Author's Note: Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.


Chapter 58

The weekends approached faster than I'd thought it would. On Saturdays, I had no shifts, courtesy of Dr. Jackson, so I was able to sleep well past my wake up call.

But, of course, Alice wouldn't be Alice if she didn't wake me up from my beautiful sleep at exactly nine in the morning.

"Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty!" she sang as she yanked the curtains open. "Time to get up!"

I groaned and slapped my pillow over my head. She yanked the covers from my body and snatched away the pillow too. "Come on, Bella! Everyone's waiting for us!"

"Who's waiting for us?" I mumbled, my voice thick with sleep. "It's my day off. It's precious. I'm going to spend the day sleeping. So deal with it and go away. I'm not leaving this bed."

But in the end, she succeeded in dragging me out of the bed and got me into the shower. As a form of revenge, I took as long as possible. Long enough that Alice began pounding on my bathroom door, screaming at me to get out and dress.

"What is this?" I asked, looking down at the clothes she'd set out for me. It was quite simple for her: dark, skinny jeans, a plain shirt, and a dark hoodie. "Are you feeling okay, Alice?"

Alice grinned as she looked up from a magazine. "Since it's your day off, I figured, why not?"

Smiling gratefully, I got dressed quickly. As soon as I'd tucked my phone into my pocket, she grabbed my hand and hurried me out of the house.

"You still haven't told me who's waiting for us," I said as I started the car. "Who dropped you off anyway?"

"Jasper," Alice chirped, rolling down the window. Cold air wafted inside my Audi.

"Cut that out!" I snapped, rolling the windows back up. "You pixie. It's still too early, and my hair is still wet. I don't want to catch a cold. Just answer my question!"

"The entire family," she said, rolling her eyes. "We're spending the day together! Isn't that great?"

I frowned. "No. I'd rather be sleeping."

"You foolish girl," she said, wagging her finger at me playfully. "Don't you want to see Edward?"

I scoffed. "Why?" I was really curious. Why would I want to see the man who was about to make my life into hell again?

"Because he's family."

"He's family, and he's a friend. But do you think I want to see the man who is more than capable of making my life hell for the second time in my life?"

"Bella!"

I rolled my eyes but didn't say anything more.

"Well, Edward wants to see you," Alice said. "So you're going. And I'm sure he misses little Rollie, so I brought him along! Are you enjoying the scenery, Rolls?"

"Arf!"

I nearly stepped on the brake. "What the…" I glanced back briefly to see my little puppy sitting patiently in the back seat, staring at the scenery as it flashed past. "When did you sneak him in?"

"You weren't planning on leaving him at home all alone, were you?" Alice sniffed. "Rollie is family. He deserves to come. Everyone misses him. Besides, he's been cooped up in that huge house for a week. Fresh air will be good for him. Right, Rollie?"

"Arf!"

I sighed, exasperated. "Well, it sounds like they miss Rollie more than they miss me. Why couldn't you just take him out and leave me in bed?"

"Don't be so silly. We miss our youngest sister the most." Alice grinned at me affectionately.

I bit my tongue to retort and say that she was the youngest in the entire family. Height-wise.


As soon as the door opened, Rollie ran into the Cullen family mansion, already at home. "Arf! Arf! Arf!"

"Look who it is!" I heard Esme coo from the kitchen. "Hi, Rollie! How have you been? You've grown in the past week!"

"That's ridiculous," Emmett snorted. "Wait…never mind. You're right, he grew. How are you, buddy? Good? Where's your mistress?"

"Arf! Arf!"

"Oh." Emmett sounded completely serious as he told the others, "He says she'll be right in."

The kitchen was filled with laughter when Alice and I walked in.

"Good morning, everyone!" Alice chirped, cheerful as always. She flounced over to Jasper's side, where she belonged.

"Good morning, Bella," Esme greeted me with a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Hi, everyone," I greeted rather dully.

"Well, you look dead," Jasper commented, grinning. "Alice drag you out of bed forcibly?"

I rolled my eyes. "Obviously."

"She spared you from the fashion treatment," Rosalie observed. "That's a miracle in itself."

I tried to cover my yawn behind my hand. And I zoned out while the others carried on their conversations.

I didn't realize that one specific person wasn't here until the kitchen door reopened. Edward came in wearing a white T-shirt and dark plaid pajama pants. He stopped short when he saw everyone here.

I looked up, blinking the sleep from my eyes. His hair was messier than usual, as though he had just woken up. But his eyes looked rather alert and a fresh scent of soap told me that he'd cleaned up before coming down.

"Why are there so many people in the kitchen?" he mumbled, scowling. He poured himself a drink of water and gulped it down.

"Well, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," Alice noted. "What's wrong with you? And my goodness, what are you wearing?" She looked horrified.

"It's Saturday, and I'm at home," Edward said. "I don't need to dress up in front of my family, do I?"

"You slept here?" Jasper asked.

