AN: I know, everyone's surprised that I update within a reasonable amount of time. I'm shocked too. It probably won't happen again for a while. But! There is good news! I did get 10 reviews for the last chapter, so I was able to avoid being hunted down for not writing the makeout scene. It's there, I promise. It'll make an appearance in the next chapter as well, but not in as much detail. Sorry.
Also, I wanted to say thank you to Orianna who previewed part of this chapter. It means a lot! Everyone should go read her stories. They are amazing! Now, on to the chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. End of story. It should be obvious.
Chapter 4 – Light At the End of the Tunnel
EPOV
I concentrated on the picture that I was inking into skin at that moment. It was an elaborate sleeve that the client had drawn up, hoping to get it finished in one day. I assured him I would try my best, but I knew it was impossible. This was the fourth hour I'd been working on it and I was still nowhere near done.
The fact that he came in at four in the afternoon didn't help either.
"Man, this thing looks awesome so far," he said, admiring the work-in-progress.
"You came up with it, you should know," I said.
I had to keep my answers short. I needed to concentrate. But he didn't seem to get that.
"No, seriously," he continued, "I thought it looked pretty good before, but now? It's fucking art."
No shit, Sherlock.
"I'm glad you think so. Now, if you don't stop moving, talking, or doing anything else that will distract me, it's going to look like shit," I told him. Blunt, but true. "So I would appreciate silence."
He grumbled, but kept quiet after that.
Once I was able to focus my attention on the tattoo, I lost myself in the art. I'd taken a few liberties in making the stencil, but they were only things that I would notice. It was something I did with all pieces that I didn't create myself. Like a trademark so I would always be able to distinguish my own work.
It also made doing the work so much more enjoyable.
There was something so freeing about giving someone a tattoo. It was always the clients' choice, so I could never be accountable for any regrets. But it wasn't about the regrets.
It was about the story. There was a story behind every tattoo. Sometimes it was obvious, but sometimes you had to dig deep.
The sleeve that I was working on, for instance. At first it seemed like a mess of tribal symbols, no rhyme or reason to the details. Then I noticed the pictures within the symbols. It was in the style of ancient Chinese art. It was a beautiful concept. It only took me two hours to figure out that the guy's girlfriend was Chinese and obsessed with that type of art.
Some back stories took more time to figure out. Some were impossible. But the challenge of discovering the story behind the art drew me in like nothing else.
It made me forget all the other shit in my life for a few hours.
I was about a third of the way done with the sleeve when I happened to glance at the clock. Ten past ten. Six hours on one tattoo. He had to be stiff from sitting still for so long.
"Hey, didn't you say you needed to be somewhere tonight?" I asked him, stopping my work.
He looked confused for a minute before checking the time. "Aw, shit. My mom's gonna kill me!" he said. "Well, I guess this'll have to do for today, man. Thanks. I'll come by again next week."
I nodded and started cleaning up the workspace. "Sure, no problem." He had already given me an initial payment that would cover that day's work and he knew how to take care of it, so I was fine with just letting him leave.
It didn't take me long to have everything cleared out from my area. It was late enough that I knew there wouldn't be other clients. We didn't get more than one project on a Thursday night. Everyone was too busy partying.
I grabbed my tools that needed to be sterilized out to the front desk. One of the interns was practically falling asleep by the cash register. I chuckled and laid a hand on his back.
"Pete?" I said. He jerked up when he heard my voice. "Go home. I told you that you didn't need to be here past ten."
"Rosalie said I needed to man my post until that guy left," he explained through a yawn. "She was too busy with paperwork and there would be no one out here."
"Well, thank you then. I can take it from here," I said.
Pete yawned his acknowledgment before he scampered out of the deserted store. He'd worked too long that day. I decided I'd give him a break for the next few shifts he had to work.
"You know, you don't want the interns to work so hard, but you work yourself to death half the time," I heard behind me. "Tell me how that makes sense."
