Somewhere To Begin Chapter 5 Girl Cooties, a twilight fanfic

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Chapter 5: Girl Cooties

Bella

For his feet being so small, they sure were loud as they slapped against the floor.

I really didn't know why I was up so early. Maybe nerves or uncertainty… a mother who's not ready for her kid to grow up. It could have been all three, I'm not sure. But what I can tell you what I'm sure of.

I was up way too early.

And so was Aiden. I highly doubted he would just want to lie down for a few more moments of silence.

I pushed my face further into my pillow and groaned.

Sleep, why have you forsaken us.

I heard as Aiden pushed the cracked door open, stomped around to the other side of my bed and got in.

He was quiet.

Maybe we could get a few more moments of sleep.

"Mommy." He whispered.

Yeah, it was too good to be true… dreaming on my part.

"Mommy." He said again, louder.

"Hmm." I grunted, my face still in the pillow.

"Mommy." He dragged out and poked my side.

I turned my head to look at him as best as I could. The sun was coming up; it was kind of blue but still dark outside and I refused to turn on any lights. He was on his back. "What's up Buddy?" I croaked, sleep still heavy in my voice.

He turned on his side. "I just wanted to know if you were up."

I snorted. "Yeah Bud, I'm up."

"Can we have breakfast now?" He wrinkled his forehead.

I turned to look at the clock on the nightstand. 5:30 am. Way too early.

I dropped my head back on my pillow and looked at him. "You don't want to lie here for a couple more minutes?"

"Nope." He popped the p. "I'm hungry."

I pushed my face back into my pillow and groaned again.

Who wants to eat this early? Stomachs should still be closed this early.

Aiden scooted closer to me. "Come on Mommy, get up." He tapped on my arm.

I shook my head. Someone should act like the kid here.

"Mommy." He whined. "Get up."

"Never." I mumbled loud enough for him to hear me.

I felt him move around, jostle the bed.

Suddenly, the bed moved.

I peeked at him quickly. He was bouncing on the bed.

"Mommy." Bounce. "Get." Bounce. "Up." Bounce.

"No." I whined. "You can't make me."

He giggled as he continued to jump on my bed.

"Get up, get up, get u—"

I tackled him and tickled him. "You can't make me."

"Stop!" He laughed.

"Nope." I chuckled and kissed his cheeks while I continued to tickle him.

"Stop Mommy!" He squealed, trying to catch his breath.

After a couple more seconds of his infectious laugh, I finally stopped. "Okay." I breathed out. "I've done my job for the day." I plopped down on the bed.

Aiden laid beside me, breathing hard. "Breakfast now?"

I glanced at the clock, 5:45. It was time to get up now. Well, it's not like it'll hurt anything. How does the saying go? Early is on time, on time is late and late is unacceptable. We would just be early, really early.

"Sure." I smiled.

"Cool." He smiled back at me. "I'm gonna go watch Shrek." He said before he jumped off the bed and ran out of the room.

"Okay, I'm right behind you." I yelled after him.

Today was going to be a long day. I stretched out on the bed and looked up at the ceiling.

Just a few more seconds… My bed was really comfortable.

I was going to get up.

STB

I might have dozed off, just for a couple of minutes.

But luckily Aiden is the best alarm clock, so I didn't sleep too long.

After I quickly made French toast with strawberries and eggs. Aiden went to shower while I picked out his outfit. I wanted him to look good for his first day, so I pulled out a pair of dark washed jeans, a stripped blue and white button-down shirt, a gray and white hoodie, and leather, camel-colored sneakers. I hesitated for a second.

Were leather shoes a bit much?

I shrugged my shoulders. "Oh, well." I wanted him to look nice.

I laid everything out on his bed, went to his bathroom, and knocked on the door. "You okay in there?"

"Yeah, I'm almost finished."

"Alright, your clothes are on your bed. I'm going to go get ready for work."

"Okay."

As I walked to my room, passing box after box that still need to be unpacked—oh joy—I couldn't help thinking of how different our lives were now. To a certain extent, that made me nervous. Don't get me wrong, I know I made the best decision for Aiden and me, but I can't deny that I still worry about how Aiden was really handling all these changes.

