A/N: Holla readers. Hope you all are good. Here is the next chapter and it is longer than usual. A big THANKS to EdwardsFirstKiss for putting up with my silly mistakes and her suggestions. All twilight characters belong to SM while this plot is all mine.

CHAPTER 7

BELLA

December 22, 2016

"Bella, where the hell are you?" A loud, shrill voice entered my ears.

"Maybe she's gone for a walk." Another voice suggested; this one slightly heavier than the previous one.

"She's never gone for one, Jazz. Why would she decide to go today!" exclaimed the first voice, clearly anxious.

"It was because of me. I pushed her too far yesterday." Another voice spoke, pervaded with sadness.

"It wasn't you Rose. She must be here. Bella doesn't do these sorts of things."

My brain registered that my name had been spoken again, as I rose from my slumber. My muscles were stiff from sleeping so long on the couch. I stretched a little and stood up to open the door of the spare room. I walked into my study and saw the clock on my desk showed thirty minutes past ten in the morning. I made my way outside and was met with worried glances. Rosalie noticed me first and her eyes widened.

"Oh Bella, you are okay! I am so sorry about yesterday. I was in a drunken stupor and had forgotten what kind of word vomit I was spewing." Rose sobbed on my shoulder, hugging me for dear life.

"Hey! It's okay Rose." I patted her awkwardly on the head. Well let's say, Rose was not one of your crying Barbie's. She was strong and fierce. So seeing her cry always seemed weird to me.

"You didn't say anything wrong and I am not angry. I was just in my study working on something and fell asleep." I explained, as she released me.

"Oh! I forgot to check in the study." Em mumbled, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

"I asked you to check and you said she wasn't there!" exclaimed Jazz.

"Umm… I sort of forgot that, I think... But I checked in the kitchen." He raised his hands in surrender when three pair of eyes glared at him.

A giggle involuntarily burst out of me, seeing the look on their faces. Rose smiled my way and said, "Bella, I am really sorry. It wasn't my place to talk to you like..."

"Shut it Rose. Of course it was your place. It is your place." I emphasized. "You guys are the only family I have as Rose rightly pointed out last night. I was just acting like a bitch, but not now. You were right. I have to move on," I declared sincerely.

"Oh Bells you are so brave. Don't worry; you will find happiness again." Ali said engulfing me in a hug.

Funny. I didn't believe her.

The next morning we all got into our cars to leave for Rose's uncle's inn in Syracuse. It was almost a two hour drive from my apartment to The Hales. I was riding with Ali and Jazz in Jasper's BMW while Rose and Em were taking Em's SUV.

I wasn't allowed to take my car; they said it was to save fuel. Somewhere in my mind though, I think they were just afraid of me running away and bailing on them. I let out a sigh at that thought. So much for trusting me!

"Tired?" asked Alice, turning back from the passenger seat to look at me.

"No. Just thinking through some things." I replied giving her a soft smile.

"You think too much Bella. We are going to the inn to have some fun. So suck it up and lift up your spirits." She chided.

I huffed out a laugh and said, "Scout's honor," giving her a salute, dramatically. She just rolled her eyes as Jasper snorted.

"Are you laughing at me, Jazzy?" Ali asked, inspecting her nails for effect.

"Who me? Why would you say that, darling? I was just coughing," he defended seriously. Ali narrowed her eyes at him and that was all it took for both Jazz and me to burst out in a fit of laughter.

"Okay baby, I am sorry. You are just too cute to play with." Jazz said smiling lovingly at her.

"Yup. I second that." I added. She just stuck her tongue out at us as we both snickered.

We reached The Hales around half past eleven in the morning. The four story building appeared to be made of wood but actually was all brick, painted in a wooden texture. It was separated by brick walls on either side from the neighbourhood. The entrance was an iron gate with a dome-shaped arch above it. We walked inside and my eyes widened at seeing the interior. This place looked like a Victorian style manor. The interior was rich and exciting. There were decorative plaster cornices, intricately patterned ceiling friezes and medallions. There were wonderfully turned balustrades supporting the stair railing, reminding me of a grand entrance. There were inlayed wood patterns and rich carpets as well.

