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Bella sighs as she drops onto the couch in the lounge room with the TV remote in her hand. She flicks through a few channels before giving up and turning it off. Nothing caught her attention and she didn’t feel like playing video games without Emmett.
She rolls onto her back and looks at the ceiling. The Cullen house was uncomfortably quiet. Everyone had gone out to hunt except for Rosalie. And well, Bella glances at the stairs, Rosalie had made it painfully clear that she wanted nothing to do with her for the week they’d be away.
So really, it was up to Bella to entertain and cook for herself. Especially since Charlie had started to spend more time with Sue since their first date and often stayed over, her choices were staying alone at Charlie’s house or almost alone at the Cullen’s.
She picked the Cullen’s.
The well-stocked fridge may have been an incentive. She’d glanced in Charlie’s on her way out and aside from frozen meals and a variety of sauces, some of which were likely expired, it was empty.
She kicks her feet in the air and groans, trying to ease some of her boredom with little success.
She considers for a moment… A very short moment, whether she should ask Rosalie for company. She clamps her mouth tightly shut. She was not ready to face Rosalie’s fury at the human disturbing her.
This goes on for two days. Bella would wake, quietly shower, and then make a meal. Afterwards, she’d sit on the couch with a book or turn the TV on. She wonders if she’ll die of boredom before Edward gets home.
On the third day, just after she’d finished her lunch and found a good spot on the couch to sit, she hears someone clearing their throat behind her.
She jolts and whips her head in the direction of the noise.
She swallows sharply as Rosalie walks over to the couch and sits beside her. She waves the book in her hand. “Um,” she says awkwardly, “What’s up?”
Rosalie rolls her eyes in response. “You should learn Italian.” She emphasises her point by dropping the heavy textbook onto Bella’s lap.
Bella blinks rapidly and looks down at the textbook, reading the title. Beginners Italian. Fifth Edition. “I- why?”
Rosalie grinds her teeth and looks at her as if she is an idiot for asking the question. “Your name. It’s Italian.”
Bella splutters before pointing a finger at her chest. “But I’m not Italian.”
Rosalie narrows her eyes. “Accept my offer or spend the rest of the week by yourself painfully bored. It’s your choice.”
Bella looks down at the textbook and back up at Rosalie, weighing her options. This was the first time Rosalie had actively sought her out. And not just to find Emmett. She knows deep down she’d be a fool to pass it up. She wets her lips. “I, uh, accept?”
“Don’t say it like a question,” Rosalie sighs. “Say it with intention.”
Bella feels herself wither under the intensity of Rosalie’s gaze. Still, she squares her shoulders and looks squarely into her eyes. “I accept.”
Rosalie's lips turn up in a pleased smile. “Good.” She taps the cover of the book. “We’re going to skip a few lessons, I’ll just explain them to you. Skip to page 34.”
Bella does as Rosalie asks and opens the textbook across her lap onto the page. “Okay,” she says, shuffling slightly as she becomes very aware of how close Rosalie is to her. “What now?”
“We’ll start with hello,” Rosalie responds. “Repeat after me. Ciao.”
It takes Bella several tries to get it right. And for some reason, Rosalie doesn’t snap at her. She merely smiles and shakes her head before focusing on the part Bella was getting wrong and asking her to repeat it.
Soon enough, Bella is smiling widely despite her unusual company. “Ciao, Rosalie.”
Rosalie laughs. Honest to god, laughs. Bella tries to ignore the way her heart flutters in her chest at the sound. She fails at keeping the smile off her face as she looks at Rosalie and sees just a hit of laugh lines at the corners of her lips as she tilts her head backwards in her laughter. She was… beautiful.
Bella shakes her head. Not that it wasn’t already obvious. That was like Rosalie’s whole special vampire ability. She was super pretty and was proud of that.
Rosalie hums. “You may call me Rose. Repeat the phrase.”
Bella rubs her hands together nervously. “Ciao, Rose.”
Rosalie grins. “Ciao, Isabella.”
Okay, what the hell? Where did Rosalie get the right to make Bella feel like this just from hearing how her name rolled on her lips as she said it? She feels her cheeks flush when she realises there’s no way Rosalie can’t hear how fast her heart is beating.