I sighed, placed my hands on the bathroom countertop, and looked at myself in the mirror. "You did the right thing."

After I took a quick shower and did my hygiene routine, I blow dried my hair and applied a light layer of makeup then went into my closet to look for my outfit for today. I decided on a cream-colored cowl neckline sweater, a black pencil skirt and suede black and cream heels.

While I looked myself over in the mirror, I put on my black and gold jewelry to accentuate the look.

Aiden wouldn't be the only one who looked nice today, and I'm sure Demetri will approve.

"Aiden." I called as I walked out of my room.

"Yes." He sounded like he was in the living room. I headed in the direction and peeked my head in.

"It's time to go, Honey."

"Okay." He didn't take his eyes off the screen. He was watching Shrek, as usual.

"Aiden."

He turned to look at me. "Huh?"

I tilted my head to the side. "Let's go."

"Okay." He poked his bottom lip out, got off the couch and turned the T.V. off before he followed me to the coat closet, so we could put on our coats

I grabbed my purse and Aiden's bookbag from the entryway table and we were out the door.

As we walked into the parking garage, I smiled inwardly at my other baby. My truck, Benny the Bentley. A newer gift to myself, curtesy of Alec's dime though.

Once Aiden was strapped in, I hopped in the car and we pulled off.

While I drove, I glanced at Aiden through the rear-view mirror. He was quiet—too quiet—as he looked out of the window. I looked back at the road, took one hand off the steering wheel, reached behind me and squeezed his knee. "Whatcha thinking about?"

"Nothing." He sighed.

I glanced at him again. "What's wrong?"

"Is-Is…" He trailed off.

My eyes flickered between him and the road. "Is what?"

"Is Dad gonna be there?"

"He said he would."

"Do you think he meant it? He didn't come to see my new room like he said he would."

I puffed out my cheeks and tapped my thumbs against the steering wheel. I was stalling.

Alec was supposed to come see our new place over the weekend. Yes, it would have been hectic considering we just moved in, but he could have showed up for Aiden.

"I'm not sure, Honey." I chewed on my lip. "But I hope so." I hate that I couldn't reassure him, but Alec had been even more inconsistent with Aiden since we moved out. How that was possible I really don't know, but somehow, someway, he got worse.

"Oh." His tone was flat.

I glanced at him again.

Ugh, I hate that look on his face: disappointment. It breaks my heart.

"Hey." Our eyes locked for a quick second. "Guess what?"

"What?" His eyebrows wrinkled, and he tilted his head to the side.

"We're going to see Pop-Pop today!" I smiled.

"Really?" He perked up.

I think he loved my father the most, and I'm sure the feeling is mutual, even if my dad won't admit it.

"Mm-hmm." I nodded. "And we just might go somewhere fun."

"Cool." I could hear that he was smiling.

Good.

I pulled into the school's parking lot, parked the car, got out, and opened Aiden's door. "How do you feel? Are you ready for your first day?"

"Yeah, I'm so ready Mommy." He bounced in seat.

"Good." I chuckled. At least he's excited. "You're going to have a great day." I said as he unbuckled himself and slide out of the car.

I grabbed his bag and took his hand just as loud engine revved. I—along with the other adults—paused at the unexpected noise. We quietly watched a blue and sliver sports car pull into the lot way too fast, causing their tires to screech to come to a complete stop; right in front of my car.

Who makes an entrance like that at a school?

I couldn't see into the car; the windows were tinted. I pulled on Aiden's hand. "Let's head inside."

The car door opened and out stepped a tall, lean but muscular, brown haired, blue eyed man.

Oh god.

It was Alec.

Of course, he would have to make his presence known in such a grandiose way.

Asshole.

"Hey li'l man." Alec had his arms spread out wide. His clothes were wrinkled, hair messy like he just rolled out of bed, and his eyes were red. All around, he looked… disheveled.

"Dad." Aiden smiled. "You made it." He ran toward him and hugged him.

"Did you think I would miss your first day?" He joked as he wrapped his arms around him.

Well… let's just say I didn't put all my eggs in his basket.

Aiden pulled back to look up at him. "You didn't come see my new room, like you said you would."

