Bella Pov
Bella was adult enough to know that the vampires just needed time to absorb what they'd learned, so she didn't feel abandoned when Alice shuffled her out the door and drove her home. Jasper came with them and Bella could see him feeling better the further they got from the house, so she knew she was getting nothing but brave faces while she said her goodbyes. No, she spent Saturday night alone and she didn't mind. She felt like she'd run a marathon and she was exhausted, so she just watched some movies mindlessly and thanked whatever fortune she had that Charlie was out with Billy that day.
Sunday came and everything was hard to focus on. She worked from 10 to 2, and she did her best to be on time and to stay focused, because she needed hours and the manager was still training her, so she needed to seem like she cared, but it was hard to care that day. Her mind was constantly wondering how her vampires were, if they were okay. She got home just a little after 2:30 and waved to Charlie as he was watching some sports game before retreating to her room. She spent the rest of day trying to pull her attention back to her projects, papers, and notes to get ready for the last few days of school. Good grades were important for scholarships, and she'd forced herself to go through school through all sorts of pain before so she powered through now.
Bella didn't even realize how worried she'd been until Charlie pulled up to the school to drop her off and Alice was waiting where she normally waited. Bella let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding for days, and her eyes stung a little with tears she wasn't going to let fall. They were still here. "Hey Alice." Bella spoke softly as she walked up to her, moving slower than normal. Alice pulled her into a hug and just held her for a moment.
"I told you I'd never leave you." Alice whispered into her ear and Bella hugged her back. She ignored the childish whoops and whistles even she could hear from some of the boys in the parking lot.
"Rosalie wasn't feeling well today, but she wanted me to tell you," Alice spoke while moving back and staring into Bella's eyes, "that she will be, and she wants your notes from biology for the test tomorrow." Humans were getting a little closer to them. Bella nodded, understanding that the real message was that it would be okay, just not yet. "Emmett stayed home with her."
They started to make their way toward their first class together. "Did Edward run?" Bella asked, fully expecting a yes to that.
"No, he finds he doesn't want to face the Denali's yet. He tends to mope around in his room or in his meadow." Alice told her and Bella could see the concern, which made her feel a little worse for not caring more about his pain. "He's made no real decisions, so I'm not sure what his plans might be. He's here today, but I really thought he might skip too."
"Can they afford to miss this week?" Bella asked quietly, thinking of all the work that was due. Maybe she should have found a way to hold out another week so that Emmett and Rosalie wouldn't mess up their grades on top of it all.
"We all hold straight A's Bella." Alice smiled. "We could afford to skip this week and still pass just fine."
"Smug little shit." Bella teased a little. She was getting great grades as well, but did it really count when you were repeating high school? She didn't brag about her grades.
"So after you get back from Renee's wedding, I think we could start planning our summer projects. Oh, and I'll drive you to school every day I can this summer." Alice told her.
"That's good. I'm hoping to have enough for a car before Fall." Bella sighed, it would be tough, but she needed to get some way to get around.
"You better let Rose help you with that." Alice spoke quieter as the teacher stepped into the room. "She'll want to be a part of that, and she'll make sure you get something decent."
"Will she really want to?" Bella found herself asking quietly, her voice too wounded for her taste.
"Oh, honey, Rose loves you. This didn't change anything." Alice reassured her and the teacher started talking, so they had to stop, but Bella felt a little better anyhow.
…..
Jasper Pov
"Are you sure about this?" Jasper asked as he stood outside of the ice cream parlor.
"Yes, I need to talk to her and Rosalie won't let me within a hundred feet of her." Edward sighed. "I'm not going to hurt her." Edward was clearly frustrated with the guards, but none of them were ready to risk him alone with Bella just yet. He'd never had a conversation with her, and they were starting slow if they were going to do this at all.
"She won't have a customer for thirty minutes, and her manager left her alone." Alice sighed. "'We go in with you, that isn't up for discussion, but you can sit with her on your own as long as I don't see any problems."
"I guess that will have to do." Edward muttered. "I just need to know, she left out so much."
"Okay." Alice sighed and they made their way inside. Alice went in first and Jasper felt the moment Bella saw her, the happiness that filled her at the unexpected visit, but when Bella's eyes moved passed Jasper caution and concern started to leak out of their Bella.
"Edward wanted to talk to you." Alice explained and Bella now was reluctant as well. "Please Bella, just let him ask some questions."
"I can't get caught not working." Bella glanced at the door as if someone would come in as soon as she said that.
"You have a half hour of nothing but wiping the same old counters off repeatedly. You have time." Alice told her and Bella sighed, before motioning to one of the small tables.
