Bath Time (A Twilight Fanfic)

“Honestly, Bella,” I groaned. “How old are you?” My legs swung daintily as I perched on the edge of the bathroom counter.
Bella stood by the door, her arms folded childishly over her chest. “Too old for this,” she mumbled.
“Yes, that may be true,” I answered. “But you are handicapped.” I inclined my head towards the bulky black boot that was encasing her leg.
“I can walk without it, you know!” she said defiantly. “I just…like the support.”
My eyes rolled dramatically in my head as she called out, “I really can!”
“I’m going to start the water. When I turn around, I’d better see some skin,” I warned, hopping down from my spot on the counter.
Bella snorted. “What does that give me, like half a second?”
I glared. “I’ll go slow.”
“Don’t let me inconvenience you. Don’t even bother. Because I’m not doing this.”
“Bella!” I cried, finally irritated. “It’s not like I don’t know what you have under there!”
“I can bathe myself.”
“Yeah, with a sponge. You have to want a real bath.”
Bella pouted. She kicked her good foot against the door. “I don’t mind sponge baths.”
“Of course you don’t,” I shot back.
We glared at each other for a long time. Her brown eyes stared into my newly golden ones with intense stubbornness. Her face was slightly shiny with oil, and her brown hair looked darker and greasy at the roots. It was obvious she was in need of some soap and hot water. I knew that even if a horde of flies had adopted her as their new home, she would still object to the idea of needing a real bath. She claimed that she didn’t want me to see her naked. But, I knew the real reason for this defiance was that she was feeling uncomfortably helpless. Bella had always had to be more or less independent, in between taking care of her silly, but loving, mother and her father.
Since the accident, and up until now, Bella had been able to keep her own self relatively clean with nothing but a damp sponge. Now that the plaster was removed and replaced by a removable boot, she could finally take a real bath. But not without some help. She seemed dead set on avoiding this activity, but her near future revealed clean hair and a fresh face. I knew she would give in soon. I also saw her draped in a gorgeous blue gown, but she didn’t need to know about that just yet.
Finally, I broke my gaze with her. “Fine,” I said. “I’ll just get Charlie in here. I’m sure he’ll be on my side.” I reached for the door.
“No!” Bella said quickly, slapping her hand firmly against the handle. As if that would do any good if I really wanted to leave.
“Then get undressed,” I commanded.
Bella groaned unhappily and clamped her hands over her face.
“I could take them off for you,” I warned. “You wouldn’t even know I did.”
She peeked at me from between her fingers. “You wouldn’t.”
“Oh, yes I would. It’s your choice.”
The look on her face displayed what was going on in her mind. I could see that she knew she wasn’t going to win. A smug smile spread across of face.
“Quit smiling and turn on the dumb water,” she muttered.
“You’re choosing option one?” I asked playfully, proud of my accomplishment.
“Just do it, before I change my mind.”
I spun around and sauntered extra slow over to the edge of the tub. Soon, water was flowing heavily into the tub. I tested the water with my fingertips, but decided that my skin was hardly the best indicator of an appropriate heat.
“Help,” I heard Bella squeak.
I turned around and suppressed laughter at what I saw. Bella was seated on the ground, her arms folded over her bare chest. She had one leg free of her jeans, but the other was snagged on the boot.
“Why didn’t you take the boot off first?” I asked, a chuckle escaping.
She frowned, embarrassed. “I forgot,” she grumbled. “Just help me!”
“Oh,” I said, feigning surprise. “You want my help now?”
“Alice, for God’s sake,” she started.
“Alright, alright,” I agreed. Only a second later, her jeans and boot had been removed. Her clothes lay in a pile at her side.
She didn’t remove her arms from her chest, but we both looked down at her final piece of remaining clothing.
“Should I?” I asked.
She sighed. “Why not.”
I heard her gasp in surprise as, simultaneously, her only source of covering was removed and I lifted her into my arms.
“Alice! What the hell are you doing?” Her cheeks flushed pink.
“Carrying you.”
“I can walk!”
“No you can’t.”
Bella continued to argue until I had lowered her into the water, which had now reached a favorable height. I reached over to cut the water off.
I returned to my spot on the counter.
“How’s the water?” I asked.
“Great,” she replied sarcastically, but I saw her smile as her shoulders relaxed under the surface. She closed her eyes.
“See?” I asked. “Aren’t you glad that we did things my way?”
Her eyes opened and settled on my face. “Shut up,” she said. Suddenly, her eyes widened as if she had just remember something horrible. “Look away!” she whined, twisting her body away from my view.
“Seriously? I thought we were past that.”
The look on her face was pleading, so I eventually averted my eyes. I ran my fingers absently across the marble counter and contemplated how much it must feel like my own skin.
I heard the water splash slightly behind me, and Bella’s voice called out, slightly hesitant. “Alice?”
“Hmm?” I replied, keeping my eyes down.
“You love me, right?”
I giggled. “Would I be here right now if I didn’t?”
“Seriously.”
“Of course I do, goofball.”
She took a deep breath. “You won’t…you won’t leave, will you?”
“I won’t leave you stranded in the tub, Bella. Don’t worry.”
“Alice.”
Her voice quavered and I turned to face her. Her eyebrows were pulled together and her eyes darted back and forth between mine. I suddenly understood the meaning behind her words.
“Bella, trust me. We won’t let him leave you. Not now.”
“Now?”
I sighed. “He loves you, Bella. As much as he tells you he’s not right for you, he’s not going to leave. He can’t. Trust me.”
“Alice, you know what he said. ‘As long as it’s the best thing for you.’ Once I’m healed…” She looked down at her healing leg. It was pale and skinny, wavering just under the warm water.
“Once your healed, he’s going to have to stick around for the next time you need saving.” I tried to joke.
“He doesn’t want to save me, Alice.”
I stared at her in disbelief. “You’re being ridiculous.”
“It’s true. He’s tired of having to save my life.”
“Well, if that’s true, you don’t have to worry about it. You aren’t in any more danger.”
“Tell him that,” she mumbled.
“I do.” I insisted. It was true. My visions had revealed Edward’s plans to leave Bella. They wavered constantly back and forth while he searched for the right choice. One future displayed Bella as part of our family. Golden-eyed and unbreakable. Another showed her alone. Whenever I saw this possible ending, I had warned Edward immediately.
“She won’t be happy,” I had told him. “I know you think that that might be the right choice for her. But I don’t think she could ever forget.”
Edward’s eyes didn’t focus as he said, “She would forget.”
I was afraid he had officially made up his mind, until the next day when I saw Bella as a vampire again.
Bella’s forehead stayed creased, but her voice made my cold heart break. “I can’t live without him.”
I smiled at her. “The feeling’s mutual,” I assured her.
I hoped that this would ease her worry, but her forehead didn’t relax. She stared straight ahead.
“Worry causes early aging,” I said.
“Good thing you don’t have to worry about that,” she grumbled, but the creases between her eyebrows smoothed.
“Better?”
She sighed. “Not really.”
“You know, stubbornness is not that attractive of a trait.”
She stuck her tongue out at me. I jumped down from the counter.
“Hurry up and wash your hair,” I said. “We need to hurry back to my house.”
She looked up, confused. “Your house? Why?”
I smiled mischievously. “You up to being pampered?”
“Pampered?” she asked. Her eyebrows raised.
I rolled my eyes. “Just hurry.”
Bella dunked her head under the water as I shifted through my closet in my mind’s eye. I chose a dress and saw Edward’s smile. Perfect.
This was going to be fun.