"Wow! This place has changed a lot since the last time I came here." Em commented, as we made our way to the reception desk.

"When did you last come here?" I wondered, still engrossed in examining the masterpiece in front of me. Edward would have drooled over this place. I stiffened on that last thought.

"We stayed here last summer. We asked you to come with us, don't you remember?" Rose asked.

"I think... yeah, you said that you were going on a mini vacation. I was... I was busy that time." I stammered, remembering the lame excuses I had given them so that they'd leave me alone to wallow in my misery.

"That was when we met uncle Eleazar for the first time. He has such a jovial personality, almost gregarious." Alice piped in.

I nodded and smiled her way. We were greeted by a strawberry blonde woman at the reception desk who gave us the keys to our rooms. Ali and Jazz would be staying in the room next to mine on the first floor while Rose and Em were on the second floor. There were a total of 25 rooms. The atmosphere was quiet and refreshing. I think I had made the right decision to come here.

We separated when we reached our respective rooms with a schedule of meeting back up in an hour for sight-seeing. I unlocked the door to my room and stepped in. The first thing I noticed was a window seat, just opposite to the bathroom door. I walked to the window and looked outside. The weather was cold and there was snow on the ground, probably from the previous night. Some children were playing making snowmen and fighting with snowballs. But I didn't like snow. It was because of snow that I feel so lonely, even with all of my friends around. A lone tear dropped from my eye but I quickly wiped it off and went to the bathroom to freshen up.

I reached the basement where we had all agreed to meet for lunch. The basement was a small restaurant serving guests of the inn. There was a fireplace in the middle surrounded by tables and chairs. I spotted Rose and Ali sitting at one of the tables and walked over to them.

"Finally! I thought you had fallen asleep and wouldn't be joining us. Why are you so late?" Rose smiled as I seated.

"I lost track of the time. By the way, where are Em and Jazz?" I asked changing the subject.

"They went to order food. Unlike some, I knew that you'd come and so I ordered for you." Ali said sarcastically, narrowing her eyes at Rose. I looked at the two of them, shooting glares at each other. I was about to ask what was it about as someone ruffled my hair.

"Woohoo Bellsie! What's up," Em shouted which earned him glares and whispers from the adjacent tables.

"You call me that again and I am going to ask Rose to put you in a baby pink tuxedo for your wedding." His face paled immediately.

"You wouldn't!" He countered fearfully.

"Try me." I raised an eyebrow in challenge as others snickered. A nod from Rose silenced him.

"So, our choices are Mexican, Italian or Chinese. We also have wine to dine in style," Jazz said holding up a bottle. "This place is cool. We have everything here." He added excitedly rubbing his hands together.

"Well a wise one has rightly said, 'The way to a man's heart is through his stomach'," Alice giggled.

"Mature people like us don't believe myths like that Ali. Stop acting like a child and grow up. Some matters need to be dealt with by putting your emotions aside," Rose snarked. Her off-conversation comment reminded me of their cold attitude towards each other.

"Stop it. Will you tell me why you both are acting like insolent children?" I asked frustrated. They simply ignored me and picked up their knives and forks to eat. I looked at Em and Jazz for some clarification but they too avoided me.

"Fine. I am not hungry and am going to my room. When you decide to include me in your conversations then you know where to find me." With that I left the table, ignoring the chorus of 'Bella' and 'Bells' that followed my departure.

