Chapter 2: Lowball
Bella Swan drove through traffic admiring the glint off the diamond that adorned her left ring finger. Last night had been fantastic. Mike had taken her to their favourite restaurant before taking her for a stroll along Pike's Place. When they got to the corner, he stopped and tugged on her arm before pulling a small, black velvet box out of his pocket. Sure, his proposal had been a little strange and awkward – Mike didn't get down on bended knee citing an old football injury, but she appreciated the gesture none the less. With happy tears in her eyes, she accepted his proposal as he slipped the diamond solitaire on her finger.
To Bella it seemed that the engagement couldn't have come at a better time. Her and Michael's relationship had felt dull and predictable as of late. She was busy at work and so was he. They were spending more time apart than together leading Bella to question why she was even with him. However, her doubts didn't negate the fact that she loved him. After all, they were high school sweethearts and he was the main reason that she had moved to Seattle from the small town of Forks, Washington. To her, the proposal was a sign that they were meant to stay together. It also made the past ten years that they had been dating not a colossal waste of time.
Now she was on her way home from work more than a little excited to share her news with her roommate, Tanya. She'd missed her last night when she chose to spend the night at Mike's apartment. She wondered how Tanya would take the news since this would mean that Bella would soon be moving out. Just as she pulled up to the curb, her phone buzzed indicating that she had a text message.
A little flutter erupted in her stomach thinking that it might be Mike. Perhaps his business meeting had been cancelled tonight allowing him to spend another night with her.
Shutting the engine off, she grabbed her iPhone and clicked on the text message. The smile she'd been wearing disappeared completely from her face replaced by a frown. She was right, it had been from Mike. However, the message that flashed on the screen confused her.
I'm sorry. I can't anymore. Please don't hate me.
She didn't understand what it meant. Shaking her head, she grabbed her purse and stepped out of the car, dialling Mike's phone at the same time. She listened to it ring four times before it kicked into his voicemail.
"Hey Mike, it's me. Just got an odd text from you. I don't really understand what you mean. Call me," she said. Pushing her key into the lock, she twisted the knob and pushed the door open into her apartment.
Bella didn't move. The complete disarray of her apartment was revealed by the waning late afternoon light. They had been robbed!
Thinking quickly, she grasped her keys between her knuckles ready and willing to protect herself. Being a police chief's daughter, she knew the basics of self defence and would never hesitate to defend herself. Quickly scanning the room, her fingers poised over her cell phone and ready to dial 911, she entered her apartment. However, the further she walked in and looked around, the more her confusion grew. The flatscreen TV stood in the corner on top of the little entertainment table and the DVD player sat untouched. She cautiously walked to her room and pushed the door open before quickly flipping on the light. The frown on her brow only deepened when she saw that her bedroom was still in perfect order, just as she'd left it yesterday morning.
She methodically went through her things, checking to make sure that everything was still there. Next, she popped into Tanya's room to see that everything seemed to be in their normal state. (Tanya was not the neatest roommate so the unmade bed and clothes on the floor were not a surprise.)
When Bella finished going through the whole apartment, she slowly let her defences down as she thought about what could have lead to the chaos that was now the living area. Shaking her head, she dropped onto the couch and quickly dialled Mike. She didn't feel like sleeping in her apartment tonight. She figured that spending the night at Mike's place would be far safer than spending it where she was.
The phone rang twice before it was picked up.
"Newton," a gruff voice answered.
"Mike?" Bella questioned, plugging her other ear. She could barely hear him.
"Bella?" Mike answered incredulously.
"Yeah, it's me. Where are you?" She yelled into the phone.
For moment, there was no reply. "Uh...did you...um...did you get my text?"
Bella frowned. "Yeah, didn't you get my voicemail?"
"Oh," Mike said surprised. "No, I haven't checked my messages."
"What were you talking about, Mike? I didn't really understand what you meant," Bella rubbed her forehead. She was starting to get a headache.
"Oh geez...uh...," Mike stammered.
Bella leaned forward and rested her elbow on her thigh. "Are you okay? Where are you? I can come and meet you if you want." She was starting to worry. Mike didn't sound like himself.
