Bella's Monthly Gift

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Edward asked eagerly, holding open the door cautiously, unsure of what kind of mood she would be in tonight.

“Yes, of course I’m sure!” Bella answered happily, hitting him slightly with her purse. Her bright mood was unusual, and unnerving. “I love your family! And they are going to be my family soon, anyway.”

The Cullens had invited Bella over for dinner at the home, and Bella had agreed, sounding strangely and overly happy about it.

Bella jumped out of her beloved truck and Edward, like a true gentleman, closed it behind her. She eagerly took his arm and together they walked up to Edward’s house. She had been smiling at him the entire time, and it had been unsettling. Bella never smiled. And her current one was beginning to creep him out. He felt more at ease when they both wore matching grimaces.

She skipped into the living room, humming to herself, as Edward walked stiffly in. Then she stopped, releasing Edward from her overjoyed grip, and held her arms open. In a second, they were filled with the little form of Alice Cullen.

“Alice!” Bella exclaimed joyfully. “It’s so good to see you!”

“You are really happy today, Bella,” Alice said slowly, pulling away from Bella and narrowing her eyes. “What’s the matter?”

“Let’s go into the kitchen, Belles,” Edward interrupted, leading her to where the smell of chicken was emanating from.

“Edward?” Alice asked, then her eyes sort of glazed over, and Edward knew that she was seeing into the future. She stopped and smiled. “Are you sure it’s safe for her to be over here?”

“You tell me,” he answered, knowing that she had seen something amusing, but she wouldn’t let him inside of her mind.

“Let’s just say, this evening is going to be very amusing.” She skipped away to the kitchen and helped set the table. “I’m just worried about Jasper now.”

He had nothing to say to her last, enigmatic sentence.

In the kitchen, Esme was at the counter, organizing the one piece of chicken on the one plate, the one that belonged to Bella. She wanted to make it look perfect. She sprinkled some sort of green herb over it, and put a side of corn and carrots on the one right side of the plate. She turned around and smiled.

“Hello Bella,” she greeted warmly. “Dinner’s almost ready. Please, take a seat.”

Everyone sat in a chair, but only Bella had food on her plate. They were just having a small conversation about the future wedding and such.

“This chicken is delightful!” Bella complimented, smiling at her soon-to-be mother-in-law.

“Why thank you, Bella,” Esme said to her, sending an odd smile towards Edward. “You seem really happy today. Has something good happened?”

“Oh no,” Bella told Esme, waving the idea away with her free hand. “I’m just very happy to be here with you all today, eating chicken, telling stories. I haven’t done something like this in a long time!”

Rosalie glared at Bella. Edward stared at Alice worriedly. Alice was enjoying the scene, looking impatient. Jasper was staring at the wall across from him. Blankly. Emmett was flexing his muscle, and then poking it with his finger. Carlisle was staring at the rest of the table, curiously. He knew something was up.

Bella put her fork down and announced that she had to go to the bathroom. Edward shot Alice a worried look, but she only smiled knowingly.

When she didn’t return for five minutes, the table had grown awkwardly quiet. Edward decided to go and check in on her. She had just opened the door when Edward came to the bathroom door.

“Are you alright?” he asked worriedly.

“Yeah,” she answered, zipping up her purse and turning to leave…

…but not, of course, before running into Jasper, whose head shot up and whose eyes glazed over, filling themselves with lust. And not the good kind. Edward, being able to read minds, now knew exactly what Alice had seen. Jasper threw Bella across the hallway and dove for the bathroom and, alas, the garbage can.

He glared down at it with a greedy smile. Inside the garbage can was a little wad of toilet paper. Right now, only a vampire knew what was inside of it.

Jasper reached down and began undoing it like an oddly wrapped ice cream bar with a cottony red center. He shoved it into his mouth and began sucking on it, like a leech on human flesh.

Edward grabbed Jasper by the back of his shirt and yelled for help. Emmett came and held Jasper back as Edward grabbed the garbage can and the bundle and launched them out the window. He turned to Bella who was smiling innocently at him as all this was happening.

“Ow,” she exclaimed suddenly, a smile still plastered to her face. She was holding her shoulder, which appeared to be dislocated. “Silly Jasper. He should know not to play rough with me.”

“Doesn’t that hurt?” Edward asked her wearily, almost fearing the answer.

“Nah,” she said, shrugging her one shoulder. “I know pain.”

A loud ‘clang’ followed by an equally loud ‘bang’ echoed from outside and rang throughout the now silent house.

“I think it’s time that we leave,” Edward told her, using ‘we’ instead of ‘you.’