Edward nodded. "Em dragged me here, and we had a drink. I'm hungry," he added, glancing at the stove, where Esme and Rosalie were cooking up breakfast.

I fought the urge to laugh. He could be so childish at times.

"Ten minutes," Esme told him amusedly. "You can wait ten minutes."

Edward glanced at me. He gave me a small smile. "Morning, Bella."

I sighed as I leaned on the counter tiredly. My eyes felt droopy. "Hello yourself."

"Arf!"

Edward perked up when he saw Rollie running toward him. He leaned down immediately and picked up my puppy in his arms. "Hi, buddy! How was your week?" He studied the pup. "You've grown!"

I watched the whole exchange, irritated. Edward gave him more attention to my puppy than he did to anyone else. "You want to have him?"

Edward glanced at me, amused, but didn't say anything.

"Hey," Emmett snapped, swatting at his brother. "Put him down. No hogging the puppy. Rollie, let's go play with big bro! Come on, buddy!"

Edward set him down, and Rollie barked as he ran after Emmett. Jasper followed them, smiling, and after another glance at me, Edward grinned and trailed after them as well.

"Having Rollie around does have its advantages," Renee commented. "He got the boys out of the kitchen."

Alice scrutinized over my clothes. She tutted. "I picked it out, but I'm starting to regret it. They do absolutely nothing for your perfect figure."

"All the more, the better," I said dismissively.

She pursed her lips together, clearly unhappy. I wondered if she was going to make me change later.

"Why don't you all go into the living room?" Charlie suggested. "We'll call you when breakfast is ready."

"Promise?" I teased.

He held up his hand. "Scout's honor. Now go on. Shoo!"

Alice, Rosalie, and I strolled into the living room where the boys were playing with Rollie.

My little puppy was rolling on his back again, going crazy over a pull-up rope that Emmett had given him. He growled as he shook the rope in his mouth while the boys laughed.

"Breakfast ready?" Emmett perked up.

"Not yet," Rosalie said, plopping down on the sofa. "Wait a few more minutes. The adults must have something private to discuss."

Alice rolled her eyes as she joined Rosalie on the couch. "Always private. Never public."

Rollie spotted me. He got to his feet quickly and ran toward me, yapping excitedly.

"He sure loves his mistress," Jasper observed, smiling. "So was Rollie a good present after all?"

"Oh, he's wonderful," I assured him. I sat down exactly where I was and took Rollie in my arms. I scratched his ears, and he sneezed in such a cute way that I had to laugh.

"Aw…" Alice and Rosalie chorused.

I kissed him lightly on his head before I set him down. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he went straight to Edward, making me scowl. I felt jealous. It was as though Rollie loved my ex more than he loved me.

"Hey, buddy," Edward said, scratching his ears when Rollie sat next to him. "Has Bella been treating you alright?"

I frowned heavily. "I don't abuse my own dog, Edward."

He only laughed. He seemed to have forgotten the fact that we'd argued at the party last week. Maybe I was going to get my way after all and we could go back to the time when we were friends and siblings.

At that moment, my phone rang. It was an unfamiliar number.

"Who's calling so early in the morning?" Jasper wondered.

I shrugged and answered it. "Hello?"

"Hello, Bella," a man said cheerfully. "Do you remember me?"

I cocked my head. "Enlighten me."

"Jacob Black," he said, and I immediately grimaced. Was he still counting on that date?

"Hello," I said politely. "What a surprise."

"I told you I'd be calling you, didn't I?"

Everyone looked at me curiously, particularly Edward. He didn't even notice Rollie nudging him for more scratches behind his ear.

"I guess you did," I said reluctantly. "Well, what did you have in mind?"

"I'd like to ask you out on a date," Jacob said promptly. "How does tomorrow sound? Or do you have work?"

"I have work," I answered immediately.

"When is your day off?"

"Saturdays," I replied slowly. I really didn't want to do this.

"How about later today?"

"I'm sorry," I said, thankful to Alice now. "I'm spending the whole day with my family."

"Next Saturday, then," Jacob said, finality in his tone. My heart sank even lower. "Is that okay with you?"

This guy was definitely persistence. While I admired that, it just made it harder for me to say no to him.

I tried to smile, but I was afraid it came out as more of a grimace instead. "Sure. What time? Where?"

"Let's say around ten o'clock. Central Park?"

"Okay, then. I'll see you next week. Bye." I hung up. My expression probably portrayed my unhappiness.

"Who was that?" Jasper asked, his eyes narrowing protectively. "Who are you meeting?"

I shrugged. "Just a friend."

Edward was studying me suspiciously. I had a feeling he knew who that had been on the phone, and he didn't like it.

I tried to ignore it as best I could. And I was grateful when Esme caused a distraction just then by calling out, "Breakfast is ready!"


AN: Revenge…coming soon. Very soon. It's looming over us… Leave me lots of love!