14

Of course Charlie wouldn't give her up without a fight. Three days had passed since Bella signed the paperwork to press charges against him, Renee, and Jacob Black for the attempted assault on her, not that they were actually arrested. Garrett had assured her that the F.B.I. was making their move, that she had to be patient, but it was difficult, seeing as he had taken to standing in the window inside her bedroom in his house, watching for her, her and Alice. They kept the curtain closed, but Bella knew he was there, always right there.

Three days had also passed since Garrett submitted paperwork which would give Carlisle, Esme, Rose, and Emmett temporary custody over her, and of course, in true Charlie fashion, he'd filed a counter claim against them to keep his guardianship over her.

Bella didn't understand why he was fighting so hard to keep her. He'd never cared before. In the fourteen years he and Renee had been apart, he'd only come to see her twice, she'd been to Forks to visit twice, and once they met in California. He'd missed birthdays and Christmas, and all of the major milestones in her life, so why now did he care? Because Charlie Swan couldn't stand losing, that's why. And it made Bella sick.

"Are you almost ready?" Alice asked, and Bella looked over her shoulder, she found her standing in the doorway of her bedroom, a smile on her face. They'd slept in each other's arms, holding one another, whispering their secrets. While Alice had declared her love for Bella, she was afraid to do the same. Her feelings for Alice were strong, but how could she be sure she was in love with her?

"Almost," Bella murmured, turning back to the mirror and smoothing out the front of the blue sweater and black skirt Esme and Rose had bought her. Seeing as Charlie had taken the time to burn everything she owned before she could get it out of his house, they had gone shopping for her. She was now the owner of more clothes than she'd ever owned before in her life.

She sighed and turned back to Alice. "Does this look okay?"

"You look beautiful," Alice said with a smile. "But then again, I'm kind of biased."

Bella turned back to the mirror, blowing out a deep breath again. A moment later, she felt Alice wrap her arms around her. "I'm being stupid, I know."

"No, you're not," she said, leaning her head on her shoulder. "I felt the same way when they were going to court for me. It's the 'what ifs' that had me scared. You know, what if they made me go back? What would he do to me?" Alice's voice broke. "If they take you away from me, I . . . I don't know what I'll do, Bella."

"Me either." Bella turned and faced her, placing her hands on Alice's face. "I'll never stop fighting to be with you, Alice."

"Me either," she whispered before leaning upward and pressing her lips against Bella's.

However, before either could deepen the kiss, they heard someone clear their throat and they pulled away from each other, finding Edward leaning against the doorjamb, a smirk on his lips. "We gotta go, ladies. Time to fight the man."

"You don't have to sound so excited about this, Edward," Alice groused, folding her arms in front of her.

He shrugged his shoulders. "What can I say? I want to see that son of a bitch go down."

"Me too," Bella murmured, grabbing her bag off the bed and slinging it over her shoulder. "But something tells me, it's not going to be that easy."

"Probably not, but keeping you out of his clutches, Bella, is a start. One battle at time, you know?"

She nodded, and slipped her hand into Alice's and followed him downstairs, where they found everyone waiting for them. Bella worried about their safety, with them putting themselves on the line for her. Charlie was dangerous, and she worried what he would do when he lost her for good?

"Well," Carlisle said, placing his hands together. "Before we go, Bella, we, um, kind of got you something."

"You did?" she asked, her cheeks turning red.

"We just wanted you to know that no matter what happens today, you are a part of our family," Esme said, pulling away from Emmett and Carlisle and walking over to her. She held out a small black jewelry box. "Forever, Bella."

Tears flooded her eyes as she accepted it and pried the lid open. Nestled inside the box was a silver bracelet with a single heart charm with the words: Forever One of the Queer Kids Next Door. She laughed and looked at each of them. "Thank you," she whimpered. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Well, you won't have to find out because we're going to win today," Jasper said with a smile.

"I hope so," she murmured.

Alice helped her placed the bracelet around her wrist before they headed out of the house and climbed into Carlisle's massive SUV. It was a tight fit, but Bella felt safer with all eight of them together.

By the time they arrived at the courthouse, her heart was racing and she felt like she was on the verge of a panic attack. Alice kept hold of her hand, and Edward and Jasper flanked them while Carlisle, Emmett, Esme, and Rose proudly led the way inside. Standing just outside of the courtroom were the two people she never wanted to see again: Charlie and Renee.

Thank you for all the amazing reviews!