Disclaimer: All things Twilight belong to the wonderful Stephenie Meyer and not to me… sigh.I also don't own Sleeping with the Enemy. The book belongs to Nancy Price and the movie belongs to Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation.

Sleeping with a Monster


Previously…

"Bring it on sweetheart," I said in a sickeningly sweet voice as I offered her a fake smile. But the hostility I felt towards Rose was evident in my eyes as I faced off with her. I was sick of her attitude. I would not take anymore more of her crap, even though I was in her home. I was going to take her down a notch or two, even if it was just video game. As Rose walked off, I glanced over at Edward who was staring at me with his mouth open wide. As soon as I winked at him, his face erupted in a beautiful smile. Alice coughed as she tried to hide her laugh. I smiling smugly at Edward knowing that at this game, I was going to kick Rose's ass.


Chapter 13 – You Rock!

A chorus catcalls, whistles, gasps and laughs followed us as we walked through the portal. As we entered the stadium to find our seats, Edward walked down a few steps in front of me before he stopped and leaned back into me. He grinned over his shoulder at me. "Hop on my back and I'll give you a ride."

"Are you sure? I'm a bit heavier than your average hospital bag," I questioned with my hands on my hips.

"I think I can manage," Edward smirked. I brought my arms around his neck from behind and I jumped up and wrapped my legs around his waist. Edward brought his arms back and placed them under the backs of my knees. "Ready?" he inquired. But all I could manage was a weak 'Uh huh' as I rested my head on his shoulder.

"Race you!" Jasper yelled as he rushed by us with a grinning Alice on his back trying to beat us to our seats.

"Hey! Cheaters!" Edward yelled before he started to bounce down to our seats, garnering a squeal from me at the sudden speed at which we were careening down the concrete steps to our row.

"Edwaaaard!" I screamed laughing the whole way to our seats as the other spectators laughed and pointed at our silly antics. Jasper and Alice won that race, but only because Edward had to avoid running over the people coming up the stairs on the other side of the rail.

Edward gently set me down before he grabbed my hand and led the way down the row to our seats as we settled in to watch the Diamondbacks play the Dodgers. But that was not the only show that was sure to be interesting to say the least. Alice sat next to me with Jasper on her other side. All four of us turned in our seats to look back up towards the stairs we had just come down to watch the procession.

Emmett had the biggest grin on his face as he strutted down the stairs to join us. There was a woman who gasped, sounding like she was going to faint at the sight of Emmett, shirtless and wearing his black board shorts. And every inch of his skin was painted grey. Rose wore a scowl on her face, but was still graceful as she glided down the stairs with her head held high. Rose received a couple of marriage offers and several indecent proposals concerning sexy Smurfs. She wore a blue tube top and short shorts that matched the Dodger blue body paint that covered her skin. The color reminded me of those guys in The Blue Man Group and I could not stifle my giggles at the sight.

Although Emmett was a good sport about loosing the bet and accepting the consequences of the loss, Rose, on the other hand, did not go down without a fight. She refused to leave the house. After an hour of Emmett begging, pleading and making some promises to do things we did not want to know about, Rose finally emerged. Of course, by delaying our departure and making us almost an hour late for the game, Rose ensured that we would certainly be the focus of attention when we entered. She was furious at Emmett for upping the stakes of the bet when we played Guitar Hero at the barbeque last weekend.

I smiled to myself as I remembered the barbeque last week…

[Flashback]

"Okay, Bella," Emmett said as he started to 'instruct' me on how to play the game. "when the colored circles moving down the fret crosses this line," he continued pointing to the screen. "You hit the matching colored button on your guitar. Do you understand?" He eyes danced with amusement at the prospect of certain victory.

"Like this?" I fumbled with the guitar. Emmett grinned at my obvious ineptness while Edward stifled a laugh as he winked at me.

