Thank you for your reviews. Here is the third chapter!

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Chapter 3-

They all climb out of the taxi and Alice links arms with Bella while Edward walks ahead to unlock and open the door. The girls step inside and Edward follows, pulling the door closed behind them. Bella looks around the hallway at the wooden flooring and cream walls with a smile. She sees a massive canvas picture of the couple with a little blonde haired girl.

Bella points to it with a smile. "Your daughter is beautiful." She says with a smile.

Edward chuckles. "Thank you, but that's my niece. Rosalie."

Bella blushes and looks down. "Sorry."

Alice strokes Bella's arm and smiles, taking her hand and pulling her into the living room. "It's okay, Bella. We'd be honoured if she was ours."

Bella smiles as they walk into the living room and Alice sits down, pulling Bella down next to her. The colour scheme is the same as in the hallway making the room seem modern but warm.

"You've got a nice place here." Bella says to Alice.

"Thanks. Edward's mom is an interior designer and my father is a real estate mogul so this is a culmination of their talents." Alice tells her with a smile.

Suddenly, a Great Dane runs into the room and jumps on Bella.

"Banjo! Down!" Alice says in a commanding voice making the dog leap off Bella and onto the floor straight away.

Edward comes running into the room. "I'm so sorry. I just opened the door and he ran."

Bella laughs and pets Banjo on the head. "It's okay, I love dogs. It just shocked me a bit."

Banjo sits at Bella's feet and lays his head on her legs.

Alice and Edward share another look between them, even more sure now that she fits into their life. Edward steps forward. "Would you like a drink Bella? We have water, Coke, Diet Coke, apple juice, orange juice, and coffee. If you want something alcoholic, we have beer and wine, both red and white."

Bella looks up at him and smiles. "Can I have a Diet Coke please?"

"Of course. Al?" Edward turns to look at his girlfriend.

"Coke?" She asks.

Edward sighs. "Fine, but if you can't sleep tonight don't wake me up."

Alice pretends to be offended. "I wouldn't dare, Eddie."

Edward growls at her and runs around so he's behind her and wraps his arms around her, growling and kissing her neck. "Don't call me Eddie."

Alice giggles and squeals making Banjo jump to his feet and start barking. Bella looks at the couple and smiles, trying to ignore the ache in her chest. The couple break apart and Edward looks down at their dog. "Sorry Ban."

Edward walks out of the room with a smile on his face and Alice turns to Bella fixing her hair. "Sorry about that."

"No, don't apologise. It's nice to see such obvious love." Bella says with a soft smile on her face.

"Have you ever been in love?" Alice asks.

Bella looks down at the floor.

"Sorry, that was too personal." Alice rushes out.

Bella shakes her head. "No, no it's fine." She reassures. "Um… no, I haven't."

"You will. You're sweet, kind, and beautiful." Alice says with a smile.

Bella takes a deep breath and smiles but Alice can tell it's forced.

"I love your hair." Alice says changing the subject.

Bella's hand unconsciously goes to her hair and she smiles softly. "Thanks. I used to hate it until it started to mellow out. It used to be frizzy and I always wanted straight hair but then… I don't know."

"I understand. I've always wanted wavy hair. I'm so jealous of you." Alice says bring her hand up to gently stroke Bella's hair.

Bella scoffs. "That's the first time I've ever heard that." Then she looks over at Alice. "Sorry."

"Don't apologise." Alice says moving a bit closer to Bella and laying her head on Bella's shoulder.

Edward walks in the room and places their drinks down on the table. "Jesus Ali, you're practically laying on the poor girl."

Alice giggles. "Bella has a very comfortable shoulder. She makes a great pillow."

Bella tenses up making Alice sit up and look at her in confusion. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to offend you." She says.

Bella closes her eyes and shakes her head. "I'm just being silly, sorry."

Alice lays her hand on Bella's leg and gently rubs it. "Your feelings aren't silly. Do you want to talk about it?"

Bella shakes her head. "I don't want to ruin the night."

