A/N: Thanks so much to everyone who favorited, alerted, and reviewed chapter one.
Without further ado, here's chapter 2. :)
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Chapter 2: After Her
"No matter what's inside I'll give to her
No need to satisfy my hunger lost in her
And while I spend these hours
Five senses reading
With biggest steps I'm running
After her I will run."
Jasper's mood was foul the next morning. The brothers decided that because of the depletion of their funds, they would need to head out of town sooner than expected. They would also need to visit their favorite forger to have new identities drawn up for themselves, since all their identification had gone with the brunette the night before.
"Don't you dare keep giving me dirty looks," Edward growled as they loaded their bags into the car. "You're the one that told me to dance with her in the first place."
Jasper mumbled something unintelligible under his breath before climbing into the driver's seat and slamming his door shut.
Edward cursed under his breath. "Why are you driving? Get out!" he yelled.
"No. Get in," Jasper said, his tone leaving no room for argument.
Edward rolled his eyes, but complied, slamming his own door in the process.
Jasper peeled out of the parking lot and pointed the car towards the highway. Edward breathed deeply through his nose as he laid his head back against the seat.
"Look, it'll be okay. We still have enough to get by. Neither of us had that much in our wallets." He glanced over at his brother as he spoke. Jasper said nothing. Instead, his jaw muscles clenched periodically as he listened to Edward's words.
When it was clear Edward wasn't going to say anything more, Jasper spoke. "It's not even so much the money, Edward. Or even the IDs; although those will be a pain in the ass to replace. It's that she pulled one over on us. On us," he said, gesturing between himself and Edward. "We do the conning, we don't get conned. And we sure as hell got conned, little brother. That shit was planned out, with the dancing and the kissing and those stupid little notes."
Edward was momentarily distracted by the memory of dancing with and kissing Bella. He remembered the way her body had felt against his own, and the way she had smelled. In his mind, he saw her face smiling up at him just before he brought his lips to hers.
"Are you even listening to me?" Jasper roared, effectively snapping Edward out of his daydream.
"Calm down. Yes, I'm listening to you. What do you want me to say? It happened. Live and learn. It won't happen to us again." Edward shrugged, which only seemed to infuriate Jasper more. He didn't say anything else, though, as he gripped the steering wheel with both hands.
After they had been driving for a few minutes, Jasper sighed and ran his hand through his blond hair. "I'm sorry. I know it's not your fault. It just makes me so damn mad. But you're right. There's nothing we can do now. Do you want to get some breakfast before we hit the road?" Edward agreed, his stomach growling.
Soon, Jasper spotted a restaurant. He pulled the car off the road and into the parking lot. It was mid-morning, and the parking lot was about half-full with the late-morning breakfast crowd. From the looks and smells of the place, it was a typical roadside diner, serving greasy food and catering to road-weary travelers too tired to be concerned with quality.
Inside, Edward could smell bacon frying, and his stomach clenched in hunger. They settled into a booth and picked up two menus. Edward had just decided on waffles and bacon when he heard the bored voice of the waitress.
"What can I get you?" Her tone was flat, but somehow familiar. The two brothers locked eyes for a moment before looking up at their waitress. She was wearing a pink uniform and her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, effectively altering her appearance from last night, but Edward would have recognized her voice anywhere.
"Shit," she swore under her breath, turning away from the table. But Edward was quicker. He reached out and grabbed her by the wrist in a flash. His grasp was inescapable, but not tight enough to hurt her.
She locked eyes with him for a moment before hissing, "Let go of me."
He kept his hold on her wrist as he glanced at his brother. Jasper sat back in the booth, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't Bella," he said in mock surprise, smiling back and forth between her and his brother.
"I'll scream," she warned.
Jasper and Edward both chuckled. "Go ahead, sweetie. If you do, we'll make sure everyone in here knows what you did last night. All about your little wallet scam."
She sighed and scooted closer to their table. "Fine. I'll give you your wallets back. But you have to let me go, so I can get them."
"Right," Edward said, rolling his eyes. "You may have fooled us last night, but not today. I'll go with you."
Bella rolled her eyes but nodded. Edward stood up and began following her through the diner to the back room.
"You can't come in here," she whispered when they reached the door to the kitchen.
"Yes I can," Edward said, smiling down at her. She was even smaller than she had been last night, now that she was out of the high heeled cowboy boots.
Her eyes flashed as she grabbed his hand. "Don't say a word. You're going to get me fired."
She tugged him through the door and into the kitchen, swiftly crossing to another door. She opened it and pulled them both through before shutting it behind her. The room was pitch-black, and Edward was completely disoriented. He could still feel her hand in his, and the heat from their connection was almost enough to burn his skin. He could hear her breathing in the darkness, and best of all, she was now so close to him he could also smell her.
He fought the overwhelming desire to pull her to him and kiss her. He knew he couldn't do that. She was a thief, and he was there to retrieve his stolen property. But then again, he was a thief too.
