Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight. If I did, I wouldn't have a job.
"Bella? Bella? Earth to Bella!" Alice screeched into my ear.
I jumped a few inches in my seat and blinked furiously.
"Sorry," I muttered apologetically to the family seated at the table.
"Where'd you go?" Emmett asked teasingly.
"No where in particular," I lied.
I had been completely out of it since the short encounter with Edward in the kitchen. It completely freaked me out that being alone with him for only a minute almost made me break my resolve and let him back into my life.
Even now, sitting across from him at the table, I tried to come up with a way to erase the last several years.
"As I was saying," Alice said with a pointed look in my direction. "I've decided to have the wedding during spring break. Does that work for you, Mom?"
Esme nodded. "Yes, that should be fine."
Alice turned to me. "How about you, Bella?"
I thought about it for a minute. I didn't usually get much time off that time of year, but I could probably ask my boss for a few extra days.
"Yeah, I'll be able to make it."
Alice smiled and a little glimmer of hope appeared in her eyes. "Do you think you could be my maid of honor?" she asked.
I blinked a couple of times, completely surprised that she would ask me a question like that after only one day of rebuilding our friendship.
"Of course. Are you sure about that?" I whispered.
She nodded eagerly. "Oh yes, Bella! It would make me so happy!"
I felt my eyes prickle and I smiled back. "Then I'm honored."
She squealed and jumped up from the table to hug me. I hugged her back. I was pretty sure I had gotten more hugs in the last twenty four hours than I had in a year.
The rest of dinner passed smoothly and while I helped with the clean up in the kitchen, my phone vibrated in my pocket, notifying me that I had a new text message. I pulled it out, expecting a message from Rosalie, but it was only a small letter from the phone company. I frowned, suddenly worried as to exactly why Rose hadn't replied. She and her cousin were like text messaging addicts. I sent Jasper a quick text.
Everything all right with you and Rose? –B
I received a reply within a few seconds.
Perfect.- J
I frowned. Something was off with his reply.
Did Rosalie forget her phone, by any chance? –B
This time it was several minutes before he replied.
No.
My frown deepened but I tucked my phone back into my pocket. Whatever was going on with those two, I was sure I didn't want to know about it.
Almost immediately after the kitchen was cleaned, we started karaoke. Esme went first, followed by Carlisle, who was followed by Alice. I went after her, singing "Ordinary Miracle" by Sarah McLachlan.
The room went completely silent when I started to sing. I hadn't really performed for a group of people in so long, and I was definitely feeling the nerves. But when I just let myself get lost in the music, everything became easy and effortless. When I finished, the room broke out into applause. I just smiled and rolled my eyes, careful to keep my gaze away from the person whose opinion had mattered most.
Edward sang next. He was given the song, "Stacy's Mom" by Fountains of Wayne. Everyone laughed and smiled, except for me. The hilarity of the song was lost on me the moment the words began to flow from his lips.
I remembered this feeling; the sensations that coursed through my body when I watched Edward sing. The crooked smile that turned up one of the corners of his lips as he sang the verse. The way his jaw moved minutely and the way his tongue slipped out to lick his lips before darting back into his mouth.
Shivers ran up my spine as I watched him sing the chorus. His neck muscles tightened ever so slightly and his eyes squeezed shut with the emotion of the song, whatever it happened to be. His head moved to the beat of the music and some of his hair fell into his eyes.
It really was the most beautiful thing I had and will ever see in my life, and my body's reaction to the moment only proved my words. That tightening, clenching feeling in my stomach, the shortness of my breath, the quivering of my hand when I raised it to brush a strand of hair from my face.
I remembered each of these feelings with perfect clarity. The feeling that was so special and surreal and perfect. I hadn't even realized that I had forgotten it over the past few years.
Everyone broke out into applause again and I joined in, though robotically. Edward blushed, which caused me to raise an eyebrow. It seems our reactions to being the center of attention had been reversed.
"Emmett's turn!" Esme declared.
He held his hands up in front of his chest, and waved them with wide eyes. "No way am I going to sing after both Bella and Edward."