Edward moved slowly, which was good. Jasper didn't want Bella getting tense. He sat down and Jasper took a seat at the other end of the small place, which was really just three tables over. Alice gave Bella a reassuring smile before sitting with him.
"First, I wanted to thank you for telling us the story. I know it was hard for you to share, and I know it was hard for me to hear." Edward started. "I find you may have glossed over some things I'd like to know."
"We only have a half hour. Just give me your questions and I'll try and answer them." Bella glanced at the door again, as if expecting to get caught sitting.
"You never said what my daughter's name was."
"That's," Jasper felt the disbelief and concern in Bella. "I did that on purpose, since she'll never be."
"I want to know."
"That Bella combined some names and came up with Renesmee." Jasper felt some disgust at that name, and it was an odd one. "Some people called her Nessie."
"Renesmee." Edward said the words out loud and there was a pain in his voice that had Bella concerned as well. "It's an odd name, but it could grow on me."
"I hate it myself, that Bella felt the need to name her child after her mother." Bella shook her head. "It's no secret how I feel about her mother."
"No, it isn't." Edward paused. "After our break, you stopped talking about the relationship as much. Did I get better?"
"No, you got worse." Bella admitted and Jasper watched Edward carefully as disappointment hit him. "You took controlling to a level that scared me in that story. You didn't trust her opinion about the wolves and you had her practically under arrest. You sabotaged her truck if she tried to visit her friend. You made Alice her keeper if you had to hunt. You took so much of her freedom away that she learned how to run away from you all so she could see Jake. I think part of her was starting to hate you, before you finally figured it out."
"But she still agreed to marry me."
"She didn't agree right away. That marriage before sex rule is kinda stupid for this generation, or mine." Bella smiled just a little. "Sex is important, and if two people can't connect in that way the relationship will die off. I'd never marry anyone I hadn't slept with."
"You plan to marry someday? Does that mean you are going to find a man?"
Jasper felt the irritation from Bella, and the strange and concerning hope from Edward. "I define marriage as a commitment to someone, of any gender, to be there, to stick around and support and love each other. I don't define it by the certificate they give you or deny you." She glanced over at Alice and there was some mischievousness. "Besides, Alice already promised to marry me when it was legal here. It'll be legal in a few more years."
"When did you propose darlin', didn't think to tell me?" Jasper asked Alice with a smile.
"What about being faithful, do you consider that part of marriage?" Edward asked with a hint of malevolence and Jasper shared a dark look with Alice, seeing where this was going.
"Wow, you want to argue don't you? I'm not stupid enough to take you on; you haven't learned that you have one mouth and two ears yet." Bella shook her head. "Whatever relationship Alice and Jasper have is none of my business. My relationship with them is just fine. Nothing else is my business."
"She thinks we're swingers now, thanks a lot Edward. She might think that proposal was serious now." Jasper teased him. Edward seemed flustered at that.
"No, don't try and fix it. I'll clean up your mess; you'll just make it worse." Alice spoke up firmly.
"In the story, you were upset that the baby seemed to be killing Bella." Bella spoke and Jasper glanced at Alice, because there was a hint of anger even with her gentle tone. "You thought she just wanted to have a baby, and that you could abort the one hurting her and offer her another. You offered Jacob the chance to father your children if he could just talk Bella into the abortion." Shock hit all of them. "In practice, in a real relationship, you found a loophole for faithfulness. I honestly don't think your offer was because you didn't love her. Cut and dry rules don't always work well in reality. Remember that Edward." Bella stood up. "I really need to work on inventory."
"I kind of wish we'd asked for the full story." Jasper spoke softly, though Saturday was hard enough as it was and longer would have been too hard to deal with, knowing little facts like that were all sorts of interesting.
"You two go, I need to do a little damage control." Alice gave a glare to Edward, as he walked passed them.
They stood to the side of the building to wait. It was easy enough to hear the two women talking. "Thanks for being willing to talk with him." Alice sighed heavily. "Sorry he was a bit of an ass."
"You were, if you were trying to show her you weren't the ass in the story, you failed." Jasper told Edward, before they made their way to his Volvo. Edward knew he was right, his irritation and silence said it all.
….
Bella Pov
Bella woke up with her heart pounding and took a gasping breath as her eyes opened. The nightmare was a little different, but she was having them again.
"Shh, it's okay." A feminine voice whispered and Bella felt fingers caress her hair. It started her heart faster for a moment, before her mind caught up to recognizing the voice.
"Rose?" Bella was still a little disoriented, but she was pretty sure she was in her bedroom. It was dark, so she could only see the shadow of the vampire in her room, no details.
"You are still having nightmares." Rosalie spoke softly and Bella felt the bed shift as the blonde vampire sat down on it next to her.
