I snapped the phone shut and placed it in her waiting hand. "I'm done."

She grinned. "This hostage stuff is fun."

"I'm going to sleep now," I announced, heading for the stairs. Alice tagged along.

"Alice," I sighed. "I'm not going to sneak out. You would know if I was planning to, and you'd catch me if I tried."

"I'm just going to show you where your things are," she said innocently.

Edward's room was at the farthest end of the third floor hallway, hard to mistake even when the huge house had been less familiar. But when I switched the light on, I paused in confusion. Had I picked the wrong door?

Alice giggled.

"Her face must have been priceless," Edward laughed.

"Which is the real reason why I wanted to follow her," Alice smiled.

It was the same room, I realized quickly; the furniture had just been rearranged. The couch was pushed to the north wall and the stereo shoved up against the vast shelves of CDs - to make room for the colossal bed that now dominated the central space.

"Colossal bed... Eddy, whatever are you going to use that for?" Emmett asked, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Not that," Edward grumbled.

The southern wall of glass reflected the scene back like a mirror, making it look twice as bad.

It matched. The coverlet was a dull gold, just lighter than the walls; the frame was black, made of intricately patterned wrought iron. Sculpted metal roses wound in vines up the tall posts and formed a bowery lattice overhead. My pajamas were folded neatly on the foot of the bed, my bag of toiletries to one side.

"What the hell is all this?" I spluttered.

Edward and Emmett both snorted at that.

"You didn't really think he would make you sleep on the couch, did you?"

I mumbled unintelligibly as I stalked forward to snatch my things off the bed.

"I'll give you some privacy," Alice laughed. "See you in the morning."

After my teeth were brushed and I was dressed, I grabbed a puffy feather pillow off the huge bed and dragged the gold cover to the couch. I knew I was being silly, but I didn't care.

"Oh, Bella," Edward said, shaking his head and smiling broadly.

Porsches as bribes and king-sized beds in houses where nobody slept - it was beyond irritating. I flipped off the lights and curled up on the sofa, wondering if I was too annoyed to sleep.

In the dark, the glass wall was no longer a black mirror, doubling the room. The light of the moon brightened the clouds outside the window. As my eyes adjusted, I could see the diffused glow highlighting the tops of the trees, and glinting off a small slice of the river. I watched the silver light, waiting for my eyes to get heavy.

There was a light knock on the door.

"What, Alice?" I hissed. I was on the defensive, imagining her amusement when she saw my makeshift bed.

"I would be rather amused, wouldn't I?" Alice laughed.

"It's me," Rosalie said softly, opening the door enough that I could see the silver glow touch her perfect face. "Can I come in?"

"That's it," Rosalie said, furrowing her eyebrows at the ending of the chapter.

"Why are you going to see her?" Edward asked warily.

"I can think of only one reason," Rosalie said, frowning.

"You're going to tell her about your past,"Emmett said, uncharacteristically concerned.

"It looks like it," Rosalie said and then glared at Edward because he was smiling at this.

"No," Edward said in response to whatever it was that Rosalie had thought. "It's just...this means you really have accepted her as family."

"Right," Rosalie agreed; her glare at Edward loosened, but she still was looking upset as she handed the book to Alice.

Chapter Seven

Unhappy Ending

"Unhappy Ending," Alice read.

Rosalie hesitated in the doorway, her breathtaking face unsure.

"Of course," I replied, my voice an octave high with surprise. "Come on in."