"Oh." His eyes widened; I pressed my lips together he didn't expect that. "Um, I had-It's diffic-I was." He fumbled over his words before he shook his head and cleared his throat. "I was busy with… work."

Yeah, where have I heard that before?

I quietly scoffed as I looked down at my watch. Time to wrap this up. "Alright guys, time to go in."

Alec bent down and scooped Aiden up, causing him to giggle.

I couldn't keep from grinning. My kid was too cute.

We walked toward the entrance of the school. Alec opened the door, and I went in ahead of him and he followed behind. "Looking good Isa."

I glanced at him; he was looking at my ass. "Mmm." I hummed while I tried—and failed—not to scowl at him.

And you look like shit.

"Yeah, you look really, really good Mommy." Aiden grinned at me.

I blew him a kiss. "Thank you, Sweetheart."

"Do you know where the classroom is?" Alec frowned. "We've been walking for a minute."

"Yes." I exhaled. "They showed us the classrooms during parent orientation." I smiled, tightly.

Yet another thing you missed. Even though I didn't say it out loud, I'm sure he knew it was implied.

He narrowed his eyes at me before looking away.

We walked the remainder to his classroom in silence.

"Hello." Mrs. Cope, Aiden's teacher, smiled as soon as she saw us. "Good to see you again, Ms. Swan." She said before she turned to Alec. "I assume you're Dad?" She held her hand out, a smile still on her face.

Alec sat Aiden down and shook her hand. "Yes, you are correct." He flashed his anchorman smile. "I'm Alec, Alec Scott."

I'm Alec, Alec Scott.

Blah.

"It's nice to meet you Mr. Scott." She said before she bent at the waist and made eye contact with Aiden. "Welcome to Willow Academy." She said with a soft smile. "I'm Mrs. Cope, your teacher. What's your name?"

Aiden stood straighter. "My name is Aiden Charles Swan Scott." He bounced on his tiptoes.

I chuckled. Of course, he would feel the need to say his whole name.

Again, my kid was too cute.

"Alright Aiden Charles Swan Scott." She chuckled. "I think we're going to have a lot of fun learning together."

"Me too."

As she raised her hand for a high five, Aiden slapped his palm against hers. "Okay, let's tell Mom and Dad, 'see you later, alligator,' so we can start the fun."

Aiden turned towards us. "Later gator." He waved and walked into the classroom.

That went well. I didn't get a hug, but there were no tears.

"Well." Mrs. Cope clapped her hands together. "I guess that does it." She chuckled. "Have a nice day, Ms. Swan, Mr. Scott." She waved and walked into the classroom and closed the door behind her.

For a few moments, I watched Aiden through the small glass opening. He was interacting with a group of boys.

My baby wasn't quite a baby anymore.

I still remembered the day I found out I was pregnant.

He was the cutest baby ever, chubby and huge, with kissable cheeks.

Now look at him.

Someone cleared their throat. I looked behind me. It was Alec. I forgot he was there.

He was standing closer to me, too close. I took a small step to the side to create some space, and he followed, getting even closer.

Time to go.

I looked at Aiden once more. He was smiling before I walked away.

While I headed to my truck, I heard footsteps behind me.

"Isa." Alec whispered.

I continued walking.

I could feel him get closer to me.

"So, you're going to ignore me now?" He said through clenched teeth.

I stayed silent and picked up my pace. We had nothing to talk about, as far as I was concerned, and I didn't want to make a scene in Aiden's school.

I pushed the doors open and walked to my SUV. I put my hand on the door handle when Alec grabbed my arm and pulled me back.

I shook his hand off. "What?" I said sharply and looked at him with a single brow raised.

He raised his hands and took a step back. "I just wanted to talk." He put them down. "You didn't have to ignore me. You know I don't like that."

I chuckled humorlessly. "You don't like that, that's rich." I shook my head. "How do you think Aiden feels when you ignore him for weeks?" I blinked at him. "You think he likes that?" I tilted my head to the side.

"Come on, Isa." He took a step toward me. "I've been busy with work. I know you can understand that."

"Right." I crossed my arms and raised both eyebrows.

Things had been 'busy' at work about two years ago.

His shoulders slumped. "I showed up today. That has to count for something."

