Chapter 23
Baby, won't you come my way?
Got something I want to say.

Cannot keep you out my brain.

But first off I'ma start by saying this, ayy

~My Way- Fetty Wap

Bella wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and flushed the toilet. She had been feeling nauseous all day, and finally her stomach couldn't take it anymore and had her expelling her lunch into the toilet. She felt grimy after puking and hopped in the shower to cleanse herself. Later that night, she would be going to the Victoria's tavern, and hoped that she wouldn't be making friends with the dirty toilets in the bathroom.

After she showered and brushed her teeth, she felt better and slipped into some comfortable clothes, then shuffled into the living room. The house still held a mild garlic smell that her nose wrinkling. Jacob was sitting on the couch, still in his pj's, messing around on his laptop. "Hey Jake, what are you doing?" Bella asked as she took a seat next to him and flipped on the television.

"Well, fleeing the country seemed like a crazy idea. But moving still seems like the way to go." Jacob angled his laptop so that Bella could see what he was searching. She found numerous houses and apartments in their area and how much they were selling for or rent prices. "Look, some of these places are close to the police station. What lunatic would dare attack anyone who lived there?"

Bella squinted her eyes at a house that was selling for almost $300,000. "Jacob, I don't think we can afford a house like that. No matter how safe it is." She told him reluctantly. "That is a nice house though."

Jacob scrolled down to a different, more affordable place, that happened to be an apartment. "What about here? It's also near the police station."

"You want to move out of an apartment just to move to a different one?" She looked at the place skeptically. "Plus, they don't allow dogs. I don't want to be in danger of getting kicked out. Or losing Midnight." She told him seriously.

"Oh, that would suck." Jacob sighed heavily and pointed to a quaint house that was around the rent they were paying now making it in their budget. "What about this place?"

Bella scanned through the pictures of the house and pursed her lips. It was a single story, ranch style house with two bedrooms, one and half bath, a small front porch and large backyard. The previous owners were renting out the house and allowed pets so Midnight would be able to live there without fear. The house was also over an hour away from both Bella and Jacob's place of work, meaning their commute would be long. "I don't know Jacob, it's a cute house but it's really far."

"It's in one of the safest neighborhoods in the state." Jacob told her excitedly. "There's a Filmores down there, so I'm sure I can request to be transferred there."

"What about me?" Bella frowned at the thought of leaving Forks High School. Sure, Jane was becoming troublesome, but she enjoyed working there. Alice and Demetri were her friends and she doubted she would find better coworkers at a different school. "I don't want to have drive an hour to and from work."

Jacob's smile began to fall. "Well maybe you could work at a school within that district."

"I don't want to leave Forks, Jake."

"Bella, we would be safer there." Jacob ran a hand through his hair in annoyance. "Well, how about you think about it. Can you do that for me?"

"Fine." Bella snapped, rising from the couch. "I'll think about it." She left the living room to seek solace in their bedroom.

Bella had no intentions of uprooting their family and moving so far from the place they called home. Edward would have to do more than make measly threats before she would consider moving to a different city.

Later that evening, Bella slipped into a crimson, strapless dress that hugged her waist before flaring out and stopping just short of her knees. Normally the dress fit perfectly, but that night, it seemed to hug her extra tightly. It wasn't uncomfortable, but it reminded Bella of what Alice had said the other day. She'd joked that Bella would gain weight from eating all those pickles. While Bella knew that pickles were zero-calorie foods, the coconut cake she had been scarfing down by the boatloads, were definitely not low cal. She looked at her stomach that definitely seemed bigger than normal and sighed. She would need to cut back on the cake if she wanted to retain her figure.

Jacob entered the room as Bella was slipping into some comfortable black flats. "Charlie just picked up Renesmee. He said he'll drop her off tomorrow in the afternoon after taking her to see a movie."

"What movie is he taking her to see?" Bella asked curiously.

"Some movie about yellow blobs. I think they're trying to take over the world or something." Jacob shrugged uninterestedly. "It's a children's movie, that's all that matters."

"Oh, okay." She walked by her husband and fiddled with her jewelry on the dresser. "Well I hope she enjoys it."

"Hey." Jacob reached out and grabbed her arm gently. "Are you mad at me about the house?" When Bella didn't look at her husband, he released her and sighed. "I didn't mean to make you angry, Bella."

Bella felt her shoulders sag. She knew Jacob was only looking out for her and Renesmee. "I know. I just, I don't like the idea of leaving right now. We live here. This is our home." She looked her husband in his big brown eyes and felt her heart stutter at the love in them. "He can't take that from us."

