[Disclaimer] Stephenie Meyer owns everything Twilight. I own the plot for this story.

[A/N] A big thank you to those of you who take the time to read and review. Your support means so much to me.

*My family is my strength and my weakness*

(Aishwarya Rai Bachchan)

Chapter 6

Tanya is my partner in crime.

She helps me with looking for Bella Swan's number. It doesn't mean that I actually plan on calling her once we find it but still, it would be nice to have since Bella has mine. If I get hers, I could save it in my phone under Bambi Eyes and be prepared in case she finally decides to give me a call. God, I really want her to call me. This is pathetic. I do not run after anyone, who's obviously not interested in me.

Turns out there are nineteen, fucking nineteen, Isabella Marie Swans living in this town. Tanya dares me to call the first two and pretend I am trying to sell cleaning powder. Swan two actually seems interested. Damn it. How stupid can people be?

"This is hopeless," I sigh, dipping a cookie into my hot chocolate. "There is no way we are going to find her like this. I should just ask Jasper for Bella's number and be done with it."

My cousin clicks her tongue and blows over her freshly-painted red fingernails. The color is called Italian wine and is a beautiful dark-red tone without any hint of sparkle in it. Sparkly nail polish is for hookers and teenagers who don't know any better. Tanya's words, not mine.

"I will help you to get Swan's phone number but only under one condition." She sips on her cup of hot chocolate. "You are going to call her and ask her out."

I roll my eyes and mumble a sure to my cousin. There is no way she is going to find messy Bambi Eyes among those many Isabella Swans.

Tanya takes another sip from her hot chocolate and grabs her cell. She types around on it for a minute before she dials and holds it up to her ear. Her voice comes out in a sweetly sing-along when she speaks up.

"Visa customer service, my name is Martha Harris. Did I reach the manager of Forks Delight?"

She puts the phone down on the table and turns on the loudspeaker. The girl who answered Tanya's call has an annoying voice. It's high and shrill, like that of a child with a throat infection.

"She's not in right now." Creepy voice says attempting to sound like an adult and, not a ten-year old. "Can I help you? I am her assistant. My name is Victoria."

Tanya presses her hand against her mouth for a moment to stifle a giggle. "I would like to speak to one of your employees. Her name is Isabella M. Swan."

Creepy voice, aka Victoria, clears her throat. "Miss Swan doesn't work here anymore."

"Oh." Tanya says, "That's too bad."

"Is she in trouble?" Victoria asks sounding like she would actually be happy about that. I immediately dislike that woman without ever having met her in person.

"Well it seems like she hasn't paid her credit card bills for the past three months. I would like to discuss a timely payment plan with her, but if she doesn't work at your restaurant, I guess you can't help me."

Victoria is quiet for a moment. "Would her phone number be of use for you? You won't tell her you got it from me, right?"

"Of course not, that would be perfect." Tanya purrs. "Thank you for your help."

I scrawl down the phone number, noticing that my fingers are trembling a bit. I am way more excited about this than I should be. Tanya hangs up and bursts into laughter.

"See, I really would make an awesome private eye. I love snooping around in other people's life."

"How about joining the police academy like you've always wanted to do as a kid?" I ask her, eating another cookie. There are cranberries and walnut in it. They are one of my favorites.

Tanya shrugs her shoulders. "I can't leave Mom and the others down at the restaurant. They need me there. Besides, how would I pay for the academy?"

I am about to say something about how money shouldn't be the reason to hold herself back from her dreams. But then I keep my mouth shut. Tanya is way too proud to ask Dad to lend her the money.

My cousin takes the piece of paper with Bella's number on it from the table and waves it in front of my face. "A promise is a promise, isn't it?"

"Here?" I ask. "You want me to call her right now? What do I say?"

"Call her or I'll do it for you."

I fish my cell from the table and sigh. "Can I at least have some privacy for the call?"

Tanya shakes her head no. A promise is a promise and can't be broken. The fear of getting rejected makes me feel awkward. Maybe I'll be lucky and the call will go to voice mail.

I dial Bambi's number and wait. It rings and rings without someone picking up. Then the voicemail picks up.

"You've reached Bella and Pumpkin. Leave a message and we'll call you back."

"Say something," Tanya whispers, smacking my shoulder. "Say something, Sugar."

My voice cracks. I don't sound like myself when I speak up. "Hi, this is Alice Cullen. Uhm, I got your number from…Jasper. I was wondering if you would want to drink coffee with me some time?" God, that sounds so stupid. "You drink coffee, don't you?" That sounds even more stupid. "Give me a call when you are free. Bye."

Tanya crosses her arms in front of her chest. "You are worse at flirting than Kate, if that is even possible at all."

