Carlisle

It had been about a week after our small battle. I had taken Esme, Rosalie and Alice up to Canada for 3 days. I took them shopping, and booked them into a spa and salon which Alice was ecstatic about. We invited Bella and they guys, but they declined. I didn't blame Emmett, Jasper and Edward. I was only going because I was the one treating them, but I was surprised at Bella's dismissal. She had been distant lately, and I first thought it was because she wasn't over the mishap with Austin like the rest of us, but then I realised that it had started before that.

When we had returned home, Bella wasn't in her usual spot on the couch. Edward was playing the piano upstairs. Jasper and Emmett were playing their video game, which wasn't surprising.

When the piano music stopped playing, I heard Bella's voice faintly. She was with him up there. I didn't know why I didn't assume that to begin with.

Rosalie and Alice sat down to watch a movie after thanking me several times for the weekend.

"Girls, mute that for a second." Esme said.

Alice obeyed and listened. We heard Edward raising his voice, and Bella apologising.

Alice turned the TV back up when she heard footsteps storming down the stairs.

Edward walked quickly, aggressively through the house. He passed Esme and I without a glance and walked out the front door. Bella whirred past and was standing at the door, "Edward, I'm sorry. How many times do you want to hear that?"

"Don't start turning this on me. You are the one who can't do this" He motioned between her and himself.

Rosalie, Alice, Jasper and Emmett walked out onto the porch to watch the commotion.

"Guys." Esme scolded before Edward interrupted her, "It's okay Esme. They need some entertainment." He glared at Bella.

"Edward, Please!"

"Go back to your dog." Edward said before opening his car door.

"Excuse me?"

He slammed the door closed, still standing beside the door.

"No Edward, don't kiss me in front of Jacob." He mimicked her voice.

"When did I ever say that?"

"You didn't say the specifically, but it was implied." He went to open the door again.

"Edward." She appeared in front of him and held the car door shut. He went to speak before she crushed her lips against his.

"It's disgusting, yet it's beautiful and I can't look away…" Rosalie whispered as she watched her sister make out with her boyfriend in the driveway.

"I know." Alice and Jasper agreed at the same time. Alice turned around in his arms and planted a kiss on his lips.

"Okay, I'm done with this." I said, turning around and walking inside. Esme laughed and trailed behind me. The others came back in too. "Yes, give them privacy in my driveway…" I joked.

"Would you really rather them inside the house right now? I'm sure it would be a lot more intense if they were more comfortable…" Esme teased.

"That is my daughter you are talking about…" I smirked before tickling her sides.

"Carlisle! Stop!" She screamed through her laughing. I pushed her back onto the couch so it would be harder for her to escape.

"Carlisle!" She yelled. She hit me a few times, but not hard enough to hurt me.

"Don't you even think about it…" I heard Rosalie warn Emmett. I guessed I was giving him ideas to do the same to her.

I stopped after a few more minutes. She sat up, out of breath from her screaming and hit me in the chest, harder than before. I winced.

"I swear to god if you do that ever again I will not hesitate to hurt you."

"I'd like to see you try…" I stirred.

She tried to keep an angry face on, but failed and laughed lightly as she let her smile shine. She planted a soft kiss on my lips.

"Why is Edward so resistant to believe that she doesn't like the dog?" Emmett asked.

"Probably just trying to start something." Alice said snidely.

"Stop bitching. He can hear your thoughts right now. Why are you both so quick to judge him?" Esme scolded.

Emmett tried to hold his laugh in, but failed.

"I wonder if it would affect you at all if Carlisle yelled at you instead…" Rosalie said quietly.

"Doubt it." Emmett denied.

"Don't be so sure. He can be terrifying if he is actually angry. It doesn't really show his anger often, but I know when he feels it…" Jasper smirked.

"I wouldn't go as far as to say terrifying." I disagreed.

Rosalie snickered, "Let's just say Jasper and I try our hardest to keep you happy…We don't want to go through that again..."

"Bella, on the other hand, finds joy in seeing you lose it." Jasper said, looking over at Rosalie. She nodded in agreement.

I rolled my eyes. "Stop. Do you really want to argue with her?"

"Definitely not." Jasper admitted. He sat down on the couch across from the one Esme and I were sitting on. Alice followed him, and Rosalie and Emmett moved the other one.

"So…does anyone know what has actually been bothering Bella lately?" Rosalie asked, concern hinting in her voice.

Esme sat up straighter and glanced at me.

Alice moved awkwardly, and looked like she was biting her tongue.

"Alice?" Esme had noticed too.

Jasper was looking intently at her, sensing how uncomfortable she was.

She shrunk a little, not wanting to say anything. She looked at all of us in turn.

"Would you like to go somewhere else more private?" I asked her.

She thought for a moment. "Well I know I'm going to tell you eventually, so why not?" She said softly, standing up.

I stood up too, and looked back at Esme, "Are you coming?"

"Oh, right." She stood hesitantly. She wasn't used to being welcomed into private conversations, I assumed. She never really was around other people except for her children, and I had been told they never really kept things from each other. Alice and Edward would have known anyway. Emmett would have pried.


I led Alice and Esme to my office where I sat on the edge of the desk. They sat down in the chairs before it.

"Do you know much about Bella's past?" Alice asked me.

"Not much. I know that her parents were divorced, and she was very close with her father."

Alice nodded, "Is that why she doesn't call you dad?"

"Off topic Alice…" Esme said softly, not knowing if that was a sensitive subject for me. We had never talked about that. Why Bella didn't call me dad, and why Alice, Emmett and Edward call her mum.

"Right, sorry." She shifted herself. "Well…since her parents were divorced, she never believed in marriage again. She still doesn't. When you guys were on your honeymoon, we were talking about it and she was very convinced that it wouldn't last."

Esme looked downwards at the ground.

Alice noticed, but continued, "Well, Edward believes strongly in marriage. He was like both of you, marriage before sex, but I guess she changed that…"

I cleared my throat awkwardly. I didn't want to get into that conversation again.

"Sorry. He didn't ask officially, but he asked what she would say if he asked you for her hand in marriage. She didn't take it very well...that led to a lot of arguments between them, but not just about that topic, about almost everything. She's been a bad mood since he brought it up, and they went to the reservation a while back because Bella is still friends with them, and that led to Edward's accusation in the driveway."

"So all of their arguments and Bella's moods which have caused her to distance herself from everyone was because Edward asked if she would accept if he asked for her to marry him?" Esme asked.

Alice nodded in confirmation.

"And I'm betting it's because he couldn't keep it in his pants…" Esme said quietly to herself, rolling her eyes.

Alice tried to hold back her laughter, but it broke through and she covered her mouth so it was quiet.

"What? The chances are that he now feels guilty for sinning and wants to marry her so he can continue what he is already doing!"

Alice laughed harder "I cannot tell you whether that is correct or not…but I sort of hope it is because it would make a great story."

I waited for them to stop laughing.

"Okay, so I'm going to talk to Edward, and you're going to talk to Bella about it." Esme said.

I nodded, "And we are both going to talk to Bella about her thoughts on how long our marriage will stand."

"Do we have to?"

I nodded again and Esme sighed, "I feel like that will be a very awkward conversation…"

"And you should talk to Bella alone about marriage in general. Why it isn't always a disaster…" I said.

"No. Carlisle she isn't comfortable with me. I don't even think she likes me…"

"Oh! I know that one! She does, very much." Alice smiled, happy to be able to help out.

Esme looked back at me and I raised my eyebrows, "Fine, I'll do it." She said.

"Thank you." I smiled and kissed her softly.