Bella holds her hand over her chest and takes several steadying breaths before she dares to look at Rosalie. “What’s next?”
Rosalie looks down at her hand on her chest and a satisfied smirk forms on her lips. “We’ll turn it into a full greeting. I’ll teach you how to say my name is.”
Rosalie shuffles across the couch until her side is pressed against Bella’s. She flicks through a few pages before settling on a page. “To say my name is, you say mi chiamo.”
Bella doesn’t know what it is about Rosalie and how close she is pressed against her side, but it has her stuttering over the words so many times that she wants to bury her head under a pillow and never do an Italian lesson again. In fact, she does just that. She grabs a pillow off the couch and groans into it. “Please, give me mercy.”
Rosalie places her hand on the top of the pillow. But instead of yanking it out of Bella’s hand in the way she’d expect her to, she gently lowers it to Bella’s lap. “You’re doing well.”
Bella huffs. “Am I? All I can say is hello.”
Rosalie frowns before cautiously placing one of her hands on Bella’s. “I don’t lie, Isabella.”
Bella grits her teeth and stares at Rosalie’s hand. This was all too strange for her. She wonders if Rosalie is doing this to get at her somehow. For being the annoying human that entered her family’s lives. Maybe that was her way of getting away with bullying Bella or something. But… Rosalie’s smiles and laughter had felt genuine, and Bella wasn’t sure if she was that good of an actress. So, the word tumbles out of her mouth before she can stop it. “Why?”
“Why, what?” Rosalie squeezes her hand and Bella feels her heart race again.
“Why are you being nice to me?” Bella responds, sniffing slightly when her eyes start to water. “Are you just trying to make fun of me?”
Rosalie clenches her jaw and looks away, though she doesn’t release Bella’s hand. “I know that perhaps I haven’t been as welcoming to you as the rest of my family.” She mutters under her breath. “For good reason.”
“What reason?” She finds herself asking.
Rosalie winces. “You heard that?”
Bella nods. “Yeah.”
Rosalie sighs and rubs her thumb against the back of Bella’s hand. “Look, Isabella, there are some things that I-” she shakes her head. “Let’s talk about this another time and focus on your lesson for now.”
Bella wants to push her, but she doesn’t know how long Rosalie’s niceness will last or how much she will tolerate. She nods her head. “Okay.”
The next day passes almost the same. Rosalie seems to take amusement out of the words she teaches her. She proudly teaches her how to ask where the bathroom is, with the excuse that she’s merely helping her express her human needs.
Bella blushes for a while after that and grumbles for just as long.
What surprises Bella though is that Rosalie joins her for dinner that night and even helps her cook it. Though not without several words about how disgusting it smells and how she can’t believe Bella actually enjoys eating it.
Bella pouts when she’s halfway through her ravioli. “Didn’t you enjoy human food once?”
Rosalie leans forward on the dining table and purses her lips. “I suppose.”
Bella laughs. “You’re going to have to give me more than that.” She pauses before tacking on, “Rose.”
That pleased smile shows on Rosalie’s face again. “Very well. I suppose I had a liking to cake.”
Bella grins in between bites of her food. “What kind?”
Rosalie looks away and Bella thinks that if vampires could blush, her face would be red right now. “Chocolate.”
“That’s my favourite too,” Bella responds, deciding not to tease Rosalie.
“Oh,” Rosalie responds, smiling again. “We could,” she pauses, frowning before she looks at Bella again. “We could make one together.”
Bella leans forward, pressing her elbow onto the table and resting her chin on her hand. “I’d like that.”
Rosalie leans forward before blinking and pulling back. “Good. It’ll be a reward if you can say a proper sentence in Italian before the end of the week.”
Bella tilts her head and smiles. “Okay.”
They separate for the night and Bella goes to bed with confusing thoughts running through her head. She loves Edward… but when she looks at Rosalie, she feels… she feels. She doesn’t know how to expand on it beyond that.
She reads Wuthering Heights in bed and feels her cheeks burn when she imagines Rosalie in Heathcliff’s place. What the hell?
