No one asks about the new wrap on my wrist. They don't ask about the screaming from last night. I think they all know I do not want to talk about it. But I'm the one to break the silence at breakfast.
"So, what are we doing for Valentine's?" I ask, taking a bite of the blueberry waffles.
"Well," says Emmett, glancing out the window, "that's tomorrow, right?"
"Yes!" squeals Alice.
"Right. So, today," he pauses dramatically, as if we're really wondering what he's going to say. "We have a snowball fight!"
"Hell yeah!" Jasper shouts, punching the air with his fist.
"Jasper," Esme warns.
"Sorry, Esme," he apologizes, lowering his fist slowly.
"Let's go get dressed," says Edward.
We drop everything we're eating and go up to our rooms, Emmett and Jasper running as fast as they can. Edward jogs after them, shaking his head. Alice and Rose are talking about how their hair will be messed up. I don't care. I think it sounds fun.
I go to my room and pull on a pair of jeans. I find a loose blue sweater and then a beanie over my head. It is freezing out there. I'm lacing up my boots as there's a knock at my door.
"Yeah?" I call, tugging on the strings.
"What are you wearing?" I heard two female voices ask.
"Dammit," I mutter, looking over my shoulder. Alice and Rose are standing there, each in designer jeans, those stupid Ugg boots and scarves that match the print on their scoop neck shirts. "Aw, come on. We're just having a day in the snow. I look fine."
"Bella, please," Alice says. She shakes her head, placing a hand on her hip.
"I am not changing," I say in a tone that finalizes it.
Apparently, the pregnancy hormones are kicking in, and they back off. The disappear as I pull on a gray trench coat. I shrug and go downstairs. They're all waiting.
"What took so long?" Emmett whines like a little kid.
I shake my head.
We go outside, and Emmett and Alice are deemed team captains.
"Jasper!" Alice says quickly. Jasper walks over and she hugs him tightly.
"Edward, get over here," says Emmett.
Edward walks over, and Alice picks Rose. I walk over to Emmett by default. Feels like fifth grade when we choose teams for kickball or dodge ball. Even the nerdy kid was picked before me. I shrug it off like always. They just don't know how well I can perform. Even I don't know.
"We get ten minutes to build some kind of fort," says Emmett. "Now, the rules. There will be no aiming at the face, and we can't hit Bella in the stomach." I feel a surge of gratefulness towards Emmett. "Snowballs only, no ice balls. Those hurt. Um, no bodily contact. And let's try not climb trees, Edward. Oh, and don't make snowballs until time's up on the fort building."
Edward laughs sheepishly, and I wonder what happened last time they had this fight. We separate in the backyard, and Edward and Emmett discuss what type of fort to build.
"We should have a high, curved wall," says Edward.
"No, a short and thick," says Emmett.
I shrug and start gathering the deep snow. I push it together, listening to them argue. I've got a portion of the front wall up when I hear the snow crackle next to me. I glance over and see Edward and Emmett on their knees, working on it.
"Bella, make some snowballs," Emmett whispers, looking over at the other team working on their fort.
"That's against your own rules, Em," I say.
The wall's high enough now that they can't see what I would be doing.
"So? Make them," he says. "I want to win this time."
Edward chuckles, and I start packing snow together. I make a neat stack of the one's we've made as they make the fort into a neat circle with enough space for me to stretch out and for them to still walk around. I stand up and look over at what Alice's team is doing. They've made a neat square fort.
Emmett stands up next to me.
"Time's up!" he says. I see Edward pull out his phone. Time's more than up. "You may now start making snowballs and throwing. Do what you want now. Just remember the rules."
We take five seconds before the three of us start throwing snowballs at Alice, Rose and Jasper. One hits Jasper right in the chest and two smash against the front of their fort. I stand up and hurl on over the area. This one hits Alice in the arm.
"Bitch!" she shouts. "This is cashmere!"
"So?" I say and throw another one over.
We play until none of us can feel our fingers, toes or noses. It's been a few hours, and Alice's hair isn't sticking out randomly anymore. It's wet, actually. But we didn't hit in the face.
Carlisle has the fire going, and Esme has hot chocolate.
"Thanks," we say, taking the hot chocolate.
Alice and Jasper cuddle up next to each other on the couch. Rose and Emmett on the sofa. I take a seat in front of the fire, sipping the hot chocolate. Edward sits down behind me and wraps his arms around my waist. I lean back against his chest and shut my eyes.
"That was awesome!" says Emmett, killing the mood.
"It was pretty fun," I say. "Let's build some snowmen later."
"And give them ability to shoot each other, so we can have a snowmen army!" shouts Emmett.
"No, just some snowmen," I say.
"Lame, Bells, lame," he says.
I grin and drink more hot chocolate.
We go back out later and start rolling up the snow. We each make two snowmen and throw a few more snowballs apiece.
I slept without dreams that night. When the others went to school the next day, I go through the lessons privately, and then sit in front of the easel all day with music in the background. I have to finish the painting. I am going to give it to Edward for Valentines, since I feel bad about not having anything.
I'm adding some detail when there's a knock at the door. I turn the easel around and hit pause on the song. Play That Funky Music – Wild Cherry.
"Yeah?" I call, and Edward opens the door.
"Ready?" he asks.
"For what?" I say, glancing at the painting. It should be done, it just has to dry.
"We're going out for dinner tonight," he says. "Wear something kinda dressy."
He walks out, and I slip into my closet. I dig through the clothes that threaten to suffocate me. I finally find a dress. I pull off what I'm wearing and pull it over my head. I feels slightly tight around my stomach. I look down and glare. The fabric's pulled taunt. I pull it off and find something else. This one's perfect. It's a black dot, long-sleeved, scoop neck dress that hits my knees. I lace up the boots from yesterday and pull on that gray trench coat.
