No children! Don't do it! Protect your innocence and run!
SM owns twilight, and I don't think she would approve of what I've done to her beloved characters. But I don't mean to infringe.
Reviews are delicious.
. . . ... . . . .
It started off as a pretty nice dream. Emmett, dad and I were out on his fishing boat on a beautiful, sunny day. I always loved our trips like this, our little family just being together. They laughed and joked and ate the sandwiches that I made them.
It didn't start to feel off until we pulled up to a strange dock. I tried to follow after them as they walked into the near-black forest, but they were moving too quickly. When I lost sight of them, I tried to run, but the blinding pain in my head made me crumble to the ground. When I looked down at my hands they were covered in blood.
Then someone picked me up, throwing me over his shoulder. I knew this shoulder, this height, this pain.
No, no no no, he shouldn't be here. My hair is long tonight.
"Please, just let me go," I choked out. "I won't tell anyone, I swear. Just put me down!"
Please, wake up wake up wake up…
Suddenly we were out of the trees, and I heard his van door open as he dropped me inside of it. The fear of that van gave me another surge of adrenaline, and I tried to leap out before he closed the door. He pushed me back easily, flipping me over. I heard the sound of it before I felt him tape my forearms together behind my back.
"No, Victor, please! I'll do whatever you want, just let me go," I sobbed, my voice cracking. He gave me the sweetest smile, before ripping another piece and putting it over my mouth.
"Don't worry Isabella, everything is going to be perfect now," he promised. He leaned forward, and kissed the duct tape covering my mouth while his hand slid down my body.
. . . ... . . .
I woke up screaming, scrambling out of my blankets and dropping onto the floor, my hands automatically reaching for the non-existent tape over my mouth.
Zeus was worming his way under my arm in the same moment, licking my face and whimpering, and trying to calm him down and reassure him that I was okay gave me the welcome distraction from the fact that I was not. But I petted him, hugged him and kissed his head until I stopped shaking.
Four o'clock, that was almost five hours, and I was going to take that as a win. I took Zeus up to the roof while I drank my smoothie, then went back down, made a big lunch for Jasper and I, changed into my workout clothes, packed my library clothes, then headed over to the gym.
It was just after five when I got there, the doors still locked, so I went in through the back door, using my key, and put my things in the office before hitting the cardio room. I did a half hour on the stair machine, another on the bike, and then one last half hour on the treadmill, most of which was a cool down. Finally feeling somewhat relaxed, or exhausted, I'm not exactly sure, I took a nice long shower, and put my wet hair up into a French braid. I got changed into my work clothes, slipped on my heels and my big pair of sunglasses, and walked out with my gym bag slung over my shoulder.
I walked around the corner to the front entrance, and quickly took a step back. Mr. Movie Star was just walking in the building.
Why the hell was I hiding? This was my place.
Besides, he won't recognize me.
I straightened up, and then walked around the corner, right past him. He didn't even look up at me, he was watching his feet, looking kind of stressed out, and walked right past me.
See, no problem. Stop being so paranoid.
I ignored the little twinge of disappointment from the fact that he didn't recognize me.
Crazy much?
I made the drive across town to my work, and switched my sunglasses for my fake glasses before walking into the building. I sat down at my desk and started up my computer, then wrote down a list of tasks as I went through my e-mails, responding to the ones that I could.
The rest of my morning was spent doing research and retrieving information for various people. I didn't even notice the time go by, and was brought back to the present by Jasper clearing his throat.
"Oh, hey man, just give me a sec," I said, sliding yet another dead end book back into its place, then climbed down the ladder. "How's your morning going?"
"Boring, but I beat my high score on spider solitaire," he said dejectedly.
"Why so slow? School will be starting up again soon, aren't you guys usually swamped about now?" I walked over to my little fridge, pulling out the Tupperware containers and bringing them over to the desk. Jasper grabbed the plates and napkins before sitting down.
"Usually, but that new software is being installed on the computers, and they're having a lot of trouble with it. I spent the first few hours cleaning, but until I can get online there isn't much else I can do."
"You can use my computer if you want?"
"I think we're on a different sever. What's for lunch?"
"I've got some chicken-waldorf salad, croissants and cucumber salad," I said, stomach rumbling. I was not shy to admit that I was a pretty awesome cook.
"Awesome," he said excitedly, holding out his plate for me to load it up. I spooned two big piles onto his plate, then tossed him the bag of croissants before making my own plate. "So how was your weekend?"
"It was okay. Friday was a really peaceful night, and I only had to break up three fights on Saturday."
"Only three? Boooring," he said teasingly, rolling his eyes.
"I know right?" I joked. "And I helped out this chick last weekend, and now she wants to be my friend. Rose knows her though, says she's nice. I think we're having dinner tonight."
His eyes went wide, his spoon hovering in front of his mouth. "You're going out to dinner with someone?"
"Fuck off Jasper. It's not that weird... Right?"
He gave me a gentle smile. "No B, it isn't weird. Just surprising. But a good surprise," he added quickly. It still didn't help my annoyance. "If Rose says she's okay, then I'm sure she is. Did you find anything in your background check on her?" He asked knowingly, steering the conversation into a more comfortable direction.
One of the many reasons he was such a good friend. He always knew how to make me comfortable, but never lied to make it happen.
"No, very clean record. Top of her class in school, does a lot of charity work, comes from a good family that she's close with."
"I get that this is probably very… uncomfortable for you B, but give her a chance. I can see that at least a part of you wants to, otherwise you wouldn't even be considering it, and there's nothing wrong with that. Besides, the best way to find out if she isn't trustworthy is to get close to her."
He always knew the right thing to say to me. I already knew it all of course, but it made it easier hearing it from him also. "Thanks Jasper."