I stuff a piece of cookie between my lips. "I would like to see you flirt with another woman. Bet you would do an amazing job on it."

She laughs. "I don't like women. They are always too dramatic for my taste. My goal in life is to have fun." She pretends to push a ring over her fourth finger. "And when I turn thirty I will start looking for a handsome, white guy to marry me and make a dozen babies with me."

It's past midnight when I drive back home again. I am tired but way too agitated to fall asleep. The amount of sugar in my blood is making me anxious. Every two to three seconds I glance down at my cell that is lying next to me on the passenger's seat. Bella hasn't returned my call. I realize that I care way more about this than I should. By the time I park the car and fish out my keys, I am determined to forget her. Nobody is worth running after. There are plenty of other fish out in the big lesbian ocean. Aren't there?

I open the front door and instantly smell the beer before I see him. There is something about the stench that cheap beer leaves in the air. Its scent is mixed with mint. Great, like that could cover up the fact that he's drunk like fuck.

"Hello Edward," I say, stepping closer to the couch. The table in front of him is littered with an empty six-pack and a full ashtray. Dad hates it when he smokes in here. My brother knows this quite well. Edward is only doing it to anger him. "You can't smoke in here." I say, taking the cigarette between his fingers to mash it out quickly. Then I open the windows in the living room and in the kitchen to let out at least a bit of the smell.

"What the fuck are you doing here, Alice?" he prattles. "I want to be alone."

"I am living here while they are fixing the water damage in my apartment." I tell him, sitting down on the other side of the couch, as far away from him as possible. He looks bad. His eyes are blood-shot. His clothes are too big on him. I'm sure he lost weight again. Alcohol isn't a good substitute for actual food.

My brother laughs, lifting a can from the table up to his mouth to drink the last drop of beer that's left. "The princess is back home, huh? " He crunches the beer can in his hand. His knuckles are dirty and bleeding. I hate how he's always hurting himself when he's had too much to drink. I hate how much his drinking habit is hurting our mother even more.

Edward tosses the beer can over the table. "I bet Mom and the white guy are thrilled."

The white guy, Edward always calls Dad that behind his face. When Dad's actually present it's Carlisle or Sir, if Edward is really pissed off at him.

"Mom would be more thrilled if you would stop drinking." I tell my brother, getting a plastic bag from the kitchen to clean up the mess he's made in the living room. I haven't been to his place in months but I'm sure there are cockroaches running around by now.

"Mind your own business." he snaps. "You don't know shit, Ali."

It is pointless to start an argument with him when he's full like that. Alcohol brings out the worst in him. Maybe it does in all of us.

"Henry? Henry, are you home, Darling?" Nana Di's voice calls from upstairs. "Henry?"

I push the plastic bag between Edward's hands. "Take that out." I tell him. "Now."

I rush up the stairs to my grandmother's room. She's sitting fully dressed on her bed. Only her shoes are still lying next to her on the mattress. "Sugar, did you see my husband? It's past seven now. He should be home."

I wrap my arm around her shoulders. "Nana, it's late. Why don't you try to sleep a bit?" I caress her hair with my fingertips. "Where's your night gown?"

She is too tired to protest. All the meds she's on are making her drowsy and less strong-minded. I help her to get changed and place her glasses on her nightstand.

"He's always working overtime," she whispers. "And he's too stupid to ask Volturi to pay him for the extra hours. Aro would probably pay him if he only asked the right way, but of course Henry is too proud for that."

"Try to sleep, Nana." I tell her, lowering my head to kiss her forehead. "You must be tired."

I tiptoe out of her room and close the door behind me. I miss her. I miss being little and having Nana bring me to bed instead of doing it the other way around. That just feels wrong.

After brushing my teeth, I go to my room and undress. When I am about to wiggle out of my underwear, my phone rings. It's buried underneath my clothes on the bed. I toss everything down and grab it. When I pick up, my voice sounds breathless. Bambi sounds sweet and nervous. I'm glad that at least she can't see that I am naked again.

"I'm sorry." Bella says. "Did I wake you? I thought I just leave a message on your voice mail for you."

"I wasn't sleeping." I tell her while I try to wrap my blanket around myself like a cocoon. "What about you? Why are you still up this late?"

She tells me that she just finished work. Her hours are crappy. "It's okay." She tells me. "I just started there. Newbies always get the bad shifts."

"Then you probably don't have much time for coffee dates with women you used to pick up in clubs?"

A light giggle reaches my ear. I wish I could see her face while she's laughing. It must be beautiful.

"Wednesday morning would be good for me."

"Perfect," I state. My heart flutters in my chest like I ran a semi-marathon just minutes ago. "Do you want me to pick you up?"

