7

Bella leaned against the wall, staring at the four men in front of her. The curly haired boy and the stylish blond shared a look before nodding toward one another.

"Edward, Jasper," the blond man said, "get her out of here."

"She ain't going anywhere," Charlie snarled, reaching for her, but Bella screamed and scrambled away from him as fast as she could. She managed to grab her bag off the floor before fleeing past the curly haired boy and the stylish blond, feeling Edward and Jasper wrap their arms around her. "Get your ass back here, Bella."

"Fuck you," she cried. "Just fuck you!"

"Edward, Jasper, now," the curly haired boy said without looking back. "We'll take care of him."

"Come on, Bella," Jasper murmured, tugging her away from the doorway to her bedroom. Her eyes met Charlie's just before the curly haired boy reached over and closed the door. A moment later, she heard Charlie groan and the sound of someone falling against the wall. "Let's go, darlin."

Bella turned and let them drag her downstairs, out of the house, and next door. When they walked into their house, she found herself immediately in Alice's arms. It was in that moment, when the beautiful girl wrapped her arms around her that Bella let herself fully feel what had happened to her that night.

"It's okay, beautiful," Alice whispered leading her over to the sofa and sitting with her in her arms. "I've got you."

"Is she okay?" she heard someone ask. "Did he . . . hurt her?"

"I don't think so," Edward murmured, and when Bella looked at him, she found him standing next to the woman with long caramel hair and dark eyes. On the other side of her was the girl with the long blond hair, her blue eyes full of sadness and fear.

"Oh, sweetheart," the caramel haired woman whimpered before walking over and sitting on the coffee table in front of her and Alice. "I'm Esme Platt, and she's Rosalie Hale, but she likes Rose better."

"Bella," she croaked out. "My name is Bella."

"Yes, we know." Esme smiled, her eyes flickering to Alice before looking back at her. "Did your father hurt you, Bella?"

"I'm okay," she murmured, turning to Alice. "How'd you know I needed help?"

Alice sighed, her cheeks turning red. "I, um, I might have been watching for you."

"You were?" she asked.

"Of course I was," Alice murmured, bringing her hand up to the side of her face. "You're important to me, Bella."

Tears filled her eyes as her lips trembled. She'd never been important to anyone. Her mother had one failed relationship after another, and Charlie hadn't wanted anything to do with his daughter until he was forced it. Even Angela hadn't cared when Bella told her she was leaving, said she wasn't ready for more than just some kisses and touching. But Alice, who had only spoken to her a few times, seen her watching, felt Bella was important to her.

Before she could say anything, though, the door to the house was thrown open and they all looked over to find the curly haired man and the stylish blond hurrying in. When they busted into Bella's room, they had looked pristine and, dare she say posh, but now, they looked hot and sweaty, their hair was a mess and their knuckles were red, bruised.

"Oh, my God," Esme cried out, hurrying over to them. She threw both her arms around them, kissing the blond first before turning to the other. She smiled and placed a soft, gentle kiss on his lips. "Are you okay?"

"We're fine, babe," the curly haired man said, giving her another kiss before reaching for Rose, who bit her lip as she hurried over to them, nestle herself into their arms. He shifted his eyes to Bella. "Name is Emmett McCarty, this is Carlisle Cullen."

"Bella, but you probably already know that," she said, standing up and turning so that she faced him. "What did you do to him?"

"Made it clear that he was never going to put his hands on you again." Carlisle gave them a look before he walked over to Bella, holding his hands out to her. She turned to Alice before placing her hands in Carlisle's. "We can offer you level of protection, Bella. People like your father and Jacob Black think they can do whatever they want, to whomever they want, and we don't stand by and let that happen. Especially to people who are important to us. You're more than welcome to stay here, with us, but you should know that we . . . choose to live our lives differently than most."

"What do you mean by that?" she asked.

Carlisle smiled. "We're the queers next door, Bella." He then turned and reached for Esme, Emmett, and Rose, who moved over and wrapped their arms around him. "The four of us have been together for three years. We live a polyamorous lifestyle. Edward and Jasper came to us a year ago after their fathers found out they were gay."

"Didn't help that they caught us in flagrante, so to speak," Jasper snickered, wrapping his arm around Edward, who blushed but smiled. "They didn't approve of us anymore than your daddy approves of you, darlin."

"And you?" Bella asked, shifting her eyes to Alice. "How long have you been here? With them?"

"Six months," she replied with a smile. "That's a long story, that I will tell you another time, beautiful, but you need to decide right now if you're with us, or not."

Inhaling a deep breath, she turned and looked at the people standing around her. The gay boys, the queer girl, the free lovers. While she was terrified of what was going to happen with her father, or Jacob Black, she knew she could never leave Alice again.

"I'm in," Bella murmured, bringing her hands up to Alice's face. "As long as you want me here, I'm here."

Alice's smile could only be called breathtaking as she covered Bella's hands and leaned up, and for the second time that evening, Alice kissed her.

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