BPOV

It doesn't take long after I hear Edward head to his own room that I move to the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face. I'm chuckling quietly, thinking about all the ridiculous stunts Edward and I have pulled on each other over the years. It's weird because Edward and I were never really that close; it's weird enjoying an evening with him.

"Okay, I definitely had too much to drink," I mutter, patting my face dry before I stumble out of the bathroom. I move down the hall, but just before I reach my bedroom, I stop to look out one of the huge windows.

Edward has left a small lamp on, and the golden glow illuminates the window as snow softly falls outside. There's just enough to create a light blanket on the deck and the forest floor. I feel the smile creep over my face; this is a beautiful place, and whatever the reason, I'm grateful to be here.

"I grew up in Chicago, so I'm used to it, but it is beautiful, isn't it?"

I jump a little when I hear Edward's voice behind me. "We need to get you a bell," I murmur, turning to look over my shoulder at him. "I didn't see snow for the first time until I moved here for school, and even then, it was really just slush."

"Didn't we all take a drive up to Snoqualmie to take you skiing?"

I nod. "That was the first time you saw me get car sick." I laugh, shaking my head. "I do not want to relive that. What are you doing up?"

"I was looking for some Advil, and I saw you over here." He grabs a throw blanket off the couch and drapes it over my shoulders. "I kicked the heat up a little, but we should be fine."

"Thanks." Pulling the blanket around me, I smile. "I brought Advil. It's my bag. Do you want some?"

He nods, and I shuffle away to grab the bottle from my room. When I come back out, I hand him the bottle as he hands me a bottle of water. "I'm going to go to bed. I'll see you in the morning."

"Have a good night, Bella."

When I wake up in the morning, I fully stretch, basking in no lingering side effects from drinking, before I sit up. I grab my phone to check the time and see that I have an unread text from Jasper.

If you tell Edward that I gave you a copy of his house key, he'll murder me. And then I'll come back from the grave and murder you.

I stifle a laugh before texting him back.

Did he ask you what I've been doing to him? Lol

I check the time stamp from Jas's text as I rub the sleep from my eyes and know he won't text me for a few more hours at least. I change out of my pajamas and make my way out of my room and down the hall to the kitchen. I get the coffee maker set up and dig around in the fridge for breakfast.

Settling on French toast and bacon, I turn to what's left of the dishes, rinsing and loading them into the dishwasher just as the coffee finishes. I pour a cup and walk to the window to look outside. At nine, the sun is up and shining, already starting to melt the thin layer of snow still left on the ground.

I down the first cup of Joe too quickly, so I move back to the kitchen for a bottle of water and to start cooking. By the time I'm putting plates into the oven to keep warm, Edward comes stumbling into the kitchen, making grabby hands at the coffee maker. I pour him a cup and slide it toward him across the counter.

"How'd you sleep?" He peers over the rim of the mug, and I can tell the Advil didn't act like a miracle for him like it did for me. "That good, huh?"

"I've never been much of a drinker. Everyone knows this." He gingerly sips at the hot coffee as I try not to laugh at his pain.

"I don't know why you always try to keep up." I turn and pull the two plates out of the oven, setting them on the counter. "I made breakfast, which you obviously need."

Edward groans. "I don't know if I can eat greasy bacon."

I roll my eyes. "The protein helps soak up the sugar. Load up; I'll grab you some more Advil."

We eat in relative silence, and when Edward doesn't go for seconds but offers to clear the plates, I know he's feeling a little better.

"Tell you what? I'm going to take a walk, get some fresh air. Why don't you go back to sleep? It'll help."

He narrows his eyes at me. "Why are you being so nice?"

"Because I know you don't drink that much, and I let you do it anyway. I feel slightly responsible for this." I wave my hand in his direction. "Besides, we're supposed to be making an effort. Here's my effort."

Edward nods. "Okay, okay. I'm going to go back to bed. I'll deal with the kitchen later when I get back up, all right?"

"Fine. Sleep it off." I start to move to my room, but Edward calls out to me.

"Oh, where are you going? You're not going out into the woods, are you?" I turn to look at him.

"No, I'm going to follow the road into town. Google maps says it's only a couple miles." I shrug.

"And you're just going to walk it?"

"Yeah?"

"Why don't you take one of the bikes?" I can't tell if he's worried that it's too far or that I might get hurt or something.

"I don't know; I just want to get outside for a while, Edward." I throw my hands up in defeat and he backs down quickly.

"All right, all right, just … be careful."

I salute him. "Aye, aye, Captain." Heading down to my room, I check the weather before throwing on a long sleeve shirt, and then a hoodie, and slipping into my sneakers. I grab my wallet and sunglasses and make a quick exit before Edward can interrogate me anymore.

I step out into the cool morning air and take a deep breath. One night down, seven more to go.