Authors Note:
Hello everyone! I know it has been too long. I am again sorry for the wait, with so much things going on, and being too lazy to write, and loosing motivation, a lot has been getting in the way of me writing. But I did promise to finish this story, so I will not matter how long it takes!
I want to thank you all so much for showing interest and reading this story. Thank you for all of the follows and reviews and favorites for this story. Just thanks so much for all of your support!
Alright, on with the story! :)
Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight and all the characters from the book.
I apologize in advance for any mistakes and/or errors.
Reviews, criticisms, and suggestions and welcomed and appreciated. I hope you all enjoy this chapter :)
*All thoughts are in Italics
Rosalie's POV
I gently close the door to the guest bedroom and let out a sigh. Once Alice and I had arrived back to my place, I had tried everything I could to keep Alice calm. I made some dinner, vegetable stir-fry, her favorite. She only ate about half of it, claiming she wasn't very hungry. After a shower, she joined me in the den where we watched three of our favorite chick flicks together. Everything was relatively alright, until Emmett came in. He knew from the look on Alice's face that something was wrong. I gave in and told him all of what happened, because I knew he would find out eventually. He was absolutely livid. He started yelling and screaming that he would make Jasper pay. His reaction cause Alice to burst out in tears again and I tried to comfort her as best I could. After Emmett had calmed down a bit I ushered her upstairs to the guest bedroom, and held her crying form until she fell asleep. After recalling the evening events, I sigh and try to gather myself together. I walk down the hall into out bedroom. I lean on the door frame and stare at Emmett who is intensely staring at the floor.
"He is such a fucking bastard" he says, still staring at the ground. I agree silently, and shut our bedroom door then place myself beside him on the bed.
"I fucking trusted him," he ground out. "He seemed cool. Seemed like he treated her right. If I would have known…FUCK! If I would have just have known I could have fucking done something!" he yells out while he shoots up from his seat.
"This reminds me so much of what that bastard did to you. I wanna kill him" he whispers, still not looking at me.
"Rose," he says. Then he turns around to look at me. My heart breaks when I see a single tear run down his cheek. Emmett rarely cries, but when he does he is really hurt.
My poor Emmett. This is tearing him up.
I get up from my seat and take him into my arms. We hold each other tightly as we both cry, for Alice's situation and for the pain my past situation had both caused us. I move back from our embrace and sniff and wipe my eyes.
"Everything is gonna be okay Em. No one will hurt me like that again. You are my protector. I know you will keep me safe" I say as the sincerity bleeds through my voice.
This is probably the most honest thing I have said to him in a long time.
I then kiss him softly and wipe the stray tears from his face. He embraces me again then moves us both to the bed. I lay my head on his chest as we cuddle close.
"We have to help Alice get through this" I say to him. I feel him nod in agreement.
Leah's POV
I take another sip of the Apple martini in front of me and look around the room lazily. I may look calm, but I am actually a little reluctant to be here. I had put off doing this all week, but I know eventually the truth is going to come out. I wanted to be the one to do it. I am meeting AJ soon. I knew he would be making a drop off not too far from here so I told him to swing by.
I don't know how this was going to go honestly. But he is like my brother, shit he practically is! I gotta tell him. He will believe me. And I have to protect him.
I sigh and take another sip. Not long after, AJ arrives.
"I didn't take you for the martini type" he says smirking as he sits down next to me at the bar.
"Whatever fucker. I can be as sophisticated and as fancy shmancy as the best of them" I retort back with my own smirk. The bartender notices AJ and approaches.
"Can I get you anything to drink sir?" The bartender asks him.
"Just a coke please" he replies. Not surprising. AJ doesn't drink anymore. He hasn't had one in years. He finally turns to me.
"So what's up Lee?" he inquires.
"Something happened at the warehouse last week." I started. He nods and doesn't say anything, so I continue.
"Well, that Eve girl and I were planning to go there in the night just to chill and hang out. I was late because my car broke down. She still made it on time though. Someone ended up meeting her but it wasn't me. It was your bastard of a cousin James. Well long story short, he tried to take advantage of her. She tried to escape but failed. I came in time to get her out of there before anything went too far. Only reason I didn't shoot him was because of you" I say briskly then take another sip. I try to keep my face as neutral as possible, but I can see AJ going through it.
