A/N:

It'll take some time for me to get back into the routine of updating again! I very nearly forgot it this time, but I'm here now, and I have to say, I am beyond happy to see so many of you still around for this story despite the long pause.

It's lovely to know I have such supporting and understanding readers who know that when life happens, it can strike you hard and really pull you down.

With that said, I am aware of those who are unnecessarily critical. Those who see themselves as justified because "online writers need to be able to take critique" and bla bla bla. I get what you're saying, and I can see you might have started out, a long long time ago, with the intent of sharing something that could actually improve a story, but somewhere, you lost that purpose and became something else.

It was swell of you to be such a despicable human being when I come back after a long hiatus because of some real personal issues that brought me down to the bottom of a pit. Really standup of you to impart your desire to give me a "reality check" of how horrible my story is and how much you're sacrificing by reading it.

One of these days, I hope a mirror will be held up in front of you, and you get to experience your words for yourself. That you get to truly feel the impact of your wisdom which you so eloquently feel the need to share.

With that said, without further ado...

Title: Love is Strange

Author: MarieCarro

Beta: Alice's White Rabbit

Pre-reader: LunaEclipse

Genre: Friendship/Romance/Drama

Rating: NC-17

Summary: Bella Swan and Edward Cullen live in the small town of Ligonier in Pennsylvania. They've been best friends since they were six years old, and not much can keep them apart. Bella wants to leave small-town life behind, while Edward is fine with whatever, but that's not the only complication in their relationship. What happens when they fall in love … with each other?

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

CHAPTER 25

DEAD FLOWERS

"Have you heard anything from George lately?" Rosalie asked through the phone pressed against Bella's ear as she walked through the office space of the chronicle.

"I'm not completely sure," she said.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, there's this unknown number that keeps calling and texting me. When I searched for it, all I got was that it was registered to an app, so I have no idea if it's actually him, but the texts make me believe it is."

"What do they say?"

"They are a bit creepy, to be honest. Things like 'I'm thinking of you' and 'I saw you outside today. You looked beautiful.'"

Rosalie groaned in frustration. "I'm worried about him. I can't get a hold on him and we haven't talked since I called to say what an idiot he was for proposing to you."

Bella didn't like the sound of that, but she did her best to reassure her friend. "I'm sure he's just busy with his next book. It's not the first time he goes awol when he's writing."

"True, but I was at his place the other day and I knocked for a solid ten minutes on his door. I don't want to believe he's avoiding me, but that's what it feels like."

The little green light outside of Jasper's office was on which meant he wasn't busy, but Bella wanted to finish her conversation before going inside. "Have you reached out to his agent? Maybe he can get a hold on him?"

"I've tried that, but no, he can't get him on the phone either."

Bella sighed, feeling like a total douche because she was convinced she had something to do with George's disappearance. "Look, Rose, having a proposal rejected can't be easy. I'm sure he'll contact you when he's ready."

"Yeah, I hope so. Will you let me know if he reaches out to you?"

"I will."

They hung up and Bella knocked once on Jasper's office door to announce her presence before stepping inside, which she'd done hundreds of times before.

"Hey, Jasper, I need to get these cleared before I—Oh shit! I'm so sorry," she exclaimed and looked away as soon as she realized Jasper wasn't alone. In fact, a very flustered Alice had been straddling his lap, but as soon as Bella entered, she had jumped back up on her feet.

The state of her disheveled clothes and her smeared lipstick which was now staining Jasper's lips pretty much told Bella everything she needed to know about what had been going on in the office before she interrupted.

"I'm really sorry," she repeated and gestured toward the door. "The light was green so I … uh, I'll, uhm, I'll come back later."

Jasper chuckled as he reached for a napkin to wipe the lipstick away. "It's fine, Bella. I'm actually relieved it was you who caught us, and not one of my investors." He looked over at Alice who smiled and blushed. "We need to be more careful in the future."

With her eyes firmly trained on the floor, Bella stood awkwardly and waited as Jasper got up from his seat and approached Alice to say goodbye.

"I'll see you at dinner, darling," he said softly to her and gave her a soft and affectionate, but short, kiss.

"Yeah, I'll see you later," she cooed and moved to leave the office, but she halted next to Bella. "Actually, there's something I wanted to talk to you about. Are you very busy after this?"

"No. I'm done for the day."

"Great, I'll wait for you outside!"

She left and Bella gave Jasper another apologetic look, but he stopped her before she could say she was sorry again.

"I told you, it's fine. It was our own fault. With the door unlocked, anyone could have just walked right in," he said and then reached for the photo folder clutched in her hands. "You wanted me to clear these?"

"Yes," she said and did her best to squash down her embarrassment and act like the professional she was.

She was surprised that Jasper and Alice were already so physical with each other as they'd only been officially dating for just about a month, but Bella would never ask Jasper the questions she had. He wouldn't want to share too much with her anyway, so she'd focus on Alice instead.

