"And you're sure I'll be okay?" Bella asked the question for the tenth time, making Alice roll her eyes.
"Yes silly Bella. It will all be fine. If you're really that worried about it, I can stay with you." Alice grinned at her friend. She started taking the clothes out of the bag faster than Bella could follow.
"Annnnd. Done." Alice spun around, sitting on Bella's old desk chair. "If you want, you can call Edward now so you can break the news to him before Charlie gets home. It should be done by the time that Charlie gets home."
Bella nodded, looking at Alice. "Just let me text him. Alice if you could just wait outside, I don't want him to think that you had anything to do with this."
Alice nodded, kissing Bella on the forehead. "I'll be able to get here in seconds Bella. If I see anything that would be dangerous to you, even a possibility, I'll be back here."
Bella was pacing in the living room as she waited for Edward to arrive. It would be a rare occasion that he was using the front door. She was still thinking about what to tell him. It wasn't like she wanted to break his heart, he just needed to do this. Before she lost her nerve.
The knock startled her, and Bella laughed at her own nervousness. She opened the door to let Edward in, shrinking back when he tried to kiss her on the forehead.
"Edward. Can you sit down on the couch? I need to talk to you."
She watched his face turn into a crooked grin that used to make her heart beat faster. Nothing now.
"Yes, Bella, what did you want to discuss?" Edward's voice was slightly condescending, like he believed he knew everything. How could she have missed that tone before?
Bella sank into the couch at the other end. "First of all, thank you for saving me from James Edward. I uh, really appreciate not dying there."
"Of course Bella. You know I would do anything to help save your humanity." He smiled, more a smirk.
"I've been thinking over the last few weeks and I realized that I-"
"Bella if this about me changing you, the answer is still no." He shook his head, looking at her like she was a child.
"No Edward this is about me and you. I can't see you any longer. I, I, I'm sorry but I don't feel that way about you and-" Bella looked down at her hands, unable to look Edward in the eyes.
"What do you mean Bella? I just saved you from a vampire and this is the thanks that I get?" Edward stood suddenly, clenching his fists. He moved towards Bella, but a white blur stood in front of her.
"What are you doing here Alice? This doesn't concern you." Edward shot a venomous look at Alice, poised to strike.
"She's my best friend, which is the most important thing. Not only that, but killing the police chiefs daughter Edward? You don't think it will be easy to connect back to you! What the hell are you thinking, trying to kill someone you claim to love? How can you love her if you want to drain her blood?"
Alice stepped closer the Bella, making sure she brunette was touching her. She'd hate to do it, but if they needed to make a quick escape, this would make it easier.
"She belongs to me. She is my singer Alice. I don't care if she's your friend. She's a human." Edward was hissing, his eyes black now.
"She is a member of the coven. You don't attack your family Edward." Alice reached back, her hand brushing Bella's in reassurance. Even though she felt she may need to act quickly.
"She can speak for herself, Edward. I don't belong to anyone. Just because my blood calls to you, it doesn't mean that I belong to you. In fact it means that you need to stay away from me. I don't want to be associated with you until you get over yourself." Bella's voice was harsh and cold.
"Don't give me this bullshit about I belong with you or I don't know what I want. If I'm so young that you feel like you need to make decisions for me, then you shouldn't be dating me. If you don't respect my judgement you shouldn't be dating me either." She opened her mouth to continue but saw Alice's head shake and felt her squeezing her hand.
"You don't know anything Isabella. You're just a foolish 17 year old. You'll forget about me soon enough." Edward was spitting mad now, his venom splashing Alice in the face and making the female vampire hiss in pain.
"Edward, just leave. Go hunt and calm down so you can have a rational discussion with Bella later." Alice was watching Edward on high alert, twitching as he took a step towards Bella then seemingly thought better of it. They watched as Edward turned towards the front door, tearing it off the frame in his anger and haste to leave.
Alice turned to Bella who was shaking with adrenaline and fear. She guided Bella to the blue couch, making sure that she was settled before turning to the kitchen. It couldn't possibly be that hard to make tea for her right?
Alice opened the cupboard to the right of the stove, grabbing the first pot she saw and filling it with water, biting her own lip as she grabbed a mug.
"Bella, what flavor of tea do you want?" She looked over to the brunette who was sitting on the couch staring off into the distance.
"Fuck," she dialed Carlisle on the phone, waiting for him to answer. "Carlisle, how do you know if someone is going into shock?"
"Alice, what happened?" She was beside the couch in moments before answering her father. "Bella broke up with Edward and I think he scared her when he tore the door off her house. She's just staring into space right now."
"Gadzooks. That boy. Alice, I want you to listen to her heartbeat. Is it fast and irregular?" Alice concentrated, surprised that she wasn't tempted by the thrumming of Bella's blood.
"No, but she's just sitting here staring. I've started tea going for her, but I don't know what else I can do." She jumped as she felt Bella's hand clutching hers, trying to pull her to sit down with her.