Edward smiles gently at her. "You won't ruin the night. We're friends now, and friends help friends with things. We don't want to accidently do or say something that hurts you, but if you don't want to say anything, then you don't have to."

Bella shakes her head. "You'll think I'm pathetic."

Alice wraps her arms around her. "Again, your feelings aren't pathetic."

Bella takes a deep breath. "Um, well I used to be fat. From a child I struggled with my weight. I never really cared much until I was about eleven and I started getting bullied for it, and that just made me eat more. It sounds stupid that that's the way I coped, but I did. I had friends, but no one really close to me. I was about thirteen, just started high school, and the two friends I had dropped me so I started to hang around my brother and his friends. They were alright with me, but he wouldn't have let them be anything but. He was a jock, on the football team, so he hung around those sorts of people. Still, I was fat.

"I didn't tell him most of what I went through and he graduated and moved away to college when I was fourteen. I started to get depressed and… hurt myself. I hid it though. I would spend all my time in the library and you weren't allowed to eat in there so I didn't used to eat all day. I would get home and make a sandwich and then have dinner later that night but that's all I would eat. Sometimes, when dad would work late, I would just go without… I started to like the feeling. I liked when my stomach would hurt because I hadn't eaten, it was different to how I would feel when I would cut but I liked both. The pain would make me feel like I was accomplishing something and the physical pain was better than the pain I felt inside.

"People don't understand that depression hurts physically too. It feels like you're sinking in concrete and fighting against it is exhausting. I also suffer from anxiety and when that gets bad so does the depression. I got to a point where I would look at pills and wonder how many it would take to end it all or look at my dad's ties and wonder how painful it would be to hang myself. I don't know when it happened but it got easier, and I was okay for a few years, until I was seventeen. Then the depression and anxiety was almost crippling and I couldn't leave the house. Jake was home by then and forced me to see a doctor who put me in therapy and put me on anti- depressants and anti- anxiety meds.

"Then when I was a month in, my dad got shot on the job; he was a police officer. As I was under eighteen, my brother was named as my legal guardian and I moved in with him. He was amazing, he made sure I took my meds every day and took me to every therapy appointment. I honestly think I would have killed myself if it wasn't for him. He was working at a private elementary school at time so he had a pretty good salary, and that coupled with my father's estate, meant that we lived quite comfortably and he didn't need to get a second job to provide for me. He would lock away anything I could use to harm myself during the day and call me during his two breaks. I have no idea how he coped but he kept me alive.

"When I was nineteen, I started feeling better. I started taking walks by myself, just around the block. Jake would come with me sometimes and I started eating regularly. He met a girl when I was eighteen and she moved in with us when I was nineteen, sometimes she would walk with us. He would cook for me and so I was eating healthily and as I was getting regular exercise, I started losing weight. During the day, while Jake was at work, I would complete online classes for my college degree. I did it in three years because I had no job or friends or anything, and then I got a job. My first job, it was online so I only had to go in once a month to check in, and it worked for me. Jake and Leah got married last year, they have been engaged for over two years but they waited until I was ready, until I could be around people, to get married.

"A few months ago, I started to think about leaving, moving out. I wanted to move out of state, have a fresh start, but I didn't know where too. I went to my boss and asked him to transfer me to another office, one out of Arizona. A month later, they found one here in Seattle, I accepted and I went to Jake to tell him about it. We fought for weeks but then Leah found out she was pregnant, she's a week into her second trimester right now. It gave me the one more argument; they needed the room. They wouldn't want me getting in their way when they have a new-born in the house. Jake was still fighting against me and then Leah told him that he needs to let me go eventually. My boss had been holding the place for me and that night, I called him to let him know I would be able to start in two weeks time. Two days later I was packed and ready to go, I made the drive from Arizona to Seattle and took a week to get my apartment ready. This brings us to now." Bella finishes and looks at the couple. Alice has tears in her eyes and Edward looks in pain.

Bella just shrugs her shoulders. "I told you."


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