Angel:Part 2
Disclaimer: The characters especially Edward Cullen belongs to Stephenie Meyer. The plot of this story is mine.
The Twilight was a small cafe beside a park on the Eliot Street. There were small booths inside the cafe with dim lighting. Initially, it would be full with people but the sudden winter rains had reduced business that day. Bella noticed that except a couple and some employees the place was nearly empty. She chose the booth at the end and settled down quickly.
The place was lit by a small fireplace and the warmth from the fire felt good on Bella's skin after the cold rain. She remembered that she used to say to herself everyday that she hated cold and wet stuff, when she had to drive to school in the rain back in Forks. However, after Edward came into her life she hardly drove her Chevy ever again. The interior of Edward's C30 silver Volvo was always warm. The beige leather seat covers were soft and smooth and smelled of a strong manly smell. The same smell as Edward, her favourite in the world. She never complained going to school again.
"Edward" she sighed. She thought about what would Edward be doing at that moment. Her decision to leave was rather abrupt, without telling anybody. Was he pacing their bedroom thinking where the hell she was, as he always did when he was tensed? She felt bad for him, but she knew she had to do it. She had to clear her head.
"Miss, could I get you something?" said a manly voice beside her. Bella looked up and saw a teenaged boy with brown skin looking at her intently. "Can I get a double espresso and a large tub of Vanilla ice-cream?" she said.
The boy chuckled at her. "Ice-cream in the middle of December?" Bella realized her stupidity and looked down at the menu card to avoid eye contact with the boy. "Just the espresso then" she said softly. The boy chuckled again and repeated after her "Just the espresso then" and left. Bella looked up and saw his retreating form walking towards a door which she assumed was the kitchen.
Vanilla ice-cream and espresso had always been her comfort food and the middle of December could not change that. She looked around herself in search of the washroom to clean the filthy mud off her. Her eyes dragged on the couple. From their clothes and face Bella thought that they were probably in college. They were sitting closely together on the same bench probably trying to keep each other warm. They were not much into talking just looking into each other's eyes. The couple made Bella remember Alice and Jasper. "Shit, the cake!" Bella had prepared the chocolate cake for her godchild the fair and sweet Ira. She sincerely hoped that Edward would take it with him to Forks. She glanced at her the digital clock on the receptionist's desk. 00:30, it said.
She wondered what the others were doing in Forks. Had already Edward informed them that she was missing? She knew that Esme and Alice would be upset the most and would probably refuse to celebrate Christmas but this had to be done. She had to make the choice.
An hour into the road Edward racked his brains to search for a clue as to where Bella could be. He knew that she was not in her office having already called Irina, Bella's assistant. He glanced towards the sky and cursed. The weather was getting bad, a storm was definitely on its way. He had to find Bella.
Edward thought about the past few days. He realized that he had definitely noticed something off about Bella since her dad's death. He had himself been busy with SCRC. He knew that he had not been able to spend enough time with her.
Esme had asked Bella to spend a few days with Carlisle and her in Forks, but Bella had refused unable to bear the thought of going to Forks and not being able to visit her dad ever again. It took a murderous warning and repeated coaxing from the Pixie and Rosalie, before she agreed to visit Forks for Christmas. Did they pressurise her too much? Did he fail to read the mind of his love?
Edward parked his Volvo (his second love) beside the bookstore Bella and he would visit whenever Bella wanted to get new books. He entered the shop and was instantly greeted by Bree, the attendant. Edward and Bella knew Bree very well, Edward having treated her brother, Felix, last summer before he died due to his cancer. Bella had been very attentive of both the siblings and had taken them under her care. She had offered Bree to live with them after Felix's death but Bree had chosen to live with her boyfriend Riley.
"Hey Edward, what are you doing out in this monstrous weather?" said Bree and raised an eyebrow at him. "I could ask you the same" he said and rolled his eyes. Bree smirked and Edward grinned at her. It vanished as quickly as it came.
"Have you heard from Bella today?" he asked her desperately. Bree looked at Edward with a puzzled expression on her face. "Bella? No, she haven't been here since September, you know since her dad..." her voice trailed off. Edward understood what Bree was trying to say. Yes, now that she said it, Edward remebered Bella hardly leaving the house much except going to work since September. How had he failed to notice that then and talk to her? He had really fucked up.
"What is wrong Edward?" Bree asked him. Edward looked at Bree, he knew that Bree was just like him, somebody who loved Bella and cared for her. "Oh. I don't know Bree. I can't find her since morning. She has left her phone behind and haven't contacted any of her friends." Edward felt his throat drying. What if something happened to her?
