Bella

My protests were ignored as Rosalie carried me downstairs to the kitchen. Esme was already cooking despite just coming home. My guilt for having her cook for me melted away at the smell of the food.

"Good morning Bella," Esme said happily. She hadn't looked up from the pan of bacon.

"Morning," I muttered, resting my head on the counter. I was more tired than I thought.

"Are you okay Bella?" Esme asked concerned.

"Yes Esme, just tired," I answered.

Rosalie touched my cheek before moving into the kitchen to start the coffee pot. I wasn't big on coffee, or caffeine, but today I was willing to make an exception. I wouldn't be awake long without it. The smell of coffee filled the kitchen. Rosalie sat a warm cup in front of me. I enjoyed the smell even though I wasn't a fan of the taste.

I carefully sipped the drink. Rosalie put just enough creamer that the taste wasn't horrible. The warm mug was nice in my cold hands. Sometimes it was easy to forget I was cold. When it came to Rosalie I loved the cold but when I wasn't in her arms it was unbearable.

"What do you girls have planned for today?" Esme questioned, taking the cooked bacon from the pan.

"We're going to stay here," Rosalie answered as I had my month full of coffee.

My stomach growled and Esme placed a bowl of fruit in front of me. "You'll keep the boys from destroying my house?" Esme pleaded.

"Of course Esme," Rosalie said, stroking my hair. It made me wonder how often the guys destroyed things. It had to be fairly often. I shook my head. Who was I kidding? Emmett and Jasper probably wrestled all the time.

I looked up and saw Rosalie staring at me. "Are you okay?" she asked concerned. Always concerned. It was nice and infuriating at the same time.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was thinking about Emmett and Jasper destroying the house," I told her. Rosalie laughed beside me while Esme growled.

"They better not," Esme warned and I had no doubt they heard her.

"I'm sure they'll behave Esme," Rosalie said. "They still remember the last time."

Esme grinned as she placed a full plate of food in front of me. "What happened the last time?" I asked.

"Esme made them scrub the house with toothbrushes," Rosalie answered with a laugh. "All at human speed. It took them three days to finish."

I laughed at the thought of Emmett scrubbing the floor with a toothbrush. "I'm glad you find our suffering funny," Edward said walking into the kitchen.

I gasped. "You?" I couldn't believe it. Edward was so… gentlemanly. He didn't seem like the type.

"Emmett and I were wrestling inside," Edward explained. Edward's eyes darkened and he ran off without another word. "Where did he go?"

"Hunting," Rosalie answered. "He's been hunting more to make sure you're safe. I told him he was doing too much but he won't stop. He's determined not to have a repeat of Port Angeles. He's also been patrolling around your house to keep an eye on Charlie."

"Why would he go near Charlie if he's worried about slipping?" I asked confused.

"Charlie's not his singer," Rosalie gently reminded me. "Charlie is safe with Edward, just like any other human."

I nodded. I trusted Edward not to hurt him. I was starting to trust that he wouldn't hurt me. Although I was still afraid to be alone with him. Being alone with him just made it too easy to accidentally get hurt.

"Bella," Esme said pulling me from my thoughts. I blinked and noticed both Rosalie and Esme staring at me. A plate of hot food was in front of me. "Are you sure you're alright dear?"

"Yeah," I said blushing. I grabbed the fork. "I was just thinking." I started eating before either of them could comment. I looked up from my plate. They were both still staring. "I'm fine. I promise." They continued to watch me as I ate. It was one thing that annoyed me though it didn't seem likely to change. "Are you going to hunt today?" I asked Rosalie. Her eyes weren't as black as yesterday but her hunting trip was cut way short.

"No," Rosalie replied. "You need me so I will be right here with you."

My eyes widened. "No! You need to hunt," I insisted.

"I will hunt later," Rosalie said. I opened my mouth to protest but she gently placed her hand over my mouth. "You need me more," she repeated. "It will not hurt me to not hunt for a few more hours."

Alice danced into the room. "I'll take her hunting later," Alice promised. "This afternoon. You'll be okay with Emmett and Jasper for a bit." Alice glanced at me. "She'll be okay Bella."

I nodded. As long as Rosalie was taken care of, that's all that mattered to me. "Do you have your phone?" I asked Rosalie, pushing my plate aside.

Rosalie pulled out her phone. I grabbed it and quickly dialed Charlie's number. "Hello," Charlie's gruff voice said.

"Dad," I said forcing myself to sound happy. I was still a little shaken up from the previous night. I needed Rosalie right now. I had to sound as normal as possible so Charlie doesn't try to make me go home."

"Bella," he exclaimed. "How are you?"

"I'm good Dad," I told her. I winced. It didn't sound convincing at all.