Jacob smiled softly at his wife then leaned down and captured her lips with his own. "Alright Bella. We'll stay." He whispered against her lips before kissing her again. "Ya know, since we have the house to ourselves later, we could have some fun."

Bella pushed her husband away playfully. "You horndog." She winked at him then headed into the living room. "We'll see."

The couple finished getting ready, then made their way to Victoria's Tavern. As usual, with it being a Saturday night, the place was jumping with people of various ages. Most of the barely legal adults were overtaking the crowded dance floor while the older adults took over the bar and ordered various drinks. As usual, the tavern reeked of booze and fried foods. The smell had Bella's stomach feeling uneasy, and she almost considered returning home. But just as she made up her mind to retreat, she locked her sights on her coworkers and Demetri waved her over. She was surprised when she found Demetri, Max and Corin sitting at the same circular booth they had occupied weeks ago when they had first gone to the tavern together. Bella took Jacob's hand, then wove her way through the crowd until she made it to the booth.

"Hey Bella, Jacob!" Demetri greeted when they made it to the booth. Corin had made sure to sit next to Demetri and Max was sitting on the opposite side of the booth. Jacob decided to sit next to Max, while Bella sat on the other side of Demetri. Everyone, minus Bella and Jacob, already had a drink in front of them. "So how are you?"

Bella looked at Jacob who reached out and took her hand on top of the table. "We're okay. Happy for the weekend."

"Amen to that!" Corin lifted her drink to her lips and took a sip of the pink liquid. "Those kids at school are crazy, I swear. Did y'all hear about the drug scandal?"

"What drug scandal?" Demetri asked curiously.

"Wait, you didn't hear about it?" Max interjected. "It's been all over the school!"

Demetri looked between his coworkers then chanced a glance at Bella. "Have you heard about this?" When Bella shook her head no, he looked to Corin and Max for answers.

"Principal Greene has been selling drugs at the school!" Corin took another sip of her drink and wiped her mouth cutely. "Can you believe that? Apparently he's been doing it for years."

"But that's not even the kicker," Max chimed in, receiving the full attention of Demetri, Bella and even Jacob. "He's been selling it to some of the teachers, and some students!"

"You're joking!" Demetri covered his mouth in surprise. "Students?"

"Yeah." Max couldn't help chuckling. "Fucking crackheads. He sold it to select students, who basically acted as dealers and sold it to their friends and shit." Max downed his beer and set the empty mug on the table. "How he kept this underwraps is beyond me."

"The police are going to be doing checks on all the teachers classrooms during the weekend to see if anyone was hiding anything." Corin told him. "I'm so happy I'm not a part of that. I do not want to be caught up in that." Demetri, Max and Bella made noises of agreement. "But, I do know for a fact that the secretary, Mrs. Cope, was definitely caught with a lot of drugs at her station. So along with a new principal, we're going to be getting a new secretary too. It's going to be an interesting next week."

"Wait, we're getting a whole new principal? What about V.P. Berty? Isn't he just going to get bumped up from vice principal to just principal?" Bella asked, brow furrowing in confusion.

Corin tore her gaze from Demetri and shrugged. "That's not what I've been hearing. I heard they want to bring in a whole new principal. But regardless, I guess we'll find out on Monday what the hell is going on."

Jacob couldn't help laughing at the conversation. "You're school seems very intriguing. Almost like a soap opera."

"Tell me about it." Corin had finished her pink drink and sat her glass in front of Max's empty mug. "I swear it feels like school takes over your life when you're a teacher. All I do is eat, sleep and breathe history."

"You aren't alone." Max told her comfortingly. But Corin merely shot him a disdainful look. To ease the awkward silence that began to reign, Max offered to get everyone some food. "What would y'all like to eat?"

Corin and Demetri peered at the small, laminated menu that was sitting on table near the condiments. "Do we all like wings?" Demetri asked, glancing at everyone at the table. He received collective nods and smiled at Max. "We can just share some wings and maybe fries. Sound good?"

"Fine with me." Corin replied.

"Sounds good to me." Jacob spoke. Then he looked at his wife. "I know you have been weird with food lately. Are you okay with wings?"

Bella thought about it and was about to resign herself when she noticed that they sold fried pickles. Her mouth immediately salivated at the thought and she returned her attention to her husband. "Actually, I want some fried pickles."

Everyone at the table made a face except for her husband. He merely chuckled and nudged Max. "I'll come up there with you."