I locked the door behind me and walked to my bed to lie down. It had been two days since our arrival at The Hales but there was still an air of tension surrounding our group. I turned on my stomach and buried my face in the pillow. It was after two in the afternoon and Christmas carols were flowing through the entire building. It was the third Christmas I was spending without him. But what pained me more was the inane cold war between Rose and Ali. I still didn't know the gory details of why they seemed to be mad at each other. After I had left the basement that afternoon, two days ago, Jasper had come to me. He met me halfway to my room and explained that Alice and Rose had had a small fight regarding latest fashion trends. Like I am an idiot. I didn't believe him and told him the same. He just said that they'll tell me themselves about it and not to worry. I had half-heartedly agreed and went back to lunch. But none of them opened up to me. It was like they were hiding a secret and didn't want to include me. Ali and Rose didn't fight again in front of me. But, neither had they talked like they used to before this inane cold war.

I turned on my back and looked up to the ceiling. All in all my Christmas had gone like the previous two Christmases in my apartment. We had exchanged our gifts in the morning but there was no enthusiasm. I had given Jazz a multi-time zone watch to keep up with his clients in various countries and states. Emmett received a brown leather jacket while I had presented Rose with her favorite brand of perfume. I had given Alice a pair of high-heeled boots that she had admired on a TV show. I received a platinum charm bracelet from Jazz, an I-pod from Em, a pair each of stilettos and boots from Rose and a hair dryer from Ali (as mine had 'died' a couple of months ago). The gifts were good but the usual love and warmth was missing. We had exchanged pleasantries after a Christmas feast and afterward went to our respective rooms to rest.

But I was used to this; even worse than this. After Mrs. Marie's death, all my Christmases at the Newton's were just like any other day; lonely. I wasn't allowed to go to Alice's place. Even when the Brandon's invited me, Mrs. Newton found excuses for making me stay home. I don't know what kind of sadistic pleasure she got from doing that. Still, Alice would slip some gifts to me from her and other necessities from her mother at school. I was only able to defy the Newton's once, when I had to move to Rochester. That had been one hell of a fight, but there wasn't much they could had done, with me being almost eighteen. The only pleasant memories I had of Christmas were the ones spent with Edward. His name like always brought tears to my eyes. I again turned on my stomach and cried, burying my face in the pillow.

The knock on my door brought me out of my sleep. I looked to the clock on the nightstand and it was six in the evening. Wow. I slept that long! I rubbed my eyes and stood up to open the door after straightening my clothes. I unlocked the door and found four people standing in Santa's clothes.

"HoHoHo, young lady. We are gathered here today to offer you our cool company as your friends have been asses to you." I recognized Jasper's voice.

"So be a good girl and let us in. Otherwise you'll be getting coal as your present next Christmas." That was Emmett's voice. They all came in with Rosalie and Alice, umm..., Santa-dressed Rose and Ali carrying a big box. They put the box on the table opposite to the bed.

"So what do you wish for sweet pea," Ali asked smiling. I laughed at their antics shaking my head.

"First of all pull out your beards. They're really weird and creepy." They obeyed quickly taking them off. "Good. Now sit down and start explaining."

"Explain what?" Rose asked innocently. I narrowed my eyes at her. "Ok. Ok. Alice is going to explain."

"What? Me? No. No. Ummm... Emmett. He knows what to say, don't you Emmie Bear." She pouted, batting her eyelashes at him.

Em startled at that. "Oh. Right. I know what to say... but... I think Jasper knows the right way to tell you," he said quickly.

"Grr... ok fine. Bella, let's sit down first," Jasper commanded. I sat on the bed with Rose and Ali on either side of me while Em and Jazz occupied the couch.

Jasper took a long breath and started, "First, I want to apologize for our asinine behaviour. We had been so unfair to you. We were the ones to convince you to come here, so it was our responsibility to give you our pleasant company."

"It's alright Jazz. I am not angry. I just wanted to know the reason behind the fight between Ali and Rose." I smiled at him.

