Jacob pouted as he leaned against the dresser. "I'm serious, Rose," he said. "Why won't you let me come with you? We can spend a few days in Seattle, maybe visit – "

"I can't, Jake," Rosalie's tone was exasperated. She folded a blouse and tossed it into her luggage. "I thought we already agreed on this."

"No, you agreed. I all out protested," Jacob pushed off of his post to stand behind her. "Come on…why won't you let me come?" he asked, running his hands up and down her arms.

Rosalie sighed. "Jacob," she said sternly. "You know I'd love to spend some time with you, but this trip isn't just some vacation. I'm visiting Mom."

Jacob huffed and stepped back. "What, and I'm not good enough to meet your mother now?"

"You know it isn't like that," Rose turned around to face him. "I've already spoken to Dr. Cheney, and he said that Mom's not doing so well these days. He figures that maybe seeing a familiar face might help her, but she's not really up for any…strange visitors."

"Well, I still don't like it." Jacob said. A brief moment of silence passed before he sighed and spoke again. "Rosie," he began in a whiney tone. "I just…I don't know. I feel like I can never get you alone these days. I just want to spend some time with you all to myself."

Rosalie wanted to argue with him, but she knew he was right. Things at the firm were hectic for both of them, so that meant less private get-togethers and more business meetings. Plus, there was Jacob's added responsibilities since being promoted.

Then, of course, there was Rosalie's fascination for Jasper Whitlock.

She didn't know what it was, but she was just…interested in the guy. Perhaps it was her slight high school crush on him resurfacing, or maybe it was that he had somehow gotten hotter over the years, but she just felt like spending time with him.

And that's exactly what she'd done.

She had been successful in luring him out to lunch once, but then Bella Swan just had to swoop in and ruin everything the second time around. It looked like the girl hadn't gotten less annoying since their time in high school.

"Rose, are you even listening to me?"

Rosalie blinked quickly, and looked at Jacob. "What?"

"See! This is what I'm talking about!" Jacob exclaimed. He began pacing the room. "We're not communicating anymore, Rosie. I mean, when was the last time we ever just...talked to each other?"

"We talk all the time," Rosalie grumbled.

"Yeah, but all it's always been about business."

"We went out to that bar not a week ago!"

"That was with co-workers," Jacob argued. "The last time we went on a proper date was ages ago!"

Rosalie threw her hands in the air in frustration. "What the hell do you want from me, Jake? You know we can't go out in public together as a couple so often. As far as everyone knows, I'm still engaged. We already discussed this before we began this relationship, and you were fine with it then."

"And I'm still fine with it now. What I'm not fine with is how we're not...as close as we were."

"I still come home to you every night, don't I?"

"But that's not enough," Jacob insisted. "And is this really all this relationship is to you? Sex?"

Rosalie slowly exhaled. "You know that's not what I meant," she said in a much softer tone. "Look, I'm sorry, Jake. Really, I am. And I'll make it up to you, I promise, but I need to do this on my own. This is my mom. If the doctor thinks it would be better for her if I visit her alone, then I'm going alone."

Jacob wanted to stay mad at her for longer, but when he saw her apologetic face, he gave in. "It's okay," he told her. He opened his arms, and she willingly went into his embrace. "I'm sorry for pushing you. I care about your mom's well-being too, y'know. I guess I just got a little insecure."

"There's nothing and no one for you to be insecure over," Rosalie told him.

"I know, I know," Jacob sighed. He pulled away to look at her in the eyes. "Promise me we'll work harder on us when you get back?"

"I promise."

...

The flight to Forks wasn't all that long, but Rosalie was still impatient to get back to her hometown. She was eager for the change of scenery, and more importantly, for her mother.

It had been a while since she last saw her, but as soon as Dr. Cheney called and informed her of the old woman's worrying state, Rose made plans to visit as soon as possible. Now, as she sat in her taxi, she thought about what she wanted to say and all the good news she had to share.

Surely, those would cheer her mother up.

Saint Catherine's Asylum was seemed different since Rose last visited. The building's façade had a new coat of paint, she noticed, and lilies had been added to the front yard of the establishment.

Rosalie hoped they had planted lilies everywhere else as well – they were her mother's favourite flowers after all.

After registering at the front desk and receiving her visitor's ID, Rosalie followed an attendant to the courtyard that sat in the middle of the facility. There were many patients in the standard blue scrubs loitering around, but she spotted her mother easily near the fountain.

"Lily," the attendant spoke softly as they approached. "Lillian. You have a special visitor today. Rosalie's here."

"Hi, Mama," Rose greeted with a small smile on her face. She moved so she was sitting on the fountain's edge, right in front of her dazed mother. "It's Rosie."

Lillian didn't respond, and Rosalie took one of her hands in hers.

"Dr. Cheney told me you aren't...doing so well these days," she continued. "It's just that time of the year again, huh?" Rosalie closed her eyes as the story that started it all played in her mind once again. She had only been sixteen when the events occurred, but she could remember everything in clear detail as if it had only happened yesterday.

About a decade ago, Joseph Hale was the internal accountant of Cullen Architecture, a small, fledging firm that sprouted its roots in Seattle, Washington. Rosalie didn't see her father a whole lot what with her and Lillian residing in Forks, but it was okay. Joseph always brought home a hefty salary, and their family was flourishing.

Everything was going well until the fateful day when Carlisle Cullen sued Joseph for tampering with company records and stealing more than a million dollars. Rosalie knew her father was innocent, but unfortunately, the court didn't agree. Before she knew it, her father was thrown in jail, her mother went insane, and she was left to deal with everything.