"Oh heaven!" Bree remarked. "Do you want coffee or something Edward? You look tired?" Bree was right, a coffee could be helpful but it was getting late. "No, I'll just head out. If she comes here or contacts you please call me." Edward said and desperately hoped that Bella would visit her favourite bookshop today. "Yes, of course." Bree replied. Edward turned around to walk out of the shop.
He had reached the door when Bree called out to him. "Edward?" "Yeah", he looked at her and saw that she had come near the door as well. "Edward, please forgive me for my interference but I think that she has been missing you a lot lately. That's all I have to say."
With that she walked back into the shop. Was she right? Was Bella missing him? It was true that lately, he had been absent a lot due to work. But he was only trying to provide a better life for both of them. Both of them had decided that they would build up their lives on their own. He had put off proposing her till she became the head editor of SPH and him getting the job of the head in SCRC. Maybe, it was wrong of him to make the decision alone. Maybe, he should have talked to Bella about what she wanted.
Walking back to his car Edward thought about the hot day in September when Bella had called him at four in the morning with a panicked voice.
Edward liked India. The country was beautiful. It had the beach, the mountains, the cities as well as the villages. It was a diversified country with many colours. He wondered if Bella would like to visit India on their honeymoon.
He had come to New Delhi, India's capital due to an important seminar on Cancer Research. A young Indian doctor had done a breakthrough research and designed a compound which could probably increase the tenure of life of the leukaemia patients. Edward had been excited about the whole thing. He did not waste time and quickly flew down there after he got the invitation.
After having dinner with his colleagues he had just retired for the night early. The next day was the day of the big meeting. At around four in the morning his phone rang. He checked it to find Bella.
"Love?" Edward wondered that what could be so important that she had to call him at such an ungodly hour. It was of course 15:30 in Seattle then.
"Edward..dad..." Bella's panicked voice said and then she started crying. Edward pulled himself out of the bed and straightened up. There was definitely something wrong. "What happened?" He asked her but was replied by Angela. "Edward, Charlie is in the hospital. We are on our way to Forks. Your dad is in charge."
Edward closed his eyes and sighed: Charlie, the man he respected the most after his dad was in the hospital. "Can I talk to her?" Edward asked Angela. "I think its better not to. She is pretty upset. When can you get here?" she asked him. "I'll be there by Monday. Please take care of her." "Definitely" Angela said and disconnected the phone.
Lying back on his bed again and trying his best to fall asleep Edward had never realized that two days later when his plane would land at Sea Tac he would learn of Charlie Swan's death from his sister.
Bella was completely broken when he saw her that afternoon in Forks. He had tried to console her and she had smiled in return but anybody who knew her well could tell, that she was far from okay.
The funeral of the late Chief of Forks had been arranged a week later. In the mean time Edward had been with calls from his assistant Tanya Denali, about the Indian doctor who had agreed to visit Washington and had expressed his desire to meet him. Whenever he would get off the phone he would notice Bella looking at him with a sad expression on her face. On asking her what the matter was she would say she was fine and start talking about something else.
On returning back to Seattle, Edward had become busy again with his conference and on seeing Bella going to work and behaving normally he assumed that she was doing fine.
Standing today in the rain he realized that he had been wrong completely. He understood why she had started picking on fights with him on silly matters. She wanted his attention. She wanted him to notice that she was falling apart. It was unlikely of Bella to express her feelings but when she did it for the first time,Edward had failed to notice.
Yes, it was his mistake that he had thought that money was more important to build a happy life for them. All she required was his love. He should have proposed to her a long time ago. Because there was nothing more Bella ever wanted than to have her own family. A warm house with a loving husband and kids. They lived together but they were not completely together.
What would he do with all the money he earned, if he did not have Bella in his life to share all his happiness with him? A girl like Bree, who was much younger to him had understood that. But he had failed to understand this simple thing. "Oh love, I am going to work for your forgiveness." He murmured to himself.
The washroom mirror could not deceive Bella's eyes. She was definitely sick. He eyes were red and the blush that usually appeared on her cheeks had disappeared. Her pale face had a yellowish tinge to it. He nose was runny and her hands cold. Maybe leaving was not a good decision after all? But what could she do?
Bella turned her back to the basin and sat down on the tiled floor of the washroom, hugging her knees to herself as she cried again. She felt lonely. Charlie's sudden death had created a tempest in her heart. She remembered seeing him on the hospital bed connected to all kinds of machines and his head wrapped n a huge bandage. There her dad was on his death bed and she did not know what to say to him.
