The Edge

My Favorite Mistake

Summary: Alice returns to Bella's room after hunting to talk about what happened before she left.

Alice stood by the side of Bella's bed, watching her as she slept. She had no memories of sleep having no memories of her human life, and now, as vampire, she was incapable of it, which was probably why sleeping humans had always fascinated her so much. She hadn't had much opportunity to observe humans in slumber, but she did know enough to know that Bella shifting restlessly, muttering into her pillow and frowning meant that her sleep was troubled.

Alice sighed deeply and wondered if she was the cause of Bella's restlessness, if Bella's dreams were filled with images of her, teeth glinting, eyes as black as coal, as she gleefully ripped her throat out.

Alice looked away from Bella's sleeping body.

She shouldn't have come back to Bella's room, she knew this now. But as she had fled from the younger woman earlier, the question Bella asked her had reached her ears (even though she had disappeared from sight), and she felt she owed it to Bella to return and talk to her about what had happened between them, if that's what Bella wished.

Now that she was back in the room however, returning seemed like a spectacularly bad idea because all she wanted to do was to go to Bella, to hold her as she had while they were in Phoenix. Her instinct was to wrap Bella up in her arms and hold her tightly, kissing her cheek softly as she had done so many times before. But her instincts were not to be trusted. Her instincts had almost caused her to make a mistake so grave that just the thought of it would have brought tears to her eyes if she was capable of it. When it came to Bella, her instincts were bad.

She should go. She should leave. Bella wasn't even her fruit to be tempted by. One Cullen struggling against her powerful allure was enough for any human to deal with, more than enough really. Bella didn't need her obsessing over her as well as Edward.

She knew that she should go. She knew that she should leave. But she continued to watch.

"Alice?" Bella questioned a few minutes later. Her voice was groggy with sleep and her eyes were unfocused as she stared at the small, blurry figure beside her bed.

"It's me." Alice said softly, instinctively moving to sit on the edge of the bed.

"I'm glad you came back," Bella said, struggling to clear the haze that was clouding her mind. "I was worried you wouldn't," she said sitting up. "Thank you for coming back." she went on, placing a warm hand on Alice's shoulder.

"I don't know if you should thank me for that," Alice said, looking down at her lap. "It's probably the worst thing I could have done."

"Don't say that," Bella whispered, her voice pained. "Please, don't say that."

"But it's true," Alice insisted, sounding utterly and completely ashamed of herself. "I'm a menace. I had no business coming back here," Alice continued, her voice pained. "I nearly bit you, Bella." she finished, her voice now no more than a whisper.

"But you didn't," Bella said, moving closer to Alice until she was sitting behind her. "You didn't," she repeated softly, tentatively wrapping her arm around Alice's waist, hugging her from behind. "It's okay."

"You're far too understanding, Bella," Alice sighed, relaxing back into Bella's embrace.

"No," Bella disagreed, "I just know you." she continued, resting her chin on Alice's shoulder.

"Maybe you shouldn't," Alice responded softly, her tone sad and morose. "I don't seem to have much control around you."

When she had climbed through Bella's window for the second time that night, she had told herself that she would stay at least a meter away from Bella at all times. But, the moment she had heard her voice she had moved closer, and now she was lounging in Bella's arms, Bella's scent and warmth all around her.