A/N: Put on your seatbelts, folks.

Chapter

13

The Party

Alice's POV

Jazz picked me up for Rob's party at seven-thirty on the dot, pulling up in his battered but sexy as all hell red 1965 Ford Mustang. I jumped into the passenger side, leaning over to meet his very tender but brief greeting kiss.

"You look sexy, Alley-cat," he whispered in my ear, before kissing me quickly on the cheek and starting the engine. His car roared loudly to life before he drove down the winding driveway with one hand gripping the steering wheel, and the other resting idly on my knee.

It took only a few minutes to drive to the party, and by the time we arrived it was already in full swing. The road for fifty yards either side was littered with parked cars—legally or otherwise—and kids were piling in and out of the house as loud music blared and echoed up and down the dampened street.

I noticed, while Jazz searched for somewhere to park, Bella's red Jeep Cherokee. I also noticed the lack of a certain silver Volvo and sighed to myself with relief.

"You haven't heard from Edward again have you?" I asked Jazz, as he took my hand and led me quickly from the car into the crowds of kids on the front lawn to escape the chill wind.

He shook his head. "Nope and, Alley, no talk of douche-bag tonight, okay? He's a big boy, he can take care of himself," he replied, flashing his sexy smile at me and adding tender affection to it until my stomach squirmed. Releasing his hand from mine, he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close.

"Well okay, as long as you promise to properly distract me?" I teased him coyly.

"You can count on that," he leaned down and murmured in my ear, a broad, horny grin plastered on his chiseled features.

I chuckled and wrapped my arm around his waist, snuggling further against him.

It was fair to say that most of the juniors, seniors and as well as a huge slice of sophomores from Forks High School were crammed in the house. Jazz and I could barely move; in fact we had to slide sideways to get between everyone.

"Find somewhere to sit, and I'll get us a drink," he yelled in my ear.

I nodded and glanced around me. I quickly spotted Bella sitting alone on a sofa by the far side of the living room. I made my way over to her, and as I approached she looked up, met my eyes and smiled broadly. She was actually dressed in one of the outfits she'd bought when we were in Port Angeles recently—skinny jeans, knee high boots and a tan sweater. It actually showed that Bella had a figure under all the layers of clothes she usually wore; she still looked like she was freezing her tits off, though.

"I'm so glad you're here, Als," she spoke loudly to be heard above the music, and with obvious relief. " I don't know anyone but Jake and Ness and well … you can see for yourself how that's going," she added wryly, motioning to her cousin and his girlfriend, who were busy getting hot and heated in a not so secluded corner.

I chuckled and sat down next to her, sighing in disbelief and shaking my head to myself. "It's crazy in here, but I'm glad you came too, girl! How is everything?"

She shrugged. "Yeah okay … status quo…" Her eyes flashed with hope before they brightened again—as much as eyes as deep as Bella's could brighten, that is.

I nodded slowly in thought; she was obviously referring to Kel. "Well, sometimes that's good news, huh?"

She nodded in agreement and managed a half smile.

"I rang your house today but your uncle said you were out with Jake?" I asked.

She nodded again. "Yeah, I got my mo—cell phone. Wanna see?" Her brow shot up with a sincere amount of enthusiasm, before she reached into her bag and held it out for my inspection.

"Whoa, Bells, the new iPhone! You cool dude," I teased her warmly.

She grinned and shrugged with one shoulder a little self-consciously. "What's your number again, Al?"

We exchanged cell phone numbers and chatted for a while. Jazz didn't return with our drinks, but knowing Jazzy he probably ran into someone and got distracted; especially, if he knew I was hanging with Bella.

Bella showed me some songs by Aussie bands that she liked. It aggravated me to no end, and there was no way I could ever tell her, but she definitely had Edward's taste in music. They were too angsty and ballady for my liking, but exactly like Edward. I sighed inwardly, hoping she didn't notice.

She did.

"Too daggy?" she asked me, her cheeks coloring slightly, misinterpreting my body language.

I chuckled and shook my head. "No, not daggy at all."

It was so ridiculously crowded that Bella and I were pretty much trapped on the sofa, and I suspected she was secretly relieved for it. I suggested we dance at one point, and the look of horror that crossed Bella's face was almost jocular. So, with no choice but to remain stranded where we were, we lost ourselves in chatting; with all conversation meticulously kept Edward-free.

After about forty minutes or so, Jazz arrived back on the scene with our drinks; as sweet as he was he even brought a beer for Bella. She received it with thanks her cheek color plateauing, before she placed it discreetly at her feet a few moments later.