"Make sure you hit the right color as the note crosses this point," Emmett encouraged. "Now with your right hand you are going to strum the guitar." He continued his instruction by showing where the strum bar was.

Edward came up behind me and pressed his body up against my back. He put his hands over mine and leaned his head down to my ear. He nuzzled my neck before he whispered in a low sexy voice, "Bella would you like me to give you private lessons?" My eyes went wide and my face flushed tomato red.

"Jeez, Edward! What did you say to her?" Emmett boomed. "She's… as… red… as a… beet!" He was laughing so hard, he could barely get the words out.

I dug my elbow into Edward's rock hard abs and smirked at him before I leaned my head back against his neck and quietly purred in his ear, "Edward, I hope you like wearing body paint to a baseball game. Because if you keep distracting me like that I won't be able to concentrate on anything remotely related to this game."

"Bella," he groaned softly into my neck, sending a delightful shiver through my body.

"Hey, you started it," I giggled softly in his ear. I felt the rumble of laughter in his chest pressed up against my back.

"I think you did - acting all innocent and coy. How do you expect me to resist your powers?" he countered softly. Emmett decided he's had enough of us and started making kissy face noises and muttering comments about getting a hotel room and such. Edward straightened up and kissed the top of my head before he released me and stepped away.

"Let's Rock!" Emmett shouted as he struck a stupid rocker pose. "Why don't you face-off first, Bella."

"So… who's wants to face-off against me?" I said not sure whom I was going to get.

"Meeee!" Alice squeal was so high, that I was sure only dogs could hear it. Alice grabbed the other guitar and winked at me as we started to face-off on the 'hard' level. I easily beat Alice, but made it look like I struggled to do so. With my 'victory' over Alice complete, the 'YOU ROCK!' flames flashed across the screen and everyone else laughingly shouted 'YOU SUCK!' at Alice who pretended to be indignant.

Edward stood up saying loud enough for everyone to hear, "I knew you could do it!" But as he gave me a victory hug, he whispered, "You know what to do." I winked at him as he pulled away to sit back down.

"So what's with yelling 'you suck'?" I said looking between Emmett and Edward.

"What?! It's a tradition because the loser sucks!" Emmett laughed as if it was obvious.

Rose strutted up to the front of the room as Alice was taking off her guitar and took it from her. "I'm next," she announced, as if she was something to be feared. Alice gave me a knowing glance before she flitted over to Jasper and jumped into his waiting arms. Rose looked at me and gave me an unfriendly smile and I had to resist the urge to cringe under her hostile gaze.

"You're about to be schooled," Rose snapped as she selected as song that, I'm sure, was her best.

My glare turned to a smug smile as 'Welcome to the Jungle' by Guns 'n Roses flashed at the top of the screen. This would be too easy and I had to make beating Rose look believable – like I had beat her by the skin of my teeth or some kind of beginners luck. So I toyed with her, letting her get a few good shots in as I fat fingered some of notes on the solo. When she threw me a lefty, I acted confused for a moment, all the while making sure I kept her one step behind me. Rose was getting frustrated as she frantically glanced at me when it was my turn. I didn't dare look at her whenever she would let out a growl or a huff when the song didn't go her way. I knew if I looked at her, I would bust out laughing. Toward the end, I was starting to have too much fun, until Edward coughed behind me, reminding me to tone it down.

As the song ended and the 'YOU ROCK!' flames flashed on my side of the screen, signaling my victory everyone in the room hesitated for a moment.

"YOU SUCK!" everyone suddenly shouted at the tops of their lungs at Rose. This caused Rose to scowl at everyone in the room before she looked at me with murder in her eyes. Everyone erupted into fits of laughter as I returned her stare with feigned innocence that clearly said… 'Whatcha gonna do about it.'

"You bi–," Rose started to say to me, but she was cut off by Emmett.

"You're better than I thought Bella!" he practically shouted in my ear as a smile spread across his face before he came up and pulled his wife in to a hug that was designed, no doubt, to shut her up and calm her down.

