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1/14/2021

Ring: Chapter twenty-one: Three Neighborhoods over

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Chapter Twenty-one:
Three Neighborhoods Over

It was two days before I could get myself out of bed. Between my grief and my pain, I slept for hours the next day and barely moved. Jasper didn’t rest at all from what I could tell. He sat beside me silently the entire time, either reading, working on his laptop, or drawing. He was doing his best not to bother me.

But I knew I couldn’t lay there forever, even if I wanted to. I wasn’t depressed, just overwhelmed. There were plenty of things I was happy about, but the bad was tainting everything with its anxiety and fear.

Rosalie informed Alice and Tanya what had happened in general, and they were all freaking out for me. She hadn’t told them I was pregnant yet, though. We weren’t going to make any public announcements about it, just in case they were watching our social media. It killed Caroline not to brag, but she also knew it was for the best to keep everyone safe.

The three of them showed up at my doorstep in the afternoon a few days later, when I was finally ready to be around others. They were on a list of people allowed to come onto our property. There was still a cop parked on the street, as well as a security guard that stayed in a car in front of our house. There would be someone there twenty-fours a day until we figured out what was going on.

“Oh, my god!” Alice shouted when she saw my scrapped up appearance, her hand flying to her mouth. Everything had time to turn fully black, and my cuts scabbed over grossly. “What the fuck?! You’re like the nicest person I know. Why would they do this to you? You didn’t do anything!” She pulled me into a hug.

“It’s not just Bella. I think maybe they’re going after certain people connected to King,” Jasper explained to them as he stood behind me. She pouted when she saw him. Hurriedly, she embraced him too. He patted her back as she whimpered. “It’s alright, baby. I’m okay.” He held his sister next. It still surprised her when he was affectionate towards her, but she didn’t dislike it either.

Tanya put her hand on my cheek when she finally got to me. “Ow.”

“Yeah,” I remarked as I put my palm on top of hers. “How are you?”

She sighed, then clicked her tongue. Her eyelashes fluttered dramatically as she rolled her eyes. Then she shrugged. “I don’t know. Sad, frustrated, unsurprised, relieved. It’s complicated.”

“We have so much to catch up on.”

“We do,” she agreed and forced a smile.

Jasper cleared his throat. “With that, I’ll leave you ladies alone to talk for awhile. I’m going to be working in the office, darlin,” he said before he kissed my temple lightly.

I pulled him into a deeper one on the lips. His grin tugged at his cheeks. There was a long thin scratch across one of them that was already starting to fade. We were both lucky that we weren’t hurt worse. Fortunately, we rolled into a grass embankment and not into more traffic where people could have been injured.

“I’ll come to get you when we order food.”

He bowed his head in acknowledgment. “Let me know if you need anything.”

We all watched him go up the stairs silently. “Drinks?” I offered the girls. “So, where do we begin?” I questioned as we went towards our kitchen to get something. I pulled a ginger ale from the fridge. “Not it. Someone else goes first, please. Or we won’t have time for anything else.”

Tanya got a beer and sat at my island at the same spot her ex had just days before. “I’ll go!” She popped the lid and dropped the cap on the marble with a metal clink. “My boyfriend of over three years broke up with me on Valentine’s Day because he’s hung up on the fact that someone he ignored rightfully doesn’t want him. Like I didn’t always encourage him to get to know you. But as soon as you turn him down, it’s all he wants. What the fuck is that?” She took a big slurp. “Suddenly, he notices you’re stunning and interesting, which-” She waved her hand over me as if it was obvious. “It’s not like you’ve ever hidden how awesome you are. And I’ve repeatedly stated you could be a model. Those pictures you took for the book prove it!” She shook her head until her pretty strawberry blond hair bounced around her shoulders. “I don’t get it. I’d let him do whatever he wanted.”

I looked away. “He said it was because it made him realize he was shallow, and he felt hollow. I think he saw what Jasper and I have and how we’re partners in everything, and he wanted that. In his head, he convinced himself I could fix that hole. I don’t think I could have been that for him, though. Not really.”

“You’d be willing to try things I wouldn’t,” she countered. “In the bedroom.”

“But I don’t want him! I want my sweet, shy, serious artist. I would have hated being around his Dad or at their house. And I don’t want to go to galas or wear ball gowns. I don’t fit there. Justin and Caroline are filthy rich too, but they’re inviting, and their place is cozy. I’ve never felt bad about myself around them.” I put my palms over my eyes, pushing them into my skull. “Ugh, I can’t believe he showed up here. Edward’s lucky Jasper didn’t end him. It was like a chain reaction of awful.” I pursed my lip, then blew a raspberry. “What a fucking idiot.”

“Amen,” Tanya and Rosalie said at the same time. They smirked at each other.

She shook her head. “He’s not terrible. I’m not even mad. Just what a waste of energy. I put so much effort into that man.” She pointed at her chest. “Like I’m a model, and I let him fuck whoever he wished. Does he not think I have choices? Frankly, I don’t know what else he could have wanted from me.”

I loved my friend, but I could see what else he did. I smiled at her and reached for her hand. “Fuck him. He didn’t deserve you and should have asked you to marry him years ago, anyway. He needs to grow up.”

Alice took a sip of her canned wine. Her eyes were carefully aimed at the countertop. My friends were going to have to drink all my liquor for me before it went bad. “He texted me yesterday and apologized for being rude to me in the past, which is whatever, but he asked if we could go out for drinks and just talk.”

Everyone was silent for a beat. My mouth dropped open. He was an ignoramus.

“What did you say?” Rose questioned as she leaned in to hear. This wasn’t something any of us expected, especially this quickly.

“I haven’t responded.”

“Are you going to go out with him?” Tanya asked next curiously.

Alice’s face automatically scrunched up in disgust. “What? No! He’s your ex!”

Loudly, she scoffed. “I didn’t care when we were together, why would I now? At least he won’t be biting me anymore.” She sipped her beer.

I snorted into my soda. Quickly, I wiped my chin to get the spittle. “T! Because we’re being supportive. We don’t want to hurt our friends. That’s why I never could.”

“And I thank you for that. It’s very sweet, and I know that you ladies are on my side. Hoes before bros, always.” She patted our friend’s hand. “Use him for all he’s worth, baby. Even if it’s just getting a few free drinks out of him while he makes an ass of himself. Rebound, much?”

Alice stared at her for a long tick. “You’re one cold bitch, and I respect you so much for it.” They fist-bumped.

Laughing quietly, I rubbed my forehead. A headache was thinking about kicking up in the back of my skull. My friends were all strange.

“You sure you don’t want to switch to something with a little alcohol? I think you need it more than either of us. Your week has been fucking nuts,” Tanya offered, lifting her bottle. “Honey, it’s okay to start day drinking. No one here will judge you.”