"Are you sure Bella?" Charlie questioned. I sighed. Of course, he would notice today of all days. "Did one of those Cullen boys do something?"

"The boys are gentlemen," I assured Charlie.

"They better be," I heard Esme mutter by the sink.

"Did something happen with Alice?" Charlie pressed.

I frowned as Rosalie growled. Why was he asking about Alice? I never talked about her. "Everything is fine with Alice," I said confused.

"I know something is wrong Bella. I can hear it in your voice," Charlie said. "What is it?"

"It's nothing Dad. We watched some scary movies last night and I didn't sleep well," I lied.

"Oh Bella," Charlie said fondly. He knew my fear of horror films. "Have a good time alright? I have to work this weekend so I would prefer you stay with the Cullens."

"What happened?" I asked concerned. Forks was a relatively safe town. What could possibly make him need to work. I glanced at Rosalie and she was frowning.

"Just some missing hikers," Charlie replied. "They probably just got lost but it's supposed to be cold the next couple nights. I want to find them sooner rather than later."

"Stay safe Dad," I said.

"I will. Bye Bella."

I handed Rosalie back her phone. "The hikers," I started, looking between Esme and Rosalie. "Is it vampire related?"

"Not that we know of," Rosalie answered. "It's possible the hikers are lost like Charlie said."

Esme frowned. "We'll look into it," Esme promised me. "If vampires are responsible, we need to know."

"What about Charlie?" I asked worried.

"Charlie will be fine," Rosalie muttered, wrapping her arms around me. "We will keep an eye on him."

"I don't see anything bad happening to Charlie," Alice announced, walking into the kitchen. She glanced at me. "Relax Bella. We have this. Even if it is a vampire we can handle them."

I leaned against Rosalie and closed my eyes. "Are you still tired love?" I nodded. "Do you want to go back to bed?" I shook my head. "Talk to me."

"I want to stay with you," I muttered against her shoulder.

Rosalie laughed. "Alright love. I'm going to carry you to the living room."

I was barely conscious by the time we got to the living room. I was only half aware of the conversation between Rosalie and Alice.

"She's fine Rose," Alice said exasperated. "She didn't sleep well and is simply tired. Let her rest."

"But Alice," Rosalie protested.

"But nothing," Alice said firmly.

I moved closer to Rosalie, enjoying the feeling of her cold body. Her arms wrapped around me. I closed my eyes was and was asleep within minutes.

I don't know how long I was asleep. One minute I was in Rosalie's arms listening to her argue with Alice. The next… well I could still feel Rosalie's arms, but I could hear Emmett yelling at the TV. "Stop cheating Alice," Emmett yelled. I heard a crunch and I assumed Emmett broke a controller. He cursed and stormed over to the TV stand where the extra controllers were.

"Emmett, you need to keep your voice down," Esme scolded.

"Too late. She's awake," Jasper said.

"Bella," Rosalie called softly. I opened my eyes and found Rosalie's gold eyes on me. "Are you okay?"

I nodded. "I feel better," I told her. I sat up and looked around the room. Everyone was there except Carlisle. Edward was at the far end of the room playing chess with Jasper. Alice and Emmett were playing video games, some type of shooting game. Esme was reading and Rosalie was on the couch with me.

Emmett groaned and crushed another controller. "You idiot," Alice said shaking her head. "Now we're out of controllers."

Emmett jumped up. "Road trip," he exclaimed clapping his hands together. I winced slightly at how loud it was.

Rosalie rested her head on my shoulder. It was comfortable. I was always most comfortable when Rosalie was touching me. "Do you want to go?" Rosalie asked me.

I glanced at Emmett. He looked like he was pouting. Alice was frowning, most likely from a vision. Jasper and Edward were still playing their game but I knew they were listening. I looked to Esme. I couldn't read her face.

"Can we go to the bookstore too?" I questioned.

Alice opened her mouth, probably to insist we only shop for clothes. Rosalie glared at her. "Of course love," Rosalie answered.

"Alright," Alice agreed reluctantly. "We can make time for it but we need to leave ASAP."

"Alice," Esme scolded. "Give Bella some time to get ready. You will have plenty of time to shop."

I never appreciated Esme more than I did in this moment. "I'll go get ready," I said awkwardly. I walked away and Rosalie followed me. "Are you showering with me?"

Rosalie laughed. "Do you want me to?" I blushed. "Relax love. I just wanted a chance to talk to you before Alice got her claws in you."

I relaxed slightly. We walked into Rosalie's room. Rosalie shut the door behind her. It was nice because now we had some privacy. "What's wrong?"

