Dinner was…

Well it was fucking weird.

Due to Edward's sudden crankiness and Alice trying to hold back tears, it was up to Emmett, Rosalie, Esme, Carlisle, and I to keep an awkward conversation going. Due to my being new, it mostly revolved around me-my home life, what I wanted to do in college, how long I'd lived here, etc.

The only time it got awkward at the dinner table is when my mother became the topic of conversation. I quickly stated that my father and she were divorced and, thankfully, no one pressed me for details.

When dinner finally ended, Esme invited us to do whatever we wanted until the dessert was completely ready. Since Alice and Edward were both not in the mood to talk and I really didn't feel like prying, I decided to go sit outside. It was rare to have a decent day in Forks, so I was going to take advantage of it.

I curl up in a huge wicker chair that was disgustingly comfortable and stare blankly at the sky above me. The sun was going down, giving everything a slightly pink-orange tint.

It was almost magical.

But the tranquility I felt quickly left as Rosalie walked out onto the porch.

"Hello, Bella," she whispers quietly.

I smile at her. "Hi, Rosalie."

She gestures to the seat across from me. "Do you mind if I join you?"

I shake my head. "Not at all."

We sit in an awkward silence for about five minutes. I glance at her out of the corner of my eye and see her nervously fidgeting with her hands. I sigh and look back out in the distance, once again admiring the brief sunlight.

"Bella," Rosalie finally begins. "I want to apologize."

I raise an eyebrow at her. "For what?"

She rests her hands gently on her lap. "For the cold way I greeted you," she says sadly. "I'm sorry I was so rude to you. I've just seen this family go through a lot of turmoil because of Edward's celebrity status, especially Alice."

I don't say anything, sensing that she isn't quite done with her explanation and, after a long pause, she speaks again.

"The Cullen's are the only real family I've ever known and the thought of someone hurting them again…I just couldn't stand it," she whispers. "But Alice tells me that you've caused a change in Edward, and she's happy again. I was hoping we could start over. Be friends," she finally concludes.

I smile at her. "Of course, Rosalie. I didn't take any offense to the way you acted earlier and, honestly, I don't blame you," I say with a shrug.

She smiles a breath taking smile. "Thank you, Bella," she says. Her expression quickly goes back to serious though, and I briefly wonder if the entire family has trouble controlling their emotions.

"Just promise me you'll be there for Alice," she says. "I love her like my own little sister and know how hard it is for her to trust people. And I can see she's beginning to trust you. Don't make her regret that."

I nod at her. "I won't."

The dessert Esme made is probably the best thing I've ever eaten. I'm not quite sure what it is, but it has chocolate and strawberries in it, and it immediately wins me over. After two helpings and a large glass of milk, Emmett and Rose say they have to leave. After a gentle hug from Rosalie and a bear hug from Emmett, they leave with the promise to be back soon.

Apparently, they live in Port Angeles.

As we sit in the living room talking, I'm glad to see that Alice is livelier than she was and Edward, while still cranky, is at least listening to what we say. It's more than I'd seen from them since we got here, so I was grateful.

It was around 8 when I decided it was time for me to leave. Edward still hadn't said anything and I could see Alice was getting tired, so I stood up.

"It's getting late," I say. "I should probably get home."

Edward and Alice both stand up. "I'll drive you," they say in unison.

I raise an eyebrow at them and Alice looks at Edward. "Do you really want to put Bella through a long quiet car ride with your cranky self?" Alice says with a frown. "Because the way you've been acting all night? Well I wouldn't want to ride with you either," she growls at him.

Edward rolls his eyes and speaks for the first time in hours. "I am perfectly capable of taking her," he insists. "Plus, I'd rather have it quiet than have you blab my ear off."

They bicker between themselves for a bit before I look to Carlisle and Esme. "Does this happen a lot?" I ask.

Carlisle nods. "Unfortunately."

Esme stands up and starts telling them to stop, but they keep throwing insults at each other until Edward walks away from them both and grabs my hand, pulling me along behind them.