I sighed and turned around to see Rose standing in the office doorway. Her hair was swept into a loose ponytail, revealing the multiple piercings she had encasing the outside of each of her ears. She'd gone easy on her appearance that day since she knew there was a lot of paperwork to be done. For once she chose comfort.
"Rose, I can't expect them to do everything when they aren't used to it," I said.
"Well, you're going to have to get them used to it," she said. "You're due for a ton of time off."
"We're closing the shop on Saturday. Or did you not remember that?" I countered.
A smile formed on her face. "How could I forget, Edward?" she asked, happily. "You're finally letting me meet your mystery girl!" She ran over and hugged me.
I chuckled and put one around her in a half hug. "Well, at least I know you're excited about this," I said as we let go.
"You think I'm excited about this? Have you talked to Emmett since you told me?" she questioned. I shook my head, confused. "He's got all these tests prepped for her to make sure she's worthy of you. He was looking through old photo albums Esme had given him so that he could have stories to tell about you from when you were younger. He's acting like this is your fucking engagement party!" She looked amused at her boyfriend's antics.
"Too bad she's already engaged," I muttered, turning back to my tools.
"And you need to stop moping about it," Rose said firmly. She grabbed my chin and made me look at her. "If you want her so badly, go fight for her."
"I've tried, Rose," I groaned. "It hasn't worked."
She rolled her eyes and slapped me across the face.
"Ow! Damn, Rose, what the hell was that for?"
"You obviously haven't been trying hard enough," she scolded. "She hates her life; it shouldn't be too hard to convince her."
I sighed and pulled my fingers through my hair. "You don't get it, Rose," I said. "She feels that she can't be with me because of the rules of her society. She knows that I love her and she still won't leave her retarded asshole of a fiancé."
Rosalie looked thoughtful for a minute before nodding. "Okay, it's all good," she said.
I cocked an eyebrow. "Oh, yeah? How so?"
"Simple," she said as if I was an imbecile. "Emmett and I will knock some sense into her." I groaned and buried my face in my hands. "Aw, don't worry, Edward. We'll be gentle."
"Maybe this was a bad idea," I mused aloud. "I should call Bella and let her know it's o-"
"If you even consider going back on your agreement, you won't be in any condition to see your girl for a few months. And I will track her down and meet her myself," she growled.
"Whoa, Ed, what the hell did you do to get my Rosie all riled up?" I heard Emmett say from the front of the shop. I hadn't even noticed when he came in. "Don't get me wrong, it's freakin' hot, but it means you did something wrong."
"I didn't actually do anything," I said, backing slowly away from Rosalie.
"Oh yeah?" Rose contested. "And threatening to not let me meet Bella on Saturday is nothing?"
"Ed! We don't get to meet Bella?" Emmett looked heartbroken. Like a kid who's been told he isn't getting a single Christmas present.
"Emmett, I never said that," I groaned. "Rose was just being… well, Rose and I happened to be caught thinking out loud."
My gentle giant of a cousin still had a pout on his face as he went to stand near his girlfriend. Rosalie smiled up at him and put her hand on his cheek.
"Don't worry, babe," she said. "Even if he does cancel on us, we'll still meet her." I buried my face in my arms and tried to ignore the two people in the corner plotting my demise.
Two hours and quite a bit of convincing later, I was safely at home. Rose and Emmett finally believed me that I wasn't going to cancel. I was still scared shitless that they were going to hunt Bella down to meet her ahead of time. I decided that I needed to call her. It took a few rings to hear her voice.
"Hello?" she sounded a little groggy, like I'd woken her up. She obviously hadn't looked at her caller ID either.
"Bella, I didn't wake you up, did I?"
"Edward!" she exclaimed. She sounded a lot less tired now. "No, you didn't wake me up. My mother had another soiree today. I, of course, was forced to attend. Alice graciously offered up her husband's foot massage abilities which I accepted immediately. No way will I ever deny I good foot massage."
I chuckled. "Well, I'll have to remember that as a form of bribery."
"Well, we'll see about that," she laughed. "So, what's up? I'm assuming you're calling about something in particular."
