A/N:

If you're following me, you've noticed that I recently uploaded chapter 2 of The Duke & The Swan without Wings.

Once I'd done that, I knew I had to give you the next chapter of this as well, so I guess you could say this is me officially taking this story off hiatus :)

However, I won't be able to hold a weekly schedule because I'm still studying full-time, so don't have a whole lot of time to write.

I hope you'll be okay with that!

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 33

MAKING REAL AMENDS

Bella had, miraculously, discovered the pregnancy very early on. She was barely four weeks along according to her own calculations, and even though her first prenatal appointment wasn't for another three weeks, she didn't need the obstetrician to tell her the official conception date because there was no uncertainty whatsoever as to when it had happened.

When her period was late, despite it being a normal occurrence for her because of her PCOS, Bella bought a test, hoping to reassure herself, but was instead hit with a big, fat reality check.

As she melted into Edward's embrace after telling him the news, she was in such conflict with herself. She was beyond happy and ecstatic over Edward's acceptance and promise that he'd be by her side through it all as she, hopefully, nurtured their child inside her until he or she was ready to join them, but remaining in the back of her head was that little negative and pessimistic voice that asked her the hard questions.

Was she ready for this? Was it too soon? How would they raise a child when they weren't living together? Would this ruin her and Edward's relationship? What if he thought they had to marry each other now? How was she supposed to be a mother when she could barely remember her own?

Bella did her damndest to silence that voice because, in the upcoming eight months, she and Edward would have countless conversations to answer all those questions and hash out all the necessary details. She knew him well enough to know he'd never leave anything of such an important nature to uncertainty, and while Bella was more than aware that Edward would gladly have her move in the next day, he respected her wishes too much to even suggest it unless she hinted it was something she'd consider, and she appreciated that.

Together, the two of them decided to wait before they told anyone, including their family, about the pregnancy. While neither of them knew how far along she had been the last time before she miscarried, they were certain it had happened during the first trimester, and so they wanted to keep the news to themselves until it felt safer.

"If this is fate, or whatever you want to call it, it certainly has a twisted sense of humor," Bella said later that night as she curled closer to Edward in bed and settled in to sleep.

"What exactly are you referring to?"

"Emmett and Rose have been married for three years, and they've been trying for a baby for at least two. I get unintentionally knocked up by my boyfriend of one and a half months on the first try. Now, she and I are pregnant at the same time. Doesn't really seem fair to me," she said.

"I guess Emmett simply doesn't possess super sperm," he replied and chuckled with his eyes already closed. It had been quite the eventful day—it wasn't every day you found out you were going to be a father after all—and he was more than ready for a few hours in dreamland.

"Glad to hear you're embracing your blame in this. Does that mean you agree it's sixty-five percent your fault and only thirty-five mine?" she joked. She didn't actually put any blame on him. She knew they were equally responsible for their new situation.

"Sure, love, that sounds fair," he agreed with a smile and bent his neck down when she started searching for his lips.

The days that followed, Bella spent most of her time on her laptop when she wasn't otherwise engaged with work, trying to find a space to lease for her studio. The prices made her head spin, and she knew she'd have to take a loan to afford it until her work started making real money.

She was grateful she already had a good reputation in the city, and her website had plenty of engagement. Hopefully, it wouldn't take too long before she could make a profit, and the prospect of being able to invite her clients to her own space instead of a temporarily rented one made her giddy.

Wherever she went, she was on her laptop, but a few times, she got the feeling that she was being watched, and the hair on her neck stood up, but every time she looked around, she couldn't spot the face she was looking for.

Since moving into Alice's office bedroom, she'd been spared from receiving any more "gifts" from George, but no one had reported any activity near her apartment either, and that scared her. It meant he knew she wasn't home.

"I don't know if it's because I'm paranoid or if he's actually following me now," she told Alice one night as the other woman prepared to go home, and Bella was ready to lock the office space from the inside and activate the alarm. "I've never actually seen him, and it's freaking me out."

"So why don't you just move back in with Edward?" Alice asked. "It must be a hell of a lot more comforting to have his company at night than to stay here by yourself."

Alice didn't know about the baby, thankfully, because if she did, Bella wasn't certain she'd be okay with her staying at her office and not with Edward. But Bella had her reasons not to want to move into his house yet.

