Fate: Chapter 8

"Faith and doubt both are needed - not as antagonists, but working side by side to take us around the unknown curve." - Lillian Smith

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

An: Buff82 earns a freaking medal for putting up with me during the process of writing this chapter,

and because she even helped me write part.

Chapter 8: The Beginning of the End

Beams of sunlight poured in through the window, fanning warmth across my face. I stirred, waking slowly while also shaking off my dream-filled haze. Memories from the day before flooded back into my mind, making me wonder how I had been able to sleep so peacefully. I assumed it had something to do with having Quil lying in my bed, his arms wrapped around me as I slept.

I stretched my arms above my head, suddenly realizing that Quil was no longer in bed beside me. Panic did not settle over me as it might have before. The bed was still warm, too warm, and I knew that he hadn't been gone long.

Just as I finished my thought, the bedroom door opened, and Quil entered carrying a tray filled with food. I smiled at the sight, and breathed in the delicious scent of blueberry. My mouth watered.

"Morning baby, thought I'd make you breakfast in bed," he smiled, and then kissed me softly before placing the tray in front of me on the bed. It took only another second for a thought to tug at my mind, and I abruptly looked at Quil, my worry evident in my expression.

"Did Charlie see you?" I asked, glancing down at the tray and then back up to his face.

He laughed lightly, though I could still see in his eyes the tension from the night before. "Your Dad stayed over at Billy's last night. Something about an early morning fishing trip," he explained. I idly wondered how I hadn't noticed my own father had been missing for the entire night, but brushed it off as a side effect from being pre occupied with Alice's phone call and Quil's mood swings.

"In that case, it looks wonderful, thank you," I complimented as I took in the plate of blueberry pancakes with scrambled eggs and toast. He'd poured a cup of orange juice to complete the meal perfectly. It was obvious that he was trying to make up for the day before.

I was sure that if I pushed, he would tell me what was bothering him. But I didn't want to have to coax him into telling me something he wasn't ready to share. Therefore I decided to wait, he'd come to me when the time was right.

"This is delicious," I mumbled between bites. Quil sat opposite of me, a tray of his own in front of him. He'd gone back downstairs to retrieve his after giving me mine. He grinned at me before shoving another bite of blueberry pancake in his mouth. He was nearly done while I had yet to eat even half of what he'd given me.

Part of me thought that once breakfast was over Quil would leave. I assumed he had pack duties to tend to, but he assured me that my house was right where he wanted to be. We stayed in all day, curled up on the couch, watching old movies on the TV.

Though I couldn't quite place just exactly what was different between us, our time together was slightly awkward and uncomfortable. And it only seemed to get worse as the day progressed. Quil was close to being annoyingly smothering. That was the only way to explain his behavior.

He was always touching me, holding me close, and not allowing me to do anything for myself. While many women might have enjoyed all the attention—I did not. Charlie called early in the afternoon saying that he was going to stay at Billy's for dinner, and then he would be home. I declined the offer to join him, and instead I allowed Quil to cook something for the two of us.

When he finally left that night, unable to stay over because of patrols, I actually felt… relieved. It gave me time to breath, to relax, and a little more time to sort through my feelings. Quil's behavior was unnerving, and I wasn't sure I liked it one bit.

A buzzing sound coming from nearby gathered my attention, rousing me from my sleep. I reached out, slapping my hand in the direction of the night stand, glancing at the caller ID through sleep hooded eyes- Alice.

Why was she calling me?

I flipped the phone open and placed it to my ear. "Hello?" My voice was hoarse.

"Bella, be ready, I'll be there in twenty minutes," her cheerful voice chirped. Wait? What?

"Alice, what are you talking about?" I asked, slightly more awake than I was a moment before.

She sighed loud enough for me to hear. "I knew you'd forget which is why I'm calling. You agreed the other night that we could go shopping." My forehead slammed against my palm as I growled in annoyance at myself, and my apparent failure to pay attention. Quite understandably, the only thing from our conversation I remembered was the part of about her visions.

I raked my hand across my face and up through my hair. "I'll be ready," my voice sounded more convincing than I felt.

"See you then," Alice hung up before I could say goodbye. I snapped the phone closed and tossed it back to its place on the stand beside the bed, glancing at the clock in the process. 7:14 am… just great.

With a yawn I threw back my covers, knowing that I would have to rush to be ready in time.

Alice pulled into the drive exactly on time, behind the wheel of Carlisle's Mercedes. I knew it was because it was the most 'non-descript' car they owned besides Edward's, and there was no way Alice would drive his car when coming to my house.

"Ready for some serious shopping?" she asked with what could only be described as a mischievous grin. I slid into the passenger seat, groaning and rolling my eyes as I did so. 'Serious shopping' in Alice terms could be deadly in my opinion. Heck, shopping with her in general could be; she possessed more energy than any one person should ever be legally allowed.

Alice, as usual, was impeccably dressed in her designer jeans, sweater, and heels. I, on the other hand, had decided on a flannel button up, torn jeans, and my worn in converse. The expression on her face when she looked me up and down told me that she did not approve.

"What?" I asked, even though I knew exactly what the problem was.

Her grin remained in place as she shook her head from side to side. "It's a good thing we're going shopping today. You are in obvious need of some wardrobe assistance."

I didn't even bother protesting when she looked back over at me again and said, "You're going to agree, so you might as well just go with it."