"Oh, so now I need a motive to want to talk to you?"
"Not necessarily, but I know you, Masen. You're not one to call out of the blue."
"You got me," I said with a small laugh. "I decided I needed to warn you about something. Emmett and Rose are getting a tad bit excited about Saturday. They're going to try to be as intimidating as they can. I thought you needed to know." There was silence on the line for a minute. "Bella? Are you okay?"
"Are we talking full scale assault and every cliché thing in the book intimidating? Or is it something a little more low key?" she asked.
"They're pulling out all the stops," I said cautiously. "Emmett's got all sort of tests prepared… not sure what that means, but Rose made it sound important."
Bella laughed for a minute before sighing. "Well, I've got another day to prepare for it," she said. "I might as well start now."
"Bella, don't worry about trying to pass the tests," I said firmly. "Just be yourself and they will love you. How could they not?"
"I'm not even sure how to be myself anymore," she muttered. Then more clearly, "I'll try, Edward. But I'm not sure any of us will be able to get a word in edgewise with Alice there. I have a feeling she'll be chasing you around in your nightmares for weeks to come."
I smiled at the thought. As long as Bella was in the picture as well, I wouldn't mind at all. "I'll be sure to brace myself," I chuckled. "But I've got you and Jasper as buffers, right?"
"Of course, Edward," she said. I could hear the smile in her voice. "Always."
We stayed on the line for another few minutes discussing the logistics for Saturday. I figured it would be better to meet at the restaurant.
In an effort to keep Bella comfortable, I decided we should meet at a neutral location. There was a small, family owned restaurant a few blocks away from the shop that Emmett had taken Rosalie to on one of their first dates. The Jasmine Dragon was well known in the area, but it never seemed to have a big crowd. It wasn't likely that anyone Bella knew would be there.
Friday went by uneventfully. It was a surprisingly quiet day at the shop. We sent most of the interns home after lunch and Rose shoved me out when she realized that there wasn't going to be much traffic for the night.
"You'll be more of a hindrance than anything else," she said as she pushed me out the door. "You'll be thinking about Bella instead of what you're doing."
Rosalie was right, of course, but I didn't want to admit it.
I decided to watch a baseball game on TV to kill time when I got back to the apartment. It worked for a little while until I remembered one of Emmett's first ever sex talks with me. I was fifteen and going through puberty when he acknowledged the fact that I could hang with the big boys.
"Okay, Edward. Everything you need to know can be explained with baseball," he explained. "First base is the first kiss, second is when you finally grow enough balls to cop a feel, third is the gateway to heaven, and running home is going all the way. It's the best code in the world and girls will never understand a word of it."
He was wrong about how stupid girls were – Rose always saw through all his codes – but the code stuck. It made sense to everyone.
It took me a few years to figure out that he wasn't the one who came up with that analogy.
I sighed, shutting off the game and fisting my hands in my hair. That gathering was going to be the death of me.
That night I managed to get just enough sleep to not have circles under my eyes. By seven in the morning, I gave up on getting anymore sleep. Bella and I had agreed to meet at the restaurant at noon, so I had five hours to kill.
I made myself a full pot of coffee. There was a feeling in the back of my mind that either Rosalie or Emmett would show up in an effort to keep my mind off of everything.
I pulled out some paperwork that needed to get filled out for the shop to pass the time. It was inane enough to keep my mind off anything else for a while.
Three cups of coffee and two hours later, the paperwork was done and I was still three hours away from seeing Bella. I noticed my phone blinking on the counter. No one usually texted me at this time of the morning. I flipped it open and smiled to see a short message from Bella.
Apparently I need primping for today. See you at noon. No time for talking before then. –B
"Poor Bella," I said with a chuckle. Alice was probably trying to force her into something completely inappropriate for a lunch with friends. From what Bella said, she tended to go a bit over the top.
My head whipped around as I heard a banging on the door of my apartment.
"Edward! Open up!" Emmett shouted through the wood. "Come on! We've only got three hours to be prepped on everything!"
