Hey guys! Sorry for the long-overdue update. :) And sorry it's so short. But I'm in the process of working on the next chapter, so that should be out within the next week or so. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight

Bella P.O.V

My arm was starting to sting from all the scrubbing I was doing, but at that exact moment I was too consumed by my anger to really care. Emmett was helping me clean the upstairs again, and I could feel his steady gaze as he watched me scrub the bathtub with vigor.

"Your arms are going to fall off," he said.

"Maybe," I hissed, switching the sponge to my right hand to give the other a break. "But this soap scum is going down."

I could nearly hear him rolling his eyes, but he didn't say anything. I had noticed that Emmett didn't really like to get caught up in arguments. He seemed to just stand on the sidelines, waiting to pull anyone apart if things got too violent.

I had a feeling that if I had stayed down there with those two any longer, I would have ripped Alice's petite little head off, so it was probably best to have a referee ready.

"Bells, it's probably none of my business, but seriously, stop scrubbing."

Ignoring him, I switched hands again and kept going. I would make the bathtub so Goddamn shiny that it blinded Edward and Alice when they used it. Emmett I would feel bad for, but he was a casualty I was willing to sacrifice for the sake of revenge.

Emmet's big hand was suddenly taking the sponge away from me, and I cried out wordlessly in protest.

"Yo, crazy girl, relax. Take a breather. I think the bleach fumes are getting to your head."

I rolled my eyes, but noticed that I was developing a slight headache.

"Go get a glass of water or something," he ordered, and lifted me away from the tub. I was speechless as he dumped me out of the bathroom unceremoniously.

"Emmett –" I began to protest.

"No," he said with finality, and shut the door in my face, locking it.

Crap. Cleaning was, at the moment, my only outlet. I had nowhere else to vent my anger.

But then I felt a familiar presence at my shoulder, and I nearly screamed, because Alice was right freaking behind me.

"Holy shit!" I exclaimed, jumping away from her. My heart started pumping quickly, sending the adrenaline careening through my veins. "What is with you and your family? One of you is always sneaking up on me!"

She rolled her blue eyes and shook her head, her long hair up in a ponytail. "You're just bad at noticing your surroundings," she said.

I felt as though I had just been insulted, and my usual instinct to defend myself reared up.

"Don't," Alice said harshly, shoving something quickly into my hands.

I looked down at what she had given me and I actually cocked my head to the side in my confusion.

"Boxing gloves?" I asked incredulously.

"Yes," she hissed. "Boxing gloves."

I hadn't really seen Alice angry before – and I mean serious, unblinking anger, the kind that seemed to consume her then. It was quite a bit unnerving.

I raised my eyebrows, not understanding. "And what am I to do with these gloves?"

"Put them on."

"Are we fighting?"

"Not technically," she muttered. "Follow me."

Even though I was still angry, I was curious to see where she was going with the whole here-have-a-boxing-glove-follow-me thing, so I just walked behind her. We went down the stairs, through the kitchen, and finally through their laundry room.

We were in the garage, a place I had yet to see the inside of. It was big, bigger than my grandparent's garage, and it only held one of their many cars, which I presumed to be either Edward's or Emmett's. Otherwise, it was set up like a home gym, complete with a treadmill, dumbbells, padded mats, a bench press, numerous weights, and a punching bag, suspended from the ceiling.

As soon as I saw the punching bag, I put two and two together.

"Why are we hitting the punching bag?" I questioned, sounding cynical.

Alice didn't answer me, and walked over to a plastic bin and pulled out a pair of black boxing gloves, putting them on expertly and tightening them. She walked gracefully over to the bag and slammed her fist into it, her face looking somewhat scary as it contorted in rage.

I was speechless as I watched her relentlessly attacking it. But she wasn't just doing that. In between every hit, she was saying, "Freaking – running – away – and making me – worry – then – she won't even – talk – to me! Have to – call her grand – parents – didn't even – show – their – damn – concern! Aggh!"

Startled, I dropped the gloves. She was yelling about me. I had made her worry? How? I hadn't thought she cared, really. She hadn't seemed like it, anyway, especially after she had ratted me out.

"They're – her – grandparents – after all – shouldn't – they be – a little – more lenient – friggin' a!"

She suddenly stopped, breathing heavily, her chest heaving. She spun around on her heels and threw the gloves to the ground. "That is why I'm upset. Now you tell me your side," she motioned at my boxing gloves on the ground.

I furrowed my brow, not sure how much I was willing to give away. But she did look less stressed, so if beating the crap out of a punching bag would make me feel even a little less like shit, then hey, why not? I plucked the gloves off the ground and slipped them on, tightening them like Alice had. I gave them an experimental swing.

I approached the bag. I punched it, and immediately winced.