"I'm taking her home," he mumbles. I turn around and look at Alice and Esme and Carlisle. I could tell from the look on Esme's face that she was tired and Carlisle looked like he wanted to run after us and yell at Edward, but Alice looked the worse of all. She watched Edward's retreating back with sadness and anger. She attempted a smile at me, but I couldn't find it in me to smile back.

There was a lot more going on with this family than they let on.

As predicted, the car ride began with only the hum of the engine to ward of the silence. He took off out of the driveway faster than I expected and my heart started racing as he took each curve in the road at sharp angles.

After a minute, I couldn't keep quiet.

"Okay I know you have some sort of family drama going on, but slow the fuck down!" I yell. "You're going to kill us both!"

It's as though I snap him out of some sort of stupor. His eyes meet my terrified ones and I feel the car slowly begin to drop in speed until we're only going 15 mph.

I sigh in relief and loosen my grip on the side of my seat. "Thanks you."

He nods. "Yeah, probably shouldn't have gone that fast with the chief's daughter in the car," he says quietly.

"Or any other human being for that matter," I argue. "That was reckless, Edward. Seriously."

He rolls his eyes. "Grow a backbone, Swan. That was nothing," he growls.

It takes a moment for his rude words to register in my mind before I flip out.

"So what crawled up your ass and died?" I ask. "Because you may want to take care of that because you're acting like a complete fucker"

He looks at me, his green eyes ablaze with anger. He pulls off to the side of the road and slams on the breaks.

"Well who shoved a pole up your ass? Ever heard of having fun?" he asks with a sneer.

I look at him for a long moment. "Just because you're a celebrity does not give you the right to treat me like shit," I say. "I thought we decided on being friends earlier, Edward. What happened to that?"

He opens his mouth to say something but closes it quickly. He turns away from me and leans his head against the steering wheel with his eyes closed.

After what seemed like forever, he leans back up and looks at me.

"I'm sorry," he says gently. "I shouldn't have yelled at you. I really don't know what came over me."

I can hear the lie in his voice, the denial, but I choose not to comment on it.

"It's okay," I say softly and, without another word, he pulls back out onto the main road and drives me back to my truck at the school.

Being at the school so late at night is creepy. The place that always seems so lively with people is as dead as the night. The only cars that are here belong to the night janitors.

Neither of us makes any movements after he parks the car. We both stare straight ahead at the empty school for a few minutes. But the silence is too heavy and I know something needs to be said.

"Listen," I start. "I can see at this point that something really bad happened to you and your family in LA. And honestly, it's none of my business. But you can't take that out on other people, especially not Alice. Yell at me all you want, but Alice loves you. She just wants you happy."

He turns his head to look at me. "You think I don't know that?" he sounds offended.

"I'm sure you do. But you need to control yourself sometime. I mean, you have these mood swings…you were perfectly content when we left the meadow but as soon as you stepped into your house, it was like you were a different person. You barely said two words the entire night," I say gently. I don't want to get him angry again, but he needs to hear it from someone.

He sighs. "I just need a good night's sleep. I'll see you tomorrow," he says quickly.

I groan and unbuckle my seatbelt before I throw the door open and slam it behind me.

I hear the whirl of the window going down before Edward calls my name softly. I stop and turn around to find him leaning out of the window, staring at me with sad eyes.

"Earlier, you said being friends with you would hurt my reputation…" he begins. "You should realize by now that it's the other way around. I'm only going to hurt you," he says sadly. "I hurt everybody."

Before I can respond, he's driving away while simultaneously rolling up the window.

And I just stare after him in confusion before I shake my head and jump into the cab of my truck. I turn on the heat after I start the car and pull my phone out of my pocket just as it starts to ring.

Alice.

"Hey Alice," I say in greeting.

"Can I come over to your house? I need to explain a few things," she says quickly.

I look at the clock on my dash and see that it's almost 9. My dad should be home in an hour, but I think he'll understand.

"Sure. See you in ten."