36

*Crash*

"Motherfucking, piece-of-shit!"

Bella laughed. "Everything okay in there?"

Edward hurried into their bedroom, pushing his hair out of his face. "Yep."

"I don't believe you," she sang, sliding her hand over her belly. "I could help if you want."

Edward scoffed.

"I can!"

"No, you can't. You're busy housing Little Bit for a few more weeks."

"Hopefully," she groaned.

"That's why you can't help," he snickered, climbing onto the bed and lying beside her. He covered her hand with his, his eyes shifting to hers like he wasn't sure he was crossing a line.

Edward had been noticeably nervous around her, especially after she asked him to move in. They'd been living together for three weeks, and so far, things had been going well. The first few days, he slept on the couch, but that was mostly because he was scared he would take up too much room in the bed. Or so he said, anyway.

Bella suspected he worried that she would change her mind about him, that suddenly she would stop loving him. This, of course, was absurd, and on the fourth night, she insisted he sleep in bed with her. Honestly, it was the best night's sleep she'd had in a long time.

"How are you feeling?"

"Tired," she admitted. "Fat."

He narrowed his eyes. "You are not fat, Izzy. You're pregnant."

"Doesn't mean I'm not fat."

He laughed. "You're ridiculous."

"Am not," she muttered, shifting so she was lying on her side, shoving a pillow between her knees. "When are you going to tell me what you're doing in Little Bit's room?"

"When I'm done."

"And when will that be?"

"I don't know," he grumbled, placing his hand on her hip. "Are you sure you're going to be okay tonight? Ben and Angela asked for the night off like two months ago, and Emmett's working out of town, so he can't cover for me."

"Not like I'm going to be by myself. Jay will be here."

"That's true," he whispered. "You're not going to go into labor again, are you?"

"Not planning on it. Then again, I didn't plan on it last time, either." Reaching out, she touched the side of his face, feeling him inhaling before he turned and kissed her palm.

"I don't want to go."

"I don't want you to, either, but you have a business to run."

Edward groaned and rolled over before standing. "Stupid responsibilities."

Bella laughed as she watched him tug his T-shirt off and pull on the black tee with the white 'O'. He brushed his hair before gathering it in a bun and wrapping a rubber band around it. He sat back on the bed, shifting so he had one leg up and was leaning on his elbow.

"Shouldn't be too late. Tuesdays are fairly slow."

"I'm not going anywhere," she quipped.

"You promise not to sneak into Little Bit's room?"

Bella gasped. "I would never."

He snorted.

"Fine, you big meanie, I promise."

"Thank you." They both turned toward their bedroom door when the bell rang. He sighed before leaning over and kissing her softly. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

When the bell rang again, Edward muttered under his breath before he hurried into the living room. A moment later, she heard him greet her brother. Though they had both reassured her that they'd put their differences aside, she still found herself holding her breath and waiting for them to start fighting. But it never came. In fact, she heard them laughing just before Jasper walked into her bedroom with Edward behind him.

"What's up, preggo?"

Bella rolled her eyes. "The sky."

"Haha, you're so funny," Jasper said before kicking off his shoes and practically jumping on the bed. She threw her hand out against the nightstand before she rolled off. "Oh, sorry."

"Whatever, jackass."

"Can I trust you two together?" Edward asked, leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed. "Do I need to call Alice?"

"No," Jasper said while Bella replied, "Probably."

"No," her brother laughed. "She's busy, anyway. The girls have a Scout meeting tonight."

Edward hummed. "I'm just a phone call away."

"We're going to be fine, Edward," Jasper said with a smile. "Believe it or not, I've been around pregnant women before. Just keep them fed, and they're pretty easy to handle."

"You make me sound like a dog!" Bella laughed, pushing his shoulder.

He shrugged. "You said it, not me."

"Dude!" Bella giggled.

"I'm going to go before you two make me second guess my life choices," Edward chuckled.

They laughed as he turned and walked away, hearing the front door open and close.

Jasper tilted his head to the side. "Are you hungry?"

"Only all the time."

He smirked. "Pizza?"

"From?"

"Where the fuck do you think?"

"Pizza Planet?" she hoped.

"Duh." Jasper slipped his phone out of his pocket, pulling up their app, which caused her to laugh. "What's so funny?"