Jacob and Max left the booth to order the food at the bar. To save on money, the tavern didn't hire waiters or waitresses. Instead they had six bartenders who took orders while a person waited at the bar. Bella watched the duo head up to the bar and disappear as the dancing crowd seemed to swallow them whole.

After they had gone, Corin turned to Demetri with a flirty face. "So what do you like to do to unwind?"

Demetri smiled casually and thought about the question. "I don't do much. After school I usually watch some TV and if I'm lucky, Sabrina will grace my presence."

Corin's flirty smile fell immediately and she began to twiddle with her fingers on top of the table. "Oh." She laughed without humor. "Is Sabrina your girlfriend?"

Demetri barked a laugh and Bella had to cover her mouth to keep from giggling. Bella was enjoying watching the conversation between Demetri and Corin, as it was clear to her that Corin was infatuated with the man, but Demetri seemed to be in the dark on her feelings. After a pregnant pause, Demetri responded. "No, Sabrina is my cat. She's black with white paws." He quickly drew his phone out of his pocket and pulled up a picture of Sabrina sitting on a window sill.

"She's cute!" Bella told him honestly.

Corin merely stared at the picture then at Demetri then back at the picture. "I never pegged you to be a cat person."

"Oh yes." Demetri nodded his head seriously, then placed his phone back into his pocket. "Growing up, we always had at least three cats in the house. Some would say my mother was a fanatic when it came to cats." Demetri smiled sheepishly. "She could never get rid of them. She took in strays all the time. The only time we could convince her to get rid of them, was if we knew someone who wanted a cat."

"Huh." Corin smiled at Demetri and moved her hand up to cover his. "So you don't have a girlfriend."

Demetri looked down at the hand covering his own and side glanced at Bella who was watching everything with rapt attention. "Uh, no. I do not." Demetri subtly removed his hand from under Corin's hand to scratch the back of his head. "So Corin, what's your favorite movie?" Demetri asked, seemingly grasping at straws to steer the conversation away from himself.

Corin shifted closer to Demetri and twirled a strand of her curly blonde hair between her fingers. "I like romantic movies." Before Demetri could say anything else, an idea seemed to pop into Corin's head. "Maybe we should see a movie together sometime, what do you think?" Corin batted her eyes at Demetri who looked like he wished for nothing more than to fade into the booth and disappear.

Luckily for Demetri, he didn't get the chance to reply as Max and Jacob returned with food and a round of drinks. Max slid into the booth first and sat close to Corin. He placed the big platter of BBQ drenched wings in the center of the table, and placed the mound of fries next to them. After he was situated, Jacob slid in next to him and passed Bella her basket of fried pickles. Afterward he passed everyone a drink.. "These are blueberry daiquiris." When he received an appraising glance from Demetri, Jacob held up his hands in defense. "I hate the whole 'men only drink beer', 'girly drinks are gay', crap. It's not fair that women get to be the only people who drink sweet alcohol."

Demetri laughed at Jacob's outburst and smiled. "Jacob, I was only going to say that I love daiquiris." He took a sip of his blueberry drink and nodded in approval. "Men can enjoy sweet drinks too." He winked at Jacob who returned the smile, raising his drink high in cheers.

Bella looked at the water in front of her and sent her husband an inquisitive stare. "Why didn't you get me one?"

Jacob lifted up the car keys and tossed them to his wife who barely caught them. "You're the designated driver."

"Ah, right." Bella pursed her lips and pointed to Jacob's drink. "Well, let me at least taste it." Jacob eased his drink across the table and Bella picked it up, taking a small sip. She could taste the blueberry liqueur and smiled. One day she would have to get one for herself. "Taste good." She returned the drink to Jacob, then grabbed a fried pickle. It was extra crunchy and hot grease drizzled down her chin. "Not bad, but not as good as regular ol' pickle."

Jacob rolled his eyes at his wife, but the smile on his face showed his adoration for her. He then grabbed one of the wings and took a careful bite. "Whoa," He spoke with a fill mouth. "Hot!"

"You're telling me." Corin was having issues holding the steaming wings, let alone getting them into her mouth.

"The sauce is good though." Max commented, polishing off his third wing, and popping a couple fries into his mouth.

"How are you eating these so fast? They're so hot." Corin looked at Max with something between confusion and distaste.

Max merely shrugged and sipped his drink. "I don't feel temperature as badly as everyone else. Comes from years of burning my fingers and mouth on, well, food." He lifted up a hot wing as if to prove his point.

