Bella's POV
My baby girl is one year old today. I woke up excited but a little sad too. This year has flown by, I still remember the first night we brought her home, she was so tiny. Now she's wild and full of energy and half of my whole world.
Her party is in three hours and she's taking her second bath of the day. First bath was because Quil took her outside to play and she fell in a mud puddle and then proceeded to roll around in the mud puddle. This bath is because she climbed a chair and pulled her cake down on top of her.
So while I'm washing her Quil is running to the store to buy a new cake. Soon after I take her out Emily and Leah show up to help me get ready. I didn't really see the point of cleaning or decorating too long before the party when Lacy just undoes everything I do… Leah and Kim have become good friends as well as Emily. Emily and I are actually hoping to hook Leah and Jake up.
Emily is 3 months pregnant and super excited even though she's sick all the time. We assign Emily Lacy-duty so she's not cleaning or climbing but after 10 minutes she's begging to switch jobs so I take over chasing Lacy until Quil comes back and he takes her outside, I beg him to keep her out of the mud.
Leah asks if she's always this energetic and I laugh and tell her yes. Then she asks if I want more and I tell her we're not sure right now but definitely not until she's older.
Finally everyone else starts arriving and Lacy is running around with Casey, Kim and her husband Jared's little girl. Casey is 3 but she and Lacy play pretty well together and she's the only other kid we know. She's completely different from Lacy, she hates to be dirty and she's very quiet and shy.
Once everyone is there we help Lacy open her presents, then eat cake and then give Lacy her 3rd bath of the day. Actually my dad gives her 3rd bath of the day so I don't have to ignore everyone. I'm downstairs when I hear my dad yell no Lacy! then… Bella! So I run up the stairs and see my dad soaking wet.
I'm trying not to laugh as I ask him why he didn't just take the bucket away. He laughs and says she's really fast for a baby. I get him some of Quil's clothes and then finish her bath; I know all her little tricks.
When I get back to the party Embry and Quil and Jared take her and Casey outside to play, she spends a lot of time outside since there is a lot less for her to get into trouble with, just mud.
"So Jake, doesn't Leah look hot today?" I ask him sitting on the couch next to him.
"Subtle Bells, real subtle." He laughs.
"Oh come on you haven't had a girlfriend since what's her face and Leah is finally over that loser she was dating." I give him puppy dog eyes and he rolls his.
"Why not Embry?" He suggests.
"Embry's too protective for her; she's too independent for him. Just go talk to her." I demand and he rolls his eyes again but goes. Emily sees him walking towards them and says something to Leah then walks away.
"What did he say?" She asks.
"Why not Embry?" I laugh.
"Oh goodness can you imagine those two together? Embry would smother her to death!" We both laugh and then watch Jake and Leah. Jake says something and Leah cracks up laughing and puts her hand on his arm.
I tell her I'm going to go check on Lacy and walk out to find them.
Embry is sitting on the front porch looking down the road.
"Hey where are Quil and Jared and the girls?" I ask him and he tells me they are following a frog hopping down the road. That totally sounds like Quil and Lacy. "You didn't want to frog follow?" He smiles and says not today.
"Where's Jake?" he asks and I tell him talking to Leah and his eyes widen a little.
"Why the look?" I ask him confused and he tries to play it off but I tell him he better start talking.
"Do you know how they used to know each other?" He asks and I shake my head no. "They had dated for about a year when Jake found out you were coming back. You know Jake has loved you forever right? Nobody was really sure if it was a best friend or sister love or want to be with you forever kind of love ya know? He talked about you a lot since y'all talked on the phone and all and you came to visit every summer except the summer they were dating for some reason. Quil and I didn't know you then but we felt like we did as much as he talked about you. Leah wasn't bothered by it because Jake was so good to her plus you were like a distance thing to her but when she found out you were moving back she broke up with him. Jake doesn't even know her reason, she told me because I bugged the crap out of her until she did. Once you moved here Quil and I still couldn't tell how he felt about you but we could tell to you he was just your best friend and that's all he ever would be. Quil liked you from the first day we met you but he waited because of Jake. Then you kissed him in the garage and you know the rest obviously. Anyways Jake and Leah were good together and they haven't been good with anyone since but he still doesn't know her reason. But at least she's good with you now. Even though you regularly cheat on Quil with me and Jake." He finishes his story and laughs.
"Jake's not in love with me is he?" I ask him cautiously.
"Nah, if he ever was he's not anymore. Don't you notice the difference between the way he was and is with you? I still can't tell if he ever was but you and Quil are so perfect, Jake knows that. Quil is the calm to your freak out. Jake would have given into your every dramatic argument and you would have both been miserable." He tells me and I look at him like he's crazy. "OK like at the beach Quil knew you didn't want Lacy that far out at first but he also knew she would be safe and have fun and that you would enjoy being alone on the beach. Jake would have just not gone. Or like when you didn't want to stay home and you wouldn't tell him why, Jake would have just dropped it and you would have kept working and you would have probably been miserable. Also Jake would have probably killed me and Quil if we acted the way we do around you, but Quil knows it's all innocent. You like the attention and he's not jealous." He explains.
"Did you just call me an attention whore?" I ask him and he laughs and says no, not at all. It's more of a constant need of reassurance of being loved since my dad wasn't a huge part of my life and my mom sent me here to follow her new husband.
Sounds like attention whore to me but I'm not going to argue, I do like the attention.
"You should be a freaking therapist or something." I tell him, my head is spinning from all of this. "How are you not with anyone? Most girls would be all over this I know your deepest feelings stuff."
"It's one of those except her things." He says and I'm confused again.
"Except who?" I ask.
"Look you don't like her and neither do Jake or Quil and I don't want to hear crap about it. I shouldn't have said anything. Everyone thinks she's a bitch and she is really but it's because her life was turned upside down and no one knows or cares and it's how she copes." He tells me and he looks really sad, I feel bad but I push.
"Is she single?" I ask and he says yes.
"Then you should go for it even if we don't like her. Don't say anything to Jake or Quil until you have to. Even if she's a bitch the only person who really needs to like her is you." I tell him.
"It's Lauren." He looks at me to see my reaction.
"Oh… why?" I ask him trying to not sound judgy. But Lauren isn't just a bitch; she's like the queen of bitches.
"In high school before you were there she was sweet and quiet and no one really noticed her. Then she started going out with an older guy and she got pregnant and he dumped her and her parents were going to force her into adoption but she lost the baby. The whole thing really screwed her up. So now she's a bitch because she fell for a guy who used her and the whole town thought she was a slut." He tells me.
Wow. A day of crazy revelation's.
"You should go for it Embry." He smiles and says he'll think about it.
He points down the road and I look up to see Quil and Jared walking towards us holding the girls. Quil also has a bucket and I'm pretty sure we now have a pet frog.
Lacy squirms out of his arms and runs to me yelling ribbit, ribbit. I just laugh at her and scoop her up in my arms and kiss her.