Sorry it's so late. December is hectic for me.

Thank you to Team Harpy.

Chapter 51

Bella

"We have to be in Bellingham by six-thirty for sound check. Back up from there, when is the latest we can leave? You are the driver. You tell me… So you mean loaded up and ready to roll at five or we should all be here at five? No, I sent the equipment ahead and it will be waiting for us when we get there. Great, you're a peach. Be early, okay?"

I hang up after he answers in the affirmative.

"Oh, you know what. Cullen… his guitar is up at the house. Can you remind him to bring it?"

"Wait, this is your gig." Alice objects.

"I am dancing as fast as I can. What is the big deal?"

"I think the big deal is you are afraid of telling him that you're going to Bellingham."

"He'll find out soon enough, right?"

"Then he'll think you were afraid to tell him which automatically undermines your authority."

"Look with everything that is going on, the last thing they need is me sauntering in there. Come on, you're like family to them." I whine.

"You are family so just walk in there and tell him. Don't think about it, just do it." She shoves me out the door as I yell orders about calling the band. She answers with a firm closing of the door.

Rude.

I can do this. I straighten my shoulders as I trudge up the drive. There's snow on the ground but it's just dusty. My boots crunch along as I walk and I take the time to admire the beauty of this property.

He's in Mr. C's office and Lonnie leads me to him.

"I'm here to remind you to bring your guitar and the bus leaves at five sharp." I'm abrupt in my delivery.

He looks up with a huge grin. "I wasn't expecting to see you today."

"Yeah, well." I shrug.

"Where's Alice?"

"I'll be handling this leg of the tour." My chin juts out.

"No kidding."

"Don't make a federal case. Rose and Alice made a special request and I, as a professional courtesy, agreed. That is all."

His lips twitch but he doesn't say anything. Smart move.

"I have to go by the office in a minute. I see you walked so I can drive you." He offers.

"How do you know I walked?"

"You're covered in snow and your nose and cheeks are red."

I ignore that and focus on the first part of what he said a moment ago.

"Look if you can't make the gig tonight, you need to let me know now."

"I won't miss it. Especially knowing I'll be traveling with you."

"The bus leaves at five o'clock sharp. The sound check is at six thirty sharp. Be there with your acoustic guitar."

Then I leave him ignoring his offer of a ride. I hear him whistling behind me.

Alice is sitting on the couch when I get back.

"So did you see him?"

"Yeah."

"What did he say?"

"That he'd be here with his acoustic guitar." I sit down next to her.

"What did he say about you going tonight?"

"I made it perfectly clear that this is all strictly business."

"I bet he doesn't see it that way."

"Well, he did seem kind of stoked about it." I smugly shrug.

"And you're excited about it too, right?"

"It won't be thoroughly unpleasant." I admit. "Now get to work."

At four fifty, my phone rings.

"Hi, it's me."

I close my eyes in frustrated anger.

"Why are you coming at me through the phone when you should be here in person?"

"Well, that's the thing…"

"Do not tell me you are running late, Cullen." I grit through my teeth.

"I am." He admits. "But it can't be helped. I've run into a major crisis at the office."

"Ask me if I care."

"I have to handle it so I won't be on the bus at five but I will be in Bellingham on time. I swear it."

"How can you swear to be on time in Bellingham when you can't even manage to be on your own property on time."

"Because I have a helicopter at my disposal and plan on taking full advantage of it. And the way it looks outside, I'll make it before you."

"You'd better because if you miss this gig, I never want to lay eyes on your face again. Got me, Cullen?"

"Loud and clear." I slam down the phone.

"I can't believe this." Alice moans.

"He's running late but he said he'll meet us there." I tell her with way more confidence than I feel.

"Is he going to sprout wings? Oh, he's gonna take the company jet right?"

I fake a smile at her. "The company chopper." I give up all pretenses. "It never changes with this guy. At first it was, yeah, you can count on me. Then it's wait I have a problem but go one ahead of me and you can count on me. It's' putting your money where your mouth is' time and he's taking a powder."

"No. Bella, come on. Maybe not this time. I know this may look familiar but nothing is going to stop him from making this gig. Nothing." She pauses for a minute. "You know there is such a thing as a self fulfilling prophecy. Maybe if you didn't assume the worst about him."

