Song for this chapter is Odds of Being Alone by Amy Stroup & Trent Dabbs.
Enjoy.
Chapter 2
The next day began with more butter, more bread, the two eggs, and a grocery list. Charlie begged off to go fishing, now that a drive to the airport wasn't necessary. Bella didn't mind. She had anticipated as much. It was actually on her list of expectations: 1. Charlie will have no food, 2. Charlie will want to fish, and 3. I won't be able to sleep.
Perhaps the last expectation wasn't filled to the letter. She did sleep that night, albeit fitfully. Nightmares and ghosts always kept close companion in Charlie's house. And little beds have a way of making one feel small.
Charlie's newsbreak didn't really help things either.
Bella couldn't help but wonder how much of what she saw on that brief clip was real. Night had passed, the morning brought almost-daylight, and it seemed so silly to think that vampires had been featured on the news. Not to mention one of her vampires. Why would they be so close to Forks, anyway? In the same state, almost as if they were asking to run into old acquaintances. And Seattle seemed a bit too big of a city to take up roots.
But it wasn't really her place to wonder such things, was it?
When the shopping list was complete, Bella drove the rental car to the old Thriftway. She took her time down the aisles, avoiding stares and whispers from locals who knew of her but didn't really know her. Because everyone heard the Chief's daughter took a dive off the deep end a couple years back. Did she ever recover?
Bella grabbed a box of bran cereal and sighed.
She wasn't watching her cart on her way through the bread aisle, and she ran full on into another cart going the opposite direction. The metal clang jarred her, and she snapped her head up.
"Oh, sorry," she said automatically.
"Bella? Swan?" Mike hadn't changed much. He was growing his hair out again, it seemed. The curl fell over his forehead, frozen in gel. He looked taller, she supposed.
"Hey, Mike," Bella replied. Of all the people she expected to have to deal with, Mike Newton was not very high on the list. He was supposed to be enjoying the sun somewhere. "How are you?"
"I'm great! Wow, I can't believe you're here! How is Arizona? You're going to school down there, right?"
"Yeah," she replied. "Arizona State. It's nice. Weather's better there."
Mike laughed. "No doubt. I can't believe you're here! Oh! You have to come down to the bar tonight! We're all getting together to relive the good ol' days."
To Bella, the days didn't seem all that old. Or all that good. "We?"
"Well Ben's in town, sans-Angela. Lauren should be there with her guy, Tom. And Jessica works there so she'll definitely be around. It's going to be great…" He scrunched his forehead, probably realizing his argument was invalid. "Please say you'll come. Please?"
"I don't know, Mike."
"It'll be fun! You remember fun, right?" He winked. "C'mon, it's only one night. And if you hate it, it's not like you can't just run on home."
"Fine, sure, okay," Bella replied. It was hard to deny Mike anything when he begged like a puppy at the dinner table.
"Yes!" Was he really pumping a fist in the air? He was. "I promise this will be awesome."
"Okay," Bella said. She shifted her weight and eyed the selections of sourdough to her right.
"Alright, um, I guess I'll get out of your hair. See you tonight!" He backed up his cart and rolled down the aisle. She lingered behind, hoping to delay her shopping enough that she wouldn't have to deal with him again in the checkout line.
All she had really wanted was as few reminders as possible. Getting out of the house was key to that plan—every inch of her home was in some way a painful souvenir. But she wasn't sure how her long lost "friends" would take her. She wasn't sure if they could understand her extreme need to not talk about some things, some people. It took most of her strength to not succumb to the overwhelming feeling of abandonment that came along with the rain and the forest. His name might be enough to push her to tears.
Bella wandered her way through the store, pulling things from shelves rather absentmindedly. When the cart was full, she took her items to the checkout, where Mike was nowhere to be found. Instead, she was met with the bright smile of Mrs. Agnes Fuller, long-time manager of the Thriftway, friend and neighbor to the Stanleys. Agnes often brought a pie to Charlie in the fall, or apples from her nephew's tree.
"Why, hello, Miss Bella," Mrs. Fuller said. "What a pleasant surprise." Bigger smile. Teeth this time.
It was one of those moments that pulls you back. Bella unloaded the cart, and she was seventeen again. Edward was waiting for her to come home, rushed his hunting to get there faster. Love does silly things to teenagers, even those who celebrated a centennial.
"Hello, Mrs. Fuller," Bella replied, smiling bright in her turn as well. "Nice to see you."
Eggs. Bacon. Bread. She hurried through the unloading process. She just wanted to get home. Milk. Chicken breasts. Lettuce—which was a big "yeah, right," but she always bought it anyway.
"How is the Chief doing?" Mrs. Fuller asked. The machine beeped as she slid items past the scanner.