"Well then, let's do some duets!" I suggest, grabbing Alice's arm and claiming her as my partner.
Emmett shook his head again. "And sing with Edward? Nuh-uh. I'm going with Alice."
"That makes more sense to me," Alice agreed. My eyes widened and I shot her a panicked look. How could she do this to me? That meant I'd have to be partnered up with—
"Edward and Bella are partners then!" Alice said cheerfully.
Oh God, what did I possibly do to deserve this?
"I'm going to go get the new duet CD," Esme said as she walked from the room.
"You two should go first," Alice said decidedly. "I wanna hear your voices again."
My heart started to beat faster and my eyes were still wide with panic. I had to get myself under control really soon or I would loose it.
"I need a water break!" I said quickly and ran into the kitchen before anyone could stop me or offer to get it for me.
Once behind closed doors, I took deep, calming breaths.
This didn't have to be so hard, right? All I had to do was blow it off as something stupid and trivial and I'd be okay. Singing with Edward. There didn't have to be anything to it.
I'd just sing whatever song the disk randomly chose for us and hope it didn't make this harder than it already was. Maybe we'd get a Disney song or something simple like that.
I filled a glass with water and drank it all in a few quick gulps. I think I can do this. I think I can. I think I can. I think I can. I know I can.
My "Little Engine That Could" pep talk gave me some much needed strength, and I pushed open the French doors to the family room with courage.
"I'm ready!" I said immediately as I plopped down onto the couch beside Edward. Esme inserted the disk and we all waited to see what song would play.
The music slowly faded in and the lyrics started almost immediately. Neither Edward nor I was prepared for the song we were given, and we just stared at the words on the screen in shock for a minute.
Let me hold you for the last time
It's the last chance to feel again
But you broke me, now I can't feel anything
Oh, shit. "Broken Strings," by James Morrison, featuring Nelly Furtado. Seriously, God, what on earth did I do to make you hate me so much? I promise to pray every night and go to church once in a while if you just lay off of me.
Just as I was about to ask Esme to skip to the next song, Edward began to sing.
When I love you and so untrue
I can't even convince myself
When I'm speaking it's the voice of someone else
Oh, it tears me up
I tried to hold on but it hurts too much
I tried to forgive but it's not enough
To make it all okay
Forgiveness. Such a strange thing. Forgiveness might help a person come to terms with things, but it never fixed things that were broken beyond repair.
You can't play our broken strings
You can't feel anything
That your heart don't want to feel
I can't tell you something that ain't real
What a perfect analogy for Edward and I. Broken strings. You can't make everything happy and perfect and peaceful when you feel sad and hurt and confused. It just didn't work.
Oh, the truth hurts and lies worse
How can I give anymore
When I love you a little less than before?
I took a deep breath and began to sing my part, deciding to just loose myself in the words and music and just feel how angry and broken I actually was.
Oh, what are we doing?
We are turning into dust
Playing house in the ruins of us
Running back through the fire
When there's nothing left to say
It's like chasing the very last train
When it's too late, too late
It was too late. I couldn't fix what happened. I was trying to figure out how to find our old friendship when it wasn't even there. It had no hope of ever existing again.
Oh, it tears me up
I tried to hold on but it hurts too much
I tried to forgive but it's not enough
To make it all okay
You can't play our broken strings
You can't feel anything
That your heart don't want to feel
I can't tell you something that ain't real
Oh, the truth hurts and lies worse
How can I give anymore
When I love you a little less than before?
But we're running through the fire
When there's nothing left to say
It's like chasing the very last train
When we both know it's too late, too late
You can't play our broken strings
You can't feel anything
That your heart don't want to feel
I can't tell you something that ain't real
Oh, the truth hurts and lies worse
So how can I give anymore
There was nothing I had left to give him. I had handed him my heart and soul as a kid, and he crushed it as if it had meant nothing. I had to protect the little part of myself that I still had.
When I love you a little less than before?
Oh, you know that I love you a little less than before
Let me hold you for the last time
It's the last chance to feel again
The echoes of our voices stayed in the room when we were finished. I knew that everyone was aware of the purple elephant that stood in the middle of the room, but I ignored it and spoke.
