Toxic Rose
Chapter Twenty: Friend Breaks, my Heart Aches
A/N: And I'm back, with another chapter. I've finally more or less figured out the rest of the plot of the story so I'm already kind of planning out the chapters and starting to write them out. If that goes well and I'm not swamped with other work then I can possibly go back to releasing a chapter each week even.
Bella let herself into the house, tapping snow off of her boots as she closed the door behind her.
"Bella!" her father greeted as she shed her winter clothes and entered the dining room, where her father was sitting with a can of beer in front of him on the table. The TV was playing in the background but he wasn't watching it. "How did your day go? Did you talk with Carlisle and Rosalie about what happened that night?" Charlie had been told by the town doctor that he was not to be involved in this conversation, and so Bella had a feeling he would interrogate her on it when she came home. And she was right.
"It was fine, dad," Bella said softly. "We talked about it and Rosalie isn't going to bother me anymore. She apologized to me and so did her dad, and uh, now she's going to do community service to make up for things." Bella fibbed on the spot, lying something that came increasingly more and more easily for her ever since she had met the blonde.
Charlie frowned over his beer, tapping his fingers on the metal can. Bella knew he wanted to hear more about this issue, but she wasn't going to give him more.
"I can't say more dad," Bella explained. "Carlisle made me sign a confidentiality form."
"Of course he did," Charlie muttered darkly under his breath as he stood up. "That man always covers his bases and is making sure to do the same with you in case things take a turn for the worse." He walked over to Bella, standing a few inches from her. "Bella you need to tell me these things, doctor confidentiality or not. I'm your father. I deserve to know." He placed his hands on his chest at the word father.
Usually Charlie rarely pays attention to me, so why is he focusing so much on me now? Bella squirmed internally, trying to figure out what else to say. "Don't give me any bullshit Bella. Do you hear me?" Bella nodded her head grimly, her palms sweating and she clasped them to hide her nervousness.
"I'm sorry dad, but the topic is still raw for me and I don't want to think about it right now, much less talk about it. Please you have to understand. One day I will tell you but that day is not now. I need to...I need a break from all this." Bella gestured with her hands widely. Her eyes were wide and pleading, begging her father to understand. He twisted his lips up as he thought, letting out a loud sigh at the end and dropping his hands from his chest to her shoulders. "Bells, can you really not tell me anything?" His voice so harsh and demanding before was soft and caring now.
Bella quickly shook her head no. "I just-I can't." Her voice cracked a little on that. And it was true-she could never tell her father what was really going on between the two girls.
"I really hate Rosalie Cullen," Charlie growled, as he watched his daughter suffering before him. "She's done nothing but be a burden to others. Past be damned, she's still a bitch no matter how much others try to help her. And what does she do? Bite the hand that feeds her." Charlie roughly tugged his daughter close to him. Bella hesitantly wrapped her arms around his back, realizing that her dad was hugging her, or at least attempting to. Awkwardly, very awkwardly. "Don't worry Bells. I won't let her hurt you ever again."
Bella felt like she should be grateful for this, even if the prospect of Charlie getting more protective over her annoyed her. "Thanks dad." This phrase made him happy and he released her from the hug. "Did you have fun the rest of the day hanging out with Emmett and Alice?"
Carlisle had lied to Charlie about who the brunette was actually spending the day with. Flashes of the blonde in the dark car and the kisses they shared with one another appeared in her mind and her cheeks slightly warmed. "It was nice. Emmett is Emmett and we played a lot of games. As for Alice we just did make overs and stuff. Nothing too serious."
"I'm glad you're having fun. I couldn't stand it if my little girl couldn't go back to a normal life because of Rosalie."
If only you knew, Bella sighed sadly. My life has ceased being normal a long time ago.
School started up again and Bella found herself reluctantly crawling out of bed in order to go. She wasn't looking forward to today. All her work had to be rushed since she had had a hectic break, her homework sloppy and carelessly done. Additionally, Alice was still mad at her. Bella had texted the girl multiple times and not once had the girl responded. Bella was too afraid to call her and didn't for fear that Alice would curse her out and tell her once more that she didn't want to be friends with her. Getting Rosalie as a girlfriend had softened the blow of Alice's harsh words but Bella still thought of her as a friend despite all the things she had done to the blonde in the past and even the present. The sight of the livid pixie standing over a thrashing Rosalie on the floor as she tasered her again and again was enough to make Bella's blood boil. Who treated someone else like that? It's like they wanted Rosalie to be angry; to be a monster. Bella was certain she herself would be perpetually pissed off if that was what she had to come home to.
