JPOV

What the hell?

I was watching some random girl make out with my girlfriend. To Bella's credit, once she got over the initial shock of having someone spontaneously shove their tongue down your throat, she pushed the girl away.

"What the hell?" she barked.

That's what I'm thinkin'!

"Aw, c'mon Baby," the girl slurred. "Don't be like that." She tried to grab Bella again, but was instead met with Riley magically appearing between the two. From the way he was acting, it was clear that, not only did he know Miss Random, he didn't like her.

Huh. That's a first.

"Hey Ry," she cooed, "did 'ya miss me?" She reached out to pet him, but his fierce growl stopped her short. Obviously, he didn't appreciate her baby-talking to him.

"Ooh, feisty!" She turned her gaze on Bella and grinned like the cat that got the canary. "Much like I remember his owner being," she breathed.

Bella was fuming, but she hid it well. Somehow, in just a matter of days, I'd learned her tells. Like the fire that ignited her gaze when she was angry.

"What are you doing here?" she asked quietly.

The supposedly drunken mystery girl smiled lazily. "I'm here for you, of course."

Bella confirmed my suspicions on this girl's mental coherency with her next question.

"Uh huh, yeah," she snorted. "Is that you, or the booze talking?"

The girl pouted and batted her eyelashes at my girl, but Bella crossed her arms and stared at her.

"Who the hell are you?"

Thank you, Rose.

Bella huffed in frustration. "Remember what I said about having only ever being in a relationship with another girl?" She spoke only to me.

I nodded.

She jerked her chin toward the drunk. "That's her. Grace."

The girl, Grace, grinned when Bella said her name. "I'll tell ya, Baby, you were not easy to find."

"First off, I'm not your Baby. You burned that bridge a long time ago. Second, get out." You could've cut steel on Bella's voice.

Grace pouted again. I think she was tryin' to give B Bambi eyes. Whatever the hell it was, it failed miserably. Bella wasn't budging.

I smirked. That's my girl.

Emmett spoke up then. "What do you mean she was hard to find?"

Bella glared at her brother. "Do not encourage her. She'll never leave."

Grace's face had momentarily brightened at Emmett's question, but dropped into an even deeper pout at Bella's comment. But after a moment, she brushed past Bella and sashayed up to Emmett. She stuck out her hand and beamed up at him.

"Hi, I'm Grace. And you are…?"

"None of your business," Bella snapped. "Leave, Grace. Now."

Grace rolled her eyes, and continued talking to Emmett. "You know how possessive girlfriends can get. They never want to share you."

Bella scoffed.

I finally caught her eye and beckoned her over to me. When she was close enough, I pulled her into my lap and she curled into my chest. I kissed along her scar (that had completely escaped Grace's notice) and rubbed her back.

Grace turned and narrowed her eyes at the sight of my girl curled up in my arms. She hid behind her smile again, only this time, she approached me.

"And you are?" she purred, or tried to. It sounded like she was coughing up a hairball.

I caught Bella's smirk outta the corner of my eye, bringing out one of my own.

"Her boyfriend," I answered, indicating Bella.

Li'l Miss Thang froze for a second, but then she abandoned her façade. The bitch was out to play.

Like hell you're takin' my li'l darlin' away from me.

"Excuse me?" She didn't sound quite so drunk anymore. Maybe the shock was sobering her up.

"Ya heard me."

Grace's mouth fell open and she stared at Bella, whose only response was to snuggle further into my embrace.

"I thought you loved me," she whimpered. Her voice was so small, I almost felt bad for the poor girl. Then I remembered what she was doin' here.

Bella somehow managed to sound both harsh and gentle when she answered, "I did. Past tense. As in, not anymore."

"So you love him now?" Grace spat out the word "him."

I stiffened, but Bella pressed a kiss to my chest and rubbed my arms.

"Yes," was her simple reply.

I relaxed even as my heart rate picked up.

She loved me.

Grace glared at Bella. "Fine. Marc was right about you. I can't believe I even thought of wasting my fucking time on you. Enjoy the new tool!" And with that, she stormed out of the house.

I was livid. The only thing that kept me from goin' after the bitch was Bella. In the middle of Grace's ranting, I noticed her stiffen at the mention of "Marc."

I tilted my head, trying to see her face. Her eyes were dark and unfocused, her breathing was shallow, and she was tensed like a piano wire.

"Darlin'?" I smoothed her hair back. She twitched before curling into my chest again. Her eyes closed and she started trembling.

I gently pushed her back, just enough so I could see her face. No tears, her expression was calm, and her breathing had evened out, but her eyes were still haunted.

