Just the Girl

Chapter 10

"What do I say?" Rosalie stared at her phone. She had already been home for ten minutes, and she still hadn't texted Bella. She had thanked the gods when she arrived home: Edward and Emmett were out hunting. They had made a plan for Edward. He would eat a little every night to protect Bella. It was just a band-aid, and they all knew it.

"He won't be home for two hours. He and Emmett found a bear," Alice said from where she hung upside down. Her legs were on Rosalie's bed, but the rest of her body hung off the bed, sprawling onto the floor. Jasper leaned in the open doorway. He hadn't been invited in, but the door also hadn't been closed. Rosalie knew that she couldn't hide her emotions from her brother, so she had decided not to try. "Why don't you just say, 'Got home safe?' Humans care about that. I saw it on tv last week."

"They should have worried more in the seventy's" Jasper murmured, flipping through his phone. "Answering doors left and right, not locking anything. What were they thinking?"

"Not helping," Rosalie growled. "How long does it take a human to drive that distance?"

"You have five minutes before someone driving the speed limit would have arrived." Jasper shrugged. "At least."

"What do I say?" Rosalie rolled onto her stomach, considering pushing Alice's feet off her bed. "Hey, you feel it too?" Rosalie grumbled.

"You mean, the sweet, sweet draw of new love?" Alice squealed, knocking herself from the bed in excitement. She popped up, only her eyes clearing the edge of the bed.

"Alice, duck," Jasper said calmly from the doorway. Alice didn't have time to dodge the book Rosalie chucked at her head. It knocked her in the forehead, and she fell over, laughing out loud. Rosalie growled, and Alice cut off her laughter, chuckling quietly once before lapsing into silence. "You deserved it," Jasper said quietly.

"Why don't you just say, 'Hey, just got home. I had fun studying with you guys?" Alice offered, still smiling as she held the book on the floor.

"Doesn't that make it send like I enjoyed spending time with both of them?" Rosalie asked, staring at the blank message on her cell phone.

"Hey Bella, I just got home. I'm glad we're in a group together. It's been fun,'" Jasper added, trying to help.

Before Rosalie could answer, Esme called up from the living room. "Just tell her you're thankful you're in the same group, and that you look forward to helping her fix her car!"

Rosalie rolled her eyes. "Nosy vampires." She typed a message and tossed her phone to the side.

Bella laid flat on her bed, watching the occasional headlight from the street spill across the roof of her bedroom. Charlie was downstairs screaming at the television, while a voice she couldn't identify groaned. Whatever they were watching, it wasn't going well. Bella's phone buzzed on her bedside table. She grabbed it as fast as she could, angling the home screen so she could see it. It was a message from Rosalie.

'Hey, I'm home! Thanks for the invite. Glad we could spend some time making your car better!'

Bella smiled, holding her phone close to her chest. What should she say? Should she respond at all? Should she play it cool? Bella looked at the phone and took a deep breath. She was feeling too much. She needed to calm down and play it cool. She responded, 'I'm glad we're working on this project together. I hope you can teach me more about my car. I bet there's a lot that I don't know!'

Rosalie's response came quickly. 'You have no idea. I could tear apart a car and put it back together. Want to learn?'

Bella didn't hesitate. 'Absolutely. But, if it doesn't work afterward, that's on you. It's a gift from my dad.'