"It comes from experience. What do you think? I don't want him here."

"Sometimes I don't know what to think."

I chew on that one for a minute.

"Okay, truth?"

"That is what we promised each other."

"Well, I don't even like admitting this but Edward was right when he said there was magic between us… Professionally speaking. And even though the personal is over between us, I would like to be able to hold on to what really works."

"That's progress."

"Yeah but how am I supposed to believe it's possible when I can't even believe a word he says. I mean, a half committed singer is worse than no singer at all. If he would just leave the band then we could replace him and move on but instead he just has one foot out the door. He said that singing is the most important thing to him but the second his day job calls he practically throws us aside when he's trying to run out of the room." I complain.

"See, he can't win with you."

"What is that supposed to mean"

"You yell at him and tell him he's being irresponsible so he tries to be responsible. And not just to you and to us, but to Cullen, Inc and to his family and you still just yell at him."

"Were you standing there when I talked to him? I didn't even raise my voice."

"You know what I mean. Why don't you wait until he actually disappoints you before making him pay for it."

"I suppose I can reserve judgement and try not to say I told you so when the bum stands us up… again."

"Okay! I give up. This is not progress."

Luckily we are interrupted by Jasper.

"Y'all ready? I've been looking forward to it all day."

"Well, don't get too excited."

"What's wrong?" Jasper looks between Ali and me.

"No there is nothing wrong. Edward is just running late is all."

"Yeah, and he says he's going to be there and we believe him, right?" I inject all the petty brightness I can muster up in my voice. "Right? Good. And why is everyone late?"

The door burst open letting a gust of wind in along with the Idle Rich and Rose. It gets exponentially noisier in the room with all the people greeting each other.

Rose holds up some champagne.

"You might want to wait on the booze until after the gig."

"This is not for consumption. Listen up everyone. Your senior partner has something to say. Where's Masen?"

"Trapped in Edard Cullen's body too busy being CEO at the moment to grace us with his presence."

"What does that mean?"

"It means he is going to meet us there. What did you want to tell us?" Ali interjects.

"When I woke up this morning it occurred to me that this is a big moment for us as this is our first official road tour. And since I'm a big believer in marking down special occasions and since it is Christmas, I thought a present would be in order."

"What did you do?"

"Why don't I just show you?" She grins. She strolls to the door and we follow her.

"No!" My exclamation is drowned out by all the others. Sitting in my driveway is a beautiful white twelve passenger van. I have died and gone to heaven.

"Is this why our charter never showed up?"

"Yep." She hands over the champagne with a grin. "Go the spray route. Don't want to mess up the paint job."

"I've always wanted to do this!"

"Do we have a name?" Alice asks.

"You bet I do." I shake the bottle up and pop the cork. "I christen thee 'Rock n' Roller'!" I yell as I spray champagne all over it. Then our celebration is over and we pile in and get on the road. The snow is coming down hard and I begin to bite my thumb nail and I don't realize it until Ali pulls it out of my mouth gently and with a knowing smile. I glare at her and to take my mind off of tonight, I pull out my new phone and continue playing Word Blitz with Nessa. She's the only one of my 'siblings' who is minding her own business. Jake, however? Forget about it. Only thing holding him back is Ma. She had to convince him not to quit his job working for the Cullens. That was a shocker when we all made that connection. I bet Cullen shit his pants at my family dinner when Jake announced that little tidbit.

We spend the rest of the drive singing Christmas carols.

We finally arrive and we are escorted into the green room. Rose made sure there would be food. I look at my watch and see it's six forty but I put on a bright face and usher the guys to the food.

"What if Masen doesn't make it?" Peter asks.

"That's my problem. You just make sure you're ready. Have a sandwich."

Rose sidles up to me. "So what's the deal with Cullen? Is he gonna show or what?"

"It doesn't look like he's gonna show. And you wanna know the stupidest part? I actually started to believe in him again. I guess that makes me the world's biggest chump, huh?"

"No. He's..."

"I can't believe he did this to me again. I can't even believe I even let him do this to me again. I mean, do I need a building to fall on me?"

