Author's Note:

Thank you all for the reviews!

I won't keep you here…let's see what Edward thinks of Alice and what happens next.

I still don't own it…

Chapter 15

EPOV

My mind wandered as I rinsed the lunch dishes before handing them to my brother who was loading the dishwasher. Having Bella here with my family today felt so natural. I'd thought the same thing last time we'd all been together, but it seemed even more evident now. This weekend, having Bella with Maggie, me, and now the whole family, was wonderful. Our circumstances may not be ideal, but my feelings for Bella were so strong that I couldn't even imagine not having her in my life. We couldn't carry on this way forever, though, and I knew I'd have to address the Tanya situation soon, but I wasn't sure where to start. And as sure as I was about Bella, we'd agreed to explore our feelings before crossing that bridge.

Suddenly, I was pulled out of my thoughts when I heard raised voices coming from the other room. I recognized Alice as the person yelling but hadn't been able to make out exactly what had been said. Emmett and I shared a look, then headed for the family room. Dad and Jasper were right on our heels, and I was pretty sure I heard Jasper mutter something like "Oh, good lord" under his breath. By the time we got to the family room, Alice and my mother were the only ones in the room. I wasn't sure where Bella and Rose were, but I had a pretty good idea what had happened. I'd heard Maggie talk about Bella at lunch and had seen Alice's reaction. I should have known she'd start this shit again. Clearly, she'd learned nothing the last time she'd treated Bella like crap in front of my parents. Like last time, my mother was toe to toe with Alice and I was grateful and somewhat amused to see my mother laying into her.

"Mother, I'm an adult and I don't appreciate you talking to me like I'm a child," Alice had the gall to say.

"You are my child, and I don't care how old you are, I'll treat you like a child as long as you're acting like one," Mom retorted.

"What the hell is going on?" Dad interjected, looking from Alice to my mother, who was clearly infuriated with her daughter.

"What did you do, Alice? Did Bella leave?" I asked, glancing back when I sensed someone come up behind me. It was Rosalie, but Bella was still absent. Rose nodded grimly, answering my second question.

"I only did what needed to be done. And you need to stay the hell away from Bella and worry about your wife," Alice snapped then stormed out of the room.

"I thought she was over this after last time, but apparently not. I do not know what has gotten into her," Mom said, sagging against my father who'd stepped in and wrapped his arms around her. Emmett and Rose had gone to the playroom to check on the kids, and Jasper was standing in the door giving me a sympathetic look.

"Want me to try to talk to her again?" Jasper asked softly.

"Nope, I got this. I'm so sick of her shit," I snarled as I headed for the stairs, assuming Alice had gone to the room she used when she stayed here since I hadn't heard the front door slam. My hunch was confirmed when I reached the closed door and heard her sniffling on the other side.

I shoved open the door and saw Alice sitting on the edge of the bed, crying into her hands. I rolled my eyes at her theatrics, too angry to be swayed by her tears. "Knock off the bullshit tears, Alice. I'm sick of having this same old conversation. What the fuck is your problem?" I asked in a low, dangerous voice.

"My problem? What is MY problem?" she shrieked as she shot to her feet. Funny how the tears were magically gone. "My problem is you and Bella and the way you are disrespecting your wife. Remember her, Edward?"

"How exactly is having a friend disrespectful to Tanya? What do you fucking think Bella and I are doing?" I asked, wondering if she could back up her claims. I knew her well enough to know she'd relish throwing every indiscretion in my face if she actually knew of them. The answer that followed confirmed she didn't know the truth.

"It doesn't matter what you're doing. Just the fact that you are spending time with her at all while your wife lays in that god forsaken bed is wrong and I will not stand by and let you dishonor her. Tanya never did anything but love you and this is the thanks she gets? I won't allow it!" Alice yelled, and I barked out an outraged laugh.