"No problem girlfriend," he said flamboyantly, making me laugh.
"So how was your weekend?"
"Quite boring. My parents seem personally offended that I didn't want to have babies with their friend's daughter," he said with an exasperated sigh.
"Seriously?" He nodded. "Sorry Jasper, but that's kind of fucked up."
"I know right? The rest was pretty good though, I finished that book you lent me, absolutely loved it. And I went hiking with Emmett and Garrett yesterday."
"Cool, I've been meaning to go hiking. Zeus loves it, but I haven't had the time."
"We can take him next time we go. We'll let you know."
"Thanks, that would be awesome," I told him happily.
He left to get back to his card games, and after I cleaned up my desk, I took Alice's card out of my wallet, and stared at it for a long minute before dialing the number.
"Hello?" her cheerful voice called through the phone.
"Hi Alice. It's… B."
"Oh hey! How's your day going?"
"Good, yours?"
"Magnificent. Can you still come over for dinner tonight?"
"Uh, yeah sure. If you still want to."
"Of course I do silly! Do you like Chinese?"
"I love Chinese," I answered automatically.
"Great! So six thirty. You know where the place is?"
"Yup, can I bring anything?"
"Nope, just you!"
"Okay… well I'll see you later then."
"Sounds good. Bye B!"
"Bye." I hung up quickly, and put my cellphone in my purse. That wasn't too bad, was it? God, I'm fairly certain that I sounded pretty lame. Oh well.
That nauseous feeling that set into my stomach made it hard to concentrate on my work. The room was completely deserted, so I decided to take a break and pulled my laptop out of my bag. It had been about a year and a half since I'd checked up on Alice Cullen, so I hacked into her police records again. She had gotten another speeding ticket eight months ago, but besides that, nothing. I looked up her Facebook page, but didn't find anything out of the ordinary. After that, I broke into her e-mail account, but didn't find anything but work on it. As a precaution, I put a tracker program into her e-mail that would send me a notification if she used any key words like my nickname or the club. I still felt like I was missing something though.
So I did the same for her brother. His record was clean too, and I was stunned seeing the records of his transcripts. He'd gotten even better marks in school than I had, and had taken music as his major in college. Impressive. I was surprised to find that he didn't have a Facebook page. There was a group for him, but it was obviously fan-made. I was able to get into his e-mail through Alice's though, and put the same tracker in his.
Now I felt better. With a smile, I put away my laptop and went back to work, searching through my thousands of books for little bits of random requested information. I stopped by to say bye to Jasper as I left, and headed out to my truck.
. . . . . . . . . .
I was left in a bit of a dilemma. I didn't know what to wear. She knew me from the club, but it felt weird going over in my work clothes. I didn't want her to see any of my other disguises though, just in case this went the wrong way. Even my jeans and t-shirts were one of my secrets, and I wasn't ready to give her that yet either.
So, I kept my library clothes on, but changed my blouse into something less corporate, lost the glasses and wore my hair down. I also put on a pair of flats to make myself seem shorter.
Okay, this wasn't too bad. I took Zeus up to the roof for a while, and after feeding him I packed my purse, and stopped off at my favourite bakery to pick up a small cake on my way over.
It just felt wrong to go over to someone's home for the first time empty handed.
Her building was very nice, but I could tell they were lacking in security. From her records I knew that she'd only lived here for about two months though. Someone even held the door open for me as I went to ring the buzzer. Did they not realize how dangerous that was? Well, if they didn't then they did now. I made sure to explain that to them. I might not really be her friend, but that didn't mean I didn't care about her well-being. I'll send her building's manager a letter, get him to put up some warning signs like I did in my building. I couldn't even see any video cameras, so I decided that I'd send him a case of free security equipment, some cameras and monitors too. I still had plenty left over from the deal Sam had hooked me up with. Alice had a big name, this wasn't anywhere close to safe.
She buzzed me up as soon as I rang, and I took the elevator up to the fifteenth floor. When I stepped out of the elevator and looked down the hall, I could see Alice hanging outside her door and waving excitedly at me.
I could handle this, it was no big deal. Alice couldn't hurt me. Physically at least. Unless she has some sort of swat team in there, which even I thought was highly unlikely. I forced a smile onto my face, and made my way over to her.
"You're right on time! I had the feeling that you'd be a very punctual person," she said.
"I brought you a cake," I said awkwardly, handing her the box. Her face lit up.
"Delice Royal! I love this place. Their Hazelnut Noisettes are amazing!"
I grinned. "I'm glad you think so, because that's what I brought."
"Awesome! That was very thoughtful of you. Thank you," she said, giving me a gentle smile.
Was it that obvious that I was uncomfortable? She was being weird. I stood in her foyer awkwardly as she watched me with a slightly disapproving look. "Your apartment is nice," I offered quickly to fill the awkward silence.
"Thanks," she said, snapping out of her daze. "Sorry! Come on in, I'll give you the tour." She set down the box in the kitchen, a very nice kitchen though it seemed small compared to what I could see of the rest of the apartment, then showed me to her cozy living room with her red chairs and bright yellow pillows, the bathroom, her bedroom (which had a closet bigger than the bedroom itself,) and then her huge office. She told me that she did most of her work in her office at her shop, but liked having materials close by for random bursts of inspiration at home, and for doing some personal projects.
My head snapped around, going on full alert when I heard her doorbell ring. I watched cautiously as she opened up the door, not even looking through the peephole, but I forced myself to relax when I saw it was just the delivery guy.
I usually picked up my food, I rarely ordered delivery, and when I did I picked it up on the main floor myself. No one ever rang my doorbell; it was a little weird hearing one.