Bella didn't drink. She'd confessed to me prior to the party that she didn't drink because she didn't want to be like her mother. I found it incredibly hard to believe that she could ever be anything like her mother, considering the few small details she'd given of her, but I understood her reasoning. Because of this though, I suspected she felt very left out and uncomfortable at things like parties. She stuck out like a sore thumb the minute I'd seen her, sitting straight as a pole and probably just as stiff. Her shoulders were drawn together as though she was protecting herself from being knocked about from the crowd, while her hands were clasped tightly in her lap.

It was ironic though, because if anyone needed a reason to relax, it was Bella.

Jazz squashed himself next to me on the sofa before pulling me onto his lap. I kept up my conversation with Bella for a while before Jazz became a little too hard to handle. Bella grinned discernibly to herself then with exaggerated casualness, she turned to talk to Angela, a girl from our year who was possibly shyer than she was.

"Let's go find a nice quiet place for two, Alley-cat," Jazz murmured in my ear, his hot breath tickling my neck, causing the hairs to stand on end.

"Let's dance for a while," I replied tickling his earlobe with my pinky finger, making him cringe. Chuckling, I climbed off his lap, pulling him up with me.

Jazz and I danced for no more than two minutes at best before we were making out more than we were dancing. At some point he'd dragged me to a quieter place, where I felt more comfortable to heat it up with him. It soon turned too heated, though, and I quickly realized I'd allowed him to get too carried away.

"Jazzy ... let's get a ... drink," I managed to say, while his lips were pressed hotly over mine. I gently pulled his hands out from under my top, kissing his fingers as I did.

"A drink..." he murmured blankly as if he had no idea what I'd just spoken, before he leaned back in to kiss my neck.

It was so easy to get lost in the moment with Jazz, but it was getting to a tasteless level.

Gently I pushed him back. "Drink, Jazz ... please?" I asked smiling at him in a way I knew he couldn't resist.

He sighed and blinked a few times, before closing his eyes, half sighing, half groaning to himself, a goofy intoxicated grin on his face. He turned to walk back into the crowd when I quickly pulled him back, making sure he was facing me.

"What?" He grinned, his eyebrows knotting.

"Stay here for a moment, babe, and ... think about ... baseball."

His eyes widened; he glanced down at his straining crotch and broke into a chuckle.

"Oh..." he mumbled, his chuckling continuing as he bent his face into my neck again. His lips connected with my skin, sending bolts of heat through my veins, making it almost impossible to gain my bearings and push him gently back. But I somehow managed to.

"Baseball, Jazzy!" I teased him sternly.

He nodded. "Okay ... baseball..." he mumbled closing his eyes again, a small grin spreading slowly across his face.

After a moment or two, Jazz was calm enough again to be led out of isolation, and we found our way into the kitchen.

With everyone flocking in and out to the refrigerator, the kitchen was a lot more crowded than the living areas. Jazz and I had to wait a few moments in a queue before we could get any more drinks.

Jazz was behind me, his arms wrapped around my waist, kissing my neck and whispering silly half-drunken things in my ear, when he suddenly whipped me around and pressed his lips to mine in a rushed, panicked sort of way that was very unlike him.

I pushed myself back in confusion. "Jazz, what are you doing?" I exclaimed, feeling my forehead knot as I watched his face become uneasy.

It was then that I saw what he was obviously trying to prevent me from seeing.

Edward was standing in the room, only a few feet away from us, with bleary, bloodshot eyes, practically swaying where he stood, with Jessica Stanley in his arms. She was basically molesting him, but Edward seemed totally indifferent to it.

"What. The. FUCK!" I swore loudly, the words flying out of my mouth before I had another moment to think. "Oh no he didn't!" I exclaimed feeling my face suddenly flash hotly with growing anger.

It was at that moment that Edward looked over toward me. His face was blotchy and his hair was untidier than usual. I wasn't sure how much alcohol he'd consumed, but I was guessing it was a fair amount. As he met my gaze, his eyes half rolled in irritation.

I was on the verge of throwing him a threatening scowl, when something caught his attention and he swiftly looked away, staring past me. He seemed to freeze, unable to look away, his entire face contorting with pain and revulsion. I turned to follow his gaze but with my height, I saw nothing but the crowds of people milling around. I turned back, and as I watched him, I felt my forehead crease with a curiosity that soon grew grave—despite my annoyance at him. There was something about his expression that made my heart quicken in fear for him. He continued to stand stock still, his face paling, and the muscles in his jaw turning rigid. Then slowly, his expression twisted into anger. He turned back around in one angry motion, grabbed a bottle of vodka that stood on the kitchen counter, then took Jessica's hand and pulled her behind him through the crowds.