"We don't have to go shopping with Alice," Rosalie said slowly. "I know you do things to make other people happy. But you don't have to do that here."

"I'm okay with shopping," I told her. Rosalie raised an eyebrow at me. "Okay I don't want to shop. But I feel it will be a good distraction for me. Plus, you will be there. As long as you're with me I don't care what we do."

Rosalie stepped toward me. She kissed my check. "Go shower love," she whispered in my ear.

I stepped away from her and grabbed my clothes. "Rose," I said, standing in the doorway to her bathroom. "Is Edward going?"

Rosalie frowned, like she hadn't thought of it. "I… I didn't think of that," Rosalie admitted. It was a crazy thought. "I think it was implied he would go. Do you want me to tell him to stay home?"

I thought about it. It would make the shopping trip much easier to bare. But this was a bonding trip for the Cullens. It didn't feel right for me to go and not Edward. "No, let him go," I muttered, fully aware that they could all hear my conversation. "You'll be there too."

Rosalie hugged me. "Of course, I'll be there. Are you sure you want Edward to go?"

I nodded against her chest. "Yes. I'm not worried about him trying to hurt me. At least not when the rest of you will be there." I pulled away from her. "Do you want to shower with me?" Rosalie's jaw dropped and I busted up laughing. "I'll be out in a bit."

I walked into the bathroom, glancing back to look back at Rosalie's stunned face. I guess it wasn't nice to tease her. I couldn't feel too bad about it though. She had been putting off our physical relationship every time I tried. I didn't blame her. I wasn't entirely sure I was ready for that but I wanted to find out.

I stepped out of the hot shower and grabbed my towel. I wiped away the condensation from the mirror and glanced at my reflection. My skin was pink due to the hot water.

I tried to take my time getting ready but I knew if I took too long then Alice would start banging on the door to rush me. I was surprised to find Rosalie wasn't in the room when I left the bathroom. I made my way downstairs. There was no one in sight.

Did they leave without me? Did Rosalie leave me?

Panic grew in my chest at the thought of Rosalie abandoning me. Deep down I knew it wasn't true. Rosalie loved me and would never leave me. But where was she? Where were the others?

Before I could have a full-blown panic attack I heard a noise in the kitchen. I made my way to the kitchen and found Esme, preparing what looked to be chocolate chip cookies.

"Hi Esme," I greeted.

"Bella, dear," Esme said with a smile.

"Where are the others?" I asked. What I really wanted to ask was where was Rosalie but that seemed rude.

"Alice saw you were taking your time in the shower so they went for a quick hunt," Esme answered. She glanced at the clock. "They should be back in a half an hour or so. They weren't going far."

"Rose really needs it," I muttered. It was my fault she wasn't able to finish hunting before.

"She does," Esme confirmed. "But she would much rather be here with you. With you being the only human she spends most of her time with, it's easy for her to forget she does need to hunt." Esme put the cookies in the oven and turned to face me. "I wanted to say thank you Bella." I frowned. "For letting Edward join you guys today… and for letting him come home. I know you don't feel comfortable around him so thank you."

I blushed. "I know it was an accident. He tried to save me and I know what those men tried to do was ten times worse than what happened."

"Yes," Esme said wiping down the counters. "Still, it's not wrong for you to be afraid. He killed multiple humans right in front of you."

"But they deserved it," I whispered.

Esme froze for a second before continuing her cleaning. "Yes, I suppose they did. That's what the others told him. Rosalie has never been more grateful to him. Sometimes I wish Carlisle would see that not all humans are good."

"What do you mean?" I questioned.

Esme sighed. She dropped the towel and came to sit beside me. "Carlisle's greatest strength and greatest weakness is his faith in humanity. He believes deep down that everyone is good. It's surprising considering he's seen humanity at its worse. First with me, and then with Rosalie. Then again he's also seen humanity at its best."

It took me a minute to process her words. "What do you mean by with you?" I wondered.

"Rosalie never told you why I was turned?" Esme asked surprised.

I shook my head. "She said I need to talk to you guys if I want to know.

Esme laughed. "Yes, she does have a deep respect for our privacy." She gently took my hand. "My husband was abusive almost the entire time we were married. The only time he stopped hitting me was when I was pregnant."

"You have a baby?" I gasped. How had I never heard about Esme's child? Wouldn't they have changed the child at some point? Or visited regularly?

"No," Esme said sadly. "He died two days after he was born from lung fever." My face fell. That had to be devastating for her. "After he died, I tried to commit suicide. Carlisle found me almost dead. He recognized me from when he treated me for a broken leg at sixteen and turned me."

"I'm sorry," I said hugging her. She wrapped her arms around me.

"Thank you Bella," she said softly. She pulled away. "They're back."