[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] I'm grateful for all your support. It means a lot to me to know, that you are by my side. Thanks for taking the time to read my fic here.

Today's chapter is dedicated to Moorey and DawnLeon

**31**

Resha tightened her hold around Bella's hand. The loud barking got even louder the closer they came to the gate of the animal shelter.

"Hey, you're not scared. Are you?" Bella asked, kneeling down next to her daughter. "The dogs are all in a kennel."

"But they sound like they're angry."

"Don't be a little goose. If you are scared to go inside, we can't get your kitten."

The girl nodded her head. She pressed herself as close to her mother as possible when they entered through the gate. Next to the gate, gnashing its teeth at them was a huge Rottweiler.

"Mommy!" Resha squeaked. "Is the dog evil?"

"No, he's not." Someone said from behind them. "Jared just has a big mouth."

Bella coughed. "You should still keep your distance from him, sweetie." Then, she turned to the black-haired boy standing next to them. "How's the new job going, Jake?"

He spit on the ground and made some puking noises. "Chief Swan in an asshole."

"Watch your language, young man." Bella snapped. "It's your own fault that you got punished."

Jake tossed a ball that was lying on the ground into the Rottweiler's kennel. "He could have let me work in the retirement home together with Seth. Everyone is trying to get us apart."

His eyes narrowed while he continued kicking some empty cans on the ground. "Seth and I belong together. Nothing can change that."

Bella nodded her head. Yes, she did feel bad for the two boys. Their parents didn't seem to be very understanding about their relationship.

"Look," she stated finally. "I think, if you want your parents to accept your love. You need to start acting like adults. No, sneaking out into the woods at night. No condom stealing. Well, I mean, no stealing anything."

"Mommy, what's a condom?"

Jake started to chuckle. Jeez, what an idiot, Bella thought. "Resha, why don't we let Jake show us where they have the cats?" she said, trying to avoid having to explain the condom question to her six-year-old.

When he had finally stopped laughing, Jake leaded them to a grey building at the other side of the animal shelter. "Do you want an older cat or a kitten?"

"A kitten!" Resha explained. "I'm getting a kitten for my birthday."

"That's nice." He mumbled, opening a glass-door. "Here, we go. Watch out. Some of them are moody."

"What does moody mean?" Resha asked, letting go of her mother's hand.

Bella stepped inside the room, almost losing her balance when something white and fluffy rubbed around her leg. "Moody means they don't like when you touch them." She stated, lowering her hand to rub her fingertips over the white cat's head.

Resha walked around in the room, letting her hand glide over the fur of every cat she could reach. How could she choose one if there were so many of them?

"I think I like this one here." she said, lifting a little tabby cat on her lap. The tiny being meowed and rubbed its head against Resha's stomach. "It looks like a tiger. Doesn't it, Mommy?"

Bella giggled, she moved over to Resha and held her hand up to caress the kitten's cat. Baby animals always made her feel warm and fuzzy around her heart. She had to hide her inner excitement. This was kind of embarrassing, right?

"I think it looks more like a baby tiger." Bella stated. "But it's very cute. Do you want to pick this one?"

Resha nodded happily. "Can we take Baby T. home with us today?"

Jake shook his head. "They need to get vaccinated first. But you can come back next week to pick him up."

"But a week is so long." Resha protested. "He's going to forget me. Won't you, Baby T.?"

She kissed the kitten and placed it down on the ground again and watched how it chased after one of his siblings.

"Bye, Baby T." Resha called after him, when her mother told her it was time to go home again. "I come back next week to bring you home."

Back in the car, she kept chatting on about her cat. "He's the smartest of them all. Did you see, how he climbed up that cat tree?"

Bella smiled. It was good to see that the girl was so happy now. Sometimes, it could be so very easy to make someone happy. Her cell started beeping and she quickly fumbled it out of her handbag to take the call.

"Hey, Rose. How's it going, Beautiful."

"Okay, I guess." Rosalie murmured. "I'm looking forward to tomorrow night. I miss you so much."

"I miss you too. But it's only one more day. What are you doing until then?"

"Working," Rose whispered. "Look, I wanted to ask if you know anyone from the vice squad here in Seattle?"

"Why?" Bella asked worriedly. "Did something happen?"

"No." Rosalie said. "It's nothing. I just…well, I just…thought it might come in helpful in case something would happen."

"Rose, are you sure that you are okay?" Bella asked, noticing the trembling in Rosalie's voice.

"Sure, sure…I'm fine." Rosalie stated. "I have to hang up now. Mom is here. Wish me luck for keeping my nerves with her."

xxxx

Rosalie had spent a very uneasy night. Every time, she had attempted to close her eyes, Royce's grinning face had popped up. She hated thinking about him. The thoughts always came with an unbearable feeling of nausea and self-disgust. She had showered twice, rubbing her skin hectically with a loofah until it was all red. Still, she didn't feel any cleaner afterwards.

"You look tired, honey." Lucy said when she kissed Rosalie's cheek. "Don't you have any concealer to cover this up?"

