"And then he GRABBED THE DEER STRAIGHT OUT OF MY HAND. Edward, I SWEAR I have NEVER wanted to kill any vampire more than in that moment!" Emmett bellowed. The family burst into laughter.
"I'll never forget the look you gave me." Edward chuckled, looking down at the empty place set in front of him. He glanced over at Bella, who was just finishing her spaghetti. A drop of sauce dripped down her chin, and Edward reached over to get it with his napkin before it fell onto her lap.
"Thanks." Bella blushed.
"It's no problem. I'd do anything for you."
An awkward silence filled the room until Esme cleared her throat. "Did you like the spaghetti?" She asked, smiling at Bella. Bella nodded furiously, her mouth full.
She swallowed. "Yes! Thank you so much, it was amaz-"
Before she could finish, Bella felt Edward tense beside her. Looking around, she saw that Alice and Edward seemed to be in some sort of invisible conversation, and Jasper looked extremely uncomfortable.
"What? What's wrong?" She asked. Nobody answered. "Seriously, guys, what's up?"
"Well," Alice began cautiously, and Edward shook his head.
"Alice, not yet. Let the boys leave first." Esme interrupted.
"Guys, really, it's fine, just tell me what's going on!" Bella insisted. Alice opened her mouth to reply, but Rosalie cut her off.
"You started your period." Rosalie blurted. Another empty silence engulfed the table. Emmett snorted.
Bella stared at Rosalie in shock, blushing furiously. "Uh, okay," She stood up, trying to avoid eye contact. "I'm just gonna-" Without finishing her sentence, she turned and rushed out of the kitchen.
Once inside the bathroom with the door locked, Bella leaned on the counter with her head in her hands for a minute. She didn't need vampire senses to know that the entire family was crowded outside the door in concern.
"Bella? Are you okay in there?" Edward asked. She ignored him.
"Could you guys please just go away and let me handle this?" She begged. Nobody moved. "Seriously, could you just leave me alone?" Still, she could hear them all quietly conversing outside the door. "Ugh! I can deal with this on my own, go away!" The vampires fell silent.
"We're sorry, we'll go back to the kitchen." Esme apologized, and Bella could hear her ushering them away from the door.
"Finally!" She muttered, sitting down to check out the damage. Sure enough, Rosalie had been correct. Bella realized she hadn't brought her purse.
Summoning all of her courage, she timidly called out "Uh, Esme?"
"Yes, honey?" She heard from outside the door, a fraction of a second later.
"I- uh, I don't have anything." Bella muttered, humiliated beyond belief.
Out of nowhere, Carlisle said, "If you need, I can run to the store really fast."
"No, that's okay-"
"Are you sure? It's really no problem." Carlisle insisted.
"It's alright, I have a box of tampons in my room!" Alice piped up. "I'll go get them."
"You know, this is one thing I really don't miss about being human." Rosalie snorted.
Bella was close to tears at this point, which frustrated her to no end. "You guys, I really don't need you all outside the door right now!" Everybody ignored her.
Alice knocked on the door. "Okay, I have them. I hope these are the right kind!"
Slowly, Bella stood up. "Thanks." She pulled her pants up and unlocked the door. Alice stuck her arm in with the box, and she took it.
"Alice!" She exclaimed, "These are-" She caught herself before blurting it out. "They're, um, they're not the right-" She cringed, "The right size." She said, staring at the XXL.
Rosalie snorted again. "What, isn't that the right size for your kind?" She asked. Bella glared at the door. "Anyways, what other options do you have?" Bella groaned.
"I can go to the store, really, it's no problem at all." Carlisle offered again.
"It's not an issue, let him go to the store, Bella." Edward said.
"Oh my God." Bella put her cold hands on her burning cheeks. "Edward, I need you to go away. This is so embarrassing."
"You don't need to be embarrassed!" Alice insisted. "It's totally natural, none of us are judging you!"
"But the blood-" Bella shook her head. "Are you guys okay?"
"Yes! It's not a problem." Alice promised. "Jasper, agree with me!" Bella heard her whispering.
"Mhm." Jasper agreed, strained.
"Do you have any cramps? I can get you an ibuprofen." Esme offered.
"Let me go to the store for you. I'll get you what you need." Carlisle insisted.
Edward sighed, and the sound made Bella tear up again. She didn't want to frustrate him. "Fine, Carlisle. That's fine." She groaned internally.
"Perfect, what do you need?"
"What I really need is for everybody to leave."
"We're worried about you!" Edward said. "Please, please, don't be embarrassed. We're only here because we're looking out for you."
"Edward, I mean it, please leave the house." Bella said through her teeth. She was absolutely mortified that he was listening to this, and even more so that the whole family could probably smell it.
"I'm not leaving you. I need to make sure that you're okay." Edward said. "I know I'm not a woman, but I still know the science behind what you're going through, and I'm not judging you for it." Bella slapped her forehead.
Emmett cracked up. "The science behind it? Wow, Edward, way to make a girl feel good."
"Wait, no, Edward has a point." Alice said. "It's a completely natural process, and it's a good thing that her body is doing it because it means that she is healthy and fertile."
"Oh my God." Bella ran her hands through her hair.
The front door slammed a second later, and Bella wondered who it was.
"I'm back!" Carlisle exclaimed. "Bella, could you come out and make sure one of these is the correct thing?" Bella heard plastic rustling as he knocked on the door.
