Rose whispered, "I gotta tell you something later." She eyed my mother.

"What's up?" I asked, staring as Edward went up to kick the ball.

"Not now—this isn't the place, and Emmett would kill me if I . . . I think you should know." She rubbed my back.

"Know what?" I hissed, standing and watching Edward run for first base. "Get it!" I shouted.

"Never mind," I heard Rose say.

It was easy to forget about her. We were only behind by three points, and this was the last inning. Even if they were being cutthroat, they really had some strategy. Since Mark was tired and wasn't in the mood to play anymore, they made it so he got a walk, which let Edward get to second. And when Aro kicked the ball out into the field, Edward ran to third and then home. We had scored another point, and I said a silent prayer, hoping we'd win.

Luckily, Emmett scored too. He let out a roar—something beastly—as he ran to the ball and kicked it so far, it actually left the field. That was an automatic home run. He kicked it out of the park, and now we had one point to gain and we'd be tied.

"You can do this, Ant." Carlisle stood behind his son as that asshat—the one with no teeth, who was pitching—tossed the ball with force. Carlisle picked it up and chucked it back. "He's three—be easy." But that wasn't in any of the Foster's vocabulary, and my stomach tied in knots. Anthony is so small—even if he kicked the ball, his little legs would never carry him to first base on time.

Before I knew it, I placed Kylie in Rose's lap so I could watch closely; meanwhile, my wimpy ass had tears stinging my eyes.

The Poligrip gangster slowly pushed the ball toward Ant, while the little boy smiled and tried to follow his father's instructions.

Easily, I inched up the field, getting closer and closer to first base. No one paid any attention to me, a female, and I had a plan—a stellar fucking plan, because I knew what would happen.

Sonny, Mark, Damion, and Aro Jr. all had size on their side. They weren't as big; they're agile and fast, but Anthony is just too young. He's a baby, and my heart broke with worry.

The whole thing—him being up there—only lasted a minute, but he didn't have a mom cheering or worrying about him, and those feelings . . . along with my other worrisome thoughts, had me ready to go. Whatever Anthony needed, Carlisle had him at home plate, and I would be here—ready.

Anthony's foot made contact with the ball, but it didn't go very far. My nephew knew exactly what to do from watching and pushed his father away to run to first base.

My head kept whipping between Poligrip and Anthony. He was coming at Ant fast with the large rubber ball, while Anthony smiled, trying to get there as fast as he could.

It just wasn't fast enough.

Quickly, I hooked my hands under his arms and ran as rapidly as I could. He laughed, thinking this was part of the game, but I wasn't about to let him get hurt. Right before we made it, Edward collided with Poligrip—took him the fuck out with a tackle.

"I did it, Aunt Bewwa!" Anthony was so proud, and—the Fosters and the Cullens—our teams, were now a pile of bodies in the middle of the field, except for ALL the younger kids from both teams. They stood together—looked like they actually got along—while their fathers fought it out.

"Oops." I breathed, never betting on Edward catching some guy before he got to Anthony and me.

Now I realized why they didn't want their women to play.

For reasons unknown to me, our children came to some kind of agreement and then tried to break their fathers apart. The girls and I got in on it, too, only to beg the head of the camp not to call the police.

Luckily, both families were "in the wrong", and they didn't tell us our kids had to leave. After our day, Sonny and Damion didn't want to leave, and AJ, along with the other kids, wanted to stay as well.

"I'm fine." Edward shrugged me off.

Ignoring him, I pressed the ice pack to his eye. "You guys looked like a bunch of idiots out there."

"Just . . . eat your hot dog." He pushed my plate in front of me. "I can't even enjoy a day in the country." He shook his head.

I sighed, helping our daughter eat her corn on the cob. We decided not to take anyone out to dinner. The camp was hosting one for parents and kids, and we all shared a very large picnic table. All our guys looked worse for wear and so did the Fosters. That had to count for something, even if Coach Clapp called it a tie. "You started it . . . do you have any idea how silly you all looked?"

Edward was fighting his grin, staring down at his hamburger.

"I know I got upset at first, too, but . . . they're just kids and getting along now," I said, as we both looked down the mess hall to Sonny, Jeremy—all of them—who were sitting together.

"That's why our kids are smarter than we are," Edward mumbled.

"The teasing probably went back and forth." I shrugged. "No one really got hurt, and that Jeremy kid had bruises—probably from Sonny. I don't know. I'll call during the week. One peep out of Damion, and we'll come right up to get them." I hated to admit I still worried. No one ever wants her child to be harmed or bullied.

"There's a week left. They can hack it." Edward threw his burger down. "How can they eat this shit, though?"

Passing him the ketchup, I kissed his cheek. "Relax." He was still so worked up, probably because his trusty Glock wasn't the tiebreaker. He left it in the car, but I swore I saw him reach for his waist a few times anyway.