"Beginner's luck or something like that. I probably wouldn't do nearly as well if I had to play the entire song by myself," I mumbled, keeping up the ruse.

"Okay, let's show these girls how it's really done." Emmett clearly bought my load of crap about my playing ability. And Edward laughed out loud at Emmett's willingness to believe what I told him.

I quickly removed the guitar and handed it to Emmett before I turned and took a seat next to Edward who had already sat down on one of the couches. I didn't to be next to Rose any longer than necessary. Jasper still had Alice perched on his lap on one of the other couches, while Rose stepped away from Emmett and sat in one of the two arm chairs in the room. Rose gave her husband a loving look before she glared smugly at me next to Edward. I bit back the urge to snicker.

"What are you thinking about?" Edward whispered in my ear, his hot breath washing over my cheek and neck. I resisted the urge to turn my head and press my lips to his. They were so close. It would be so easy. And it is not what he wants. He said as much earlier when he stopped short of kissing me. So why is he tempting me so. Is he truly unaware of how seductive he is? I pushed my need to kiss him away.

"I don't think I made any points with Rose." I couldn't hold back the giggle that welled up my throat. "All I've done is poured salt in the wound."

"I think you're right about that," Edward laughed softly in my ear. "I'm sorry. It's my fault. I shouldn't have put you up to this. But don't worry. I'll take care of it." His voice lost a little of its playfulness as it turned a little regretful by the time he finished whispering in my ear.

I hadn't noticed Jasper get up until he and Emmett started to play. The 'boys' continued to face-off with each other continually arguing who was the best one. In the end, Emmett declared himself the winner of the boys.

Edward and Jasper were still protesting when I nudged Edward. "Won't he have to face-off with me?"

Edward nodded with a knowing smile before he whispered, "We'll remind him of that later after the 'team' part of this competition."

As Rose and Emmett stepped up to play co-op against Alice and Jasper, Rose glanced back at me. "I'm going to show you how it's done." Her boast was obviously meant to intimidate me with her gaming skills. I just rolled my eyes at her as I felt hostility start to rise. Edward must have noticed because he started to rub my tense shoulders. I groaned in satisfaction as my muscles started to relax. I felt his chest rumble behind me with a chuckle.

Emmett selected the expert level and Rose opted for hard, as the game began playing 'Cliffs of Dover' by Eric Johnson. Rose struggled a little, but she seemed to pull it of fairly well. Emmett was good, really good. Their score was impressive. Jasper and Alice were up next selecting the same playing levels as Emmett and Rose. Jasper not as polished as Emmett, but was still able to pull off the song at expert, while Alice was better than Rose, but not by much. Their overall score was not enough to beat Rose and Emmett.

Then it was our turn. As Edward and I stepped up, Emmett asked what color of body paint I wanted. Edward had already selected expert and was waiting for my selection.

"Uh, Bella? You do realize you just selected expert. Right?" Emmett looked at me thinking I had made a mistake.

I turned around and looked at him. "Well, Emmett, if you can do it…" I let my voice trail off as I turned around to face the TV screen.

"This should be a short song," Emmett muttered with a laugh. I heard Alice, Jasper and Rose join in on the laughter behind me. I just smiled at Edward. But when Edward let me play lead guitar, Emmett jumped up and yelled, "Dude! Do you realize you are letting Bella play lead?" He was looking at Edward as if he had grown three heads. I grinned at Edward and he returned my grin before he nodded for me to do it.

As the guitar fret came up on the screen, I emptied my head of everything and shut out all other sounds besides the music of the video game. As I nailed the opening solo of the song, everyone one behind me was deathly quite – not one sound escaped. There were parts of this song I could play in my sleep. So when I reached one of those sections, I stole a quick peek at Edward to gauge his reaction.

