Author Note: I am well overdue for a new chapter and for that I sincerely apologize and thank you all for your patience. This chapter is very short for me but it felt like a good place to break. Please don't be angry with me. Thank you.

Aggression was not a trait normally sported by any member of the Swan family. When Charlie was miffed about something that came up at work or frustrated by "the dangers of a big city," as he said when referring to Seattle, he would pack up his tackle and head out to his favorite fishing spot and let his troubles ebb in the serenity of nature. Renée dealt with her stressors by jumping into new activities, often times eliciting a quirked brow or two from her three daughters and her bemused husband. Alice, it seemed, never felt anger. According to Bella, she was too sweet to allow life to tear her away from her world of butterflies and rainbows. Whenever such allegations were made, Alice would merely smile and shake her head, confirming Bella's thoughts. Bella typically immersed herself in a book whenever life seemed to catch up to her. In her eyes, the trials of fictional characters were always to be preferred to her own petty problems. Of all the Swans, Jessica was the most likely to be plagued by aggressive behavior. She was notoriously dramatic and was always the first to snap at a snarky remark. Yet on this particular afternoon, it was not the youngest, most dramatic Swan to give into aggression. No, it was Bella who experienced the claws of aggression as she drove home from La Push.

"Alice," she bellowed, slamming the door of her truck behind her. She clambered up the porch steps and thrust the door open. It knocked against the wall, the screen shuttering as it did so. She kicked off her rain boots and stumbled up the stairs. Her fists clenched reflexively and a pain shot up her hand, serving as a reminder of her disastrous afternoon.

-:-

The clouds hung heavily over the ocean as Jacob and Bella strolled along the beach. Bella watched the tide lazily roll onto the shore, like the breath of a baby, slowly rising and falling. It was hypnotic. So absorbed was she in watching the waves that she hardly registered Jacob's uncharacteristic silence.

His thumb stroked patterns on the back of her hand while they sat on a bench made out of bleached piece of drift wood—their drift wood bench. Only then did the hush register with her.

Bella turned her dark eyes up to her friend. He smiled gently but for reasons unbeknownst to her, it did not meet his eyes. She placed her free hand on his cheek and attempted to tug up on the corners of his lips in an effort to get him to truly smile. For a brief moment it worked. His lips pulled back into a wolfy grin but then fell again. She scowled in response.

"What's wrong, Jake?" she asked, her brows puckering in concern.

"Nothing," he lied, gazing out across the horizon.

She shook her head and sighed. "You don't actually think I buy that? I know you better than that." She pouted.

A gust of air blew out his mouth in a manner far too frustrated to be called a sigh. She felt his weight shift and his gaze linger on her face. "What—?"

Her question was abruptly cut off by his lips, which crushed and molded themselves against hers. Her eyes opened wide in shock. Jacob's hand cupped her neck, pulling her closer to him. Angrily, Bella pushed and shoved her hands against the broad expanse of his chest until the need for air forced him to break away from the kiss. His eyes were bright as he searched her face.

"Well?" he asked, his brows rose expectantly.

"What the hell was that?" she spat, wiping her mouth viciously. He flinched at her rebuff.

"Um…a kiss?"

"Assault is more like it! Why did you do that?"

"You asked me what was wrong," he began to explain. "I was trying to concentrate on not doing that when I figured 'what the hell?'"

Bella's eyes bugged out of her sockets in exasperation. "Well, maybe this will remind you to restrain yourself next time," she replied before punching his jaw with her clenched fist. She hissed in pain the moment her fist collided with his face.

Jacob rubbed his cheek, dumbstruck. Then her pain registered. "Bella! Are you okay?" He reached for her hand to examine it but she yanked it away.

"Don't touch me," she snarled. She stood up and stalked off towards her truck. Jacob attempted to follow her but her murderous glare stopped him short. He stood next to their bench, watching her drive away one-handedly, wondering exactly how much damage he had done…

-:-

"Alice," Bella called again. She needed her sister. She needed her calm, rational sister to soothe her mind before she broke something. She would not mind her sister's knowledge of first aid either.

"Alice, you'll never bel—" Her rant halted on her tongue when she beheld the sight of her sister. Suddenly, she knew the roles were reversed. It was Alice who needed her to soothe and calm. Bella's qualms with Jacob would have to wait.

She sat on the edge of her bed with her back to Bella. Her head was bowed slightly and her delicate shoulders slumped forward in a posture that was unbecoming. Bella stood in the doorway, watching Alice knit her spindly fingers together again and again. Most disturbing of all, Alice was in sweatpants. Gray sweatpants. And a lumpy sweater she kept in the back of her closet because she did not have the heart to throw it away.

If asked how long she stood there staring at her broken sister, Bella would not have been able to say. Every second of silence throbbed painfully for them both. Bella was certain Alice was aware of her presence but she remained slumped, knitting her fingers together in silence. When the hush was too much for Bella to stand, she gently cleared her throat. Alice reluctantly turned to face her sister. Her pretty eyes were puffy around the rims and the whites of her eyes were bloodshot, as if she had been crying. A weak smile tugged up on the corners of Alice's mouth; it looked almost painful.

"Oh, Alice," Bella breathed. Her sister's lower lip began to quiver. The sight was more than Bella could stand. In three long strides, she crossed the room and enveloped her sister in her embrace. The careful façade that Alice struggled to maintain came crashing down and the tears flowed freely. Together they rocked back and forth gently, Alice crying her silent tears and Bella shushing her and stroking her hair in a motherly fashion.

"You were wrong," Alice choked when her tears were nearly dry.

Bella froze and pulled away from her sister to scrutinize her expression. There was pain etched into the plains of Alice's face. There was sorrow glistening behind her blue eyes. There was a hollow quality ghosting behind the shell of her face. However, there was nothing in her expression that would clarify her meaning, nothing to explain why such agony tormented her. Finally, Bella decided it best to ask.

"What do you mean?"

Alice glared up at the ceiling, willing the tears to stay behind their dam. She wiped the excess away and reached for her purse. Bella watched her with confused eyes. "Alice?" she asked gently when her sister pulled out her phone and began going through her text messages.

Without a word, she handed her sister the tiny object. Bella quirked a brow but took the phone willingly enough. She turned her attention to the message on the screen and then suddenly wished she had not. Her gaze returned to Alice's face, which was now an impressively passive mask. No words passed between the two. Bella's hand tentatively reached out to her sister who took it gratefully.

It was not in Alice Swan's nature to succumb to aggression. To do so would be to place blame elsewhere. However unrighteous it was, she only blamed herself. Bella was not so foolish. She saw where the blame fell and she hoped that her hand would heal quickly.

She felt certain that she would need her right hook again very soon.