I sighed and opened the door. Emmett stood there with a manila folder, flipping through papers. Rose stood next to him, shaking her head and smiling at me.
"He's been like this all morning," she explained. "I tried to get him to calm down, but nothing's worked. He demanded that we come over here."
"We're already behind, Rosie!" Emmett whined. "We should have been here an hour ago."
I rolled my eyes and let the two of them in the living room. Emmett practically ran in and spread all the papers over the coffee table. Rose stood with me a few feet away to watch him.
"What is all this stuff?" I questioned.
"This is Em's master plan," she said with a chuckle.
"Don't mock it, babe," he said, standing up. "Edward needs to memorize all of it."
I groaned internally. I didn't want to upset him, but I had a feeling that the plans weren't what I wanted Bella to go through. "Emmett, I don't think this is such a good idea," I said cautiously.
"But Edward, we need to prove that she's good enough for you," he said bluntly.
"I don't think this is the best way to go about it," I said. "Bella's the type of girl that freaks out when she's the center of attention."
"Are you kidding? Every girl loves attention!" Rose countered.
"Not Bella," I said. "She can't even stand the conversation being about her for more than a couple minutes. She'll change the subject if she's been talking too long in her opinion…."
Emmett pouted, but sat back on the couch. "Fine, but this means I'll have to go undercover or something. Rose will have to work overtime and-"
"Emmett, please don't," I begged. "I want to make sure that she's not overwhelmed today. Please don't make this worse."
Rosalie sat next to Emmett and put her hand on his shoulder. "Babe, this means a lot to him," she said quietly. "She means a lot to him. Maybe we should let up a bit on the plan."
He smiled softly over at his girlfriend and kissed her on the cheek. "You're probably right, Rosie," he said. His expression brightened considerably. "I mean, we only need to be good for the first impression, right?"
Emmett went to hide his plans somewhere in my apartment. It was always a pain to figure out his hiding spots; I'd given up after a while.
Rose turned to look at me after my cousin left. "He means well, you know," she said.
"Yeah, I know," I sighed. "I just hope that when he meets Bella his tests won't matter anymore."
"I'm sure we'll love her," Rose assured me. "Maybe not as much as you, but that's to be expected." She laughed and I just had to smile back. "Now, come on. We need to get you ready for your big date."
"It's not a-"
She held up her hands in surrender. "I know, I know. But this could just be the day that the tide starts to work in your favor." She smiled brightly before dragging me into my room to find something decent to wear.
Rosalie tore through my entire closet to find the perfect outfit for today. I had just been planning on wearing jeans and a T-shirt, but that wasn't good enough for Rose. She had me try on every single pair of jeans, every single shirt… basically everything she could find.
Ten minutes before we were supposed to leave, she finally handed me a pair of decently tight fitting jeans and a vintage band tee. Before she left the room to let me change, she turned to me with a smirk and said, "By the way, I picked that out over an hour ago."
I started to follow her to tell her off when I realized what she was doing. She had purposefully distracted me to take my mind off Bella.
"She's good," I muttered. "She's really good…"
We were ready to go a few minutes early, but I figured that we could go early and wait for the others at the restaurant. The Jasmine Dragon barely had any customers at noon on a Saturday, so it was easy to get a good table. We got there ten minutes before our reservation, so we went to wait at the bar.
"I've got to hand it to you, Emmett, this is a pretty nice place," I said while he ordered himself a beer. "You do know your restaurants."
"Yes, he does," Rose said happily. "And if he doesn't get me the fried Oreo sundae like he promised, I will cheerfully beat his ass into a pulp."
I laughed as Emmett nervously reinforced his promise to get her the precious sundae. He was honestly scared for himself. I'd seen what Rose could do to a guy when she was mad. It wasn't pretty. Especially when she had stilettos on – which she did – Rose was a terror. I was so glad I'd managed to stay on her good side. And I planned to keep it that way.
"Edward!" a beautiful voice called. I turned to see Bella standing near the other end of the bar with a brilliant smile on her face.