When she was in school, he used to work late nights at the station and both of them were not good at sharing their thoughts with themselves. After Edward came in her life she saw him less everyday and after graduation she moved out. In making her own life somewhere she had left her old man behind. She had failed to take care of him.
On the other hand her love slowly drifted apart from her. The boy she had fallen in love with in high school had grown to be a wonderful man. He took care of all her needs but somewhere he failed to communicate with her. Lately, he had been working more and going on business tours. She was happy for him, she was happy for herself. She wanted to support him but somewhere seeing Angela, Alice, Rosalie and Esme pained her. They were all happily married and on the next phase of their life but she was left behind.
They were together for ten years but Edward had never talked about marriage or kids. It was true that they lived like a married couple but they were not married. She wondered if Edward was not sure of their relation?
He dad's death had made her lonely. She feared what if Edward got bored of her. He was gorgeous and any girl could happily give herself to him. She had seen the female staff at SCRC ogling on him especially his assistant Tanya Denali. What if he left her? What would she do? She was so very much dependent on him.
She knew she was being overdramatic but she was so upset. Her work, board meetings, conferences could not distract her. She kept thinking about it. After all her assistant Irina who was ten times prettier than her had to face the same fate.
"Bella, I need a few days leave." Bella was surprised by Irina's request. She had been working with her for three years and she knew that Irina was not someone to take leave in between the publishing of a big project.
"Is something wrong?" Bella asked.
Bella had always respected Irina. Though she was two years older to Bella and her assistant, Bella considered her as her friend. She knew Irina's life story.
After a night spending drunk and wasted in high school she had found herself to be pregnant a week later.
Abandoned by her parents in the fear of humiliation she had to provide for herself. At the age of sixteen, Irina worked at a bar as a bartender. She had to take care of her six months old daughter and at the same time work two jobs. One night she was hit by a drunken group of boys.
Irina had told Bella that she had found love in her life again when she was saved from those low-lives by a man, who later became her husband, Laurent. Laurent was her knight in shining armour. She loved Laurent and Kate, her daughter the most in her life.
That day however, Bella found Irina sad and a torn expression on her face. "Laurent is leaving me. He said that he is bored of me. He has filed divorce and the hearing is this week." Bella felt bad for Irina and offered her condolence.
"Maybe he was the dark-knight. Stupid me." Irina had said . Bella was reminded of her mother and a sudden fear had lodged in her heart that what if the same thing happened to her.
The sudden request to attend Christmas in Forks was unbearable. She did not want to celebrate Christmas or New Year, she just wanted a break a holiday from everything and the one person she loved the most on earth failed to understand it.
So she had decided to head outside that morning to clear her head, keep her emotions in control and stop feeling so pathetic. Pushing her up from the floor she washed her face and went back to her seat. The coffee had already arrived on the table and the boy was waiting for her.
"Is there anything else you need?" he asked. "No, thank you" she said. The warm liquid brought a familiar sensation to her throat. Where would she be if coffee did not exist on Earth?
Edward searched the super market, the mall (though that was the last place Bella would be), the church, any other place where he thought Bella could be, but she was found nowhere.
His car suddenly halted in front of a street he had never ever heard the name of. 'Eliot Street', who the fuck lived there? Cursing under his breath, he got out of the car to check the reason for the sudden interruption. Edward noticed that the front tyre of his beloved Volvo had punctured.
Edward looked up and down the street for some help or a gas station, anything, but none could be found. He brushed his hair with his fingers, frustrated with the fucking day. He never have had such a bad day in his twenty eight years of life. He wondered whether he should call Emmett or Jasper for help, but remembered that they were in Forks and were probably enjoying themselves. Anyway it would take a whole lot of time for them to make it back to Seattle.
Out of the corner of his eyes he noticed two people coming out some kind of a shop from the rear end of the street beside a small park. He checked properly to see a boy and a girl holding hands coming towards him. He tried to read the sign on the board of the shop behind the boy. It said Twilight.
Twilight? What a stupid name! Who names a shop Twilight? Whatever the name of the shop was, he hardly cared, he wanted help with his car and he had a strong feeling that he would get it there. Pulling the collar of his jacket towards his ear he made his way towards the small shop, which he noticed now was a cafe.
A/N: 1) Sorry, this is not the end. The story has another chapter, which is the end. It will come up tomorrow or highest by Tuesday. Thank you to everyone who viewed, followed, and reviewed the story. Please keep reading it and commenting.
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