Thank you to everyone who reads this story and to everyone who takes the time to review. They cheer me up, more than I can say, and inspire me to write faster and better for all of you.
This isn't as long as I planned it to be because it just felt natural ending it where I did. Plus, I'm not entirely sure about what the next step will be. I'm open for suggestions!
"I think…" I whispered, trailing off with my anxiety. "I think I'm going to go upstairs and get ready for bed." I tossed a fake smile in Alice's direction. "Someone woke me up way too early this morning and now I'm exhausted. Thanks for a delicious dinner. I'll see you all in the morning."
"Bella, stay," Rosalie insisted.
"Really," Emmett joined in, "it's so early, granny."
"Don't you go anywhere!" Alice practically screeched, pouting at me.
"If Bella is tired then she should be able to go to sleep," Esme said quietly. She smiled at me in understanding and I wanted to leap over and kiss her cheek.
Instead, I practically ran out of the room.
I knew I was being dramatic and that Alice would likely be coming upstairs soon to check on me but I couldn't help it. I was suffocating in there. Everything was going too fast. First, Mike cheats on me. Then I come here and have sex with Edward, EDWARD. My personal god. My fantasy come true! Only he's not interested me in the slightest. Instead he's getting invites to a skank's cabin over the weekend and treating me like shit.
I picked up my phone to call Angela, desperate to rant. Pausing for a moment, remorse came over me. It was Thanksgiving and she was with Ben. She didn't need me, little old emotionally unstable and ridiculous Bella, calling up and disturbing her. She needed the break.
I touched my phone to see the time and the best sight greeted me- a text from Jacob. He really had perfect timing.
Giddily, I flipped open my phone.
Bella, would it be too much too soon to tell you that I've been thinking about you all day?
I truly smiled for the first time since I'd left him. Immediately I texted him back.
Not at all. That's exactly what I wanted to hear right now… Thank you.
With a sigh, I shut my phone and started putting on my pajamas. A buzz caught my attention and I realized Jacob had texted me back already.
You're welcome. Things aren't going well over there, I'm guessing? I could have told you that from Cullen's glare before.
Hesitating over the keypad, I briefly wondered how much I could tell him. I didn't want to seem like some vulnerable, love-sick schmuck and tell him all this stuff, only to have him turn around and tell Edward all of it. But then I thought about how much they both clearly disliked one another and found it highly unlikely they'd be conversing anytime soon, especially about me.
You could say that, although 'not going well' is an understatement. This is the equivalent of a colonoscopy.
I bit my lip. I didn't want to complain; the Cullen's were nice enough to have me here. But I needed to vent and Jacob appeared to be a real upstanding guy.
He wrote back right away.
Jeez, I can only imagine. What a jealous bastard. I could come rescue you…
Panic seized my heart for a second but then I snickered. Yeah, right. Like he was really going to come pick me up on Thanksgiving night! I needed to relax; it was just a joke. And Edward wasn't jealous.
Haha. How was your frozen dinner?
"Bella!" Alice called from downstairs.
I ignored her and hoped she'd think I was sleeping.
"I know you aren't sleeping, bitch!"
I rushed to put on a shirt and walked out to the top of the stairs.
"I was putting a shirt on."
She smirked at me and nodded mockingly. "Right…"
"Well?" I asked impatiently.
"We were going to put a movie on. Esme and Carlisle went up to their bedroom so they're giving us total control of the living room. Will you please come downstairs?"
"Alice…"
"Edward's sorry. You know how gets sometimes." Her pleading face was on.
Shit shit shit. Remember, it's just a vicious tool, Bella. Don't look, don't look.
Fuck!
I looked.
Her lip was jutted out, her eyes squished, shoulders slightly hunched. There was no way I was getting out of this.
Just then my phone vibrated in my hand.
Sighing and shaking my head at her, I flicked it open. I caught her smug look at my obvious resignation. Little evil pixie…
It was frozen… I mean it about coming to rescue you. It's not like I'm doing anything.
Oh, my God. He was serious. For a moment, I considered it. It would be a pretty good escape. It would be also, however, be severely rude to my hosts.
Then again, Carlisle and Esme had gone off to bed...
"Bella! Come back to me, Bella!"
