A/N: Ugh. First let me say in the last story I said Alice had one more week and then later I said two more weeks. It's one more week. I had been dancing around one and two and decided one would be more appropriate. Hopefully you weren't confused by my mistake. Though no one seemed to notice. :)
Disclaimer: I don't own it, it's all Stephenie Meyer, except Annabelle. She's mine! :)
Thursday night I laid on my stomach, my ankles crossed and swinging in the air on the plush red carpet in Annabelle's bedroom, painting her toe nails with a light peach shade—her impatience was enough to make me choose the quickest drying brand. She giggled and waved her hands around, smiling with new curiosity. In the past, only Rosalie painted her nails, even though she had begged Jasper to, so this was a rare experience for her.
Speaking of Rosalie, she no longer spoke to me and I avoided her like the plague ever since the bar incident. I knew she was right and her voice echoed in my head each night I spent thinking of Annabelle and Jasper. I knew I was just going to have to leave and it wasn't fair on either side. Still, I hadn't really processed it all yet. I would much rather live in the now than worry about the future. Now back to Annabelle…
She leaned back gabbing about what presents she was expecting: new dolls, new purses, and other girly items. Jasper was in the other room finishing up a paper for his philosophy class. My lips still stung from our previous encounter in the hallway just a few minutes ago. I bit my lower lip at the memory and snapped out of it.
"You're coming tomorrow, right, Alice?" Annabelle asked, stumbling a bit with her natural childish lisp. I smiled as I finished painting and closed the bottle, putting it aside and propping myself up on my elbows.
"I'll be here all day. You'll be sick of me," I said with a laugh and she gasped, shaking her head earnestly.
"I'd never be sick of you!" she replied and my smile widened, her lower lip jutted out in an adorable pout, quivering for a little added melt-your-heart-out sympathy. "All day?" she asked, her voice quivering.
"Yes, all day. No pouting allowed, birthday girl," I said with a smile, leaning over to attack her in tickles. She squirmed her small hands reaching out to push me away, but she was too weak. Her melodic giggles filled the small bedroom and I found myself laughing with her.
"Okay, okay!" she gasped between giggles and I gave her mercy, sitting beside her before lying on my back and staring at the ceiling. I felt Annabelle's eyes on me as her breathing relaxed and she mirrored my position on the carpet. She sighed dramatically, turning her head to look at me. "Alice?"
"Yeah?" I turned my head to look at her as she bit back a smile. She already knew I would say yes to whatever she said so long as it didn't involve something illegal—actually, I may even say yes then.
"Can we make a fort?" she asked with pleading eyes.
"Why not?" I shrugged, hopping up to my feet and taking her hands to help her up as well. Swinging her up to a standing position, I went to the hall closet to look for blankets and grabbed a few fleece patterned throw blankets. We—I took the blankets and pinned them to the ceiling and different corners of the room, draping the fabric down to the floor while Annabelle gathered her pillows and stuffed animals, placing them in a neat and secure order.
Soon we were under the fort with the lights off and a nightlight placed in the middle, illuminating the inside with an eerie glow. Annabelle's lips formed an O-shape in delight and awe before she was once again attacked with the dreaded tickle fight. Once the giggles were over, we lay under the blankets as I hummed quietly, studying every crevasse. Suddenly, Annabelle climbed out and I sat up.
"Where'd you go, silly girl?" I asked with a smile, but before I could go look, she was ducking under the opening flap with a book in hand. My jaw dropped as she climbed over the pillows to sit next to me, handing me the book, A Bad Case of Stripes, a story of a girl who is covered in stripes after lying to fit in. My mom read it to me as a kid when I was bullied for my short hair, which just wouldn't grow out naturally, and my short stature.
"Can you read to me?" she asked, already getting comfortable beside me. I nodded wordlessly and propped a pillow up behind her as she rested her head against my side. I opened the book and began reading, giving different voices to the different characters, making her giggle, and pointing at the pictures asking her questions. Halfway through, there was a knock at the door.
