"He said what?" Alice said as we sat around my living room the next night eating bowls of ice cream. I told Alice about what happened with Aro and Emmett. I hadn't told her about Edward and Rose agreed that she wouldn't say anything until I told her. I wasn't ready to talk about it with Alice, not yet.
"I wish I could have been there to see you pour the beer on his head!" Rose squealed. I had spent most of the night before crying in my bed, but I was able to see the humor in what went down.
"I really thought that you and Emmett were going to get married." Alice lamented. "I can't believe he turned out to be such an asshole."
"Well, believe it." I said, licking strawberry ice cream from a spoon.
"I wonder if Emmett will get the promotion?" Alice pondered.
"Who cares if he does or if he doesn't? I'm just glad that Izzy put herself first and stood up to him. Whatever happens with his job now has nothing to do with Izzy." Rose said, grasping my hand, smiling.
"I think this time you should try internet dating. One of the sales associates at Eclipse met her husband online and they are madly in love." Alice mused, pouring more chocolate syrup into her bowl.
"Damn, Alice, she broke up with him yesterday. Just give it a rest already." Rose rolled her eyes.
"I know, but I don't want her wallowing in it. She needs to get back on the horse." Alice insisted.
"'She' is sitting right here and 'she' is definitely not jumping into anything right now." I told them both.
"Remember the night that you met Emmett?" Rose asked laughing. Alice, Rose and I had gone for a drink late one night at a chain restaurant near my apartment and he was there with some coworkers.
"How can I forget? He spent a half hour at the bar telling me about his "life plan." I should have run away then." I quipped.
"Yes, but you were mesmerized by his dimples." Alice giggled.
"Well, I am definitely not mesmerized anymore."
"Are you okay?" Alice asked, concern reflected in her hazel eyes . I sighed deeply.
"I am okay. I am better than okay." I said. "I was holding onto that relationship for all of the wrong reasons. When I think back to what I almost did…" I choked back a sob.
"But you didn't." Rose said.
"And that's the most important thing." Alice added.
"Okay, enough with the sad shit. I'm turning on some music." I jumped up and went over to my iPod docking station and selected an upbeat playlist on my player. A loud, thumping beat flowed from the speakers and filled the apartment.
"Ohhhh I love this song!" Alice cried.
'We're up all night to get lucky…We're up all night to get lucky…" We sang along at the top of our lungs to Daft Punk.
"Wait, I think I heard someone buzz the door." I yelled. Rose and Alice just kept on singing.
"Yes?" I said into the phone. I strained to hear over the music and Alice and Rose's off-key wailing.
"It's Jake and Jasper." I buzzed the door and a minute later they were walking through the door with pizzas and beer.
"Yayyyy pizza! I'm starving!" Alice exclaimed.
"Starving? You were just eating ice cream five minutes ago." Rose reminded her.
The guys put the pizza and beer on the counter in the kitchen. I opened my cupboard and pulled out plates and cups.
"Hey Iz…I heard about you and Emmett." Jake said from behind me.
"Yeah…shit happens." I said, reaching for another glass.
"Hey…" he tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around and faced him.
"It's his loss." He said emphatically, looking me in the eyes.
"Thanks, Jake." He grabbed the plates from me and started walking toward the living room where everyone else was lounging on the sofas.
"Wait…" I called. "Are you gonna…?" I whispered, nodding my head toward Rose.
"Tonight? I don't know…" He scratched his head nervously.
"Do you have it?" I asked. He nodded.
"Do it."
"Okay, okay. Don't forget the napkins." He told me, bumping my shoulder.
We sat around the living room eating pizza and watching Family Guy reruns on Netflix. After about the sixth or seventh episode, Jake muted the television. Everyone looked at him in confusion. Well, everyone except me.
"I feel comfortable here among my closest friends, sharing with all of you a moment that will change my life forever." He got down on one knee in front of Rose, who was perched on the edge of the loveseat.
"Rosalie Hale, you have a smart mouth, you are stubborn as hell and you have no respect for authority. But you are the most loyal person I have ever met, you have a pure heart, a wicked sense of humor and you can rebuild an engine better than anyone I've ever met. You are my best friend, my lover, my everything. I could search all over the world and I know that I would never find a woman as perfect for me as you are. Will you marry me?"
"Yes, Jake…Yes!" She cried and he picked her up and spun her around. They kissed slowly, tears on both of their faces. He opened the velvet box and slid the ring onto her finger. They kissed again. Then she turned to Alice and I and the three of us screamed and hugged, jumping up and down like idiots. Jasper patted Jake on the back and shook his hand. We stood around chatting like that for a few minutes before Jake and Rose started making googly eyes at each other.
"I think I need to get my fiancée home. Like right now." Jake grinned, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.
"Dude, that's my sister. Gross." Jasper visibly shuddered.
"Wait, let's help Izzy clean up." Alice said. We put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher and threw away the used napkins, empty bottles and pizza boxes. Rose hopped on Jake's back for a piggyback ride as they walked out of the door.
"Wait, I'll walk down with you and put this in the dumpster." I said, grabbing the overflowing trash bag.
"Don't forget your keys." Alice and Rose sang out simultaneously.
"In my hand." I jiggled the keys in their faces.
We trotted down the steps together, talking loudly. They went out the front door, Rose almost hitting her head on the top of the frame as she wildly waved good-bye. I walked to the back door and jogged out to the dumpster, tossing the bag in. I felt a hand cover my mouth from behind and I let out a blood-curdling muffled scream.
"Isabella, it's not polite to stand someone up. I was waiting and waiting and you never showed up." Aro's sinister voice growled in my ear. I flailed my arms and legs, trying to get free of his tight grip.
"I told you that I was going to have you. Why do you constantly doubt me?" he murmured as he reached down to my waist and began to pull my leggings down. I kicked his knee and the blow caused him to loosen his grip. I broke free and ran toward the door but he recovered quickly, lunged and tackled me to the ground, my right arm breaking my fall. We struggled until he was on top of me, his knees on either side of my legs. I pushed against his heavy weight, cold fear coursing through my veins and my breath coming in gasps.
"I knew that you were going to be hot in bed. You seem to like it rough. I can give it to you rough." He gathered my hair with one rough hand and began to bang my head against the concrete, his other hand pulling and ripping my leggings. My hands were hitting his face, but they seemed to have no effect. I screamed over and over as everything around me began to get blurry. Then everything went black.