Rose smiled because she was the only one that knew. I couldn’t look directly at her, my cheeks flushing. “No, I can’t, sadly.”

“Why? Oh! I forgot about pain meds.” She wagged her fingers as if she figured it out. “You’re not supposed to drink with those.” She said the word ‘supposed’ too dramatically. She did finger quotes after.

“First, don’t do that. And I’ve just been taking aspirin, actually,” I explained with a slight smirk. I tapped my nails on the counter. “So, it’s my turn!” I began cheerfully. “Guess what I forgot?”

My best friend looked between the three of us slowly. She didn’t understand why I was acting the way I was. My tone was odd, especially with everything that was going on in my life. Rosalie said nothing, looking down at her soda. “What?”

“My birth control because I’m the dumbest fucker on the planet!” I spoke in the same bright voice.

My sister-in-law laughed. Her expression was funny. “A literal fucker?”

I rolled my eyes. “Yes, obviously. Or I wouldn’t be nine weeks pregnant right now.”

Cackling, she threw her head back and clapped her hands together. “I love how you’re handling this.”

Tanya’s jaw dropped in shock. She just glanced between the two of us. Alice squealed loudly, jumping down from her stool to run to me. She began hopping up and down while her arms were still around me.

“Ahhh! You’re going to have a baby!” She yelled in my ear, unable to control herself.

Jasper popped his head into the kitchen and looked around for a moment. “Okay, just checking. Random screams make me nervous.”

She dashed over and threw herself at him next. She flung her entire body through the air. Alice’s feet dangled a foot off the ground. “You’re going to be a DADDY!”

He blushed at her reaction and her words because I knew it instantly went somewhere dirty in his head, and he didn’t want it to be there. Chuckling softly, he put her down. “Yes, ma’am, I am. And I’m pleased as punch about it.”

“A human will exist because I hooked you up! YES!” She high-fived him, then turned to me. “I am going to buy so many things for them! Baby clothes and toys!” She was vibrating in place with excitement. “We are, for sure, doing a shower, and it will be amazing.”

“You have time to plan. It’ll be a while off,” he assured her, coming to me to give me a kiss before he got a bottle of water. Wrapping his arms around my middle, he rested his chin on my shoulder. “Has she figured out she’s godmother yet?” He asked me in a teasing voice.

Her high-pitched squeal of delight could call dogs three neighborhoods over. “Really?” We both nodded. “Who’s going to be the godfather?”

“Sam, his former partner,” I replied for us as I put my hand on his. It was something we had discussed over the past few days. We also got our wills in order. “But if anything happens to us, we’re hoping Rose and Em will take care of the baby,” I added as I looked at her.

She wasn’t expecting this. Gasping, she pursed her lips to keep in her emotions. “Of course. We’d love to. You should know that.”

“I’ve already started putting money aside for them, so they’ll always be well taken care of and have the education they want. I will give this kid every advantage I didn’t have, including a mother and a father together.” I turned my face to the side so I could kiss his cheek. “And they’re going to have the very best family.”

“Yes, we will,” he cooed as he pecked my lips, curling his fingers under my chin.

“I’m getting hungry,” I playfully pouted as I looked at my friends. “Do you want to order? It’ll take a little while for it to get here. Oh, and feel free to drink all my liquor since I won’t be able to for like the next year.”

“Um, whatever Mommy wants,” Alice said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes. Smiling, she took my hand. “Of course! What does the baby want?” She asked in a cute tone, patting my tummy.

“Fried chicken.” I pointed to my face and spoke in the deadest voice possible. “It’s me. I’m the baby, and I want chicken.”

“She’s acting like everyone catering to her every whim isn’t exactly her fetish,” my husband responded with a shake of his head and a tiny, amused smirk. He smiled at me innocently when I glanced back at him. “And what may I get you, Goddess?”

“Popeye’s,” I impishly grinned.

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Thanks to Gina for proofreading!

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✨The next chapter of✨
💍Ring💍
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January 19th!
💛See y'all then!💛

1/12/2021

Ring: Chapter Twenty: In the Family Way

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Chapter Twenty: In the Family Way

Emmett and Rosalie ran to get everyone some breakfast after the ultrasound. I was starving, and no one else had eaten either. Everyone was too anxious to even consider it. They came back with four white boxes of doughnuts stacked high in his thick arms. His wife had a bag hanging off of each arm, trailing behind him.

“There are six of us!” Jasper complained as he watched him walk in, his eyes wide with surprise. His family didn’t know how to not go overboard.

“I know! That’s why two of these are for the nurses,” he said back cheerfully, not bothered as he marched towards the small table in the corner of the private room. He put two of them to the side and brought the others to me. He placed them at the foot of the bed and opened with them a little dramatic flair. One with half chocolate half glazed and the other was a mix of the fancier ones. They were both crammed full.

“Oo!” I said excitedly. “Um, I need a plate.”

He handed me a pile of napkins before I grabbed myself an éclair and a glazed one. Rosalie came over with an offering of chocolate and regular milk, or orange juice. I took the chocolate with a grin. It was much better than anything we could have gotten in the cafeteria. My stomach growled in delight.

“Darlin, that’s a lot of sugar,” Jasper began in a worried tone, and I swear five heads swung in his direction at once to glare at him. His face turned white with embarrassment before he flushed. “It’s too bad you don’t have something savory like bacon to go with it,” he added in a rush as his eyes shifted to the floor. He cleared his throat.

“That was the worst save in the history of mankind,” Emmett laughed as he thumped down into the uncomfortable pink plastic recliner. The air pushed out of it like a sad dollar store whoopie cushion. It made me giggle.

“I’ll take these to the nurse’s station,” Justin offered with a shake of his head, then stretched. He had eaten a chocolate one hastily and claimed an orange juice. “Maybe I can encourage them to speed up your departure. Before the boy gets popped for telling a pregnant woman what to eat.”

“I didn’t tell her she shouldn’t or couldn’t,” he immediately defended himself. “I’ll get her another one if she wants. Shush.” He pouted at being teased by his playful family.

“When you get out, we’ll take you to lunch,” my mother-in-law promised, rubbing my knee over the blanket. They were still sore from hitting the tiles the day before when I threw up. “Mamaw wants to see y’all and make sure you’re okay.”

Quietly, Jasper laughed. “We’re literally eating right now.”

“One, this isn’t food. This is a breakfast dessert, and it doesn’t count. Second, you know she isn’t getting out soon,” she retorted with a roll of her eyes. I saw her children in her when she did that. I wondered if our kid would have their sass or mine. “You think of whatever you want to eat, and we’ll take you there, sweetie,” she encouraged in a baby voice. I would be pampered and spoiled. Getting knocked up had put me on an even higher pedestal, but I wasn’t sure how that was possible.

