"Good morning, mi amor. I've missed you so much," Maria's lilting voice breaks the silence of the dimmed bedroom. "No, I've been up. I'm about to go downstairs to make a cup of coffee. I think I'll go out to lunch with Nettie and Lucy later...mhm..."
She's on the phone.
Jasper tiredly pulls the pillow over his head. It doesn't do much to drown out the sound of the girl's one-sided conversation or the birds chirping outside.
"Maybe we can go to the movies after dinner then. We haven't gone in a while," she continues.
She does this often, and Jasper never says anything. He doesn't want to cause tension. Surely she's not doing it to be intentionally cruel. In fact, she's been quite kind to Jasper lately. They'd spent the majority of the weekend together.
She was ecstatic at how much business he'd done in the past month. With the profit he helped turn, she could pay off her car and get a new designer bag. She was so pleased that last night she rewarded him with a tablet of MDMA and a demonstration of her oral prowess that left him feeling like maybe she did think of him as more than just a friend or work partner.
"You're on your way home from the airport now?" she says surprisedly, hitting the blond's arm to rouse him. "Perfect! Oh, I'm so happy! I'll tell the girls I can't come. Okay, see you soon, cariño."
She hangs up the phone and Jasper starts to get up, his head throbbing. He feels more dehydrated than euphoric now that he's had time to come down from the drugs and alcohol.
"You need to leave. Now." she says, throwing his shirt and jeans at him roughly. "Benito's going to be home in fifteen."
"Okay, I'm going," he says, getting dressed. He looks around for his phone and finds it on the floor under the bed with his keys.
She rolls opens the window blinds and harsh, Texas sun streams in. He shields his eyes with his hand until they adjust.
"You'd better hurry and get your car off the street," she reminds him. "He'll kill you if he sees you here."
The pitter-patter of rain hitting the window brings Jasper back to the present. He wakes in a cold sweat, sober, and tense.
Dreamy images of green palm trees, freshly mowed lawns, and blaring summer heat fade from his mind and the taste of cheap, musky tequila lingers on his tongue despite him not having touched the stuff in months.
He isn't sure why that particular memory wanted to resurface now of all times. It's not one he would ever choose to relive.
His bedroom is dark and dreary, but that doesn't mean much in Seattle. It's dark for the vast majority of winter, regardless of the time of day.
Alice's Christmas present sits on his desk, neatly wrapped in a small box covered in red paper.
Finding something he thought she would like proved more difficult than anticipated. She seemingly has everything and anything she could ever want, so what does that leave?
With the help of the shop assistant and the money left over from selling his car, he decided on getting her a quarter carat diamond on a sixteen-inch white gold chain.
He hopes she'll like it. He hasn't given her anything like it before.
While things seem to be going well with Alice, he's still not quite sure how to define their relationship. It feels both casual and serious. New, but comfortable. He's afraid to ask what she's wanting out of it because he definitely has a preference in the matter.
It's the first time he's met someone with whom he's had more fun while sober than not. She's kind to him when she doesn't have to be. She's supportive and understanding even when he's certain he doesn't have a single redeeming quality to offer her. It's more than just wanting to be with her or wanting her to be happy. He wants to be okay for her. He wants to be coherent, present, and alive for her.
While he hasn't told her everything, he's shared more of his secrets and internal struggles with her than he has anyone else. It's a level of transparency he isn't used to.
He hasn't felt like this about anyone before. It feels like what he imagines love is supposed to feel like.
Jasper remembers that Peter and Charlotte are away on a trip to Portland for the week, so the apartment is unusually quiet. He likely slept in later than anticipated.
He needs to get out of bed and start getting ready.
He checks his phone and sees Rosalie texted him an hour ago asking when she should pick him up. He texts her that he'll be ready to go in half an hour.
...
"Merry Christmas," Jasper says, getting into the car and handing Rosalie a wrapped present.
"I didn't get you anything," she says with the slightest prickle of guilt.
Her brother shrugs. "It's fine."