As if that wasn't enough hardship already, a few months into his jail term, Joseph died from a heart attack in the middle of his cell. Lillian's condition worsened from the news, and once again, Rosalie was left alone to keep things together.

She had never been so angry in her whole life. In the blink of an eye, everything was stripped from her, and she only had Carlisle Cullen to blame. As she stewed in her own anger and contempt, the idea of taking the Cullen family down hatched in her mind, and in the years that followed, she slowly began to put her plans into action.

She knew that her first step was to get close to the family, and what way was easier than dating the devil's son? Edward Cullen was not an easy nut to crack, but when she'd succeeded in sinking her claws into him, everything else began falling into place. They were engaged soon after graduating college, Edward was slated to one day take over the company, and Rosalie would soon avenge her father.

Sure, there were a few unexpected events like Jacob confessing his attraction to her and Edward's accident, but Rosalie made sure to use them to her advantage. With Jacob at her side, she had more chances of taking over Cullen Architecture, and with Edward in a coma, there was one less person to get in her way.

Rose let out a humorless chuckle, and shook her head to return to the present. "I know you miss Dad. I miss him, too." She gave Lillian's hand a squeeze.

"But it's okay now. Everything's falling into place, Mama. Soon, it will all be better."

...

"Oof!" Bella almost fell on her ass as she pulled her rucksack out of the closet. She was set to leave for Forks the next day, and had put packing off to the last minute. It doesn't matter, she grumbled to herself. You won't be staying for long, anyway. Just pack what you need.

Bella started packing her essentials after shaking the old bag to rid it of dust. An extra shirt and jacket were thrown in together with a small bag of toiletries. She set her wallet and passport aside as well, and last but not the least, the notepad where she had written the address of Victoria Hester, Forks' paranormal expert.

After she finished, Bella decided to head back down to Heaven. She would be gone again for the whole day tomorrow, and she still had cake orders to fill. Charlotte and Peter had allowed her to take another day off of work without any protest, but Bella knew she had work obligations to fulfil first.

She was just about to open her door when a knock resonated from the other side. The confusion that Bella felt disappeared as soon as she turned the knob and Edward's smiling face appeared.

"Hey," she greeted, a smile taking over her own face.

"Hi," Edward responded. "Charlotte asked me to bring another lunch tray to you."

"Oh," Bella only noticed the tray he was carrying when he mentioned it. "Okay. Thank you. Um, would you mind bringing it in?"

"Not at all."

Bella stepped aside to allow Edward to enter, and closed the door softly once he was inside. Edward set the food on the dining table, and turned to her with his hands boyishly in his pockets.

"So, uh, Charlotte mentioned that you're...going somewhere?"

"Yeah," Bella said. "I'm headed to Forks tomorrow."

"Forks?"

"I have some...stuff I need to do there. No big deal, really," Bella shrugged.

"When will you be back?"

"The day after tomorrow. I'll just be spending the day there, then I'll fly back to Chicago tomorrow night."

Edward nodded in understanding. "Oh. Well...I hope you'll have a safe flight."

"Thanks E – erm, Jasper."

"Yeah," Edward cleared his throat. "So, uh, is that what you've been doing up here? Packing, I mean."

Bella chuckled. "Yep. It's pretty last minute, but I won't need a lot. Besides, I'll just be there for one day."

"You have a point there."

A slightly awkward silence filled the room then, and Bella tried to think of something to say that can make Edward stay a little longer. Before she could open her mouth, however, Edward spoke first.

"I guess I should leave you to your lunch then. It's, uh, roast beef sandwich with a side of coleslaw."

"Oh, okay." Bella deflated slightly. "Thank you."

"There's no need to thank me. I didn't cook it."

"But you still brought it up."

"Just obeying orders, ma'am," Edward smiled brightly at her. "Have a safe trip, Bella. Be back soon, okay?"

Bella nodded and made her way to the dining table at the same time Edward decided to leave his spot. A tangle of bodies between the sofa and console table was the result.

"Wait, wait," Edward laughed, putting his hands on Bella's hips to keep her steady. "Let's survey the situation for a second."

"Alright," Bella giggled. "You know, I feel like we're in one of those clichéd scenes from young adult romance stories."

"Yeah? And what scene would that be?"

"The scene where the guy and the girl would somehow run into each other and end up being really close to each other."

"And you think we're that guy and that girl in this story, huh?" Edward turned to face her with a smirk.

Bella's blush answered that question. "I...well, uh...I didn't –"

Edward chuckled. "I was just teasing you, Bells." Though he really did wish that they played those characters. Unfortunately, their love story was a lot more complicated.

"We really do need to get out of this mess, though," Edward said. "I'm going to twist my body this way so you can go the other way, alright?"

"Okay," Bella agreed. With some careful manoeuvring, Bella was close to freeing herself, but that was when her clumsy nature decided to betray her, making her trip on her own feet.

Luckily, Edward was there to catch her, but he was too late. Both of them toppled to the floor in a mass of misplaced limbs and laughter.

"Okay, that didn't go as planned," Edward remarked, but he certainly wasn't complaining. He was lying on top of Bella with his arms at either side of her head.

"Yeah, that was...a disaster," Bella smiled as a blush erupted through her cheeks. "And we're in another one of those clichéd scenes where –"

Edward didn't let her finish because he pulled a young-adult-romance-cliché move of his own.

He kissed her.

Happy Holidays everyone!