A Fresh Start

The Brunch

Author's Note: I own nothing. I just like to play with the characters that were created by Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended.

Also, thank you for those of who have commented and offered well-wishes in my difficult time. It means a lot to me. Writing these stories has been my strength (as silly as that sounds) and has grounded me.

Thank you so much for reading and reviewing. It means so much to me. More than you can imagine. These stories (this one in particular) are my babies and I adore the reviews and comments I receive. Much, much love to ALL of you!

Chapter 28: The Brunch

I had to go to work the next day. School had been canceled the day after my car accident and I was so grateful for that. I didn't need to use a sick day. However, I needed to be at work the following day for a staff meeting. I was doing a presentation to the staff about the latest reading strategy our district was using. I was the expert, supposedly. Alice showed up to the house early to style my hair to hide my garish cut on my forehead. She said that I would look cute with bangs. But the first thing she did when she saw me was grabbing my left hand and stared unabashedly at my engagement ring.

"Holy fuck, Bells. This is huge!" she gushed.

"Tell me about it," I chuckled. "I can't believe it's on my finger."

"My brother has exquisite taste," Alice said, winking. "This is more gorgeous than the ring he got for Tanya."

"Not to compare, but what did that look like?" I asked.

"A princess cut diamond in a platinum setting. Her wedding band was a princess cut eternity band," Alice answered with a wave of the hand. "It was much smaller than this."

"I was also much poorer, Mary Alice," Edward laughed from the kitchen. "Residents get paid shit."

"But you weren't a typical resident, Edward Anthony," Alice sang. "You made your first millions."

"Doesn't mean that I want to flaunt it," he said, poking his head into the bedroom.

"What do you call this?" Alice asked, waving my hand.

"An investment in our future," he said with a smirk. "I've got to go. I love you."

"I love you, too, baby brother," Alice chirped, holding her hand over her heart.

"Not you. Bella," Edward laughed. I snorted and hid behind my hand.

"You wound me, Masen," Alice said, tossing a hand towel at Edward. "Go save lives or file something."

"Bye, Elf. Love you, Bells."

"Love you, too, Edward," I winked. He waved and darted out of the bedroom. Alice finished giving me my mini-makeover. I got dressed in a pair of corduroy pants and my snow boots. I figured if it was snowy and icky out, I better be prepared. Also, the extra support from the boots was necessary with my gimpiness. On top I wore a black sweater and a simple long necklace with matching earrings. Alice and I went to school; me driving the Volvo and Alice in her Audi. We parked our cars and headed to our respective rooms. I put up my agenda on the board and waited for my classes to come into my room.

As I was doing some grading, Jake popped his head in. "Hey. I just wanted to thank you and Edward for setting up me and Ren. He's fucking awesome," he gushed.

"Oh really?" I asked. "Do tell, Black."

"I think I'm in love," Jake said with a dreamy look in his eyes. "He's so sweet and handsome and generous and yeah..."