"That had to be the sweetest thing I've ever seen!" Alice squealed.

"Is there a reason that you were spying on me?" I asked, pretending to be mad. Obviously, she could tell that I was faking.

"Yeah. I wanted to see if you were going to let that hunk of a man walk you to the door after taking you on a date the day after he saves you from permanently ruining that dress in the rain, and not kiss him." Her answer was so blunt, I couldn't help but laugh. I was about to respond when I heard Emmet's heavy footsteps hit the porch. I had to go put some different clothes on. I didn't want him to see my bruises, nor did I want him to ask why I was dressed up.

"Be right back," I said as I ran up the stairs and into my room. Once I got inside, I remembered that I didn't have any clothes, and I started to panic. I knew that Alice wouldn't have any more clothes that would fit me. I walked to the dresser in front of my bed and started opening the drawers, hoping to find something. After finding nothing in the dresser, I ran into the closet, praying that she would have some old sweatpants and sweatshirts stashed somewhere. After not finding anything on the left side of the room, I turned to start searching through the right when I found a bunch of shopping bags on the floor. There was a note in front of them with my name on it.

Bella,

I figured that you could use some clothes. No need to thank me. I know you'll like them. There is enough here to last you at least a week and a half.

Love,

Your personal shopper, Alice.

I laughed quietly after reading the letter. Though I hated when people spent money on me, I understood that she was just trying to help. I'm sure she knew that I had no desire to go back to James' house to get my stuff. I grabbed a pair of jeans and a white sweatshirt. I was surprised that Alice bought the sweatshirt instead of some fancy jacket like she usually bought, but then I realized that she probably understood I would want to hide my arms, and I wouldn't wear a dressy jacket around the house. As I left my room I could hear Alice and Emmet talking. It was nice to have my brother around. Because we were the only real family we had left, we were extremely close. I told him everything, as did he, and I knew I had to tell him about James. I had the feeling that he was going to want to kick James' ass, so I had to make sure that he was calm so he didn't overreact. I made my way down the stairs and spotted Emmet in the kitchen eating, of course. It was a good thing he worked out the way he did or else he would be as big as a house.

I was trying to sneak up on him, but that was ruined when I stepped on a creaky floor board. Emmet turned around and instantly pulled my into a bone crushing hug. "Hey there Squirt! I missed you!".

"I missed you too, but can you please let me go. You're starting to make it hard to breathe," I said as he chuckled.

"Oops," he replied.

"It's all good. I should be used to it by now." I laughed and playfully hitting him on the arm.

"Emmet was just telling me about this girl he met named Rosalie," Alice said from behind me. I hadn't noticed her when I entered the room, and her sudden statement caused me to jump a little.

"Oh, really?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow. Even though Emmet and I didn't spend a bunch of time together, or talk everyday, this was something that I thought he would tell me. But, then again, I had yet to tell him about James.

"Yeah, but it's not serious. Yet," he replied sheepishly. He must've really liked this girl, because he never acted that way when he was talking about one of his love interests.

"Yet, huh? Do you think it will be?" I inquired. Not only was I interested in this Rosalie girl, but I was trying to delay the conversation that I knew wasn't going to end well.

"I think so. She's an amazing girl, and for some reason she keeps going out with me when I ask. She's absolutely gorgeous, too." he said proudly. Emmet was a sucker for pretty girls.

"I'm happy for you," I chirped. A huge smile spread across his face as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders and led me to the living room. He sat down on the couch and pulled me to sit next to him.

"So," he started, "how are you and James." I drew in a sharp breath and looked him straight in the eye. I knew I was going to have to say something sooner or later. I was just hoping for later.

"Uh. . . Well, we aren't dating anymore," I said in a barely audible voice.

"Seriously? What happened? I thought you guys were going to get married."

"He thought that if he was going to get ahead in his career, he shouldn't have any distractions." I tried to re-phase it the best I could. That was basically the reason, but James had made it sound a lot worse.

"Are you serious?" Emmet asked as his voice seemed to get angrier.

"Yes, but it doesn't matter. I'm okay," I replied in a calm voice. Emmet reached to take my hand in his, and lightly rubbed against the cuts on my palm. His expression became confused as he turned my hand upwards so he could see what was on my hand.

"Bella," he whispered, "what happened?"

"Um. . ." I was starting to think that telling him wasn't such a good idea. I could just lie, and say that I tripped or something. He would easily believe that, considering how klutzy I am. But, then I remembered that Alice was in the room and she would not let me lie to him. She wanted Emmet to know.

"What happened?" he asked again as his voice seemed to rise.

"James and I got in a little argument is all, nothing serious." I was keeping myself calm, hoping that Emmet would follow the same suit.

"He put his hands on you?" he inquired harshly. I could feel his body tensing up next to me.

"Yes," I whispered.

"He must have pushed you for this to happen. It looks like you fell on asphalt."

"Yes," I repeated.

"Did he hurt you anywhere else?" His tone of voice was scary. He wasn't yelling, but he might as well have been. It was so harsh that it made my squirm in my seat. I decided that I would have to show him my bruises, because I didn't trust my voice to answer him. I stood up from the couch and pulled off my sweatshirt, exposing my arms to him.

"I'll kill him," Emmet hissed.

"No, Emmet. Don't overreact. I'm fine, I promise."

Emmet stood up, towering over me. "Bella, you are my little sister and this asshole has hurt you. Do you really expect me to not want to kick his ass?" he questioned.

"I don't want anyone in my life involved with him. I no longer speak to him, and I have no plans of doing such. Surprisingly, I'm getting over him a lot better than I thought I would, so if everyone would just act like he doesn't exist I can get over it much faster," I answered. He seemed to understand where I was coming from, which was a good thing.

"Fine, but if I see him walking on the street, I will not be held accountable for my actions." He said it jokingly, but I knew he wasn't joking. Emmet wouldn't go out of his way to see James, but if he saw him by coincidence there was no telling what he would do.

"Okay, Emmet," I laughed. I wrapped my skinny arms around his huge waist and whispered, "I love you."

"I love you too, Squirt." I felt him press his lips to my hair and release his arms.

"Yeah, Bella is doing rather well on the whole, getting-over-my-boyfriend-who-I-should-have-left-a-long-time-ago-because-he-is-an-asshole, thing. But, then again, she has been a little distracted. I shot her a glare and she simply winked at me before she turned around and gracefully disappeared around the corner.

"What is she talking about?" Emmet asked, confused.

"Well . . . Um. . . The night that James and I broke up, and after our big fight, he left and it was raining. I had taken a cab to the restaurant so I didn't have a car to drive home. He had . . . Pushed me onto the ground and just as I was about to get up, a cab pulled up next to me and the person inside told me to get in. I was too out of it to disagree, so I got in. He ended up being an extremely nice man, and we actually went out to lunch today. But, we are just friends," I told him. I only saw him get mad once, and that was when I told that James had pushed me. But, other than that, he seemed calm.

"Oh, I see. Well, he better be nice to you, or I'm going to have to kick his ass as well," he joked. I was happy that he took that all so well. I was expecting him to lecture me about spending my time with another man right after the thing with James.

"He is nice, Emmet. But I'll make sure to relay the message." Emmet laughed at my response, and I couldn't help but do the same.

The rest of the night was spent watching T.V., or at least trying to. Alice and Emmet were arguing over what to watch most of the time. It was rather amusing, considering the huge size difference.

As I watched the two people I loved most in this world act as if they had no worries except missing some part of the show they wanted to watch, I felt myself feeling extremely lucky. Though my life had temporarily hit a rough spot, I knew that these people always had my back. They would never let me down, and that's all I needed in life.