Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight. No copyright infringement is intended.

Beta'd by HollettLA.

* PLEASE READ *

A few things... Many of you believe Bella was a virgin. No, she was not. Also, I know a lot of you are confused about what's truly going on between Jake and Bella. Please be patient. You'll find out soon enough. Actually, all that information is tied up in those VERY dark, intense chapters that are coming up. This is me trying to prepare you for those few chapters . . .

In fact, some of you may NOT even be able to read/get through those chapters (Chapter 36, sorry for the spoiler. You'll know which bc it'll have a HUGE warning).

I surely hope you can read it because there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and important information. Some of you will learn to understand Bella, while others will not. But hey...I try.

BUT don't ever say that "I" did not warn you. It will be hard to read, although I tried my best not to be THAT descriptive. However, you'll learn a lot about Bella, what's been going on with her - That's in CHAPTER 36.

Speaking of Bella, you guys have been too hard on our girl. LOL. In regards to Tribute Bella. Yeah, she's immature...because SHE'S 18! She's essentially a child, a teenager, and I wrote her as such. Plus, for a kid, she's really going through - has gone through a lot with very little help from anyone. Jasper's a great big brother, but he can't keep ALL the demons away - especially not in their world, where they're from. People are just funny. I know in most other fics, when Bella's 18 she acts like she's 35, but yeah...I wrote her young.

Enjoy!


Tribute

Chapter Twenty-Nine

In tears or not, Bella heard it too. Before I could make heads or tails, she pushed me away and ran up the stairs.

I did, too, quickly following after her as I fixed my pants, tucked in my shirt.

"Bella—"

She sniffled, holding her hand up. "I promised." She locked her mouth and threw away the key.

I heard Jasper downstairs. "Edward? Bells?"

We ignored him, staring at each other.

At a loss once for words, I grabbed Bella's hand and kissed it, pulling her into me.

Those actions made her crack a smile, and she lifted her hands to stroke my face.

My arms wrapped around her. "Bella, I—"

"Did you guys make it home?" We broke away; Jasper was still looking for us.

Bella disappeared into her bedroom.

"You guys home?"

She closed her door.

"Yeah!" I shouted out, righting my pants before I ran down the steps. On my way, I scooped Jake's gun. Not knowing where to put it, I placed it back into my waist. I hoped Jasper wouldn't notice as I untucked my shirt.

Jasper must have drunk the bar. The smell of alcohol was in the air. "What happened to you?" he laughed.

"Uh…" I looked down to myself.

"Did'ju get into a fight?"

I nodded. "I did…Jake…" I shrugged, shaking my head.

Jasper hopped up from the sofa, a little unsteady. "What happened?"

"Nothing. I set him straight—sent him away. As far as I know…they're done. They broke up."

"Oh. Man!" He palmed his face. "How's Bella? Is she okay? I'm glad, but wait...why'd you…?"

"He touched her…grabbed her arm. It bothered me. It's done. Nothing you gotta worry about. He won't come around here anymore."

He shook his head. "I can't deal with more crazy tonight…I'mma fuck him up, though. He touched my baby sister—"

I placed my hand on his chest. "I got him good. No worries."

He groaned. "Wish I was there to dance on his fucking head, too."

That's when I realized my heart was still pounding away. Things were cool, though. Jazz was none the wiser, and I wanted to go back upstairs very badly.

It's too bad I can't do that.

I chuckled, wanting to make light of the subject. "I thought you didn't dance? Maybe Alice changed your mind?"

He didn't find humor in my corny attempt. "Tomorrow night, after we have dinner at Colleoni's, I'm taking Alice on a date. I don't even know how that happened!" He pulled his own hair.

I tried not to laugh.

"One minute we're drinking, the next . . . and I agreed. She looked good. Well, she always looks good. But really? It must have been the booze, bro. What the fuck?" He kicked the couch. "Now I gotta watch out for Jake—that motherfucker!"

"Relax." I chuckled.

"How is she? Is she still awake?" He went to run upstairs.

I stopped him. "She's fine, actually. Just tired. Bella said she was going to bed."

He nodded. "I need my bed, too."

"Right…I need a smoke...and a beer." I sniffed my hand, making like I was scrubbing my face while knowing Bella's scent was all over me.

I liked it.

"I'm going…" He pointed up.

"Goodnight." I patted his back before I went into the kitchen.


Thank you for reading.