Chapter 28

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Chapter Songs:

"I'll Stand By You" The Pretenders
"My Old Friend" Tim McGraw

BPOV

Alice. This was the last person I expected to hear from and one that I wasn't sure what to say to.

"Alice," I said. There were so many emotions swirling through my mind right now. I had just listened to my alleged mother berate me and tell me that the love of my life would destroy me. How I wanted, no, I needed someone to talk to. I had Edward, but I missed my best friend, the girl talk, sharing about our amazing significant others. I wanted to call Emily and tell her all about it, but I would never hear her voice again.

Emily came into my life at a time when I needed a friend more than I needed my next breath. I needed a friend after the one I always had counted on had turned her back on me during my greatest time of need. Emily and Jacob, without them, I wasn't sure where I would be today. I knew that I owed them more than words could ever say.

"Bella, are you still there?" Alice asked me with uncertainty. The Alice I remembered was never uncertain about anything. She never hesitated to tell you exactly how it was. Alice was Edward's sister. She was always going to be a part of our lives, and I knew that I had to talk to her. "Yes, Alice. I'm here." Suddenly I wondered how exactly she got my telephone number, since I'd told Edward that I wanted to face Alice in my own way.

"First, I don't want to cause any problems for you and Edward. I know everything that you've been through to get where you two are today, and I wouldn't do anything to jeopardize that. He didn't give me your phone number. He actually refused when I asked for it. That was a first for me, since my brothers have always given me everything I've ever wanted."

It was good to know that Alice still knew how my mind worked and answered my question before I even asked it. Maybe there was a way we could get through this and try to become friends again at some point in the future.

"Second, I'm not even supposed to be calling you. I'm supposed to be calling Edward to invite the two of you for Thanksgiving. Before you say no, Dad isn't going to be here. Mom has decided on a formal separation from him, since he is dead set on finding a way to keep you and my brother apart.

"Third, I stole your phone number out of my mom's cell phone. I had to talk to you, Bella. I know everyone told me to wait, but I was so certain that I was going to be waiting forever to hear from you, so I decided to take matters into my own hands."

"Alice, breathe," I told her. This was most definitely the Alice that I knew and loved. She would always get away from herself and anyone was lucky to get a word in edgewise when she was on a roll, which is what I had just witnessed first-hand for the first time in almost a year. "If I was going to hang up on you, I would have already done it by now." I hear her expel her breath on the other end of the line. "I'll talk to Edward about Thanksgiving. I don't think it will be a problem. We were just planning on staying here and spending the time off together. Thanks for extending the invitation." I knew that I didn't sound like my old self to Alice. I wasn't that person anymore. The sooner she figured that out the better off everyone would be.

"Great. That's fantastic," Alice was trying to sound genuinely happy, but I knew that edge to her voice all too well.

"Bella, I know that you have been through hell and back these last few months. I'm so terribly sorry that you lost your friend. No one should lose anyone they care about that way."

"Thanks, Alice. It's been hard, but it's not like it is the first time that I've had to find my way without my best friend at my side." I knew that was a low blow, but she had to know that I was capable of surviving anything..

"I know I deserve that, Bella. To say that I was a horrible friend to you is an understatement. We all knew what was going on between you and Edward for years, and none of us did a damn think about it. After the shooting, well, I thought at first that maybe you had done it on purpose. I didn't know that it was a gun from our house until your dad told us ."

"Edward and I have both realized the error of our ways from the past. Both of us were beyond self-destructive, but we are not those people anymore. We will never be those people again."

"I know that, Bella. The man that I saw at breakfast with my mother the other day is not the same Edward. He has changed so much for the better. Thank you for helping him change and become the man he was destined to be."

"Alice, I am not the one who changed Edward. That was all him. He found his destiny on his own. I would never expect him to change for me or anyone else. Edward had to change because he wanted to change, not because everyone else wanted him to."

"Bella, I didn't mean..."