"Well that's good Alice. I'll be there in a few minutes. Make sure she stays warm, and give her the tea." The phone call ended abruptly and Alice let Bella pull her towards her. She was unsurprised when Bella turned to her and wrapped her arms around Alice's cold frame. Alice grabbed the blanket from the back of the couch and draped it around Bella's shoulders, pulling the girl to her.
She spoke softly to Bella. "What kind of tea do you want? I've got water boiling and Carlisle will be here in two minutes."
Bella shook her head as if clearing the cobwebs, squeezing Alice harder for a moment. "I'm sorry, I think I zoned out there for a minute Alice, what were you saying?"
Alice rubbed slow circles into Bella's back. "I was just letting you know I put water on for tea. Carlisle is going to be here soon."
"Mmm. Thanks Alice. I can always count on you." Bella blinked sleepily, relaxing against Alice.
"I'd say anytime, but really Bella, I'd rather not repeat that scene." She brought her hand up to her face, feeling for where the venom spots had landed.
"I'm sure. That wasn't something I ever saw happening. I thought he'd be upset but I didn't realize he would be that upset." Bella looked up at Alice, her face tight, as she inspected for any spots Alice had been injured.
Alice purred. She was enjoying the tender way Bella was touching her face. She heard Bella's light giggle and raised an eyebrow.
"You sound like a cat Alice. Purring huh?"
Alice nodded. "It's what we sound like when we're relaxed." She was glad she couldn't blush, feeling that if she had been a human her face would be red. The sound of water boiling interrupted their conversation as Alice rose to make Bella a cup of the first kind of tea she saw, and handed the beverage over to the human as she heard Carlisle pulling up.
"Thanks Ali." Bella smiled at her and Alice's undead heart clenched at the trust in her gaze. She sat back down on the couch, slipping an arm around Bella's shoulders.
They both looked up as knocking came from the front door before Carlisle entered the living room.
"How are you feeling Bella? Alice called me because she thought you might be going into shock."
"I'm fine now Carlisle, Alice made me tea. I think I zoned out for a bit there after Edward left."
He nodded. "What happened with him Bella?"
She blew on the tea, hoping to make it cool enough to drink before holding her mug out to Alice who rolled her eyes and held it.
"I had decided to break up with him after all of this. Just between the idea that he knows what's best for me and really thinking about how he snuck into my bedroom to watch me sleep, it wasn't working out. I'm sorry, I know he's your son, but he was an asshole and he left me shaking. If Alice hadn't burst in when she did, I don't know what would have happened."
Alice nodded, handing the mug back to Bella, who sipped it with a grimace. "He was about to charge her. I saw that if I didn't come to help he was going to, well, kill her without remorse."
Carlisle nodded, his only reaction to the news the tightening of his lips. "He should know better than that. I'm terribly sorry Bella, please allow me to apologize for his actions."
Bella shook her head, tears forming in her eyes. "He's the one who did something wrong, not you Carlisle. He needs to be the one to apologize to me."
"You're very gracious Bella. It was still terribly inappropriate. I'll of course make sure that your door gets replaced today. Alice you should stay with her, make sure she seems coherent and if she shows any signs of shock like staring off into the distance, being cold and clammy or having an irregular heartbeat, bring her to the hospital right away."
He looked at Alice who nodded, squeezing Bella's shoulder gently and smiling as the girl slipped an arm around her middle.
"Of course Carlisle. It's no problem at all to watch over Bella." Bella smiled as she leaned her head on Alice's shoulder.
They all turned as Charlie ran into the room, looking frantically for Bella.
"What the hell happened here? Explain." Charlie looked from Alice to Bella to Carlisle. He looked every inch the police chief at the moment.
"I apologize Charlie. This is my son's fault. Bella was-" Carlisle was interrupted, and he stared at Bella as she spoke.
"Dad, I broke up Edward and he didn't take the news well. I had Alice here with me when I did just in case he would be angry and he, uh didn't take it well. He kicked the door off after I made him leave."
Charlie looked like he was torn between being pissed off and happy.
"And I thought Bella might be experiencing some symptoms of shock so I called Carlisle who was on his way home from the hospital so he stopped by to check on Bella."
Charlie nodded. "I never expected this from one of your kids Carlisle, they're normally so well behaved."
Carlisle nodded. "I deeply apologize Chief Swan. I'll make sure that we replace your door. I'm sure that Edward was terribly upset by this and I can assure you he won't be doing anything like this again."
Charlie looked at the doctor. "I'll let it go this one time, but if he puts another toe out of line, I'll be forced to arrest him for this. I don't want to do that because I know your kids are already having a hard time here and I respect you."
"Of course Chief Swan. I'll make sure that Emmet and Jasper come by to get your door fixed for you. If it's not too much trouble, I'd like to have Alice stay because she's worked with me before just to watch for any of the symptoms of shock. Bella should be fine, but better safe than sorry." Carlisle stood from the coffee table.