As I tried to figure out what I wanted, I considered my appearance… which was rough. I wasn’t certain what condition I was in. I hadn’t looked in a mirror yet. “What happened to my clothes from last night?” I questioned, looking around for a plastic sack with my belongings. It was the first time I had thought about it. “And my purse?”

My husband frowned. “They didn’t make it. They had to cut them off once you were out to check you out. Your bag is okay. I got it.” He handed it to me from its spot under the bed. One of the straps was broken, and there was blood on it. “I mean, it’s not good, but it survived, and I didn’t let anyone steal your things. I also have your necklace and ring in my pocket.” He patted his jeans.

“Thanks,” I grimaced as I held up the severed band with two fingers. “I’m going to need clothes to leave in. Ugh, and a shower before we see Mamaw. We both smell terrible.”

He nodded in agreement. “You could just drop us off at the house and go pick her up and bring her back. We should order lunch and have it delivered. I don’t think I’m really up to being in a restaurant right now. Or a car for longer than necessary.” I agreed with him, taking things out of my purse to check their condition. My phone had an annoyingly small crack in it. Other than that, everything seemed fine. It was about to die and needed to charge.

Rose, who was even quieter than normal, forced a smile. She had been eating doughnuts at the table while sipping on regular milk. “I can run to the store real quick and pick up some clothes for you. Text me your sizes. There’s a Target down the road.”

She was being so good to me. Just looking at her made me feel more guilty than I ever had before in my life. My birth control hadn’t lapsed that much by the time I got in the family way. I couldn’t imagine struggling for ten years with no results, and then her brand new sister gets it on the first attempt without trying. Though I had offered to carry for her, I wasn’t ready to be a mother myself. It was a different kind of commitment. I wanted to be selfish and play around for a lot longer with my newfound money and fame. Fantasies of glamorous parties and nightclubs in LA and NYC died.

At least I wouldn’t have to do all the press and the book reading for The Cop’s Story the following month while heavily pregnant. I didn’t seem to have any symptoms, though. But as I thought about it, I realized my stomach had been slightly disagreeable on occasion, and my appetite swung around with my mood, switching between starving and not willing to eat a bite. It depended on nothing more than a whim.

“Can I have another doughnut?” I questioned. Emmett returned them to me instantly with a smile. “Thank you.” He offered them next to my husband. “Eat. You’re cranky when you’re hungry.”

He took one with a smirk. Jasper knew I was right, though.

It took another four hours for them to release me. My sister-in-law brought me some sleep pants and a hoodie along with a pair of house shoes. She also bought me a maternity shirt. It was from Valentine’s Day. It was long-sleeved and red with pink, blue, yellow, and purple hearts on the belly. They said ‘love,’ ‘kiss,’ ‘xoxo,’ and ‘baby’ was in the middle yellow heart. It was right where the wand had pressed into my gut.

Showing it to my husband, I tried not to tear up as I looked at it. I wasn’t sure if they were good or bad tears. Rose was being so wonderful to me. I changed into it quickly in the bathroom. It made Caroline giddy when she saw it.

“I already hate how comfortable it is,” I complained as I took his fingers with my uninjured ones. He chuckled, kissing my forehead with his hand resting on my stomach.

My in-laws dropped us off at the house. When we turned onto the street, one cop car drove past us, and another was parked directly across from our residence. His family waited until Jasper did a check of the perimeter before they left to go get my medicine, and Rosalie and Emmett went to go get Mamaw. Everyone was so eager to be helpful.

We trudged up the stairs, taking every step heavily. I laughed when I saw the chair. It was hysterical. “You better put that in the closet if your parents are coming by. The entire thing. I’m going to use that eventually, goddammit.” I pointed at it.

He sighed, putting it away. “You won’t be up to anything for a while, and we’ll have to change the way we play while you’re pregnant.”

“How?” I asked as I plopped onto the bed. I kicked off my shoes with my toes. They were thick and fur-lined with heavy bottom soles. They matched my new purple hoodie and sleep pants.

“I can’t hit you now,” he stated earnestly, closing the closet door.

I snorted. He acted as if he regularly beat me. “You only leave marks when you really try. You’ve never struck me hard or anywhere near my stomach. I don’t think it’ll be changing any of that anytime soon,” I retorted. I was no different from how I was two days before.

“No, I mean, I won’t.” He came to the bed and kneeled down in front of me. “I could have lost you and our child last night. Someone is trying to hurt you. I cannot and will not do anything to put you in danger. Even if you think it’s silly or unnecessary. We’ll play, and I’ll serve you however you wish, but when you’re mine, I will treat you as carefully as possible. And that’s my choice as your Dom.”

Pouting, I closed my eyes. “But spankings don’t hurt.”

He pushed my shirt up over my stomach to expose my bare skin. It was purple and blue in certain places because of the seatbelt. Lightly, he kissed where the little heartbeat was. It had been fast, like a hummingbird. He put both hands on either side. “We can play in other ways, Isabella. Don’t worry. I’ll still have you. We’ll just have to be more creative.”

We were silent for a long minute while he pressed his face into my belly. I could feel his eyelashes fluttering against it. “Why are you not mad at me for forgetting?” I blurted out. “You should be.”

“You know, if you were poking holes in the condoms I wasn’t using either, I’d be a little pissed. But seeing as the last six months of our lives have been the biggest whirlwind, I think I’ll forgive you. You’re not the only one responsible for our birth control.” I smiled at his words as he kissed my stomach again. I played with his hair, scratching my nails against his scalp. “I will say one thing. If the last twenty-four hours has taught me anything, it’s that even if you’re having the very worst day of your life, it’s possible to be happy and grateful. And pleasantly surprised. So, I’m choosing to be happy right now.”

“So, what do you want?” I asked as I touched my sides, looking down at the bump that wasn’t there. I was already chubby, and I wondered how long it would take for me to look pregnant.

He looked at me with an innocent grin. “A shower.”

“Ugh, me too. They won’t be gone that long. We should hurry, actually.” I meant boy or girl, but that sounded better.

Mamaw gave Jasper the longest hug when she showed up with his twin. She pushed her bottom lip out as she ran her soft, wrinkled thumb over a small scratch on his jaw. “I’m going to kill ‘em,” she remarked in a gravelly voice.

“I believe you would sincerely try,” he smirked at her as he rubbed her forearms.

His brother-in-law cleared his throat to get his attention. “So, dude, no one’s informed her, yet,” Emmett called as he sat in one of my chairs. He was right on the edge, perched like he was excited to see what happened next.

She didn’t sound pleased. “Told me what now? Oh, god. What else?”

Jasper bent his knees a little so he could look at her face. “Are you ready to be a Great-grandma?” He asked her in a calm and gentle voice.