"Alice, I know what you probably meant. Edward and I both found who we were supposed to be without being together to do it. The fact that we are able to be together now, after everything we have gone through shows you just how different we really are now."

"I can see that you are both really are different people now. I just wanted you to know how sorry I am that I wasn't there for you after the shooting. I should have been. But when I heard my father tell Edward that you never wanted to see him again, I watched Edward cry every night for you, wanting you to be with him. I watched him spiral into a depression that almost killed him. I just couldn't find it in me to talk to the person that I felt caused him all that pain. Then to only find out it was our fathers who manufactured a story to separate you… Sorry isn't enough, Bella. I know that, but I just wanted to tell you that I am so, so very sorry for the way I treated you. Not just the way I treated you, but the way everyone treated you. I miss you, and it would be an honor for me to get to know the person you have become."

"Thank you for that. Our fathers definitely didn't make the situation better for any of us. I can't promise you that we will ever be the way we were before, Alice," I said. I knew that sometimes the truth hurts, but communicating truthfully was something that I truly believed in now. I wasn't going to tell someone what they wanted to hear just to make them feel better. In the end, that didn't help anyone.

"It's probably more than I deserve. I really hope you and Edward can make if for Thanksgiving. It would mean the world to me and to my mom."

"I promise that I will talk to Edward today and have him let Esme know."

"Thanks for listening. Feel free to call me anytime," Alice said.

"Okay, Alice. Goodbye," I said.

"Bye, Bella," Alice said as I hit the end button.

I looked at the time on the cell phone and groaned. Edward was due home soon from his late class, and I had promised to make chicken tortilla soup. There wasn't enough time for me to do that so cheese enchiladas would have to do.

I put my hair in a sloppy ponytail on the top of my head and went to work on dinner. I docked my iPhone and cranked up the Kings of Leon while I cooked. I had just put on an oven mitt and was getting ready to open the oven door when I felt his breath on the back of my neck, which startled me. I turned around and found myself looking into Edward's emerald eyes

I threw my arms around his neck for a kiss. There was nothing better than his lips against mine. I ruffled his hair with the oven mitt.

"Something smells very good, Love," Edward said, kissing my neck as I reached for the oven handle again. I knew he wasn't just talking about the food and I swatted him away.

"Baby, you know I have my klutzy moments. Let me get the enchiladas out of the oven, and then we can eat dinner while it's still hot."

I put them on the counter, and I noticed him looking around.

"I thought we were having your signature dish tonight, B."

"Well, I spent more time on the phone today than I intended to. I figured I would at least give you a little bit of spice with the enchiladas."

Edward wrapped his arms around me and pulled my back to the warmth of his chest. He brought his lips to my neck again, and I shivered. "Bella, you don't need to make food to make things spicy for me." He bit my pulse point gently then used his tongue to sooth it. I reached my hands behind him and squeezed his ass just as he was giving me another love bite. His surprise at my action caused him to bite a little harder than he intended, and I yelped.

"Jesus, Bella. I'm so sorry," Edward said as he turned me around so he could inspect my neck. "Oh, fuck, Love. I feel like such an ass. That's going to leave a mark. Let me get you some ice for that."

"Edward, I'm okay," I said as I tried to sooth him. "I guess that saying about not playing in the kitchen while cooking isn't only aimed toward children and their toys."

Edward's hand was barely touching the place where he bit me, when he bent his head to place a feather-like kiss there.

I reached up and caressed his cheeks, but Edward wouldn't look me in the eye.

"Baby, look at me please," I raised his chin and looked him in the eyes. "I'm fine, Edward. I wouldn't lie to you about that. I know that there is absolutely no way that you would ever hurt me on purpose."

I stood on my tiptoes and wrapped my arms around his neck as I kissed him again. "Now, enough with this gloom, let's sit down and have some dinner. I'm starved," I declared with a grin, trying to lighten his mood.