"What? When did you leave?" Bella opened the door a crack. "I didn't hear anything."
Carlisle checked his watch. "Three minutes and fifty-four seconds ago." He shrugged. "I ran fast."
"I can help you look through the bags for what you need!" Alice offered.
"Bags?"
"You wouldn't tell me what you needed, so I got one of everything."
"Nope." Bella slammed the door and locked it. "I'm not coming out until everybody has left the house." She heard Alice start to protest and quickly added, "Alice, you can stay."
"I need to make sure that you're okay, but I'm going to stay in the kitchen so you don't feel uncomfortable." Edward said.
"Bella, I'm so sorry, could you please plug that up soon?" Jasper asked. Everybody could hear the strain in his voice.
"It doesn't work like that." Alice swatted Jasper.
"I need every man out of this house" Bella smacked the countertop.
"But, Bella-"
"No! I'm not coming out of this bathroom until you are gone, Edward."
Alice gasped, unaccustomed to seeing any sort of rage in quiet Bella. "Edward, she's just embarrassed! Bella! It's okay! You don't have to be embarrassed!"
"Bella, I'm staying too, just in case you need help, okay?" Esme said.
"GUYS OH MY GOSH I CAN PUT A TAMPON IN BY MYSELF PLEASE JUST GO"
"Could you please just plug it up now?" Jasper begged.
Alice huffed, "JASPER DO YOU LISTEN?"
"Yup, I'm out of here, this is disgusting." Bella heard Rosalie sniff.
"NO, IT IS A BEAUTIFUL PROCESS, IT IS NOT GROSS. BELLA IS FERTILE THIS IS SO COOL." Alice yelled. Bella cringed.
"DID YOU SAY FERTILE? PLEASE SHUT UP." She begged.
"Bella, I'm still waiting on confirmation that I got the right thing, could you please come out here and check?" Carlisle asked.
"Oh. My. God. For the last time, I am NOT COMING OUT THERE UNTIL EVERYBODY BUT ALICE AND ESME IS GONE.
"WHY CAN'T I STAY?" Edward and Rosalie asked, simultaneously.
"I mean, I don't want to stay, but I WANT TO BE INCLUDED." Rosalie yelled.
"EDWARD. GO."
"You know, Edward, if Bella is fertile, then tonight would be good time to-"
"EMMETT!" The front door slammed as Rosalie chased her husband out of the house.
"She'll actually be at her most fertile in two weeks, when she's ovulating again!" Alice explained.
"I can't take this anymore." Jasper ran out, and Bella momentarily wondered how the door survived vampire strength slamming it shut every single day.
"I'm not leaving until I get confirmation that I don't need to go back and get more supplies." Carlisle crossed his arms.
Esme gently put her arm on his shoulder. "Honey, I promise you don't need to get more." She said, gesturing to the three bulging bags that were sitting in the front hallway.
"Fine. Will my leaving make you more comfortable, Bella?" Carlisle asked diplomatically.
"YES. And you too, Edward! I know you're still there."
"Fine. Come on, Edward." Carlisle gestured to his adopted son for him to follow.
"Text me the minute you're done, so I can stop worrying." Edward commanded.
"Fine, I will. Now go!" Bella shouted.
Alice gasped. "I just got a vision! Hold on…" Alice ran to the kitchen. "Okay, Bella, you're about to get a really bad cramp, but we have ginger, that always used to help me. Unlock the door."
Bella did as she was told, accepting the candied ginger from Alice and locking the door again. "Wait, can you see me in your vision? Alice, I am on the toilet."
"Yes, Bella, but it's nothing I haven't seen before. Now just eat the ginger, it'll help to relax your muscles."
Bella brought the ginger to her mouth, but before she could eat it, the strong smell made her sneeze. There was an audible dripping noise, followed by horrified gasps from all three of the women.
Bella groaned as the predicted cramp shot through her abdomen. As it ended, she pulled her jeans back up.
Bella opened the door just a crack "Are all the men gone?" She asked.
"Yes. It's just Alice and I left in the house." Esme promised.
"Okay." Slowly, Bella opened the door all the way. Alice rushed to hug her.
"Are you alright? I know you were embarrassed."
"Uh, yeah." Bella mumbled, blushing profusely. "Look, can I just go and find what I need?" She pointed at the bags.
"Of course! Let us help!"
"Nope, that's okay. You guys are doing great as just moral support!" Bella put her hands up to stop them. Alice nodded understandingly.
Bella found the box she was looking for in the first bag, and hurried back into the bathroom. When she emerged a minute later, the three women stood in awkward silence.
"Do you want to watch a movie?" Esme offered.
"Uh, sure." Bella agreed.
Alice's phone buzzed. She pulled it out and read the text. "The boys are going to stay away until tomorrow. They're going hunting."
"Okay." Bella was relieved. "Let Edward know that I'm fine."
"Of course."
"I'll make popcorn!" Esme exclaimed.
"Here!" Alice dashed around the house, collecting a blanket and a heating pad for Bella.
"Wow, uh, thanks." She said. The three women sat on the couch together and watched Legally Blonde. Bella ate her popcorn.
"You guys, thank you." Bella said as the movie credits rolled. "I enjoyed the movie."
"Of course! Anytime. You're a part of our family." Alice promised. Bella blushed.
"She's right, you know." Esme said. "Edward loves you, and so do the rest of us."
"And what is a family without embarrassing moments?" Alice laughed.
Bella glared at her. "Too soon."