CHAPTER TWO
ᴇxᴘᴏsᴜʀᴇ
The neon lights of Jack's diner flickered as we sat down at a table by the windows, hidden in the corner of the room which was otherwise empty. The waitress hovered by the counter, a flip phone in her hands and a cold cup of coffee by her elbows. She yawned once, glanced to our table, and then disappeared to the back of the diner, letting the small door swing shut behind her.
Alice leaned over the single coffee cup that sat between us and cringed before she spoke into the silence. "I hate the smell of this stuff, it's so bitter. Rosalie probably loved it."
"You've fallen out with Rose? Why?"
I would be lying if I hadn't noticed the distinct staleness between the sisters. It was even more one-sided than usual, and it was made even odder that it was Alice who held the position of the instigator. Each time Rose even entered the room during any talk of the wedding, Alice would purposefully move the meeting.
"She's going to end up ruining the wedding!" Alice said as she slumped back from the table, leaning back against the tall booth seats with her arms crossed.
"You've seen it in a vision?" I asked, watching as Alice's face turned into a scowl.
"No, but if she keeps thinking the way she is, then it'll happen. And then what? All of my hard work thrown away."
"You do know this is Bella's day, don't you?"
Alice sighed, falling to lean a hand against her head. "I know," she said. "I just want to make it perfect. It's not often that there are weddings in the family."
Her eyes flickered up, resting warmly on the side of my face. I smiled, turning from the dark window. Alice perked up, her smile twinging with a smirk.
"So does this count as a date?"
"I should hope so, or all the other times we've been here wouldn't count," I said, watching as her hand found my arm and began tracing patterns on it.
"I do love this place. Though I do miss our space in the woods."
"That feels like a long time ago, even for me," I said. Time in Forks had felt longer than my one hundred years. "But remember Mrs Rochester? She may as well have been a witch."
Alice's laugh drifted into the buzz of the air as the waitress pushed through the door again, taking up her space by the stained, old coffee cup.
By the time we left Jack's diner, the first light of day was threatening to spill over the treetops in one fiery stream. We climbed into my car and I drove towards Charlie's house where Bella undoubtedly waited with her nails bitter and arms rubbed red-raw.
With the watery light and the unusually pleasant weather, I thought of the first time Alice took me out in her car. The windows were rolled down- all except Alice's- letting the wind whip through, tangling my hair. My head leaned against the door, hand reaching out to touch the air and the branches that sped past as we reached the centre of Forks town.
The breeze felt so loud, channelling through the car, that it almost felt as if Alice and the voices in the street were silent, hidden beneath the noise. But it still felt as if I could feel their stares, piercing through the tinted window in front and to Alice's side, seeing the shimmering of her skin from the few rays that stretched through my open window, then noticing the joined hands between our two seats. It felt as if we were doing something wrong, and at the same time doing something so right.
Alice had a lot on her mind then, as she did now. With the hand that wasn't on the steering wheel, I reached for her hand, entwining her fingers within mine. She smiled and we savoured the last few minutes of calm we would get.
As we reached Charlie's, Bella hurried straight from the front door, a bag swinging lightly from her shoulder. She hopped into the back seat and sighed as her head hit the rest, eyes closing. Seconds later, my foot hit the accelerator and we sped toward the Cullens' house.
"Your under eyes are black, Bella!" Alice practically screamed as she spun herself around in the passenger chair, extending her leg so she could climb into the back seats and rub around Bella's face.
I glanced in the mirror, laughing slightly at Bella's aimed roll of her dark eyes. "At least this time I can't be blamed."
"It's my wedding day, did you really expect me to sleep?" Bella complained as she batted Alice away.
"Hm, no. I suppose not. Though it would have been nice," Alice said before her demands turned back to me. "Speed up, Elide, The roads will be empty the entire drive to the house. We need as much time as we can get."
Bella's mouth dropped open. "Alice!"
When we arrived at the house, Emmett's jeep had left the driveway feeling empty. It was made up for, however, by Alice's wedding decorations that were already strung from the trees. The lights were like stars amongst the bush of leaves, the bunting long strings of intricate snowflakes and hearts.
"Is he back yet?"
"Don't worry, he'll be there before the music starts. But you don't get to see him, no matter when he gets back. We're doing this the traditional way," Alice said as she hurried up to the front door.
Bella snorted. "Traditional?"
"Okay, aside from the bride and groom."
"You know he's already peeked."
"Oh no- that's why we're the only ones who've seen you in the dress. We've been very careful to not think about it when he's around," Alice explained.
Bella let her head lift to observes the flowers that hung from the balcony which wrapped around the house: a beautiful mixture of magnolia and peony, sprinkled in with baby's breath and waxflower. Even from outside, I could smell the purposely perfumed air of the hallway, spritzed faintly with the scent of orange blossom.
"Well. I see you got to reuse the graduation decorations."
"Waste not, want not. Enjoy this, because you don't get to see the inside decorations until it's time."