Hastily, I moved forward to follow him, never in my whole life feeling this angry and ashamed of my brother, when Jazz grabbed me around the waist, preventing me from taking another step.

"Alley, I know you're angry at him but it might have to wait; maybe to a time when Bella isn't sitting ten feet away," Jazz spoke, his tone reflecting a rare seriousness.

I exhaled every last molecule of air from my lungs and nodded in agreement. Still, I was unable to tear my eyes away from Edward as he moved through the crowd, even when the only recognizable thing about him was his messy mop of hair.

When he was eventually lost from my sight, I turned back to Jazz.

"We'd better get Bella out of here," I said, rubbing my forehead slowly and closing my eyes momentarily in exasperation.

Jazz nodded in agreement, his eyes scanning through the crowds before he turned back to me. "Yeah, but right now we might have to rescue her."

He turned me in the direction to best see through the crowds. Bella was lying backwards on the sofa with Mike Newton flush on top of her, pressing his lips to hers, while Bella's hands gripped his arms tightly. I continued to stare, mutely, oddly for a moment, trying to work out why the picture of them together made my skin crawl. When in the next moment Bella angrily shoved Mike off her.

It became clear then; Mike was drunk and Bella was not a willing participant.

It all fell into place as my heart sank with sudden realization. This was what Edward had witnessed just a moment ago; missing the vital part that Bella was being assaulted.

"Oh God, he's really going to believe it now," I muttered, pushing myself forward through the crowd as Jazz followed close behind with both his hands on my waist.

Bella had shoved Mike off her and was attempting to escape the sofa, her face scarlet from anger and indignation.

"Get away from me, you wanker!" she exclaimed, but Mike only jumped on her again, forcing her backwards on the sofa, and laughing as though Bella was teasing him.

I was about six feet from Bella, preparing myself to jump on Newton's back when Emmett casually walked over to him, grabbed him rather comically by the back of his collar and tossed him across the room with incredible, jaw dropping ease. All without spilling a single drop of his drink that he held in his other hand. Mike crashed into the wall and fell into a drunken semi-conscious heap.

Emmett then flopped himself beside Bella and took a casual sip of his drink, a wide grin appearing on his face. "How's it going, Bella? You okay?"

I huffed out my relief, shaking my head in wonder. Emmett definitely came in handy sometimes...

Bella broke into a grateful smile, quickly righting herself on the sofa. "I am now. Thank you, Emmett."

"No problem." He winked at her in response.

I plonked down next to Bella while Jazz sat on the arm of the sofa beside me.

"You okay, Bella—what a creep!" I exclaimed.

She looked more embarrassed than angry, and frustrated even more than that; her face was flushing deeply.

"Yeah," she muttered eyeing Mike with aversion, who was drunkenly trying to get to his feet, before she exhaled shortly.

"So, Bella?" Emmett suddenly piped up with a wicked smirk on his face. "Tell me what my doofus brother did to piss you off this time? Did he run Jacob over in that pussy, piece of shit Swedish made car of his?"

Bella paused for a moment, opening and closing her mouth several times looking uneasy. Her cheeks started to go blotchy, just as they were recovering from the Mike incident. I piped up with my plan in time to save her from the agony of having to answer.

"Bella, I've got an idea. Do you want to have a girl's night at your place? I don't know about you, but I'm kind of over this party," I suggested it with forced enthusiasm, hoping I sounded genuine.

I could practically measure her relief as she sighed deeply. "That'd be great, Al. Good idea."

I almost sighed from relief along with her. "Cool. Do you want to go now?" I asked her, raising my eyebrows, emphasizing my eagerness.

She nodded before her expression faltered. "Okay, but I'd better find Jake and make sure he and Nessie have a way of getting home."

I almost groaned, before Jazz piped up, "I saw Jacob out front about five minutes ago, Bella."

Of course he hadn't, but it was genius. If Bella went in search of Jake, chances were she'd run into Edward. I shuddered to think how that would play out.

I turned to Jazz and smiled at him affectionately. I would definitely be rewarding him for that one. He grinned down at me, winking and without being able to resist I pulled him down to kiss him impulsively. Beside us, Emmett groaned, then got up off the sofa and disappeared into the crowd.

Grinning to myself, I turned back to Bella. "Okay, Bella, you go out and talk to Jake and I'll meet you at your car in, say ... five minutes?"

She nodded and pulled herself off the lounge, before weaving her way through the crowds in the direction of the front door.

