Chapter 6: Wasted Years

Was it life I’ve betrayed
For the shape that I’m in
It’s not hard to fail
It’s not easy to win
Did I drink too much
Could I disappear
And there’s nothing that’s left but wasted tears
‘Wasted Years’ by Cold



BPOV

Emmett coughed loudly, breaking us apart from our day dream. My cheeks reddened, of course but Edward just smirked and wrapped his arm around me, pulling me tight against him. I couldn’t help but glance down, to see if he was over his, eh, problem. Edward caught the glance and smirked wider at me. Before I had time to react he whispered in my ear.

“Like what you see, Bella?” YES! YES! YES! Naturally, my breathing hitched and I quickly looked away from him, not answering. The others looked at us and sniggered again, but were silenced when Edward started glaring angrily at them. It was my turn to snigger at them. Alice stuck her tongue out at me and I giggled before turning back to the TV. I didn’t have a clue what the film was about. I sighed and turned to Edward who was still looking at me, a slight smile on his face. I nudged him gently.

“What are you smiling about, huh?”

“Well, just yesterday, I met this amazing person. She’s beautiful, and she is very special.” The intensity of his stare made it impossible to look away. I didn’t even contradict him, though I knew he was wrong.

“Thank you,” I whispered. The words weren’t enough to convey how much he meant to me. It was quick, way too quick-I’d only known him for two days, but I felt like I’d known him for years. I didn’t know what I was feeling inside. It was strange and different from anything I’d ever felt before, but it felt good. And I craved more of it. Like when we were on the bed. My breathing picked up at the memory. Just that slight brush of his lips against mine had made me weak at the knees. I wanted to feel more. I wanted to feel all of him. His green eyes continued to bore into mine and I was assaulted by every fibre of him. He smirked slightly and brought his hand up and placed it on my neck, causing me to close my eyes in pleasure as he rubbed his thumb over my lips.

“Bella,” he murmured. My eyes opened involuntary and I was once more attacked by his blinding eyes. “Alice seems to be trying to get your attention.” He smirked and I frowned, getting myself out of the day dream quickly and trying to smile when I turned around to face Alice. She was grinning at me and I sighed and rolled my eyes. She was taking this way too far.

“Bella, come on!” I looked at her quizzically. She sighed and got up, over-exaggerating her movements. “We need to decide what you will wear tomorrow! Come on! Rosalie you come too! We have a lot of new clothes for her.” Alice winked at Rosalie and she stood up much quicker than normal. I looked suspiciously at them.

“What do you want?” I asked carefully. Alice just looked innocently at me.

“Nothing, Bella.” She rolled her eyes. “We just want to try some clothes on! Now come on!” I sighed and got up slowly and reluctantly. My heart was instantly colder without Edward’s touch. It was pathetic. Grow up Bella; you’ve only known him two stupid days. You shouldn’t like him as much as you do. Get your head screwed on tighter!

After my little pep talk I was dragged to my room by Alice and Rosalie. Alice ran and jumped on the bed.

“So, Bella?”

I looked at her expectantly.

“We need to make you look gorgeous for Edward, so he’ll think about you ALL day, when we are away.” I laughed nervously at her words.

“It shouldn’t matter what I wear, I’m sure he won’t be thinking of me,” I said, looking away. Rosalie snorted and sat down next to Alice, leaning back on her elbows.

“Bella, seriously, he won’t be thinking of anything else once we’ve had our way with you.” Alice looked at me thoughtfully and then her eyes brightened. I tried to stifle an exasperated groan as I flopped onto the floor.

“Please?” she asked quietly.

I looked up at her and she was staring at me, pouting.

“Fine.”

“Great! So anything? Any of your...new clothes?” she sneakily asked. I nodded at her words, not really paying attention. Then a huge smile lit up her face and I was reminded of what we bought.

“No, Alice! You cannot make me wear that skirt!” I stood up quickly, my hands on my hips, glaring at her. She frowned at me.

“Bella, you just said you would wear whatever I said; therefore I say you are wearing the skirt. No arguments!”