I quickly went to help her with the food, two large brown paper bags, and she led me over to her giant coffee table in her living room. I unpacked the bags while she went and grabbed some plates, and came back with two bottles of pop.
I never drank pop, caffeine drove me crazy, but I didn't want to be rude so I took it anyways. I couldn't believe how much food she had gotten, there was enough to feed Emmett.
"Wow, this is a lot of food," she said, sitting down on the floor next to me. "Sorry, I wasn't sure what you liked, so I tried to get a bit of everything."
That was so… sweet, I couldn't stop myself from smiling. "Well, lucky for you, I like everything. Though I'm not too big on seafood." Seventeen years living with my father and fishing practically every weekend had given me enough for a lifetime.
"Me neither," she said happily, handing me my cutlery. We both loaded up our plates. I could use chopsticks just fine, but I could move more food to my mouth at once with a fork.
"So, how was your day?" She asked me easily.
"Pretty good, how about-"
"Nope, not good enough. I want details," she said comfortably. Though the question itself made me uneasy, I really liked her straight-forward attitude. I just chose my words carefully, giving her as much as I could without actually giving her anything substantial.
"Monday is always busy, because I only work there a couple days a week and the e-mails pile up over the long weekend. I went to the gym first though, and went home and walked my dog after work before coming here."
"Oh! You have a dog? What type?"
I grinned. "He's mostly German Shepard, but he's got a mix of something else because he's huge. He's just a big baby though, a protective one, but still my baby. He's almost four now."
"He sounds lovely, do you have any pictures?"
"No, sorry." I don't have any pictures on my phone. Please don't ask why. "I'll take one to show you next time though," I added quickly, not really thinking about what my words would implicate.
"Cool! Or maybe you could introduce me sometime?" She asked hopefully. I didn't know what to say, so I just nodded while taking a big gulp of my Coke. "I love dogs, but we never had any pets growing up because my dad was allergic."
I nodded in understanding, but offered nothing about Charlie so as to not trigger any questions about him, or other family. God, this was already exhausting… but oddly worth it. And not just because of the awesome food. "What was your day like?"
"Also busy, but I love my job. I was locked away in my office all day, listening to loud music while I sketched ideas for my new line," she said happily.
"I can tell. That you love your job that is. I've seen your work, and you have some really amazing things. You can see your passion in everything you create."
"You like my stuff?" She asked excitedly. I smiled while nodding at her, dipping an egg roll into some plum sauce. I didn't want to go so far as to tell her that I had a few of her pieces, because I didn't want her to ask about my style, which I was pretty much expecting to happen at any moment now anyways. "Thank you! Do you enjoy your job? Or, jobs I should say."
"I love my job at the club. It's exciting sometimes. I thought I would like my other job, it was something I had wanted to do since I was a kid but… it's not as fulfilling as I thought it would be. It's not horrible, but it can be boring."
"And you don't seem like the type that deals well with boredom," she teased. I laughed.
"You're right, I'm not." I was surprised that she hadn't actually asked where I worked, and felt relieved because that meant I didn't have to lie to her.
"So, how long do you think it will be before you're able to start a new class?"
"Hopefully within the next two months, I only need another five people or so I think. The hard part is finding enough people to do it at the same time. I like to do them on Thursdays mornings, and the classes are about two hours long."
"How long have you been doing them?"
"Almost two years now."
"Do you like doing it?"
"I love doing it," I told her with a smile. "I love teaching, and I love what I teach. Every woman has the ability to defend themselves; they just need a bit of instruction as to how sometimes. It makes me feel good, being the one to show them how to use that weapon." I drank some more of my pop, and could already feel the caffeine getting to me. "What sort of stuff do you do outside of work?"
"Well, I work a lot of hours, and I travel a lot for the job so it takes up a lot of my time. I like painting too though, drawing, and just hanging out with family and friends. I love shopping."
"After seeing that closet, that doesn't surprise me," I teased.
"How did you get into the whole security and self-defence stuff? Did you do martial arts or anything?"
"Oh yeah, for about six years now. I studied Karate, Jiu-Jitsu, took kick boxing and Tai-Kwan-Do. I used to do competitions and stuff."
"That's really cool. You're really talented at what you do, I've seen it. It's kind of awesome, it makes the club really entertaining." I laughed, she was reminding me of Rose. "Do you have any other hobbies?"
"Uhm… I read a lot, and I play the violin. My work keeps me pretty busy too though."
"Oh! You play the violin? How long?"
"For about as long as I can remember, I think I was five when my dad bought me my first one and put me in lessons."
"Wow, are you any good?"
I grinned at her, "I like to think I am," I said confidently. I wasn't shy about my musical talent, but I didn't advertise it because too many people knew that Bella Swan played the violin. I thought I was pretty damn good though, I could put in a CD and play along with my music comfortably, and I hadn't used sheet music in years. The paper was distracting; I used my feelings to play.
That violin knew me better than anything else in the world.
"My brother plays the piano, and he's pretty awesome on the guitar too. He's been playing since about the same age," she said, a slightly curious tone to her voice.
I knew that tone, the forced casualness. I was hoping that I could get through this night without bringing up the knot in my neck that was caused by the beautiful annoyance known as Edward Cullen.
"Cool," I said, giving her the chance to take the lead on whatever she was getting at. She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. I sighed.
"He's not the most subtle person, your brother. You'd think as an actor he would have a better poker face," I said lightly. She looked surprised. "Come on, I'm not an idiot, and he wasn't being close to inconspicuous while glaring at me all night. Both nights," I said, a hint of annoyance leaking into my voice.
"He's not usually like that, he hasn't really been himself lately. I think he really likes you though."