Rosalie unwraps the box and inside is a red wool scarf and a four-thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle of a Monet garden painting.
She doesn't hate it. Red is her favorite color. Puzzles, along with adult coloring books, have become quite popular now with her coworkers at the hospital because they supposedly reduce stress. It's a thoughtful gift, but it also makes her wonder if she's not as good at hiding her emotional instability as she had hoped.
"Thanks," she says. "I've been needing a new scarf."
He nods. "Did either of them call this morning?"
"No. Did they call you?"
"Nah, I don't think they even have my number anymore," he says, settling back in his seat. "I would have thought they'd stay in touch with you, though."
Rosalie sighs. "Mother's been leaving me voicemails every couple weeks telling me I need to come back home before I make things worse, but I don't want to talk to them."
"Fair enough."
She looks over at him. He seems like he's been sleeping some and his voice isn't as dreary and flat as it had been the two months they'd lived together. He looks a lot better than he did.
"What?" he asks, taking his focus off the road ahead to look back at her.
"Are you going to get your hair cut soon? Or are you just going to let it keep growing until it's like mine?" she quips. She'd gotten used to him keeping it cropped in a military-appropriate style for school. He must not have had it trimmed since before he was expelled because it's a shaggy chin-length now.
He laughs and shrugs.
After three different versions of Jinglebell Rock play on the radio, they're on the east side of town.
Emmett informed her ahead of time that Edward and Bella wouldn't be joining them, which was a Christmas gift in and of itself. She wouldn't have to deal with their bizarre drama or bickering today.
She grabs the stack of presents for Emmett, Esme, and Carlisle from the trunk and locks the car. The front door opens before she or Jasper make it up the driveway.
"Good morning! Merry Christmas!" Alice greets in a cream-colored Chanel mini dress. "Oh, did you get your hair done, Rosalie? It looks good!"
"Merry Christmas," the blond girl says as she walks inside. "I got a trim and had the highlights brought up a little."
"Very cute!"
"Rosalie and Jasper! You made it!" Esme sings out from the couch where she's sitting with Carlisle and a blond girl who Rosalie doesn't recognize. "I think you've met Tanya, Kate, and Irina already?"
The other two girls who modeled in Alice's show are there, sitting around the living room with her, Carlisle, Emmett, and the new person. The Grinch plays on the large flatscreen TV.
Rosalie sets the presents she brought down by the tree and stands across the couch, joining the group.
"Tanya and I met Rosalie," Kate clarifies. She motions to the girl sitting beside Esme. "This is Irina, our sister. We live over in West Seattle. We're old family friends of Carlisle's. We met at his father's church years ago."
"It's nice to meet you. I work with Carlisle at the hospital," Rosalie says with a nod.
"And we're dating," Emmett butts in, getting up from the couch to come bear hug her.
"Oh, how cute!" Tanya says with a smile. "Everyone's just finding love this year, aren't they? First Edward, then Kate, and now you two..."
"What happened to the Aussie you were seeing?" Irina inquires surprisedly.
"Ugh. I'll tell you later. Real unfortunate situation," Tanya says, pulling a face. "Who was the tall guy that just went upstairs with Alice?"
"Yeah, who was that? She would be the one to go for a guy twice her size," Kate laughs. Irina hits her arm playfully, stifling a giggle.
Rosalie looks around and sees that her brother's disappeared without her noticing. Not that she particularly cares what he does.
"That's Jasper. He and Rosalie are twins," Esme answers cheerfully. "He's a student over at the university."
"And he's my new best friend," Emmett adds.
"What about Edward?" Carlisle chuckles.
"I can have more than one best friend, but he doesn't need to know that. Shhh."
"Aw, what about Carlisle?" asks Irina.
"Carli's my sugar daddy," Emmett snorts. "He knows this."
Rosalie laughs when the doctor makes a distasteful grimace, shaking his head.
...
"I know we said no gifts, but I got you something," Edward says, handing Bella the card he picked out last week.
Bella's already walking up the front steps to her father's house and starting to knock on the front door.