Her reaction was instant. April screamed in happiness, surprising everyone in the room. If I had put money on it, I would have said Caroline would be the screamer. She threw her thin arms around his neck. Her toes barely touched the floor as he held her up. “Oh! I never thought I’d live to see them. That’s amazing!”

Poor Rosalie looked so crushed as she sat beside her husband. Her expression was the only one I could focus on. She wasn’t talking at all, and her eyes were glassy and red. In her fist was a tissue that she had been fidgeting with.

“Excuse me for a minute,” I blurted out, pushing myself off the couch to hurry to our room. It was suddenly suffocating. Without my permission, I ran into the bathroom. I couldn’t even bother to turn on the light. I leaned against the sink with both hands gripping the edge. My body was trembling, though I wasn’t sure why.

Footsteps thumped up the stairs. But it wasn’t my husband’s. My sister-in-law poked her head in the room. “Hey,” she whispered. “Morning sickness?”

I shook my head. “No,” I breathed as I looked up at her. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Just worried about you and Jasper. And my niece or nephew,” she declared hurriedly.

For a long moment, I stared at her before I began to cry. Every emotion was right on the surface. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know. We weren’t trying. I forgot my shot. I’m so stupid. And I am so-” She stopped me by hugging me tightly. She rocked me back and forth in her tight embrace.

“No. I’m happy. Don’t be sorry.”

“I’m so scared.”

Her lips rested against the top of my head. “I can imagine. And so is Jasper. Now he has to protect both of you. He doesn’t know how to do it, and I don’t know what to tell him. Maybe buy a castle, build a mote, and fill it with gators.” I snorted quietly. “I’ll do anything to help, though.”

I pulled back so I could look in her eyes. “I know this hurts you.”

She shrugged. “The pain isn’t your fault. And it’s just a little sting. I feel it every time someone I know gets pregnant. But this is better. I get to play with this baby, which is great. I will babysit literally whenever, by the way.” She took my hand. “Want to come down to talk about food? I need something better than an éclair.”

“Yeah,” I nodded after drying my tears. I forced a smile, and she matched it.

“Woo, that puking will do a number on it,” Mamaw said as I came back down the stairs slowly. I held onto the railing to make sure I didn’t fall. “Ginger and crackers. Honey, get her some ginger candy, tea, and ginger ale next time you go to the store. And mints,” she added, directing it towards Jasper. “You know they only call it morning sickness because men are too stupid to listen to women when they say it happens all the time.”

I laughed at her blunt attitude. “I’m fine. Just a false alarm. But it does explain why I threw up yesterday,” I sighed and sat beside my husband on the couch. Emmett had given his seat to her. “I’m actually hungry, though. Does anyone have any suggestions? I’m open to ideas.”

After his parents returned, we ordered a large Chinese food feast. It was delicious. Even if Jasper mumbled about needing to be careful with salt in the future as he read the soy sauce bottle. He worked out at home every day still, but I had never seen him study a label before. He was more of the ‘consume veggies and fruit daily and exercise’ type. It worked well for him because he could eat like a horse.

We were all sitting around the dinner table, just talking, when his phone rang. “Sam,” he mumbled to me before he picked it up. “Hey, man. What’s up?” I couldn’t hear what he was saying, but Jasper’s face went gray. “No. No… You can’t be serious? When? Shit. Shit. Okay.” He inhaled as he closed his eyes. “Yeah, I will. Thanks. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“What?” I questioned instantly. Everyone had gone silent, waiting for him to answer.

He had to take a deep breath before he could speak. “Last night, in Rochester, New York, Bree Tanner’s mother was involved in a hit-and-run accident. The vehicle went over a bridge, and she sustained massive blunt force trauma to the head. She died this morning of her injuries,” he announced as calmly as possible as he placed his phone face down on the table. A shaky hand went to his mouth as he closed his eyes again.

“No!” I yelled as I collapsed into his arms. He pressed me to his firm body. “No,” I cried into his shirt as my fingers curled into his shoulders.

He was shivering just a little as if he were cold despite the heat being on. I could feel it in his grip as it twisted as tightly as he could around my middle. Jasper rested his head on top of mine. “There’s more than one.”

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Thanks to Gina for proofreading!

Click to download the epub of this chapter!!

Click to download the pdf of this chapter!!

✨The next chapter of✨
💍Ring💍
will post on
January 14th!
💛See y'all then!💛

1/7/2021

Ring: Chapter Nineteen: Floating in the Blackness

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Chapter Nineteen:
Floating in the Blackness

It was hard to open my eyes. It was as if library paste was keeping them in place. Every time I tried, it felt half-dried and crumbly on my eyelashes. My head hurt, and I didn’t know why. I couldn’t remember anything, my mind floating somewhere off in space and time. My entire body seemed oddly heavy. A machine beeped, but I didn’t know what kind it was. It was soft, somewhere in the distance. It did it again. I turned my face towards the noise. Finally, one eye peeled open and then the other. Looking didn’t help answer my question. I blinked for several moments. My vision was blurry.

“Bella, darlin?” Jasper asked worriedly. He wasn’t in front of me. It took an effort to make my head turn to the other side to find him. He was sitting beside me in a chair, close to my bedside. “Hey. Focus on me,” he cooed. I tried to, my eyes still fluttering. Lightly, his fingertips combed my hair out of them. Finally, it became clear.

My poor husband was covered in scrapes and bruises. There was a small square bandage on his neck and some stitches on his forehead. Even so, he was smiling. I realized he was holding my hand and that it was in a brace. I wiggled my fingers in his grip to see what it felt like, but there was nothing.

“What happened?” I questioned softly.

“Someone purposefully ran into us. It made the car flip. We don’t know who yet. They drove off. The vehicle was reported stolen this morning, and it’s already been found abandoned in a parking lot,” he explained in a calm voice. Jasper was trying to keep me from getting too upset. “You hit your head pretty good, and you sprained your wrist, but other than that and a lot of bruises, you’re okay.”

That was something. “How long was I unconscious?”

Grimacing, he bit his lip for a moment. “They had to sedate you at the scene because you were panicking and struggling with the EMTs. But you were in shock and scared. You didn’t do anything wrong. You’ve been asleep for a few hours now.” He combed his fingers through my hair again. “You needed the rest.”

I opened my mouth a little, then shook my head. “I don’t remember,” I whispered.

“That’s normal,” he assured me as he scooted closer in his seat. He was right on the edge and leaning forward. Gently, he ran his hand over my stomach. “How are you feeling?”

“Confused. Numb. Sore.” I brought my other hand up to my skull, where it ached. It had an IV in it and pulled a bit, tugging at the tape. There was a huge goose egg at the top. “Ow.”