I laughed, and bit it down quickly to be polite. "Alice, he doesn't know me. At all. And I have no interest in any sort of…. Whatever." I looked at her, and felt a painful twinge in my stomach. "You didn't invite me over here to try and set me up with him, did you?" It wasn't tactful to just ask straight out like that, but I needed to know before I let this go any further. If she didn't really want to hang out with me, and was just doing this for him… well, that made more sense.
"Oh, god, no. I was just afraid that you might not want to hang out with me because of him. He's been acting all weird, and I wasn't sure if you'd noticed, but either way I wanted to apologize for him. I asked you here because I wanted to hang out with you."
I relaxed slightly. I was good at reading people, and I was pretty sure she was telling the truth. "Oh, I noticed. I see everything that happens in that club." I grinned at her, and she smiled back. I saw her shoulders relax slightly, realizing I hadn't noticed how tense she had gotten. Had I scared her again?
"I can talk to him if you want? Get him to back off," she said worriedly. I chuckled, grabbing another chicken dumpling.
"Don't worry about it. It's irritating, but he's harmless. I've dealt with much worse." I regretted the words as soon as they came out and I saw a panicked look in her eyes. She was just so… fragile. I doubt many people saw that in her, hidden behind her constant smiles and exuberant energy, but I could see it in her eyes. Her empathy and concern.
I knew all too well what it was like, carrying around the weight of other peoples' problems. It was so much more painful to see someone else suffer than yourself.
I grinned at her, trying to lighten the mood. "Don't look so shocked, you've seen all too well the type of scum that's able to trickle past my security. You shouldn't worry, because you've also seen what I can do to them."
It worked, and she smiled back. I gave myself a mental pat on the back.
"Actually, I was hoping we could talk about that?"
"What? My punching expertise? Sorry Alice, but I don't think you have the fists to become a boxer."
She laughed again, a much more comfortable, genuine laugh. It was a beautiful sound, intensified by the way it lit up her face, and automatically made me smile. I wanted so badly to be comfortable around her. I liked this woman. I liked the positive, happy energy that she just seemed to radiate. If I was going to let another person into my life, break out of my perfect, calculated and cautious routine to try and live a little again, I wanted it to be her. I just really fucking liked her, but I am the way I am and live my life like I do for a reason.
It just wasn't safe, not only me but for her. How many more people would I allow myself to endanger? How selfish was I?
At least she didn't have brown hair.
I told my mind that it was overreacting, but it didn't believe me. Yes, this was really the first time I'd hung out with her, but I already knew her. So much more than she knew I did, which she could take as extremely fucking creepy. I wasn't stalking her like James, but I'd been watching her for over a year because she was close to Rose, who talked about her all the time. I knew about her family, her schooling, her criminal records and so much personal information. And until less than two weeks ago, she didn't even know I existed. She didn't know me at all, which I was used to, but now she wanted to. It was just so strange, that I couldn't bring myself to push her away like so many other people. Zeus loved me because I was his mother, Emmett because he was my brother. Rose was a special exception, the first friend who I had told my story to. I did it to comfort her when I had brought her up to my apartment that night. For days I sat with her, just holding her and talking to her and just trying to comfort her. To earn her trust. I did, and in turn she was the first person outside of my family I had given my trust to since Victor. The bond we had couldn't be described in words. She became my sister that night, my family.
And then there was Jasper. Our friendship had been a leap of faith on my part, and that's when it clicked. What happened with him is the exact same thing that was happening now with Alice. He had given me this vibe, there was something about him, and I had just really wanted him to be my friend. Just like with Alice. That's what made me decide; the leap out of my comfort zone I had taken with Jasper had been one of the best decisions I'd ever made. I was going to trust my instincts again, just cautiously.
I needed to be cautious, especially knowing who her brother was.
She laughed again at my joke, then looked at me a little hesitantly. I gave her an encouraging smile, and she seemed to relax a little. "How did you get the restraining order to go through so quickly?"
I sighed, and watched her face carefully for a minute. If I was going to do this, I had to do it right. It would be better to go through some of these things now, rather than drag them out later when I might have more to lose. "It's a bit of a long story, and I don't think you're going to like my answer," I told her seriously.
"I guarantee you that I don't care what you did or how you did it, because no matter what I'm thankful that you did. It's just nagging at me, I'm a curious person by nature, secrets drive me insane." Her voice was easy, light. She actually thinks that, I could see the sincerity in her eyes.
We'll just have to wait and see, I guess.
"I can't tell you all of my secrets," I warned her first, because it was true. I wasn't going to tell her my story, but I could tell her about James.
"I know, and that's okay. I just really want to know this one," she said with a hopeful smile.
"I've been working at the club since it opened, I don't think you've ever really noticed me before-" I held up my hand when she went to apologize, and gave her a smile,"-which is nothing to apologize about. That's my own doing, the way I like it and the way I work. But I saw you. Rose cares about you, so I kept an eye out for you when you'd come in. Were you aware that James had been stalking you?"
"I wouldn't really call it stalking… He calls and stuff, yeah, but we know a lot of the same people. We'd just run into each other sometimes."
