𝑺𝑶𝑳𝑺𝑻𝑰𝑪𝑬 [𝑯𝑨𝑹𝑹𝒀 𝑷𝑶𝑻𝑻𝑬𝑹/𝑻𝑾𝑰𝑳𝑰𝑮𝑯𝑻]

𝑌𝑂𝑈'𝑉𝐸 𝐺𝐼𝑉𝐸𝑁 𝑀𝐸 𝑌𝑂𝑈

"She is a nightmare, Edward!" Rosalie roared, storming around the living room as they waited for the two girls to finish their talk.

"I thought she was your friend."

"Maybe" Rosalie growled. "Before she got us killed and in danger! Any human you make contact with puts us in danger! You can't see past your daydream! She's a wolf in sheep's clothing! Every since you brought her into our lives--"

"You said the same thing about Bella and now here you are, bonding with her over your obsession to become a mother without any care about what happens to her!"

"She knows what it will take to bring your baby into this world!"

"If you cared about Bella at all, you wouldn't be letting her go through with this! You see that she's dying, don't you?! And for what? That monster?!"

Rosalie flipped her perfect blond hair over her shoulder, looking at Edward knowingly. "Here you go, falling for another human just like any typical human man. Falling for the next pretty thing that brings an ounce of excitement to your life."

"That's not what happened here" Edward said through clenched teeth. "If I'm not mistaken, you were quite taken with her as well."

"The witch will get bored with you" Rosalie fought on. "Do you think you could keep her entertained for long? Bella is here. She's willing to wait for you to get it together!"

"Do you think I left Bella on a simple whim? I made my choice Rosalie. A choice I should have made months ago before any of this happened!"

"She's experienced Edward. Gwen has experience! Do you think she could go her life without that physical pleasure? Without the touch of a real man? From what I've heard, she's—"

"Do not shame her for having a full human life!" Edward warned, watching Rosalie smirk. He knew his sister was just trying to get under his skin, but this was not the time or place. He nervously waited for Gwen to return from her talk with Bella, as Rosalie did not dare reveal what they were talking about.

"Touched a nerve, have I?"

"You're a lot braver when she's not out here" Edward smirked. "I wonder what color hair she can make permanent on yours. Perhaps a bright highlighter yellow? Or rainbow, perhaps?"

Rosalie's smirk disappeared, as she looked angry with a touch of fear in her eyes.

The door opened behind them as Gwen walked out, looking perfectly at ease as she eyed Rosalie and then Edward.

Edward let out a sigh of relief, catching her eye and her returning a smile to him. He knew in that moment if he had a beating heart, this would be the moment it would begin to skip.

Rosalie took one look at Edward and Gwen, then ran into the room with Bella.

"Come," Edward said, reaching for her hand. "There's something I want to show you."

————— ✦ ⁖ ✺ ⁖✦—————

The two held hands as she allowed Edward to lead her upstairs. She wondered if his siblings were giving them space for privacy, seeing as there was no one else around the home. They'd come to a stop in front of the last door in the hall, one she had never seen before.

"My room," he informed her, opening it and pulling her through.

His room faced south, with a wall-sized window like the great room below. Gwen admired the room as she realized the whole back side of the house must be glass. His view looked down on the winding Sol Duc River, across the untouched forest to the Olympic Mountain range. The mountains were much closer than she would have believed.