A week later and I still hadn't assuaged my hunger.
Rosalie came out of her room to prowl the rest of the house, but I went into mine and refused to come out. There was no excuse for my behavior, other than the forced contact that I'd had with Bella when Rosalie had used her as bait to awaken my lust, and I felt ashamed. Why couldn't I stop the urges? I'd hunted for hours, gorging myself on blood, but I still felt a burning desire between my legs that had nothing to do with hunting: Rosalie was on my mind, and I couldn't get her off of it.
"Alice, honey? Can I come in?"
Sitting on my bed with my arms wrapped around my knees and my head down, I looked over at the door sullenly.
"Yes, Esme."
Standing up, I shuffled over to the lock and flipped it down, returning to my bed as the door opened from the outside and Esme stepped in, closing it quietly behind her.
"Hey," she said soothingly, taking a seat beside me on my mattress.
"Hey," I repeated, staring at my knees. Esme's hand settled on my shoulder, and I felt my skin prickle. Releasing an unsteady breath, I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to block out the sensations churning in my stomach, even as Esme leaned closer, making it hard for me to focus.
"You've been up here for three days now, sweetheart. Something's wrong."
Swallowing, I shook my head and kept my lips shut tight, unable to stomach the notion of telling Esme what Rosalie had almost made me do. I'd come so close to killing Bella, and even closer to letting Rosalie touch me. Looking up into Esme's almond eyes, I tried to make her understand, but she didn't…she just began to rub my shoulder, and I shuddered at the contact. God, I was in so much trouble.
"Esme, I think that there's something wrong with me."
The concerned woman leaned even closer, and my heart, still full from its last feeding, began to thump.
"What, Alice? Did something happen?"
Groaning, I turned towards the wall, but she grabbed my face with her hands and forced me to look at her, our noses a centimeter away from brushing.
"Alice, your eyes are turning black. When was the last time that you hunted?"
Taking deep, unneeded breaths, I practically choked on my tongue as I began to salivate, and Esme pressed her cool cheek against mine, making a shiver run straight through my core.
"Oh, Jesus Christ!"
Pushing away from her suddenly, I dove beneath my covers and hid my head from view, feeling my entire body shake. Why was I in such a perpetual state of arousal? Mortified, I let out a groan as Esme crouched beside me, and I pressed my face against my mattress so that I wouldn't have to smell her.
"Alice? Honey, you're scaring me. What's wrong?"
I mumbled something into my covers, and she leaned even closer.
"What? I'm sorry, I didn't hear…"
"I'm hungry."
Lifting my head, I stared her straight in the face, and something south of my stomach clenched.
"You need to feed. We can go tonight, I'm sure that the boys-"
"No, Esme. I'm not hungry; I'm hungry."
For a moment she looked confused, and then dawning comprehension hit her; raising her eyebrows, she blinked several times in quick succession.
"Well, I…Jasper…"
"I don't want Jasper," I said flatly, and color rose to her cheeks.
"Who…I mean," she stuttered, coughing slightly, "Who do you…" Trailing off with discomfort, Esme began to pull absently on her hair, and I rose to a sitting position.
"Esme?"
At the sound of her own name, she bit her bottom lip and looked up.
"Have you ever wanted a woman?"
Taking a deep inhalation of shock, Esme looked down quickly, and she mumbled,
"Carlisle is my husband. I love him very much."
"But have you ever wanted another woman, Esme?"
Extremely nervous, she pointedly avoided my gaze.
"Once," she admitted at a whisper, and I saw guilt staring back at me as she looked up, the same guilt that I felt about Rosalie.
"What did you do?"
Looking unbelievably anxious, she muttered,
"Nothing. I didn't do anything."
"Oh."
Feeling awkward, I looked away, and Esme cleared her throat.
"Well, if that's all…I would appreciate it if you would join the rest of the family in the living room this evening, Alice. I'm not the only one who misses you. I understand that Jasper hasn't seen you in a few days, and as the men are going away tomorrow morning, it would be nice to wish him a goodbye before he leaves."
She didn't add that I owed my boyfriend that much for being unfaithful to him. It didn't need to be said, and I nodded stiffly, embarrassed.
"I will, Esme."
:::
"Alice, it's your turn to roll."
Taking the dice, I tossed them onto the ground and watched as they turned up a two and a four.
"That's six. Want me to move it for you? It's closer to me," Bella offered, smiling sweetly. I nodded, and Edward looked on approvingly. Behind my back, Jasper's hand traced my spine, and he said absolutely nothing.
"You landed on my hotel, Alice darling."
Looking up, I met Rosalie's gaze defiantly, ignoring the tickle of excitement that shot through my body as she smirked.
"Pay up."
I counted out the paper money quickly, handing it over to her without glancing up, but she took her time. A spark of heat shot through my tummy as she reached across the board, brushing her fingers lightly against my skin, and I drew my hand back as though I had been bitten. Noticing the shift in my emotions, Jasper's caresses stilled, and his eyes bored into the back of my neck.
"Alice," he muttered. Forcing myself to smile, I turned to face him, raising my eyebrows innocently. He looked into my eyes, and I knew that he saw straight through the facade.
"Yes, Jasper?"
Something in his expression changed, and I felt my heart drop.