Edward was grinning from ear to ear, never taking his eyes of the TV screen in front of him, playing his part with expert ease. He was better than Jasper, but I couldn't tell if he was better the Emmett. As the song progressed, I felt myself loosen up and relax. I started to sway my hips with the music and dance around a little. I was really starting to get into the game, acting like a head banging rocker when I threw my guitar for star power. I'm sure I was quite the sight, in my blue dress, rocking out to GH3.

When the song ended and our score came up, Jasper and Alice jumped up and cheered loudly. I gave Edward a side glance only to see that he was doing the same thing to me. We both started to grin at each other as we slowly removed our guitars and turned to face Emmett and Rose.

Emmett's face was one of pure shock. His eyes were wide, eyebrows raised and his mouth wide open, making him look like a complete idiot.

Rose's expression did NOT mirror her husband. She was red faced, eyes narrowed, eyebrows furrowed and her mouth was set in a hard line as the realization hit her that they were being played. Emmett recovered from his shock faster than Rose and jumped up form the couch.

"Damn! Bella! YOU ROCK!" he yelled before turning to Rose. "Did you see that, Rose?" He seemed complete oblivious to his wife's reaction and to the fact that he was about to get his head handed to him on a platter.

"I believe that means we win," Edward announced as he pulled me into a warm hug. "You. Are. Amazing," he whispered, enunciating every word, before we pulled apart a little.

"No way! I beat you guys in the face-off," Emmett protested but then he turned to me with a challenge in his eyes. "Let's face-off, me against you for all the marbles."

"You're on, big guy!" I returned excitedly. Alice squealed as Edward pumped his fist in the air.

"Go get him," Jasper encouraged me.

"Crush her, Em," Rose growled a little to fiercely to be considered friendly banter, and I felt Edward's posture stiffen at Rose's continued hostility towards me. I began rubbing calming circles on Edward's back and he instantly relaxed under my touch.

I put my guitar back on as Emmett did the same and we started to face-off.

********

"Take a picture, Bella," Emmett said, pulling me out of my thoughts as I found myself staring off in to space. Unfortunately, Emmett occupied that space. So I did the only mature thing I could think of, I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Can I?" I sassed back. "I always liked The Wizard of Oz and right now you're looking a lot like The Tin Man." I couldn't keep the grin off my face.

"Hey Em! Got oil for those old man joints of yours?" Edward teased.

"Hey. I don't care what you say. At least I landed the sexy Smurf." Emmett winked at Rose. She responded by smacking Emmett in the back of the head before she sat down.

"It's your fault we're in this mess," she grumbled at him and she huffed and folded her arms across her chest.

"Awww, Rose. Please don't be mad," he said as he looked at her pouting face. "Maybe later we can play…" Emmett's voice quieted to a whisper so the rest of us couldn't hear as he continued to tell Rose what he wanted to do. She must have liked what he was suggesting, because a small smile played on her lips. But she still continued to act mad at him, but I could see by the amusement in her eyes, she was no longer mad.

"Maybe if I wear some body paint, you'll stare at me for a while." I heard Edward say, no doubt thinking I was neglecting him as I watched Emmett and Rose interact with each other. I smiled as I turn to look at him. He wore the cutest little pout on his face and it was all I could do to keep from kissing him.

"I'm sorry, Sweetie." I leaned in and kissed his cheek. Edward grinned at me and I realized I had just called him 'sweetie.' I ducked my head.

"I like it. You can call me Sweetie anytime, Love." He put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me into his side. Things were a little easier between Edward and me; not as confusing anymore. When Edward took me home after the barbeque last Saturday, he explained his strange behavior when he pulled back from his 'persuasion'……

[Flashback]

"Bella, I feel like a complete jerk," Edward started to explain but he wouldn't look at me, instead he looked down at our hands entwined together. "Last night I made you cry and–"

I quickly cut him off. "You didn't make me cry. My father's death is still a tender subject for me and brings tears to my eyes for several reasons. I would have cried anyway." I was shaking my head, trying to figure out why he thought he was to blame. "Besides, I'm the one who started that line of questioning, remember?" I leaned my face into his, trying to get him to look me in the eyes.