Corin blew at one of the wings and once it was cool enough, she took a bite. "So, uh, Demetri." Corin looked up at the man sitting next to her and smiled tentatively. "About that,"

"Hey Corin." Max suddenly interjected, causing the woman to turn sharply in his direction.

"What?" She snapped.

Max, unperturbed by her words, pointed at the corner of her mouth. "You've got some barbeque sauce right there.

Corin bristled at Max's words and quickly grabbed a napkin to rid her face of the sauce. Even in the dim light, the group could tell that Corin was blushing from embarrassment.

"Hey, after we're done eating, we should dance." Demetri suggested to his coworkers. "Sound cool?"

"Hell yeah." Max pumped his fist with vigor. "We can't leave her without hitting up the dance floor and showing those kids how it's done!"

They all looked at the crowd jamming to the music enthusiastically. "I love dancing." Corin murmured, capturing Demetri's attention with a seductive stare.

Bella popped the last fried pickle into her mouth and scooted out of the booth with Demetri quick at her heels. "Well, let's dance." She knew not everyone was finished with their food, as there was still a handful of fries left along with a couple wings. But she also could tell that Demetri was extremely uncomfortable with Corin and wanted to help him in the only way that she could.

Soon Jacob joined her, along with Max and eventually Corin. The group assimilated themselves into the dancing crowd and eventually were split up because of all the people dancing. Jacob managed to stay with Bella and wrapped one arm around her waist while they followed the of the fast paced song. The strobe lights were erratically shooting out multicolored lights, helping set the tone that they were in a dance club and not actually a tavern.

"Come here often." Jacob teased his wife, leaning close to her ear so she could hear him.

Bella could hear the tone of Jacob's voice and knew that the alcohol was roaring through his system. He truly was a lightweight, having had only one drink. But as she thought about it, daiquiris tended to be a high alcohol content drink. "You're drunk." Bella replied nudging him playfully and continuing in their dancing.

"Not true." Jacob took her hand during their dance and kissed it softly. "Maybe a little tipsy. But not drunk."

As the song changed, more people joined the already crowded dance floor. The result being that hot, sweaty bodies rubbed against Bella causing her to be pushed against her husband. He wrapped his arms around her protectively and she leaned into his embrace. They danced for a little longer when Bella felt her stomach acting strangely. Nausea swept through her and she felt her mouth go dry. Knowing what was going to happen soon, Bella pulled out of her husband's embrace and looked up at him apologetically. "I have to go to the bathroom, I'll be right back."

Jacob nodded that he understood and Bella made her way out of the crowd, slower than she would have liked. After she had escaped the dancefloor, she made a beeline for the ladies room. On the way inside, she bumped a tall man and barely spared him a glance, instead apologizing and pushing the door open to restroom.

Victoria's Tavern was known for many things in Forks. Having clean bathrooms was not one of them. The ladies room held three stalls, and two sinks. The air dryer for drying hands never worked and paper towels were a thing of the past. The restroom had various discolored stains throughout the floor and walls that left much to be desired. Sweat, urine and the faint smell of strawberries attacked Bella's nose as she entered. Bella looked at the three stalls and found all of them empty. As she was deciding which stall to use, the door behind her opened and bumped into her. Bella shuddered as the grimy door touched her bare shoulders and moved away from the door as someone entered.

"You okay?" A deep voice asked behind her with a thick Italian accent.

Bella whipped around and found a tall, tanned man standing in the doorway leering at her. He was bald with a scalp as shiny as a cue ball. She couldn't quite place where she'd seen him before, but he seemed eerily familiar. "Isn't this the ladies room?" Bella was out of sorts at seeing the man in the restroom. Had she accidentally walked into the wrong room?

The Italian man smirked and nodded. "This is the ladies room. I followed you in here."

Bella didn't like the vibes he was sending her. "Why?"

The smirk fell from the man's face and a scowl replaced it. "You don't remember me?" He took a threatening step forward and Bella mirrored him by taking one backwards. "It's only been a few weeks."

Bella wracked her brain from this new information when a light went off in her head. Instantly, she felt her palms get sweaty and fear chilled her body. "You." She whispered, taking another step back. "What do you want?" Bella remembered the first time she had come to the tavern with her coworkers. She'd taken a step outside to make a call and a man had chatted her up. Then tried to kidnap her. Now he was back, and she really wanted to believe that his intentions had changed.

"You." He replied, the smirk returning.

Bella was confused by his words and it showed on her face. "What?"

"You asked what I wanted." He licked his lips creepily and stared her up and down slowly. "I want you." The man began taking quick steps towards her.

