Chapter Three
I had finished my essay and emailed it to my professor when I heard a knock on my door. No doubt it was Alice on the other side of it, no one else had such impeccable timing.
"What do you want Alice?" I asked, not even bothering to move off the bed.
"Bella, let me in," she whined.
"Come in," I laughed. It wasn't as if the door was locked.
"Bella this is Kate!" Alice exclaimed as she tugged a beautiful light brown haired vampire into the room. She was immensely lovely and I easily ranked her second beautiful out of her sisters, with Tanya being the most lovely, of course.
"It's nice to meet you Bella," she said sweetly as she stopped just inside my door.
"Nice to meet you too."
"As you know Kate and I are going shopping tomorrow and I was wondering if you needed anything?" Alice asked as she sat on the edge of my bed.
"Well, you know Edward bought me, I mean us, that wonderful bed and I really would like to get him something nice in return," I replied.
"He bought you a new bed?" Kate asked eyeing the bed in our room.
"Yes, but not this one."
"Oh."
"They have a small cabin not to far away," Alice chimed in.
"I see," she smiled brightly.
"He's always doing sweet things for me and I'm never able to return the sentiment."
"What did you have in mind?" Alice asked.
"I'm not sure, I was hoping you could help?"
"What about an engine upgrade for the Volvo?" she suggested.
"I don't know." While he would enjoy having the Volvo capable of soaring to even higher speeds, it didn't really scream romantic.
"Or what about a new piano?" Kate asked.
"He's rather attached to his old one," I replied.
"I see, hmm."
"I know! I know!" Alice exclaimed.
"What?" I asked laughing.
"What about a hot tub?"
"He would like that!" I exclaimed. It would be perfect and if he tried to say anything like he didn't deserve gifts or whatever, I could point out that it was for the two of us.
"He's going to love it Bella!"
"One problem," I sighed. There was absolutely nowhere I could imagine putting it.
"At the cabin, you could tear out that old tub and put in a hot tub in its place," Alice replied, obviously seeing my predicament.
"Would that work?" I asked.
"Yes, of course it will silly," she laughed.
"I'll need help."
"I'm sure Emmett and Jasper wouldn't mind lending a hand."
"Are you sure?" I asked.
"Positive."
"Thanks Alice!" I replied as I wrapped my arms around the little pixy. Times like this made me realize that I took her for granted far too often.
"Your welcome," she giggled, returning the hug.
Realizing we had an audience, we broke up our little show and turned our attention to Kate, who was beaming.
"You two appear to be sisters!" she laughed.
"We are," I replied.
"Definitely," Alice giggled.
"So, Alice says you are taking online classes. Which ones are you taking?" Kate asked.
"English and Algebra," I replied.
"That should be a breeze for a smart girl like you."
"Yes and no," I laughed. English wasn't a problem. Math on the other hand had proven to be a bit of challenge. More often than not I needed Edward's help to figure out the tricky equations and problems.
"Don't worry you'll get the hang of it."
"I hope."
"I'm really glad to have met you. Edward is like a member of our family and to see that he has found happiness warms our hearts," she spoke.
"Thank you."
"No, thank you Bella, for making him so happy."
"Kate, would you like a seat?" I asked suddenly aware of my rudeness.
"No thank you. I am going to see if Tanya and Irina would like to join us on our shopping trip tomorrow."
"Ok. You're welcome to come here anytime," I smiled. She nodded and took her leave.
"She is sweet isn't she?" Alice asked after a few moments.
"Yes."
"She really likes you Bella."
"I really like her," I replied honestly. It was hard not to like Tanya or her. Irina, however, was a different story. I just couldn't understand why she was so cold towards me.
"Bella, I promise to find the perfect hot tub tomorrow."
"Thanks Alice."
"He will be here in about two minutes, I'll go tell Kate to keep her mind off the hot tub and I will do the same," she grinned as she stood to walk out of the room.
"Thanks Alice, I owe you."
"You're welcome, and I already know how you can repay me," she smiled.
"Shopping trip?" I guessed.
"You got that right."
"Oh Alice," I laughed.
"And I promise you will love every minute of it."
"If you say so," I replied as she walked out of the room. I lay back against my bed waiting for Edward to come. Closing my eyes, I tried to imagine how he would react to a hot tub. He had never mentioned wanting one, but for some reason I knew that he would love it.
I was brought from my thoughts when two powerful steel arms wrapped themselves around me. I smiled but kept my eyes closed, waiting for him to speak.
"How was your evening love?" he asked, his lips no more than half an inch from my ear.
"It was ok."
"Did you finish your essay?" he asked as my eyes came open.
"Yes and it's quite good if I do say so myself."
"I'm sure it is," he grinned.
"How was class?"
"Boring and uneventful as always," he laughed.
"I guess so, when you have taken it numerous times before."
"Did you meet Kate?" he asked.
"Yes, she's very nice."
"I agree, she has always been friendly to me, and what about the others? Do you like them?" he asked.
"Tanya is very kind. I just can't understand Irina," I replied in a whisper that I knew only he would hear.
"Yes, Irina does seem to not like you."
"I don't see why," I replied. It hurt having my thoughts confirmed. I wanted everyone to like me and knowing that someone didn't was like a dagger to my heart. I wanted nothing more than to be accepted.
"I believe it has to do with Laurent."
"Laurent?" I asked confused. Did I know Laurent? Then, as if pulling something from my deep past, it came back to me. Laurent was one of James' henchmen. He had gone to Denali and Irina had fallen for him. Laurent had been killed by the wolves because of me. She hated me for the same reason Victoria had hated me. I had been the reason for the death of their loved ones.
"You don't remember?" he asked a pained expression crossing his face.
"I didn't for a moment, but I do now," I sighed.
"How long have you been having trouble recalling things?" he asked.
"I don't know."
"Maybe we should try talking about your past more often."
"Sure, if you wish."
"Bella, doesn't it bother you that you are forgetting things?" he asked.
"Well, to be honest I am not sad that I forgot about Laurent."
"If you have forgotten about that it's likely you have forgotten other things."
"Edward, I am not worried. As long as you are here to remind me everything will be alright."
"Tomorrow we will start discussing things about your past."
"Deal," I laughed. I could see that this was important to him and I would let him remind me of anything he wanted to.
"Anyways, I really think you should avoid being alone with Irina."
"Why?"
"I don't think she will try anything, but as a precaution I think you shouldn't be alone with her.
"Ok," I sighed. It was just like Edward to be overprotective.
"Alice was singing the Spanish alphabet backward in her mind, would you happen to know why?" he asked eyeing me suspiciously.
"No idea," I replied smiling.
"Bella."
"Edward," I laughed.
"You two are up to something."
"If you say so," I giggled.
"I will find out," he replied eyeing me seriously.
"Maybe," I continued to giggle. This brought a smile across his lips. I couldn't wait to unveil the hot tub to him. I knew he would enjoy it as much as I would.
(So, how do you like Bella's gift idea for Edward? She finally realizes why Irina dislikes her. Will Irina be able to overcome her ill will towards Bella or will she try something drastic? Please review and tell me what you think! Oh, I have a poll on my profile and if you have any time I would appreciate you taking a vote. It deals with a possible story I am thinking of writing and I want some insight. Thanks to my beta xedwardxloverx once again! And thanks to all my reviewers and voters! And Happy Easter!)