"Stalking is defined as 'of or pertaining to the act of pursuing or harassing.' Those phone calls, text messages, e-mails that he sent to you after you expressed to him that you wanted him to stop would be considered harassment. And whenever you would come into the club, he watched you constantly. His eyes followed you wherever you went. I noticed it the first night you came in on the same night as him." I let out a deep breath, and gave her a meaningful look. "I just want you to know, you can tell me to leave at any time, and I'll understand. Just say the word, alright?" She gave me a curious look, and I made myself keep talking. The buzz of caffeine made it incredibly easy to speed through the words. "I didn't trust him, and I was worried about you. There was nothing I could do about it that would make a positive difference at the time, and I didn't want to make your situation worse. I know James' type, if I confronted him I would have just agitated your situation, and I didn't have grounds to do anything legal about it. But I knew that I could. I tried to find another way to get him thrown in jail, but everything I got on him I obtained illegally, hacking into his computer and phone records, so I couldn't use it as evidence. I knew I could get him on drug charges, but he would get out again, and come back for you. I knew he would. But if I was able to catch him hurting you, making you do something that you didn't want to or physically harassing you in my club, I'd be able to. And I'm so sorry about that Alice, but I knew he would eventually. The only way I could help you was to let him, and I am so sorry that I did." She was watching me with wide eyes, but was quiet. My nerves didn't want to let me shut up. "I had everything set up that I needed before he even did it. When he grabbed you, I took him back to my office, and threatened to give the information I had on him to the police if he didn't sign the confession I'd written for him. He agreed pretty quickly, so I guess he didn't know that they wouldn't actually hold up in court. He was high the night that he grabbed you, the drugs on him were enough to hold him for the weekend until I had a contact of mine put you on the top of the list. As soon as the judge came in on Monday he signed the court order."
That was it, I couldn't tell her any more than that. If she didn't want to see me after I told her that I had actually allowed James to grab her, it would just upset her more if I told her about doing background checks on her. I waited impatiently with a patient mask for her to say something.
"So… You were protecting me from James this entire time? Watching me?"
"Yes."
"Why didn't you ever say anything to me?"
"I didn't think it would accomplish anything positive," I told her truthfully.
"It would have. I could have thanked you sooner, we could have been friends earlier, and I could have known that all this time I've had this amazing guardian angel watching over me." Her eyes were watery, and something twisted painfully in my stomach. "Thank you B, thank you so much. I don't know how to repay you for everything you've done for me," she said with a sniffle, smiling at me thankfully.
I grinned back at her. "How about you just pass over the fried rice, and we'll call it even?"
Her eyes went wide, and she laughed loudly, sliding the Styrofoam container over and then lunging at me with a hug. I froze, but she didn't let go, and after a minute I awkwardly patted her back. She was almost three years older than me, but she was so tiny.
"I get the feeling that this whole friendship thing is kind of difficult for you, I don't know why, but I just want you to know that's okay. You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to, but I want you to know that you can."
I didn't know what to say to that, so I didn't say anything. Alice easily changed the subject, and we stuffed ourselves with Chinese food and dessert while watching a movie. She didn't ask me any more really personal details, but we talked about easy things like movies and books and places around town until I needed to head home. I hated leaving Zeus alone for too long.
"We should hang out again, soon," she said, smiling at me again as I slid on my flats.
"I'd like that," I told her honestly. I wasn't sure what her idea of soon was though.
"Do you have plans on Wednesday?"
"Just work, same hours as today." I didn't want to leave my baby alone for two evenings in a week though, and I was nowhere near ready to invite her over. Jasper didn't even know where I lived.
"Come over for dinner again! You can even bring your dog if you want. I'd really like to meet him," she said hopefully. I couldn't help but smile back.
"That sounds perfect, we can bring dinner over with us if you want? I make a pretty awesome lasagna," I offered. Her eyes sparkled while she smiled and happily agreed. I was slightly relieved that she didn't try hugging me again as I left. I had a smile on my face most of the drive, and through my nightly walk with Zeus after I got home. I fell asleep tired with a full stomach, and didn't have a single dream.
. . . . . . . . . . .
It turns out that Alice's brother was developing a routine at my brother's gym. This morning had been the third day in a row he had come in as I was heading to work. Of all the gyms in New York, he just had to pick this one. It was the best gym in the city though, so even though I wanted to I couldn't really blame him.
At least he never recognized me though, never even saw me.
I rushed through my work this morning, moving at double time to make sure I was done on time. Not that anyone was actually watching my hours, but I wanted to get as much done as possible. At eleven-thirty I ordered a pizza, half Canadian for me and half Hawaiian for Jasper, and he walked in two minutes after I paid the delivery man.
"Ooo, do I smell pineapple?" He asked happily, dropping down in his usual spot across my desk and handing me a cold bottle of water.
"Extra pineapple for you, strange sir," I said with a joking wrinkle of my nose. I love pineapple, but it had no business mixing itself up in melty cheese. "How's your morning going so far?"
"Crazy, there are so many group bookings, we're already packed for the entire month of September," he sighed, before pulling a hot slice out of the box between us. "How about yours?"
"Gone by in a flash," I said after inhaling half a slice.
"What're you up to this afternoon?"
"Making lasagna."
"Oh yeah, dinner with Rose's cousin again?"
I nodded, and couldn't help thinking again about how they seemed to have a similar effect on me. They both had that warm, happy aura to them that just seemed to draw you in. I smiled to myself; I didn't know her well enough yet to set her up with Jasper, but maybe I would tonight. I was very good at getting information. I had an incredibly good feeling about the idea, but I had to make sure she was good enough for my friend. Jasper deserved someone who could make him happy, someone who was happy. He was so in tuned to other people's emotions, and I couldn't help but think that the happy, positive energy that Alice just seemed to radiate would be good for him. She could also help bring him out of his shell a little, I thought.
And Alice was a pretty amazing person herself. She deserved someone who was as sensitive, loyal and loving as Jasper.
"What are you smiling about?" He asked curiously, a slight grin on his face.
"Do you have plans Friday?"
"Not really, why?" His eyes went wide. "Are you taking a night off work?" He asked in disbelief.
I scoffed. "No. But I might need help with something at the club, I'm not sure yet."
"Well, I'll either be at home or at the gym after work, just give me a call," he said easily, no questions asked, and we finished off our pizza. It only took me an hour to fire off the information I'd gathered, clearing my inbox, before ducking out early and heading to the grocery store. My disposable phone started ringing, and I dug in my bag through my phone for the club, my personal one, the one for the library, and my phone for the building before finding it.