I stood, speechless as she walked over to the bags we had previously dumped on the floor. She rummaged through, throwing the offending item at Rosalie. Rosalie whistled when she looked at it.

“I’m not wearing it, Alice. We are going shopping; it’s not a fashion parade!” I exclaimed. Rosalie snorted and Alice looked at me incredulously.

“Bella, it is a SHOPPING CENTRE. Of course it’s a fashion parade.” She said the words slowly, as if she thought that I somehow couldn’t understand. Great. Now there is someone else thinking I was stupid. I tried to control my emotions as I could sense the smile dropping off my face.

“Alice, I am going to bed. I will not be wearing a skirt tomorrow. If you are lucky, I might wear that Abercrombie and Fitch shirt you bought me, okay? Now please, could I just go to sleep? I’ve had a really long day!” I begged her. Yeah right. I wasn’t tired. I just wanted to get away from her. I’m sure she didn’t mean it, Bella, I told myself as both Rosalie and Alice left the room, Alice looking like a dog who’d had its tail trodden on. But what if she had meant it?

I shook my head and quickly changed into some chequered pyjamas that Alice insisted were a must have. Who was going to see me in my pyjama’s anyway? She didn’t need to buy me super expensive ones. But at least it was better than James’s dirty t-shirts. I shuddered involuntarily at the thought. I peeked my head out of my bedroom and looked down the empty corridor. It was safe to go. I quickly ran into the bathroom down the hall and managed not to trip. I brushed my teeth quickly and washed my face. I tried not to look in the mirror but I still managed to catch glimpses of myself. Like usual, my eyes scared me; they were so dark, and haunted. It was like the life had been sucked from them. But that couldn’t be right. No. I refused to think about being empty. They aren’t here, Bella. You can have a life again. I sighed and gave up trying to convince myself otherwise. I would always be empty. I couldn’t be fixed, even by the most wonderful of people. Speaking of which, I opened the door and was once again met by Edward, leaning against the opposite wall.

“You were going to bed without saying good night?” He smirked down at me and I completely forgot all my worries. How could I think about them when I had Edward with me? I stuttered out a response.

“Um...eh...yes....I....um...was?” It came out like a question and he shook his head slightly, chuckling to himself. He put an arm on the small of my back and led me back to my room.

“So, are you looking forward to your shopping trip with Alice and Rose?”

I groaned and he laughed.

“We told you she was bad, but did you listen? No!” He laughed again and turned his head to look at me. I was amazed as his smile grew as he looked at me. My eyes lit up in response to his smile. Never before had someone looked at me like that. My heart soared, though I didn’t recognise the look in his eyes.
“Bella, I believe this is your room?” I looked up, somehow surprised that we were here. He pushed open the door and I walked in. I turned around, only to be quickly pressed against the wall. I could feel his body running along the seams of my own and I gasped in shock. The fire inside me burned like nothing I had felt before as he ran his lips along my jaw. I could feel myself drowning in the feel of his lips on my body. My body heated up more and more and eventually I squirmed against him, desperate to get some friction between my legs.

“Good night, Bella,” he whispered as his cool lips ran down my neck and across my collarbone.

“Don’t go,” I managed to make out, unable to stop myself from saying so. He chuckled lightly against my skin before raising his head to stare into my eyes.

“Bella, there is nothing more I would rather do, than stay here with you.” He moved his head around the side of my face. He gently nibbled on my ear and I whimpered something incoherent as my hands flew up to grasp his shoulders tightly.

“Bella, you have to go to bed.” And with that, he was gone.

What the-

Did he just-

How the-

Where’d he-

Wow.

I couldn’t even form a proper thought. That was how much he affected me. I groaned loudly and flopped down onto my bed. My blood was still coursing through me, and I had the desire rub my legs together. What the hell had he done to me? My mind raced through it again, remembering how I got goose bumps all down my back when he caught my ear in his lips. I threw a pillow over my head and tried to block out all thoughts of Edward. But I couldn’t. I tried counting sheep, but that didn’t help. I moved on to dogs, and then elephants, and then platypuses, each animal getting weirder and weirder until eventually I fell into a restless sleep.