"Edward works late most nights and being alone in that big house makes me feel more vulnerable than here. George knows that Edward and I are back together, and if he can't find me at home, where do you think he'd search next?"

"I guess you're right," Alice agreed rather reluctantly. "But if he's following you, he knows you're here."

Bella nodded. "Yes, but we're on the seventh floor, so he'd have to go through the front and be buzzed in to even enter, and if he does get through that, he'll have to break down this huge behemoth." She patted the bright red metal door that led to the hallway and elevator. "As weird as it sounds, I feel safer here."

"If you say so," Alice said, but her expression made it clear she wasn't wholly convinced. "Just remember that each desk is equipped with a panic button, as well as the kitchen island."

"The kitchen island as well? Why the heavy security?" Bella asked. "You don't really keep anything of value here, right?"

Alice let out a giggle. "You'd be surprised what rival designers are willing to do to get their hands on the plates for upcoming collections. There's a reason I keep those sketches in a safe in my office."

The two women shared a laugh but quickly quieted down when they were interrupted by Bella's phone.

"Is that him?" Alice asked apprehensively while looking at the "Caller Unknown" on Bella's display.

Bella sighed. "Most likely. He always calls around this time. I tried changing my number a few weeks back, but he somehow found that out. And he uses all of these different apps that change his number, so I can't block the calls either."

"What does he say if you answer?"

"Nothing, but I can hear him breathe. Edward said it's a common intimidation technique used by stalkers." Bella winced when she said that. A part of her still found it bizarre that she had to refer to her ex as a stalker. "Without a word, they remind their victims of their presence and that they're still watching."

Alice shuddered. "That's so creepy." She reached for her bag and turned to leave. "I'll see you tomorrow. I hope you'll get some sleep."

"Yeah, thanks," Bella said, but then, just as Alice was about to open the door, she remembered something. "Oh, before you go, I wanted to ask you if everything's okay between you and Jasper?"

"Why do you ask?" Alice immediately shot back, her expression suddenly closed off and indecipherable.

Bella understood right away everything was not okay. "Well, when I met with him at work today, he was uncharacteristically irritable and short with me," she explained. "Did you have a fight?"

Alice's jaw tightened. "Look, Bella, I appreciate that you make my brother happy now and that you've worked out all the shit between you, but you and I aren't besties, so I'd rather you stay out of my relationship because it's not your business," she spit out defensively before storming out the door and left Bella standing there, shocked by the venom in her voice.

It was true they were still a long way from being friends the way they used to be, but Bella thought they'd been doing well since Christmas. It hadn't been her intention to pry into Alice's private business, so she wouldn't ask again, but she had a feeling Alice's reaction wasn't in response to her question but rather the situation the question was about.

Obviously, something had happened between her and Jasper. Something Alice wasn't proud of.

The curiosity bubbled up within Bella, but she silently promised to not involve herself unless either of them decided to confide in her.

With that thought in mind, Bella put in the code for the alarm and turned off all the lights. The last thing she did before going to bed was turn her phone to silent mode.

~~LiS~~

Bella approached Emmett, who appeared to be standing guard outside the closed office door. It didn't surprise her too much because she could hear the angry voices yelling inside—everyone within a fifty-foot radius could—and Emmett would make sure no nosy employee came too close and heard what wasn't meant for their ears. It could seriously damage Jasper's reputation, and the respect his staff had for him could be compromised.

The red "occupied" light glowed angrily on the panel next to the door, but Bella had the urge to barge through anyway. Had Emmett not given her a look that advised her against it, she would have because the dirty laundry being aired out at that moment wasn't pretty and something that should have been dealt with at home.

"I understand that you've been burned in the past, Alice, but don't you dare accuse me of things you have no proof of!"

"You're constantly busy and you're not exactly denying it! So tell me, what the hell am I supposed to think?"

Bella closed her eyes in disappointment. She didn't know the details of the cracks that had appeared in Alice and Jasper's relationship, but she still felt some resentment over Alice's behavior. It wasn't very mature of her to look Jasper up at his workplace and start a fight.

"I'm not going to defend myself when I've done nothing wrong. This isn't a temporary fling for me, and that scares you, so you spin fantasies that will give you an easy out."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. I know you have a hard time trust—"

"And you're an asshole for throwing that in my face!"

There was a brief pause in the yelling match, and both Bella and Emmett held their breaths.