Once the photos had been cleared and approved and sent off, Bella found Alice standing outside the entrance of the building huddled in her winter coat.

Christmas was just around the corner, about two weeks away, and it was apparent when you watched the people hurrying down the streets carrying various shopping bags or lugging on a tree that they'd waited to buy to keep it fresh longer.

Bella loved Christmas in New York and she had tried to convince her dad to come to her and celebrate the holidays at least once, but so far, she hadn't succeeded. She'd asked him again this year just before Thanksgiving, but he'd once again declined and said he was celebrating with Esme and Carlisle.

He wasn't a fan of New York. He thought the tempo was too high and the city sounds were too loud, so she didn't blame him, but she missed him.

Knowing that this year would be different made Bella smile. She would actually go back to Ligonier for the first time since she moved to New York and it would be a surprise for her dad. It had been Edward's idea when he realized Bella wouldn't be against visiting their old stomping grounds.

Traditionally, Esme and Carlisle would travel to New York over Christmas to be with their parents. Edward and Alice would always join them to spend as much time with their elderly grandparents as possible, but as all four of them had passed away in recent years, they had started a new tradition of hosting a Christmas party for Carlisle's colleagues at the hospital and Esme's employees in her flower shop, as well as their friends and loved ones.

Edward had asked if Bella wanted to come with him this time, and after just a short moment of consideration, she said yes. She was nervous to meet his parents after they'd lost touch, and especially to see their reaction toward the news that she and Edward were dating again, but he had assured her they'd be nothing but happy for them.

Bella sidled up to Alice, her hands buried deep in the pockets of her jacket to keep them warm. "You and Jasper are getting quite cosy," she said and Alice giggled.

"Yeah, it's kinda weird." She glanced at Bella. "Contrary to what it might have looked like up there, we haven't actually slept together yet, but I'm completely crazy for him. He complements me somehow. It's different."

"A good different, I hope." The two of them started to slowly walk down the street. They didn't have a particular destination, so they walked very slow, to the aggravation of the bustling Christmas shoppers around them.

"Definitely a good different. My past relationships, if you can even call them that, would have already run their course by now."

"You know, I have to say, I'm a bit surprised you haven't set out to find your Prince Charming until now," Bella said, and then hurried to add. "Not that there's anything wrong with remaining single and living that kind of life. I did that myself before. But the Alice I knew in Ligonier was kind of a hopeless romantic."

"She's a far cry from who I am today, huh?"

"A little bit," Bella agreed.

Alice grimaced uncomfortably. "I grew up in college. I realized I'd been naïve and that the kind of love you read about in books isn't real."

"What happened?" Bella asked, shocked that this was the first time she heard about it. She and Alice had been friends, albeit things had started to become a little shaky between them at that point.

"One of my teachers took advantage of me. We had a secret affair from the school board for months. He was married with two kids, but I didn't know about them until they came and visited the school. When I told him I wanted to end it he got angry and forced himself on me."

Bella gasped in horror. "Oh, Alice, I'm so sorry that happened to you."

She shrugged as if it was nothing. "Nothing can be done about it now. It happened, and I got over it, as well as my childish view of true love." She stopped walking and turned to Bella. "That was actually one of the things I wanted to talk to you about. I know I've been harsh with you when it comes to matters concerning Edward, but it's only because I don't want his heart to be broken again."

"I don't want that either," Bella insisted softly.

"No, I know you don't want that, but it can be done unintentionally and so easily on your part. I don't think you truly understand how much he loves you and has loved you for all these years. I still think he's a little blinded by the thought of actually being with you again and doesn't understand the consequences that will follow if things go sour again."

Bella nodded and crossed her arms defensively, more than a little annoyed with Alice. "You're saying 'if' but I can hear the 'when' in your voice," she said angrily. "You don't think we'll make it work this time."

"Honestly? No, I don't," Alice said. "The history you have has proved how unstable you are together."

"We were teenagers. You can't hold our past mistakes and decisions against us now." She started walking again because she couldn't stand still as her anger slowly built up inside her. Alice quietly followed her. "He and I are very much capable of working through our issues without you butting in. We're communicating better, we're upfront with our dreams and visions of the future, and we're happy."

"So you think you'll magically live happily ever after now? Despite everything?"

"No." Bella shook her head. "Not magically. By working on our relationship together, by sharing our fears, by supporting each other when we need it." She turned her head to glare at Alice. "By being a couple." She stepped toward the street and waved a cab over as she wanted to get away from Alice. "I get that you're protective of your brother. I really do. But I'd appreciate it if you could get your nose out of our business as what happens forward is between me and Edward only."

"Fine," Alice said just before Bella stepped inside the cab. "I won't butt in anymore, but you'd better take care of his heart."

Bella looked at her coldly. "I'm not the one who doesn't believe in love anymore, so I'm saying right back at you. Tell Jasper I said hello." She ducked inside the car and didn't even look out the window as the driver headed toward her apartment.

Outside of Bella's front door, she found a long cardboard package. It was addressed to her, but it had no sender, so she cautiously brought it inside and removed the lid.

