[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer
[A/N] *throws confetti* - We've managed to break the 100th review mark. This really makes me feel loved and cherished. A bit fat thank you goes out to all of my readers out there.
Today's update is dedicated to Parkourgirl2121
**8**
Bella tightened the grip of her hand around Rosalie's. "Please, tell me that you really want this wedding."
Rosalie nodded her head. Her mouth twitched into a smile that never actually appeared on her face. Why couldn't Bella stop asking her about the wedding? It was making her feel awkward. She didn't need any more doubts to be put in her head than there already were. Yes, she did care for him. Carlisle was a great guy. He was a doctor and a perfect gentleman. What more could you ask for?
"Look," Bella mumbled after a moment of hesitation. "I'm not trying to get on your nerves. I just want to make sure you know what you are getting yourself into."
She touched the engagement ring on Rosalie's finger very lightly. "Do you love him?"
"Of course I do. He's fantastic. Did you know that he spent two years in Somalia working for free to help landmine victims?"
"What has him going to Africa to do with you? Do. You. Love. Him?" Bella asked, emphasizing every word a bit more than it would have been necessary.
"I t-t-think, I do." Rosalie stuttered. "I mean it's not like butterflies in my stomach, but I do care about him."
Bella sighed. "To care is not enough. It's not enough to make a lifelong marriage work."
She pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around them. "Maybe you should give yourself a bit more time."
Rosalie stood up from the couch. Inside of her she was trembling. How could Bella dare to tell her something like that? Of course her marriage was going to work. It was going to work, right?
"What do you know about working marriages?" Rose snapped. "Your parents are divorced and don't get me started on you and Asshole."
Bella reached out her hand to Rosalie, wrapping it around her blond friend's wrist. "Sit down again. Please, don't be mad at me for telling you the truth."
The blonde woman sat down at the edge of the couch, staring down at the ring on her hand. When Carlisle had put in on her hand, it had felt pretty much similar to when she had been crowned during the beauty pageants in her childhood. She knew that she was supposed to be happy and proud but she wasn't.
"Do you have something to drink?" Rosalie asked, fighting the urge to push the gold ring down her finger. She couldn't do that and to know that she couldn't do so made her feel trapped.
"Sure. Do you want to have the rest of the wine we had last night?"
"Don't you have anything stronger?"
Bella cocked an eyebrow. Rosalie very rarely had hard liquor to drink. Still, she went to the kitchen and returned a moment later with a glass of whisky in her hand.
"Here we go. I hope it doesn't taste too bad."
"Doesn't matter." Rosalie whispered, lifting the glass to her mouth. The taste was bitter. It burned so badly on her tongue that she ended up having a coughing fit. "Crap. That tastes like poison."
I warned you, Bella thought, taking the glass from Rosalie's hands. She took a small sip, placing her lips exactly on the pink mark at the crystal glass. Pleasant warmth deep in her stomach followed the bitter taste in her mouth.
"When Carlisle proposed, I didn't even know that to tell him." Rosalie confessed. "Isn't that stupid?"
It's not stupid, Bella thought. It's just a sign for you having doubts. Oh, my poor Rose.
"I called Mom and she started crying. Can you believe that she actually started to cry?"
"Rose, please tell me you didn't accept his proposal because Lucy wanted you to?"
Rosalie shook her head. Then she took the glass with the rest of the whisky from Bella and drank it in one gulp. Disgusting!
"It's not like that, Bella."
Bella put her right hand on Rosalie's shoulder. "So, you say, it's not that way. But, Rose, this is exactly how it looks like."
"You are being mean," Rosalie pressed out, blinking away tears in her eyes. She hated the embarrassing habit of crying when she felt ashamed.
"I'm not mean." Bella stated calmly. "I love you and I care about your happiness."
"Nobody says no to a doctor's proposal." Rose mumbled. "That's what Mom said and she's right. Carlisle is a good man. He's going to treat me good."
"I'm sure he will. If he doesn't there'll be hell for him to pay."
Rosalie shifted around on the couch, finally resting her head on Bella's lap. The whisky was making her feel a bit dizzy. "You are my best friend."
"You are mine. I love you. You deserve better than to be treated good."
"What else would I expect from my husband?"
"Rose, are sure that you are a woman? What about love? What about desire? You sound like a tragic heroine from an eighteen century novel who has given up on love."
Rose giggled. "You read too many books. Love is never like this in reality." Slowly she lifted her fingers and caressed Bella's cheek. "I didn't know you were such a romantic."
"It's a secret." Bella whispered, feeling the skin of her face beginning to tingle under Rosalie's playful caress.
"Best friends tell each other everything." Rosalie stated, running her thumb over Bella's lips. "Wow, your mouth is so soft."
"That's just that honey lip-balm I put on earlier. Do you want some? I think it's in my jacket."
"Not necessary." Rosalie said, fisting her hand into Bella's hair. She could feel her heartbeat speeding up when she tried to pull her friend's face closer to her own.
"Mommy, I'm thirsty."
The women on the couch jumped apart. They felt like they had been caught doing something forbidden.
"I'll get you some water, sweetie." Bella said, trying to ignore the tingling in the pit of her stomach. Rosalie had almost kissed her. It was just meant to be for fun but still. A kiss on the lips was more than inappropriate.
"I want apple juice."
"So, do I." Rosalie stated, sitting up a bit straighter on the couch. "Would you bring me some too?"
Bella rolled her eyes. "You are not a good role model. Come with me, Resha. We'll get some juice for all of us."