I scoffed and shook my head. "Alec." I said slowly. "Showing up today does not make up for all the other times you didn't show up. Do you get that?" I squinted my eyes "Stop making promises to Aiden, if you can't, or won't keep them."

"Dammit, Isa." Alec raked his fingers through his hair. "I'm doing the best that I can."

I blew out a breath. "Okay, Alec." I rolled my eyes. "Whatever." I wasn't about to have this argument, the same argument.

"Don't do that." He clenched his fists. "Don't you dare do that to me—be condescending. I hate that." He shook his head and barked out a laugh. "It's that attitude that got us here in the first place, that attitude that pushed me into Chelsea's arms." He curled his lip. "Maybe if you hadn't been so unreasonable, we still could have been a happy family, and you wouldn't–" He cut himself off and turned away from me, inhaling.

As usual, it my fault. Everything was my fault, according to him and his mother.

"Look." He turned back to me. "I will spend time with him." He took a step toward me. "Just because it doesn't happen when you want it to, doesn't mean it won't happen at all, and it doesn't make me the bad guy." He whispered; a vein throbbed in his neck.

I took a step toward him, closing the small gap between us. "I won't let you hurt my child." I held his gaze, unwavering, until he blinked, looked down, and stepped back. "Now move your car." I walked backwards, looking at him until I got close enough to my truck, got in and started it.

Alec shook his head, walked to his car and opened the door, putting one leg in. He looked back at me for a few beats, got in the car completely, and exited the parking lot just as loudly as he had entered.

This was going to be a fun school year.

STB

I rushed out of the truck and tossed my key to the valet. "Thanks, Kaleb."

"You're welcome Ms. Swan."

As I dashed through the building, I felt myself relax.

This was my element.

The one area in my life, besides being a Mom, that I thrived in.

My first love, the fashion world, my magazine.

As I passed office after office, I felt proud of myself, my business.

It all started for me at a young age. My mom was a seamstress. She started in a bridal boutique in downtown Chicago. She was amazing, and she still is. After being there for years and gaining a large clientele for herself, she opened her own bridal boutique called R. Analise.

It was a big deal, a huge one. She was so good that she designed and created a couture wedding dress for Cindy Crawford. From there, she became a designer to the stars. While that was something she never expected to do, she loved it, and her passion for it intrigued me.

As a kid, I sat in her studio and bugged her until she taught me something. The first thing I ever made was a dress. It looked terrible, but I was hooked ever since then.

After my mom taught me the basics and I learned some things on my own, at seventeen, I presented my first collection.

Because of my mom and the connections she had, I showcased my designs to Karl Lagerfeld, and, unexpectedly, Andre Leon Talley, which made me even more nervous. I believed in my designs; I worked on them till I loved them, but I just thought he was doing a favor for my mom. So, imagine my surprise when Andre Leon Tally felt that my collection was good enough to be viewed by Anna Wintour. The next thing I knew, I was at Vogue offices and starting my career as a designer.

Eventually, I learned all aspects of the fashion industry, creative and business. Editorial fashion just clicked for me. While I worked at Vogue, starting as a fashion assistant and ending as an editorial assistant. I learned how to research properly, write articles, and deliver that information to the masses in a fun yet aesthetically pleasing way.

It was exhilarating to work with the other creative minds that made Vogue what it was, and it inspired me to start my own magazine.

I left Vogue when I was twenty-one and traveled a bit. In my travels, I met two of my best friends and the two people I couldn't have done this without. Together, we made my vision and dream a reality. We started my fashion magazine, Phases of The Moon.

We—Demetri, Angela, and I—started in a small studio. The three of us did all the jobs that typically required at least twenty people.

It got stressful, but it all worked out in the end and surpassed all of my wildest dreams.

"Oh." Angela, my personal assistant, blew a breath out as soon as she saw me. "Thank god you're here."

"What's up?" I leaned against her desk.

"Alexandre Vauthier's assistant keeps calling." She rubbed the back of her neck. "But she has deemed me 'unworthy of speaking to such a fashion god,' her words, not mine." She rolled her eyes. "And Demetri won't talk to her because of that fiasco during fashion week."

Let's just say Tiffany got a little rude with some pretty important people and all the designs were delivered extremely late.

"Of course, he won't." I chuckled. "When she calls again, patch her through."