----

I was in the hallway of my old house. It was empty. I couldn’t hear anyone. I thought I was safe. I turned around but then James was there. Victoria stood behind him, holding something in her hands. He grabbed me and flung me against the wall, bracing his arm against me so I couldn’t move. I was too frightened to call for help. And besides, it was useless. No one would come. Victoria walked up to us but I still couldn’t see what was in her hand. Suddenly, she grabbed my mouth, forcing it open and stuffed something into my mouth. I almost choked at the taste of it. It was soap. My nose started running, and tears were beginning to run down my cheeks. I tried to shake my head, desperate to get some air into my lungs. And then someone punched me. The blows kept coming and I started seeing stars in front of my eyes. James dropped me and I spat the soap out. I tried to crawl to the bathroom to retch but James grabbed me and kicked me in the ribs. I cried out as he did it again and again and again.

“Bella! Bella! Wake up, please!” My eyes flew open and I started choking, my hands flying to my throat.

EPOV

I smirked as I left Bella speechless in her room. I went into my room, coincidentally next door to Bella’s. I heard her groan loudly. I chuckled. How I fucking loved non-soundproofed rooms. I threw my t-shirt off and flung on a pair flannel bottoms. I stretched my arms above my head and then climbed in.

An hour later I was still fucking awake. I could not get that image of Bella whimpering beneath me from my mind.

Jesus Christ Cullen, move along! It’s not as if you were fucking her!

Yeah, like I could ‘fuck’ Bella. She is way more important than that.

Going all sappy are we?

Fuck off.

I am going insane. I really am. She’s been here two fucking days and I am obsessed. Get a grip. I groaned silently and watched my clock as the hours slipped by and my mind stayed tuned on Bella Swan. When it got to 1 AM and I still wasn’t asleep I sat up and turned my light back on. No way was I going to get any rest tonight. Not when I knew she was in the room next door, with her huge eyes and her full, red lips. CHRIST! I moved painfully, trying to relieve some of the pressure in my groin.

And that’s when I heard it. At first I just passed it off as a random noise that this stupid place makes, but then I heard it again. Someone was crying. But it wasn’t crying, it was more like quiet shouts of pain. And it was coming from Bella’s room. I was out of the room before I could curse. I opened her door, almost slamming it behind me and ran across to the bed. She was thrashing around in her sleep, her face scrunched up and her cheeks glistening with tears. She whimpered in pain again and again, and each cry was accompanied by a wince. I had to wake her up.

“Bella! Bella! Wake up please!” Her eyes flew open and she sat upright, clutching her throat. She was choking and all I could do was stare in horror. Her eyes were blazing with fear and her face had a slight sheen of sweat over it, brought on by her nightmare. My senses kicked in and I rubbed her on the back.

“Breathe, Bella. You’re okay. No one is hurting you.”

She took a couple of deep shaky breathes and then looked up at me, new tears forming in her eyes.

“I’m so sorry Edward,” she cried out as the tears fell down her cheeks. What the fuck? I took her in my arms and lay down on the bed, holding her tight against me. I stroked her hair and tried to calm her down.

“Shhhh, Bella, it’s alright,” I murmured. Her sobs grew quiet but her body still shook.

“Do you want to tell me what happened?” I asked her cautiously, not wanting to push her too far. She sniffed and nodded into her chest.

“It was them again. They were there. And they...they kept doing stuff to me.” She started sobbing against me again and I left it at that. I would find out one day.

“Bella, please calm down. You’re okay, they can’t hurt you. I’m here, love.”

Bella’s breathing hitched as she looked up at me. Holy shit. Did I just say what I thought I said? I couldn’t have! I called her love? By the look on Bella’s face I could tell that it had slipped out. Jesus, now she was going to go all weird and stupid on me. Way to go Cullen. I gazed into Bella’s eyes, trying to apologize but she looked away and snuggled her head into my chest. She hiccuped and sniffed before speaking.