"Good, good," Bella replied. The cart was half-empty now.
"I've been meaning to drop by. Little Randall sent me almost a bushel this year."
Little Randall was 32, but Bella wouldn't bring it up. She kept the giggle to herself.
"And school?" Mrs. Fuller asked. "You're going somewhere in Arizona, right?"
Bella paused, holding a loaf of bread in one hand and a jar of pickles in the other. She frowned.
She was twenty again. There was no one waiting at home. It wasn't really her home anymore. She closed her eyes and cursed silently. How stupid to get so caught up in such a stupid little moment. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
"Yeah." Bella resumed the unloading. The bread lazed its way down the conveyor belt. "Arizona State. It's nice. Weather's better there."
"I bet." Mrs. Fuller finished scanning the items. She helped the pimpled-face boy with the bagging.
Bella studied the creases in the backs of her hands. When she realized she was tracing the glittered scar, she forced herself back to reality with a deep breath. She lifted her chin and painted a smile back on her face.
"It was nice to see you again," Bella said. She reached for the cart with one hand and waved with the other. "I'll tell my dad you said hi." She was out of the store before she could hear the reply. She avoided eyes as she walked to her car.
Reunions were overrated.
Bella whistled as she pulled into the drive, a high peal. She smiled at the boy (man) from her drivers seat. He stretched impossibly tall, leaning against the side of his old Volkswagen. As she climbed out of the car, he stood upright, a smile spreading across his face.
"Did you think you could just sneak into town and be invisible for a week?" he asked.
"No, apparently not." Bella walked around to fetch the groceries from the trunk. He followed to help, hooking bag after bag onto his arm. "I'm only invisible in other states. Here I'm bathed in neon, or something."
He laughed. "How have you been?"
"Not bad. School's good."
They walked up the porch steps. She put her key in the door and unlocked it, but he kicked it open. "Boyfriends I should be jealous of?"
"You don't beat around the bush, now do you?" She fiddled with her keys and went to drop her groceries on the kitchen counter. "Short answer? No."
"What if I want the long answer?"
She sighed and walked to flip on the lights by the fridge. "It's not all that exciting. I just don't have the time, really. It's not a priority. Daniella, my roommate, tries to get me to go out with her. Parties on campus. Clubs. Whatever. I just—"
"Never has anyone been more stubborn than you, Bella Swan."
"I've heard that before." She focused seventy-five percent of her attention on the correct distribution of perishables about the refrigerator shelves. The remainder was spent on her stubbornness, and all those who had mentioned it previously.
"How do you do it?" he asked.
"What's that?"
"Make me both so happy and so sad at the same time," he said and sighed. "At least tell me you have friends."
"I have Daniella."
"And me."
"And of course you, Jake."
He went to sit on the kitchen table, his legs too long to fit under it properly. "You should come home more often. We miss you around here."
"School isn't something I can just up and leave whenever I want."
"You could visit more often. You don't even try. Christmas was depressing."
She shook a box of spaghetti in his direction. "Why are we arguing about this? Why are we arguing about anything? I'm here barely a day and you're yelling at me."
"I worry." He shrugged. "What do you think you'll do when you graduate?"
She rolled her eyes. "I haven't even declared a major yet. What makes you think I've got a career path in mind?"
"You know I don't mean that. I don't care about what you want to do for a living."
She stared at him for a moment as a blush crept across her face. When it was strong enough that she knew he could see it, she turned to the window. "It's just too soon to tell. Being here, now, well…it's hard."
He nodded. They let the silence stretch between them as she unloaded the last of the groceries and he thrummed his fingers against the wood grain.
He was the one to break it. Just like always. "Come to the rez tonight. We can have a bonfire and you could see Seth and Leah. Kid's growing up now. Started high school. It's a kick."
"I wish I could, I truly do, but I already told Mike I'd meet a bunch of them at the bar tonight."
"Mike? As in 'I Can't Help but Puke at Lame Zombie Movies' Mike? Bella…"
"I know, I know. But some of my friends from high school will be there and I'd rather just get it over with." She sat down in the chair beside him. It was time to change the subject. And she couldn't help herself. "Did you watch the news last night?"
"No. Why?"
"Nothing. Never mind."
Maybe it was all a dream after all.
"So, if you're not coming down tonight, will you promise to do something with me tomorrow?" he asked.
"Sure," she said. "As long as Charlie is occupied. I'm supposed to be visiting him as well, you realize. Or you can hang around here with us."
"I'll go wherever you want me, girl."
She stuck out her tongue. "Don't start that."
He smiled. It was warm and debonair, and she wondered what exactly her problem was. He was all things good in her life. The best thing.
"Start? I never stopped in the first place." He winked.