I walk downstairs and see Edward in slacks, a warm jacket and a small box in his hands.
"You look pretty," he says, a look in his eyes I'm not quite sure of. It's not bad, not at all, I'm just not sure what it is exactly.
"Thanks," I say, blushing.
"Let's go?" he suggests. "Everyone else is."
"S-"
The phone starts ringing.
"I'll grab it," I say. I walk across the room to the phone on the table by the couch and pick it up. "Hello?"
"Hey, Bella, it's Jake," says the person.
"Hey! What's up?" I say. "I haven't heard from you . . . since . . . you last checked on me."
"Yeah," he says. "Um, it's Valentine's Day."
"Yes, it is," I say. "Did you just realize this?"
"No!" he says. I hear the childish Jacob I'd loved for years. He's so much like a brother to me. "I was just wondering if you'd go out to dinner with me."
"Oh, oh, Jake, I'm going with Edward," I say. "I'm sorry, but you're so much like a brother to me that'd it be weird to go with you. I'm sorry."
I hear a click on the other end.
"He hung up," I say to Edward and place it back in its cradle.
"Oh," he says. "Let's go, now."
I nod and follow him to his Volvo. We slide in, and he starts up the car. A song drifts through the radio. A pretty song with wonderful acoustics and a man with a great voice.
"What is this?" I ask, turning up the volume.
"I think it's 'I Will Follow You into the Dark' by Death Cab for Cutie," he says.
We sit in silence as he drives.
"Where are we going exactly?" I ask, turning away from the window as we pass the darkened Hell of my past.
"A restaurant in Port Angeles," he says and shrugs.
"I haven't been to Port Angeles in ages," I say. I laugh slightly and stare out the window.
We talk through the ride, and eventually, he drives in the city. I look around, smiling slightly. Suddenly, my throat goes dry, and my heart stops for a beat. Then it comes back in full force.
"We need to leave," I say, my voice hardly more than a whisper.
"Why?" he asks, slowly down with the traffic.
"James," I say, my voice trembling.
Edward brakes hard, causing cars to screech to a halt and honk.
"What did you say?" he asks, blinking and wetting his lips. He starts up again and pulls into a nearby parking lot.
"James," I say, wiping a few tears away. "Oh my, God, he's here. We have to leave. Now!"
"Where's that son of a bitch? I'm gonna kill his sorry ass," says Edward, unbuckling his seat belt.
"No!" I cry, grabbing his hand as he tried to get out. "Please. You won't win. He'll kill you instead. Please. I can't live with that."
He sits back down and locks the doors, try to breathe in a steady rhythm.
"Alright, we'll leave," he says, starting the car up again.
He backs out and gets into the stream of traffic. When we're out of town, he stops alongside the road, and gets out. I watch him, still wiping away the tears. I'm so scared, my heart's beating a million miles an hour.
He opens my door and undoes the seat belt. He pulls me gently out of the car and wraps his arms around me.
"He will not hurt you as long as I'm with you," he whispers in my ear.
I breakdown. He rocks me back and forth, holding me tight. The cars go by, and none stop.
"And I'll be with you for as long as you want," he says. He leans down and kisses me gently. Our first real kiss. He's moving fast, but right now, it doesn't bother me.
"Oh, how cute," says a voice from my right.
We break apart, and I scream. Edward pulls me behind himself.
"Get the fuck away now, James," he hisses with venom dripping from his voice.
"Oh, I don't want to," says James.
"Bastard," says Edward evenly. "You're nothing but a low bastard with a stupid and meaningless life."
"Ah, you wanna dance, pretty boy?" says James. He's so clam, so cool. It's driving me insane. My heart's still pounding.
Edward's in front of James instantly, throwing a punch in his face.
"Edward!" I scream. "You can't win!"
He's on the ground in a second with James kneeing him in the back.
"Listen to your girlfriend, pretty boy," he says.
Right there. I snap right at that. Have you ever heard the saying that fear gives you strength? That you can do unbelievable things when you're afraid? Well, that's true.
I have James on the ground, punching him the face until he bleeds.
"Cut yourself, Bella?" he asks through the blood, squirting it in my face. I realize he's seen the wrap on my arm. "That's not a smart thing to do to yourself.
"You fucking asshole!" I screech. "I am fucking sick of you! You can hurt me, but lay a finger of anyone I love, and you will DIE!"
He's out cold in a few moments, and Edward has to pull me off his motionless body.
"He's unconscious, Bella," he says.
"He deserved it!" I say, the tears still falling down my face.
Edward pulls out his phone, and I try to gather myself. He calls the police, and they're there in a few minutes. James is waking up as they take him to the car.
"Karma's a bitch," I say to him as he realizes what's happening.
The police talk to us for a second, and one's going to give us an escort home to make sure nothing else happens. I'm smiling the entire way home.
"You were amazing," Edward says, once we're in the door.
"I was afraid," I tell him. "It was like the story of the woman who lifted a car because she thought her kid was trapped underneath. I was afraid he'd kill you."
"I love you," he says and kisses me gently again.
"I love you, too," I say, but I feel off. Do I really? Is that what I feel? I'll find out, I suppose.
A/N: Ah, yes. There's James, done and gone. Hope you enjoyed! And remember! Vote in the poll! I need your opinion on boy names as well! Do tell me. It's important.
Also, tomorrow, I am going up to visit family for the holidays. I should be back on the first or second of January, but I am unsure as to when exactly. I will have my laptop but no Internet, so do not expect an update.
Happy holidays!