EPOV
It's been about a month since Bella went to see Alice, and in all that time, she hasn't really spoken to me about what happened. All she'll say is that the two of them didn't really speak about their friendship, and Bella saw a whole new side of Alice she never anticipated.
I've hung out with Emmett a few times, and I've asked him if he's heard anything from Rose, but it seems as if we're all in the dark. Bella and I have been extremely open with each other since not only coming back from the cabin but coming out to our friends, so it feels weird that she's keeping something from me. But I don't understand the workings of the female friendship, so I've been trying to let it go.
"Edward, have you made the bed in the guest bedroom yet?" Bella is calling to me from down the hall where she's cleaning the guest bath like a maniac. My parents are coming into town tomorrow and staying for a week. Bella has met them once, right after graduation, and we're both worried that it's going to be a little awkward, even if we've already told them about us.
Walking down the hall, I find Bella peeling off some yellow rubber gloves and wiping her brow. "The bed is made. The fridge is stocked, and you've cleaned this place within an inch of itself. Everything is fine."
She rolls her eyes. "Your mom sounded less than thrilled when you told her we were dating, so I just want everything to be perfect."
I take the small bag of trash from her and sigh. "She just doesn't know you that well, and she's only ever heard me complain about you. It'll be fine."
I take out the trash while she puts the cleaning supplies away, and when we sit down, we're both starving. "I'll order something in. Why don't you take a shower while we wait? You look tense."
Her bottom lip disappears into her mouth, and she gets this far off look.
"Bella? What is it?"
"Have you talked to Jasper recently?"
"Uh, yeah. I saw him before I left work today. He's coming to the party. Why?" She turns to look at me.
"Did he say if Alice was coming or not?"
Shaking my head, I grab one of her hands. "Babe, you're freaking me out. What's going on?"
"I don't want to ruin your birthday." She shakes her head, her eyes filling with tears. "I'm going to take a shower, and I need to call Alice."
"Okay …" I press a kiss to her forehead. "You know you can tell me anything, right?"
"I know. I don't like keeping this from you, but—"
"It's not your place to tell me, is it?"
She nods. "I don't think it is. I'm sorry." She stands up and heads toward my bedroom.
"Are they okay? I mean, Alice isn't sick? Jasper isn't dying, right?"
"No, nothing at all like that. I … I need to think." She jerks a thumb over her shoulder and turns away.
I'm wracking my brain, trying to figure out what could possibly be going on, but I can't for the life of me figure it out. Instead, I walk to the kitchen and open the fridge. We were saving this for Sunday morning breakfast, but I can pick up some more later. Forgoing ordering takeout, I'm going to make Bella's comfort food: biscuits and gravy. I'm fairly confident with the simple meal, and by the time she comes to find me in her pajamas, she looks refreshed and surprised.
"I really appreciate this, Edward. Thank you." She wraps her arms around my waist, snuggling into me. Breathing her in, warm from the shower and smelling of gardenias, I ask for my birthday present.
"I understand if you can't talk about whatever is happening between you and Alice or Alice and Jasper," I say, leading her to the table and sitting her down. "But, I didn't ask you to get me anything for my birthday because I already had a present in mind."
"Edward, I was already going to give you a blowjob." She winks, and I laugh.
"And I thank you for that." I get up and start dishing out dinner for us to distract both of us from what I'm about to propose.
"I also did get you a present," Bella says quietly. "It's nothing big, but …" She hops up and runs out of the room, and as I set our plates down, she comes back in with a tiny box, topped with a bow.
"You want me to open it now?" She nods eagerly. Pulling at one end of the bow and slipping it off, so I can lift the lid. Inside is a silver key.
"I want you to have a key to my condo." She looks at me expectantly, and I laugh a little.
"Thank you, but you might change your mind when I tell you what I really want for my birthday." I grab her hand and decide to rip the Band-Aid off. "I want you to move in. Here, with me."
"I … What?"
"Yeah, that's what I want." We've talked about this, in the abstract of course. Our things are scattered between both our places. We spend equal time at each other's house, but I've got a little more space than she does. She also rents. Technically, I also rent, but my parents are my landlords.
"You mean, you want to be around me more than you already are?" Bella asks, linking our fingers. "I'm messy, and I hate taking out the trash. I get moody for no reason, and—"
"I like taking out the trash, and you only get moody when you get a migraine. You are messy." She kicks me in the shin. "Ow! And you beat me. But … I kinda love you more than I hate you. So, yeah. I want you to move in."
Bella sighs deeply and smiles. "I think I love you more than I hate you too."
"Yeah?"
She nods and slips out of her chair to crawl into my lap, wrapping her arms around my neck. We sit there for a few minutes, holding each other and basking in our newly proclaimed love when she pulls away.
"There's a lot to do." She leans her forehead against mine.
"We'll figure it out. It doesn't have to be tomorrow; we can take as much time as we need." I gently push her off my lap. "You need to eat, and we need to go to bed. We have an early morning."
After we eat and I'm loading the dishwasher, Bella hops up onto the counter next to me. "I know we need to try to get some sleep, but I've been thinking, and I need to tell you what's going on."
I'm confused. For the better part of the last hour, all we've been talking about is getting out of her lease or subletting her place and which items we should consolidate. "What's going on with what?"