"You can call me all the names you want. You can come to my office and yell at me at the top of your lungs. But none of that will change my feelings for you," Jasper said in a much calmer tone.

"Go to hell, Jazz!"

The accompanying steps after Alice's exiting words told Bella she needed to get out of the way and probably hide unless she wanted to be subjected to Alice's ire. A week had passed since their conversation in Alice's office, and Bella had been given the cold shoulder since then, and her desire wasn't to make it worse.

She grabbed Emmett's arm and pulled him behind the door just as it was thrown open, and a red-faced, shaking Alice stomped toward the elevators.

Once she had entered and was descending down, Bella and Emmett slowly, and with uncertainty, entered the office. Sunken down in his chair with his hands covering his face, Jasper was turned away from the doors, but he still knew his friends were there. He could sense their awkward energy.

"I'm really not in the mood for a heart to heart now, guys," he said, but it didn't deter either of them.

"Are you okay, man?" Emmett asked. "What I heard wasn't pretty."

"No, I'm not okay." Jasper finally turned his chair to face them. "What I can't figure out is why she's reacting this way, and I don't know how to fix it." He met Bella's eyes with an almost desperate glint in his own. "Have you had issues like this with Edward?"

Bella almost let out a laugh as she gave Jasper an incredulous look. "Communication issues? Like you wouldn't believe! It's the entire reason we were separated all those years ago."

"He's got a tendency to overreact as well? Is it a family trait then?"

"Oh, no, not at all!" Bella said and shook her head. "When you meet their parents, you'll be surprised by how calm and collected they are. And I wouldn't say Edward's the one who overreacts. I was always the hotheaded one who over-analyzed everything." She couldn't contain her chuckle completely after that admission.

"So it's just Alice? Or maybe it's all my fault."

"All couples go through rocky times," Emmett said as reassuringly as he could. "You think it's been smooth sailing between me and Rose at all times? Hell no! Just last night, I had to duck because of a jar of moisturizer she chucked at my head."

"Knowing you, I'm not ruling out the possibility that you deserved it," Bella said with a grin.

"I did not," Emmett insisted. "She was rubbing the cream on her belly, I called her sexy, and she threw it at me while calling me a liar," he said and looked as if he tried to figure out a really difficult math problem.

Despite the fact that Bella had never been pregnant to the point where her body started changing, she was quite certain she knew why Rose had reacted the way she did, and she explained it to Emmett. "It's because she doesn't believe it herself. If she doesn't think of herself as sexy right now, why would you?"

"Because she's amazing! She's growing my son in that belly, and she's the love of my life—the woman I've vowed to love until I'm six feet under and possibly even after that," he argued.

Bella held up her hands in surrender. "I'm not saying she's right, but that's her reasoning right now."

Emmett opened his mouth to speak, but Jasper beat him to it. "That's great and all, but Emmett wasn't the one who got yelled at a minute ago."

"Something must have triggered her or she'd have no reason to explode like that," Bella mused. "I asked her about it last week, and she immediately clammed up and became defensive."

"I already know the trigger." Jasper sighed and rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Last week was our three-month anniversary. She's been acting a bit antsy lately, and I thought it was because she felt we weren't moving forward. So I told her I love her."

Bella's jaw dropped because, suddenly, she could draw all kinds of parallels with her own relationship. Alice's behavior did remind her a lot of herself and how she also lashed out when she resisted Edward's commitment with the promise ring.

"Ever since that night, she's been hurling all kinds of accusations my way, and I don't understand why those words made her react like this. I thought it would make her happy." Jasper was devastated, and Bella wished she could help him, but she had a gut feeling she had to go through Alice.

"I'll talk to Alice," she promised, but Jasper looked doubtful.

"What makes you think she'll want to talk to you about it?" he asked. "No offense, but you're not her favorite person in the world. She can see that you've changed since the past, but the woman can hold a grudge."

Bella gave him a look that said he didn't have to tell her that. She knew all too well how resentful Alice could be. "I'm gonna try at least. I have some experience in the department of pushing away those who care for you, so hopefully, I can reach her."

~~LiS~~

"You're early. I don't plan on going home for hours," Alice said when Bella walked through the door to her office. "Found yourself idle, have you?"

"Never," Bella replied and closed the door before locking it and sitting down opposite Alice.

"What are you doing?"

"We need to talk."

"About what?"