I hadn't seen her in a while, but I could already spot the difference. She looked happy, genuinely happy. The few days away from her family had been good for her. Bella had a healthy glow about her that had been missing for a long time.
I took a moment to look at her while she walked over in response to my smile, two people following close behind her. Bella had a pair of dark wash skinny jeans and a form fitting, brightly colored graphic tee. Her hair was pulled into a messy side ponytail and her makeup was light, but a little darker than usual. Somehow she managed to win the battle for footwear with a pair of Converse high tops. She was beautiful.
"Bella," I said happily as she got closer. I stood and opened my arms to her before she ran up and hugged me. I smiled into her hair and held her tightly for as long as she would let me. "You made it."
Bella smacked my arm lightly. "Of course I made it, you big oaf," she laughed. "Why would I miss this? Besides, Alice wouldn't have let me skip out." She tilted her head back a little, indicating the two people behind her.
The tiny, delicate doll of a girl bounded forward first and wrapped her arms tightly around my midsection. "Hi Edward! It's great to meet you! Finally… I'm Alice, by the way. Bella's told me so much about you," she said when she let me go. It was like she didn't stop to breathe. Ever. "I feel like I already know you. Of course, Bella wouldn't let that happen before now since-"
The man that came with them put a gentle hand on Alice's shoulder and she immediately stopped talking, choosing instead to smile up at the blond man. He was over a foot taller than her, but somehow they fit together.
"Settle down, darlin'," he chuckled. Then he smiled over at me and extended his hand. "Jasper Whitlock. I must apologize on behalf of my wife. She's just very excited to meet such an esteemed friend of Bella's."
"Edward Masen," I said, shaking the man's hand. "And now I've got even more to live up to if I'm considered an esteemed friend."
"Edward? Esteemed? Jeez, apparently no one knows him well," Emmett laughed from behind me.
I sighed and smiled weakly. "And that would be my cousin Emmett Cullen," I said. "Sometimes I think he prides himself on the fact that there is no filter between his brain and his mouth." I heard Emmett start to protest, but I continued. "And this," I said, gesturing to Rose, "is Emmett's girlfriend, Rosalie Hale."
Bella smiled hesitantly at Rose while Emmett wasted no time introducing himself to Jasper and Alice.
"Well, you're not half dolphin," Rose said.
"Rose!" I hissed.
"What? I meant it as a compliment," she said, confused.
I turned to apologize to Bella only to find her smiling softly at Rose. Going against my instincts, I chose to see how this would play out.
"I'm not quite sure what that means exactly, but I guess I should take every compliment I can get," Bella said with a small chuckle. She extended her hand. "I'm Bella, if you haven't guessed. Technically, it's Isabella Swan, but I prefer Bella."
Rose ignored Bella's extended hand and went in for a gentle hug, whispering something in her ear. I was pleasantly surprised by this; when I met Rose at Twilight, she simply looked me up and down before telling me I was too skinny and depressing and that I needed to eat more. She was blunt, but honest.
Rose then left Bella alone and went to go introduce herself to Alice and Jasper. Emmett came to stand with me and Bella. He tilted his head as he looked at her, trying to figure something out.
"You're shorter than I pictured," he said. Then he laughed and engulfed her in a bear hug. "Nice to meet ya, Baby Bell!" She looked at me and cocked an eyebrow when he set her down. He was still laughing at his own joke.
"He has a habit of making up annoying nicknames," I explained.
Bella looked up at his self-satisfied smile. "Why did you nickname me after a type of cheese? You couldn't have been even a little more creative?" She stared at him as if she expected an actual answer, but I could see her lips twitching as she resisted the urge to laugh.
Emmett's jaw dropped as he stuttered, trying to find an answer. She lost it and fell into me when her laughter took over. I wrapped my arms around her to keep her upright.
"Totally worth it," she gasped through her laughter.
I noticed that Rose, Alice, and Jasper were all laughing as well. Emmett's expression has transformed into something between shocked and pissed. He finally settled on amusement when he regained his composure.