She slams the book onto the bedside table in Edward’s room and firmly squeezes her eyes shut.
When she wakes, it’s from Rosalie knocking on the door. “Are you decent?”
Bella looks down at her shorts and t-shirt she’d chosen as pyjamas and shrugs. “I guess?”
Rosalie pushes open the door and hesitates before sitting on the end of Edward’s bed. “We can take a break from Italian today.”
Bella sits up in bed and lets the covers fall around her waist. “And do what?”
Rosalie wets her lips. “Talk?”
Bella smiles. “Okay, sure. About what?”
Rosalie looks at Bella and her lip curls in disgust as she looks around the room. “Come to my room.”
Bella frowns. “What’s wrong with Edward’s?”
“Nothing,” Rosalie exclaims before gritting her teeth and shaking her head. She stands up from the bed and storms her way out the door. “Stay in bed if you’d like.”
Bella feels her heart start to ache in her chest. She shakes her head. “Let me get dressed?”
Rosalie spins on her heel and looks at her hopefully. “You’ll join me?”
Bella pushes herself out of bed and watches with interest as Rosalie’s eyes slide down her body and spend a particularly long time on her legs. She doesn’t know where the confidence comes from, but she smirks and leans on the bed, only stumbling slightly. “Like what you see?”
Rosalie clears her throat violently. “No!” She slams the door behind her a second later and Bella can vaguely hear her feet hitting against the floor as she rushes to her room. Interesting.
She walks over to Edward’s closet and pulls out the clothes she’d stored there. She quickly changes.
After a quick stop to the bathroom, she walks into Rosalie’s room and feels her cheeks flush at the sight of a small tray of food on her bed beside her. “Is that for me?”
Rosalie’s nose crinkles. “Well, I don’t eat this garbage.”
“I didn’t mean-” Bella huffs before smiling. “Thank you.”
Rosalie rubs the back of her neck. “You’re welcome.”
Bella moves to the bed and sits on the edge of it, pulling the tray into her lap. When the cup on it teeters, Rosalie catches it with a sigh and a fond smile. “You’re very clumsy.”
Bella blushes. “I know.”
“It’s not a bad thing,” Rosalie responds, settling on holding the cup in her hand when it wobbles on the tray again. “I don’t mind it.”
“Oh,” Bella responds, biting her lip to hide her smile. “I’m, um, glad.”
“Good,” Rosalie responds, holding the cup up to Bella’s mouth when she reaches for it to drink.
If her heart had raced before, then it was running overtime at this. She swallows the water in the cup. Some of it dribbles down her chin in her nervousness.
Rosalie wipes the water off with her thumb. “You’re welcome.”
Bella hurriedly finishes her food and sets the tray to the side. She tries to force her blush away as she speaks. “So, what do you want to chat about?” She eyes the room for the first time and takes in the action figures that line the wall and the video game console built into the wall that was definitely Emmett’s.
Rosalie follows her gaze. “We share the room.”
“I didn’t ask,” Bella responds nervously, not wanting to upset Rosalie.
“I could see the question in your eyes,” Rosalie responds. Again, as she had done the day before, she reaches for Bella’s hand and holds it. “It’s okay to ask.”
“Okay,” Bella says. “So, are you two mates like Edward and I?”
Rosalie hisses in response and squeezes Bella’s hand a little too tightly, drawing a whimper from her. Her eyes widen and she reaches up and kisses her knuckles. “I’m sorry.”
Bella’s heart skips a beat at the action. “It’s,” she takes a shaky breath. “It’s okay.” She looks at Rosalie’s face. “Did I say something that upset you?”
“No,” Rosalie responds, shaking her head. “You said nothing wrong. If you must know, Emmett and I are not mates. I thought we were when I turned him, but it became nothing more than friendship. We share a room out of convenience and companionship. We share the knowledge that we would separate if either of us found our mate.”
“Oh, do you want to meet your mate?” Bella finds herself asking, ignoring the way her chest aches at the idea of Rosalie finding someone.
Rosalie smiles and cups Bella’s cheek in her hand. “I hope to meet her.”