I focused in on Alice who had climbed the first few bottom steps.
"What happened? You look so weird."
I shook my head to reorganize my thoughts. "Jacob's been texting me."
One perfect eyebrow rose. "Oh? And what's he been saying?"
I shifted uncomfortably and looked down at my feet. My blush was blazing all over my body. There was no use in trying to pretend it was no big deal; my best friend could read me perfectly.
"He… wants to come pick me up and hang out."
"WHAT?!" she shrieked, racing up the rest of the stairs. "Why?"
I shrugged and tried my best to look innocent. "I don't know."
Alice didn't appear to believe me but she let it drop. "Are you going to go?"
"What? Hell no. I barely know him and it's rude."
She grinned mischievously and nudged me with her arm. "Well, technically I'm your host and I give you full permission. And you know him well enough to know he's not a complete psycho."
I bit my lip in thought and weighed the options. As much as I wanted to get away from Edward, I wanted to be near him even more. He was like some dehabilitating drug that rendered me deaf, dumb, and blind and yet I couldn't resist, despite the danger.
As I contemplated this, the cursed little thing beside me grabbed my phone from me and sped downstairs.
"ALICE, YOU WITCH!"
I ran after her but of course fell on the last stip. Grimacing in pain, I hopped up and continued running. It was too late; she was already in the living room, telling everyone about my texts from Jacob. I was relieved she wasn't showing any of them to anyone. I didn't want them all to think I wasn't having a good time and that I was so rudely sharing that with someone else.
She looked up as I walked in the room and snickered. "You're so slow, Swan."
"I… hate… you."
"You should go, Bella," Rosalie said from Emmett's arms. "It would do you some good. You won't have to sit here and watch us make out all night." She cracked up along with Emmett and Jasper. It was true. We would put a movie in and I'd end up sitting awkwardly next to a brooding Edward.
"Yeah, why don't you live it up for once, kid?" Emmett chuckled, shaking his head at me. "You went to bed at like 9:30. That's just not normal in any capacity."
"What could you possibly do on Thanksgiving?" Edward blurted out, looking at me as though I were a particularly grotesque piece of unwanted gum on the bottom of his designer shoes.
Why was he being so weird?! He usually just ignored me during times like this, barely acknowledging my existence let alone adding in his own opinions to the mix. He couldn't be jealous. Could he…?
"Lots of things, like passionate backseat sex, for example," Alice offered casually.
I. Was. Going. To. Kill. Her.
Flames literally burst from my cheeks.
Rose snorted and shook her head at Alice. "Bella would never have a one night stand, Alice. Please." She looked at me and smirked. "You're not the type. And you're not the type to have sex on the first date, either."
I looked down at my hands, my cheeks burning even hotter and redder now. Oh, if they only knew!
Stealthily, I let myself sneak a peek at Edward who of course happened to be looking at me, too. I nearly collapsed on the floor at the intense, knee-buckling stare.
My eyes fled from his immediately, not liking the sensation in my belly. Plus, if I had to meet those eyes again I wouldn't be able to ignore the serious impulse to jump him. Looking at everyone and everything but Edward, I noticed Jasper appeared to be looking back and forth between me and Edward. I watched him curiously before he noticed my stare and looked determinately at Alice. He couldn't know, too, could he?
Of course he did. It didn't matter who told- Alice or Edward. He knew. The poor guy almost looked as uncomfortable as I did. I figured it was likely Alice, anyway, since Edward apparently wanted to up and forget the whole thing ever happened. He wasn't alone; my muscles wanted to pretend it didn't happen, too. Very much. The things that boy could do with his-
"So are you going, Bella?" Emmett asked, interrupting my very inappropriate thoughts.
"Of course not," I said quietly. The situation way too weird.
Alice erupted in giggles. Everyone looked at her, perplexed. Finally she thrust my phone at me.
"Check out your sent text messages," she managed to gasp between her laughs.
Oh, no.
She didn't.
Frantically, I flipped open the phone, almost breaking it in my urgency.
She did.
Sounds like a good plan, babe. I'll be ready in 30.
Amazingly enough, I managed to stay standing.
"Alice Cullen," I whispered slowly, "I have said it before but this time I mean it. I'm going to kill you."