"Maybe so, but that doesn't excuse my kissing you. I hope you know I wasn't trying to take advantage of you when you were so vulnerable." Edward suddenly looked up into my face, meeting my gaze. "I feel a… I don't know how to explain this without sounding completely mental, but… I feel drawn to you Bella. Like we have a connection somehow. Being with you feels natural and sometimes I forget that we've only know each other for such a short time."

He took a deep breath before he continued, "I really want to take the time to get to know you, and yet I've started out doing everything backwards with you. I've kissed you, we've slept in each other's arms and yet I don't even really know you. And here we are finally finishing up our first date where, once again, I have come on too strong. Call me old-fashioned, but there's usually a normal order in which people get to know each other, and I seem to have thrown all that out the window." He let out a frustrated sigh at the end of his explanation.

I smiled shyly at his admission and I cupped his cheek with my free hand. "Edward. I can't deny it. I feel the same connection, so don't worry; you're not mental. It's nice to know where you're coming from because your reactions to me were starting to confuse me." I smiled at him wryly.

"Well, I certainly don't want to confuse you," he laughed softly. "I want to get to know you better, a lot better, but I don't want to push you into something you don't want."

His statement was cryptic and I wondered if was his way of giving me a way out or maybe himself. I wasn't sure what to think. My more rational brain took over and reminded me that I shouldn't get involved with him. I was, after all, still a married woman. Even if everyone thought I was dead, I wasn't. Moreover, Edward didn't need to get involved with someone like me. Someone who was hiding. Someone who was lying to him about who she really was. Was I prepared to tell him everything? I knew the answer was 'no' but if I waited to tell him later, would it make it any easier. Once again, that answer was 'no.' Of course my heart wasn't going to give up that easily, reminding me that I should give Edward a chance. To trust him. To tell him everything now. Rip the proverbial band-aid off quick now before I got in to deep when it would be more painful if he rejected me. What if it didn't matter to him who I was.

Edward continued to speak, drawing me out of my musings. "But my residency is a concern because it places huge demands on my time. It makes things more complicated because there is little time to date. Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself. Do you even what to date me?" He was starting to ramble, probably because I hadn't responded to his confession of wanting to get to know me 'a lot better.'

"Edward… Why don't we slow down a bit and get to know each other and see where this takes us?" I smiled reassuringly. "Just be warned, the skeletons in my closet are not for the faint of heart. They just might scare you off. You may never want to go on another date with me again," I said playfully, only hinting at the real truth of the matter and taking the coward's way out. I wasn't ready to tell him, yet.

"I think I'll take my chances." Edward winked. "Speaking of dates, is it too soon to ask you for a second date… Say a baseball game this Thursday to celebrate our victory and see 'The Emmett and Rose Show'?

[End Flashback]

"Bella, I wished you had let me take you shopping before we came here," Alice complained for the third time today. She made it clear that she did not like the Arizona Diamondback jersey I was sporting. I, on the other hand, loved it; first, because Edward gave it to me to wear to the game. Second, because Edward was wearing a matching jersey.

"Hush! I love my shirt." I pouted at Alice.

"Are you putting down my gift?" Edward shot Alice a playful glare.

"Yes," Alice said. "Bella, just because Edward bought you that shirt, doesn't mean you have to wear it." I knew it was juvenile to wear matching jerseys, but I loved that he wanted to match.

"Alice," I chastised in a mock warning tone and I tried to look stern. But I failed miserably as I grinned.

"By the way, I'm taking you shopping Saturday," she said, suddenly changing the subject.

"Why?" I whined, not wanting to keep my end of the bargain.