Bella got into her truck, having gotten dressed warmly. It had snowed more during the night and the inside of her cab was ice cold. She cranked up the heating and waited for it to warm up a bit before she rolled out of the driveway and to school. While there had been a lack of conversation with Alice, Bella had been texting the taller Cullen all day since their impromptu date on Saturday.
Rosalie said she wanted to take Bella to the mall outside of Forks after school today and the brunette couldn't deny this. She badly wanted to see the other girl. She didn't want to waste anymore time now that they were dating. She was going to make the most of this. She knew Alice would be mad, but Bella should have the right to be mad back at her, for treating Rosalie the way she did, for breaking her heart. Ugh, she still couldn't believe the two had dated in the past. It was so weird. But I guess I should have expected that from a family of crazy adopted siblings.
Students were milling around one another in the parking lot, talking about what they had done for break. It all sounded exciting and ten times better than what Bella had done. She parked her car carefully and got out, making her way through the trampled snow. She was hoping she would get a glimpse of Rosalie in the morning before class but when she texted the blonde to ask her if she was here, she got a frowny face in response. Dad said to stay home. Too much strain on my neck was her message and Bella sighed. So she wouldn't be seeing her girl today until the mall date. She pocketed her phone and tried to not be too disappointed for the rest of her morning classes.
At least she would see her for the mall trip. Normally Bella hated malls, but if it was with the blonde she didn't mind. She just hoped she didn't shop like Alice or else-Bella stopped her thoughts right there. She would be seeing Alice soon since lunch was almost upon the school's student body. How would the pixie react to her? Should Bella go up to her and ask to talk? She chewed on her thumb, wondering what the best course of action should be. Rosalie had texted Bella and told her last night not to worry about Alice. That the pixie often felt emotions more strongly than others and would throw childish tantrums sometimes. She would get over this, Bella just had to give her enough time to get over her initial anger.
Yes, but how long would that take? Bella questioned. Rosalie had taken longer to respond then, her text bubble showing three dots and Bella waited anxiously for what the answer would be.
I don't know, Rosalie had typed at last. But know that I'm here for you and will be your best friend if you need one as well.
That statement had brought sadness with it but also happiness. Rosalie really was trying for Bella's sake and the girl appreciated it greatly. But how long would the happiness last? Carlisle had told her that Borderline Personality patients would show the very epitome of love to their cherished ones and then turn on a dime and hate them with every bone in their body. Bella shook her head. Best not to think about this.
The bell for lunch rang and Bella slowly gathered up her stuff, dreading to go to the cafeteria and seeing Alice. But she couldn't put this off for forever and she did want to see Angela today to catch up on stuff. Bella was the last one to enter the food hall, everyone else having almost ran over in exuberance to be able to talk to one another after their break. Bella kept her head down and gaze away from the Cullen table and took a seat with her back facing to them.
"Hey guys," Bella greeted. A chorus of hellos greeted her back. "Where's Mike?" Bella asked, surprised to see the blonde haired boy missing.
"He got sick," Lauren said off handily, stabbing her fork into her school pasta. "He's got like a fever or something." Bella nodded her head in consternation of this. Looked like his break hadn't been that good either.
"But enough about Mike, let's talk about my break!" Jessica squealed, throwing her hands in the air. She looked tan and Bella guessed she got it from her trip to the Bahamas. Bella listened attentively as the girl rambled on about what she ate, how cute the boys were there, how much sun and sand there was on the beaches, etc. The influx of information had Bella's head spinning but she didn't dare interrupt.
"Ugh, Jessica can you shut up already?" Lauren groaned, rubbing her temples. "We already heard this stuff ten thousand times."
"You've been telling us the whole day non stop," Eric added.
Jessica folded her arms over her chest and jerked her chin up. "Yes, but Bella hasn't heard it." Then she, Lauren and Eric got into a debate about whether Bella couldn't just be given the cliff notes version of this all, to spare the others from a repeat of Jessica's trip. Angela and Bella were left out and the dark skinned girl smiled gently at her. "So what did you do during break, Bella?"