The bar was dimly lit. The crowd inside sang along to the jukebox, attempting to find the words to B-B-B-Benny and the Jets, and failing miserably. They seemed to ignore the basketball game on the TV above the bar. Every stool was occupied, as well as most of the tables. Bella hung her coat at the door and looked around the room. She never realized Forks had any kind of nightlife. She hadn't seen this much of the population of Forks gathered in one place since her high school graduation. And speaking of which…
"Bella!" Ben called from a booth in the corner. He waved, his glasses glowing orange from the votive in the middle of the table. "Over here!"
She waved in reply and went to join them. Next to Ben, Mike was finishing off a beer. Lauren and a tall blond fellow were whispering and laughing and sometimes kissing. Jessica leaned against the table in an apron. Bella slid into the booth beside Ben.
"I can't believe you're here!" Jessica said. Her curls were tied back in a ponytail, but they bounced with her false cheerfulness. "How long has it been? You look great. Did you cut your hair? Or dye it?"
"No," Bella said.
"Oh, well, it looks amazing!"
Ben smiled. "You want a drink? I'm buying."
Bella looked to Jessica and then back to Ben. She wasn't too comfortable making Jessica do the legwork. Even if it was her job. "It's really okay. I've got to drive and all."
Jessica smiled and excused herself to a different table.
"Bella, Bella, Belllllaaa…" Mike's words turned into a slur of noise. And something trying to possibly be a song. "I thoughtchu'd never get here."
"I had to make dinner for Charlie first."
Ben whispered to her. "He's on his like thirtieth beer or something. Jess has already told him she's cutting him off."
"That's probably a good thing," Bella said. "How are you? How's Angela?"
"We're both doing well. She wanted to come down for the break, but she had a big project for her bio seminar that took too much time. She says hi. And something about pickles?"
"'Sorry for being a fickle pickle?'" Bella asked.
"That's it. What does it even mean?"
"We've been emailing back and forth. I told her she had to come to Forks and she was waffling – I now know why – and I told her not to be a fickle pickle. Something my mom said when I was a kid."
"Oh."
Lauren and her boy came up for air. "Bella!" Lauren said, gesturing to him. "This is my fiancée, Tom Parson. Tom, this is Bella Swan."
Tom reached across to shake hands. "Nice to meet you."
"You too," Bella said. She tucked her hand back into her lap. "When's the big day?"
Lauren's eyes went wide and she smiled. A real, kind, genuine smile. "June 4th. Here in town. Tom works for the mayor."
It was already becoming the longest conversation she had ever had with the girl. "Well, that's great. I wish you all the best."
"Thank you so much," Lauren said. She snuggled into Tom's side. "And what about you? Any special someone in Arizona we haven't heard about?"
Mike's droopy eyes suddenly seemed a little more awake. He stared, waiting to hear the answer.
"No. Nothing like that," Bella said. Everyone's extreme interest in her love life was getting a little old.
Suddenly, Jessica was back, pushing her way into the booth beside Tom. "I can't imagine it's easy to find anyone who could compare to Edward Cullen."
And there it was.
Like a flipped switch, Bella's mouth went dry. Her heart hammered in her chest. She could feel the blood pulsing in her fingertips.
"Jess," Lauren hissed.
"What? It's true." Jessica reached a hand across the table. "I mean, I don't blame you at all. He wrecks most curves, I would imagine." She sighed. "I wonder what happened to them."
Mike sneered. "I saw one on the news. The blonde guy. What'sis name?"
Bella stared at the table. She tried to swallow the feeling, but it wouldn't go down. Her eyes burned. She gripped the edge of the booth seat.
"Jasper?" Jessica asked.
Mike hit the table with the heel of his hand. The drinks jumped for a second and threatened to spill. "Jasper! That'sit. He wash Rosalie's twin, huh?"
"He was on the news?" Jessica twirled a strand of hair in her fingers. "What for?"
It wasn't a dream. She had hoped to keep it just a dream.
Bella began to scoot out of the booth. The room felt a little close. A prickling sensation crawled across her skin and she knew the blush was back again. Hopefully no one could see in the low light.
Lauren put a hand on Jessica's arm. "Jess, I'm not sure we really—"
"What?" Jess snapped. "Mike, what happened on the news?"
Bella stood. She took a few steps away from the table.
"Bella?" Mike asked. "You leaving?"
"I just…" She swallowed. Her throat felt like sandpaper. A trickle of sweat ran down the small of her back. "I need a little air. I'll be right back."
She couldn't walk fast enough. She willed the words to leave her alone, but they followed and caught up to her ear before she could get out the door.
"Mike?" Jessica prompted. "Jasper?"
"He killed a guy…"
Hope you liked it. Comments?