She looks over at the envelope in his hands like it's a bomb that's going to blow up. "You really didn't have to."
"I wanted to. It's small, don't worry about it. Open it," he urges.
She tears the paper open and pulls out the book store gift certificate. "It's two hundred dollars," she scowls. "Take it back. That's too much."
"No, it's for you."
"No, I—Charlie!" Bella calls out happily, interrupted by the front door opening.
"Bells, it's been too long," the scruffy, greying man greets in response.
Edward stands under the porch awning of the small house, watching as Bella hugs her father happily.
It's good to see her so vibrant around family. She'd mentioned her father is the town's chief of police, and that her parents had divorced when she was young, but he doesn't know much beyond that.
The older man seems stern. Gruff. A real man's man.
He's about the same height as Edward with dark, wavy hair and a fair complexion like Bella's.
"This is Edward," Bella says, introducing him. "Edward, this is Charlie."
"Come on in, you two," her father says to them. "Here, I'll take your jacket, Edward."
"Thanks, sir," the redhead replies nervously.
"Call me Charlie."
"Right. Will do, sir—um, Charlie."
"Have a seat," Charlie says. "I hear you're getting my girl to go hiking and play baseball."
The pianist takes a seat at the only chair in the living room. Bella gives him a dirty look as she sits on the couch across from him.
Edward winks at her as Charlie comes to sit with them, taking a seat next to his daughter.
"Yes, she's been a real trooper. She even made it halfway down the slopes when we went to Whistler," he reports.
Charlie laughs, prompting Bella to blush hard. It's quite endearing how easily she's embarrassed.
"Well, more power to you! That's certainly a feat for Bells here."
The brunette grumbles. "Yeah, yeah, I'm clumsy. We get it."
"I'm glad you're trying new things at college. You make your old man proud," he praises. This prompts her to perk up a little.
"So tell me about yourself, Edward," Charlie says. "Bella just mentioned you two have been dating and that you're into athletics."
The redhead guesses he's being polite. Surely a police chief, even of a small town, would have heard the news of his parents' passing three years ago.
"I grew up in Seattle. I'm a junior studying law and piano at the University of Washington. Bella and I met in a literature class this past fall," he summarizes. "I'm set to graduate early and I'm registered to take the Bar exam in July. I'll be applying to jobs between now and then, but I have a good idea of where I'll be working come fall.
"Good for you. Seems like you've got it all figured out," Charlie replies with an approving nod.
"Wait, you are?" Bella asks surprised.
He thought he'd mentioned that before. Evidently not.
"Yeah, I took classes the past two summers and have been averaging 18 credits each quarter," he explains. "It's my third year, but I'm a senior by credits, technically."
She seems upset by this knowledge, though he doesn't understand why.
Charlie flips on the TV and they sit in silence for a long while. A rerun of the game from last weekend plays on the outdated, boxy television screen.
It's hard to tell if her father likes him because he's not giving him much to go off of. He seems to be a man of few words with a fairly stoic demeanor.
"You a Mariners fan?" asks the police chief.
"I get season tickets every year," the redhead affirms.
Bella's father just nods in response, satisfied with that answer.
"Are Jake and Billy coming over?" Bella asks.
Edward hasn't heard those names before, but maybe they were her father's friends. He doesn't think much of it.
"Nah, he and Billy are spending Christmas with Sue at the reservation. I saw them last night for dinner. I think Jake's planning on touring UW. He said he's thinking of going to school in Seattle, too."
"Oh, wow. Yeah, that would be awesome," says Bella.
So Jake's in high school. Or planning on going to college soon, at least.
"Uh-huh. He says he misses seeing you," Charlie tells her.
Edward feels jealousy rise in his chest. Was Jake an ex-boyfriend? An admirer? Or just a friend? Had they kissed, too?
He doesn't want to imagine it. He pinches the bridge of his nose and rakes a hand through his hair with a sigh.
"Jake's great. You should meet him sometime, Edward," Bella says happily. "I feel like you'd get along well!"
...
"This is where the magic happens," Emmett says, opening the door to his room.