Well, let's see, Bella muttered to herself as she mentally ticked off on her fingers what she had done. I sent someone to a hospital, I lost a friend, I got Leah mad at me and came out to Carlisle Cullen about my sexual preference. So a shitty break, except for the fact I'm now dating Rosalie, the girl every one hates and thinks is crazy.
"Oh, nothing," Bella shrugged hoping she came off casual, and took a bite of her salad.
"Same here," Angela smiled warmly at her. The two girls continued on with pleasant conversation and soon lunch was over. Bella got up to throw away her tray when someone roughly pushed past her and she stumbled, nearly face planting into the trash can. Regaining her balance she looked back to see who had pushed her and saw the very familiar form of a small dark haired girl rushing away from her. Had Alice pushed her?
Why?
"Bella are you okay?" Angela asked, noting with concern the look of pain on Bella's face at Alice's actions.
"Are you two fighting?" Jessica got close to Bella, ever eager for gossip. "Cause it looks like you guys are. She was glaring at you the whole time during lunch and now she just pushed you. Cat fight," Jessica made cat claws with her hands and Lauren tsked loudly. "Don't rub this in Bella's face."
"What, I'm just stating facts," Jessica shot back and soon her and Lauren were engaged in another argument.
"We've had a...disagreement, is all," Bella said sadly and dumped her food into the trash.
"Here, try this on," Rosalie insisted, pushing a reluctant Bella towards a changing room in the back of the store. It was after school now and the two girls had driven out of Forks to go shopping. Here they would be hard pressed to find someone from their school that could interrupt their time together. And additionally this mall had more selection than the one by their home.
"Rosalie, don't be ridiculous," Bella hissed, trying to dig her heels in only to fail. She had forgotten how terrifyingly strong the other girl was. "The price tag on this dress is absurd. You can buy half a new wardrobe at a reasonable store for the price of this piece of cloth that barely looks like it will cover anything."
"You're not talking your way out of this Bells," Rosalie said, having pushed and tugged the girl successfully to the changing room. She tossed the girl in, standing with her hands over her hips to block the only exit out of the small booth the brunette was now trapped in. Bella clutched the thin black material in her hands, trying to stare the blonde wordlessly down, but Rosalie merely arched an imposing brow and Bella conceded reluctantly. "Fine, I'll try it on, but you're not buying it."
"I'll be the judge of that. Now get changing," Rosalie jerked her chin to get the girl moving but Bella frowned. "I can't change. The curtains are open."
Rosalie stepped in, closing the curtains behind her. "All better now?"
"No," Bella said. "How am I going to change with you here?"
"I'm here to make sure you don't run away, and to make sure the final result looks great on you." Rosalie smirked, her eyes glimmering with mischief. Bella didn't want the blonde in here; she felt self conscious of her body. Compared to the pale haired goddess, her body was something average, a bit on the fleshy side. "I'd really like it if-"
"Out of the question," Rosalie didn't even let the other finish her statement. "I'm staying here. Now get changing." Bella sniffed and pointedly turned her back on the other, hoping that by her not having to look at the blonde, the blonde wouldn't be able to see her body. A stupid idea, really, but it would make Bella feel better. Rosalie sat down on the bench in the room, crossing her arms and legs as she looked impassively at the younger girl. Bella could see her in the mirror she was facing. Swallowing nervously she slowly raised her sweater over her head, watching the blonde's face for any signs of disgust or mocking intent. When the other stayed still and expressionless, Bella let the sweater drop to the floor. She felt cold in the chilly air of the store and could feel that her nipples were hardening. Curse the ventilation system!
Her hands slide to the top of her waist band, thumbs moving back and forth as she debated whether or not she should just pull the dress over her head and then pull her pants down that way but Rosalie cleared her throat. "Any day now would be nice." Bella shot her a look back but said nothing and unbuttoned her pants, pushing them down to her knees before bending down more to tug them down the final length of her legs and completely off.
Rosalie's eyes were drawn to Bella's backside as the other girl shifted down and she bit the inside of her cheek to hide the flare of her arousal in her lower belly. Her ass looks so soft, she thought to herself. I wonder how it would look like in a tong. I need to get her sexier underwear. That's next on the list.