Bella doesn’t know why, especially considering Edward was her mate and she loved him. But… a pain settles in her chest. “Oh, um, I hope so too. I mean, for you.”
Rosalie hums and rubs her thumb against Bella’s cheek. “Yes. It would be nice.” Her thumb grazes the corner of Bella’s lips and she lets out several shaky breaths.
“I, um, I,” she clears her throat. “You’re pretty, Rose,” she blurts out.
Rosalie laughs and those lines that Bella had grown to enjoy show on her face again. “You’re pretty too, Isabella.”
Bella doesn’t know why but she finds her heart racing as she leans in to… She doesn’t know? She wants to…
Rosalie’s eyes widen and her lips part. “Isabella…”
Before their lips can meet, the door is slammed open. Bella finds herself jerking out of Rosalie’s arms in shock. She turns towards the source of it and frowns. ‘Edward?’
Edward rips her off the bed and into his arms. “What are you doing to my mate?” He hisses.
Rosalie growls and lowers herself into a fighting stance. “Nothing she doesn’t want.”
Edward matches Rosalie’s growls and grips her so tightly that she feels her upper arms start to bruise. “Edward, you’re hurting me.”
But he doesn’t let go. If anything his grip tightens and Bella cries out.
All hell breaks loose a moment later. Rosalie pulls her out of Edward's arms and pushes her behind her before squarely punching Edward in the jaw.
He yells in pain and grips her arms, trying to grapple her away from Bella.
Before their fighting can get worse, the rest of the Cullens rush into the room. Emmett grabs Rosalie and Jasper grabs Edward.
Esme grabs her and pulls her away from them both to the door.
It’s Carlisle who speaks. “What are you two doing?” He sighs and looks down at the bruises on Bella’s arms. “You’ve hurt Bella.”
The words draw a snarl out of Rosalie. “He hurt her. Not me.”
Carlisle frowns and looks at Bella. “Is that true?”
All Bella can do is nod as she looks at Rosalie.
Carlisle sighs. “Enough of this. Everyone to the lounge room. We’re having a family meeting.”
Bella sits on the couch and finds herself squished between Rosalie and Alice with a petulant Edward standing off to the side glaring at the three of them. Alice is gentle and rubs her aching arms, muttering several obscenities under her breath at Edward.
Rosalie, however, is so still that Bella is convinced she’s not breathing.
Carlisle holds up his hand before speaking. “What’s going on?” He clicks his tongue against his teeth as he speaks. “Not you, Edward, I’m asking Bella.”
Bella frowns. “I-” she blinks and feels tears start to well in her eyes. “I don’t know.” She shuffles closer to Rosalie and lets out a sigh of relief when Rosalie wraps an arm around her and pulls her close.
“I think I do,” Carlisle responds, running his hand through his hair.
“Bella isn’t your mate, is she?” Carlisle asks Edward with narrowed eyes.
Edward huffs and crosses his arms. He looks at Bella before a look of pain crosses his face. “She’s my singer.”
“That’s not a mate, Edward,” Carlisle responds. “You know this.”
He looks at Rosalie. “And you?”
Rosalie’s lip quivers before she looks down at Bella and grabs her hands, reaching them up to her lips to place a kiss against them. “She’s mine.”
Bella’s eyes widen. She opens her mouth several times, trying to will herself to speak. Finally, she settles on the only words she can. “Thank god.”
A peel of laughter slips past Rosalie’s lips and she pulls her into her lap to hold her close to her chest. “I love you,” she says as if it was the easiest thing in the world.
Bella smiles at her and presses a kiss to her chin, relishing the way Rosalie leans into it. “I love you too, Rose.” She grins, “How do I say that in Italian?”
Rosalie smiles and her lips ghost over hers. “Ti amo.”
Bella brushes her lips against Rosalie’s. “Ti amo, Rose.”
Bella can feel Rosalie smiling against her lips as they kiss. She cups Bella’s cheeks in her hands and deepens their kiss for only a moment before pulling away, aware of her family looking at the two of them. “Ti amo, Isabella.”
When Edward storms off, Bella finds she doesn’t mind.
She finally found her true mate, and she had no intention of letting go of her.