As a stockbroker, Mike was always sure of himself – sometimes bordering on cocky. It struck Bella as strange for him to be acting like the way he was now – fumbling and stumbling over his words.
"Listen, Bells..." Bella hated it when he used that nickname. "I'm really sorry but...I just can't do this anymore."
"What are you talking about?" Bella pulled the phone away from her ear and stared at it incredulously. "What can't you do?"
"I'm sorry but I can't marry you," Mike stated flatly.
Bella's breath caught in her chest. Did he really say what she though he said?
"What are you talking about?" She asked, her voice squeaking like a thirteen year old boy. Suddenly, she heard a tinny voice on a PA calling out a flight to Las Vegas.
"Are..are you at the airport?" Bella's heart was now hammering against her chest. A second later, she heard a feminine voice warning Mike that they were going to miss their flight.
"Who is that?" Again, she heard the woman urging Mike. "Is that – are you with Tanya?"
"I..I have to go, Bella." And the line went dead.
Bella slowly pulled the phone away from her ear. She stared at it wondering what the hell had just happened. Did Mike really just break up with her over the phone?
She suddenly felt like someone had let the air out of the room. Her eyes began to burn as she swallowed back tears of despair.
He couldn't have, she thought. He would never.
The glint of the diamond on her finger caught her eye and the tears that she had been holding back broke through. It was like a tsunami of despair and disbelief overtook her and her body shook with deep heaving sobs.
How could he do this to her? After ten years together, he breaks up with her over a text? A fucking text message? He didn't even have the balls to face her and tell her that it was over?
Ten years of her putting up with his drama and judgemental attitude. Ten years of her sucking it up and letting him win every argument. Ten years of her compromising her ideas and beliefs so that he could feel good about himself and he discards her in the end. No way!
And Tanya – what the hell? Why was Tanya with Mike? Had Mike been cheating with her this whole time?
Bella felt duped. Did the two of them think of her as some kind of joke? She'd been nothing but nice to Tanya. Bella had taken her in when Tanya's mother had kicked her out shortly after the three of them graduated from high school.
The hurt and despair that Bella had felt slowly burned and smouldered quickly becoming a bonfire of anger and hate.
No one was allowed to treat her this way. She wasn't some used piece of tissue that Mike was allowed to blow his nose into and toss away. She was a person, goddamnit, and she deserved to be treated with respect and dignity. She deserved to stand up for herself. She deserved to kick both Mike's and Tanya's asses. No one was allowed to treat her this way.
Feeling determination settle in her bones, Bella quickly got up and stormed into Tanya's room. She proceeded to pull out drawers looking for any incriminating evidence so that she could pinpoint where the two of them were running off to. However, after about twenty minutes of searching, Bella came up empty handed.
She blew out a breath and slumped down onto the bed before sliding to the carpeted floor. Her analytical brain kicked into overdrive. She recalled hearing the PA system while she was talking to the bastard of an ex-fiancé. She pressed her hand against her forehead and closed her eyes in concentration, trying to recall what had been said.
They had been at the airport and the voice was calling about boarding flights. As she ruminated over that thought, she became aware of a sudden pounding outside of the bedroom.
Bella quickly pulled herself up and exited the room. As she got to the hallway, she realized that the pounding was coming from the front door. Peeking through the peep hole, her eye was met with the sight of unruly, dark copper-coloured hair.
Suddenly, the door vibrated with the person's knocks. Anger and irritation rattled through her at the thought of the rude man standing on the other side of the door.
She quickly unlocked and pulled open the door, causing the man to stumble, his fist mid-knock.
"What?" She barked irritation evident in her tone and colouring.
The man with the unruly hair raised a questioning eyebrow. "I'm looking for Tanya."
At the sound of her name, Bella felt rage constricting her lungs making her feel like she couldn't breathe.
"She's not here." She replied, her grip on the doorknob tightened turning her knuckles white.
The man frowned, running his hand through his hair, making it even more chaotic than it already was.
"What do you mean, she's not here? I just checked her work and they said she quit. Where the fuck else would she be?" He asked his voice rising a little.