I moved our plates to the table. Edward sat down next to me, and I could tell that he was still moping. I had big plans for tonight, and he needed to get over this and soon. I used some of the garage sale earnings to buy a few things from an adult store not far from campus. I couldn't wait for Edward to eat those strawberry flavored edible panties I'd bought. Then for him to eat me. I squirmed a little in my seat when I pictured Edward's tongue and teeth devouring me like his favorite dessert.

I had other special things hidden that I planned to use later in the week, including the new lingerie I had purchased at Victoria's Secret. I couldn't wait to see the look on his face tonight when I covered him with chocolate syrup and whipped cream only for me to clean off every square inch of him with my mouth. I honestly couldn't imagine that there was any dessert out there that was better than an Edward Cullen sundae.

"Seriously, E,if you don't pull your head out of your ass and eat right now, we will not be having the fun times I had planned for later."

He cracked a little grin then. "Bella, I'm …"

"Don't you dare say you are sorry again, Edward Cullen, because I'm not sorry at all. Now, let's eat." We finally dug into dinner. Edward's groan at his first bite didn't help the raging hormones streaming through me.

"These are good, Love," Edward told me. "Just not as good as that chicken tortilla soup we were going to have." He ( is that a term of endearment?) winked at me, and I winked right back. I knew that I had better get the bad news of the day out of the way before we could enjoy our desserts later.

"So, I called Renée today about the house."

Edward sat up straighter, and he became more serious. "It didn't go well, did it, Love?" He asked as he reached over and squeezed my hand, which I squeezed back.

"It wasn't anything more than I expected from her, Edward. I just wish that our parents could open their eyes and see what was right in front of them."

"It's their loss," Edward assured me.

"I know it is. Honestly, E, we are much better off without their negativity in our lives anyway," I said. "Also, we've been invited to your mom's for Thanksgiving dinner. What do you think?"

"Oh, have she and gotten back together again?" I shook my head at him.

"No, as a matter of fact, I was told that your mom has filed for a formal separation from him," I said.

"Wow, I can't say I'm surprised after what Dad tried to pull and the way he treated her. How did she sound when you talked to her?"

"Um, I actually didn't talk to your mother," I said. "Alice called me."

"What?" I could see the concern on his face. "I swear, Bella, I didn't give her your number. I told her not to call you."

I reached over and held his hand in mine. "I know, babe." I got up and sat on his lap and held his face in my hands.

"Alice told me that she snuck the number from your mom's phone, and that you told her not to call me. You know how stubborn she can be. That is a familial trait." I rested my head in the crook of his shoulder, as he began to rub my back.

"How did it go?" He asked as he kissed the top of my head.

"I didn't hang up on her, if that's what you're asking me. I let her talk. I talked. I didn't make her any promises. We'll see what happens."

"Thank you, Love," Edward said as his hands tilted my face towards his lips. I sighed into his mouth.

His hands began to roam across my body as our lips danced against each other.

"Are you finished?" I asked as I stood up and walked to the refrigerator.

"Yes, I'm definitely ready for dessert," he said in a lustful voice. I pulled out the whipped cream and chocolate sauce. "Are we having sundaes?" He asked while quirking his eyebrows up.

"You're not, but I most certainly am," I said as I took a dollop of whipped cream and stroked it across his neck and licked it off, eliciting a very loud groan. A very hard cock came to my attention instantly.

I licked my lips and led us to heaven. Quite a while later as we were lying in our bed, our sated bodies entwined together, I realized chocolate chocolate chip cookie dough on ice cream had nothing on an Edward Cullen sundae.

A/N Okay, so there is no cliffy, except to imagine exactly what an Edward Cullen sundae would be like *sighs*

Next chapter will be Thanksgiving dinner! The story is starting to wind down, so if there is something that you want to see, let us know!

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We have a new story, New York Minute. As teenagers Bella and her best friend dream of meeting their celebrity crushes. When they find themselves living in New York after college, they find out dreams can come true in a New York minute.

Fic Recs:

The Whole Package by PrimaryDiamonds

Second Page by CaraNo