When she saw the contents, she wanted to scream and toss the package to the other side of the room, but she didn't want the disgusting creatures on her floor. Instead she covered the dead flowers and slithering maggots with the lid again and put the package down before stepping far away.

Her skin was crawling as if she had the contents all over herself and she felt the urge to toss all her clothes in the trash and lit it on fire before standing under her shower head for an hour.

Before she did any of that, though, she took her phone out and called Edward, hoping he wasn't too busy.

"Bella," he said, his smile evident in his voice. "What can I do for you?"

"Could you come to my place or are you very busy?" She was starting to shake when the package wouldn't leave her mind.

"No, I'm not busy. Was there a special reason you wanted me to come over?" he sounded concerned so he could obviously hear the stress in Bella's tone.

"Well, I just received a very disturbing package, and I'm feeling a bit scared."

"I'll be there in twenty minutes," he immediately said, and as soon they'd hung up, Bella called the next person.

"Hello?"

"Rosalie? I don't want to believe George would actually do something like this, but I think he just sent me a very threatening message."

"What? What did it say?"

"It wasn't exactly any words," she said and looked at the package, her nausea slowly rising in the back of her throat. "Would you mind coming here? And would you take Emmett with you?"

"Yeah, of course. We'll be there as soon as we can."

"Thanks."

Edward arrived first, and as soon as Bella opened her door, he pulled her into his embrace. It didn't matter that he didn't know what the package had contained because the fact that it had stressed and scared Bella was enough for him to want to protect her from it.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly and stroke her hair gently.

"I'm better now, but I can't even look at it without feeling sick," she said into the fabric of his shirt. He was dressed in a suit, so he'd obviously been at the firm. She hoped she hadn't pulled him from anything important and that he would have told her if he couldn't get away just then.

"Where is it?"

She nodded toward the counter with her eyes closed, and when he let her go to investigate the inconspicuous cardboard box, she kept her distance. She knew he'd opened it when he made a shocked and disgusted noise.

"Who sent this?" he asked and he sounded very worried.

"There was no sender, but I have my suspicions."

A knock at her door told her Rosalie and Emmett had arrived and she let them inside. She explained to all three of them about how she'd found the box outside her front door, and why she thought it was George who'd left it.

"It's the same kind of bouquet he had when he proposed." She gave Rosalie a pleading look. "I don't want to believe it's him, but I don't know who else it can be."

"It's escalating," Edward murmured and everyone looked at him. "I've seen it many times in files where the client's been stalked. It often starts small, a texmessage here and there, a late night call. Then gifts start showing up. Some of them sweet, others intended to scare the victim."

Rosalie narrowed her eyes at him. "That's my brother you're talking about, so you better be careful with your words."

Emmett put his arm around her to soothe her anger before turning back to Edward. "Aren't stalkers mostly strangers? People who lurk in shadows and develop unhealthy obsessions? This is George we're talking about. He knows Bella, they dated, and they were friends."

"You'd be surprised how many stalking cases involve ex-partners, or even current partner, or colleagues," Edward said and then grabbed Bella's hand in his to place a kiss on the back of it. "There's not enough evidence to say it is George, so nothing can be done about it just yet, but I want you to take photos of everything and save every text and screencap every call from numbers you don't recognize. Collect as much evidence as you can." She nodded, but Edward wasn't done. "I also want to ask you to not stay in this apartment for a few days. You can stay with me, or maybe Rosalie and Emmett can let you stay with them?"

"Of course," Emmett immediately agreed. "I don't want Bella alone here either."

"Good. Bella can you give me your phone so I can take some pictures of this?" He gestured toward the box and she gave it to him.

It was while he did that, and Bella had gone to her room to pack a few essential things, he found the folded piece of cardstock underneath the maggots, and while it disgusted him, he reached inside to take it out.

When he unfolded it, one word in large bold letters greeted him.

WHORE

A/N:

Lots of things happening in that chapter so let's break it up a bit.

George is obviously having issues since he's now isolating himself. Never good to turn your family away like that.

Jasper and Alice are growing closer, and while J hasn't gotten a whole lot of the floor for this story, he is an important part of Bella's friend-group, so how do you feel about his relationship with Alice? Not as a canon couple, but as the two characters I've created here :)

Alice went hard on Bella there, didn't she? Is she justified? Do you think she's got the right? Or is she stepping over a line and acting like a bitch?

How about Bella's response? Are you still judging her character for what she did as a teenager or are you trying to forgive?

On that note, for those of you who think I'm angling this to make it one or the other's fault remember that despite this being written in 3rd person, it's still from one of their perspectives and they both feel guilty for how they ended up. Bella more so than Edward, but they're doing their best to build bridges.

And the flowers in the end? How certain are you that it is George? And if you do think it's him, are you basing it on just the past couple of chapters or have you had an iffy feeling about him the entire time?

Any and all thoughts are appreciated!

Until next time,

Stay Awesome!