Nut bag.

Up here, we were out of our element—playing a silly game to prove something.

And nothing was proven.

All we saw today was how badly adults could escalate a semi-small problem.

"We got to chill with everybody." Edward lifted his reddened fist to give my brother a pound.

"Kickball!" Emmett was still excited, even with his cut lip. "Next year—we gotta do that shit again."

Edward laughed. "Maybe."

I rolled my eyes, knowing men will never learn, and got back to helping our daughter finish her meal.

Thank you for reading.

Please leave me your thoughts.

I hope you've enjoyed another "Glock-Free" chapter :)


The Drabble War starts this Friday! (1/13) And it lasts ALL weekend.

All weekend - the stories listed below - will update and update until they are complete on Sunday evening. Please put them on author alert. The links to the actual stories are posted, too. (Please remove the spaces)I cannot wait to read all the stories! I also can't wait to hear about what you think of mine.

**Posting hasn't started yet. (It will on 1/13) But we posted cover pages, messages to the readers!

THANKS! I'm so excited for this! Hope you enjoy!

Class Act by SexyLexiCullen

www . fanfiction . net /s/7732191/1/

Summary: Bella's English teacher, Mr. Cullen, can't stop looking at her like she's something to eat. She's cooking up quite the meal for him. Little does he know, revenge is a dish best served cold. But what if she has the recipe wrong? E/B. Canon couples. OOC characters. Rated M for language, lemons, and . . . I'm not done yet :) A bit on the dark side.

Masks by Dalloway5906

www . fanfiction . net /s/7731480/1/Masks

Summary: "I fucking hate New Year's Eve...all drunks and grabby hands...at least the tips are good." Bella thinks it will just be one more night at the bar, but tonight two men will change her life forever. e/b. Some dark moments but mostly snark and major sexy times.

Fear of Touch by texasbella

www . fanfiction . net /s/7731146/1/

Summary: Due to a horrifying tragedy in his past, Edward is now an OCD headcase. He can't leave his house, he can't even open the front door without a clean pair of latex gloves. His hardest obstacle to overcome? Loneliness. This is where Izzy Swan comes in...as a hired companion. Will sparks fly or will she be too dirty for him? Rated M

Our Night of Fun by FFLoverLaura

www . fanfiction . net/s/7731169/1/

Summary: 22 year old Bella is in college and having the time of her life. Her roommate gets married and moves out, leaving Bella in need to find someone to replace her. Enter Rose, the seemingly perfect roommate. What happens when Bella and Rose give in to their desires the night of their house party? This is their night of fun. Rated M for Lemons and Drug Use.

Destiny by kitkat681

www . fanfiction . net /s/7731176/1/

Summary: 300 years watching everyone's joy. 300 years of emptiness. One little baby and everything changes. Then she's taken from him. Will he get her back? Vamp...rated M for...you know.

How it Goes by JA Mash

www . fanfiction . net /s/7731190/1/

Summary: Isabella Swan is an actress... Edward Cullen is an actor... they're both secretly in love with their hot co-star... neither one knows what to do about it... this is the story of how it goes... Rated M for language and lemony goodness.

Coming Out by CullensTwiMistress

www . fanfiction . net /s/7731279/1/

Summary: Sometimes the road to self discovery leads you into a path you never knew existed. Bella always thought she was happy, until she realized that there were other options out there. OOC. Rated M for language and lemons.

Whiskey Lullaby by lvtwilight09

www . fanfiction . net /s/7731342/1/

Summary: Edward and Bella love each other beyond reason, but the demons from his past keep getting in the way. When Edward tries to save himself for Bella's sake, he may end up losing the one thing he can't live without. Rated M. Dark themes, heavy angst.

All the Fun of the Fair by TrueEnglishRose

www . fanfiction . net /s/7731173/1/

Summary: Edward owns a fairground, drifting from town to town and Bella is a damaged soul, waiting to be saved. What magic has she weaved into Edward's life when he meets her? Can he save her in the way she needs? Rated M. Hurt/Comfort/Romance.

The Dealership by Bnjwl's Fanfiction

Summary: When Carlisle's Audi dealership is up for a prestigeous award, who pull out the big guns and help him win? Can Bella and Edward survive the tension of The Dealership?

It Is That Simple by theonlykyla

www . fanfiction . net /s/7731299/1/

Summary: Bella's a twice divorced single mom dealing with a tragedy. Edward is a single lonely man with his own tragic past. Can they both open their hearts and accept the other? Romance/Angst

Where the Streets Have No Name by DreamOfTheEndless

www . fanfiction . net /s/7716883/1/Where_the_Streets_Have_No_Name

Summary: The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Edward is firmly trapped in the hell of his making. Redemption lying just beyond his reach. Would Bella be able to be his salvation? Would she sacrifice herself to save him?