"You know about what," Bella said, refusing to beat around the bush. "I heard your little soap opera scene in Jasper's office today."

Alice immediately narrowed her eyes. "That was a private conversation."

"If it had been private, you wouldn't have yelled at him at his office." Bella crossed her arms and locked her eyes on her childhood friend. She wasn't gonna coddle her. Ben had given her tough love while they were at college, and it had helped her as much as she could be helped without therapy. She was gonna attempt the same technique with Alice. "I mean, I know you have a flare for the dramatics, but did you really find it necessary to risk embarrassing him in front of all of his employees?"

"This is so not any of your business," Alice said and stood up to go unlock the door, but Bella stepped in her way.

"Maybe not, but I'm the only one who can predict your future right now if you continue down this path."

Alice grimaced with disbelief. "What?"

Bella set her mouth in a thin line and raised her brows in challenge, but Alice didn't take the bait. "Jasper told me what he told you last week and how you've been acting out since."

It was Alice's turn to cross her arms. "So?"

She wasn't reaching her, so Bella decided to change tactics. "Look, I understand you're protective of your brother, and you have every right to be furious with me for how I've acted—"

"What does that have to do with any of this?"

"Don't you see you're making my mistake? That you're doing to Jasper what I did to Edward and caused you to be so mad at me?"

Alice froze and blinked in confusion. "What?"

Bella grabbed Alice's hands and pulled them away from their crossing position over her body. "You're pushing him away because you're scared, right?"

"No, I'm not—" She tried, but Bella wasn't falling for it.

"You told me before Christmas that your relationships before Jasper barely lasted a month."

"You remember that?" Alice whispered incredulously under her breath as if she couldn't believe Bella had actually listened to her.

"You've been with Jasper for three months now," Bella continued. "And he's telling you that he loves you, and I don't think I'm wrong when I assume everything else is great between you?"

Alice didn't answer, but Bella heard the truth in the silence.

"It's okay to be scared. I understand that better than anyone else. When Edward gave me that promise ring, I was terrified because I thought I wasn't ready for that kind of commitment, and maybe I wasn't. I was still a kid, and I thought I had to go away on my own to achieve my dreams. Now look at us"—she wiped away a tear that pushed out of Alice's eye—"we're closing in on thirty, and we're just starting over again. I'll never know if Edward and I could have made it work because I allowed my fear to control me. I was lucky to get a second chance with the love of my life. Do you really want to give up this first chance because of fear and risk that you might not be as lucky?"

Alice fell into Bella's arms and hugged her tightly as her tears became unstoppable. "I love him, Bella. I do, but I couldn't tell him," she wailed. "I've never had a man care for me the way he does. He probably hates me now! I've accused him of horrible things."

"I can assure you he doesn't hate you. Jasper's the most understanding man I've ever met, and it needs a lot for him to hate anyone." Bella loosened her arms around Alice. "Just talk to him and be as open and truthful as you can."

"Thank you, Bella." Alice wiped her eyes and noticed how her fingers came back smudged with mascara and eyeliner. "Shit, I must look horrible. I can't see Jasper looking like this."

Bella smiled reminiscently. "I'll help you." Thirteen years earlier, Alice had helped Bella fix her makeup at her sweet sixteen. Now, Bella was more than happy to return that favor.

Once Alice's makeup was fixed, she turned to Bella, her expression softer than it had been since they met again. "Are you staying here for the rest of the night?"

"Actually, I think I'll sleep at Edward's tonight," she said and Alice smiled at her, clearly pleased with her choice. "Having this conversation with you reminded me how I need to show more appreciation toward him. I'm afraid I've neglected him because of all of this George business."

Alice let out a soft laugh. "I'd say you have a good reason, but I'm glad nevertheless."

Bella turned to leave, but Alice stopped her.

"Hey, Bella!"

"Yeah?"

"I can see how much you love him, and I can see that you take his feelings into consideration now. I appreciate that so much, and even though you don't need it, I guess I'm trying to say that you have my blessing."

"Thank you," Bella said gratefully, and the two women embraced one more time.

A/N:

Finally, Alice and Bella have made amends! It was about time, don't you think?

I know several people have told me multiple times they feel I'm putting the blame on their rift on Alice, and believe me, I'm not. Alice is more than justified to have been cautious of Bella being with Edward again. It was just her methods that were questionable.

Until next time,

Stay Awesome!