Rose walked over and knelt in front of Bella. Edward and Emmett stood a few feet behind her, trying to not overwhelm Bella probably.

Before Rose could even open her mouth, Bella started talking.

"Grace and I were together for two years. She was my first and only girlfriend. Right from the beginning we clicked. She got along great with Tray and Jamie; they adored her. Riley did too."

She paused and we waited. When she spoke again, her voice was slightly quieter.

"That all changed last year. Grace had always sworn to me that she was a lesbian. She seemed desperate to make me believe her, and though I found her behavior odd, I never thought anything of it. It never mattered to me; she could've been a transvestite for all I cared. I just didn't want her to lie to me.

"I came home late from work one day. I knew Grace was there; her car had been in the driveway. That wasn't unusual. She didn't like staying at her house by herself. I didn't really see the sense in it, because she was alone at our place too. When I asked, she spun some tale about feeling better knowing I'd be home soon.

"She wasn't in the living room (or my room, depending on how you look at it), but I heard voices. I assumed she was watching a movie in Tray and Jamie's room. Ironically, the boys weren't due back until later that night. More often than not, I'd come home to find Grace curled up in there watching a movie on her laptop. So I went in to join her."

Bella paused again, sat up a little straighter, took a deep breath, and plowed on.

"You've probably wondered how Travis and James, both big wigs in the military, were not able to afford, what with compensation and everything, a two bedroom house. Well…my dad was the reason behind that."

Her dad?

No one, not Emmett, not Charlie, and not Bella, had said anythin' 'bout Bella's parents. Only her brothers.

"He wasn't exactly someone you'd deem 'Father of the Year.' It was why I didn't live with him. When I was six, he murdered my mother. He probably would've killed Travis and me too, but Tray was fourteen and used to our dad's insanity. He got me out of there.

"He took me to our uncle Garrett's. Garrett had been my mom's older brother, and had never liked our father. More often than not, our days were spent with him and his wife Kate. Gary was devastated when he heard about Mom. But since he couldn't save her, he would be damned if he didn't save us. His words, not mine. Gary went to the police. Not surprisingly, my dad beat him to it. He killed my uncle, and then he played it to the authorities to make it appear as though Garrett had killed his sister, and then committed suicide. We never saw Kate again. I think she blamed us for her husband's murder."

"You're doin' it again," I interrupted.

Bella looked at me. "Doing what?"

"Detaching yourself. Every time you start talkin' 'bout your life before we met you, you, eventually, start talkin' like you're rattling off someone else's story."

She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "When everyone around you starts dying, you'll do anythin to hold onto your sanity."

I knew only all too well what she meant. I kissed her temple, encouraging her to continue.

"Anyway, my father had been abusive. More so with me, after I was born. And he used that to keep us quiet. Both Garrett and Renee, our mother, had left Tray and I a substantial amount of money. Dad knew how much Tray loved me, how protective he was of me. He used Travis's fear for me to get that money. Oh, he left enough for us to live on, barely, so no one would get too nosy. And then he disappeared. Travis joined the military and started raking in the benefits, out came dear old Dad for another withdrawal. The pattern continued, and all because Travis didn't want to risk that my dad was serious in his threats."

"Quick question," Edward piped in. "What does this have to do with Grace? Or that Marc guy she mentioned?"

"I'm getting to that. So anyway, as I was saying before, I had gone into Tray and Jamie's room, because I thought Grace was in there watching a movie."

We all nodded.

"Well," Bella grimaced, "she was in there, but she wasn't watching a movie, and she wasn't alone."

Suddenly, it dawned on me. Bella's and Grace's words from earlier:

"I'm not your Baby. You burned that bridge a long time ago."

"Marc was right about you. Enjoy the new tool!"

Grace had cheated on Bella.

"Yeah."

I hadn't realized I'd voiced my thoughts aloud until Bella answered me.

"They were curled up together, naked, in my brothers' bed. It was obvious by how at ease they were that this wasn't their first time together. They were pretty shocked to find me standing there. Grace tried to explain, but I had Riley, uh…escort them out. He's hated Grace ever since."

Bella slouched back into my chest. Her eyes had lightened back to their beautiful chocolate color, and they weren't clouded with horrific memories. But just as I thought of the one memory she had not shared, Rose spoke up.

"Bella? Who's Marc?"

A weary sigh left my sweet girl. Bella scrubbed a hand across her face, but she did answer.

It just wasn't the answer any of us had been expecting.

"Marc is my father's name. My girlfriend cheated on me with my dad."

Bet'cha didn't see that one coming now did 'ya?

So what did you guys think? B has one helluva story, wouldn't you agree?

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Until next time, my darlings.