“Yeah, you’re going to be uncomfortable for a few days at least. I’m sorry,” he sighed.

“It’s not your fault, Dr. Hale,” I said in a soft, airy voice with a slight smile. Then I looked down at my line. “Oh, they’re giving me pain killers. That’s why. I don’t feel anything. It’s going to suck tomorrow.”

Jasper chuckled. “Probably.”

“They don’t know who? Did they find camera footage of them?” I questioned.

He shook his head. “No. Not yet. Hopefully, soon. You don’t need to worry about that right now. You just need to get better.” He rubbed his thumb over my knuckles of my injured fist. They barely peeked out of the brace. Clearing his throat, he gazed at my hand. “I don’t suppose there is anything you’ve needed to tell me?”

I stared at him in confusion. I literally spewed my every thought to him whenever I had them. It was a problem he found charming. “What?”

“Yeah, that’s what I figured,” he mumbled to himself before forcing a smile. Jasper finally glanced at me. His tongue darted out to moisten his lips. Scoffing, he peered at the ceiling for just a second. “So, guess what?”

“What?” I repeated. I wasn’t in the condition to figure out anything.

His hand rubbed over my belly again. “I’m going to be a father.”

“Who the fuck did you knock up?” I asked automatically, making him laugh loudly. The sound confused me. I shook my head. “No. I’m on birth control.”

“It’s not one hundred percent effective. When was the last time you got your shot?”

Blinking, I thought about it for several seconds. It was hard to find the information in my cluttered brain. I started from the beginning. The first time I got it in was November, then again in April when we were in Albany. And I was supposed to go six months later…

Supposed to.

“Oh no,” I gasped as I sat up quickly. It hurt, though. “Oh, fuck.” I put my hand on my gut. “No, no, no, no… Shit, I am so stupid. I am so sorry.”

Instantly, he moved to the edge of the bed. “Why are you apologizing?” Jasper questioned, taking my face in his hands. I was already beginning to cry. “I am so happy.” He rubbed his thumb over my cheek. “It’s okay,” he breathed before kissing me. “This is a good surprise- a fantastic one.”

“I’m not ready,” I whimpered as my bottom lip quivered. “We just got married and my career-” I leaned into him, gripping his shirt tightly. My nose was pushed into it. It smelled mildly of gasoline and burned rubber. I didn’t care.

“This won’t slow down your work. I promise. I will help every step of the way.” He brought his hand back to my stomach. He pressed it to the center. “We will make sure you have all the time and energy you need to continue being the kick-ass author that you are.”

“How far along am I?” I asked in a tiny voice.

“Eight weeks.”

I gasped. I was almost to the second trimester already. “But I’ve been drinking so much!”

He shook his head to keep me from freaking out and feeling guilty. “It’s okay. It’s still early. Just stop now, and it’ll be fine.” He curled his fingers over my tummy. “We’ll start eating healthier, and I’ll stop indulging, too.” Lightly, Jasper kissed my forehead. “My pretty little Mama.”

Loudly, I sobbed. Everything was too much. He rocked me until I ran out of steam and laid back. He held me in his arms until I fell into a drugged sleep. It’s what I needed. I had so many nightmares, but I couldn’t describe them beyond just terrifying and filled with screams. My own and an infant’s.

A nurse woke me up early in the morning to take out my IV and give me vitamins for the baby. When my breakfast tray came, it looked disgusting, so I pushed it away with a wrinkled nose. Jasper opened the milk and passed it to me with a straw. “At least drink this, so the pills don’t upset your stomach, and I’ll get you something from the cafeteria. Iron can be rough on your system.”

“Yes, sir,” I said a little sarcastically as I took it from him. It wasn’t cold enough for my tastes, but I finished it quickly. I made sure to slurp the end to make a point. He rolled his eyes but was still smiling.

There was a quick, sharp knock on the door before it opened. Caroline popped her head in. I looked at the clock, realizing visiting hours just started. She must have been waiting outside to come in. “Oh, baby!” She whimpered as she rushed into the room. She hurried to the bed, but Jasper stopped her from pouncing on me.

“Careful. She took the impact on her side,” he reminded her as he hugged her gently. He was sore too.

“Right, I’m sorry.” She gave him a pained grin and came to the other side. My mother-in-law grabbed my hand and gently squeezed it. “How are you feeling?”

Grimacing, I tried to sit up. I had slouched down on the mattress. “I’m in a lot of pain, but I’ll live. I’ve never been in an accident before.”

“That wasn’t accidental, though. It was a deliberate hit-and-run,” my husband reminded me. “They were coming for you.”

Caroline leaned in and brushed the hair out of my eyes. “Don’t you worry, honey. We’ll take care of you until you’re on your feet again. You can stay at our house. We have that gigantic wall, and we can get a bunch of big dogs with sharp teeth to bite ‘em if they try anything stupid,” she continued to rant in a thick southern accent.

It was hard not to grin at her. “I just need to rest.”

Nodding, she tried to smile for me. “I am so angry right now. When I find the person doing this, I’m going to give them exactly what they deserve.”

“Me too,” her son swore with every bit of anger in his heart. It was a frightening promise.

There was another knock on the door. I half expected it to be Rose and Emmett, but it was a nurse with a big machine. “Hi, everyone! Do we have the whole family?”

“Almost. His sister is on her way,” his mother informed us. She looked at her son. “She has just been beside herself, worried about y’all. It’s not a good idea for Mamaw to be at the hospital around all these sick people, or she’d be up here, too.”

“No, it’s okay,” Jasper said with an anxious laugh. “We understand. Everybody doesn’t need to run up here. We’re alright. Just bounced around.”

The woman continued to set up as we spoke. She rolled it over to me, plugging it into the wall. “So, Mom,” she began talking to me. She had a big smile on her face. “We want to do another ultrasound to check on the baby. Do we need to kick everyone out, or can they stay for the show?” She pointed at the machine. “I’m fine either way.”

“You’re pregnant?” Caroline asked in a loud, high-pitched voice. Her hands flew up to her mouth in surprise.

“Oops,” the poor nurse breathed, her cheeks turning red. I lost any hope of keeping the information to ourselves for a day. I hadn’t even got around to thinking about telling everyone yet. I was still processing it myself.

“She’s two months,” Jasper answered for us in a soft voice. “We found out last night.”

She didn’t scream as I expected her to. Her mouth was opened wide as her eyes went glossy. A sound like a cough came from her throat. Then she fainted, going face-first into the bed railing with a thump. She slid down the side slowly until her knees were on the floor.

Her son, her husband, and the nurse all ran to her. She was only out for a second. Jasper kneeled in front of her, making sure she wasn’t bleeding. There was a mark on her forehead.

