Author's Note;
Thank you everyone for your continued support about my story. I can't wait to share the rest.
A special thank you to Frannie Walsh and Carole Long, for the their edits, advice, and support.
Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. ~Please enjoy and review.
"Alice," Bella said, nodding her head forward to emphasize. "Alice!" Still no response. Bella snapped her fingers in front of her sister's face while shouting her name once more.
"Yes—Sorry. The ring. Umm", Alice really didn't know where to start.
"Who's the guy?" Bella just wanted answers; she would scold her sister later. Bella really didn't blame Alice for being secretive about her private life. Seeing how her parents constantly hold her to her past is tough. It's also tough for Bella to see Alice always compared to her, she feels badly and actively tries to dull her "sparkle" to help Alice's cause.
"His name is Jasper, and we met back in New York." Alice fidgets with the hem of her blouse.
"Why is the ring discarded at the bottom of your bag as though it's junk?". Bella was genuinely curious about her sister's life. The one she built with none of her family in it.
"I haven't—." Alice struggled to speak about her new life and the new mistakes she's making there. "I haven't said yes; That's why I can't wear it." Alice looked down at the floor, embarrassed. Alice put her head in her hands and cried. Now Alice Swan was not a crier. Maybe it was talking about Jasper; perhaps it was being home, even Alice couldn't pinpoint her turmoil.
"Ally." Bella's voice softened, and she tilted her neck sympathetically.
Bella felt sorry for her older sibling and the obvious internal struggle she was having, so she dropped the subject. "You don't have to talk about it, until you're ready. If you're happy, I'm happy. I love you, and I'm sorry for pushing you. I know being back isn't easy."
Alice wiped her eyes and looked at Bella; She opened her mouth as if to say the words she had been dying to say for so long but instead said nothing as she looked down at the hem of her lace blouse.
She took her moment of weakness and mustered up the strength to run away again, "Thank you." Alice said definitively."You better get moving before Victoria has your head on a platter."
Bella rolled her eyes, "Victoria doesn't scare me. The only reason I still babysit Seth is because I feel bad for him. He's so isolated in that house."
Alice nodded, having been Seth's babysitter and the Black's housekeeper before leaving town. She remembered full well how lonely that house could be.
"I better go grab the chocolate chip cookies I baked him before Edward comes."
"I thought you canceled with lover boy?" Alice questioned. Bella wouldn't bring Edward into Jake's house; even she was not that naive.
"He's giving me a ride up to the reservation. I didn't want Victoria sending the car. Plus, this way, I still get to see him," Bella gushed anytime she mentioned her loyal beau. He was everything to her, much more than just a high school sweetheart.
"And you can make out somewhere along the way…" Alice finished.
"Ow" Bella smacked her sister's arm.
"Al it's not like that. It's different with Edward; he's a man, whereas Jake will always be the boy who used to fondle my boobs on the dock at the reservation. This relationship—it's mature, I love him—truly. I thought I loved Jake, but it was more me caring and protecting Jake from himself. Hell, I'm still caring and protecting Jake. He's more like a brother now. I just wish Jake would realize that." Bella confessed. Oftentimes it was easier for Bella to deny Jake's inability to move on, but with graduation looming, she knows that it's now or never.
"Jake is a crazy one, but fun-loving. I like you with Edward though; he's good to you. Good for you." Alice remarked, giving her seal of approval after all this time.
Bella smiled and nodded, twirling the necklace Edward gave her between her fingers.
LtD~
"Oh God, Oh God. Fuck!" Renee moaned, twisting her hips against her partner, trying to prolong the moment. She knew once the spell between them was over, it was over.
"Gahhh", Carlisle finished and pulled out, unconcerned about Renee or her pleasure…
"That was good." Renee giggled, trying to lighten the aftermath of their adultery.
Carlisle nodded, chest still heaving from their romp as he walked over to the dingy fridge in the condo he once shared with his first wife.
Making his way back to the couch, he plopped down next to Renee, and she made a failed attempt at snuggling next to Carlisle. Even after all these years, Renee never learned.