"Fuck James" he groans out while he put his face in his hands. He shakes his head.
"She pressin charges?" he asks without looking at me.
"Wouldn't be wise. Eve is not real" I say casually while looking around the bar again.
"What the fuck do you mean she is not real?" he asks incredulously. I turn to him then run my hands through my hair.
"The girl who says she was Eve isn't. She was faking. Her real name is Alice." I say then swallow and grip the edge of the bar table in an effort to keep my anger from rising up. AJ seems to take in this information then ponder it.
"Rose said she knows her" he begins.
"Yeah she does know Alice" I confirm.
"What the fuck is going on here" he says, seeming to think out loud.
Exactly my fucking question.
"I think Rose might be behind this shit. Never did trust that blonde bitch" I say with a disdainful look on my face.
"Nah, no way Rose would do that" he dismisses what I say and finally takes a sip of his coke that the bartender has quietly left.
"So you don't fucking believe me now?" I grit out and look at him disbelievingly.
"Lee calm down. I'm not saying I don't believe you. I's just saying that I don't think Rose would do that to us. And plus, I don't think we have all the facts yet" he says calmly.
"What more facts do we fucking need AJ?!" I exclaim while shooting both my hands up then back down. He says nothing and I just shake my head and ball my fists up. Then I swiftly draw my seat closer to him and look him in the eye.
"We need to protect ourselves in this fucking business. Always protect ourselves. I have been doing that for you since day one. Since the day you started this thing I have had your back and been there by your side protecting you. And you protected me. If you can't and choose not to protect us and this business you have built anymore, then I will! I will do whatever I have to do" I say angrily to him. He just sigh and looks away from me. I stand up and drown my drink, then slap the martini glass on the table. Then I walk over to his seat and stand closely by his side.
"And you can't trust anyone one hundred percent. One day, they may turn on you and end up to be liars" I whisper in his ear. I don't look back as I storm out of the bar.
Bella's POV
I shut off the car and take the keys out if the ignition. I grab my purse and get out of the car and head to Alice's door. After about a week and some unneeded encouragement from Edward, I am finally coming to see her after all the drama that happened. I wanted to wait at least a week so that so many people wouldn't be around so that it could just be Alice and I.
I thought I would be more conflicted being here. But I'm not. Alice and I used to be best friends in a way, we still are. And I do still care about her. And she doesn't deserve what happened to her. I just hope we can both make up. I know we had some problems. But I still want to be there for her.
I sigh as I finally reach the door. I give two soft knocks. After a couple of moments, nothing happens. I reach to knock again and the door swings open. I stare in shock as my hand drops limply to my side. The person standing at the door mirrors my shock and surprise.
Rose. Holy fuck.
My heart immediately starts woundingly wildly in my chest. I feel my knees weaken and my palms get sweaty. I take three deep breaths in an attempt to calm down.
Bella, why are you so fucking shocked to see her? This IS Rosalie's house.
I start to open my mouth to say something, but I am rendered speechless when Rosalie pulls me into an embrace. She wraps her hands tightly around my waist and my arms immediately wrap around her neck. My whole body lights ablaze as I feel her close to me.
God, I missed this. I missed her so much. This feels so good, so right. I don't want to let go.
"It's good to see you" she says quietly to me as she gives me one last squeeze before she lets me go. I look up at her and smile shyly.
"It's good to see you too" I reply. She motions for me to come in and politely takes my jacket from me when I shrug it off.
"Alice is in the living room. I will be upstairs if you both need me. I know you both need alone time to talk" she says quietly, she says looking away. I automatically frown.
She doesn't want to look at me.
"Thanks Rose" I say to her kindly. I move to start towards the living room.
"Bella," her voice stops me in my tracks. I turn back to her and my heart stops. She is looking right at me.
"Please be gentle with her. She is having a rough time. I mean, I know you know how to be gentle. You are the gentlest person I know. But ya know, she did kinda fuck us over, but….just…just be nice" she stammers out. My eyes widen slightly in shock.