Rolling my eyes, but not saying a word, I slid down further into my seat as she sped off, only half listening as she prattled on about the shops she wanted to take me to in Seattle. The haze of sleep had since left me, and memories of Quil from the day before were seeping into my consciousness.

Breakfast in bed had been wonderfully romantic and sweet, and even when he agreed to watch whatever movie I wanted it was sweet. But when Quil insisted on making lunch for us, getting me anything I need, and kissing on me literally every ten minutes, it became a bit too much.

Don't get me wrong, I loved kissing Quil, and I appreciated the effort he was putting in for his behavior the day prior, but there was such a thing as over doing it. The 'topping on the cake' so to speak had been when he offered to carry me up the stairs when I told him I had to use the bathroom. I put my foot down on that one.

There was something definitely wrong. Though Quil hadn't let onto anything even once the entire day he was over. I wasn't sure how long I could pretend that I wasn't worried.

Attempting to focus on Alice was my chance at ignoring those thoughts, and so I turned to face her, trying my hardest to pick up on what she was telling me.

"… and then we'll get our hair and nails done…" I heard her say.

A spa day, she was talking about a spa day. I suppressed the urge to groan again. She means well, I told myself. Besides, girl time might have been just what I needed to forget the stresses and worries of the past weekend.

She never once mentioned her vision from nights ago, and what should have been a two hour drive, took no more than a half an hour with Alice's lead foot driving capabilities. I had learned long ago to not watch out the window when any of the Cullen's drove; it would end up making me motion sick with how fast the trees would whip past us.

She easily slid into a parking spot on a strip of road that had shops lined up along each side. It was an area of town that I hadn't visited all too often while living there. Thinking back, the last time I had actually been there was the last time Alice had took me shopping. The stores were a little pricey compared to where I would usually buy my things.

We spent the next few hours going from one store to the next. In each one Alice would hand me piles of clothing to try on, not even bothering to look at the price tag—not that I would have expected her to. She forced me into a dressing room each time and told me that I needed to show each and every item so she could decided if it looked right on me or not. I wondered if she had already seen which items I would pick, but was making me go through the trouble of showing her just for the fun of it. Personally, I didn't find it very fun at all.

About four hours into our trip my stomach growled loudly, reminding both of us that it was time to feed the human. We found a small café around the corner, and I got myself a sandwich and a water while Alice got another water to 'keep up her act'.

When we were finished—meaning when I was finished—she announced that it was time for our spa appointments. We decided to drive to our appointments since the place was a couple streets over.

We were greeted at the front desk by a good looking older woman, "Hello Miss Cullen, it's nice to see you again." So Alice had been here before, I noted.

"Thank you. I have an appointment for myself and Bella Swan." Alice flashed the receptionist a dazzling smile, catching the unsuspecting woman off guard. I shook my head and stifled a giggle.

"Yes, of course. Someone will be right out to get you."

Two women, slightly younger than the one behind the desk, came to retrieve us just a few moments later. They asked us to follow them back down a hallway and then into a small room off the right. There were two chairs set up with tub looking things on the ground in front of them.

I'd never had a pedicure before, and I had no idea what to expect. "You take the first seat there, and I'll take the one next to it," Alice directed with a sweep of her hand. I nodded and took my seat.

Alice relaxed into her seat, propping her feet up on the little foot rest at the bottom of her chair. I did the same. The two… pedicurists… I wasn't sure what they were called, but they began filling the tub like things up with water before reaching out to remove each of our shoes respectively and roll our pant legs up to our knees.

"So, how are things?" Alice's voice floated like soft chimes over the sound of rushing water.

I eyed the woman in front of me wearily as she added soaps to the water, frothy foam bubbled at the surface. I wasn't huge on people touching my feet—aside from maybe Quil—so pedicures were most definitely not my thing. "Um, okay," I shrugged, my mind automatically going to the vision of Quil running into the woods at his graduation party.

"What is it? You have to tell me. I can't read your mind and frustratingly enough I can't see your future." Alice crossed her arms in a light huff, slowly lowering her feet into the watery tub. "Not for awhile at least," she mumbled under her breath, just loud enough for me to hear, and I knew she was thinking of the odd vision she had of me. It was the first mention of it all day.

I shuddered at what that prospect meant. There was only one reason why Alice would have been able to see my future. I pushed those thoughts out of my head, not wanting my mind to wander in that direction.

There was a light tap on the side of my calf where my jeans had been rolled. I glanced back to the woman seated before me. She was directing my feet into the water. It was warm, almost too warm, and I flinched for only a moment before relaxing. Oh, that's actually nice, I thought, letting out a sigh of contentment.

Glancing back at Alice I saw her expectant look. I leaned back and closed my eyes before speaking. "I don't know Al, it's just this past weekend has been so weird. First Quil leaves his own graduation party, as soon as I get there mind you. Then he shows up at my house saying he'd rather not talk about it; like it's not a big fu—er, freaking deal. And yesterday he was like Mr. Mom, ultra attentive, breakfast in bed. He wouldn't even let me get off the couch to pour myself a glass of water for crying out loud!"

My chest heaved up and down, my heart racing as I angrily spat out the last part. It felt good to get it off my chest and out of my head. Opening my eyes, I saw three sets staring back at me, concern and puzzlement adorning each one.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"Oh honey, he's cheating on you," the one lady said sadly, then turned her attention back to Alice's feet. Alice glared at the woman, but then shifted her eyes to me apologetically.

I sat there, slack jawed and pondering her words. He's cheating on you.

There was no way…. Was there?