But I can't fix him, can't make him better
And I can't do nothing about his strange weather
But you are invincible
I can't break through your world
'Cause you live in shades of cool
Your heart is unbreakable
Lana Del Rey, Shades of Cool
The thing about second chances is that often people don't take full advantage of them. With a second try it doesn't mean a different outcome is going to happen, or even the same one as last time. It is a whole new chance to completely screw up with the prejudice of the last screw up. Both people are still involved with the same flaws, the same grudges, and different experiences. Life is not fair, but that is what makes it beautiful.
"Are you ready yet? You know that he isn't going to be there!", Alice yells as she is hopping around on one foot. Why she just doesn't take off the other shoe is its own mystery.
"Yes, I've been ready for the past 20 minutes unlike you! Wait, what are you even doing," Bella looks at her struggling to dig around the closet by the front door, "You know your other heel isn't in there, you threw it out the car window last time we went out."
Alice, however, kept looking as her neck started to get flush. Bella reminisced on the last excursion they had. She remembered because she was the designated driver/party mom. Alice had a few too many shots at the local karaoke dive bar and well listening to some Beyonce she decided to put her feet on the dash. In her drunken and less graceful state, a shoe flew directly out the door. They looked for that stupid red-bottomed heel for two whole hours with only the lights of their phone to guide them.
"Okay okay okay, so it's gone. I accept that. It's not like I loved them with all my being, my whole heart. I guess I can just wear some other shoes… that aren't designer. Which is fine, totally fine. It's not going to ruin my night. Who even looks at people's shoes at a club, it's too dark. This will be fine." Alice starts muttering to herself, it a way that makes it seem as though she is most definitely not fine.
At this point, however, we do not have time for a breakdown. We were supposed to be in Seattle in an hour, and it was a little over a three hours drive and going through the national park, which almost always had deer.
Bella, of course, was the most cautious of drivers and stuck to the speed limit once she was driving through the more forested areas. Jessica hit a deer last month and it absolutely ruined her brand new car, and she ended up really bruised for the Thanksgiving party at Alice's. Senior year was already shaping up to be just fine.
"New Year, new me! Not at all worried that my outfit is completely and utterly ruined!" Alice continued yelling in her walk-in closet, throwing shoes every which way. "It doesn't matter that this is the first time that Jasper has seen me since he's been at the way in New York State at the stupid school,"
"Alice, he does not care what shoes you are wearing. Just grab that pair you wore last week to that Gala your dad took you to and let's go! Jasper just wants to spend time with you, and we are almost an hour late." Bella said well throwing the strappy heels at Alice and trying to shoo her towards the door.
Once Alice was seated in the car, she immediately pulled down the mirror and starting applying the finishing touches to her makeup. This drive was going to seem much longer than an hour.
Driving into Seattle immediately lifted the heaviness from Bella's chest. They had all booked an Airbnb so that they did not have to make the drive back. It was considerate of Emmett, even though the only reason was so he could get Bella drunk again and make her tell-all her deep dark secrets, or trip and accidentally pull down Rosies' skirt again.
Pulling into the Airbnb reminded Bella once again that she did not have Cullen money. It seemed to be the nicest place they could find. It definitely outshone that rental that Renne and she stayed at when they revisited Phoenix well Bella visited some of her old friends. Renee's only requirements were functional, affordable, and in a safe neighbourhood.
The Cullen's requirements seemed to be that it had to be just like home. Bella was starting to wonder if this was even an Airbnb or just an Esme project that they were using before she sold it.
"Alice… is this really an Airbnb?" Bella asked, curiously.
"Well… kind of? I mean technically we are borrowing it from Mom before she puts in on the market, and I helped decorate it as payment," Alice quickly explains, much to Bella's exhaustion.
Bella was hoping for a simple place, one in which she could feel comfortable in. She had just finally gotten comfortable at the main Cullen house after almost 13 years of friendship with Alice.
The garage door immediately opened up once they pulled up in Bella's little beetle. Waiting in the garage was Jasper, who looked like he was practically vibrating with trying to maintain a straight face.
Alice immediately flung the door open, "Alice stop! The car was moving," Bella screamed. It was going to be a long night.
She was just a blur though, running into Jasper's arms. They then immediately started making out. Right. In. The. Middle. Of. The. Garage.
Bella honked her horn, two quick little beeps. Jasper just flipped Bella off jokingly and then scooted Alice closer to the door to the house in the garage. Bella huffed, parked the car, grabbed her bag and went to close the garage door.
With the garage being immaculate, but no real character yet, Bella assumed the rest of the house was going to be rather bare. She was wrong.
Upon walking in, she noticed the gorgeous white marble floors and the high ceilings. It was like looking at the McMansions on the HGTV channel. Everything in the garage entrance screamed luxury. With Alice and Jasper still making out in the garage, Bella shouted "Hello!" hoping someone else was here to guide her through this house.
She heard skittering footsteps and a childlike, but obviously coming from a grown man, giggle. Bella sighed, immediately knowing that he was either planning on scaring her or picking her up and throwing her.
"Emmett... I can hear you. Please just don't, it's been a long drive." Bella knew it was fruitless but she felt like she had to try.