Rosalie never has trouble with words, she has always been a smooth talker. She sound actually nervous.
"I will Rose I promise" I tell her. I reach out for her hand and squeeze it, to reassure her. A jolt passed through our hand when they connect. She looks at me and I can see that she felt it too. We both quickly release each other's hands and she retreats upstairs without a word. My body is buzzing with life and I breathe deeply for a couple of minutes in an attempt to relax. Once I'm calm, I realize something.
Rose thinks I'm gentle.
I can't help the smile that breaks out on my face as my body fills with warmth.
Remember why you are here Bella.
Once I am reminded, I waste no time going to the living room. I see Alice staring out the window. She looks lost in thought. The whites of her eyes are hued red. Used tissues and the box they came from line the coffee table. My eyes start to fill with tears.
Oh Alice, I haven't seen her so down like this. Jasper really broke her down.
Alice must have sensed my presence. She turned around and her eyebrows raise.
"Bella?" she says in surprise. You can hear the hint of a stuffy nose in her voice.
"Hey Alice" I say to her softly then wave. She keeps looking at me in disbelief. I tilt my head slightly to the side while I stare back at her in curiosity.
"I just didn't expect you to come is all" she answered my silent question and wiped her nose daintily. I silently make my way over to the couch were she was sitting. I plant myself next to her and start rubbing her back in an effort to comfort her. Her lips start to quiver and her eyes swim with tears. My own eyes start to become wet. I then pull her into a hug and hold her tight. She holds me back just and tight and cries against my shoulder. Once I feel her crying has subsided, I begin to speak.
"Alice, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry I wasn't there, I should have been. I shouldn't have let anything get between us. We were best friends. I should have been there to support you. I should have known, seen the signs. I should have saved you from it" I say to her. That's when she leans back and looks at me. She manages a small smile and wipes my face with one of her tissues.
"Bells, it's not your fault. Don't blame yourself. And if anyone should be apologizing for anything, it should be me" she says. She takes a deep breath.
"Bella, I have to tell you something. I have to tell you why I did it. I told Rose all of this too. But I need to tell you too. You deserve to know" Alice says as she takes my hand in hers. I look at her with worried eyes and squeeze her hand in encouragement for her to speak. She tells me everything. About her real mom and dad, about how he blamed her for everything, and about why she did what she did. I didn't say anything, and absorbed it all. But by the time she finished her story, the tears were flowing freely.
"Oh Alice," I say my voice cracking. "Why didn't you ever tell me this?"
"I was ashamed and scared for some reason, she said looking at the floor.
"Hey" I say to make her look at me. She raises her head.
"You don't ever have to be ashamed to tell me anything. You are still my best friend. Despite what happened in the past, I always cared about you, and I always will. You are still my sister" I tell her sincerely. She smiles at me then tackles me on the couch and hugs me tightly. I smile then let out a hearty laugh.
Now there is the Alice I know.
"What the fuck is going on in here?" I hear Roses voice break through our laughter. She is holding a white wine bottle on one hand and has a tray of wine glasses in the other. She had a half smile half smirk on her face, typical Rosalie.
"Bella and I were just making up" Alice says smiling at me and I smile back.
"Well good, I was tired of being the only one Alice takes on these ten million hour long shopping trips" Rosalie says while setting the bottle and glasses on the coffee table. Alice chucks a pillow at her in protest. Rose catches the pillow and throws in back at her. That sets Alice in a fit of giggles. I smile to myself.
It's nice to see them getting along.
Alice turns on the TV and settles back between Rose and I to watch it. I suddenly feel uncomfortable. Rose is still in the room. All the feelings and the emotions invoking her start to claw at the surface. It takes everything in me to keep my head straight at the TV and not look at her. But I do abuse my peripheral vision and look at her. She is glowing in the sunlight, she is the closest to the window. She looked beautiful as always. I traveled from her elongated neck, to her plump breasts, down to her firm arms, then to her...I stopped. I saw her hands intertwined with Alice's. Something within me snapped. All the emotions break through the surface. I feel like I have to hyperventilate, cry, and vomit at the same time. I suddenly stand up and hurry as fast as I can out the front door.