Rose rolled her eyes. "I'm home. Nobody sees the shadows under my eyes."

"But what if someone decides to come over spontaneously? Haven't I told you to always look your best?"

Rose nodded, walking into the kitchen where she poured her mother a glass of water. "The scene you caused at the hospital yesterday was embarrassing."

Lucy frowned. Then she took the glass from Rosalie and sipped on the cold water. "I was just trying to help you."

Rosalie pulled a package of ice-cream out. Eating something sweet usually helped to calm her nerves. She grabbed a spoon and dipped it into the creamy ice-cream.

"Do you know how many calories per serving this stuff has?"

"I don't care, mother." Rosalie snapped. "And your behavior didn't help me anything."

She swallowed the first spoon full of ice-cream, barely tasting the sweetness on her tongue. Quickly she ate a second and a third one.

"You are going to get fat." Lucy warned her daughter. "Honey, look, if you want to win Carlisle back, you need to stay in shape."

Rosalie swallowed a forth mouthful of ice-cream, choking a bit on a piece of cookie crumble inside it. "I don't want to get back together with Carlisle. Get that into your head. God, damn it!"

"Rosalie Lillian. I don't know why you are acting like that. It's not my fault, you can't make a relationship last."

Rose growled. "What the fuck? Why can't you ever be on my side for once in my life? How did you come up with that crap, that Carlisle's ex-wife might be interested in him again?"

"I have my sources." Lucy stated, pushing the ice-cream away from Rosalie. She was just about to put the lid on it again, when Rosalie reached over the table.

"I'm still hungry. What do you mean, you have your sources?" she asked, licking a bit of melted ice-cream from the spoon in her hand.

"Well," Lucy murmured, taking a sip from her water again. "As you know I had to call everyone I had invited to tell them about the cancelled wedding."

She sighed deeply. "I've never been so ashamed in my whole life."

"Mom, stop it. You're always trying to make me feel guilty."

Lucy clicked her tongue. "I just want to make you aware, that your actions always have consequences for others as well."

She gulped down the rest of her water and continued. "Royce and I had a nice long talk. That's how I found out about Carlisle's ex-wife. I'm telling you, girl, don't trust that woman."

Rosalie dropped the spoon on the table. "I'm fucking done, having you tell me whom to trust or not to trust. Do you remember how I told you what Royce has…what...he…" she couldn't manage to bring out the words. Her stomach revolted. She jumped from her chair and just managed to make it over to the sink before the food she had just eaten a minute ago, made its way up.

"Christ, are you sick, girl?" Lucy asked, trying to hold Rosalie's hair together in her neck. "Just let it all out. Those were unnecessary calories anyway."

"Shut up, Mom!" Rosalie croaked, reaching for a Kleenex to wipe her mouth. "You should have believed me when I told you what that sicko has done to me. Why couldn't you believe me?"

Lucy made Rosalie sit down again. She rinsed a second Kleenex and wiped it gently over her daughter's mouth. "You were a child with a very vivid imagination."

"I didn't make this up." Rose protested. "Crap, why do you always make me feel like it's my fault. Do you think I asked for him to touch me?"

"Rose, calm down. This was a really long time ago. Why can't you try to forget? It would be better for everyone."

Rosalie crossed her arms in front of her chest. "It would be better if you'd leave now." She pressed out, before she headed upstairs again to take her third shower in the last twenty-four hours.

An hour later, with her hair still damp, hidden under a baseball cap and her skin feeling like it had been scrubbed raw, Rosalie parked her car in front of Royce King's house. It had been years, since she had been here. The garden in the backyard still looked the same with the big bushes and the apple tree with the rope-ladder.

She could remember climbing up on that one. What she also remembered was the constantly unlocked door that would lead inside Royce's cellar.

You can do this, Rose, the young woman tried to convince herself as she walked towards the wooden door. Just get over with it.

When she stepped inside, she tiptoed carefully around, trying to make sure that she was really alone in the house. She cringed when she saw the teddy bears lying on the mattress in the corner of the room. Fucking Pervert, she thought, swallowing back another wave of nausea.

Forget? How was she supposed to forget?

It didn't take long for her to find the pictures. He still kept them in the same place he used to. Rose remembered how he had enjoyed showing them to her, while he purred into her ear how she would look much lovelier than any of the girls in them.

Rosalie's hands were shaking, when she grabbed a couple of the pictures and headed outside again. Back in her car, she fumbled a little notepad and scrawled.

Dear Mrs. Cullen,

I thought you should know what your new boyfriend really is into. Keep your daughter safe.

A Friend

Rose pushed the note into an envelope together with the disgusting pictures. Then she drove to the next mailbox and threw it inside. It had been easy for her to get Esme Cullen's address through the credit card company. At first Rosalie had considered calling her to warn her about Royce. But how could she do that? How could she warn Esme about what kind of sick fuck, her new boyfriend was, without telling her about herself in the consequence? Rose couldn't endure the thought.

She drove her car back home and tried to decide whether her irritated skin could handle a fourth shower. Sometimes, there just wasn't enough water in the world to make you feel clean again.