"I'm so glad you kept this place. I know you were toying with the idea of selling it back in the fall, but I like to think it's our oasis, away from it all." Renee was the sentimentalist in their arrangement.
"Yes, well, you know the price wasn't right, and I don't think Tanya would've been happy if I sold it." Carlisle's mood darkened when he thought of his late first wife.
Renee nodded with understanding, but she was a little bitter he still mentioned Tanya after all these years. It was bad enough that she had to share him with Esme, her best friend.
Renee and Carlisle's history dates as far back as they could remember. Carlisle was Renee's first boyfriend, and if you ask her, she'll say he was the love of her life and the one that got away. The truth would be that Carlisle dated Renee because she had daddy issues and felt the need to overcompensate, which he benefited from. It never hurt to be dating the head cheerleader, who gave terrific head. Their love affair was over as soon as 'Titty' Tanya moved to town. Carlisle saw her as the perfect wife to the doctor he intended on being. Poise, submissive…big tits. This all made him propose to Tanya on Renee's eighteenth birthday.
Renee mourned her ex's engagement by fucking Charlie, in hopes of making Carlisle jealous. But, he couldn't have cared less, especially when Renee announced her pregnancy with Alice a month later. Renee got the short end of the stick and was stuck with Charlie. So when the opportunity presented itself to fuck her ex-boyfriend/ best friend's husband, she jumped on the proverbial horse and rode. This has been going on for quite some time.
Tanya and Carlisle had a happy marriage until Tanya died during childbirth with their son, Emmett. Carlisle, never the parental type, panicked on how he would raise two children under two. So, he did what any egotistical doctor would do; he married his grief counselor, Esme Platt. He barely remembered her even though she was Renee's best friend the entire time they dated back in the day. But, Esme was comfortable on the sidelines and was enamored by Carlisle's charm. She also adored his boys, especially Edward. They married six months after Tanya's death. Esme was cast out by the housewives of Forks and was never seen as good enough to be a doctor's wife. But she raised the boys as her own and was a devoted wife to Carlisle, giving up her career to tend to the home and be available as the kids needed her.
Even after all these years, Renee lies to Esme's face every chance she gets. With friends like her, who needed enemies…
"Carlisle, I think we need to be more careful." Renee hated having serious conversations with Carlisle because he was already too testy for his own good. "Bella is starting to suspect something, and you know if she voices her concerns to Edward…"
Carlisle sticks his hand out to stop Renee from saying anything further. He didn't like being unprepared, this made him feel exposed and a man like Carlisle will not risk that happening...
"Esme has no reason to question me. You handle your daughter. I truly believed Bella would be different…" Carlisle scoffed. He knew all about the Swans and their drama.
"Bella is different. She's not going to be Allyson. We've worked too hard to go down another rabbit hole". Renee wasn't usually this assertive, but protecting Bella has always been her priority.
Carlisle nodded, knowing that Allyson was the bad apple in that family and nobody wanted a reminder of undesirables.
"I hate to cut this short, but I have that pediatric mental health seminar early in the morning." Carlisle started dressing and brushing the wrinkles from his khakis.
Renee looked around for her bra, realizing that Carlisle had torn it. Giggling, she proceeded to get dressed as Carlisle twirled his Mercedes key around his finger, losing his patience for Renee and her immaturity. He could have sworn that she was the same seventeen year old he knew thirty-five years ago–minus wrinkles and the unruly strands of gray her hairstylist must have missed.
"Any day now, Rey." Carlisle's brash attitude never affected Renee, she went about her business unfazed.
"Okay Carlisle," she emphasized, rolling her eyes. Her disrespect grated Carlisle's nerves, but she wasn't his to care about.
They parted ways, Carlisle going home to his wife and Renee to an empty bed because of a meaningless card game.
LtD~
"You should have seen her, Edward! She was scared. Scared of me–asking the wrong question, scared that I knew about the ring, scared of me". Bella stressed, recapping tonight's events with her boyfriend of three years.
"The whole exchange was odd and so not Alice. Oh and then, I didn't even tell you the weirdest part; Alice had a prescription bottle in her bag. I didn't recognize the name, and I didn't have a chance to take a photo. Ugh, this is all making me uneasy."