"Don't beat yourself up okay? We all started buying his act."

"Yeah, but I knew better."I walk away and go sit by the band. I duck down when a glass pitcher crashes against the wall. We all look back at Rose as she leaves the room.

Edward

"Be rational about this. Look at this outside. Look at how the snow is turning to sleet. Look at the wind direction. It's called inclimate weather. Not a real good idea to take a chopper out in this. People die this way. Let me turn this around and head back to Tacoma."

"You're not getting it. I have to be in Bellingham."

"Even if it kills us?" The pilot looks at me.

"If I don't make it, I'm dead anyway."

He sighs and turns his sight back to the skies.

Ten minutes later…

"You didnt tell me this was going to be a suicide mission. Mr. Cullen, we are two minutes out from being in major trouble we won't be able to get out of. I'm taking her down."

"As your boss I'm telling you to keep going."

He looks at me solemnly. "Guess I'm fired then."

"Where are we?"

"I don't know. I can't see anything. Wait a minute, I think I see a field."

"You think? That's very reassuring."

"You a religious man, Mr. Cullen?"

"Not particularly."

"Then you better cross your fingers."

I brace at his words and after a harrowing fifteen minutes we land in the middle of nowhere. The pilot calls Control.

"We need to get out of here."

"Look I'm doing the best I can."

"It's not enough. I'm supposed to be in Bellingham."

"There's nothing to be done about it. I'm gonna trudge to the road and see if I can flag someone down."

Then I'm alone. I pick up my phone and steel myself.

"Yeah." Her voice is tense so I deliberately keep mine calm.

"Hi, it's me. You're never going to believe this."

"Try me."

"Right now I'm in the middle of a field and it's snowing like crazy."

"This field wouldn't be in the general vicinity of the college, would it?"

"Well I don't know where it is. We were forced down because of the weather and it doesn't look like we are getting out of here anytime soon."

She's silent which is never a good sign,

"Bella, are you there?"

"I can't believe you did this to me again."

"It's not my fault."

"It never is. Goodbye, Edward."

Damnit!

Bella

I weigh my options but I only have one.

"Hey Jasper? Want to sing tonight?"

He looks up from where he's sitting.

"You would be saving my life."

"Of course, I'd love to."

"We owe you one." Rose says.

"No, you don't."

"Okay let's get to work." Rose walks out as Alice comes in.

"Is he here?"

"Do you see him?"

"What happened?"

"He says he's stuck in a field somewhere. I think maybe he should just stay there forever."

"Are you really mad?"

"No, actually, I'm not. I'm way beyond mad. It's just over… on every level." I turn to the guys and clap my hands. "Alright, who has the set list?"

The show goes off without a hitch and Jasper does a stellar job as usual. I make a mental note to audition a female singer to round out our roster. Since I will see to it that Masen Whitlock no longer will be on it.

"Every Christmas Eve, we all gather at the pediatric unit at the hospital and we sing carols and give all the little kids gifts. Come on, it will be fun."

"Sounds nice but not for me."

"You have to come. In fact as a Cullen you are expected to be there."

"Family obligations I can do without. Maybe I'll drive to Forks and spend the holiday with my folks. I haven't seen them in a while."

"That's such a good idea but you can do it later. Please come with me. It will be fun and it will help you get your mind off …"

"I'm back."

"...him." Alice finishes awkwardly.

"Look at what the cat dragged in."

"Alright, Bella, I'm sorry. I hated missing that concert and I tried like hell to be there but I can't predict the weather. If it makes you feel any better I spent the night in a field freezing to death. I hear that Jasper filled in for me admirably. So I guess it wasn't a total disaster."

"The crowd paid to see Masen Whitlock and the Idle Rich. The gig was to promote Masen Whitlock and The Idle Rich. But we were short to the tune of one Masen Whitlcok without whom the Idle Rich isn't worth much in the way of promotion. So it was close enough to a disaster to me, thank you very much."

"I said I'm sorry." I walk to the closet ignoring his begging.

"What can I do to make it up to you?"

"Nothing. It's way beyond making it up. Besides it's not just to me, it's to Alice and Rose and to the band and to the career you supposedly have been committed to." I throw Alice's coat to her.

