Waxing Crescent (Alice Cullen x Bella Swan)

Chapter 20 - Dull Minds, Poor Hunting Partners

"I really wish you wouldn't talk about him like that," I whispered, deciding that looking anywhere but at Alice was a safer bet.

There was a pregnant pause.

"I apologize," She muttered as we drove down the road. Something in the tone of her voice made me feel as though she didn't actually mean it. 

"It is just that-," She continued through gritted teeth, "-He kept right on pushing. Pushing well after you had clearly and firmly put him in his place. The absolute gall! No respect whatsoever for your relationship, let alone your own feelings on the matter. I know he had no idea before but-... What was that about, Bella? I thought he was well aware that you were spoken for, and then I go and find out that you were lying to the both of us!"

"I know you heard everything I said in the car, Alice. You have an eidetic memory. I don't know why you're asking me to repeat it," I kept my eyes on the window, not really seeing the impenetrable wall of trees rolling past us.

"Well, I thought you would have more to say about it, frankly! Particularly to me. You are mine, just as I am yours, or do you not recall that teensy little detail? I cannot easily overlook this- this... Your abhorrence to admitting that I am your partner is a very bitter pill to swallow. Do not get me started on how intimately you described your feelings for him! I was operating under the misapprehension that I had no competition. Silly me."

Her last few words seemed to get stuck in her throat. I snapped my head around, her face teetering on the edge of anguish. 

"Alice, I tell everyone! You know that. It was just this once that I didn't... And I don't fully know why, myself! All I know is what I said to Jacob in that car. I guess I still wanted a safe little bubble of normalcy. It's not that I didn't want him to know, or I was ashamed, or even somehow lying to you about the depths of my feelings! It's just that it didn't feel right to say anything when I was with Jake. Like it wasn't ever the right time, or something I even could say."

She gave me a scrutinizing once over, lips pursed, before turning away dismissively. 

My mouth went dry. She could hardly look at me.

"That is a lackluster excuse, Bella. You could have said anything, anything at all, and it would likely have been far better than the sting of indifference. That boy is clearly in love with you. Perhaps even from the moment he first saw you. I-," She ground her teeth audibly, "I cannot even blame the damn child. After all, he would be a fool not to be!"

I gulped, "So... You blame me, then? I mean, you're right to. I was a total idiot. It wasn't right to try and live some double life. You are the absolute center of everything for me - my entire universe. I was being so stupid. I don't even understand why I tried to hide you away like you're- you're- a trophy I can bring down from the mantel whenever I choose to. I just didn't think... I didn't think at all."

She tore her eyes from the road, amber eyes ablaze. It suddenly felt like ignoring me had been a lot better.

"Are you suggesting that you consider me to be a mere trophy wife? Oh the nerve," She contemptuously arched one of her perfectly sculpted eyebrows.

"No! I swear I'm not...," My voice trailed off when I noted the hint of a smirk slipping through.

"I am still utterly disappointed in you," She acknowledged her budding amusement with a resigned sigh, "But, I am not mad at you, and I do not even truly blame you, either. I should have known something would eventually have to give. My family and I - our entire world - is so foreign and so fantastical. To navigate our world without some growing pains is a ridiculous proposition, and I should have never expected that from you. Yet, you have managed on nearly all accounts to do so with a skill and a finesse that other humans would never attain. I suppose, all things considered, I could afford you this one mistake."