Bella reached for the dress she had hung up and Rosalie tsked at this. "No, you can't put the dress on without taking off the bra."
"What?" Bella turned to look at the blonde, licking her lips and unsure if she had heard right.
"I said you have to take off the bra." Rosalie got up, her voice demanding and low. Her eyes hungrily took in Bella's nearly nude body in front of her. She had curves in all the right places and Rosalie wanted to touch them, grab her ass and squeeze until it hurt. She had thought she could handle seeing Bella undress, thought it would be a little sneak peek for her to tide her over until they did the deed, but she was wrong. It had only brought the fire back, burning at full capacity. The dress really didn't need the bra taken off for it, but she really wanted to see Bella take off her bra, or she was going to do it herself.
"This dress is a strapless so we can't have bra straps showing. It would ruin the final look." Rosalie's voice got softer as she drew closer to Bella who was looking up at her, her eyes shining in a mixture of uncertainty, embarrassment and excitement. "If you can't do it, I'll help." Rosalie let her hands ghost over the sides of Bella's ribs, causing the girl to gasp at the unexpected touch. Rosalie never let her eyes leave the other girls face, wanting to see the reactions she would make. Bella too never let her gaze waver from Rosalie's. She knew where this was going and she wanted it to go there, but then again did she really? They were in a changing room at a store; a very public place. They were more than likely to get caught!
Rosalie let her fingers settle on the bottom of the brunette's bra before her fingers slowly traced over to her back, goosebumps following in her wake. Feeling the cold metal clasp under her fingers, she sprung it free and the bra loosened from Bella's chest. Then trailing her fingers upwards, Rosalie gently slide down the bra straps past Bella's elbows. The girl's arms hung limply to her side and it was no trouble to have the bra finally off. Bella's nipples were hard now not only from the cold air but something else, and Rosalie felt her lip corners turn up in a sneer. The other girl wanted this, but Rosalie couldn't take it any further. She had to stop.
Yet she couldn't stop herself from bringing her head down and peppering the top of the girl's chest with soft kisses. Bella's skin was so smooth here, practically untouched and she wanted to mark it with her lips, bruise the flesh with her bites. She bit down hard on Bella's collarbone and the girl let out a small needy whimper, her hands coming up to dig into the blonde's hair. Rosalie let her tongue rove over the bite mark before she brought her lips up and brushed them against Bella's. The air was suddenly hot between them, the chill of the store forgotten on Bella's flesh. All she could feel was her own heat radiating from it, along with want and need.
The brunette opened her mouth and they kissed long and hard, tongues searching each others mouth, battling with one another. Their eyes were half lidded, searching each others face for reactions. Bella couldn't believe how much she loved kissing the blonde. She had never thought it was was possible to be so obsessed with someone elses body part but here she was, practically worshiping the others blood red lips. Bella pulled their mouths apart so that the two could draw breath and before they could reconnect their mouths Bella bit down on Rosalie's bottom lip, pulling it back slowly before letting it snap back. Lust flared in the blonde's eyes and she let out a growl, suddenly slamming Bella back into the mirror. The object trembled but did not break, the cold glass a shock on Bella's overheated skin and she let out a gasp, before Rosalie covered it up with her mouth. The blonde had begun to undress herself, shedding her jacket, and her button up shirt, needing to feel the younger girl's flesh on her skin. Bella followed the girls example and let her hands fumble with the button on the Cullen's skinny jeans. They snapped open, her hands shaking with nerves and excitement. She slide them down as far as she could, the blonde pulling away their lips momentarily to move them down the rest of the way and tossing them to the floor before their mouths reconnected. Holy shit, that's a pair of racy panties, Bella thought appreciatively before her mind was a mess again, its sole focus on the mouth in front of her and how nice it felt to have Rosalie's bra press against her stiff nips.
Both girls were nearly nude at this point, hot skin pressed against hot skin. Rosalie's hands trailed down to Bella's ass and squeezed hard, revealing in how soft it was. Her fingers dipped under the material and she was so close to the source of the tremendous heat that the girl was emitting. The only question was, could she go further? Meanwhile Bella's hands trailed over the other girl's abdomen, loving how tone it was. How many sit ups did this girl do to get her stomach flat like this?