Bella bristled in annoyance. "Look, I don't know, okay. If you find her, let me know because I'd sure love to kick her ass!" She stepped back and was about to close the door when she felt his hand grab her wrist.
A slight tremor passed through her at the feel of his skin against hers. However, being in the heightened, angry state that she was and being a cop's daughter, instinct kicked in as she raised her knee up thrusting it hard into his groin.
The move was effective. The man doubled over quickly letting her wrist go so that he could cup his privates as he moaned in pain.
Bella backed up and shut the door, leaning against it as she caught her breath. "You better get out of here. I'm calling the police right now!" She yelled through the wood.
For a moment, she couldn't hear anything. She closed her eyes relieved that perhaps the stranger had limped away. However, that feeling quickly faded as she heard a slap against the door causing her to jump back in shock.
"No! Don't! Please I just really need to talk to Tanya," he pleaded.
Bella was a cautious woman but she wasn't heartless. She could hear the desperation in his voice and thought perhaps he was being honest. Maybe he genuinely needed to speak to her.
"Look, I'm not a thief or a murderer okay?" She heard him trying to re-assure her. She crossed her arms across her chest as an incredulous smirk spread formed on her lips.
Seeming to hear her thoughts, he continued, "Seriously, my name's Edward and Tanya was my...my girlfriend."
Hearing him choke out his connection to her roommate, Bella suddenly felt sympathy for him. Maybe he didn't know what a lying, cheating whore his girlfriend was. Still, she was suspicious.
"Tanya never mentioned a boyfriend," Bella stated.
"She...she didn't want to tell anyone about me. I guess maybe she didn't want a med-school dropout as a boyfriend."
Bella felt bad for Edward. She knew how Tanya could be. She knew that Tanya was ambitious and wanted nothing more than to marry rich so that she'd never have to work again or worry about supporting her alcoholic mother. She sighed and warily opened the door.
Her gaze landed on Edward who stood leaning against the stucco wall and for the first time she let her eyes linger on his face. He was a good looking man. Perhaps he'd even be considered gorgeous were there not a cut on his lip and a dark bruise forming against his stubbly jaw.
"What happened to your face?" She blurted, frowning when she realized how rude she sounded.
Edward winced as his hand drifted up to touch his sore jaw. "I was robbed earlier."
Bella's eyes widened. "Oh no! Did you call the police?"
Edward shook his head. "No. I got my wallet back and they only made off with a few bucks and my pride," he tried to joke.
Bella huffed and crossed her arms across her chest. She felt bad for him she really did, but as she stood there watching him rub his jaw, she remembered her own problems and once again her anger bubbled up to the surface like a turd that wouldn't flush.
"Listen, I don't know how well you know Tanya but you're better off without her," she commented.
"What?" He asked, frowning in confusion.
"Your bitch of a girlfriend seems to have taken off with my fiancé," she explained, disdain and bitterness tainting her voice.
"What?! Where the hell did they go?" He pushed away from the wall seemingly distraught. Bella knew exactly how he felt.
"Look, I just got off the phone with my fiancé and while he was dumping me I could hear Tanya in the background yelling at him that they were going to miss their flight," Bella shook her head, a growl escaping her.
Edward looked up, his green eyes piercing hers. Bella shifted uncomfortably and looked away feeling embarrassed about being broken up with over the phone.
"Sorry," he whispered.
Bella looked up and caught the sincerity in his gaze. She hated being pitied and immediately her guard went up. "It's not your problem," she dismissed. She looked back to the living room, her eyes landing on her phone.
She was angry both for herself and for Edward. She didn't think it was right of Mike to end things the way he did especially after he'd just asked her to marry him. What kind of asshole would do that? And Tanya...how could she do what she did to her and to Edward. Was she really that selfish?
A devious though popped into her head. What if she found them? Then perhaps she could have her say. Rip into both Michael and Tanya and make them regret the day that they stomped all over Bella Swan.
Yes, that is exactly what she was going to do. And as she looked back at Edward, she thought that he would be the perfect person to help make that happen.