Charlie kissed her cheek and patted her shoulder．
Esme moved behind Bella and placed her hand on the small of her back．
"Call me … if you need anything," Charlie said as Bella began to move towards the door with Esme．
"I will," Bella said turning around to face him. "I promise.”
And with that she continued through the door and disappeared into the night．
To be continued …
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新章节21
Title: The Edge (Part 21 – Recovery）
Author: JanineFandom: TwilightPairing: Alice/BellaRating: PGDisclaimer: All characters are owned by Stephanie Meyer. I'm just borrowing them．
Summary: The family rallies around Alice in her time of need; Edward makes some unwelcome observations．
Bella stood awkwardly in the doorway as Jasper fixed some pillows against the headboard of the bed, arranging things so that Alice was able to rest more comfortably．
She shifted her gaze away from the tender scene and took up an inspection of her feet．
It was strange for her being in their bedroom, and she wasn't quite sure what to do with herself. The others had accompanied Alice up to the room to make sure she was comfortable, but then they had left to go hunting. As Jasper had told her earlier, Alice needed to feed before her body would really be able to reverse the damage Victoria had done to it, but because she was weak they didn't want her hunting herself. So, Edward, Emmett and Rose had gone out to hunt something to bring back for her．
When the others had started to file out of the room Bella had wondered if she should go with them, but she couldn't force herself to leave Alice, and had pressed herself against the side of the door frame, watching silently as Jasper tended to her．
That was five minutes before and she still didn't have any idea what she was supposed to do with herself．
"You don't have to stand all the way over there.”
Bella blinked, releasing a pent up breath as Alice's sweet voice filled the room．
"I …" Bella began, her gaze shifting around the room. She coughed awkwardly, and then sniffed, her eyes drifting back over to the bed uncomfortably. She wasn't sure if Alice really wanted her to join them, or if she was just being polite; either way it seemed kind of awkward and Bella hesitated, uncertain what to say．
Alice looked over at Jasper upon seeing Bella's display of unease, and they started at each other silently for a moment. It was one of those extremely intimate exchanges that Bella had witnessed quite often in the past, and it made her feel even more awkward. Looking at them like that, Bella found it difficult to believe that Alice could possibly have feelings for someone other than Jasper and in a fit of madness wondered if the past month and a half had been nothing but a dream, a delusion that she had concocted to try and deal with the pain of not having Alice's love．
Finally, Jasper turned to Bella, his gaze drawing her out of her depressing thoughts．
"It's okay," Jasper said softly, his eyes holding Bella's steadily. "We can all share," he continued, in the same calm tone．
Bella remained where she was, watching Jasper closely. There was something about his tone of voice that kept her rooted in place, something that belayed the tranquility of his words. And, when Alice turned to look at him curiously after he spoke, Bella was certain that she had missed something．
Bella watched as Alice's lips moved, and then Jasper's. They were talking, but she couldn't hear what they saying. They were still for a moment, and then Alice inclined her head slightly and turned to face Bella, her lips curving up slightly as she extended her hand towards her．
Bella looked at the outstretched hand uncertainly, an awkward smile frozen on her lips. Jasper's strange tone and their hushed conversation following his words had made her a little uneasy. She was certain that Jasper had just been joking; playing with the fact that they were already sharing Alice in a sense, but suddenly the idea of lounging around in bed with them gave the comment another layer, which made her a little uncomfortable．
She was fairly certain that he didn't mean what her mind immediately jumped to, but even if it wasn't likely to happen, the idea was in her head and she was slightly freaked out by it．
"I've already promised that I won't bite," Alice said, seeming to sense Bella's unease and trying to reassure her. "And neither will he," Alice said cocking her thumb in Jasper's direction．
Jasper grinned amusedly at that, and gamely placed his hand over his heart as he smiled at her. Alice smiled at the display, and the lightness of their mood made Bella feel a little better．