"Hey Alice," I said, after checking my caller ID.
"Hey B! You're still coming over tonight, right?"
"Of course, I forgot to ask what time you wanted me over at though," I said.
"I'll be home at four, so any time after then is okay," she said easily. I hated it when people didn't give me specific times, and bit back the automatic rise of irritation that was used to voicing its opinion. I held my breath, and waited until the lack of oxygen made my mind dizzy and relaxed me. "B? Are you still there?"
"Yeah. We'll come over at five, if that's okay."
"Sounds perfect, but I wanted to call and see if you'd be comfortable if Rose joined us?"
I smiled. "I don't mind at all, I can pick her up on my way over," I said easily.
"Excellent. She said you'd say that, but I still wanted to check first. Should I call her or-"
"It's okay, I'll send her a text telling her when I'll pick her up."
"Cool! I'll see you guys in a couple hours then." Her voice sounded so excited, I couldn't help smiling at the sound. I put my phone away after shooting a quick message to Rose, telling her I'd be at her door at twenty to five, then went back to my shopping. I grabbed some fresh sausage and spinach, green peppers, mushrooms, ricotta and mozzarella, along with a loaf of fresh bread, then made my way back home quickly.
I loved cooking. It was something I learned how to do at an early age. Charlie had been a horrible cook, and Emmett was worse. My dad was the best father any kid could have asked for, but it was a skill that he just couldn't grasp. When I learned to read I discovered that they just didn't have the patience to follow the instructions properly. I did though, and took to it with ease. It was something that made me feel more… needed at first, like I was contributing to the house, but that reason was quickly overpowered by the joy I felt, seeing Charlie and Emmett's smiling faces when they ate my food.
It one of the things I missed most about living with my brother, having someone to cook for.
I made my pasta, and browned my sausage and cut vegetables while the dough set in the fridge. I left the sausage to simmer in my crockpot for an hour and a half while I made my cheese mixture, then rolled out my noodles in my pasta roller and layered the large casserole dish with sauce, spinach, noodles and cheese. I wrapped it up, then went and sat with Zeus on the roof for a while before we left.
Zeus was more than excited to be in the truck, and I stepped out of my door when Rose came out, letting her slide into the middle of the bench. She knew better than to attempt to move him out of his favourite spot.
"Bella, I can't tell you how happy I am to see you stepping out of your comfort zone like this," she said with a happy smile. I rolled my eyes.
"Please don't go all mom on me Rose, it's really not a big deal."
She didn't call me out on the lie.
Zeus went on alert as soon as we stepped out into the new-for-him area after I parked my truck. He stayed close to my side, his ears flickering around as he listened carefully and watched. I gave the Casserole dish to Rose, and took the big box out of the bed of my truck.
"What's that?"
"Free samples, I need to have a talk with her landlord."
"B…"
"I'll behave, you can come with if you don't trust me," I said, and felt her close to my heels as I went into the building. Someone held the door open for us, and even though that was one of the things I was addressing I was pretty grateful, just because our hands were so full, so I thanked her. I set the box down on the unattended main desk, and rang the bell.
Two minutes later, an older woman, maybe late fifties, with short salt and pepper hair wearing jeans and a grey blouse came rushing out. "Hey there, what can I do for you?" Her eyes shifted between me, Zeus, and Rose warily.
"I would like to speak to the owner of the building," I told her politely.
"T-that would be me, what can I do for you?" She looked nervous, why was she nervous? I immediately became suspicious, which pushed at the simmering, near-constant irritation that boiled inside me.
"I came to your building two days ago to visit a friend, and someone who didn't know me held open the door to let me in." She looked at me questioningly, and I sighed in annoyance when she didn't seem to grasp the importance of that. "Do you have any idea how many times a year people's homes, apartments in particular, are broken into for just because of that reason? Isn't that the point of having a key and entry code for the building, to keep people from getting in and wandering the halls? Especially if you have people with well-known names living in your residence? Are you aware that if someone did get into the building, you could be held legally accountable for any damage that could happen because of your lack of security? You don't even have video cameras to catch someone's identity if they did."
Her face had paled as she watched me, and I took a deep breath, holding it to calm myself while I waited for her to say something. She seemed at a loss for words, and I pinched the bridge of my nose for a moment, trying to push away my headache before I opened up the box. I took out a large stack of papers.
"First, you should hand these out to your tenants, so they know the dangers and importance of why they shouldn't let strangers into the building. It would also be wise to post one at the actual entrance as a reminder." I started taking out some boxes of small cameras and the monitor system out of the larger box. "These are state of the art, brand new and easy to install. I would recommend putting one facing the front door, the elevators, and the stairwell at least. There's more than a few if you want to do more. Instructions are in the box, but here's a card for a reliable contractor if you aren't up for doing it yourself. His prices are very reasonable." I put the things back into the box, and slid it towards her. "Put those up soon," I said in a stern voice, leaving no room for argument. I nodded my head at Zeus, who stood back up and followed me to the elevators.
"Wait! Why are you doing all of this? I'm sorry, but I just can't afford to buy these-"
"Did I ask you for money?" I said, turning back to look at her.
"…No."
"That's because I don't want any. You can pay me back by actually using them."
"But why?"
"Because I can," I said simply, and we left and went into the elevators without another word. I took the dish from Rose so she wouldn't have to carry it anymore, Zeus was eying the container hopefully while his tail smacked against my calf. She didn't bother to argue with me.
"I just got a bit of a deja-vu back there," Rose said teasingly, smiling at me. "But you were a lot closer to giving mine a heart attack than Alice's landlord there." I rolled my eyes. "You didn't yell once, I'm proud of you sweetie."