"You don't get to allow anything, Alice. I don't know why you think you're queen of the fucking world, but neither Bella nor I need your permission to do a damn thing!" I growled. "And I've told you before, you don't know a goddamn thing about my relationship with Tanya, and clearly, if you think she was so fucking innocent then you don't know a thing about Tanya, period. Now, you've treated your best friend like shit for the last time. Get over yourself, mind your own business, and grow the fuck up, Alice."

I left Alice staring after me with a stunned expression on her face when I spun on my heel and slammed out of the room. I took a moment in the hallway to calm myself before going downstairs to get Maggie. After a few deep breaths, I walked to the top of the stairs and met Jasper on my way down.

"Don't even try to stick up for her," I said through gritted teeth before he ever had a chance to say a word. He just raised his hands in a gesture of surrender and shook his head.

"Man, I'm with you. You know I love your sister, but she will not let this shit go. I've tried," he said as he continued up the stairs.

I shook my head as I descended the stairs. I could hear the raised voices of Alice and Jasper from upstairs, but I didn't stop to try and listen to what was being said. I found my parents and Emmett in the family room, looking sad and worried. Mom jumped to her feet and walked toward me as I entered the room.

"I'm sorry, Edward. I don't know why Alice is acting like this. I'm so worried about Bella. You should have heard the awful things Alice said to her," Mom said, sounding distressed.

"Mom, you don't have anything to apologize for. Alice is a grown woman and it is high time that she takes responsibility for her own actions. Now, I'm not upset with you, but I'm going to get Maggie and head home. I want to call and check on Bella."

Mom nodded and hugged me then went to get Maggie from the playroom. Dad stood and hugged me as well, murmuring his displeasure at Alice's behavior. I finished my goodbyes and met mom and Maggie at the door. Maggie was none too pleased about leaving when she'd been in the middle of a game with her cousins and Aunt Rose, but she didn't put up too much of a fight. I figured she could sense my mood, though I thought I hid it fairly well, because she was pretty quiet on the ride home.

I had sent Bella a quick text asking if she was okay before leaving my parents and I knew something was wrong when she hadn't responded by the time I got home. I got Maggie settled playing on her tablet with the Disney Channel droning in the background and slipped into my room to call Bella. I started to worry when she didn't answer. It was possible she was busy, but I knew she was more likely avoiding me. I sent a quick text asking her to please talk to me and gave it a few minutes before calling again. Thankfully, she answered this time.

"Hey, are you okay?" I asked, although I knew the answer. I could tell she'd been crying.

"Sure, I'm fine," she said shortly.

"Bella, baby, please talk to me. I know you're upset. What did Alice say to you?" I asked gently, hoping she wouldn't completely shut me out. I was relieved when I heard her heave a sigh, then she started talking.

"Well, I'm sure you got part of it after I left, but she went off about me going shopping with you and Maggie yesterday and despite my insistence that it was just shopping, with a chaperone even, she told me I was just as bad as Jake when he cheated on me. Then she even accused me of cheating on him as well. And she's right, well, mostly anyway. I am as bad as him, but I never cheated on Jacob," Bella said dejectedly.

I cringed and pinched the bridge of my nose. "You know that's not true. You are nothing like Jacob, and if anyone should feel guilty here, it's me, but I don't really. Don't get me wrong, I don't like lying and sneaking around, but being with you feels so right, more than anything I've ever felt before. So, I understand that you're upset, but I don't want to lose you, Bella."

Bella was quiet for a minute, and my anxiety grew by the second. She finally spoke, but it didn't alleviate my fear of her walking away. "What happened after I left?" she asked.

"Well, Alice stormed upstairs after mom laid into her and I confronted her. She gave me the same crap about how I needed to worry about Tanya, and I told her again to butt out and grow up. I just don't get why she's being so obstinate about this. Even if she is technically correct, she doesn't know that, so I don't know why she's fighting so hard," I said. I was sincerely confused. My sister had always been stubborn and opinionated, but never like this, and certainly not at the risk of alienating the entire family.