“Please stay with me, Edward.” Her voice was hoarse from crying, and slightly muffled. It was only then that I realised that her face was against my bare chest. Meaning her fucking lips were against it too. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck. I shifted away from her but she moved closer, pressing her whole body against me and my growing hard on.

“Please, Edward?” she asked, her voice hesitant now. Wait, had I not answered yet?

“Of course I’ll stay.”

Bella gingerly wrapped her arms around me and moved her lips across my chest. Involuntarily, I stiffened and Bella giggled slightly.

Way to go, loser.

She would think I was a total dickhead since I couldn’t control myself around her. I sighed and held her tighter against me. I might as well get it when I can, right? I buried my nose in her hair, her exquisite scent assaulting my senses. She wrapped her legs through mine and we lay there, completely together. Bella fell asleep first. Her breathing evened out and I soon felt her relax in my grip. It wasn’t long after that I fell asleep too, my dreams filled with pictures of Bella.

*****

“Are they awake?”

“Does she know that her mouth is on his nipple?”

“Why is he eating her hair?”

“Is his hand on her breast?”

“Emmett, shut up with the questioning! They’ll hear you!”

My Bella induced haze was fading and I stirred, my eyes opening minutely. Alice, Rosalie, Jasper and Emmett stood at the end of the bed, staring at us like we were fucking zoo animals. I felt Bella stir against me, and instantly my morning wood sprang up.

“Fuck,” I muttered under my breath. Bella frowned at me.

“What?” she asked, her voice husky in the morning. I nodded in their direction.

“Oh,” she simply said and then blushed the most adorable shade of red. I couldn’t help but reach out with my fingers and stroke along her cheek, making her go even redder. Emmett made puking noises and we both turned and glared at him.

“What the fuck are you even doing in here?”

“Well,” Alice began. “I came in to wake Bella up so we could get ready to go out, but you were in here as well! And the sight was too cute to keep to myself so I went and got everyone else!”

“Cute?” Emmett said, snorting. “I think more like ‘bloody-hot-grope-sucking-session’ is a more accurate name.”

I rolled my eyes at his crudeness. Bella turned to stare at me.

“You were feeling me up?” And for the first time in my whole fucking life, I, Edward Cullen, got embarrassed.

“No, I was not,” I said, flustered.

“Edward, yes you were. Your hand was on her breast,” Rosalie accurately stated. Bella blushed again and I groaned.

“But I didn’t mean to! I was asleep!”

“You mean you don’t want to feel me up?” I looked up at Bella in disbelief and was met with her big, brown eyes, staring at me like fucking Bambi.

“Bella, what on earth are you talking about?” What the fuck was going on? Hell, we hadn’t even kissed yet and she wanted me to grope her. Not that I didn’t want to, I just, fuck. I pinched the bridge of my nose and took a deep breath.

“Bella, I—” I looked up as the five of them burst out laughing.

“Your face!” Jasper managed before going off in another fit of laughter.

“Get out now!” I snarled at them and the four at the end of the bed left, still laughing. Bella on the other hand, had stopped and was now looking at the ground, playing with the hem of her trousers. Her arms were unintentionally pushing her breasts together and I stared at them for a few seconds before I managed to get a grip on myself.

“So you thought it was funny did you?” I growled playfully. She looked up at me through her eyelashes and I saw something flash through them, before they turned bright as I winked at her before leaping and pinning her to the bed. I sat over her legs and she giggled. I raised an eyebrow at her before grinding my hips into hers. I was prepared to feel overwhelmed, but what I was not prepared for was Bella’s reaction. Her eyes rolled back into her head and she moaned loudly. The sound made my insides melt and I yearned to do it again, but like a gentleman, I forced myself not to.

“Not so funny now is it, Bella?” She shook her head at me meekly, her eyes filled with need. Her lips called me and I leant down, desperate to feel her lips against mine properly.

“EDWARD!” Alice hissed through the door before rapping on it lightly. “Carlisle’s coming! Get out of there!” Oh shit. If I was found here, they’d fucking murder me.