"Just never took you for an app, kind of guy."

"Whatever," he muttered. "Cassie and Millie are obsessed with their desert pizzas, and I earn points to get free ones. Gotta save money when I can, Iz. The economy sucks right now."

Bella nodded before she shifted to sit on the side of the bed. Before she could stand, though, Jasper grabbed her arm. "What the fuck do you think you're doing? You're supposed to be on bed rest."

"I've got to pee. So unless you want to carry my fat ass into the bathroom, you'd better let go of my arm. I'm about to pee all over myself."

"Eww," he groaned but released. "Do you need help?"

"No, I can walk just fine," she assured him. "Dr. Black said moving around the house was fine as long as I kept it to less than five minutes and I didn't start having contractions again. Which, you know, I haven't, so . . ."

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh." Bella stood, groaning as her arms automatically wrapped around her belly.

"Was that a good groan or bad?"

"It was a 'I am thirty-five weeks pregnant, and it takes a lot of effort to stand' groan."

"Ah, yes, of course. Alice had those, too. Started around thirty weeks with her and came with some very colorful language."

"I bet it did."

"You pee. I'm going to order a pizza. Want anything in particular?"

"Um, ham and pineapple."

"Eww."

"It's good!"

"Pineapple does not go on pizza, Izzy."

"Funny, because it totally does. Add a side of ranch dressing, too."

"I worry about you."

"Why does that not surprise me," she laughed.

After using the bathroom, she walked into the living room and made sure Edward had set the alarm, which he had. She grabbed a few bottles of water and one of the brownies Cassie and Millie had sent with Alice the day before. Walking back into her bedroom. Jasper was sitting on the side of the bed, looking at the picture Alice had sent him of the girls in their uniforms, a big cheesy smile on his face.

"You're missing their meeting to be here with me, aren't you?"

"What?" he asked, closing his texts and shaking his head. "Nah."

"Liar." Bella tossed the water onto the bed. "I'm sorry. You shouldn't be missing time with the girls for me, Jay. You can go. I'll be fine alone."

Jasper rolled his eyes.

"I am a big girl. I can take care of myself."

"Never said you couldn't, but I promised Edward I would take care of you tonight, and I intend on keeping my word."

"He really made you promise?"

Jasper nodded. "He really loves you."

Bella bit her lip to keep from smiling, but when her brother laughed, she knew she'd failed.

"Oh, look at you, Izzy. You're blushing," he teased.

"No, I'm not."

"Yeah, you are." He leaned back on the pillows. "Do you love him?"

Bella sighed.

"I'm just asking. I swear."

"I know. I . . ." Bella laid on the bed, adjusting her pillow behind her. "I do, Jay. I know it seems . . . fast, I guess, but he . . . he sees me, the real me."

"Who is the real you?"

"I never really felt like I belonged in New York. Don't get me wrong, I loved the ballet company, and getting the chance to dance on the biggest stage in the country was a dream come true. But I wasn't a city girl, you know? I don't like shopping or getting my hair or nails done. There's nothing wrong with girls like that, but it wasn't me. I just didn't feel like I had anyone other than Carlisle. But he loved the city, the noise and hustle that came with living in New York, so I tried to adapt. I tried to fall in love with it, but it wasn't home. Carlisle was home."

Jasper frowned.

"Sorry," she whispered. "I know you don't want to hear that."

"Was it us, Izzy? Did we do something to make you want to leave us?"

"No, no, Jay, of course not!"

"Then why didn't you ever come home? For Christmas or Thanksgiving? Not one time."

"It was just hard to be here after Jake died. He was our best friend, and I . . . Well, I'm not proud of it, but I blamed everyone else for the accident that night."

"Including Edward?"

"Especially him." She shook her head. "I knew the hell they'd gone through. Carlisle . . . When it got bad, Jay, he'd call me in the middle of the night. But instead of talking, he'd just cry. I'd stay on the phone with him until he stopped. Sometimes, it was just a few minutes, but there were times it took hours for him to be okay. And when Jake died, I was scared that if we stayed, I would lose him to his anger, to his grief. Jake, Carlisle, and I did everything together. Best friends since day one. Don't get me wrong, Em, Ro, and Edward were a part of our group, but it was mostly just the three of us. Losing him like that . . . Well, I'm ashamed to admit that I put the blame on everyone else when I was there, too. I wasn't drinking or smoking pot, but . . . I was there. If they were to blame, then so was I."