Alice patted the open spot beside her on the bed, her gaze open and inviting as she looked at Bella, trying to convey that it was safe for her to join them. Bella turned her attention to Jasper and found his gaze open, perhaps even a little curious, but in no way sexual．
Bella breathed out, her body relaxing as she began to make her way over to the bed. Once she reached the side, she then tentatively put her knee on the edge, pausing for a second as if she expected Alice to yell "Psych!" and then start giggling. Ｈowever, Alice merely shifted slightly to the side making a bit more room for her, and Bella eventually climbed onto the mattress and stretched herself out along Alice's side, leaving the petite brunette sandwiched in between her body and Jasper's．
Alice sighed as Bella settled against her, and then wiggled slightly into the pillows around her before a happy smile spread across her lips．
"Ｈow do you feel?" Bella asked, Alice's content expression calming her nerves a little even though it confused her. Alice didn't seem to be in much pain, but she had seemed somewhat uncomfortable before so Bella didn't understand why she seemed so content at the moment. Looking at the expression on Alice's face at that moment, if it weren't for the blood and dirt still caked to her face and clothes, Bella never would have been able to tell that she had been in a fight less than an hour before．
"Like shit," Alice said, the response coming out almost as a dreamy sigh．
She then tipped her head in Bella's direction and smiled serenely．
"Then why do you look so happy?" Bella asked frowning. She was usually horribly crotchety when she was sick, so Alice's tranquility was mind-boggling to her．
"Because it's nice," Alice said. And with that, she reached out and took Bella's hand cradling it in hers, while at the same time reaching out with her other hand for Jasper's taking hold of his at the same time．
"Nearly getting beaten to death is nice?" Bella asked looking down at their joined hands, still not comprehending what was pleasing Alice so much．
"No," Alice said, frowning for a second. "That part wasn't so fantastic," she admitted dourly, but then her features brightened again. "I meant this," she said jostling her hands, raising them a bit so that both pairs of clasped hands were visible. "The three of us together," she continued, looking at Jasper and then looking at Bella. "It's nice," she declared, that dreamy tone back．
Bella's nose scrunched up. 'Nice' wasn't exactly the word she would have used to describe the three of them lounging around together. 'Awkward' seemed more appropriate, or at the very least 'uncomfortable', or 'strange'．
Without really thinking about it, Bella found her eyes drifting past Alice over to Jasper, and to her relief she saw a similarly perplexed expression on his face. Alice may have been in seventh heaven, but Jasper seemed to be feeling just as awkward as she was．
"Did Carlisle actually give her morphine?" Bella asked trying to sound playful as her eyes held Jasper's. She'd just meant to glance at him but had ended up holding his gaze long enough that she felt she should say something．
Jasper smiled a bit at that, his body relaxing slightly causing a few strands of blond hair to fall in front of his face, and his eyes to crinkle at the side．
"Naw," he said, his southern drawl, charmingly prominent. "She's just like this," he continued still looking at Bella．
A small moment of camaraderie passed between them, much like what had happened when Jasper had talked to her at her house earlier that evening, and Bella found herself relax even more. The situation was a bit strange, but it wasn't horrible. Jasper seemed willing to fight through the weirdness, and if they both tried they could probably make it through … whatever it was they were doing at the moment without dying of embarrassment．
Alice looked between the two of them, her eyes narrowing for a moment before her expression turned pleasant once more. "You are not ruining my mood," she said declared, smiling at them defiantly as she spoke．
Jasper laughed at that, and Bella smiled, laughing herself a few seconds later as Alice kept her face determinedly cheery in the face of their banter – awkward as it may have been – at her expense．
When they began to calm down, Bella released a long breath, her body slumping as a wave of relief washed over her．
Fear and adrenaline had kept her going for the past hour, but now that Alice was smiling and talking and clearly not going to die – or explode or turn to dust or whatever it was that happened to vampires when they were mortally wounded – she felt her energy beginning to drain from her, and suddenly she felt like she hadn't slept in days．
"You're tired," Alice said looking over at Bella, her thumb stroking the back of Bella's hand lightly as Bella sagged against her．