"I was close," I said, taking in a deep breath. "God, people just irritate me so much sometimes!" I hissed, and Rose laughed and put a calming hand on my shoulder.
"I hear you babe. I like your temper though, you make me look damn near saint-like," she said with a grin, making me laugh before the doors opened. We walked down the hall, and Rose just walked right in.
Her door wasn't even locked, and Rose gave me a knowing grin as I let out an irritated huff.
"She knew we were coming over now, she doesn't leave her door unlocked all the time," Rose whispered, trying to calm me. It worked, mostly.
"Rose, B!" Alice said excitedly, and when she smiled like that, I couldn't really hold onto my anger. She was like a little happy pixie, and it was pretty damn endearing. She gave Rose a hug, and Rose smiled knowingly as she gave me one too.
"Wow, she must like you," Rose speculated, and I shot her a glare.
"What do you mean?" Alice asked, looking at her curiously.
"I don't remember the last time someone's touched her and didn't get punched or thrown into a wall," she teased.
"Shut up Rose, I'm not that bad."
"Yes, you are," she prodded.
"You're being a bitch Rose," I growled.
"You say that like it's a bad thing," she said with a smile, flipping her beautiful hair before giving me a one armed hug. I huffed, but grinned back and squeezed her in return for a second before stepping away. Alice was watching us curiously, until her eyes settled on Zeus. She squealed, looking at him with a giant smile. Even he could feel her excitement, and his tongue rolled out of his mouth as his tail thumped loudly on the floor, picking up speed. He was a good boy though, and didn't move from where he was sitting as Alice walked over and held out her hand.
"Alice, this is Zeus, Zeus, this is Alice," I said, not really caring if they thought I was crazy for introducing someone to my dog. He was smart, and I just knew that he understood on some level. He sniffed her hand, then quickly started licking her, making her giggle.
"It's very nice to meet you Zeus, you're such a handsome boy!" He let out a happy bark, making her laugh again. "He's so big! He must be as tall as you when he stands up!"
"Bigger, actually. Zeus! Give mommy a hug," I said happily and he jumped up to his hind legs, putting his paws on my shoulders before licking my face, making both the girls laugh. I gave him a kiss, and when I patted his ribs he jumped back down. "He's really well behaved, he won't mess with your things or anything. Is it okay if he walks around?"
"Of course," she said happily, unable to take her eyes off of him. I could see why, she could probably ride him like a small pony.
"Zeus, scout," I told him, and he jumped back to his feet before trotting down the hallway.
"Scout?" She asked quietly.
"Yeah, it's easier to communicate if you can use single words. Scout's my word for telling him that it's okay to investigate, though I should warn you that if he finds a gun or drugs he'll tell me."
"Well, there's nothing like that for him to find," she said easily.
No drugs, likes animals. Noted.
"So, this needs to go in the oven for forty minutes," I told her. She led me over to the kitchen, and I turned on the stove before taking the foil off of the dish and setting it in the oven. We went and joined Rose in the living room, and I grimaced looking at the overly-large collection of nail products that were set out on the coffee table, but relaxed immediately when I saw the large open box of fancy chocolates that Rose was currently picking at. Rose grinned at me knowingly. I sat down on the end of the couch, completely coincidentally the closest spot to the chocolate, and Zeus trotted over and sat by my feet. He sniffed, and glared at the chocolates.
"Don't you even dare," I warned lightly, and he turned his head and gave me that happy puppy smile. After scratching behind his ears he lied down.
"You weren't kidding about him being well behaved," Alice noted, handing me a tall glass of ice water before she sat down in between us. "Should I put out a bowl of water for him or something?"
"He's fine for now, but thanks," I told her with a smile.
Very considerate. Noted.
"I thought we could give each other manicures! After dinner of course," she said excitedly.
"I don't do nail polish," I said, as politely as I possibly could.
"Aw, why not? It'll be fun! Is it for work or something?"
"Err, kind of, but-"
"Save it Alice, you're a fighting an impossible battle," Rose cut in, but smiled mischievously. "But though she might not wear it, the things she can do with nail polish are pretty amazing."
I rolled my eyes, but Alice smiled excitedly. "Really? You have to show me!"
Compromise, doing designs on someone else's nails was much more preferable. "Sure."
"So, I've been thinking again about buying that building," Rose told me, and went on to answer Alice's curious expression. "I've been thinking about expanding, building a second club. The woman who owns it is actually the daughter of one of your mom's friends, it's on the other side of downtown."
"Kate?" She asked knowingly, and Rose nodded. I could see her trying to hide a slight grimace, from what she had told me I couldn't blame her for not liking her. I'd seen her once or twice at the club, just another stuck-up model.
"What a weird coincidence," Alice said with an odd smile.
"How so?" I asked curiously.
"Mom made Edward go out on a date with her," she looked down at her watch and laughed. "He's probably picking her up right now."
"Weird," Rose said, "Did you warn him?"
Alice grinned. "Nope. I thought I'd leave that as a surprise, I didn't say a single word." They both started laughing, causing Zeus to raise his head, and I grinned as I scratched behind his ear.
"Did you talk about prices at all?" I asked logically. From what I had learned about the building after she had mentioned it the first time, I knew immediately that it was ridiculously over-priced. I was not going to let my sister get ripped off.
"Yeah, she's not being easy. I can't haggle like you," she said teasingly, making me role my eyes. "I'm waiting back to hear from her, I invited her out for dinner to try to soften her up in person, but she hasn't gotten back to me yet."
"Well, let me know if I can help, and don't you dare pay a dime over one point two mil," I said seriously.