I turned quickly to Jazz. "You look for him upstairs, Jazzy. I'll look down here. It shouldn't be too hard to find him, going by the size of him."

I preferred that arrangement; I didn't really fancy the idea of running into my jackass brother utilizing one of the upstairs bedrooms with skanky Jessica Stanley.

After searching every inch of spare space on the ground floor, I was confident Jacob wasn't there. More than likely he was upstairs with Nessie, I thought with a sigh, and headed for the stairs to check if Jazz had found him.

I was only about half way up when I was practically knocked over backwards by Bella. She was racing down the stairs in such a panicked way, that it was obvious something was very wrong.

I no doubt wouldn't need her to draw me a picture, I thought with an internal groan.

I grabbed her shoulders to steady her, before she fell the rest of the way down. "Bella, what is it?" I asked anxiously, knowing very well what, but continuing to hold out hope.

I was completely naive, because there was only one person who could hurt Bella like this at the moment.

She looked up and met my gaze. Her expression was a perfect picture of dismay, and I was instantly filled with dread.

Oh fuck!

"I-I-I've got to get out of here!" she blurted, her voice beyond any rationality.

She turned to continue down the stairs again in a way that was practically suicidal considering her level of coordination, when I grabbed her hand.

"Okay, Bella, I'll come with you. Just wait one second, okay?" I replied, practically pleading with her, with more than a hint of desperation in my voice.

She reacted as if she hadn't heard me. Pulling her hand free from mine she continued down the stairs, only to trip and land unscathed, thankfully, in Emmett's arms—who'd been about to scale the stairs himself.

"Are you okay, Bella?" he asked her, his tone concerned.

Without answering, she shook herself out of his steadying grip and continued toward the front door. I continued to watch as she shoved through the crowds of people, with her hands up around her head, as if protecting herself from both physical and emotional harm.

Emmett looked up at me in bewilderment, but I could see the exasperation that began creeping behind his eyes. They practically blared Edward!

With a measured, barely controlled breath, feeling every muscle in my body turn rigid with growing anger, I whipped myself around in the direction of the second floor and stormed up the rest of the way.

The first door I passed on the landing was ajar. I caught a glimpse of Edward inside, and with my anger pushing me forward, I burst into the room without a second thought.

Edward was standing up against the wall, or more the wall was holding him up, and Jessica was in the midst of undoing his pants. They both turned to stare at me in surprise as I entered, Edward groaning in annoyance.

"You," I pointed an accusing finger at Jessica, "OUT!" I ordered, but she stood her ground with a small, smug smile on her lips.

Practically growling in angry frustration, I grabbed her arm and hurled her through the open door before slamming it shut again and turning back to Edward.

I snatched the half-full bottle of vodka from his hands. He opened his mouth sluggishly to protest, but I slapped him across the face so hard that the stinging sound of it echoed through the room, stunning him into silence. His eyes met mine shining with so much shock and pain that I almost faltered—almost!

"What is the matter with you!?" I demanded.

"Me?" What the hell is the matter with you, Alice?" he hollered back, his words slurring and running together, his face twisting with angry, hurt affliction.

I held up the vodka bottle in emphasis and huffed. "What are you doing, Edward?"

"What does it look like?" he slurred sarcastically. "I thought that was obvious. I'm getting wasted."

"Getting wasted?" I retorted, arching an eyebrow with disgust, and shaking my head, so mad at him that I wanted to slap him again. "I can't believe you, Edward. Do you realize what you've done to Bella—again?"

"Bella?" He practically snorted in disgust; only his eyes immediately contradicted him. "Why do you care so much about her for?" Whether he was aware of it or not, his tone had suddenly turned defeated, while his gravelly voice was laced with pain. But, his reply had only made me angrier.

"Because Bella is the only person—other than Jazz and Rose—who doesn't treat me like I have some kind of contagious disease. And in case you've forgotten, she's going through quite a bit at the moment, and here you are again hurting her, with the one person who completely humiliated her on her first day of school—well apart from you that is!" I shot back at him, my voice rising with every anger-filled word that I spoke until I was yelling.

"Bella doesn't give a shit about me. She has that weasel, Newton!" he blurted, resentment twisting his expression again, while the pain behind his eyes remained constant.

I folded my arms and snorted at his remark. "Maybe she'd be better off with Mike Newton, but she doesn't want him because she's in love with YOU!" I replied, continuing to yell at him, while wanting to start punching him for his own stupidity.