"Just lately." Bella spoke softly, "But how are you?" She hadn't seen Rose in days, she hadn't been going to school.
"I'm concerned, because you are having nightmares again." Rose moved and the light from the neighbors porch light helped to make it so Bella could actually see her. She did look concerned.
"I'm prone to them, have been for years." Bella admitted and stared up at Rose. "Were you just sitting in my room watching me?" She kept herself from asking how Rose got in here, but she'd have to do something about the windows before she woke up to Edward in her room. She just had no idea how to sell that idea to Charlie, that they needed security on the second floor.
"I'm sorry, I know that bothers you." Rose's fingers started to caress her hair. "I just needed to see you, and Alice said you wouldn't sleep well tonight anyhow." It didn't really bother her too much at the moment. Bella wished she could see better, to see how Rose was really doing. "I know you have your flight in the morning and I didn't want you to leave for days and not see you."
Bella could hear Rosalie take a shaky breath. "I knew whatever you were going to tell us would hurt, you made it clear, you warned me, but I had no idea how much it would hurt." Bella reached out and felt around on the bed until she found the hand Rosalie was leaning on and rested hers above it.
"Do you want to lay down?" Bella asked, before blushing a little as she realized she was inviting Rosalie into her bed. It just seemed like Rose needed to be here, and Bella didn't want her rushing off now that she finally had her back.
"I'm not going to be able to sleep." Rosalie sounded like she might be giving Bella a weak smile.
"Neither am I." Bella gave her own weak smile back, sure that Rose would see it, before scooting over toward the wall to make room for Rose. Bella rolled onto her side so she could try and watch the blonde vampire that took the space opened for her.
"The one thing I regretted the most about being a vampire was that we couldn't have children." Rosalie started to talk. "To find out that Edward could, but that it was at such a high price. I don't think I could have been the one to help her, if it had been you, I couldn't watch you suffer like that. Her having your name, and hearing how my dream ripped apart her body, it was hard." Fingers were caressing her hair again. Rose's voice was soft and pained. "I think that if I did sleep I would have been having nightmares too, because even though I would never want to see someone suffer like that, if I could do it myself I would."
Bella had no words, so she just reached out and pulled Rosalie closer to her. Bella had to roll onto her back to hold her, but she did it. The darkness helped her have more courage than she normally would.
"You're heartbeat is so strong." Rosalie spoke softly, her head resting on Bella's chest.
"Is it okay?" Bella asked, a little concerned that she'd just made things harder for Rose.
"I'm fine here." The blonde vampire told her and then moved an arm to hold Bella to her, it was like they were cuddling. Rose's scent filled the air around her and Bella struggled not to inhale deeply, because that would be so obvious with Rosalie laying on her like this.
"Where is Emmett?" Bella asked after a moment.
"He's been with me for days. I told him I needed to visit you, he's at home."
"I've been worried about you."
"I'm sorry, I didn't want you to see me like that." Rosalie told her. "I'm feeling much better now. Do you think you could try and sleep again? You have a long day tomorrow."
Bella didn't think she could, but Rosalie started talking softly. It took a moment to realize she was being told a story, an adapted bedtime story based on one of Rose's favorites in a soft voice. Rose talked about Snow White and Princess Charming, and Bella chuckled at the irony. Kristen Stewart played Snow White too. Bella tried to stay awake for the story, but Rose kept her voice so soft and quiet and Bella found herself actually falling asleep in her arms, being told a bedtime story, of all things.
The oddest thing was that she had no nightmare when she fell back to sleep.
…
Author's Note: Okay, in a book the tension is supposed to grow and grow until it reaches a climax (kind of like sex). You then get the cuddle (the resolution). Because of this and my overall plan for MY Bella, I have to start another story, a sequel, rather than just continue here. I need to make it clear it is Tossing Stones 2, so I'm struggling with a title and could use a little feedback. The focus of the new story is different; it'll be more on romance, as this story was about the secrets.
Help me select a title for the Next story: Tossing Stones 2
Bella Maria: Vampire Magnet (inspired by Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter)
Bella Maria and the Awakening of Opportunity (Inspired by endless Harry Potter books)
The Twilight of Morning (Did you know there are 2 twilights a day? Morning and Night? I'd never even thought of it before.)
Description: Bella has shared her secrets and some of the future that they will not have to live. Now she's moving into Junior year and trying to make plans for a future she would want, with increasingly growing possibilities. Femslash or bisexuality likely (Yes, I haven't ruled bisexuality out yet. Everyone else has labeled Bella's sexuality, but she's carefully not labeling herself.)
Authors note: I have finished a novel length fanfiction in three months. You heard me, that's a record for me. I'd like to say I can keep this up, but honestly I'm shocked I managed it this time.