Alice wanted to know more about Rose's ideas for a new club, which kept them busy until the lasagna was done. Alice made a salad to go with it, and we all sat around her coffee table again as we ate. As soon as we were done, Alice brought all her nail stuff out again, and I started sifting through her ridiculous collection, asking her what her favourite colours were while she started on Rose's nails.
I actually had fun, doing her nails. She was pretty girly with her favourites, but I stuck with blue, violet and silver colours, making a sort of broken glass design. I was very proud of the end result, and I could tell by her bright smile that she was too. I was glad that I did hers before she could ask to do something to my hands again, she didn't want to risk ruining them. It was a lot easier to touch someone else, being in control of the contact, compared to letting someone touch you. It still freaked me out when she hugged me, having her touching my hands for a prolonged period of time would have driven me mad. Besides, I liked my hands. I took very good care of them, and didn't see any need to change them.
I did a little more digging, as inconspicuously as possible, to learn more about her for Jasper. It didn't take much effort on my part, she was more than willing to just throw the information at me. I was not only thinking now that she would be someone good for Jasper, but that he would be good for her. She was a little eccentric, or maybe restless would be a better word. His calming presence could work wonders on her, ground her. He was great at calming me down. They were both the type not to engage in short-term relationships, and wanted the real deal. They both wanted to have kids, but stay in the city. And they were both just… genuinely nice people. You don't see that enough these days. My mind was set, but I decided I'd wait until the next time I saw her to ask her if she was seeing someone; I didn't want her to think I came here with ulterior motives because I was really starting to genuinely like her. Plus, she knew Rose, which would make it so much easier to bring her into my life, and when she met Jasper… Nope, not tonight. The rest of tonight is going to be just for me.
We all brought Zeus for a walk after both dinner and nail lacquer had settled, stopping for a coffee at this little shop a couple blocks away and sitting on their patio. "So Rose, why do you make B where that uniform? We could think of something much better," Alice asked with a slightly accusing tone. Rose laughed loudly.
"I don't make her wear any uniform, she does that to herself."
"Hey," I said sternly, giving her a glare. "There is nothing wrong with my work clothes. They're practical, easy to maneuver in and help me blend into the background. Plus, they're kind of cute. I look good but not flashy." I liked my uniform, and didn't like her picking at it.
Alice pouted and I rolled my eyes, making sure not to let my unease show on my face. Unlike her, it wasn't safe for me to just change my style. It was a thoroughly calculated look, a disguise, a separate identity. The clothes kept me in that role, it just wouldn't work properly if I changed them.
I couldn't tell her that, but Rose knew. She also would never compromise my secret, or share it with someone unless I gave her explicit permission. Which I never have. So I knew that she was thinking the same thing as me, but she didn't let it show. One of the many reasons why I love and trust her. She did change the subject quickly though, to my relief, and asked Alice about her parents. They talked about their family for the walk back to Alice's apartment, and I just put on that filter in my ears that made me listen but not actually absorb any of the words. I was completely happy with my little family, I wouldn't trade my brother for anything in the world, but listening to them talk about their parents pulled Charlie to the front of my mind. God, I missed my dad so much. It's hard to believe he's been gone for almost four years now.
Rose's parents did not like me. I never expected them to, but at least they were polite. I decided quickly that it would be better for them to be intimidated of me instead of condescending, and so far it was working out just swell. I didn't see them often at all, Rose wasn't close with them, but during the few times I had they didn't say a word to me and seemed too uncomfortable to make eye contact. They didn't know a thing about me, I was just an investor to them. Easy peasy.
I had to work early in the morning, covering a spin class for my brother, so after helping Alice clean up I went to drive Rose home. She slid in between Zeus and I on the bench, carrying the leftover lasagne for Emmett in her lap while fiddling with the radio.
Rose wasn't a restless sort of person, it was rare that she fidgeted like this.
"What's wrong?" I asked gently. She went still for a moment, before leaning back and looking out the window.
"She didn't ask how we knew each other," she said quietly.
I'd noticed that also, and was aware that Emmett and I were still the only ones who knew what happened to her. "Are you relieved?"
"No, anxious. Because someday she will."
"Rose, I'm going to say this again and again, a millions times if that's what it takes for you to believe me. It was not your fault, and no one will think differently of you if they know. If they do, then they just aren't worth your time."
"But you know that doesn't make a difference."
"Yes. I know. But Alice is not only your friend, but your family. She loves you. I'm not saying you have to tell her, and you know I never would, but she wouldn't think any less of you if she knew. And I'm pretty sure you know that too."
"I just can't Bella." Her words were no more than a whisper, her sad eyes looking down in her lap. I reached out and took one of her hands, squeezing it gently. Its as simple as that." My stomach was filled with that boiling rage once more when her watery eyes met mine. I regret not killing those men the night I had found her. I'm pretty sure they weren't dead anyways, there were no bodies in the alley the next day, and no police tape. It only slightly calmed me when she gave me a thankful smile, and I had to pry my hands off the steering wheel to let her out of my truck when we stopped.
"Thank you Bella," she said, giving me a hug after she stepped out. I squeezed her tightly.
"You have nothing to thank me for Rose. I know you'd do the same thing for me."
I kept a close eye on her, watching her until she disappeared into her building.
. . . . . . . . . . .
I don't like doing the flashbacks, but they're telling a part of the story.
Bella's recipe for Chicken-Waldorf salad:
-Four cooked chicken breasts, diced
-Four stalks of celery, sliced
-One each red and green apples, cored and diced
-Two cups red seedless grapes, halved
-One bunch sliced green onion
-One cup toasted peacans
-One cup low-fat mayo
-Juice of one lemon
-Salt and pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients in a bowl, mix well. Cover and let chill over night at least. Salad is best if eaten the next day or later.