"That was fun. Who's next?"
*
*
Edward tried to talk to me several times after singing. I think he noticed the revelation I had come to and my intent to keep him from my life. Esme and I had made hot cocoa and we all now sat in the living room in front of the fire. I made sure to sit across the room from Edward.
"Is Rosalie single?" Emmett asked curiously. I raised an eyebrow and smirked.
"Are you interested in her by any chance?" I asked. He grinned and nodded.
"Hell yes."
I laughed and shook my head in exasperation. Rosalie and Emmett. Now that I thought about it, they would probably make a good couple. Rosalie never really got along well with men, for the sole reason that she liked to be the dominant one of the relationship. I think Emmett would probably like her for that. There was only the small problem that they lived in different countries.
"Yeah, she's single, Emmett. But she does live in Toronto, and I can promise you that there is no way she'd ever want to live in the USA."
He seemed disappointed, but grinned none the less.
"What does she do for work?" Esme asked with genuine interest.
"She's an interior designer. You should see the house I live in."
Esme glowed and grinned from ear to ear. "I've recently taken that on, and I love it! I'd love to speak with her about it sometime."
"I'm sure she'd love to tell you everything she knows," I laughed. The subject of careers reminded me of a question I'd been meaning to ask since I got here.
"Speaking of," I said, addressing Edward for the first time. "What do you?"
All pairs of eyes turned to him, and he dropped his own to the floor and mumbled something I couldn't understand.
"I'm sorry; I didn't quite catch that?"
He stared at the ground for several seconds more before looking up at me with a guarded expression, as if he was preparing for a battle.
"I said I'm a taxi driver."
His words didn't sink in at first. I just sat there, blinking with wide eyes until my brain processed and fully understood what he was saying.
"A taxi driver? Seriously?" Before I could stop myself, I burst out laughing. I tried to cover my mouth with my hand, but a few giggles still escaped.
Edward Cullen, straight A, high-school-hottie, Harvard acceptant, had grown up to drive people around for a living. I couldn't believe it, or understand it. Why the hell would he willingly choose a job like that?
"Abso-fucking-lutely. Are you seriously laughing at me, Bella?" He asked angrily as Esme chided him for his language.
"Um, yeah, I am," I laughed between the words. So much for a brilliant, witty reply.
Edward slammed his cup of hot chocolate down on the coffee table with force. I stopped laughing, completely surprised at his anger.
"Have you lost all sense of tact since I last saw you? Do you think it's funny to laugh at people who have low paying jobs like me?"
I raised an eyebrow but answered him honestly. "If it were anyone but you, I wouldn't be laughing."
"Well, I guess you got back at me for what I did to you that night," he said sarcastically.
A shocked gasp tore from my lips. I was really pissed off now.
"I'm sorry, but do you honestly think I'm laughing at you because I'm still so fucking pissed off at you for doing that to me?"
I expected Esme to reprimand my language, but when she didn't, I looked around the room, surprised to see that everyone had left.
"Why else would you?" he demanded venomously.
"Because there's no reason a Harvard graduate would need to work for a taxi company!"
"I didn't fucking graduate from Harvard! I dropped out!"
My eyes grew the size of saucers, and I leaned back. I noticed that both Edward and I were breathing heavily from the force of our anger, and I closed my eyes for a minute to calm down. When I opened my eyes, Edward was staring at me, still angrily, however a little of the fire in his eyes had gone away.
"The Edward Cullen I knew wasn't dumb enough to drop out of a school like that, or any school for that matter. He also wasn't a lazy asshole who didn't have the time or effort to go back to school or find a better job."
I got up from the couch and ran from the room into Alice's bedroom, slamming the door shut behind me.
Edward Cullen wasn't the same as he had been in high school. This was a new Edward Cullen; someone I didn't even know. He wanted to act like he was Mr. Perfect and had a right to shout and scream at me like that?
Game on.