"Well, with Alice and—" She's interrupted by my doorbell ringing. "It's almost ten. Who's here? Did your parents get an earlier flight?"
"No, of course not." I dry my hands and close the dishwasher. "Stay here; I'll go see who it is."
"Oh, I'm going with you." Bella hops off the counter, scurrying after me.
I peek out the side window and see Jasper's Jeep pulled into the driveway, and when I look out the peephole, he's standing on my doorstep. I unlock and open the door to find my friend, looking disheveled and smelling to high heaven of whiskey.
"Jasper?" Bella comes up behind me, ducking under my arm to see what's going on.
"Jasper, what's wrong?" she asks, and he smiles sadly. "Did you drive here?"
"Can I come in? I need to talk to a friend."
Bella and I share a look before we both step aside and let him in. Jasper walks to the living room and plops down on the sofa while I lock the door.
"Edward, this is a problem," Bella says, thumb in her mouth. I pull it gently away.
"He's drunk. He can sleep it off, and we'll send him home in the morning. I'll text Alice so she doesn't worry," I say and begin to walk away when she pulls me back.
"Uh, Alice might not be worried about him." Bella pulls me closer and drops her voice to a whisper. "I was going to tell you that when I went to see Alice … I caught her with someone."
"What are you talking about?"
Bella just gives me a look with wide eyes and mouths, "Cheating."
"Shit. Shit."
"I know. I don't know if he knows, so we just have to go in there and see what's going on, okay? Be cool, man." Bella straightens herself out and walks confidently into the living room while I'm left trying to figure out how to "be cool".
Just as I'm joining them, Bella ditches me. "I'll be right back, Jas. I'm going to get you some water." Bella shoots me a pointed look as she walks to the kitchen, and I turn to look at my friend.
I take a seat on the armchair opposite the sofa and take a good look at the man across from me. His eyes are red and wild, not focusing on any one thing; he looks sweaty, and he definitely smells. "What's going on, man?"
"I think … I think Alice is cheating on me." He scrubs his hands across his face, and I desperately want Bella back in here.
"What are you talking about? What makes you say that?" I lean forward with my arms on my knees, just hoping that he has no evidence and I can put him to sleep.
"I—" He stops when Bella walks back in with a bottle of water, handing it to Jasper, and then perches on the arm of my chair. "I came home from work. I had that late appointment, and then I was going to log some charting hours. I texted Alice to tell her."
"What happened, Jasper?" Bella's voice is quiet but strong. She's solely focused on our friend.
"I told her I'd be home … around now, I guess. But, I was tired, and I just wanted to get home. Your parents are coming, and I'm really looking forward to seeing them, and I wanted to try to convince Alice to come to the party …"
"Get to the point, Jas," I say gently.
"Right. Uh, well, I left early. Headed straight home, and when I got there, Alice was on the couch … and between her legs …" He breaks off, shaking his head.
"Some dude was … shit, Jasper." I shake my head, but Bella just grabs my arm, grimacing.
"It wasn't a guy." Jasper locks eyes with me, and Bella's nails dig into my skin. "It was some chick."
Oh. "Oh, wow. I don't know what to say, Jasper. What happened?"
He tells us about the screaming match that he and Alice got into that ended with Alice sobbing, begging him not to leave. "I went to that dive bar we used to go to, had a couple drinks, and … came here. Fuck, I'm sorry. I should go."
Bella speaks up first. "Where are you gonna go?"
"I'll just go check into a hotel. I'm sorry, guys." He starts to stand but wobbles a little before falling back onto the couch.
Bella and I share a look before I sigh. "You'll sleep here. You know the couch is pretty comfy. You're in no condition to drive."
I get up to get him a pillow and a spare set of sweats. When I come back, Bella's talking to him quietly.
"What did she say?"
"Just that she's been really unhappy for a long time. I didn't know. I've been trying to make her happy for ten years." Jasper sounds like he's on the verge of tears.
"This isn't your fault. If she wasn't happy, it was her responsibility to tell you. Not cheat on you and lie to you," Bella says, and I'm so happy to have this level-headed woman in my life.
"I know that. I just … I just wish I had known," he says, and I make my way back in.
We get Jasper set up, say good night, and make sure the house is locked up. As Bella and I climb into bed, she sighs, snuggling into my side.
"I'm sorry you had to find out like that. I swear, I was just about to tell you." She's whispering, but I know Jasper is already sawing logs.
"It's okay. I'm not worried about that. I'm worried about him."
"Me too. What do you think is going to happen?" She drapes an arm over my chest, and I bring my hand up to link with hers.
"I don't know; I honestly don't." We settle down, and we're quiet for a few minutes when I chuckle lightly.
"What?"
"I just remembered something I thought about just a little bit ago."
"What was it?" She squeezes my hand.
"I was listening to you talk to Jasper, and I thought I was lucky to have you in my life because you're so level-headed." I start to laugh again and cover my mouth with our joined hands.
"What's so funny about that?"
"It's just … just that I never, in the past ten years, thought of you as level-headed."
"Oh, that's it." Bella climbs on top of me, but when I think she might start beating up on me, she leans down and kisses me soundly. "You're really lucky I love you."
"I know it. I love you too."