"That's nice of you Bella. But I think you are not going to like what I am about to tell you. Just keep in mind that it was never our intention to hurt you; we just wanted to help. Three days ago when we sort of partied at your apartment, we had been discussing methods to bring you out of your depression. The reason behind the fight was because of differing opinions about how to go about it. Rosalie and I wanted to push you into accepting Edward's death while Alice and Emmett wanted to try something smoother. The conversation you had with Rose that day was a plan to see how you would react. Rose and I agreed that it had gone well. Even Em agreed but Alice didn't want that. She said that she can't see you hurting and we should give you more time to come out of yourself. But you are already are coming out, Bella. Seeing you laughing a real laugh in my car on our way here, was... you don't even know how good that felt. Here," he said pointing at his heart. "I felt it here. You are like my sister Bella. I care for you as much as I care for Rose and Ali. We love you and wanted to help. But Alice didn't agree with that either. She wanted to do this as painlessly for you as she could. That's when Rose's temper flared and she gave Alice a piece of her mind, two days before at the restaurant. We didn't want it to get to you but we failed. We are the worst friends and I am sorry for that."

Maybe it was because I had cried earlier before sleeping and all my tears had dried up, but I didn't feel any emotions bubbling up inside of me at his speech. I just sat there stunned, not even wincing at Edward's name. All I felt now was immense love for the people in this room. I smiled at them and said, "I understand all of it, Jasper. Thank you all for doing this. I just didn't like the fact that you all had fought. I assure you all, that I am fine now and am ready to continue my life properly. Edward would have wanted the same for me. I have realized that he is not going to come back. He died, two years ago, in that accident at Seventh Street. I will always love him but I can't hang onto him my entire life. This conversation seems like déjà vu, guys." I chuckled seeing their faces. They all were looking at me with rapt attention .

"Guys!" I said loudly. That brought them back to earth causing me to giggle again.

"Ahem. So what you are saying is that you are not angry with us?" Rose asked.

"Oh Rose was that the only thing that you heard? She said his name!" Ali exclaimed.

"And she giggled. Fucking giggled." Em said, still watching me attentively with his chin resting on the back of his palms.

"And she said Seventh Street." Jasper added.

"If you all have finished your examination of Bella's speech extraordinaire, will you please open the big box? It is killing me to imagine its contents," I said finally, rolling my eyes at them.

"Yeah, the box." Alice excitedly went to open the white box. It revealed a chocolate cake with Merry Christmas written on it. It was sweet and simple.

"Alice and I baked this. Uncle Eleazar wanted to apologize for not being able to meet us. I asked him that the best way to gain our apology is to let us use the kitchen. He agreed and so this is the result," Rose said putting her head on my shoulder.

"That's sweet of yo..."

"Bella we have all the time in the world for pleasantries, can we just eat the cake now?" Em interrupted impatiently and we all laughed.

We ate the cake together and shared pleasant memories of our past. Rose talked about her bridal dress and the bridesmaids' dresses. She blathered all about the theme of their wedding and other things. We laughed and sang Christmas songs. For the first time in two years, I felt happy. At about ten at night, we all said our good nights and they went to their respective rooms to sleep.

I locked the door as they left and walked to the window seat. I sat and looked out towards the sky. The night was clear and the stars were shining beautifully.

"Edward. I love you so much. It hurts to think that you can't be here. I thought losing Mrs. Marie, my muma, was painful but this is excruciating, love. You had said you'd be here forever. I know that isn't your mistake but I still feel lonely. However, today I felt a part of myself loosen up and so I am letting you go now. I will always love you, Mr. Cullen. My man. But now I am letting you go. I know you'd want the same for me. Thank you for all your love." With that I took off his ring and threw it out of the window. I don't know if that is callous of me to do so but it seems like the right thing to do.

I turned towards my bed and sat down. I was about to turn off the lights and sleep, when my phone started ringing. I wondered who might be calling this late and picked up my phone from the nightstand. My eyes widened at seeing the caller's name.

"Jacob!" I exclaimed.

"Well well if it isn't the infamous Isabella Swan. Merry Christmas, babe," his hoarse voice greeted.

"Shut it idiot. Why are you calling this late? Oh and Merry Christmas to you too."

"Late? It's only seven, Swan."