"I hate to tell you Bee, but it seems as though trouble follows your sister." Edward knew Alice's past was a colorful one but didn't judge her for it. She had enough critics and if Bella saw the best in her, then he resolved to try, as well.
Bella skated past his comment, not really having anything to say to it, "And she's wearing designer clothes and that bag. That bag is expensive, like waitlist, expensive. I mean, this is holey graphic tee wearing , tomboy Alice we're talking about here. She worked for the Blacks for years cleaning their toilets and Seth's puke, and now she's prim and proper. She's hiding something".
Edward opened his mouth to comment on Alice's secretive nature. But before he could say anything, Bella continued, "Ally keeps her life close to the vest and is protective over her past. She hasn't shared much of what went down back then, but it doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure out it has something to do with Mrs. King, and her husband. Maybe she stole her boyfriend or something, and partied too hard…Nevertheless, tonight she looked—she looked just like our mother. Her mannerisms, her tells, it was scary. God, now there's two of them keeping secrets".
"Bee—let me take your mind off Ally for a few minutes" He gave her his cheeky grin. Maybe Alice had a point; car makeouts were fun.
"Victoria will come around this corner and smash your windshield if she finds us. She needs 'me time.'" Bella snorted. The woman didn't ever have to lift a finger but constantly seemed to be drained of energy. Then again swiping and reciting credit card numbers must be taxing.
Edward began kissing Bella's neck; he knew her weaknesses and preyed on them.
She lifted her head for leverage and moved so she could take his lips in between hers. She never knew the power of kissing before Edward. He could turn her on from just a simple peck on the lips. He was tall, dark, and handsome, she was a lucky girl. Every girl in Forks High was dying to bag Edward, even her former best friend, Leah.
Bella lifted her petite frame and crossed the console divider and pursed her lips at Edward. He looked at her like she was the most beautiful girl in the world, and for a second, she actually believed it.
Taking his face between her hands, she teased his lips with her own, sucking and pulling at the softness. His breath hitched and so did her skirt as he pulled it above her waist. Edward rubbed between her thighs, relishing in feeling her as Bella moaned into his neckline, losing her concentration as she nuzzled into the line between his neck and shoulder, gasping. At that moment, she couldn't bring herself to care if anyone saw them as he played her over and over again, and she took and took, leaning into his touch.
"Open your eyes, look at me," Edward commanded; he loved seeing her enjoy how he made her feel good. She deserved the world and more. He grinned, seeing her in such a blissed out state.
"Bee".
She popped her eyes open and was met with Edward's illuminating green eyes. They lit up the dark car and set her soul on fire. Fuck the outside world–this should be their world. Her heart was beating so fast from the pleasure, and her moans filled the car as she came.
Their foreheads met, and she gave him a passionate kiss, looking at him through hooded eyes. "Let me—." She started for his belt.
"No–this was about you. Please don't stress about your family. Soon enough, we will be out of this town, and everything in the past will be just that, the past." Edward proclaimed. They planned on moving to NYC after graduation; the problem was they hadn't told anyone yet. "I love you, Bee." Edward kissed her nose and helped her climb back over the console.
"Me too…forever". She looked over at him, fidgeting with her nail beds. Even Bella, the eternal optimist, knew things couldn't stay this good forever.
Ltd~
"Really? The best friend and the husband? Can you people be any more predictable? I mean come on!" Riley couldn't help but laugh at his own candor.
Renee put on a face of disgust. It wasn't as though she was ashamed or remorseful; she just didn't appreciate his tone.
"This is inappropriate, Detective Biers. You should be out there fighting crime!" She pointed in the direction of the door dramatically.
Riley remained unaffected by Renee's outbursts. Breaking her wouldn't be too challenging, he calculated.
His eyes narrowed, and he carefully thought about his next words as he slid a folder to Mrs. Swan.
Renee gasped and then she grew quiet, her stature falling, "Please. Please don't tell Esme; it would kill her." She looked at the manila colored folder knowing that if the police knew, soon they would too.