Rebecca, Esme and Jillian sat on barstools, with fresh margaritas held securely in their hands. They chatted, laughed and watched as their husbands played pool. Bradley and Grant are teamed up against Carlisle and Pierce.
"I'm telling you," Esme laughed, after taking another sip of her alcoholic beverage, "Emmett didn't stop sleeping with his stuffed giraffe until he was twelve."
"Emmett would kill you if he knew you were telling us this!" Rebecca giggled, eating the olive out of her drink, "Jasper stopped talking to me for like two days because I told his first girlfriend that he cried after watching The Notebook."
Jillian pushed a strand of brunette hair behind her ear, "Are you serious Becky?! That is like the ultimate parental betrayal! I'm surprised he started talking to you again!"
"I'm his mother. I understood he needed time to cool off, so I didn't press it. I wasn't going to allow it to go on further than that."

Esme couldn't stop laughing. She set her drink down onto the bar in an attempt to not spill it. She needed to calm down. Esme placed her hand on Rebecca's back shoulder while continually laughing. As she struggled to cool herself, she met the other mothers' eyes, "What's something embarrassing about Alice and Rose? You know…so we can even the playing fields."
"You know how Rose is allergic to tree nuts like walnuts, almonds, cashews, etc…Well five years ago, when my father was alive he took her and Jasper to some horse ranch." Rebecca started snickering to herself, "I don't know what happened, but when she came back, her lips were puffy, her cheeks were bloated and her eyes were swollen shut. Tabloids caught hold of it and captured photos. They were published in the paper the next day; I had to threaten to sue the newspaper company just to get the paper retracted. Not to mention, I keep nothing in the tree nut family in my house, so she's never had an allergic reaction. My baby was hideous Esme." The older Hale shook her head at the memory.

Jillian scooted to the edge of her barstool, "What happened next? Weren't you scared?"
"I was terrified! We have an epi-pen now, but at the time, we didn't because it never happened before." She ran her hand nervously through her blonde hair, "Brad was at work. I was home, and she was freaking out because of the photos the paparazzi took. Those pictures were the last on my mind. I rushed her to the hospital and as they worked on her, I did what I could to get the pictures back. Some people still saw the photos, but I managed to stop the spread before it got all over Washington."
"Alice's story doesn't compare to that." Jillian spoke up, refilling Esme and Rebecca's glass.
"Do tell!" Rebecca gleamed, clinking her glass against her friends'.
"I just going to sum up the story," Jillian informed, trying hard to contain her laugh, "For Alice's sixteenth birthday, Pierce managed to get Alice's celebrity crush to come to Seattle for her birthday. They were at the dining room table, drinking milkshakes. Mojo jumped onto her lap, and startled her. All of the chunks in her milkshake covered her crush's face."

Esme sat, mouth agape, struggling to contain her laughter. Rebecca's hand covered her mouth, as she set her margarita down to make sure she didn't spill it. Alice's story had to top all of them. Teenage emotions were always scattered all over the place. And every mother seated at the barstools understood teenage crushes. She must have felt absolutely embarrassed.
Esme leaned forward and sighed, "Poor Alice…"
"On a happier note, I baked cookies!" Jillian hopped off of her stool and rushed into the kitchen, "Alice and Pierce helped too, but they didn't do much! They gave up after we burnt the first batch!"

Esme gave Rebecca a sad grin. It was no secret that Jillian couldn't cook. She tried, and they admired her for that, but she didn't have the skill. It didn't come natural for everyone.
"That's how you win a game of pool!" Bradley asserted, pounding his fist in the air.
"Cookie!" Jillian offered, holding the container out.
"Don't mind if we do." Carlisle responded, grabbing two, "Let's play again."

Bradley smiled, as he stripped himself from his sweater. He rolled up the sleeves on his button up shirt, before grabbing the pool stick. Pierce passed on the cookie. He knew cooking wasn't his wife's hobby…and he happened to witness firsthand the struggle that those cookies went through last night. Pierce smiled as he watched his friends bite into the cookie before spitting it out into the napkin. Brad hurriedly grabbed his water bottle, "That was horrible!"
"Gosh, you could have at least lied." Jillian replied, turning to face her girlfriends, "Cookie?"
"I'm a judge." Bradley remarked, after gulping down a heaping of his water, "I want facts and in return I state them. There's no time to lie, and possibly get offered another cookie. Providing you the truth doesn't beat around the bush."
"That's my husband!" Rebecca laughed, pouring herself a glass of red wine, "I'm going to take his word and pass."