"Emmett just landed on your square."
"Oh."
Feeling stupid, I turned around and realized that everyone was staring at me.
"Sorry."
Taking the money that he handed over, I forced myself to focus on the game for the rest of the evening, and by the time that it was finished, everybody had forgotten about my strange behavior. Everybody except…
"Rosalie," Edward grumbled, frowning as she counted up her money for the third time in a row, "stop gloating." The gorgeous blonde smiled smugly, and Edward glared menacingly at her. "Don't be such a sore loser, Edward, you know that the best man won. Or in this case, the best woman."
"It's only a monopoly game, Rosalie."
"Yes, and if I were a businesswoman in the early 1920's, I'd be making substantially more money than you."
"You only beat me by twenty dollars!"
"Twenty dollars was a lot back then, Edward. Don't you remember?"
"Ok, let's keep our hands to ourselves," Carlisle cautioned, spotting Edward's clenched fists with a nervous frown. "Maybe we should go hunting now, instead of waiting until morning."
"Just because Edward can't stand to lose a simple game of monopoly doesn't mean that the rest of us should have to pander to his whims."
Moving with inhuman speed, Edward lurched across Emmett's lap and slammed Rosalie in the face with his fist before Carlisle could stop him, baring his fangs hatefully. Emmett grabbed him by the throat, and my eyes moved quickly towards Bella, who was inches away from being kicked in the face by Edward's flailing feet…
"It's ok Bella, I've got you."
Picking her up with ease, I sprinted as fast as I could away from the living room, watching the walls rush by us in a blur. We landed outside on one of the balconies, gasping in the cool night air, and I set Bella down smoothly, feeling my thoughts stop for the first time that evening.
"Thanks Alice," Bella mumbled, grabbing onto the balcony ledge for support. She was still trembling, and I gave her some distance, inhaling the night air with relief. It had been a while since I'd gone outside.
"Bella, don't worry. Edward's just testy because he hasn't fed it a while…it's got nothing to do with you."
Bella turned her brown eyes towards me, and I saw something strange there.
"Are you sure?"
She was talking about more than Edward, and my golden gaze faltered.
"What do you mean?"
Pinching her lips shut tight, Bella seemed to make a decision, and I jumped as she leaned forwards and wrapped her arms around my small body. Refusing to breathe with her so near, I swallowed nervously and didn't return the embrace, feeling the hunger rise up in my chest unbidden.
"Alice, please don't be upset about last week. I asked you for something and you gave it to me. I'm sorry that it…ended oddly. I love you so much, Alice. Are you still angry with me?"
Shocked, my eyes flew open, and I pulled back to stare at her.
"Angry with you? Bella, I'm not angry with you!"
Burying her face into my neck, she sniffled softly and whispered,
"I could hear you and Rosalie through the door. I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to listen. But…it made me feel different. It made me feel…" Bella searched for the right word, and I felt my throat tighten. "It made me feel hot."
My mouth fell open, and I struggled to say something coherent.
"You…you heard…you were…you felt…" Spluttering, I started over. "You were listening?"
"I didn't mean to," Bella said at once, resting her lips just below my ear. "I didn't mean to, but I heard you moaning, and I thought that you were hurt, or…or something like that."
"I was hurt," I lied immediately, feeling her tighten against me.
"Oh."
I could tell that she didn't believe me, but right now, I was too humiliated to admit that something more had been going on between me and Rosalie. Bella was so young, and she didn't need to hear the sordid details…
"Alice! There you are. Come with me, I want to talk with you."
Letting out a whoosh of breath, I whirled around and found Rosalie standing behind me, glaring down with two smoldering, lust blackened eyes. Gulping, I grabbed onto Bella's hand and muttered,
"I can't, Rosalie, I'm having Bella sleep in my room tonight."
"Are you?"
Rosalie looked positively predatory, and I longed for a better reason to run. There was no way that I was going with her, especially not after Edward had just hit her in the face. Rosalie had an evil temper, and I wasn't about to let her take it out on me.
"Well, this would only take a second…unless you'd rather have a little sleepover in my room. Bella, you can come too."
Knowing a threat when I heard one, I shot back a little too quickly, "No! No…Bella needs her sleep, and we would keep her up all night."
"Oh, I don't think so," Rosalie murmured, watching Bella step out from behind me. "I'm sure that you and I could be very quiet."
"I don't mind staying up," Bella added, and my heart plummeted. Why did she always have to come in at the wrong time?
"You see? It'll be fun, Alice. I promise."
Holding out her hand to me, I realized that I was trapped. Rosalie had planned this from the beginning, and now…now, there was nobody left to hide behind. Shifting my weight back and forth, I finally let out a sigh of defeat.
"Fine." But then I stepped forwards, and I grabbed Rosalie by the wrist. "You're going to keep your hands to yourself," I hissed desperately, making sure that Bella couldn't hear. "This is not an opportunity for you to have a three-way."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Rosalie whispered back, smiling coyly. "Come along, Bella," she added as an afterthought, and I found myself being dragged back inside by Rosalie's iron-hard grip, unable to pull away. Bella followed behind obliviously, and as we approached Rosalie's door, I prayed that my sister's winning streak would stop at the board game.