“Bella, I will explain later,” I whispered before jumping off the floor and running out the room.

BPOV

I’m not quite sure what just happened. After Edward ran from the room, his sister came back in.

“Bella! Shopping time! Go shower!” she told me. I frowned at her.

“Why did he leave?” I asked. It was now Alice who frowned slightly.

“That’s not for me to tell you. He’ll tell you later.” She started rummaging through my clothes and I sighed.

“Alice, I know what I’m wearing, now please, just leave me alone to get dressed!”

She sighed and dragged her feet out the room. I grabbed a pair of tight jeans and one of the tops she had bought me yesterday. Just because I didn’t want her help, didn’t mean I wasn’t going to try and look good for Edward.

There was a towel at the end of the bed which I assumed Alice had brought in with her. I picked it up and walked quickly, but carefully down the hall to the shower. Luckily, no one had gone in yet and this time I was able to get dressed in the bathroom. There was no one against the wall when I left the room this time, thank goodness, I thought. I was not ready to deal with the whole Edward thing yet.

I had spent the whole night with him. I still didn’t know how he got there or what happened between us. He had ground his goddamned hips against mine for goodness sake! Did that mean he liked me too? But how could I be so into him when we had only just met? It wasn’t possible! I groaned and forced myself not to thump the wall. My mind was a maze of unanswered questions that kept forcing themselves to the front of my mind. I sighed again, walking down the stairs with the hope that somebody would be about.

When I reached the kitchen, most of the others were already sitting there. Edward stood up when I came in and smiled. His smile quickly froze, freezing mine in the process. But Edward got a hold of himself, shaking his head lightly and came over to me quickly.

“You look amazing Bella,” he whispered, his voice close to my ear. And that made my decision. I didn’t care if I had only met him three days ago. I. Wanted. Edward. He pulled back from me and smirked once more, making me blush a thousand shades of red, before leading me to the table and sitting me down next to him.

“One black coffee for you,” he said passing me a cup of steaming coffee and the sugar bowl. Wow, I thought, he’d been paying attention yesterday. I smiled up at him.

“Thank you,” I said and he passed me over a plate. I looked up to find Esme looking at me thoughtfully. She was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest. When she caught me looking she smiled and I returned it. Carlisle came through the door and said something to her. She replied and then he turned around to look at me. He frowned darkly and I blushed and looked away. I turned to Edward who was glaring at his father in hate. My eyebrows creased as I tried to work out what was going on. I looked back up to Carlisle and Esme. Esme now stood with a restraining arm on Carlisle who looked ready to kill Edward. My head flicked back to Edward who was shaking now, his fists clenched on the table.

“Edward?” I mimicked Esme and put my hand against Edward. Almost instantly, he seemed to relax and I breathed a sigh of relief when he faced me, his eyes nowhere near as black as they had been.

“Yes, Bella?” he said sweetly, running his hands along my cheek and brushing my hair behind my ear.

“What’s going on?” When I said this his eyes darkened slightly, but he smiled before I could say anything about it.

“Nothing,” he told me. I continued to persist.

“Edward, I saw what happened. Tell me what’s wrong. Please?” He looked into my eyes and seemed to give in.

“Later, okay? When we are alone. When we’re not being watched like hawks,” he added under his breath. I frowned but decided to leave it alone. It would do no good to exasperate him further. He didn’t say anything throughout the rest of the meal, and I kept my eyes down at the table, feeling awkward. I ate quickly and stood up as soon as I had finished. I left, not once looking at Edward. I ran up to my room, trying to ignore the implications of the encounter I had just witnessed. Why was Carlisle so annoyed at Edward? Was it because of me?

“Bella, I’m sorry.”

I jumped and squeaked embarrassingly. I flung my body around and Edward was in the bedroom, wringing his hands nervously. He looked up sheepishly at me through his lashes, and I motioned for him to proceed, whilst curling my knees to my chest. He hesitatingly took a step forward and shut the door.

“You see, um, Carlisle, um has a problem, you could say, with me and you.”