Edward reacted as if I'd slapped him again. He began blinking suddenly confused, his face growing steadily pale. "But … but she went out with him after she was at our house Thursday..." he mumbled, shaking his head to himself as if trying to reassemble the pieces of a puzzle in his head; pieces of a puzzle that up until this moment were in the wrong place.

"I know," I whispered in reply, almost pitying him. How badly he had got it wrong. "I was the one that told her to go. She didn't want to; I told her it'd get her mind off things. She didn't go with Mike, Edward, she went with Jake and Nessie. That asshole, Mike, just tagged along," I explained to him, my voice growing with annoyance again. "She likes Mike so much that she was shoving him off her not ten minutes ago when he all but attacked her."

I should not have had to explain! He should have found out the truth before he'd acted!

Edward repositioned himself against the wall, his movements slow and unsteady. He ran his hands through his already disheveled hair, exhaling into a huge shaky sigh. His forehead creased pitifully with sudden pain and remorse; he was obviously beginning to realize the enormity of his mistake.

At that moment, and without warning, the door burst open. I turned half expecting to see Jessica, but it was Jacob and the look on his face was murderous. My heart literally lunged into my throat. He took one look at Edward, stepped inside the room, threw his arm back and punched him squarely in the face with a sickening thud. Edward went sprawling backwards, losing his footing and landing flat on his back.

"JESUS!" Edward exclaimed loudly before he sluggishly pulled himself to his feet with the aid of the bed. "Fuck this!"

He stood up shakily, with blood trickling from an obvious deep cut just above his left eye. Jacob took another step closer to him, but I reached out to stop him, grabbing him by the back of his shirt and pulling him back.

"Jacob, don't," I pleaded with him seriously, before adding with a sigh. "You might want to postpone this until Edward isn't so drunk."

I prayed silently that he'd see reason, because there was no way I'd be able to hold him back from beating the crap out of Edward if that was his intention.

He seemed to contemplate it for a moment before he looked back at Edward with a dark, hatred-filled expression. "If you ever come near Bella again—if you so much as look at her by accident, I'll be there, Cullen, and next time there'll be no family members to help you."

"Fuck you, Swan!" Edward spat back, swaying unsteadily on his feet before slumping into the wall again.

Jacob sneered at him, but turned his back and exited the room without another reply.

"I'm sorry to say this, Edward, but you deserved that," I spoke quietly to him, dropping my eyes to the floor momentarily. It really hurt me to see my brother in this condition; in this much pain.

Edward sighed and turned his head, deliberately avoiding me. His face was pale and his expression distraught—there was no hiding that from me. I could see it not only in his expression, but in his posture. He was completely jaded and defeated.

With his back turned, he put his palm to his eye and withdrew it again to inspect the level of blood. His whole hand was smeared with it. I exhaled into a long weary sigh.

What the hell was I going to do with him?

Jazz bolted in to the room suddenly with an anxious look on his face, but after a quick survey of the scene before him, his expression calmed. "Looks like he got here before me," he mused, more or less to himself. I gave him a funny look and he elaborated, "Bella found Jacob—or more Jacob found Bella, after she found..." he broke off and motioned to Edward with a slight incline of his head.

I sighed and nodded in understanding

"Jesus, douche-bag, you're a mess," Jazz observed, gazing at Edward, his tone only half teasing.

Edward sat himself clumsily down on the edge of the bed and buried his face in his hands. "Fuck you ... Jazmina," was his muffled reply. His words were increasingly slurred and his movements even more sluggish. He was about a minute from unconsciousness.

I turned with guilt-ridden reluctance to Jazz. "I'm going to go to Bella's and see how she is. Can you look after this big idiot for me and make sure he gets home all right?"

Jazz sighed then nodded, pulling his keys from his jeans pocket. "Take my car. I'll get Emmett to take Edward home and I'll drive his Volvo."

I took his keys from him and flashed him a warm, grateful smile, pulling him down to kiss him tenderly. "Thanks, Jazzy. Love you," I whispered into his ear.

Edward slumped suddenly from the bed onto the floor, his eyes closed, as a soft, tortured moan escaped his lips.

Jazz groaned to himself. "I'd better haul his ass to the bathroom," he said with a wary sigh.

I kissed Jazz once more quickly on the cheek before I turned and hurried down stairs and out the front door.

As soon as the icy wind of the open air hit me, I began to become plagued by an unnerving feeling. I shrugged it off contributing it to seeing Edward in the condition he was in; it was only natural that I'd be concerned for him. I left it at that and pushed it to the back of my mind. My main concern at that moment was for Bella, and going from the look on her face as she left the party, I could only imagine the state I'd find her in.

A/N: God they're sickening...