My dear readers,
Alas! I have the next chapter!
angels sing the hallelujah chorus
A lot is explained about Bella's past in this chapter-so put on your thinking caps! Lots of dialogue comin' your way! Enjoy!
Chapter 2
"Bella, don't lie to me, because it won't work." She narrowed her eyes. "I'm your best friend and I can tell when something is wrong. Now, you'd better tell me. We need to talk."
That evil little too-observant red room-designing pixie. I gulped.
"Well, don't just sit there with your mouth open. You look like a beached whale." Alice's expression softened a bit.
"A beached whale that doesn't want to talk to you," I retorted.
Alice looked hurt. "But I'm your best friend? Remember, in sixth grade, when we had those BFF necklaces? And we always used to tell eachother everything. We would go shopping together!"
Alice was started to get heated up. I braced myself.
"And for the past few years, you seem to have fallen off the deep end." Alice's voice cracked. "You don't answer my calls or my e-mails. I don't know anything about you anymore! And the reason I let you come here, with your four year old daughter, might I add, was because I wanted us to be friends again! Like old times! Bella, just, please, I care about you! Tell me what's wrong!!"
Alice was practically in tears now. And she had me feeling horrible. I mean, had I really fallen off the deep end? I loved Alice, but my hurt was so strong that I had no room in my heart for anyone but Isabelle. I knew now that I had to tell her.
"Ali?" I asked, using my childhood nickname for her.
"…yes?" she answered, looking hopeful.
"Please sit down. We have a lot to talk about." I gestured towards the green chair next to me. Alice quickly sat, and looked at me expectantly. I took a deep breath. This was going to be the first person I had ever talked to about Joseph.
"It all started when I was 18. I met him at college. His name was Joseph Graftwood, and he was from Phoenix. Already, we had something in common. We also had a few classes together. I guess it just kind of evolved from that. The more time I spent with him, the more I knew that we were meant to be together. He was my missing puzzle piece. Alice, I loved him." My voice broke.
"Did you ask him out?" Alice asked. She seemed to have calmed down a bit, and was listening with rapt attention.
"Actually, he asked me. He told me that he had loved me the moment he set eyes on me. Kind of a love at first sight thing." I expelled a dry chuckle.
"We spent all of our time together. I was always happy if I was with him, and he was always happy if he was with me. He promised that once we got out of college, we would be married."
"But that never happened, did it?" Alice confirmed with a grimace.
"No. But it was the night before our graduation. We decided to make that night even more special. I stayed over at his place that night.
She gasped. "You DIDN'T?!"
"We did. But I don't regret it." I said with a confidence I didn't know I had.
The next day, right after graduation, Joe proposed to me."
I heard Alice's intake of breath.
"I said yes. That day was one of the happiest days of my life."
"Then what happened?" my best friend asked, her eyes wide.
Well, a month or two later, I started getting weird pains in my abdomen. I bought a pregnancy test, and it was positive. I was three months along." I had to hold back a sob.
"Joe was thrilled. He had always wanted children, just like me." I managed a watery smile.
"6 months later, while I was at Joe's parent's house, my water broke. He was at work. My soon-to-be in-laws drove me to the hospital. I called Joe and told him the good news. He said he would get out of work right away and be at the hospital in about an hour. I was glad that he would be there to witness the birth of our first child."
"He never made it."
Alice let out a cry of pain.
I let the sobs loose now. I was gasping for air as the tears streamed down my cheeks. "Joe was in a car crash. A drunk driver came at him from the side and rammed into his car. The other driver was killed instantly. Joe, however, was transferred to the same hospital that I was in. He had 4 broken ribs, and severe head trauma. His skull was basically cracked in two."
Alice was also crying now.
My body was wracking with sobs, and it hurt. "I r-ran to his r-room in t-the h-hospital a f-few hours after I h-had our b-baby. I was w-worried that he h-hadn't shown up. It w-wasn't l-l-like him. H-he was all w-wrapped up in b-b-bandages and his b-body was c-covered in b-blood. I p-put our baby g-girl in h-his arms. H-his last w-words to m-me were 'Name her Isabelle. Be strong. I love you, Bella.' I c-couldn't stand how w-weak his voice sounded. I b-begged him not to l-leave me, to stay with me so we could get m-married, have lives, together."
I choked out, "He d-idn't listen. He died t-that day."
Alice ran to me and wrapped her arms around me. We were crying into eachother, both bearing my pain. "Oh my god, Bella, I never knew. I'm so sorry. For everything."
Now that I had gotten my story out, it seemed easier to talk to Alice.
"I just don't see why he had to leave. It hurt me so much."
"Bella, he would never hurt you intentionally. He loved you." Alice tried to comfort me.
"Well, I was hurt. And I've lived the past four years taking care of our child without him. It's been so damn hard, Alice. I've worked three jobs at a time for Isabelle. She's all I have left."
"I know, Bells. But now you're here, we're together. I can help you get your life back together. I can be Isabelle's daddy." She grinned a small grin at her joke. I surprised myself by mirroring that grin.
"Well, best friends can sure make you feel better. I don't know if they make the best dads, though."
For some reason, we both found this insanely funny. We laughed until our sides burned. I hadn't laughed this hard in years. I thought contentedly, "This is the way it's supposed to be. Two best friends, laughing together. Maybe this will work. Maybe Alice will teach me how to live again. And hopefully I'll be willing to learn."
I squeezed Alice as hard as I could, and she returned the favor.
Right as we were breaking apart, I heard a shrill scream.
"Isabelle!"
Oooh, cliffy! Well I'm happy to get that particular scene off my chest. It wasn't the easiest to write. So now does everyone understand why Bella is so sad all the time? I hope so. I would be too!
When I read fanfictions, it always used to annoy me how authors would always say, "REVIEW!" at the end of a chapter. I mean, come on, it couldn't be that important! Now that I have gotten some reviews, I see why it is so addicting. Hahaha. It is my brand of heroin. (not really :D) Anyways, please review your little hearts out, and you will get a virtual brownie!
Hearts, twinkles