“My baby is going to have a baby. He’s going to be a daddy. Oh,” she wept right as she came to, leaning into him. Her fingers curled into his shirt as she held on as tightly as she could. He embraced her closely, rocking her as she let her overwhelming excitement out.

“I am so sorry,” the nurse began to apologize. “I didn’t realize everybody didn’t know.”

I brought my hand up to stop her, shaking my head. “It’s okay. We can’t keep things quiet in this family anyway,” I laughed as I sniffled.

Justin wordlessly leaned over the bed to hug me. He was silently crying. It wasn’t hard like his wife, but the tears were still there. His warm, wet kiss pressed against my cheek. “You’re going to be amazing parents,” he whispered to me.

“Thank you,” I tried not to cry myself. I wasn’t sure I believed him. Fear overwhelmed me. I felt simultaneously too young and too old to be a mother. All my energy at that moment was gone.

He patted his hand on my belly. “Oh, there’s a tiny Hale in there. If he’s a hellion like his father and aunt, good luck.”

“I hope it’s a girl,” Caroline added as she sat back in her chair finally. “I want to spoil her.”

“How about we hope they’re just happy and healthy?” Jasper offered lightly. “It’s a little early to worry about their gender.”

She nodded in agreement eagerly. She wouldn’t care what she got, as long as she received the grandchild she always wanted.

There was another knock on the door. This time it was my brother- and sister-in-law. She looked as if she hadn’t gotten any sleep the night before. They seemed confused by the scene they walked in on. I wasn’t sure what they were expecting, but probably not that.

“What’s going on?” Rosalie drawled, looking around at every teary-eyed face. “Is everything okay? What’s with the big ass machine?”

Jasper stood from his mother’s side. “Bella’s about to have an ultrasound.”

“On her wrist?” She questioned, pointing at my injury. “I didn’t think it was that bad. Do they think you broke it now?”

“No. She’s going to have a baby!” His mother said through her happy tears. “I’m finally going to be a grandmother.”

Her mouth dropped open. “Really?” She asked in barely a breath. She was hurt and jarred.

Nodding, I instantly felt guilt fill me. They had been trying for so long, and we got that way by accident.

Emmett laughed with pure joy. His smile was huge. “That is CRAZY! Yes! Congratulations!” He brought Jasper into an enormous bear hug and slapped his back. “Good job, man.”

I giggled because I couldn’t help myself. He was pleased for us, no jealousy in his reaction at all. My emotions were getting the better of me again. “We weren’t trying to get this way! I forgot to schedule my shot. So much has been going on.”

The nurse stood beside the machine. “I hate to interrupt, but I still need to do that ultrasound. Everyone in or out?” She asked me because my opinion was the only one that mattered.

“In,” I said because there was no way that I would deprive any of them of this experience.

They turned off the lights, and Jasper sat on the opposite side of me so he could watch the screen. His mother and father were standing by the head of the bed. Rose and Emmett were at my feet. Everyone was silent as they waited to see the newest member of the family for the first time.

I had to adjust the blanket, so I didn’t show off my boring white underwear as I lifted the gown to my breasts. There was no bump or any telltale sign. The gel she squirted on me was surprisingly warm. The wand helped spread it all around before she flicked on the screen. She had to press harder than I expected. It dug into my bladder uncomfortably.

“There we go. Right there,” she stated as she adjusted something. She pressed several buttons, then turned the scan so we could see it better. There was a tiny blob floating in the blackness. “There’s your baby.”

“If you say so,” Emmett chuckled as he leaned in and squinted. “What’s what?”

She clicked on things, taking a still picture. Then she marked places on the screen. Leg, arm, butt, head. They were just little nubs, but I could see what she was talking about once she pointed it out. It wasn’t human, for sure, but it was turning into something like that.

The images moved again. She slid the wand lower. Finally, she clicked a button several times in a row. It made a noise like static fill the room. Then a pattern emerged. Bomp, bomp, bomp...

“There is their heartbeat. Nice and strong. Looks like everything is normal.”

“What’s her due date?” Caroline questioned. It was a good one. I didn’t know that either, and I wasn’t sure if Jasper did.

She hummed, waffling her head from side to side. “I’m going to put it around September thirteenth. Give or take. These things are never exact.”

“That’s my birthday,” I squeaked with a little laugh. Jasper squeezed my hand. When I looked at him, he grinned. He had tears in his eyes, too. Great things kept happening to me on that day.

Rose touched my foot to get my attention. She smiled at me, happy and sweet. “What a wonderful gift.”

Back

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✨The next chapter of✨
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1/5/2021

Ring: Chapter Eighteen: In my Cup

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Chapter Eighteen:
In my Cup

It was late afternoon by the time we got done with the police and ordered Edward an Uber so he could go home. He refused a ride from either of us, not that Jasper would have left me alone with him. I offered a thousand times to buy him a new car, but he declined that too. It made me feel awful. I had the money to get whatever he wanted. I just needed to make the problem go away.

My husband pulled a card from his wallet and gave it to him. “My dad will, at the very least, give you the best deal possible. I’m sorry for being rude to you earlier and for things not working out with Tanya,” he mumbled as he handed it to him. The moment was awkward and tense, silence lingering heavily between them. Neither of them knew how to speak to each other. And as much as he disliked him, he didn’t want terrible things to happen to him. Only mildly inconvenient problems like getting stuck in traffic jams and paper cuts. Taking a deep breath, he stared into his green eyes. “Could you just stay away from my wife now? Please?”

“Yeah,” he promised, looking at the thick card stock as his cheeks flamed red. “I’m done making a fool of myself.”

We watched him leave in silence from the bay window, pushing the curtains to the side to peek outside. There would be a police car parked in front of the house for a while. It was a few homes over, but still in view. Obviously, the person watching us was getting bolder and had done well over a million dollars worth of damage. It was becoming more threatening with every action.

Marching to our bedroom, he flopped back onto the bed with his arms over his head. His long legs dangled off the edge. He scrubbed his palms over his eyes for a moment, scraping them over his rough, unshaven cheeks. Jasper was understandably exhausted, and so was I.

“I’m going to the office to talk to a few people. This has got to stop,” he sighed. From the few minutes of video we had gotten of the tiny person, it was the same one. They tripped over their own feet, making him think once again that they were drunk. I could see it more this time than the last. They covered the lens and lights with paint. Their mask, which came fully into view, was like one of those morph suits to make them seem featureless. It was like looking into a black hole. “I’m going to take you to Emmett and Rosalie’s, so they can keep an eye on you.”

“I don’t need a babysitter,” I automatically complained.

He pushed himself up with his arms on the bed. His expression was grave. He wasn’t going to play around with me. “Darlin, they were watching you this morning. What if you were alone? They’re obviously paying attention to the house. What if they saw me leave without you? No. This isn’t up for discussion. If you don’t want to go over there, then my parents. Pick a place, and I’m taking you there so I can look into something without being terrified the entire time.”