"Can we have cookies too?" The girl asked, twisting a wisp of her hair around her fingers. "I'm hungry."
"Kay," Bella murmured. She pulled out three glasses and the bottle with apple juice. Maybe she should just stop buying sugar-containing drinks.
Back in the living room, Rosalie felt like she had almost done something terrible. She could lie to herself and pretend that she hadn't been just a split second from kissing her best friend. The problem was that Rosalie had never been a good liar when it came to lying to herself.
"Rose, do you want chocolate cookies too?"
"Who can say no to cookies? Come sit with me, sweetie. Did you finish your drawing?"
Resha nodded. "Not yet. Do you want to see it when I'm done?"
"Of course, I want to." Rosalie said, taking a cookie from the plate. Drinking alcohol, even when it hadn't been much, always made her hungry for something sweet. For a moment she remembered her weight-loss plan. She needed to be a bit more disciplined or else she wouldn't manage to fit into her mother's dress.
xxxx
Lucy Hale was a woman who had been through too much in her life. She had been through much and it had made her bitter. That bitterness though was hidden beneath a carefully build up mask of arrogance and politeness.
"This place is a shame, son." She reproached her fist-born son after stepping over a few empty pizza boxes on the carpet in his living room. Emmett hated his mother showing up here without invitation. Monday morning was his day off and he hated that her visit had ruined a morning of watching comics and drinking for him.
"You don't have to live here." He snapped, opening another can of beer on the table. "I like my apartment the way it is."
Lucy clicked her tongue. Then she started cleaning up the chaos all around her. Emmett needed to find a wife. It was so obvious that you couldn't let him live on his own.
"Don't talk to me in that tone, Emmett. Do you know where your sister is? She's not answering her cell."
"Does she have to be available every fucking minute? Maybe her battery has died. What do I know?"
Lucy took the beer from Emmett's hands. Then she went over to the sink that was filled with dirty dishes and poured the beer out.
"Thank you, Mom. That was my last one."
"What the hell is wrong with you? Are you an alcoholic now? I saw this report on tv about athletes who—"
"I don't want to fucking talk about it anymore! What kind of a difference does it make? None!"
"Don't raise your voice on me. I could still bend you over my knee and spank you. It's bad that you can't play football anymore. But life is not always fair."
Emmett coughed. "Mom, stop cleaning, it's not necessary."
Lucy shook her head. "Oh boy. Why can't you be like Jasper? You could eat straight from the floor of his room."
"I got plates for that."
"You are impossible. Now, tell me, how's your teaching job going?"
"I hated teachers when I was back at school. Now, I'm one of those fuckers."
"Language, young man, language. Promise me not to talk like that at the wedding rehearsal."
Emmett chuckled, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Why does anyone need a wedding rehearsal? It's not that difficult to say I do in the right moment."
Back at the Swan's house, Rosalie and Bella had woken up after a night of restless sleep. The entire night they had tried not to touch each other in the small bed in Bella's bedroom. Never before had they felt as awkward as this around the other one.
"Could you have a look at Charlie's cruiser?" Bella had asked Rosalie after breakfast. "It's making some weird, rattling noises."
"Sure, why not. Let's do it now. You can be my assistant."
Minutes later Rosalie had her arms up to her elbow in oil and grease, leaning over the opened hood of the engine. Fixing cars was easy for her. Cars never commented about your tits or your ass. Maybe that was one of the reasons why Rosalie had decided on a completely unfeminine kind of career.
"Can you fix it?" Bella asked, shining the flashlight into the dark motor-compartment. "If it's too difficult, we could bring it to a garage."
"Are you trying to insult me? Of course, I can fix this. It's just some cable that's leaking oil. Can you try to start the engine?"
Bella did like she had been told. The engine rattled, worse than it had done before.
"Keep going." Rosalie called. "I think I've got it now."
The rattling turned into the familiar roaring sound before Bella killed the engine again.
"You are amazing. How did you do that?"
Rosalie laughed, wiping her nose with the back of her arm. She ended up smearing a bit of the greasy motor oil on her cheek. To Bella she had never looked more beautiful than in this very moment. It was probably because Rosalie was truly being herself right now. Bella wanted her to be like this all the time.
"Did I get some grease in my hair?" Rosalie asked, lowering her head so that Bella could take a closer look.
Bella cleared her throat. "There's some here." She mumbled, trying to remove it with her fingertips.
"Don't touch it. You are only making it worse. I'll just go and take a quick shower."
Rosalie kissed Bella's cheek and walked back inside the house. For a moment Bella felt like she had lost the control over her lower body. Her knees felt weak as she sank down, leaning against the side of the cruiser. Inside her chest, her heart thundered. What the hell was wrong with her?
"Bella, how nice to see you again, girl." Lucy greeted her overly cheerful, walking up to her. "Where is my Rosalie?"
"Shower," Bella croaked. "She went to hop under the shower."
Lucy's eyes wandered to the opened hood of the cruiser. "Don't tell me she tried to play mechanic again?"
"She's actually good at it." Bella tried to defend her best friend in front of Rosalie's mother. "And I asked her to have a look at the car."
"It's not lady-like to get car grease under your fingernails. I really hoped this nonsense would stop now that she has her engineering degree."
"I think you should let Rose make her own choices."
"I only want what's best for her. A mother always wants what's best for her children."
Bella took a deep breathe. "Is that why you talked her into getting married?"
"I didn't talk her into anything. I just want her happiness. As Rosalie's friend you should do the same."