"Great." She sighed. "Now that's been handled, let's go over your schedule." She inhaled deeply. "Your 9:15 appointment with Chanel was pushed back to 9:45, then you have to meet with Dior at 11:00. You have to oversee the photoshoot at 12:30 and finally you have your staff meeting with all of your editors at 1:30. Hopefully everything stays as planned." She said before she exhaled.

"Sounds like a light day." I joked.

"The day is just getting started." She grinned.

"I'm leaving around 2:00 to get Aiden, so it'll be a working lunch today."

She raised both eyebrows. "When isn't it a working lunch?"

"You're—"

"Why were you late?" Demetri asked, cutting me off. "This one." He pointed at Angela. "Kept trying to get me to talk to that…" He waved his hand. "Assistant." He narrowed his eyes and looked between Angela and me. "And you both know that won't happen."

I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing. He couldn't even say her name.

"Good morning, Demetri, I'm doing well. My morning was great. Thank you for asking."

"Yes, yes, good morning, nice to see you." He sighed. "Why were you late?"

I rolled my eyes and walked to my office.

He was right on my heels.

I sighed as I took off my coat and threw it on the small couch. I set my purse down, walked to my desk, and took a seat.

Demetri stood with his arms crossed and looking at me.

I hummed to myself as I turned on my computer and wiggled around in my chair to get comfortable. I pushed the intercom button on the phone. "Angela."

"Yes."

"Could I get some coffee, please?"

"Sure, one moment."

"Thank you."

I glanced at Demetri; he was scowling.

I chuckled to myself and moved my mouse around, trying to appear busy.

"Bella." Demetri huffed.

"Yes." I looked at him innocently.

"Are you going to answer my question?"

"What question?" I frowned.

He narrowed his eyes.

"Here's your coffee." Angela said as she walked into my office and set it down on my desk.

"Thanks, Ang." I smiled. "You're a doll."

"Bella." Demetri huffed; I think he even stomped his foot.

"Okay, okay." I took a sip of coffee. "Relax." I sat the mug back down. "Today was Aiden's first day of school."

"Oh, right." Angela sat down in a chair. "How was he? Did he cry?"

"No." I shook my head. "He was excited. He paid us no attention, didn't even give me a hug."

"That's good." Angela smiled.

"Us." Demetri plopped down in the chair beside Angela. "Alec showed up."

"Yeah." I shrugged.

"I'm sure Aiden was happy about that."

"But you weren't?" Demetri raised a single eyebrow.

"I'm…" I paused and thought about how I really felt. "I'm happy that Aiden was happy."

"That's a no." Demetri smirked. "That's too bad. That man is sex on legs."

"Demetri." Angela slapped his arm.

"What?" He frowned. "It's true." He turned to look at me. "What did he do?"

"I didn't say he did anything." I placed my elbows on my desk.

"It's Alec." Demetri rolled his eyes. "He did something, spill."

"Well." I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair and told them what happened; from the moment Alec loudly entered the parking lot to the moment he left.

"Alec, Alec, Alec." Demetri tsked and shook his head. "He'd get so much further in life if he didn't talk. All those good looks go to waste when he opens his mouth."

Not a complete lie.

Unfortunately, by the time they met Alec, he started turning into an asshol—his current self. They didn't have the best experiences with him personally. They've seen how he interacted with me and Aiden and then how he progressively interacted with Aiden less and less.

"Alec will be… Alec." I exhaled and leaned back in the chair. "And I can't let that affect Aiden, so…" I shrugged.

"Well, at least you can count on him to always be himself." Demetri snorted.

I rolled my eyes. "There is that, I guess."

"We know this is hard for you right now." Angela stood up. "But you know we're here for you."

"Yeah, you know we'd do anything for you." Demetri said.

"I know." I smiled.

"Good." Demetri sighed and stood. "Now that we've shared our feelings, it's time to get to work, we've got shit to do and appointments to keep." He looked between Angela and I. "Chop, chop ladies, let's go."

Angela and I looked at each other.

I thought I was the boss.

He put his hands on his hips. "Is no one going to listen to me?"

We still didn't move.

"Fine, be that way." Demetri huffed and flounced out of my office.