“Problem?” I asked numbly. Everyone had a problem with me.

“No, no, no, Bella! Not that kind of problem!” He ran across to me and grabbed my hands in his. I let him run his fingers run over my soft skin as he continued to justify what he had said.

“I meant he has a problem with you and I getting...together.”

“Why would he have a problem with that?”

He released my hands and stared down at the floor.

“Because, every girl I have ever been with has been a ‘onetime’ thing. You know, fuck ‘em then drop ‘em. He thinks I’m just after you for the sex—” His face darkened at this but he continued. “—and he thinks that you will get hurt. By me. Bastard,” I thought I heard him say quietly.

“Why does he think that, Edward?” I knew he could never hurt me, at least not physically. After yesterday, there was no doubt about it that he could ever hurt me like that.

“Because every one of the girls I fucked were obsessed with me. And I broke their hearts. But I could never do that to you, Bella, never. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I did.” I heard the sincerity in his voice but...

What if I wasn’t as good as the others he had been with?

Stop being pathetic Bella, I told myself. But I couldn’t be sure. I knew I wanted him, so, so much. But what if I wasn’t good enough for him? What if I was awkward and rubbish and ugly? Once again I reminded myself that I was broken. Of course I would be worse than the others.

“Bella, what’s wrong?” His tone was worried now and I gazed into his eyes, completely lost.

“Edward, it’s just, it’s just—” I stopped. He looked at me, confusion written all over his face. “Nothing, it doesn’t matter.”

His eyes narrowed but he didn’t press any further.

“Bella! Hurry UP!” Alice skipped into the room, beaming like a Cheshire cat. I groaned.

“Wish me luck!” I said, trying to make my voice cheerful. I slipped my shoes on quickly and grabbed my coat, managing to put it on before Alice grabbed me and dragged me off for the second trip to the mall in just a few days.

Rosalie and Alice spent the whole journey discussing what would look good on me.

“Definitely dark blue,” Rosalie said.

“Yes, and that purple that she is wearing looks really good too!”

“Not yellow, it would make her skin look weird.”

“Yeah, but it would depend on the shade I suppose.”

I tuned out after that and closed my eyes. My mind jumped straight to Edward. I bit back a frustrated groan. I couldn’t even go shopping without thinking of him. That was just great.

“Bella? Bella?” Alice sang. My eyes flickered open and she was leaning right over me. “We’re here!” she explained. Good? I climbed out of the car and followed Rosalie and Alice who walked into the mall like they owned the place.

The first shop we went into Alice grabbed stuff from every shelf and flung them into my arms. It was all short skirts and revealing tops. I had to stop her.

“Alice Cullen, stop,” I said in my most forceful voice. “I do not wear short sleeves—” I threw 4 of the items back at her. “I do not wear midriff revealing tops either—” I then threw another 2 of the items back at her. “And I most definitely do NOT wear tartan Mini-skirts!” I threw back the one that she had just given me. I now had in my arms, two tops and a black mini-skirt. I mean it couldn’t hurt to try could it?

“I told you, Alice!” Rosalie said while smirking at Alice and winking at me. Alice frowned and dumped the clothes on a stand before hurrying off to find something else. Luckily, she did not find anything else that met both her and my needs.

“Fine, Bella, go try those things on. But we are not finished yet. You are not wearing any of that to a club.” She scowled at me and I danced happily to a changing room with just three items. I slipped into the skirt and one of the tops. I froze when I looked at myself in the mirror. It was so short.

“Bella are you alright in there?” Alice asked timidly.

“It’s so short,” I managed to stutter out. I heard rather than saw the door being opened. Damn it for the magnet locks.

“Bella, wow! What the hell is wrong with that?” Rosalie whistled.

“Bella, you look amazing! We are so getting that skirt! And the top!” I looked at them more carefully. I suppose it wasn’t too bad. I could live with short. Maybe. If I was high on coke! What was I thinking? I couldn’t possibly wear this.

“No, I can’t get this. I’m not the kind of girl who wears skirts.”