"Come on Bella. You owe me. Besides, your first day of classes are in a few days. And I'm guessing from what I've seen so far of your wardrobe, you will need my help," Alice said matter-of-factly.

"Hey. What wrong with my clothes. You've only seen me twice," I said indignantly. "Besides, I still have a lot to get done to be ready for class on Monday. And since I took this evening off, I'm not sure I'll have time." I was hoping to avoid shopping and I really needed my Saturday.

"That may be true, but the fact that you would wear that shirt in public, tells me you need help." Her voice lilted as she eyed my clothes again.

"Stop putting down my Bella. I for one love the way she looks," Edward said defending my honor. And my heart skipped a beat when he said 'my Bella.' I was enjoying that thought when the doubts start to creep in. James had often times told me I was his and I belonged to him and it reminded me a little of that. 'Ugh! Stupid James.' I thought as I realized how he was still affecting my thinking. But still… in the back of my mind it started to bother me a little. What if Edward turned out to be possessive. I seriously doubted I could be trusted to make a good decision about the character of men.

I mentally shook off those thoughts as I said, "It's your fault I'm in this position, you know. If you hadn't been so anxious to beat Emmett, I wouldn't have to go shopping. I think you owe me, big time mister." I playfully tapped Edward's chest with my forefinger. "First I defeat Emmett for you and then I have to endure the torture of shopping; ALL for you." My face was pulled into a playful pout while I reminded him of his 'debt' to me.

Edward raised him hands in defeat with a low chuckle. "I'm eternally in your debt. How can I make it up to you?" But then he moved my hair off my shoulder closest to him, leaned in and whispered in my ear, "I'm sure you can think of something I can do for you." His warm sweet breath tickled my ear. I caught my breath, but before I could respond, the stadium erupted into cheers as the home team hit a home run, thus ending this conversation.

*******

"One more!" Alice said throwing yet another outfit under the fitting room door.

"Alice!" I protested. "I'm almost buried in clothes in here. Is this really necessary? I'm just teaching high school. Besides, when am I going to need this blue cocktail dress? Have you see the price of this thing? How do expect me to do this on a teacher's salary?"

I couldn't believe the amount of clothing she was trying to get me to purchase. I seriously think she was under the misapprehension that I had a secret stash of money. I laughed mentally as I realized I did! However, that was my contingency plan in case I needed to suddenly relocate again. I still wasn't entirely convinced that I was safe. Occasionally I would get a strange feeling that someone was watching me and a chill of fear would race down my spine. Luckily, those feelings seemed to be lessening over time, much to my relief; now they were just faint echoes and ghostly reminders of my previous life of fear.

"Every woman should have a cocktail dress, Bella. Besides, now that you and Edward are dating, you should be prepared. You need more than just professional looking attire," Alice retorted, taking my rejects off the top of the fitting room door.

"Who told you Edward and I are dating?" I wondered when my personal life had be come common knowledge. Maybe Edward told her I pondered as I came out to model yet another out fit.

"No one. I just had a feeling that you two would get together," Alice offered in a matter-of-fact tone. "Besides, you too are so cute together. He's really taken with you Bella. He deserves to have someone like you come into his life."

"I think it's the other way around. I don't deserve him," I sighed, saddened at the prospect of losing Edward due to my past.

"Hey! Where did this melancholy mood come from?" Alice grabbed my shoulders, giving me a gentle shake.

"It's nothing, never mind." I offered her a smile that didn't reach my eyes. I didn't was to get into this with Alice. She just eyed me skeptically before she pushed me back into the fitting room.

"Hurry! I'm getting hungry," she said as if I was the one holding up our progress and not her insistence that I try on every outfit in the store.

"Okay! Okay! Let me change and then we can go," I said as if I had any say in the matter. Hah! As I stepped out of the room with my intended purchases, my cell phone chirped alerting me to a text message. A goofy smile spread out over my face and Alice groaned.