"Excuse me, ladies?" A timid voice interrupted the two and there was a knock on the wood next to their curtain. Bella immediately froze up, but Rosalie went on, ignoring the woman outside the changing room. "Rosalie," Bella whispered, pushing against the blonde's shoulders, but Rosalie ignored her, moving her lips down the others neck. "Is everything okay in there?" The sales clerk asked and Bella felt panic flare inside her. There was no way in hell she was going to get caught like this!
"Rosalie," she whispered, more insistently. The blonde stopped in her motions, drawing in a big sigh and debating with herself internally. "Ladies?"
"We're fine. She's just having difficulty with the dress, so I was thinking of trying it on as well." Rosalie answered, her voice even and cool, hiding the fact that it had been covered in lust before. She turned away from Bella, eyeing the mess in the room and willing the woman away. She was this close to snapping out of control. Her hands clenched and unclenched as she tried to reign in these dark emotions. It's just that she had been getting into it and then had to be interrupted!
"Yes, but I will have to ask that only one person at a time in the changing room-" The woman let out a small startled squeak as Rosalie ripped back the curtain, strategically placing herself in such a way that Bella was obscured from the store employees view. Still Bella drew her arms around her exposed chest, the chill from before settling on her rapidly cooling skin.
"Why thank you for telling me," Rosalie purred, but her sweet voice was fake and Bella knew that the blonde was pissed off. Bella was a bit too if she had to admit. It had just been getting good. But did you really want to do it in a store? Her rational asked her and she shook her head. Perhaps she should be happy for this diversion.
"I don't know how I'd live the rest of my life knowing that I had broken such an important rule," Rosalie said sarcastically and the store clerk in front of her looked momentarily blustered. Most of it had to do with the fact that Rosalie was practically nude and her body was really good looking, and the rest was because of Rosalie's words.
"Yes, well, um, I'll let you get dressed and then you can be on your way," the store clerk coughed, her eyes dipping down to Rosalie's chest hesitantly.
"How kind of you. And my eyes are up here," Rosalie snapped her fingers at the other woman who blushed and ran off without another word. "Bitch," Rosalie called out after her and would have said more if Bella's hand on her shoulder hadn't stopped her.
"Let's just get the dress and get out of here." Bella was too embarrassed to stay in this store any longer. Rosalie shot her a look before nodding her head. Reluctance ran across her features and Bella knew the other wanted to continue what had started but it was too late for that now. It would only raise suspicion.
They left the store ten minutes later, Rosalie carrying the bag with Bella's new dress in it. "You're going to wear this for me, one day, or one night." Rosalie hummed, linking arms with Bella who blushed. The dress was a bit on the short side and she knew it would be perfect for the bedroom. She was kind of excited by the prospect of wearing it actually. She'd just have to get pretty underwear like Rosalie had. Her current underwear choices were a bit mild. "Where to now?" Rosalie asked, casting looks at the rows of stores in the mall. Bella shrugged. "Are you going to buy a dress for yourself?"
Rosalie smirked. "Bella, I have too many dresses. We need to get something for you. I'm thinking that getting you some new underwear to match this dress would be a good idea."
And with that the two girls set about reconstructing Bella's new wardrobe. Rosalie had insisted that the brunette needed an updated look so that in the very least she would have a nice outfit for dates out. And for those more special moments when they stayed in. Bella didn't mind the other selecting her wardrobe for her. It was different from when Alice did this. The pixie was pushy and didn't listen to Bella's complaints. Rosalie, however, considered the brunette's words and then made different selections for her based on this. Bella was once again blown away by how different this girl was when she wasn't trying to be nasty. If only things had started out differently between them...then maybe it wouldn't have taken them so long to get to this point.
But then maybe if they hadn't started out as enemies then they wouldn't have become girlfriends. Bella shivered to dislodge this idea. No use thinking about the past, when the present and future stood right next to her.
"You okay? You started staring off into the distance," Rosalie asked, a hint of concern in her voice. Bella shook her head. "I'm fine. I'm just happy." She blushed as she admitted this and Rosalie let out a little laugh, bringing her hand up to trace the outline of Bella's lips. "I'm glad to hear that." Then she leaned in and kissed her slowly.
A/N: Ugh, stupid store clerk, having to interrupt them just when they were about to really get into it.