“But, Bella, you look so good!”

I shook my head firmly.

“Do you want me to try on the other top or not?” Alice huffed at me and nodded angrily before storming out of the tiny room.

I quickly threw on the other top, only to take it off immediately. It was HIDEOUS! I knew Alice would agree.

“Alice, this one is dreadful. I’m going to chuck you the clothes over. Can you please put them back while I get changed?” I heard her grumble and sigh as she clattered about, picking up everything I had thrown over.

I changed, slower this time, and walked casually out of the changing room to see Rosalie waiting for me. I smiled nervously to her, still not sure what had made her change towards me so fast.

“Alice is just buying herself some things; we can wait for her outside.” We moved out the shop and sat down on a bench. There was a bit of an awkward silence until we both spoke at once.

“I’d like to—”

“Could I—” We both smiled at each other and I motioned for her to continue.

“I’d like to apologise for behaving so rudely to you when you first arrived here. I had a hard time settling in with certain people and it was horrible seeing that the two of you got on so well.”

“I’m guessing we’re talking about Edward right?”

She nodded. “He really has never taken well to newcomers - except you. I was jealous. Jealous that you had something I didn’t, something that made you so much more special to him.”

I snorted at this.

“Oh but Bella, you are that bit more special to him. I have lived with Edward for years and never once have I seen him half as happy as he is when he is around you. His whole face glows and he can’t look away. It’s as if he’s blinded by you.”

I couldn’t speak. My mouth opened and closed like a fish. Rosalie chuckled.

“I’m serious Bella. You’ve changed him.”

I finally found my voice again. “B...but I only met him a few days ago?”

“That was my problem, but Bella it doesn’t matter that it was only a few days. It was a love at first sight moment. You cannot change that.”

“Love?” I spluttered out.

“Yes, Bella, love! You would believe me if you saw how he acts around you. He constantly has to have his hands on you—”

“That’s lust, not love,” I interrupted.

“Bella, don’t be silly. It’s not like that. He plays with your hair, and holds your hand and strokes your cheek. A guy after sex doesn’t do that.”

“But then why does Carlisle have such a problem with us getting together?” I was glad I was finally delving deeper into the mystery of this. Rosalie sighed.

“He talked to us about it yesterday. He said that something really bad had happened to you, and that he would not let anybody hurt you anymore. Edward came under that category of hurting you.” My mind had stopped with her sentence. They couldn’t know anything could they?

“H...how?” I managed to say, trying not to look like I was caught out.

“Edward is, well was, a bit of a man-whore to be honest. And Carlisle didn’t want to see him use you the same way he did with all those girls.”

“How many were there?”

Rosalie frowned. “I can’t tell you that, Bella.”

“There was that many?”

Her frown deepened.

“Fine. About 25.” 25? Is that big or not? I knew nothing about a teenage boy’s mind.

“Has he had any longer relationships?” If he hadn’t lasted with anyone else, how did I know he would last with me?

“Well, relationship is a loose sense of the word, but there was one. Her name was Tanya and they fucked for about 6 months before she moved to New York.”

“What was she like?”

“Blonde hair, big boobs, fake tan, you know the sort.”

Everything I’m not then.

“Bella, do not be ridiculous. He likes you because you aren’t like that,” Rosalie said. I didn’t even realize I had spoken out loud.

“Are you sure Rosalie?” She smiled brightly at me.

“Bella, already he worships the ground you walk. Trust him; he won’t let you down.” I thought over Rosalie’s words carefully. If it was true, then I was the luckiest girl in the world. If not, I was the most gullible girl in the world.

I spotted Alice coming out the door and I smiled up at Rosalie.

“Thanks Rosalie.” She smiled back at me.

“No problem Bella.” She turned serious and she reached out to touch my arm. “And if you ever need someone to talk to about...things...please come to me. I know what it’s like to have no one to turn to.” With that we stood up and were off. Again.

AN: Thank you to my beta’s, thedarknessofthemoon, Ally Carlson and the ProjectTeamBeta girls.

Thanks for reading, please review.