Rosalie follows him in, looking around with a critical eye.
The space looks lived-in but decently clean. His desk is covered in stacks of textbooks that look recently purchased, and a letterman jacket is draped across the back of the chair. The built-in shelf along the wall is stacked with boxes labeled with Dior, YSL, and countless other high-end, couture designers.
"And by magic, I mean where I sleep and where Alice stores her offseason handbags," he elaborates. "She moved most of it back upstairs, but apparently it won't all fit in her closet. She pays half my rent in exchange, so I can't complain."
Rosalie nods, sitting down on the navy blue bedspread and surveying the room. There isn't anything too extraordinary. There are a couple of photos of him with friends and teammates taped to the closet door and a sports bag on the floor.
They'd finished eating brunch and opening presents hours ago. She'd gotten Emmett a new hoodie and he got her a movie theater gift card so they could go see something together. Esme and Carlisle gifted her a fleece half-zip jacket and a throw blanket, which Esme surely picked out entirely herself.
Her brother and Alice came back downstairs halfway through the gift exchange empty-handed. The scrawny, designer-clad brunette was somehow even more over-the-top bubbly than usual.
After several rounds of Pictionary, a couple of glasses of wine, and watching a made-for-TV version of A Christmas Carol, it's starting to get dark outside. She's feeling fatigued from all the socializing.
Emmett sits down next to her and wraps his arms around her. "I haven't seen nearly enough of you lately. I feel like you're always working or busy," he says.
"I am always working or busy," she fibs, knowing she's been blowing him off a good portion of the time too. She isn't used to someone being so enthusiastically affectionate to her. It's overwhelming at times, though she supposes that it's probably normal for plenty of people.
"But not today," he announces happily. She's met with a barrage of poorly-aimed kisses to the general vicinity of her face and neck, causing her to squirm and laugh.
"Em!"
"I'm showing you just how much I missed you," he grins. His smile makes her melt a little, and she feels herself smiling back.
He leans his weight into her and they fall back onto the mattress. They kiss and she lets him slide his hands under her shirt. His warm palms move against her much cooler skin.
She's feeling very high-spirited between the buzz from the Malbec, Emmett's attention, and the general jolly holiday spirit that's punctuated the day.
He tugs off his shirt. Her hands trace over his rippling muscles, admiring the feel, and he starts to unbutton her jeans.
A pang of anxiety hits her as she hears the metal zipper teeth come undone.
Rosalie thinks she should have had another glass of wine. That would have helped. She tries to push the feeling aside. If she neglects it, then maybe it'll go away this time.
He undoubtedly wants her, and she wants him back. She's sick of putting her life on hold because of some stupid emotional hang-ups.
She starts to shimmy out of her denim when Emmett's hand lifts her thigh, helping her out of them. The small gesture seems to set off another swell of panic in her.
Pulling. Tearing. A choking grip presses down on her neck.
Sounds of jeering and revelry echo through her Rochester loft. Royce's voice barks that she's worthless. He slaps her across the cheek as if to prove a point.
Minutes feel like hours as she squeezes her eyes shut and prays that it'll end.
She thinks to herself that she'd rather die than have to continue on with him shoving and pushing at her rapidly bruising skin, taking anything he can from her.
Flinching away, she pulls her hands back into herself and tries to sit up. She's met with resistance, though not intentionally. Emmett's body is just in the way and she can't seem to get him to budge at first. He lets her up after noticing her apparent distress.
She can't breathe. Her lungs feel like they can't get enough air.
"Are you okay?" he asks her, but she can barely hear his words. Her skin prickles and tingles and she feels nauseous.
"Rosalie?"
She puts her head between her knees to stop the dizziness and ringing in her ears.
"Sorry, I...don't think I'm feeling well," she says through labored breaths.
"Can I get you anything?" she hears him ask in a muffled voice.
"No...no...I think I just drank too much, maybe. It's fine," she lies, a mixture of unexpected fear and self-loathing overwhelming her being. "It's been a long day and I'm kind of tired."