[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Thanks for all the alerts and reviews. It makes me happy that some of you enjoy my little story here.

**4**

„Hi, Bella, what a nice surprise,"

Unable to bring out any kind of verbal response, I just nod my head while Andrea immediately focuses her attention on my son.

"Oh, sweetie, it's so nice that you came to visit me. Your Nana has missed you a great deal."

With quivering knees I follow the two of them inside the house where Andy climbs next to Erica on the couch.

She blows a bit over her freshly painted fingernails before she looks up at me with a grin.

"Morning, Bella, how's it going now that the princess has left you? I told you this was going to happen."

"Erica, that's enough." Andrea snarls at her while she places a bowl with some candy stuff in front of Andy.

"You're just on Alice's side because the princess is your kid but the truth is that she let Bella down. She's a selfish little brat and—,"

"Stop that." I croak. "Stop talking about her like that. You know nothing about Alice, nothing at all!"

"Both of you need to stop bitching around like that when the little one can hear you. Erica, for the last time now, let them handle out their problems on their own. It's their life not ours."

Erica's mouth twitches and I'm sure that she would love to say a lot more on the subject but she doesn't want to piss her girlfriend off. So, instead of making another comment she turns to Andy, waving her blue painted fingernails in front of his face.

"Aren't they pretty? They sparkle in the sunlight."

"So pretty, I want pretty nails too." he tells her, placing his hands on the table. Erica smiles and starts carefully applying a coat of bright blue nail polish on his fingernails.

"You need to let it dry before you touch anything."

"Hmm,"

"Andrea, where is Alice?" I finally manage to ask her after a few moments of awkward silence.

"Upstairs in the studio, she's practically spending 24/7 up there, painting. There is this rich Texan woman who has offered her a whole lot of money for some of her woks."

"Really? That's awesome."

"I don't know. I feel like she's working too hard. It's like she's constantly trying to proof something. I just don't get what."

I nod my head and walk up the stairs, being greeted by loud piano music when I open the door and step inside.

The scent of turpentine and fresh paint is dominant in the air as I take a deep breathe. My feet squeak loudly on the wooden floor and in that moment she turns around, having finally noticed me.

There is white paint on her black hair, a bit of red one on her shirt as well. It's way too big on her, making it painfully visible that she's lost several pounds since I saw her last.

"Alice," I mouth, closing the distance between us with a few unsteady steps. A moment later, she's in my arms, her delicate hands tight around my middle, her face pressed against my chest.

A dry sob escapes her mouth when I manage to maneuver us over to the ratty couch in the corner to sit down on it.

"Oh crap, now I've ruined your pretty dress with the paint."

"I don't care about the stupid dress. I care about you. I care about us. That's the reason I'm here."

She sniffs, wiping her running nose on her shirt before she tries to speak up. Her voice is hoarse, not much more than a whisper and through the loud music I can barely hear her speak at all.

"You still care about me?"

"Of course, I care. How can you doubt that?"

A low whimper escapes her lips as I lean forward to wipe a bit of paint and smeared mascara from her cheeks.

"I love you. I love you more than anything and you should know that."

"How? You haven't told me that you love me in forever. All we do is fighting about me being late for dinner or how we can't afford sending the little one to a private school or other crap like that. I'm so tired of that."

"You think, I don't love you anymore?"

"You never tell me you love me. You don't want to sleep with me either."

"That's nonsense. Look, I love you. I don't have to say it three times a day for it to be true. And as for our non-existent sex life, you're the one who isn't very fond of making love since the surgery."

"I'm scared of hurting you, of doing something wrong. It makes everything so complicated and then I don't really like the thought of Andy running into us while we're having sex. We never have any time for just us."

Slowly, I brush my fingertip over her upper lip, caressing its softness before I gently touch my mouth on hers. God, I missed her so much.

"Come home with me. We'll figure things out. I want us to stay together."

"I love you too. I love you more than my life and I missed you so much, so much."

I kiss her lips again, letting my fingers circle down her spine. Shit, she's so thin that I can feel her ribs when my hand moves under her shirt. Hasn't she been eating anything during our time apart?

"You lost weight."

"I didn't feel much like eating."

"Baby, you must eat. You are too thin. If you neglect yourself like that you make me worry about you."

"I'm good. Well, I'm good now that you are here."

"You could have just called me or come back home yourself. Andy is all confused since you moved out."

"I did not move out. I just needed some time to myself. I needed time to finish those awful paintings for Mrs. White. Crap, I don't even know what I needed. All I know is that I have missed you more than I can endure it."