Suddenly, he heard a click and the room was filled with light. He blinked, momentarily blinded. He shook his head to clear the fog that had enveloped him in the darkness. Bella removed her hand from his and turned to retrieve her purse from a hook on the wall. She fished out two wallets and tossed them to Edward. He caught them reflexively.
"Everything should still be in there." She seemed unwilling to meet his gaze as she replaced her purse.
"Thanks," he said, although the sentiment felt wrong. Unsure of what else to do, he turned and placed his hand on the doorknob. He was strangely unwilling to go. Just when he had decided that he had no choice, he heard a muffled yell from the other side of the door.
"Bella! Where the hell are you?" It was a man's voice and he sounded furious.
Edward turned to see Bella staring at the door, eyes wide, face drained of all color.
The yelling continued on the other side of the door. "I know you're around here somewhere. Where are you?"
Bella brought her finger to her mouth to motion for Edward to be silent. He nodded. In an instant, she was by his side, pulling down on his shoulder so she could whisper in his ear. "I need to get out of here. He can't find me."
Mute, Edward nodded. He looked around the room. With the light on, he noticed a small window on the opposite wall. It had been covered in foil in order to block out all light. He motioned to the window. Bella nodded, her eyes still wide with fear. Edward moved towards the window and cautiously pulled the grimy curtain back. The window was small and high up. It would be a long jump to the ground, but not an impossible one. In an instant, he decided that he would climb out first and then catch Bella when she came through. Grasping the window ledge, he hoisted himself up and clambered through the window. He swung his legs over the side, then jumped and landed on a patch of grass below the window.
"Okay, come on," he hissed from below. He watched as her legs appeared, and then her torso. He reached out and grabbed her foot, guiding her down to the ground. "There you go. You got it."
She landed on her feet and turned to look up at him, her smile playful and her tone slightly mocking. "Thanks," she said, clearly mimicking Edward's response earlier. He couldn't help but smile back at her. His smile faded as she turned to walk away.
"Wait!" Edward called. "Where are you going?"
"I gotta get out of here. Sorry about your wallets," she said, shrugging lightly.
"Edward?"
Edward turned to see Jasper coming out the front door. Edward realized he must have seen the two of them through the window by their booth.
"What the hell are you doing?" Jasper asked, the confusion plain on his face.
"Just give me a second," Edward called.
Jasper crossed his arms and stood in the doorway, clearly not trusting his brother's words.
"Um, so, yeah..." Edward faded off, unsure of what to say to Bella, but unwilling to let her walk out of his life again.
She smiled at him. "Look, Edward, right? You're really nice, and I shouldn't have taken your wallets. I'm sorry. But I really need to go. You don't want to get caught up with someone like me anyway." As she spoke she turned and began walking toward the road.
"Bella!"
Edward turned toward the front door. He recognized the voice as the same one he'd heard from the other side of the door in the back room. Now, he could see the voice belonged to a balding, middle aged man. He was standing at the front door of the restaurant right behind Jasper. The man was red-faced, and clearly furious. After a moment, he pushed Jasper out of the way and began moving down the sidewalk toward Bella.
"Shit," Bella hissed, her eyes wide and full of fear again. She turned and looked at Edward. He wondered briefly who this man was that had this seemingly fearless girl so scared. He realized as the man advanced toward them, he had no time to find out.
"Jasper, let's go!" Edward cried, springing into action. He motioned for Bella to follow him as he ran towards the car.
Jasper, though clearly shocked, shot past the man and towards Edward. He tossed Edward the keys and Edward threw himself into the driver's seat. He started the engine, revved it, and threw it into reverse.
A moment later, he peeled through the parking lot towards where Bella was standing, staring at him in shock.
"Get in!" he yelled, glancing over his shoulder at the man who was still moving towards them.
Jasper and Bella reached the car at the same time.
"What the hell are you doing, Edward?" Jasper shouted as he opened the door and climbed in. Bella hesitated.
"Bella, get in. Now!" Edward roared again.
This time she listened, flinging herself and her bag into the backseat. Before her door was even closed, Edward slammed on the gas, tires squealing as they pulled out of the parking lot.
Edward was still breathing heavily, but he could feel his heart rate begin to slow as he drove towards the edge of town. He knew what he had done was crazy, but he couldn't just leave her there to face the mysterious red-faced mad man.
Jasper looked over at him and shook his head. He moved his mouth as if to speak, but clearly, no words would come to him. He looked at his brother again before turning to look at the girl in the backseat.
She peered back at him with timid eyes for a moment before waving shyly and smiling. "Hi, Jasper," she said.
"Shit," Jasper muttered, kicking the dashboard in frustration.
A/N: So, there you go. Let me know what you think...
Also, thanks to nowforruin and moonlightdreamer333. They are awesome betas who make everything so much better. :)
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