I don't own twilight. What I own is my character's behavior, personality, background, and the plot of my story.

Have a fun read.

Bella stares at the picture as she remembers when it was taken.

Flashback

She watches as the Cullens decorate the house for Christmas. Their home looked like a Christmas commercial set. It is filled with laughter.

This looks like a true Christmas holiday.

This feels like Christmas.

Everyone is decorating what they were ordered by Alice to decorate. She is a guest which according to Alice means that she gets to sit still, look pretty, and drink hot cocoa while everyone else does the work.

She is thankful for that. She has never decorated a tree. She doesn't know the first thing when it comes to decorating for Christmas. She and her dad never celebrate it.

Typically, he would be too busy with work to take a day off, so she would stay at his office while he is in the field or attend whatever Christmas party he is attending, which she was always too young to attend. Her dad is an FBI agent. He committed himself to his job once her mum died when she was two years old. So having a personal life, was never part of her childhood, or his life.

Edward is a friend of a friend whom she started hanging out with lately. They are not dating, but they are not friends either. They are strandling the line in between with the promise of more in the future for them.

She likes him, a lot. She is waiting for him to ask her out. She won't do that herself. She is not comfortable putting herself out there. This, until then, they are in the in between. Which she is enjoying. If she learned anything from her relationship with her ex, Derek. It is, that there is something to be said about a relationship that grows at a slow pace instead of resembling a tornado.

"So, are you enjoying yourself so far?" Edward asks coming from the kitchen with a mug of hot cocoa in his hand.

"Cheers," he tells her as he raises his mug before taking a sip from it. She smiles at him as she drinks from her's. She notices some hot cocoa on the side of his mouth so she reaches his mouth and rubs it off with a tissue paper that she picked off the coffee table.

"You had some cocoa on the corner," she tells him as she shows him the tissue before throwing it into a nearby bin.

He smiles at her. She smiles back before she gets self-conscious and breaks eye contact with him and looks at his family. His brother, Emmet is dragging Rosalie towards the mistletoe to kiss her. His sister Alice is ordering Jasper from below, while he stands on the top of the ladder trying to look chastised. His parents are in the kitchen scoping cookie batter onto the baking sheet.

Everyone looks happy.

"You have a lovely family," she told him while looking envious. "I can think of another lovely person. She is called Isabella but goes by Bella," he tells her.

She rolls her eyes at him. He always showers her with compliments but that is where they always stop.

"You know, this lovely girl has a lot of admirers."

"Yeah I do which is why I came to ask her if she is interested in going on a date with me once we return to campus."

"I think she is going to love that."

A couple of minutes later Alice dragged them to take a photo with the rest of the family. She stares at the photo for a couple of minutes. They were really happy.

She was really happy.

The sound of tiny feet running catches her attention. She looks up and finds Cece running towards her, her blonde hair damp from her shower. She hugs her fiercely and Bella return the hug enthusiastically.

"Who is this?" Cece asks her when she notices the picture in her hand.

"My friend," Bella replies as she combs her fingers through Cece's hair. "Did you enjoy your bath with grandpa?"

She nods her head agrissively which turns into her shaking it side to side like a dog. Bella pats the space between her legs, and Cece sits on the edge of the bed. Bella takes the towel from her and dries her hair gently then starts combing it. Once done, she turns her around so that she is facing her and kisses her forehead before she hands her a glass of water and her medicine that she takes quickly. She used to throw a fit everytime she had them, but now she has gotten too used to taking them now to make a big deal out of it.

"Go pick a story and get under the covers. I will come to tell you the bedtime story soon, okay?"

"Okay mummy."

Hey guys, I hope you had fun with this read. I have been very frustrated by verdict of the infamous defamation trail. If you don't know which one I am talking about, are you living under a rock?

I just know that this will set DV victims of both genders back. This is an attack on our first amendment rights.

Anyways, I was frustrated so I decided to work on this and post my update early with my other story 's update, instead of wasting my energy freaking out over all of the horrific repercussions of this verdict.

So I want you to know that if you need someone to talk to, I am only a message away. If you are triggered by it and don't know how to speak about it to others, I hear you and feel you. I am feeling the same thing. That is why I am working on a cheat sheet for myself when talking to others about it so I don't get overwhelmed and miss the key facts. If you are in the same boat as me, message me and I will send it to you once I am done with it.

Take the time to mourn then start working. We can not let them take our rights.

Don't spiral, organize.