I know I'm a day late posting, but I had a wedding to attend yesterday so here are this weeks chapters. They aren't much, but they hold quite a lot!

No copyright infringement intended! This and the chapter after this are Bella chapters. I need to get the rest of my characters caught up before I bring Amanda, Peter, and Charlotte back! Please be patient with me because there is a lot happening in this story to get it where I want it to go!

Thank you so much for your wonderful reviews!

Bella POV

Chapter 14

I'll admit that I was excited to have Jasper's acceptance. Truth be told, I wanted to ask Carlisle, but Jasper was the one who followed me outside and there was just something about him that made me ask for his help. Perhaps it was a spur of the moment decision to ask the first vamp that came outside, and I didn't know very much about the Southerner, but I did trust him.

I was, yet again, glad that Edward wasn't able to read my thoughts. It would be impossible to hide anything from him. I wanted him to be the one to bite me. I wanted his venom to be flowing through my veins. I guess it was some twisted way of him claiming me as his, but obviously he was against that commitment. So, we would see if his feelings for me had changed after I awoke to my new life. If they had, I would be devastated, but at least he wouldn't suffer by being near me anymore.

I was smiling like the Cheshire cat when Edward came to find me. The thought that we could finally be together as equals was so exciting, it was almost euphoric. Hiding it from him was going to be easy on my part, but I wondered how good the guys were about hiding their thoughts from Edward. Hopefully they were good, or we would have problems.

"What are you thinking about that could possibly have you smiling like that?" Edward asks, grinning at me.

I had to think of something pretty quickly to cover my ass. As we were walking back inside the house, I answered, "Nothing much." I said back. "I was just thinking about how ridiculous that whole argument was back in the dining room. The entire situation was funny. Everyone arguing over me isn't something I'm used to."

He looked at me with a confused expression before he said, "Losing your humanity and your soul is nothing to laugh at, Bella."

"That's not what I meant." I replied. "I was thinking about it from an outsider's point of view. You know, separating myself from it. I mean it is really funny if you look at it from another perspective." It was a lie, but I hope he bought it.

"I don't think there's anything funny about it no matter whose perspective it is." Said Edward haughtily.

I turned to look at him with an eyebrow raised before I said, "Lighten up. I love you with everything that I am. How can you deny me the happiness that I will get from being with you? The way you want this to stay is the way we have it now, but I guarantee that what we have now isn't going to be enough for either of us. We can't have children, not that I saw myself as mother material anyway, so that's out. I age and you don't, so in 20 years, our relationship will look ridiculous, so that's out as well. We can't be intimate with each other without you worrying about breaking me, so that's out, too. This is a no-win situation for either of us, you're just too stubborn to see it."

"I want you to be able to have a normal life." Edward says. "If you find another guy you would rather be with, then I would let you go. I want to give you that option. I don't want you to become a soulless monster like me."

I stared at him astonished that he would think I would leave him. I was even more shocked that he still believed he was soulless when he had proven to me time after time that he wasn't. He honestly believed it, too. I could see it in his eyes. He wanted me to have a normal human life, a human family, and completely forget about him.

I got mad. I'll admit that what happened next was entirely my fault.

"I cannot believe you just said that!" I shouted. How was I supposed to knock it into his thick skull that I was going to love him for the rest of eternity! Then it hit me, 'knock it into his thick skull'…perfect. Maybe then he'll come to his senses. Now I just had to find something heavy, but not too heavy for me to lift. Ah, dining room chair. Perfect yet again.

I continued my rant, "If you honestly think that I would leave you, you are thick in the head. I love you! I'm. Not. Leaving. Ever!" I said. Now, I just had to back up to the chair so he doesn't see it coming and wait for the right moment.

I continued on, "Do you honestly think that little of me? That some other guy would sweep me off my feet? News flash! Jacob's been trying to do that and hasn't succeeded yet!" I scream and I hear him growl. The sound turns me on quite a bit, but I can't lose focus. I can think about that later. Alone. I can see that everyone that was in the house; apart from Carlisle, Jasper, and Emmett, who were still out, have come to watch the show. Even the Ice Queen is giving me a shocked and impressed look.

"Jacob isn't the type of guy you'd fall for, and I'm grateful for that, but who is to say someone else won't be? I just want you to be happy and healthy." Edward says pleadingly.