"What? Did your clock stop functioning or what?"

"It didn't. It's seven. We just had our Christmas dinner... Oh, I am sorry. Fuck. You are still in Rochester."

"Technically I am in Syracuse. But where are you?"

"I am in Forks. You probably haven't heard of it. It is the rainiest fucking town in Washington State. I am visiting my cousins who live on the Quileute Reservation. I don't know why I agreed to this. Mom wanted to meet her cousins but I don't know why dad was adamant in not going. She was kinda upset about it. So I took pity on her and that's how Jacob Black, the hottest piece of ass in the entire state of New York landed here." I laughed as he ranted.

"You didn't tell me your mom was from Forks. I was born there and spent eighteen years of my life there."

"What the hell Swan! You are kidding me right? How come you missed giving me that important bit of information?"

"You never broached the topic of my hometown, remember?"

"Ok fine. Then you are coming here. It's your punishment for not telling me earlier that you're from Forks," he declared.

"What? Are you serious? I am in Syracuse at Rose's uncle's inn. She'll have my head if I leave now."

"Oh I will handle blondie. You are coming here and that's final. Bye good night, babe"

"Jake...," I said as the line silenced. I sighed and fell on the bed with a thump. Maybe it's some sort of sign. If I left New York for a few days then maybe I could distance myself better from Edward's memories. Jake always seemed like adorable company to be with. I had met him a year later after I started working for Cullen Architecture. He came in as an intern in the engineering department and was younger than me by two years. He was adorable with his russet skin and cute dimples. Edward didn't like him as he thought of him as competition for winning my affection, although we were already dating that time. I never got the reasons behind his jealousy. On the other hand, I was on friendly terms with him. He was born in Rochester and knew the city by heart. We hung out a few times. Jasper adored him as he was his mentor. However, only after six months at the firm, he had quit. His heart was in photography and engineering wasn't his thing. Presently, he's the proud owner of his own studio in downtown Rochester. Edward was over the moon when Jake left but wasn't so happy when I remained in contact with him. I huffed and turned off the lights, willing myself to sleep.

The next morning found me packing for the trip to Forks. Jake has a habit and luck of always getting what he wants. I don't know how but he had convinced Rose to allow me to go to Forks. Well let's just say there is no love lost there. Jake had even managed to get me ticket for the flight from the Syracuse Hancock International airport to SeaTac International airport, where he would pick me up.

"I am sorry Rose, I couldn't help you with your wedding plans," I said hugging her as I made my way to the exit.

"Silly Bella. It's alright. We have Alice and her opinion includes one hundred of Bella's." She winked as Alice pouted. I hugged them all and said my goodbyes, promising to meet them at Seventh Street on January 2nd.

I walked out into the snow to reach the cab waiting outside The Hales. As I was walking, I tripped on my feet and fell down. "Shit," I muttered. I stood up brushing the snow off my clothes. That's when I saw it. The ring I had thrown out of the window last night was stuck on my sleeve. I pulled it out and turned to face the window of the room from where I had thrown it. My ring. It was like a sign that I can't decipher. Tears welled up in my eyes as I faced the ring again but with all the strength I had, I blinked them back.

And then, walking amidst the dazzling snow, I slid the ring into my coat's pocket and walked towards the waiting cab.

Ahemmm.. So how was it? You know you guys are too shy in leaving me reviews. Why is that, hmm? Share your views readers; leave me some love ;) The more you say, the sooner I'll post next chapter. Also I wanted to know is there anyone who thought Rose and Alice were fighting because they knew something about Edward? Just curious.

Oh and just so you know we are too close to the prologue. And now we have Jacob with us on this ride; so it's definitely gonna be more interesting. I always liked that guy. You know I was thinking to end this chapter when Bella received the phone call and left you wondering who that might be. LOL. I am not that cruel. So, what do you think of Bella throwing her ring? Was that wrong of her to do? I know I babble a lot. :p

Thanks for reading, reviewing, following and favoriting.

-K