The hostess announced that we could now be seated. There were only a few other guests there, but it was policy to wait until the reservation time. As we followed her to our table, Emmett whispered to me, "I like her, man. I think she's a keeper."
"Thanks, Em," I replied. Hopefully that meant there would be no tests in the foreseeable future.
In front of us, I saw Bella stiffen and stop walking. She quickly turned around and walked straight to me. Her eyes were wide and frightened. I cupped my hand around her face.
"Bella, what's wrong?" I said, checking to see if she had hurt herself.
"Kiss me," she said quietly.
"What?" I asked, startled.
"I need you to kiss me," she continued. "James is over there with some… I don't even know, but she's busty and she's pretty and his hands are all over her. He can't see me here, Edward." She looked back over her shoulder. "Shit, they're getting up." She looked back at me, panicked. "Please, Edward. I need you to do this for me."
"Anything for you, Bella," I whispered before lowering my face to hers.
At first, I gently touched my lips to hers, caressing her cheek with my thumb. But the feeling of her lips on mine was too much.
I needed more.
I hesitantly traced her bottom lip with my tongue, asking for her permission but always giving her an out. She sighed happily and opened her mouth to mine. My hand moved to the back of her head, my other arm wrapping around her waist and pulling her closer. I was sure she could feel exactly how much this kiss was affecting me, but I couldn't worry about that.
She asked me to kiss her.
She asked me.
I needed to use this to my advantage. I had no idea if I was going to get another shot.
Everything else was lost to me. The room, the fact that people were probably staring at us, the fact that we were blocking traffic… everything. There was only Bella and me.
And Bella's remarkable mouth.
I gently touched her tongue with mine and was granted a wonderful moan. Her arms came up to wrap around my neck, her fingers knotting in my hair. Her tongue stroked mine eagerly and I knew that I would do everything in my power to have this experience again.
And more if she would let me.
Someone cleared their throat and Bella jumped against my embrace. My arms held her in place, though. We both looked over to see everyone with knowing smiles. Alice had her arms crossed and her toe was tapping.
Bella groaned and buried her face in my chest. "Shit," she muttered. "I forgot about how they'd react."
I chuckled and nudged her so she would look up at me. "Just explain it. They'll understand," I said. "Now come on." I let my arms drop from her sides but I kept one hand on the small of her back as I led her to the table.
"Baby Bell's got some 'splainin' to do," Emmett said. His Ricky Ricardo imitation was horrendous. Thankfully, Rose recognized that and smacked him offside the head for it. "Ow! Rosie!"
"Well, James is gone," Jasper said with a chuckled.
"He's been gone for four minutes now," Alice said accusingly. "And I swear I heard him mutter 'Get a room," which is completely hypocritical considering what he was doing with that girl. I mean, who knows what they were doing under that table. It's disgusting to even think about."
Bella groaned and sat on one of the booth benches, sliding over to the window. I sat across from her in an attempt to make her feel more comfortable.
"It's okay, Bella," Jasper said as they all sat down. "It's better that he doesn't see you here. We get that."
"Okay, little help here," Rose said. "I, for one, have no idea who that hell that bastard was and why the hell I need to hate him so much."
"That bastard is my fiancé," Bella said miserably. She held up her left hand to show something to Rosalie, but kept her head buried in her other arm.
"Wow… that's one hell of a rock," Emmett said as Rose whistled her approval.
"Wait," I said, leaning over to see Bella's hand. "When did he get you a ring?"
Bella sat up and pulled her hand back, hiding the infernal thing. "Last week," she answered. "Mother was bugging him about it. She said that none of her friends would believe her that I was engaged unless I had a ring. So she dragged him out and said 'Pick out the biggest one you can afford.'"
"You rich people sure do like to spend your money," Rose commented with a chuckle.
"Not all of us are like that," Jasper said defensively before Alice put a hand on his arm to calm him down.
"Sorry," Rose said, seeing his expression. "You just get used to being looked down on by spoiled, rich pricks all the time." She ducked her head, tracing some of the false wood grains on the table.
