Design For Life

Chapter 18

A/N: I'm away for the weekend, but I wanted to get this chapter up before my weekend began.  Next update will be Sunday or Monday.  Thanks for all the love!

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"A tattoo is an affirmation: that this body is yours to have and to enjoy while you're here. Nobody else can control what you do with it." ~Don Ed Hardy

BPOV

The past week had been one of the best weeks of my life, despite the fact that it had started off so horribly. Laurent's death had hit me hard. Harder than I would have thought and attending his funeral was surreal. As much as I had disliked him toward the end of our relationship, he'd been a good guy at one point, and I was sorry for the loss that his family was going through.

However, having Edward show up in Phoenix had been wonderful. He had perfect timing; arriving just when I needed him most. I was awfully glad that he had managed to get time away, and I'd had a great time showing him around. All too soon, our time in Phoenix had ended, and we'd headed back to Forks. The next week was spent readjusting. Even though I'd only been gone a week, it took me a while to get back into the swing of things.

I was sitting behind the counter at Eclipse, going over our appointment books when Alice walked into the shop. I was surprised and a bit shocked to see her. She had a look on her face that told me she wasn't in a good mood. Fan-fucking-tastic. Just what I needed. I'd just about had it with her and her childish attitude. I knew that Edward was more than a bit annoyed with her as well.

"Hello, Alice. What brings you by?" I asked as politely as I could.

She gave me a stony glare as she approached the counter. I'd heard from Edward all about Alice's temper, and I wasn't afraid to admit that I was glad there was a barrier between us. If it came down to it, I knew I could take her in a fight, but I was really hoping it wouldn't come to that.

"I saw Edward at the library today," she said.

"And?" I asked, wondering where she was going with that.

"It seems my brother has a tattoo. Care to explain that?"

"What's to explain?" I asked her.

She fisted her hands on her hips and looked like a two year-old about to throw a tantrum. She opened her mouth to say more, but I cut her off. I was tired of her fucking bullshit.

"Let it go. I don't know why you feel the need to interfere in your brother's life, but it stops now. I understand that you love Edward and want what's best for him, but you need to back the fuck off and let him live his life. I don't know how many times I have to tell you people. He. Is. An. Adult. Start treating him like one," I snapped.

I could see Jake and Seth hovering around the corner, ready to come to my rescue should I have needed it. I shook my head slightly to indicate that I was fine, while keeping my eyes on Alice. Her mouth had fallen open after my little speech, and she seemed at a loss for words.

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Nothing to say to that?"

She opened and closed her mouth a few times before she finally gathered her thoughts.

"I'm not trying to run his life," she quietly told me.

"Could've fooled me."

"I just worry about him. He's always been so quiet and shy and insecure. You're out of his league, and I'm terrified that you're going to hurt him."

I rolled my eyes. I'd heard that crap from her before. "Get over it. I'm not going to fucking hurt him, but even if I did, he'd survive. He's so much stronger than you give him credit for. Just back the fuck off and let him live his life. Stop monitoring his every move and questioning everything he does. It's annoying. To both of us."