Alice giggled a little, but she stopped and her voice was hard again. "It hurts a little if you don't do it right," she said. "Just do your best."

I stared at the red and black lining of the bag. I clenched my hands into fists, letting everything I was angry about filter into them. And then I started swinging.

"I told – him – so many – times – but he wouldn't – believe – me! I told him Jasper – and I – didn't – have sex – but he – never – believes me! My stupid – clueless – asshole – for a father! He always – expects – the – worst from – me – and that's – exactly what I give him, because," my swings faltered, arms tired. I slumped to the ground and continued, "Because no matter what I do, nothing's ever good enough for him. In his eyes, I'll always be a failure, so why even try?

"Me and Jazz had gone to this party, just to hang out," I said tiredly. I felt Alice's eyes boring into my back, but she didn't say anything. "There was alcohol, and at first I refused to have any. But then Jazz said that just one drink couldn't hurt, so I had one. And then I just kept drinking until I didn't even know who I was anymore.

"The next morning, I woke up, and Jasper and I were in a random bed, with no clothes on. I couldn't remember hardly anything from the party, and before I could get my clothes back on, some guy from school walked in and saw us together. He grinned, and even though I chased him out, he got pictures of me and Jazz…"

I paused. I wasn't sure if I wanted to keep talking. But then Alice placed a hand on my shoulder soothingly.

"It wasn't like anything was showing, but when those pictures got online, and my dad somehow found them… he was so mad," I hiccupped. "He said he didn't even know who I was anymore. He kept talking about the cute little girl who used to wear pigtails and hold onto his legs when he walked." I was crying steadily now, my words becoming jumbled.

"I told him that nothing happened. And I'm sure nothing did. I figured that after my first time, I would feel different, or at least sore, but there was no pain. I tried to tell my mom that, but she just shook her head. Even my mother gave up on me. Dad wanted me to get one of those rape tests, to be sure, but I didn't want one. I just wanted him to trust me," I sobbed, covering my face with my hands.

Alice wrapped her arms around me, and I let her.

Why didn't he trust me?

We stayed there for a long time. I sobbed and sobbed until my voice got hoarse, and I had to go back in the house.

"I need –" I hiccupped, much to my embarrassment, "I need to finish cleaning."

Alice furrowed her brows at me, but nodded. She hadn't said anything the whole time during my crying, and I was happy with that. There wasn't anything she could say, anyway.

When we walked into the kitchen, Alice stopped me and we both listened, as we could hear Edward and Emmett talking in the other room.

"–such a baby, Edward."

For a second my heart constricted because I thought Emmett was laughing and talking about me, but then Edward responded, "No I'm not!"

"Yeah, dude, you are."

"Hey! She kneed me! It wasn't like she kicked me, where there might be some room for her to miss! She kneed me! And it hurt a lot! There was crushing and immediate pain!"

I slapped my hand over my mouth to keep my laughter from being heard. Alice looked at me quizzically, cocking her head to the side.

"Man, you've gotta be kidding me. Just suck it up."

"Have you ever been kicked down there?" Edward hissed.

Suddenly, Alice's eyes widened, and she had to slap her hand over her mouth too, as she put two and two together. But she was too late, because a slight giggle escaped between her fingers, and the living room went silent.

When Emmett walked in and Edward didn't, I let my hand fall and burst into the biggest laughter I had experienced since arriving in Phoenix. Alice and I leaned against eachother, holding our sides. Emmett stared down at us, amused, as we eventually collapsed onto the ground, red in the face from laughing so hard.

"Oh shut up!" Edward yelled. But that only made us giggle harder, and then Emmett chuckled slightly.

It ended soon, though. I took a few deep breaths and sighed, smiling a little.

Emmett helped me and Alice to our feet and I grinned at him.

He looked between the two of us, suddenly with a worried look on his face. He leaned close to me, and I realized that my eyes must have looked awful, because he asked, "Have you been crying?" in way too loud of a voice.

That sobered me up instantly. I frowned, and shrugged. "Yeah." My voice was still awfully dry.

I looked at Alice. I realized that I wasn't upset with her anymore, not really. Maybe about getting me in trouble. But I understood her, and hopefully, she understood me. However, I wasn't comfortable with anyone else knowing why I was stuck there, so I sent her a message with my eyes, silently begging her to keep her big mouth shut, just this once. She seemed to get it and smiled.

"Yup. She was crying because I punched her in the face."

Emmett looked startled for a second, but then I grinned at his sister. "Ha! Sure, Alice," I said.

I don't know why I did what I did next. But it was a sudden impulse that I was unable to ignore. I gave Alice a tight hug, and I whispered, "Thank you," so quietly in her ear that even I could barely hear it.

She hugged me back and whispered, "Any time."

Hope you enjoyed it! :)

Asta-la-bye-bye!