"I'm married." Bella blurted once she was backed up to the wall. Her arm accidentally bumped into the soap dispenser and some pink, strawberry scented soap leaked onto her arm. The sweet smell, mixed with the disgusting bathroom, and her fear, had her nausea getting worse.

The man paused in his pursuit and looked down at her left hand, finding the gold band around her ring finger easily. "That's alright. Never stopped me before." He winked then placed his hands on either side of her face, pinning her to the wall. "Now stop playing hard to get, and give me some sugar."

"Wait!" Bella screamed, causing him to pause on his way to kiss her. "I'm not playing hard to get, I swear. Please, I'm not interested." She pushed against him but was met with much resistance.

"If that's the way you want to play it, I don't care." The bald man dipped his head and smashed his lips against hers in harsh kiss.

Bella fought him fiercely, turning her head to escape the kiss, but to no avail. He was overpowering her with his strength and soon his hands were sliding down her body, tugging at her dress. "Stop!" She gasped when pulled away enough to push her dress down, exposing her strapless bra. His kiss had tasted of beer and buffalo wings. When he kissed Bella again, she felt her stomach give. The fried pickles made their way up her throat and soon she was spewing it on the Italian man's lips, face and chest as he pulled away in disgust. The vomit didn't stop and soon her dress and the floor around them was covered in Bella's vomit.

"What the fuck?!" The man screamed, wiping his mouth in horror. He turned to the grimy sink and began to wash out his mouth, face and clothes.

Bella ignored all the throw up and rushed from the bathroom. She pushed through people on the dance floor, receiving numerous insults and even a few retaliatory shoves. She found her husband dancing near Max and hurried to him. "Jacob!" She tugged on his arm until she'd captured his and Max's attention.

"Bella, your dress!" Max pointed at the fact that her bra was exposed and he couldn't tear his eyea away from the lacy bra that supported her breasts.

Jacob angled his body in front of Bella's to hide her from prying eyes, and helped her adjust her dress. His hands touched her vomit, and widened in surprise. "Bella, what happened?"

Being couldn't help the tears that escaped her eyes. "He tried to rape me." She told him, shaking. "I just want to go home."

"What? Who?" Jacob led Bella from the dance floor and towards the booth they had previously occupied. "What happened?" Jacob asked, sobering up instantly.

"There's a man in the ladies room." Bella wiped her face free from tears, and smeared some of the puke left on her face. "He trapped me in the bathroom and tried to…" She couldn't utter the words again and instead reached for a napkin to wipe off her face.

"Wait here." Jacob told her then caressed the side of her face gently. "I'll be back."

Bella watched Jacob stomp towards the bathroom, and she knew there was going to be trouble. After she finished cleaning off her face, she placed the soiled napkin inside the empty fried pickles basket, then hurried to the ladies room where she knew Jacob and the Italian man were to be found. When she pushed the door open, she gasped at the sight.

"Don't ever touch my wife again!" Jacob growled, drawing back his fist and slamming it into the bald man's face. He had still been cleaning the puke off his clothes when Jacob attacked him. Fist after fist made repeated contact against the tanned cheeks of the Italian man, who was caught off guard and ended up falling to the floor. Jacob straddled the man and continued to wail on him. "How dare you!" He screamed between blows. "Touch here again," Jacob punched him in the nose, causing blood to stain his knuckles. "And I will end you!" Jacob felt a touch on his shoulder and turned around to find his frightened wife standing behind him, pale as a sheet. "Bella." He jumped to his feet and rushed to his wife's side. "Let's get out of here."

Jacob and Bella left the Italian man unconscious on the ground, then quickly found Bella's coworkers and informed them that they would be leaving. "What happened?" Max asked Bella, glancing down at her chest then back at her face.

"Nothing." She murmured. "Just a misunderstanding." Bella awkwardly crossed her arms and sighed inwardly when she touched her own vomit. She just wanted to go home, shower and go to bed. Tonight was a night she hoped to forget as it was too fresh in her brain for her to feel comfortable.

Demetri patted Bella's shoulder awkwardly and frowned. "Everytime we come here, something crazy happens to you. I'm starting to think this place is cursed."

Bella laughed and felt a tear spring from one of her eyes. "Yeah. I'll see you guys on Monday."

"Get rest Bella." Corin told her while sidling up to Demetri.

Jacob took Bella's dirty hand and led her from the tavern. Neither said a word when Bella drove them home as both were contemplating the actions that had transpired that night.

A/N: Geez, this chapter his SUPER long. Longest chapter so far it being 11 pages long *gasps*