"It was a stupid accident, Iz."

"No, I know. I was just so angry, so . . . so heartbroken. I had my offer from The New York Ballet Company, and I thought this was our chance to start fresh, so we took it."

"And never came back."

"We didn't plan on never coming back; we just didn't, Jay. Every time we talked about it, there were reasons not to return. I had a show or rehearsals. Carlisle was swamped at work, and the more time that passed, the easier it became to just stay away."

"So, why'd you decide to come back after he died?"

Bella sighed, shaking her head. "After his funeral, once Dad had left, I found myself sitting in our apartment, and it just didn't feel like home anymore, I guess. So, I turned in my letter of resignation at the company and returned to Woodbury."

"Do you regret coming back?"

"No."

"That was a quick no."

"I mean, it wasn't easy. We ran away, Jay. Left town, hurting a lot of people in the process. But I needed my family. Even a dork like you."

"I'm not a dork," he snickered, bumping her with his shoulder. "I worried about you. When you first came back, I mean. I . . . God, Izzy, I was so worried about you, about Little Bit."

She frowned.

"I don't mean to make you feel bad."

"You don't."

"I did."

She shook her head. "No, you didn't. Losing Carlisle like I did, finding out that he'd kept part of his life, his family, from me, Jay, I was so angry. Felt like I spent ten years married to a liar. He had been my world for so long, I can't even remember what life was like without him, and suddenly, everything changed. I didn't know how to handle it. Not like there's a handbook on becoming a widow."

This time, Jasper frowned.

"Sorry."

"Don't apologize, Iz. You've done the best you could. Hell, I still have the love of my life. I can't imagine losing Alice."

"She told me how you met."

He cringed. "She did?"

"Yes," Bella laughed. "Were you really intimidated by her?"

"Um, yeah," he scoffed. "Look at her, Izzy. Alice is . . . God, she's so beautiful and kind. Genuinely the kindest person I have ever met."

"She is."

"You know I didn't have a Carlisle, a Jake, or even an Edward growing up. I mean, I had friends, but nobody who would walk through fire for me like you did. And I was a nerd."

"No, you weren't."

"I was, and I'm okay with that. I was smart, Izzy. I wasn't a jock. School was . . . I loved learning, but until I went to college, I didn't feel like I belonged somewhere."

"You mean until you met Alice."

Jasper grinned, his ears turning red. "Yeah, I do. She's just . . . God, Izzy, she turned my whole world upside down."

"So why did it take you so long to talk to her?"

"I don't know, Izzy. I was scared."

"But why scared? I mean, you've dated girls before."

"I wouldn't call my relationship with Maria dating," he groused. "Bitch was batshit crazy. We'd been seeing each other like a month, and she was already talking about our wedding and how cute our kids would be. It was just too much crazy for me."

"No kidding." She paused before adding, "She tried to hook up with Jake after you broke up with her."

"Him and a dozen other guys," he quipped.

"You knew?"

"Woodbury ain't that big, Izzy. She thought she could make me jealous, that I would beg her to take me back."

"Well, I'm glad you didn't."

"Me too." Jasper laughed just as the doorbell rang. "That must be the pizza."

"You know the code to turn off the alarm?"

He nodded. "Edward told me when I got here." Jasper scrambled off the bed and walked to the doorway before he looked back and said, "I was wrong about him. Edward, I mean. I was wrong about him, Izzy."

"Yeah, you were."

"Need another water?"

"No, if I have anymore, I'll be up peeing all night. Well, more than normal, anyway."

Jasper laughed. "Find us a movie to watch."

"Horror?"

"Duh," he snorted before walking into the living room.

Bella had just picked up the remote when her phone pinged with a new text. She picked it up, expecting to find Edward checking on her, but instead, it was from Tyler Crowley.

She gasped when she saw the words, " Just found Peter Cullen dead inside his cell. I will be in touch tomorrow."

Thank you for all the AMAZING reviews! Huge thanks to Sunflower Fran for cleaning up my messy ramblings.