"I love when we do that." Angela and I chuckled together.

He's gets so annoyed with us.

Her office phone rang, and she hurried out. I took another sip of my coffee just as Angela's voice came over the phone intercom. "Bella, I have Tiffany on line one."

STB

"How was your first day?" I asked as we walked out of the building and to Benny.

"It was so much fun, Mommy." He had a huge smile on his face.

"Oh, yeah?" I chuckled. "What did you do?"

"Got some friends." He smiled up at me.

"Okay." I said as I opened the back door for him so he could get in. I closed the door, hopped in the driver's seat, and turned to look at him. "What are their names?"

"Mike, Oliver, Noah, and William." He rattled each of their names off using his fingers.

"That's a lot of names." I widened my eyes. "You were busy today."

"Yeah." He nodded his head and smiled.

"Well, what did you learn today?"

He shrugged his shoulder. "I can't remember."

"Okay." I chuckled. "Did you make any other friends?"

"Yeah, but I can't remember their name—oh wait," He frowned. "There was this one girl who kept looking at us." He wrinkled his nose.

"What's her name? Did you make friends with her too?"

He shook his head. "Mike said that we don't play with girls, cause they have cooties and stink."

My head jerked back slightly. He's never had problems playing with girls before. I wouldn't say he's had any close friends who were girls, but he never outright refused to play or engage with a girl either.

"Aiden, Sweetheart." I repositioned myself so he could see me better. "That's not nice to say. Girls don't have cooties. No one has cooties. You can have friends that are girls."

"But Mike said all girls have cooties and—"

Seems like Mike talked quite a bit today. "Mommy said." I said gently, cutting him off. "That's not nice to say, okay?"

Aiden looked down and played with the strap of his bookbag. "Okay." He mumbled.

"Okay, now." I breathed out. "Who's ready to see Pop-Pop?" I said as I turned around, buckled my seatbelt, started the car, and pulled off.

The ride to Lucky Strike was quick. My Dad found this restaurant. Besides food, it had arcade games, a bowling alley, ping-pong tables, and a few other things.

He thought Aiden would really like this place, and I agreed, but I also thought Dad would like this place. A lot.

After I parked the car, we got out and headed inside.

"Pop-Pop." Aiden smiled as soon as he saw my dad.

"There's my boy." Dad held his arms out, and Aiden ran to him.

I smiled at their exchange. "Hey Mom." I said and kissed her cheek.

"Hi Sweetheart." She smiled. "How are you?"

"I'm good." I put my hand in my coat pocket. "How about you? What have you been up to?"

"Nothing much." She shrugged. "Just a little sketching."

"Oh." I grinned. "Will you show me?"

"Of course not." She smirked.

"Mom." I pouted.

"Hey Bella, Mom." Alice said.

"Hey B, Renée." Rosalie said.

They walked through the door together.

"Hey guys." I said as I hugged each of them. "Thanks for coming."

"Of course." Rosalie said. "It was Aiden's first day of school. I wouldn't miss it for the world."

"What she said." Alice tilted her head in Rose's direction. "He's my nephew, there's nowhere else I'd rather be."

"Hi Nana." Aiden said as he wrapped his arms around her legs.

"Hi Baby." She kissed the top of his head.

"Baby girl." Dad put his arm around my shoulder and kissed my cheek.

"Hey Dad."

"Aiden told me his dad showed up." He raised his eyebrows. "I assume it went well."

"Yeah, it was…" I inhaled, looking for the right word. "Interesting."

His lips twitched.

Yeah, I was trying to be nice.

"Interesting good, or interesting bad?" Alice raised her brows.

I glanced at Mom and Aiden. He wasn't listening to us. He was engulfed in whatever he was telling her. I could tell from the look on her face she could hear the conversation we were having, but I didn't want to chance him hearing anything.

I shrugged. "Just interesting."

They all had varying degrees of disbelief on their face.

"Swan party, your table is ready." The host said.

Saved by the bell, or the host, I should say.

He led us to our table and sat the menus down.

After we took our seats and looked over the menu, the waitress came over. "Hi, my name is Denise, I'll be your server this afternoon." She smiled as she looked at each of us. "What would you like to drink?"

"I'll have a Sprite." Alice said.