*
*
The next morning I woke up, feeling considerably better. Alice was still asleep, so I grabbed my toiletries and crept across the hall to the spare bathroom. As I showered, I wondered to myself what exactly I would do and say to Edward. I didn't know where we stood exactly. It was a weird kind of place between tackling him and kissing the hell out of him and screaming at him until I lost my voice.
Whatever happened, I would just have to go with it. It felt a little strange to tackle a problem like this without a plan, but at the same time, it was refreshing and brought on a positive outlook.
Just as I finished getting dressed, I heard a bang and Emmett's voice, yelling, "That was awesome!"
With a worried frown, I ran down the stairs.
RosaliePOV
I turned onto the street I had found out that this 'Edward' had lived on. The song "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" by "Abba" blasted through the speakers of my convertible. I pulled up the driveway of a huge house and threw open the door, not bothering to shut off my vehicle.
A big muscular guy with curly hair came toward me. Under any other circumstances, I would have thought he was super hot.
"Hey! Who are you?" he asked. I glared at him and stalked toward the door of the house.
"Wait! I know you! You're the hot blond in Bella's pictures!"
I turned on the spot and pointed a finger at him as I shot him daggers. The smile fell from his face slightly.
"You'd better hope to God for the sake of your life that you're not Edward," I hissed.
He held up his arms in surrender. "No, I'm not. I'm his brother."
I turned around again and resumed my stalk to the front door. I threw it open and walked across an enormously large foyer, into a kitchen. I could hear the big guy following me, but I ignored it. A guy with bronze hair stood in the kitchen, eating a muffin. I looked at the big guy over my shoulders and pointed to the other guy in the kitchen.
"Is this him?" I asked.
"Yup!" he said cheerily. I marched across the room and grabbed the bronze haired guy's arms and twisted them behind his back.
"Hey! What the hell are you doing?" he asked.
I smiled at him sweetly. "Edward, right?"
He nodded with bewilderment.
"Oh, so you're the guy that abandoned Bella right after her parents died, and came back unexpectedly."
The color drained from his face.
"Oh no."
I grinned. "Oh yeah."
And then I pulled my arm back before letting it shoot forwards and smash into his face.
He fell to the ground with no more than a quiet 'fuck' and blood spewed from his nose. It was quite pathetic actually. I pulled out my phone and took a picture, incase Bella was out and didn't have a chance to see this.
"That was awesome!" the big guy yelled, pumping his fist up into the air.
"And don't you forget it," I said with satisfaction.
"Rose?"
Bella stood in the doorway behind the big guy, a look of pure shock plastered on her face.
"Bella!" the big guy exclaimed. "You should have seen it! Your hot roommate just walked right into the house and punched Edward! It was fucking hilarious! I've never seen him get taken down by a girl!" He burst out into laughter.
She raised an eyebrow at him. "You're a real supportive brother, Emmett," she said dryly. Hmm. So that was his name.
Weird, but cute.
"What are you doing here?" she asked as I turned my attention back to the pathetic pile of filth on the floor.
"Making sure you were alright. After I got your text, I was worried." I kicked the side of Edward's head and he groaned. "Get up you bastard," I said to him before looking back at Bella.
"That, and I couldn't miss an opportunity to beat the shit out of him."
Bella cracked a smile.
Edward was still lying on the floor. "Get up!" I screeched. "The longer you're on the ground, the more your punishment will hurt!"
He quickly stood and shot a frantic glance at Bella.
I looked back and forth between them with amusement. "Oh, I see. You're waiting for Bella to save you." I chuckled darkly. "Sorry, Eddie-boy…"
"Hey, that's what I call him!" Emmett yelled.
"…but Bella's a different person now, thanks to you."
He continued to look at Bella with pleading eyes.
She smiled bigger. "Sorry, Edward," she said in a voice that was not sorry at all. He stared at her like he couldn't believe what she had just said and I took the opportunity to kick him right in between his legs.
"Fuck!" he said, this time not as quietly, and once again fell to the floor.
I pretended to wipe my hands on my shirt.
"Job well done," Bella approved.
"Thank you."
Emmett whistled. "That was pretty hot."
I grinned at him. "Yeah, I know."