I felt my cheeks heat at the mild scolding. “Okay, fine,” I said with a pout as I marched into the bathroom to take a shower. I knew he was right, but I was in a mood. My stomach was angry because I hadn’t eaten much, but I was afraid to vomit again. My knees were bruised black from hitting the tiles from the time before. I knew it was only because of stress and that it would help if I put something in it, but I couldn’t bring myself to. The taste lingered even after I brushed my teeth and drank water. It was as if it was burned into my nose.

Jasper followed, hugging me from behind when we stepped into the water. “It’ll be okay. I just need to make sure you’re secure for a little while. Emmett would protect you with his life. I know he’ll keep you safe.”

“They should be more afraid of your sister.”

He kissed my cheek. “They should, but clearly, this person isn’t very smart.”

“Smart enough to ruin every special occasion we’ve had in the last three months as expensively as possible,” I sulked like a child. It felt as if they were trying to ruin every milestone of my new marriage.

“Cruelty is usually only intelligent on paper, elegantly designed to cause the most pain with precision cuts. But most of the time, it is running out of a place of animalistic instinct. To go for blood. And organizational skills don’t always mean intelligence. Sometimes, they’re just smart enough. And it might not be at all. They may always be here, waiting for chances, and that’s when they got them. I don’t have enough information to know. But I won’t give them opportunities.”

Leaning back into his grip, I gazed up at him over my shoulder as I wrapped my arms around his. They were curled protectively around my stomach. “Do you really think they’d hurt me if they got an opening?” He said nothing, his soft lips in a hard straight line. I sighed. “I just want to be left alone with you. Why me?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know, but it’s obviously connected to King. Probably because you’re getting so much attention right now, and they crave some of it.”

“Why ‘Hello, Bella’?” I shuddered. “That phrase is so unnerving now. The Silence of the Lambs much?”

“Darlin, I know. I’m sorry.” He pressed another kiss to my temple. Jasper let his lips linger there. “We’ll figure it out.”

Emmett and Rosalie were waiting for us to arrive by their front door. Her arms were anxiously crossed over her chest, rocking back and forth on her heels as she rubbed her forearms. She rushed to give me a hug as soon as I got out of the blue BMW. She was almost as tall as her brother, and her embrace enveloped me. I pushed my face into her shoulder, clinging to her.

“Come on. Let’s get you inside.”

His best friend came to Jasper and brought him into an unexpected one too. He took it, hugging him back closely. “Don’t worry. She’ll be safe here,” he swore.

“I know. Thanks,” he murmured, patting his back. “I don’t know how long I’ll be. Sam and I will look into what information we have. It’s a good thing I keep putting off quitting officially. They wouldn’t let me run around the office otherwise.” He came to me and gave me a kiss on the lips. It was slow and innocent. “Call me if anything happens or you need anything. Stay in the house, don’t go anywhere, and if you do, for the love of God, please tell me first.”

“We won’t go anywhere,” Rose promised, still standing behind me. “Don’t worry. No one will touch my sister.”

“I know,” he grinned and gave her a light kiss on the cheek. It surprised her. She briefly smiled.

She grabbed my hand and led me inside. We went directly to her couch in the middle of her cozy living room. There was already a pleasant fire crackling in the fireplace. Silently, I pouted as I sat. I gazed into the flame, just feeling heavier than I had in years. There was a weight on my shoulders. Sitting across from me, she took my hands. “So, um… What the hell happened last night? Why was Edward at your place?”

Sniffling, I played with the hem of my hoodie. “Yesterday, Jasper and I were doing a quiet Valentine’s at home, and we were about to go to bed when he showed up drunk off his ass. Just smashed. And ugh, crying. He was going to propose to Tanya, but he broke up with her instead because he said she wasn’t me.”

Rose gasped as her eyes got wide, her mouth dropping open in shock as she put her hand on her heart.

“Oh, shit!” Emmett stated in a dramatic voice as he sat in his recliner to listen. “And he let him live? I’d killed that bitch.”

“Poor Tanya,” his wife breathed to herself. She shook her head. “She hasn’t said anything to me yet.”

“Me either. I feel as if I should call her, but I also don’t want to make the situation worse. She probably doesn’t want to see me right now. He said she’s not mad at me, but I’m worried I’m going to lose her as a friend,” my voice became watery and thick with emotion. “I made it clear where I stand and that I was done with this. I don’t think it was ever really about me, but something he learned about himself and didn’t like. We let him sleep in the sunroom. Couldn’t put him in a cab like that. He was seconds from blacking out.” I cleared my throat, trying to force the bile back down as I recounted everything that was taking up a place in my anxious mind. “I woke up early to kick him out because I wanted a do-over of our messed up night. But then his car and the goddamn message,” my words sputtered out as tears slowly rolled down my face. “They watched us and waited. They were right there. What if I just woke up early to write alone?” I sobbed in earnest. My entire body was trembling.

My sister-in-law brought me into her arms again. Gently, she patted my shoulder as she tried to soothe my hysteria. “What can I do to help?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted through my tears, shaking my head wildly. “I’m just so tired and angry. And I’m hungry, and I want my brain to turn off and-”

“It’s okay, honey.” Emmett came to the other side of me and rubbed my back too. “Why don’t we order some dinner and I’ll get you a drink, okay? That’ll help, huh?”

Nodding, I wiped the snot from my nose.

Four hours later, they had me full of food and wasted. He was an amazing bartender. They let me rant and complain as much as I wanted, sitting in the middle of their living room while they nodded or spoke at the right times to make me feel better, but they were each tipsy, too.

“And my car!” My hand gestures were getting bigger with every drink. “I am so scared they’re just going to fuck it up when I get it. It’s so pretty! I was terrified to drive that other one,” I admitted as I put my palm on my chest. “But this one feels like mine. And what am I supposed to do with my truck? I can’t leave it in the streets, and I don’t want it to rot in a storage yard,” I whined, sloshing the draft beer in my cup. I wiped it away from their leather couch with my sleeve.

“No!” Rosalie agreed with me. “It’s too beautiful a machine for that! It’s a classic!”

“It is!” I pounded my fist on my knee. “What am I going to do?” I looked at my sister-in-law. Her full lips were pushed out in a pout as she shrugged. She didn’t have a good solution for me, and she loved it as much as I did. “Oh, I know what I’m going to do! I’ll give it to you!” I waved my hand in front of me. It was a simple fix. It practically slapped me in the face with its obviousness. “You can keep it, and I’ll even pay for you to do a restoration on it so it can be pretty again. At least I know you’d care for it.”

Her mouth dropped open again for the second time that night as she put her hand on her heart. “Oh, my god! You’d let me do that?”