Jasper nodded stiffly toward Emmett since Rosalie wasn't looking. It was easy to see that he wasn't fully satisfied, but he was willing to overlook it. Emmett nodded in return, acknowledging that.
"I'm sorry, Jasper," I said, feeling the need to explain a little more than Rose did. "She had a… bad experience with a couple of rich guys and the feeling just stuck."
Her head whipped over to me. "Bad experience? Bad experience? You know it pisses me off when you say that, Edward," she growled. "It was the worst fucking night of my life." Tears streamed down her face. "You have no idea what it was like." Her eyes were pleading with me to understand.
I'd dealt with this a few times before, so I knew how to handle it. Alice and Bella looked worried and reached out to help but I shook my head. Even Emmett backed down.
I brought my hand up to her face slowly and gently rested it on her cheek. "Hey," I whispered. "You're safe here." She was still breathing heavily and sobbing, but she didn't fight me off. "We're not going to hurt you. It's over, Rose. No one will ever hurt you like that again, okay?" She nodded weakly and tried to smile through the tears. "Okay. Now, how about you go freshen up a little so you don't end up with your food tasting a little too salty?"
Rosalie laughed weakly and nodded. She kissed Emmett on the cheek as she scooted past him to let him know that she was okay.
"Rosalie?" Bella said as Rose was standing up. The blonde turned and looked at Bella. "Do you want Alice and me to come with you? In case you need something you don't have…"
She was biting her lip, waiting for an answer. Bella honestly wanted Rose to like her and she didn't want to blow this shot.
Rosalie nodded with a small smile at Bella's request. The three girls walked toward the restrooms together, but it didn't look like any of them said anything.
"I am really sorry," Jasper said when they were out of earshot. "I didn't mean to start anything that would bring up bad memories."
"It's not your fault," Emmett said. "She's an emotional person. Sometimes it just shows more."
"Still, it was wrong of me to do," Jasper insisted. "Is there anything I can do?"
"Well, the easiest thing would be to not mention it again," I said, stating the obvious. They both chuckled. "But, honestly? I have a feeling that Bella and Alice are doing more for her right now than any of us could."
"But you were able to calm her down instantly," the blond man protested.
"Only from previous experience," I grimaced. "I've been working with her long enough to know how to handle her in which moods. When she starts freaking out about that night, it's all about being slow, gentle, and soothing. No sudden movements, no harsh tones, and reminding her that she's safe."
"What actually happened?" Jasper asked quietly.
I looked to Emmett who shook his head. He was in no condition to tell the story. Not until he knew Rose was okay. I sighed and launched into the story of that night and how if affected her. It was something that would haunt her forever.
"No one should have to go through that," Jasper said angrily. "Those men deserve more than they got."
"We all agree, but it's done," I said. "So now we avoid anything that will trigger that spot in her mind. Joking around definitely helps that."
"Good to know," Jasper said. I sensed a change in Jasper's mood, then. He grinned at me. "So, is there anything that I should know about with you and Bella? That kiss seemed like a little more than she intended."
"Yeah, Ed, I'd like an answer that that one as well," Emmett said, turning his full attention on me.
I sighed. "As much as I would love to tell you that we were secretly having a relationship under everyone's noses, no. There is nothing going on between us. Beyond that kiss."
"Right, like I'm going to believe that," Jasper said.
"I know you may not trust me on that, but I'm not lying. As much as I've tried to get her to punch that fucker James in the face and come running to me, it just won't happen," I said glumly.
"Question!" Emmett said.
"What, Emmett? You're not in third grade. You don't need to do that to ask a question," I grumbled.
"Right, anyway, what was that sleazebag doing here with that… chick if he's marrying Bella?" my cousin asked.
Jasper nodded. "That right there is the big question," he said. "James was always an ass, but I never suspected that he would actually stoop to that level. We were all convinced that he really did love Bella. I guess there's still a reason to hate him."
"Hey, wouldn't it be funny if you just, like, told her entire family about it and they broke off the engagement?" Emmett joked as he took a sip of his beer.