Jillian pouted and turned to face Esme. Esme looked over Jillian's shoulder and saw Carlisle quickly nod no. You would think since they had money, she would take a cooking class.
"I'm on a diet." Esme lied, turning away from the cookie.
"Since when?" Rebecca asked, quirking her brow as she stared down at Esme's full glass of red wine, "That's about two servings of red wine in your glass. You do know that's around one thousand calories?"

Esme gave Rebecca a look she used to give Emmett when he was younger. She knew Rebecca saw through her lie, but she hated being called out on it. Becky smirked, and turned away from her friend. Esme passed Jillian a small grin as she watched her tighten the container around her cookies.
"They aren't that bad!" Jillian declared, biting into a cookie, "…Okay, maybe they are a little bad... Gosh, what did I do wrong?"
"Who's ready for game two?" Pierce wondered, removing the rack, "Carlisle and I are first."
Grant high-fived Bradley, "Whatever you feel will help you win."
The woman snickered at their husbands' competiveness. They usually played pool a lot during trips to the lake house. It was one of the many things available to do…that was fun.
"Becky, you're the only woman I know, that will wear ten inch high heels to a lake house in the middle of nowhere!" Esme laughed, earning an agreement nod from Jillian.
"I take fashion very seriously. These are the only shoes that go with this outfit!"

Esme proudly drank her full glass of red wine. She didn't care how many calories she was in taking. The drink was just too good. "You are addicted to wine my dear friend," Jillian spoke up, climbing back onto the barstool.
Esme glanced down at her dwindling glass of red wine, "No…Sometimes I drink water and juice. I like to surprise my liver occasionally."

"We should go sit by the pool-"
"So the mosquitoes can bite me," Rebecca shook her head at Jillian's statement, "I wouldn't mind it if they sucked fat instead of blood. If they did that, I would so love mother nature."
Esme rolled her eyes, "Alright, stop it. You're hot. I know it, Jillian knows it, and you know it."

Jillian tucked her phone away quickly and pulled herself back into the conversation. She gets text messages occasionally from Linda, a woman who attends the same country club as them, and they were all about the country club gossip. After tucking her cell away, the housewife crossed her left over top of her right, "Did you know the Wilsons filed for bankruptcy? I thought it was just a rumor, but it's true. Apparently Joyce has been spending more than they can afford, and they'll be withdrawing from the country club."
"I knew it was going to happen…" Esme shrugged, setting her empty glass down, "It was only a matter of time."

Rebecca opened her mouth to voice her opinion, but the sound of Brad's cell phone ringing cut her off. Brad positioned the pool stick, preparing to take his shot, "Honey could you grab that for me?" Becky nodded and hopped out of her seat.
"Rose told me that Brigit dropped out of college just to take on a job to support her parents." Rebecca added, reaching for Brad's sweater. She slipped her hand into the pocket and pulled out her husband's cell phone. Esme and Jillian approached their girlfriend and looked over her shoulder to see Jasper's name light up on the screen.

"It's one of my babies!" Rebecca announced, setting her glass down.
Pierce couldn't pull his eyes away from the pool game, "Are they almost here?" He was determined to win against Brad and Grant.
"Make sure you ask how far they are." Carlisle stated, watching as Rebecca slid her finger across the answer swipe, "Tell Jasper that his father's about to lose big time."
Rebecca laughed into the phone, "Hello."

Edward cleared his throat as Bella, Renesme and Jacob surrounded him and the phone as he placed it on speaker.
"Who is this?" Edward growled angrily into the cell.
"This is Mrs. Hale," she answered, waving Esme and Jillian closer, "who is this?"
"This is the man who has all of your children's lives in his hand."

The phone slipped from her hands and fell to the floor. Her hand covered her mouth as she looked up to meet everyone's worried faces. Rebecca looked out as she struggled to formulate a clear and coherent reply.
She picked up the phone, "What?"
"Becky, who is it?" Brad questioned, setting his pool stick down.
"Let me speak to your husband."

"Bradley!" Rebecca called out, covering the mouthpiece with her hand, "This man is claiming to have our children!"
Brad snapped in Jillian's direction, "Call Alice!" He took a hold of his phone, and placed it against his ear, "Hello!"

Jillian, Esme, Rebecca and Grant moved to opposite corners of the room, desperately trying to phone their children. Edward carefully explained to Bradley what he wanted and when he wanted it. Edward made sure to clarify his demands and orders. He wanted money and he wanted it at a certain time. He didn't want any mistakes.
"What would happen if I were to say no?" Brad tested.
"Then the next time you see them, it'll be in a morgue."
"Do you know who you're messing-"
Click.