"Truly Charlie, I'm sorry that Edward behaved this badly. He should know better."
Charlie gave an awkward smile, "You know Alice is always welcome here. Bells seems to like her even if her brother is a jerk."
Alice smiled brightly at Charlie's words. "You know I love Bella so there's nowhere I'd rather be."
Bella smiled, relaxing further into Alice's side before yawning. She let Alice take her mug from her, and watched her set it on the coffee table.
"Sounds like you need a nap Bella." Alice looked at her and giggled as Bella's only response was to squeeze her before closing her eyes.
Charlie couldn't help his smile either and shook his head. Carlisle said his goodbyes and stopped at the front door to measure before leaving.
"You gonna be okay sitting on the sofa with her Alice?"
"Of course Charlie. If I get uncomfortable, I can always have Emmet take her upstairs when he comes by to fix the door."
Charlie nodded, stared at Bella for a few moments, then headed up the stairs. As soon as heard his door close Alice turned to look at Bella and realized that she had truly fallen asleep on her. Remembering what Bella had said last night, she adjusted Bella so that she would be in the least awkward position when she woke up and closed her eyes.
Alice was squirming. She never squirmed. Well aside from when she was waiting to go shopping. But she was squirming because of a human girl. Bella had been extremely touchy since she'd fallen asleep and it wasn't that Alice minded really, it was just creating an interesting problem for her. Did she move or did she let Bella wake up in half an hour to the position that they were currently in.
She was just thankful that Charlie had decided to stay in the kitchen as he ate dinner after he saw that Alice was "sleeping" with her head awkwardly on Bella's shoulder. She'd had two visions where he'd carried them up to Bella's room and then, like Bella, Charlie's own awkwardness stopped him.
Under the blanket that she'd pulled around their shoulders, Bella's hand had snaked it's way up Alice's shirt. Really it wasn't embarrassing to the vampire but humans somehow found this kind of thing weird. In fact if Bella wasn't asleep this was the sort of thing that would be pleasant. She had no idea what Bella's reaction would be because currently she was just enjoying the warm touch and the pleasant feelings from Bella, especially as she was hugged tighter by Bella.
She heard voices and spoke so that only her brothers could hear.
"I swear to God if the two of you wake Bella up with your talking, I will kill you." She heard the sounds lessen as much as two vampires who were about to repair a door could.
"Come over here and pretend to wake me up. I'll need you to take her up to her room Em."
"But why can't you?" Emmet was whining.
"Because her father is here you idiot. And how would it look for a tiny thing like Ali to be carryin Bella up the stairs?"
She felt Emmet shake her awake and blinked like she'd seen Bella do this morning.
"Huh? Oh hey Em. If dad sent you to fix the door, do you think you could take Bella up to her bedroom so she can hopefully sleep through that noise?"
Charlie had crept back into the room, and nodded at the two Cullen children. He stared as Bella curled from Alice into Emmet's arms and Alice nearly couldn't hold back her laugh as Bella muttered 'Alice' and tried to cuddle into his bulky frame.
"So uh, which one's Bella's room?" This seemed to snap Alice and Charlie from watching Bella and Alice danced her way up the stairs opening the door to Bella's room and pulling back her covers before slipping in herself and patting the spot next to her.
She grinned at Charlie as Bella rolled into bed, muttering about elves stealing her swans. The smile he returned was like they were in on a secret and Alice remembered to yawn as Charlie nodded at her and shut the door.
She heard her brothers talking to Charlie and as they were about to start working on replacing the frame she wrapped her arms around Bella and grinned as Bella cuddled into her, ignoring the commotion in the entry way until they were nearly finished.
"Alice?" Bella blinked and stretched. "How did I get up here with you?"
"Mmm. Emmet carried you up here when he arrived to fix the door since Charlie was still around." Alice took an unnecessary breath before speaking again. "I'm sorry about what happened Bella. If I'd seen that Edward would have reacted like that I would have-"
Bella's fingers against her lips stopped her from speaking any further. "One person is responsible for that Alice, and he's not here now. You can't see every possible thing that will happen."
Alice hmmpd and nodded. "It would be awesome if I could though."
Bella laughed. "But where would the fun be in that? Life should be a surprise Alice."
Alice grinned at Bella, pulling the covers off of her. "And now we feed the human. Charlie already had dinner so it's all for you Bella."
"And how do we explain that you don't need to eat?" Bella raised an eyebrow at Alice.
"Oh that's easy. Charlie is going to bed so I can just cook something for you Bella."
The look of skepticism on Bella's face made Alice pout. "At least try my cooking before you tell me it's bad Bella."
Bella led the way down the stairs, "Forgive me for doubting your ability Alice," she looked the vampire up and down, "You don't exactly inspire confidence in your cooking abilities."
"Now you have to try my cooking Bella. I promise it'll be something simple now." With that Alice grabbed ingredients and started to cook.