"Coke/Pepsi for me." Rose said

"I'll have a Guinness." Dad said.

"We'll…" I waved a finger between Aiden and myself. "Have lemonade."

"Me too." Mom said.

"Okay, I'll be back in a moment with your drinks." Denise said before she walked away.

"How was school, Aiden?" Dad asked.

Aiden told them all about his day, leaving out the cooties part. While he was talking, our server brought our drinks and took our order.

Conversation remained light as waited for our food and when we enjoyed our meals.

"Welp." Dad sighed as he sat back in his chair, patting his stomach. "I'm stuffed."

Aiden copied his actions. "Me too."

"You're just the cutest thing." Rose kissed his cheek

"He gets it from his Pop-Pop." Dad stood. "Let's go play some games, Bud."

Aiden hopped out of his chair, grabbed Dad's hand, and pulled him away.

And there goes my buffer.

Alice watched them until they disappeared from view. "So." She turned to me. "Interesting?"

I picked up my glass and took a sip. "Yep." I set it down.

"Well…" Rose raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to tell us about it?"

It's not like they wouldn't find out, eventually. And maybe it wouldn't hurt to get an outside perspective.

I took a breath and, for the second time, told someone about the conversation Alec and I had.

"Hmm." Rosalie picked up her drink.

Mom pursed her lips. "Interesting indeed."

"Well." Alice rubbed the back of her neck. "I forgot how fun Alec could be."

"Yeah." I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. "He's just loads of fun." I chuckled.

"Well, at least he showed up, I guess." Mom said.

I guess when you've been that inconstant as a parent, doing the bare minimum gets you praise.

"Who would've thought Alec would have turned into such a, a." Alice waved her hand around, trying to come up with the right word. "A, a."

"Jackass." Rose said.

"Yeah." Alice nodded. "I guess that'll work."

"Girls." Mom glanced at me. "Be nice."

"No, it's fine." I waved my hand. "They aren't completely wrong."

To be fair, compared to what I've called him in my head, that was nice.

"But honestly, I don't care what he says about me or what I did in our relationship." I placed my hands on the table. "To him, I'll always be the problem. I've accepted that." I sighed. "What I want to know… What I want you guys to tell me truthfully, is if I'm being unfair to Alec—"

"What?" Alice frowned.

"No." Rose said. "Hell, no."

"Let me finish." I looked at both of them. "What I was asking was am I being unfair to Alec by putting too many expectations on him as a father?" I bit my lip. "Like I said, what he says, hell even thinks about me being unreasonable." I rolled my eyes. "As a wife means nothing, I just want to make sure that I'm doing my part as a mother for Aiden."

"Again." Rose said. "Hell. No."

"What she said." Alice pointed to Rose.

"Guys." I blew out. "I'm being serious."

"So are we." Rose said.

I turned to Mom. "What do you think?" I jerked my chin in Alice and Rosalie's direction. "They don't like him. They're being biased."

I mean, I didn't like him too much now either, but I wanted to hear a fair, unbiased opinion. I knew it would be difficult. They all saw how things played out, but if I was being unfair, I wanted to know.

"I'm not being biased." Alice mumbled. I ignored her.

Mom took a breath through her nose. "I think, it's a difficult situation." She tilted her head from side to side. "Do I think he could do more as a parent? Yes. I don't think you're asking or expecting too much from Alec." She played with her necklace. "But again, it's a sticky situation. He could really feel… believe, that he's doing the best he can, so of course if you say anything that differs from what he's convinced himself of, he's going to react poorly and get defensive."

"So, what do I do to make this easier for Aiden? What's the best possible outcome I can hope for?"

She pursed her lips. She was really thinking about it. I appreciated that.

She lifted one shoulder. "I don't know."

I slumped shoulders. I didn't know either. "Same."

"Look." Mom sighed "I know things haven't been easy, and you and Aiden are still adjusting, but everything will be okay. We're all here for you. We all support and love you." She placed her hand on top of mine. "And even though I know you know this; you're an amazing mother and you're doing great."

I hoped so. I really did.

A/N: You've met some new characters this chapter… what are your thoughts on any of them? How do you think Bella handled herself with Demetri? Are you loving Demetri?

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