“Um, of course!” I shook my head with a soft laugh. “I know you’ll make it the truck my father always wanted it to be.”

Rosalie whimpered as she clutched my knee. “You offer to have a child for me, and then you literally give me your baby.” Tears rolled down her chin. “I love you so much.”

“I love you, too.” I hugged her tightly.

“Wait, what?” Emmett said in confusion. “Child?”

She peeked at me and then him, almost forgetting he was there. She had been keeping up with me, and it showed. “Uh… Bella offered to be a surrogate for us.”

His bottom lip quivered instantly. “You did? That… Aw, sweetie.” He looked away as he tried to control his sudden emotions. “You are just an angel. Thank you. That is-” he stopped himself. Then he raised an eyebrow in my direction. “Wait, are we talking the old-fashioned way or what?”

“Or what, idiot,” his wife responded dryly.

“I’m kidding,” he laughed, wiping his nose. “That’s so sweet, though.” There was a knock at the door. He stood to get it. “I think that’s your ride, kiddo.”

“My Uber driver is sexy,” I joked, finishing the rest of my drink so it wouldn’t go to waste. I put it down on the coffee table. “I’m going to get one of those for the house.” I pointed at the cup.

“We’ve used it so much. It’s so good.”

“Why are you drunk?” I heard Jasper say loudly from the foyer.

Emmett wasn’t going to take it, though. “Man, would you calm the fuck down? Everyone is safe. Your girl needed to de-stress. She’s getting cheered up,” he retorted right away. “She’s leaving better than she arrived.”

“She can drink,” he snapped. “I asked you to keep an eye on her.”

“And I did!”

“I didn’t realize I had to specify while sober,” he barked as he came into the room to find me.

I stood up from the couch. “Hey! Don’t be rude to him. You are in his house, and he has taken great care of me! You can’t have people do it your way all the time.”

My husband frowned when he saw my appearance. ‘Sloppy drunk’ was a real state of being. I wiped my eyes with my sleeves. They smelled of strawberry ale.

“Yes, but-”

“No!” I grunted. “I realize you’re anxious, but this is not the time to be an asshole to somebody who is helping! Calm down and take a breath. Sit down- have a beer. We aren’t in a rush to go back home, I think. I know I’m not.”

He rubbed his hand over his jaw. His skin was pink with embarrassment. Everyone was on edge. “Right. I’m sorry. I’m really high-strung right now. Obviously, I wouldn’t be pleasant company, and they have to work in the morning, darlin. Let’s just go.”

Jasper was at least correct about that. I didn’t want to keep them up. I sighed. “Fine.” I grabbed my purse before I turned to Rosalie. “You two can come by tomorrow, and you can take the truck home with you, okay?”

She smiled. “That sounds good.”

“I’ll make dinner,” I promised, kissing Emmett’s cheek. “Thank you for letting me vent and treating me to such a lovely meal. It was just what I needed.”

He grinned at me. “We’ll see you tomorrow,” he replied as he gave me a hug.

They both walked us to the car. My man was silent for the first few minutes.

“Look, I’m sorry I snapped. It’s been a stressful twenty-four hours,” he said in a quiet voice as his fingers curled around the steering wheel. Every muscle in his body was tense. I could see it in his face. “Between Edward and everything-”

“I know,” I sighed as I glanced out the window. “Why don’t we get a hotel tonight? We’ll go to The Canvas and go to the bar. You can get me drunker and use me all night long. Then we can sleep all day.”

He smirked a little. “I don’t know. It’s probably safer to go home where there’s a cop monitoring the place. And I definitely shouldn’t get drunk. I would never forgive myself if something happened to you while I was intoxicated.”

“No one will bother us at a hotel,” I argued. I made my voice softer and sweeter in the way I knew he liked. “There is security and cameras everywhere. They’re not going to be able to wreck your car in public like that either. There would be way too many people around.”

“Hm, that’s true,” he replied, and I knew I was winning him over. It would only take a little more pleading. I stroked his thigh, my nails scratching towards the center of his legs. “Mm, Isabella…”

“Please, sir,” I begged as I turned my entire body toward him, shifting in my seat. That’s probably why I didn’t see the impact coming.

Back

Thanks to Gina for proofreading!

Click to download the epub of this chapter!!

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💍Ring💍

Warnings: This story contains violence and graphic sexual content. 18+ only.

Posting starts October 13th!

Ring: Chapter twenty-one: Three Neighborhoods over

Chapter Twenty-one:
Three Neighborhoods Over

Thanks to Gina for proofreading!

✨The next chapter of✨
💍Ring💍
will post on
January 19th!
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Ring: Chapter Twenty: In the Family Way

Chapter Twenty: In the Family Way

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✨The next chapter of✨
💍Ring💍
will post on
January 14th!
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Ring: Chapter Nineteen: Floating in the Blackness

Chapter Nineteen:
Floating in the Blackness

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✨The next chapter of✨
💍Ring💍
will post on
January 12th!
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Ring: Chapter Eighteen: In my Cup

Chapter Eighteen:
In my Cup

Thanks to Gina for proofreading!

✨The next chapter of✨
💍Ring💍
will post on
January 7th!
💛See y'all then!💛

Archives

💍Ring💍

Warnings: This story contains violence and graphic sexual content. 18+ only.

Posting starts October 13th!

Ring: Chapter twenty-one: Three Neighborhoods over

Chapter Twenty-one: ​Three Neighborhoods Over

Thanks to Gina for proofreading!

✨The next chapter of✨💍Ring💍will post onJanuary 19th!💛See y'all then!💛

Ring: Chapter Twenty: In the Family Way

Chapter Twenty: In the Family Way

Thanks to Gina for proofreading!

✨The next chapter of✨💍Ring💍will post on January 14th!💛See y'all then!💛

Ring: Chapter Nineteen: Floating in the Blackness

Chapter Nineteen: ​Floating in the Blackness

Thanks to Gina for proofreading!

✨The next chapter of✨💍Ring💍will post on January 12th!💛See y'all then!💛

Ring: Chapter Eighteen: In my Cup

Chapter Eighteen: ​In my Cup

Thanks to Gina for proofreading!

✨The next chapter of✨💍Ring💍will post onJanuary 7th!💛See y'all then!💛

Archives

Chapter Twenty-one:
Three Neighborhoods Over

✨The next chapter of✨
💍Ring💍
will post on
January 19th!
💛See y'all then!💛

✨The next chapter of✨
💍Ring💍
will post on
January 14th!
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Chapter Nineteen:
Floating in the Blackness

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💍Ring💍
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January 12th!
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Chapter Eighteen:
In my Cup

✨The next chapter of✨
💍Ring💍
will post on
January 7th!
💛See y'all then!💛