Emmett immediately comes out behind the corner, eyes downcast. "Bells, as if I would try and scare you, I was just on my way to show you to your room. Right, Rose?" Emmett says the last part in a yell.
"Wrong!" Rosalie yells back, with a bit of an echo. Bella started wondering how big this place was. It also pretty obvious that Rosalie did not hear the initial words before yell, she just knew it was best to disagree with whatever Emmett was planning.
"Okay, so we both know Rosalie is full of shit, right Bells? Right. Anyway, where's my little sister?" Emmett says the first part in a whisper, and then get increasingly louder. As Bella is about to answer and turns slightly to point at the garage door, Emmett immediately zooms in and throws her over his shoulder. "Haha! Tricked you! Distraction!" Emmett shouts and starts running Bella in the direction that Rose's voice was coming from.
Bella still had her bag clutched in her hand and it swung into a decorative table, knocking it over.
"Fuck," Bella just mutters, knowing damn well that table cost more than her whole paycheque at Newton's.
Before she knows it, Bella is being tossed on the couch, onto a very disgruntled Rosalie. Emmett started full-on belly laughing at the expression on both women. Rosalie is filled with rage at the indignity of someone being tossed on her, and Bella is bright red in embarrassment and nervousness after a glance at Rosalie's expression. Rosalie instantly pushes Bella down off the couch with a grunt, obviously, the CrossFit has been working as she did it almost effortlessly.
Rosalie gets up with grace, flicks her hair over her shoulder and glares at Emmett. "I'm getting changed for dinner, do not follow me,"
Emmett lets out a grown, knowing his chances of getting lucky are now at 0% percent, but then starts laughing again the Bella looking shook on the floor, sprawled out in a tangle of her limbs.
Bella collects herself and stands up with a bit of a wobble, and just looks at Emmett, "Why," she asks with an utterly blank expression. It is often better to not give into Emmett with a reaction, as it only fuels him.
Before Emmett answers, Alice and Jasper walk in, hair a little messed up on both of them.
"Jasper, were you out there DEFILLING my baby sister?" Emmett asks in the most booming voice, to which Bella immediately covered her ears.
Jasper looks at Alice, and then smirks at Emmett and says, "Emmett, we both know that happened much earlier than just tonight," and then just takes off running out of the door and seemingly into the street. Emmett immediately starts running after him yelling.
Once the boys took off running into the backyard, Bella knew better than to try and scold them. This was just how they were, and truth be told, the more energy they burnt off here the less that they would embarrass the girls in public. They were a lot. It was a good thing they were so damn lovable.
Bella went to go and pick up her bag and try and find an empty bedroom to claim as hers to crash in at the end of the night. Alice pointed Bella in the direction of the stairs.
"Bells, I'm going to go ask Jasper to help with my luggage… I might have slightly overpacked." Alice smiled at Bella, both of them damn well knowing that they had to fold down the back seat of the Beetle to fit all 7 of Alice's bags. It was only for three nights. One night of Pre-New Years celebrations, then going out for New Years, and an Alice insisted upon recovering day. They were then all going back to school. The Cullen's had already all met up for Christmas except for Jasper, who's flight got delayed and was unable to book another until yesterday. He ended up spending the holidays with a few of his classmates who didn't have families to go home to. Jasper always made the best out of a horrible situation.
Bella grabbed her small duffle and headed towards the direction Alice pointed her towards. Upon reaching the stairs, she looked up at the staircase and swore under her breath. Alice said he wouldn't be here.
Alice would be surprised too unless she lied because they both know Bella had been avoiding him since the end of August. Bella even spent the whole Christmas holidays with Charlie and the rest of La Push instead of daring to turn up at the Cullen house in case she ran into him.
The worst part is that he looked really good, almost better than she remembered. His perfect effortless sex hair, his striking green eyes, and that damn perfect smile. White and not a tooth out of place, like a model, almost airbrushed. Those broad shoulders which alone would make any red-blooded woman just swoon. Bella knew what was under those ripped jeans and a black v-neck t-shirt, and it was also just the icing on the cake. That bastard.
Edward flashes a smile and runs his hands through his bronze hair, "Hey Bells, it's been a while, almost like you've been avoiding me," he says with fake hurt in his eye and a teasing tone to his voice.
Bella was not about to let him win, and she was done being polite, "It's because I have been avoiding you. You're not fun to hang around as you think," Bella responds in a snarky tone, heading up the stairs, fulling intending on pushing her way past him if it means she doesn't have to look at him a second longer.
"Oh come on Bells, you don't need to act like that. Just cause you broke up with me doesn't mean you need to bruise my ego every second we run into each other now. You said we'd still be friends and civil." Edward says this will that same smile in his voice, but the real hurt is starting to shine through in his eyes, even as he tries to hide it with the smile on his face.
"Oh Edward, we both know your ego will be just fine. Now could you please move a bit, trying to find a room upstairs," Bella says and she lightly moves her hand in a shooing motion, hoping this conversation is done.
"The last room on the right is the only one left that is furnished, just a heads up" Edward mentions as he starts heading down the stairs.
Bella immediately heads into it and tosses her bag on the ostentatious chair by what she can only assume is the walk-in closet, or possibly the en-suite. Getting a running start and flopping on the bed, Bella just whispers to herself "Fuck".