"Annabelle, it's time for bed," Jasper said in the doorway, but paused as he looked around the room. "Whoa—" his tone in awe as he took in the massive fort of blankets.
"Dad, Alice didn't finish the story!" Annabelle whined, her eyes widening in a panic seeming to be from her assumption that I may not finish the story. I put a hand on her back, smoothing her wavy curls comfortingly.
"Alright," Jasper replied with a light chuckle and I heard his footsteps as he approached the tent. Annabelle scrambled to her feet and stuck her head out.
"Girls only," Annabelle warned him and I giggled.
"Oh, really, Miss. Birthday Girl?" he retorted and she nodded surely. He sighed and stepped back, swinging her up so he could kiss her goodnight before he put her back on her feet. "I'll see you in the morning, goodnight," he said before Annabelle stumbled back to my side, curling up on the pillow beside me and pointing impatiently at the page we left off on.
I heard Jasper leave the room and I continued with the story, relaying the same accents and voices as before. Her laughter died off and became more lethargic with each page turn. Soon enough, her head bobbed back and she was fast asleep. I closed the book and eased myself away from her, picking her up carefully and leaving the tent to put her in her twin-sized pink floral bed. I tucked her in and turned off the light inside the fort before tiptoeing out of the room.
I turned back to shut the door slowly and not make a sound before I turned back to bump into Jasper. I gasped before I noticed he had a small sad smile plastered on his face as he grabbed my upper arms to steady me. "Thank you," he whispered. I nodded wordlessly and his hands slid down my arms before lacing his fingertips with mine. I squeezed his hand before I tugged him down the hall to get my things from the living room.
Soon enough, he was saying goodbye to me at the door, his arm around my waist, pressing me close to him. I stared up at him for a minute and as our eyes met, I imagined a life I could have, but had never anticipated. I imagined coming home to Annabelle bouncing down the steps of the porch, hugging my leg before running back in the house. I imagined Jasper greeting me on the porch with a kiss. I imagined an infant that had his spectacular emerald eyes, my chopped raven hair, my complexion, and his dimples—our baby. A smile tugged at my lips at the thought of it, but Jasper broke the intense stare as a grin spread across his face.
"What're you staring at?" Jasper whispered, his voice barely audible as we stood on his porch.
"Nothing," I answered, looking down embarrassed. My cheeks flushed and Jasper lifted my chin gently with his fingertips before his lips met mine in a chaste kiss. He broke away and rested his forehead against mine.
"I'll see you tomorrow?" he whispered.
"I'll be here before she wakes up," I promised and Jasper's eyes widened slightly.
"You up before noon on a day off? I doubt it, but I'll be prepared," he replied with a smirk as I pulled away and hit his arm.
"Ye of little faith," I replied, sticking my tongue out at him. But I was there before she woke up. So excited about the dress I had made for her, I could barely sleep myself. I wore a casual white strapless dress that had a subtle striped top before melting into a white A-line from the waist down. I wore ballet flats and brought her dress—a crocheted light pink dress with short-sleeves—in a box with a magnificent violet bow.
I rang the doorbell once and stood outside the house, tapping my foot. It was seven in the morning. Just as I expected, Jasper didn't answer the door, but I saw Annabelle press her face against the glass and grin when she saw me—or the present. She sprinted away from the door down the hall and before long; Jasper was stumbling down the hallway, fumbling with the locks, and opening the door.
"Happy Birthday!" I cheered as Annabelle gasped at the box. I handed it to her and she bounced up and down giddily. I looked over at Jasper, his hair a mess, his eyes half-closed, and his dark circles more prominent. I pinched his cheek and shut the door behind me. "Just wake up?"
He wrapped an arm around my waist and buried his face in my hair, grumbling incoherent rebuttals as Annabelle ripped open the package. She pulled the dress out and her eyes widened. Jasper lifted his head, recognizing the dress from our time together as well and he squeezed my hip.