"Let me take those to register while you talk to Edward. You tell that boy he's not allowed to cut into my shopping time with you, so keep it short," she warned impatiently tapping the toe of her stiletto heel at me before she took the pile of clothes from me. I flipped open my phone to read Edward's message.

E: How's the torture – er shopping? – E

B: Awful! You still owe me for this. Whatcha doing?

E: Looking over x-rays for a patient. And you?

B: Getting ready to go to lunch w/Alice.

E: Wish I could join you.

B: Me too, but I don't think Alice would allow it.

E: Oh? Why not?

B: She's warning you not to cut into her shopping time with me. LOL

E: Right. She will have to get used to disappointment. :

B: You may think it's funny, but I'm the one who will take her wrath!

E: Ok! I surrender, but only if I can see you later then.

B: Alright, I'll see what I can do ;)

E: Got to go. See you later then.

B: Bye

I sighed as I flipped my phone closed and put it back in my purse. I was ecstatic that Edward felt the same connection to me that I felt to him. I was also relieved that he was willing to slow down. I seriously didn't know if I could take a fast moving relationship right now. I still had to check my reactions to him to make sure they were 'normal' and not a result of my marriage. I still wasn't sure about getting into a relationship this soon, but I couldn't seem to help myself. At first, I thought it was because I was starved for affection – real affection and love. Something my marriage was clearly devoid of. But when I took a closer look, I could see that I truly was drawn to Edward on a level I had never experienced before.

Before I married James, I had boyfriends in high school. During college, I had been in a couple of serious relationships for a time. I wasn't a stranger to the feelings of love and I knew the difference between infatuation, love and lust for that matter. But my attraction to Edward was on a whole different level – one I had never been to before. It was a little scary to say the least, and I wasn't sure I was ready. I also knew I wasn't strong enough to say 'no' either.

So where did that leave me? Emotionally broken Bella, who should be taking the time to really heal from her marriage of abuse. Here I am plunging head first into the unknown with someone I was inexplicability drawn to. Someone I didn't want to hurt, but was too afraid to confess my secret to even though he was a part of my escape and there to help me out.

As I approached the cash register, I found that Alice wasn't there anymore. I scanned the store only to find her waiting impatiently by the door, bags in hand.

"Alice! Did you pay for all those clothes? I have my own money." I could feel my frustration rising as she shoved the bags into my arms before she opened the door to leave the store.

"I was tired of waiting for you to finish you text flirt with Edward," she scoffed. As I started to protest again about the money, she held up her hand to silence me. "Just consider it my thanks to you for beating Emmett. Oh, and don't say anything but it's mostly for putting Rose in her place. She so deserved it after the way she treated you." Alice was laughing and holding her sides on that last part. I couldn't contain my smug smile.

"She was pretty pissed off at me, wasn't she." My victory did have a certain justification in it.

"Where's your keys?" Alice said as we reached my car.

"In my purse." I held up my elbow for her to find the keys as my arms where overflowing with bags. Alice found the keys and opened the trunk of my car, depositing my purchases inside.

As we got inside the car, I was overcome with a sense of belonging. It had been such a long time since I had spent time being with the girls, so to speak. I really felt like I had a friend in Alice and I had missed having girl 'friends.'

"Thanks for this Alice. It's been a long time since I've hung out doing girly stuff." I smiled as I turned to her.

"Oh Bella! I'm so glad to hear you say that. We are going to have so much fun!" she squealed, bouncing up and down in her seat. And suddenly I was genuinely afraid of what this little pixie had up her sleeve.

A/N: I need to give a SERIOUS SHOUT OUT to ThePurpleDragonOfAmazingness for letting me use her idea for shouting "YOU SUCK" to the losers during the Guitar Hero 3 battle. THANK-YOU! Great idea.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Mine was great, but it's a good thing it's only once a year – it's a lot of work. LOL

Thanks again for continuing to read and review! - SavageWoman