Jasper and I looked at each other, stunned. Beyond the fact that Emmett had a good idea, the idea actually sounded like it would work.
"We'd need evidence, of course," Jasper said quietly.
"Well, yeah, but we can just follow him or something," I said.
"He is fond of this one club not too far from here," Jasper supplied.
"That's good. We can start there. Then-"
"I totally missed something, didn't I?" Emmett said.
I laughed. "Emmett, your joke of an idea could actually work."
"Really?"
"Really," I answered with a smile. "From everything Bella's said, her mother wants nothing more for her than the perfect husband who can provide for her and have a stable life. If we catch James cheating on Bella, they'll have to call it off."
"And then Edward can swoop in and steal our precious Bella away from her evil parents," Jasper added with a smile.
"Wait, what?" I said, looking at Bella's best friend.
"If James is gone, there should be nothing stopping you from being with Bella," he said. "She loves you, you obviously treat her better than my shithead of a brother, and you love her too. Is there anything keeping you back that I should know about?"
I shook my head, shocked. I couldn't come up with anything to say.
"Wow… You're actually giving your approval? You're a braver man than me," Emmett chuckled.
Jasper told my cousin about the fact that even though Bella was like a sister to him he had to treat her like an equal. She couldn't stand his brotherly tendencies to get overly protective.
While my cousin listened to Jasper's tales of old Bella stories, my mind drifted to Bella. How she could be mine if this plan worked. How she would never be miserable again if I could help it.
Images popped into my head involuntarily. Me down on one knee in front of her. Bella in a simple white dress at the end of the aisle. Bella holding a tiny bundle of a baby in her arms, glowing. Bella and I growing old together.
But there was still one thing in the way of that happily ever after.
"What if she fights it?" I muttered.
Jasper turned to me, confused. "Who? Bella? Why would she do that if she loves you?"
"She is so scared about her parents accepting her engagement…. She always tells me that the only reason she accepted James' proposal was because she knew her parents would approve," I explained. "I don't have a ton of money. I don't have a big fancy penthouse. I can't guarantee that we'll always have money. I run a tattoo shop; it's not a very lucrative business."
"Who cares about the money?" Emmett said.
"Her parents! And therefore, Bella. It doesn't matter how much she doesn't like them," I said. "She obviously still wants to make them proud. Even if it means sacrificing her own happiness."
"That does sound like Bella," Jasper said sadly. He sighed and focused on the table for a minute. He finally looked up at me with a determined expression on his face. "Listen, I'll try to help you out. I'll get everything I can on James. I'll try to convince Bella that you're the better option. But you can't give up." He pointed a single finger at me. "You need to do more of what you did earlier. Enforce the fact that James is cheating. Plant the idea of ending the betrothal. But don't give up if she still says no. Keep working at it until we have sufficient evidence."
"Right, keep telling the stubborn rich girl that she should marry me," I said bitterly. "That'll work."
" Just be yourself, man," Emmett said. "It's worked so far. I mean, she loves you, right?"
"Yeah, she just won't admit it," I sighed.
"She will," Jasper promised. "Give her time and she will."
I nodded. I'd already decided that I needed to try. The first step was to get rid of James.
"So, what'd we miss?" Bella said as she and the girls came back.
I smiled over at her and she smiled back before talking to everyone else again.
Totally worth it, I thought.
I had to do this. She deserved better than James. I needed to get that opportunity for her.
I needed to prove that love was better than money.
AN: There you have it folks! See? I told you there was a way for them to get together. Now we just have to be patient... and stalk James. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. If you have any questions, comments, advice, concerns, cookies, or anything else for me, please leave a review! Seriously, they make everything better. They are better than duct tape.
Next chapter: More of the Saturday lunch! What Bella, Rose, and Alice talked about in the bathroom, how the rest of the event goes, and Edward trying to prove that he is better than James. (Leave those ideas in your reviews!!)
I don't know when I'll be able to update again, but I will try to make it soon. Thanks for reading! Don't forget to review!
-Kaylee