Brad pulled the phone away from his ear and glanced down at it. He watched every eye in the room staring at him. Each parent held matching looks of panic.
"What's going on?" Esme wondered, stepping closer, "Emmett didn't answer."
"Neither did Alice." Jillian added, looking at her husband, worriedly.
"Rose didn't either!"
"Riley's phone goes straight to voicemail." Grant growled, slamming his phone against the table.
Jillian on the verge of tears screamed, "What's happening?"

Bradley sighed loudly. He took a few steps towards Jillian. She struggled to keep herself together. Pierce rubbed circles into his wife's back as they waited for some sort of answer.
"Our children have been taken." He informed, calmly, "They want one million dollars from each of us. Two from each couple, and he still expects two from you Grant."
"Brad, you're a judge!" Carlisle declared, scratching the back of his head, nervously, "Isn't there something you can do?!"
"I have no power over this! We need to calm down and discuss this like rational adults!"
"What about the police?" Rebecca wondered, tapping her foot apprehensively, "We can call them!"
Her husband shook his head, "We can't! He'll kill them if we do."

Esme continually inhaled and exhaled deep breaths. She paced circles around the pool table as her mind processed the enormity of what's happening. Rebecca glared at the cell phone in her husband's hands. She hated feeling useless, and that's how she feels right now. She's always had power…and now her power meant nothing. Jillian is nervous. She's antsy. She can't be still. Her body has to do something. She walked around the couch a few times before coming to a stop next to the bar. There, she tapped her foot, anxiously, waiting for some type of command or information.

Grant is panicked, but not for the same reason everyone else is. He refuses to make eye contact with anyone. Carlisle noticed his friend's discomfort, but he just figured it was over Riley. Grant ran his hand down his face as he thought about his unfortunate predicament.
"Grant, come here." Carlisle said, leading his friend into the hallway, "We need to stay strong. Esme, Jill, and Becky are falling all over the place. We need to remain strong for them."
Grant clenched his fists, "My son's dead."
"No. You don't know that." Carlisle asserted, forcing Grant to face him, "We'll pay the two million and you'll get Riley back."
"You don't understand!" Grant bellowed, leaning against the back wall, "I don't have two million to give. I only have twenty-five thousand in my account. When that's gone, I'm broke."
"Why didn't you tell us?"
"I was ashamed!" Grant admitted, scratching the short beard on his face, "I need help. Will you…will you help me?"
"I don't just have four million dollars sitting in an account." Carlisle responded, shaking his head, "You of all people know it's not that simple."

Grant pushed himself off of the wall, "I'm desperate. If you don't, my son will pay for it with his life!"
"I'll try, but we're going to have to bring everyone else in."
"Wait, they can't know!"
"Esme surely needs to."

Rebecca finally calmed down enough to take a seat. While seated, her manicured nails fearfully scratched against the cushion of the couch.
"What are we going to do?" Rebecca kicked off her high-heels, "The bank isn't just going to allow us to withdraw two million dollars without asking questions." Rebecca's worries were cut off by the sound of her husband's cell phone ringing. He was calling them back.
"You have until five o'clock."

Bradley glanced down at his watch. It read 12:46. It was impossible for them to get that much money in less than five hours.
"We're going to need more time than that!" Brad asserted, gripping the phone against his ear.
"You have until 6:30." Edward replied, drumming his free hand against the table, "No later than that."
Click.

Bradley glanced at the phone in his hand. He was getting tired of being hung up on. Brad took this time to fill everyone in. To say they weren't pleased, was a huge understatement.
"Call our banks." Pierce asserted, handing his wife his cell.
Jillian dialed the bank's number, "How are we going to get the money?"
"Say we're trying to buy a yacht." Pierce lied, looking to everyone else for an idea.
"They aren't going to believe that Pierce." Jill responded, quickly hanging up, "We need documents. This is two million dollars we're talking about."
"Make it sound convincing," Carlisle spoke up, watching Esme walk off to call their bank, "you can say something along the lines of limited time…tell them you're looking at the boat right now. BS it Jillian!"

Jillian redialed the bank, grabbed Rebecca's arm and left out of the living room. They needed absolute silence to try and accomplish this.
Carlisle pushed Grant forward, "We have a problem."
"What is it?" Brad questioned, following Carlisle's eyes, "What is it Grant?"
"He doesn't have the money."
Pierce looked between his two friends, "What do you mean?"
"I don't have the money. I don't have two million dollars. I lost most of my savings in the stock market. I put too much into one business." Grant explained, flopping down onto the couch.
"I think I can give you 500,000." Brad offered, patting Grant's shoulder.
"I can add in 250,000." Pierce voiced, doing the calculations in his head.
"Same," Carlisle added.
"I have 25,000." Grant stated, subtracting the numbers in his head, "I'm still $975,000 short."

-Tiffany.