"I know you're mad and frustrated and I'm frustrated too. But accidents happen to everyone."

"Yeah, and you happened to me." I let that sink in. "Come on Alice, we have a party to go to."

I drag her out without a backward glance

An hour longer we are traipsing through the halls of the hospital singing Fa La La La La.. We all gather in the pediatric unit and listen to 'Santa' tell the Christmas story. I look around at all the children stuck in this hospital and suddenly my life doesn't seem so bad.

Then they handed out gifts and the children ripped them open, so grateful that Santa didn't forget them. I made a note to donate next year.

We close out with We Wish You A Merry Christmas. Out of the corner of my eye I see Angela. I keep my distance though I do see James have a few words with her.

Once it's over, I try to leave but am stopped by Elizabeth who has already cornered Rose and Alice.

"We're having a family gathering at the home later on and we'd love for you all to join us."

"I'm not family…" Rose hedges.

"You're Alice and Bella's family and that's good enough for me. I've got little gifts for all of you and I won't send them through the mail."

"Well, I guess that's that." Rose says.

"Yeah."

"See you all at Five." Ed says as he wheels his wife out of the crowd.

"Thanks a lot, Benedict Arnold." I hiss to Rose.

"What do you want me to do? It's fine. The least we can do is make an appearance."

"I've made enough appearances at the mansion, thank you. Christmas is supposed to be a happy time."

"You'll be with friends."

"What? You two traitors?"

"We go, we say Happy Holidays, we have a drink, collect our gifts and escape. What's the big deal?"

"You two keep acting as if the Cullens are a normal family. Oh come on, get a grip."

I leave their company and prepare myself for an evening at the Cullens.

"Will you try to at least smile?" Alice hisses.

I roll my eyes but paste a smile on my face. "Merry Christmas." I say to everyone.

"Bella."

"Oh look, a train." I sideswipe Cullen and let Rose have at him.

I hear her ream him out about him riding the fence and making decisions. I'm genuinely smiling now. Well until, I hear "Bella?"

"I'm leaving in a minute so just don't start okay?"

"I know I messed up and I'm trying to apologize."

"Did I say don't start? Don't start."

"I won't. I just want to tell you I'm sorry."

"Sorry, Schmarry. I don't want to hear it."

He extracts a wrapped present from his pocket. I back away and cross my arms.

"Please take it."

I just look at him.

"Take it." He sighs then physically puts it in my hands. "Merry Christmas."

I keep my hand out. "I really don't want anything from you so take it back."

"It's yours."

"I'd really rather not."

"I want you to have the gift."

"Are you deaf? I don't want anything from you."

The room quiets down.

"Now take it back and go away."

"I'm not asking for the moon. I just want you to have this."

"I'm not really interested."

"You have to forgive me. I won't let you not forgive me."

"You understand this. You don't let me do anything. How could I forgive you? Don't you think I see through everything you say?"

"I know you see through me so see this. I love you. Now please take the gift. I want you to have it."

"You want? How could you? After what you did to me last night?" I twirl around to leave but he stops me and I hear gasps as they are probably wondering if I'm gonna cold cock him or not.

"I thought this would match your eyes."

"After what I said to you not four hours ago? Don't you get it? Do you not think any of your screwups matter? That you can just wipe it away with a smile and a present?" I storm towards the exit.

"The only thing that matters is that I love you! And I will always love you. And I will never believe that you don't love me."

"Then you are either the meanest man in the world or the stupidest. I'm not really sure which but I don't want to be around either one of them. I'm outta here." I stop and look at the silent room. "Merry Christmas everyone. Ho Ho Ho."

I run back to the cottage where I collapse in front of my tree, out of breath and freezing cold. I look at the gift I have a frozen death hold on and curiosity gets the best of me so I open it and take out the most breathtaking chocolate diamond necklace I've seen.

It does match my eyes. And for the first time in a long time, I let myself cry.

Playlist: Don't Let Me Down- Chainsmokers with Daya.

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas- Kenny G version

Please Come Home For Christmas- Martina McBride

Looks like Edward has some decisions to make... Don't come at me. Things are about to be looking up.

I will see you next Sunday. Happy Holidays everyone!