Bella's eyebrows furrowed. "Since when is the bride not allowed to see the decorations?"
I laughed as Alice rolled her eyes. "Since she put Alice in charge," I said.
Before I could open the door for them, Alice wrapped her hands around Bella's eyes. She led her toward the stairs, lifting her as they ascended, placing her down only when she was safe in Alice's room where a hoard of makeup was already spread across the floor by the mirror. Alice stopped me before I could step foot in the room.
"Rose is waiting to fix you up in her room," Alice said, a cheeky grin sliding onto her face.
"Hear that? Alice doesn't trust me to help!"
Alice didn't try to deny it as she leaned forward to peck my cheek. "Love you."
When I found her, Rosalie was tucked up in her window seat. Already dressed in her bridesmaid gown. It was a glistening silver with not a single crease, an elegant outfit matched with a crowned blonde, braid wrapped around her head.
Rosalie stood and sighed. "Elide! Thank God, I'm going out of my mind on my own here."
"Where's Esme?"
"I couldn't tell you," she said with a shrug as she pulled me toward the bathroom.
"You look gorgeous by the way."
"I know," she said. "This dress is the one good thing to come from this wedding."
"Rose." I only needed to say her name for her to understand my thoughts.
She sighed again. "Sorry. I forget you're on their side."
"There aren't sides in a wedding- not in the way you mean," I said, shaking my head as she brought her hand up to my face with a lipstick. "Don't you want your brother to be happy?"
Rosalie paused, her hand hovering. "Not when he's ruining both of their lives."
"There really isn't any arguing with you Rose."
"Hm, well at least I can do your hair pretty. Alice wants us all to match."
My own dark hair was wrapped around my head, looking more like a banded tiara than Rosalie's regal crown. A few strands fell around the fronts, slightly curled from the twist. It was only as I turned to look in the mirror that I noticed my lips had been painted a washed-out cherry red, rubbed slightly to be more subtle. Rose passed me the dress- the same silver gown that she wore- and I pulled it on feet first, doing well to avoid my hair.
"There, beautiful," Rosalie said, and as I thanked her she patted my shoulder, turning me to the door. "Now go show Alice."
By the time we'd reached Alice's room again, Bella's face and been buffed and polished until she was as delicately shiny as a figure in a china cabinet. They both turned her head as I entered and I could feel the lightweight of Alice's eyes resting upon the dress.
"Do you want some help?" Rosalie asked hesitantly.
"Yes, yes," Alice said, distracted. "Intricate. The veil goes underneath."
Rosalie drifted past, ignoring Bella's dropped jaw and raised brows, passing Alice halfway as she rose to meet me. With the way she was looking, I almost felt as if I was the bride. Her hands reached out, gripping mine. It must have been the first time I'd ever seen her so speechless.
"You look," she said, mouth opening and then closing again. "You look stunning."
"All because of your taste in dresses."
"No," she said quickly. "You'd look perfect in a potato sack."
I laughed, extending my hand to her cheek, but was distracted by a shuffling by the door. The voices of Bella's family flooded the hallway and I could feel Alice's shoulders deflate.
"Oh, Bella, honey, you're so beautiful! I might cry! Alice, you're amazing! You and Esme should go into business as wedding planners. Where did you find the dress? It's gorgeous!" Renee didn't let herself catch a breath as she rushed into the room, almost bumping into Rose. "Such a creative idea, designing the theme around Bella's ring. So romantic!"
Before she could say anymore, Charlie cleared his throat gruffly from the doorway. "Renee, Esme said it's time to get you settled down there."
"Well Charlie, don't you look dashing!" She said, eyebrows raising as if shocked.
Charlie sighed. "Alice got to me."
"Where's the box, Charlie? I almost forgot!"
Bella's dad rummaged around in his pockets, patting his suit jacket until he pulled out a small, thin white box. He handed it to Renee who then handed it to her daughter, her hands almost shaking from the excitement. Bella's hands trembled good, though not for the same reason.
"Something blue."
"Something old too. They were your grandma Swan's," Charlie added. "We had a jeweller replace the paste stones with sapphires."
Bella pulled out two silver hair combs and placed them neatly on her lap, turning to reveal the dark clusters of sapphires that wrapped around into an intricate pattern of florals around the teeth. Bella let herself smile as she softly traced the design, letting Alice take them to place among her hair.
"You shouldn't have," she said, taking her mother's hand.
"Alice wouldn't let us do anything else," Renee said. "Every time we tried she all but ripped our throats out."
We were all surprised by the hysterical giggle that burst from Bella's lips. Renee pulled her in for a quick hug before Charlie was pulling her from the room, responding to Esme's calls downstairs.
"Don't you need something borrowed?" Rosalie asked.
"She has Alice's garter," I said after noticing the white material ready on the dresser.
I could feel the heat of their gazes on the side of my face.
"What?" I asked. Bella let out a snort. "Oh."
☾
Bit of a filler before the wedding chapter! Hope you enjoyed it, thanks for reading x