"I know why," Bella said sadly. "It's Tanya."

"What do you mean?"

"She thinks Tanya is being wronged. No matter what you and I are doing or how we feel or what our intentions are, she perceives it as a threat to Tanya and she can't stand that. Alice has always sided with her, no matter what and no matter who else was involved," Bella explained.

I understood her, but it didn't quite make sense. I'd known Alice and Tanya were close, but Bella made it sound like Alice had chosen Tanya over her regularly. "You're saying Alice chose Tanya over you? But you and Alice were always so close, then when Tanya moved to Forks, it was like you became the three musketeers."

"Look, I didn't mean to get into all that, I'm just saying that Alice is doing this because she'll do anything to protect Tanya."

"No, don't do that," I said gently. "I want to understand. I know you and Tanya weren't as close as she and Alice, but I thought the three of you were close as a group."

"Okay, yes, we were fairly close as a group, but even within the group, I was always kind of a third wheel. Alice and I were fine until Tanya came along, then Alice just kind of gravitated to her. I know I sound like I'm just jealous, and maybe I was at the time," she reflected, "but my friendship with Alice changed then. From the time Tanya moved to Forks to the time of her accident, I can count on one hand the number of times Alice and I hung out just the two of us, but they hung out all the time without me. She wouldn't even entertain the thought of doing something without Tanya. The only times it happened were if Tanya couldn't come and Alice couldn't think of an excuse to get herself out of it. By the time we went to college, I mostly quit trying. I had other friends, and it wasn't the end of the world. Anyway, all I'm trying to say is that Alice has always sided with Tanya over me or anyone else, so I'm really not surprised by the way she's acting now."

"God, Bella, I'm sorry. I had no idea it was like that with you guys," I said, feeling awful for not seeing the truth before.

"Why would you?" she asked. "You and Emmett were gone by the time Tanya moved to town, so you weren't there to see how things usually played out. And it really doesn't matter. I was never forced to stay friends with either of them, and I'm not trying to make it sound like I was miserable every time I was with them or left out of stuff on a regular basis. I wasn't, but I also wasn't blind to the fact that Alice would have chosen Tanya over me if I'd ever pushed her to make a choice. Anyway, that's water under the bridge. I'm thirty-two years old and I got over any teenage hurt feelings a long time ago."

"Be that as it may, I am sorry that I never saw the truth. Believe me, I have no delusions about Tanya's character, but I thought Alice was better than that. I have always thought she had some sort of hero worship thing for Tanya, but I guess I didn't realize how deep it ran," I said, running a hand through my hair before continuing. "It's obvious that Alice is in the wrong here, baby, so please try not to let it get to you. I hate that you're upset and I can't be there with you. I've got to get dinner ready for Maggie and get ready for the week, though."

"It's fine, but I need some time, I think. I just don't know where to go from here. Regardless of how misguided Alice is, she's not wrong," Bella said softly, and I knew I was losing her.

"Okay, baby. I'll leave you alone, but I'll call you later," I said, but Bella was already gone.

I blew out a deep breath as I put down my phone. I needed to get back downstairs to Maggie, but I couldn't make myself move yet. I felt despair weighing down on me at the thought of losing Bella. The anger at my sister and the whole fucked up situation still simmered beneath the surface, but pain was threatening to overtake me. Bella was the best thing that had ever happened to me, other than Maggie, and I didn't want to think about what would happen if she really called a halt to our relationship. I finally dragged myself up to go make dinner for my daughter, but I couldn't stop thinking of how sad Bella had sounded. I knew this was rough on her, it was hard for me too, but I wouldn't give up without a fight. The situation we'd found ourselves in may suck, but I'd be damned if I just let the woman I loved walk away. I'd do whatever it took to make this work.

Author's Note:

Edward is starting to see just how crazy Alice is, and how much power Tanya still has over her. And poor Jasper…how do you think he feels?

Next chapter up soon! Let me know what you think!