"And mortal." I state harshly as I grab the back of the chair with my right hand.

"And mortal." He agrees a bit dejectedly.

"Did it ever occur to you that if I did stay this way and I even wanted to date anyone else, that you wouldn't let me? You are far too protective of me to let me see anyone else, not that I would want to." I state. "My friendship with Jacob, and your reactions to it, are a prime example."

"That mutt is dangerous!" Edward shouts.

"So am I!" I shout back and swing my right arm around me. The chair that I was holding satisfyingly shatters when it makes contact with his marble skin.

Anyone in this room could have stopped me. They're all fast enough to stop a chair mid-flight. They all saw it and they all let it happen. Everyone looks at me completely bewildered, but my focus is on Edward. I don't think that he knew how much he was pissing me off with all of this self-deprecating bull. Frankly, I didn't realize it myself until I let that chair fly. He looks more shocked than anything. Which, if I were being fair, shouldn't have surprised me.

"Sorry about the chair, Esme." I state as I head out of the kitchen. All I want now is to go home and prepare for tomorrow. As I spot Rose, looking happier than I had ever seen her, I ask her to drive me home. She seems to be the only one functioning at the moment. There was no way I was letting Edward anywhere near me right now. Although, I would get the last laugh. I just had to be patient.

I thought Rose would complain about my asking, but she's still grinning from ear to ear as she joins me in her beautiful red M3.

"I cannot believe you hit him with a chair, Bella!" she all but squeals.

"I just got mad." I tell her. "Besides, if I would have smacked him without it, I only would have hurt myself in the process and I couldn't be sure any of you in the house would be willing to smack him for me."

"Oh, I know, and I don't blame you," She replies, "but I can't wait to see the look on Emmett's face when he realizes what he missed."

"You don't blame me for hitting him?" I ask.

"No. I don't." She states.

"Why?" I ask.

"He had it coming. He's been insufferable lately and I can't take it. He needed a wake-up call." She told me.

"I know you don't like me very much, but I appreciate you driving me home. You seemed to be the only one that was able and I needed to get out of there. Pronto." I said to her.

She replied, "It's not that I don't like you, Bella. I envy you."

"You envy me? I mean, I know that you wouldn't have chosen this life for yourself, but that's no reason for envy." I state confused.

She stayed silent for a minute before she said, "Yes. There is a reason, but it's not pleasant to hear. My story is not for the faint of heart. So please understand that while you listen."

She proceeds to tell me the story of her human life. Some of which I had heard before and she made it fairly obvious that she wasn't happy with this life. She wanted a family, kids, and a husband who worked hard and adored her. Other parts of her story were entirely new and it wasn't a tale I was fully prepared to hear, but I could understand her reservations about telling anyone. It sounded like her life was going exactly the way she had dreamed until Royce met up with some friends and got drunk. Luckily for me, she didn't go into too much detail about exactly what happened, but I got the gist.

"I got my revenge on them though. One at a time. I saved Royce for last so he would know I was coming." She said smiling coldly.

"You found Emmett, though." I said to her. "Doesn't that count for something?"

"I did and I have never regretted saving him from that bear. Although I regret that we had to meet in a life such as this. There was just something about him that I couldn't let go of." She replied.

"I can understand that better than you think." I replied. "That's the way I feel about Edward. I may be mad at him, but I still love him. Nothing will change that. I found where my place is in this world, Rose. It's standing side by side with Edward. I just want the opportunity to be happy. I know that you may not be completely fulfilled, but we are two very different people. Please understand and respect my life choices, Rose."

"I may not understand or respect your choices, Bella" she states somberly, "but I think we both understand each other a bit better now."

We stop outside of my dad's house and as I turn to thank her, she says with a small smile, "Who knows, one day I may actually learn to like you, Bella Swan."

"One day, I may just see you as my sister, Rosalie Hale." I reply. "Thank you for driving me home."

"Anytime." She replies with a wave.

I'm almost back in the house and I hear her window roll down, "If you ever feel like beating on Edward again, let me know. I'll be your muscle." She states with a laugh as she drives off.

I smile to myself as I walk in the door. She doesn't need to be my muscle for long.

A/N: Just so you are aware, I do NOT condone physical violence in any situation or circumstance where it can be avoided, but I really just wanted someone to smack some sense into Edward. Hence the chair.

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