She tells me to meet her at the café she suggests for our coffee date. I've never been to the place but I'm going there to see Bella, not to discover whether the coffee there is halfway decent. Bambi Eyes whispers a shy good night. I keep my phone in my hands, even after she disconnected the call and press it against my chest until I drift off to dreamland.

My mood is excellent when I wake up in the morning. I shower and invest some extra time to straighten my hair and wrap it up into a thick knot. Tanya insists this makes me appear a bit older and more professional. I get dressed in my favorite plum colored dress and put in the silver-earrings Nana gave me for Christmas three years ago. They are one of my most favorite gifts from her, and I like it even more that they are a hand-me-down. It makes them more special. The tiny emeralds in the earrings make the green of my iris stand out. I smile at myself in the mirror and apply some more mascara and eyeliner.

"Ali, princess, are you up?" Mom calls from downstairs. I walk down to the kitchen to see she has prepared a big breakfast for me and my grumpy brother. He's sipping on a coffee mug while Mom fills his plate with crispy bacon and scrambled eggs.

"Do you want milk with your coffee, Darling?" she asks him, wiping her hands on her apron before she reaches for the milk on the counter.

"Coffee tastes best when it stays black like it's meant to be." He mumbles, taking a slice of bacon to eat it hungrily. His last proper meal has probably been a while.

I sit down across from him and mumble a thank you to Mom when she puts eggs and bacon on my plate. "Coffee without milk is gross." I state, adding some to my own cup. "Your taste buds are ruined from all the beer you drink."

"Keep your stupid mouth shut!" He snaps. "Mom, why is she here? She has her own apartment."

Mom puts the dirty pan in the sink and pours hot water on top of it. "I hate when you two fight in the morning. Ali, stop provoking your brother. He promised to stop drinking and he will. Won't you, Darling?"

She steps closer to Edward and runs her hand over his dreads. "You need a haircut. What's with the red color? It looks like a bowl of carrot soup exploded over your head."

I snort with laughter. "Maybe he was trying to dye it blond? He should have asked Irina to help him. She's a pro with hair coloring."

"Mom, can't Ali just shut the fuck up for once? My head is hurting."

He wolves down his breakfast. While he eats, he avoids making eye contact with me. I eat slowly, enjoying the way the creamy eggs taste on my tongue. Mom makes the best breakfast in the world.

The left sleeve of Edward's shirt is pushed up. I notice the gauze wrapped around his forearm. "Did you hurt yourself?"

"A dog bit me a few days ago, was a sneaky little brown mutt."

Mom grabs his hand and pulls it close to take a look at his arm. "Did you have a doctor look at it? Dog bites can cause nasty infections."

He takes another gulp from his coffee. Then he smiles a crooked smile at our mother. "I don't have money to see a doctor. The bitch took my last dime before she kicked me out."

The bitch, aka Jessica, is Edward's ex-girlfriend. She's a superficial, too bubbly person. I give her credit though for giving an ultimatum to my alcoholic brother. That's what he needs. Edward needs to realize that his drinking habits are hurting the people he claims to love.

Mom pulls her wallet out and pulls out some money. Edwards's stupid grin widens when he sees it. "Thank you, Mom." He whispers.

She clasps her hand around his. "Promise me not to buy beer with this again. Will you? You will stop drinking and then you'll get a job."

"I promise," He kisses her cheek and stands up from his chair. "You are the best, Mom."

Whistling cheerfully through his teeth he walks out. I shake my head. Mom is so naïve. She should know by now that my brother is a selfish liar.

"Don't tell your father," she pleads of me, stealing a leftover slice of bacon from my plate. "He wouldn't understand."

"You can't give money to an alcoholic." I tell her. "It's like going to buy the beer and vodka for him yourself."

Mom frowns. She doesn't like being told the truth about her oh-so-great son. Why are mothers like that?

"He promised to stop drinking." She states. "And he needed money to see a doctor."

If Edward were smart, he'd simply call Dad to give him a tetanus shot or whatever you need after a dog bite. Unfortunately my brother isn't smart. He's too proud to ask his unloved stepfather for help. For Edward, Dad will always be the white intruder who stole Mom away from him.

"I helped Nana to get ready for bed last night," I tell my mother. "She's always so tired and sad."

Mom nods her head. "That's from the medication. Why did you have to help her? I put her to bed before I left for the restaurant. Your brother was here to watch her in case she needed anything."

She fills some oatmeal into a bowl and adds some blueberries on top if it before she places it on a tray.

I jump from my chair and take the tray out of Mom's hand. "I'll take care of this. Do we have some more juice too? You know she's supposed to drink more."

And my brother is supposed to stop drinking completely, if he were smart enough, I think to myself while I slowly walk up the stairs.