"I thought you could wear it today," I interrupted the silence awkwardly. Annabelle ran over and hugged my leg tightly, the smile that hit her face looked almost painful it was so wide.
"What do you say?" Jasper asked as I leaned down to pick her up. She kissed my cheek and grinned from ear-to-ear.
"Thank you, Alice!" she squealed.
"You're welcome," I replied with a smile before I set her down.
"Go hang out in the living room and I'll make you breakfast; pancakes, right?" Jasper asked, putting his hand on her head. She wrinkled her nose and ducked away from his hand.
"Chocolate chip!" she yelled as she ran into the other room. Jasper pulled me tightly against his side and I gasped as I felt his warm breath on my ear.
"You didn't have to do that," he whispered groggily. I shrugged and he sighed, tugging me into the kitchen. I went to the coffee maker as he began mixing the pancake batter. He glanced up at me as I sat back on the stool. "Is that what you've been hiding for the past few weeks?"
"Maybe," I replied with a smile. He rolled his eyes and went back to cooking, the batter splattering out and hitting his shirt. "You're cute when you're tired." I said, hopping off the stool and sauntering over to his side before taking a bit of chocolate chips, standing on my toes to kiss his cheek and then walking out of the room.
I found Annabelle in the living room on the couch, her eyes glued to the television. I sat next to her and opened up my fist to offer her some chocolate chips. She took them greedily and munched quietly as she watched the hand-puppet program. As the commercials began, Annabelle snapped out of her brainwashed daze to look over at me and grin before popping another piece of chocolate in her mouth.
The doorbell rang and Annabelle hopped off the couch, running to the door. Jasper beat her there, picking her up. I hung out in the back and watched from the hallway as Jasper opened the door to Rosalie and Emmett.
"Happy Birthday, beautiful," Emmett boomed, scooping up the young girl into a monstrous embrace before putting her back down on the floor. Rosalie greeted her with a hug as well, handing her a perfectly wrapped present. Annabelle immediately began tearing the paper open. I had a feeling we'd need a little more than a few days to patch up what had happened earlier that week.
Emmett looked over and saw me before a grin spread across his face. "Hey, Alice," he called, bounding over to give me the same terrifying squeeze. He lifted me off my feet before placing me back on the floor. With the wind knocked out of me, I stumbled in a daze and leaned against the wall as we both watched Annabelle open her gift from a distance.
It was a dress also except it was cotton with colorful polka dots scattered across it. Jasper warned her and she murmured a small thank you, hugging her aunt before Jasper disappeared into the other room to finish cooking. After an awkward few minutes in the living room, we all gathered for breakfast where Annabelle boosted my ego a little bit. I sat between Jasper and Annabelle with Rosalie and Emmett across from me, all digging into their pancakes.
"Are you excited about the beach today?" Rosalie asked Annabelle, who nodded eagerly, stuffing more of the bite-sized pieces into her mouth before chewing and swallowing. She turned to her dad and pouted.
"Dad, can I wear the dress Alice made me or do I have to wear Aunt Rose's?" she asked, stumbling over her words with that adorable childish lisp, and I choked on my water mid-sip. Jasper looked over at me and then back to Annabelle, ignoring Rosalie's expression of pure loathing directed at me.
"It's your birthday, kiddo, I don't see why you can't wear what you want," he replied nonchalantly. Annabelle bounced up and down in her victory and I avoided Rosalie's glare, wanting to get through breakfast alive.
Do you need visuals? Do you want to see all of Alice's outfits or the dress she made for Annabelle? Do you want to see Rosalie's gift or her outfits or even Jasper's? Leave it in a review and I'll post the links to my author page. There's a bit of drama in the next chapter. It's already written up, so review away and I'll post it faster. Two or three more chapters to go (depending on if I write an epilogue or not). Thanks for reading!