A/N: -cries- I miss my reviews! I thank everyone who reviewed last chapter and apologize to anyone who found my story and is like, "What? Didn't I ask for an alert?" Sorry guys! I had to re-post my story.
By the way, credit goes to the J-Lo movie, 'Enough', for the inspiration for the bit about the toilet. You'll see what I mean when you get there.
Anyway, here's the next installment of The Car. Just like I promised. Read, enjoy, and review please!
Forks, Washington-January 12, 2008
True to his word, come morning, Edward was gone. Where, I'm sure not even Alice knew.
"Bella? Wake up, sleepyhead! It's morning!" I opened one eye to find Alice bouncing enthusiastically on the end of my bed, making the floor rumble. Her spiky hair stood out in all directions in a sassy look only Alice could pull off. She was grinning, completely unabashed by my weary stare. I snuck a glance at my alarm.
Just barely 7 A.M.
"No, Alice," I groaned, dragging the blanket over my head to block out glaring pink rays of the sunrise. "It's still sleep-time."
Alice giggled musically. "Silly Bella, you can't sleep all day!" When I only grumbled into the covers, she made an impatient noise. In less than a second, the bedcovers were whipped off me.
"Alice!"
"Bella!" she countered, grinning. "Honestly, watching humans sleep is something only Edward enjoys. Did you know you snore a bit? Not too much," Alice added at my scandalized look. "It's kind of cute, actually."
I vowed then and there that I would never, ever let Alice find out about the pink dumbbells still residing in my closet. That it…if she hadn't already Seen them…
I knew Charlie had left early to finish filing the reports of the hikers' deaths. Thankfully, there were no more to speak of, as of yet. This was both a good and bad thing: it meant no unwelcome vampire had been doing any recreational hunting, but it also meant we didn't have an inkling of Victoria's whereabouts.
"Feeding time!" Alice cried, obviously delighted. I smiled a tiny smile and leaned across the bed to hug her. She was shocked for a few seconds, but her arms came up to hold me.
"Gosh, how I missed you," she murmured. Damn tear ducts. I could only nod and hope to find an escape, during which I could get rid of the salty tracks on my face.
"Oh, wait!" Alice said pulling away. "No, feeding comes after you get dressed, right?"
I aimed my eyes at the door, a distinct indication of my want of solitude while I dressed. But Alice only smirked. "No can do, Bella. Edward made me swear." As an afterthought, she grumbled indignantly, "About a billion times. As if I'm incapable of taking care of Bella…"
My cheeks heated up involuntarily. I would remain the baby in this family, it seemed, no matter whether I was human or not.
Alice leapt lithely off the bed and turned around. "I will give you a little bit of privacy, though. Sheesh, you're almost as bad as Edward about that kind of thing. As if you have anything I've never seen before..." For my benefit, she covered her eyes with her hands--gratefully it was before I felt the burning in my cheeks at her comment. She looked so young right then, I could almost imagine her counting to twenty and yelling, 'Ready or not!'. With a grin, I swung my legs off the bed and approached the closet.
A small kick/roll movement sent the dumbbells closer to the back. I was rifling through my t-shirts when Alice said, "I like the gray sweater."
"No peeking, Alice," I admonished half-heartedly. I liked it, too.
"No need, Bella. I already Saw it."
I was feeling rebellious. I just wanted things to go back to the way they were before all of this happened. Back when the only things I had to worry about were Alice and shopping, Rosalie hating me, passing the 11th grade, and being with Edward as much as possible.
The rebel in me wanted to ignore the sweater. But knowing she'd only bully me into it later, I pulled the gray cashmere sweated off its hanger. Grabbing a pair of jeans and an overcoat, I cast a final look at Alice. Satisfied that she wasn't peeking, I undressed.
Halfway through taking off my pajama bottoms, I got tangled in the legs and fell. "Oh!"
Alice was turned back to face me, her small frame shaking. She gasped out, "I'm sorry, Bella, but it's so much funnier in person!"
"Yeah, yeah," I grouched standing carefully.
"Does Bella need help putting on her clothes?" Alice asked, clearly elated at being here to bug me.
I scowled, willing myself not to blush (my pajama shirt was long enough) as I tugged on my underwear. "Toss me the jeans, will you?"
Alice obliged still giggling.
Roughly twenty minutes later, I had finally finished getting dressed with no further accidents, brushed my teeth and hair, washed my face clear of any tears and applied makeup (thanks, Alice…), and was on my way downstairs.
Alice danced into the kitchen, on her tip-toes and opening cupboards at random. She seemed astonished by what she found inside. I think I heard her ask softly, "How many different fish seasonings does Charlie have?"
A question I ask myself frequently.
The Fruit Loops were on the counter, Toucan Sam grinning innocently. I helped myself to a bowl while Alice opened the fridge. When she opened a container of leftover macaroni and cheese, I realized that she must not be around food all that much. Sure, Esme cooked for me occasionally, and the Cullens bought lunch at school, but how many times had Alice actually gotten to be around food?
She lifted a jar of cinnamon and inhaled deeply. "Goodness, this stuff is strong!"
I smiled affectionately, spooning another heap of colorful loops into my mouth.
When I was finished and the empty bowl sat before me, Alice clapped her hands together. "What shall we do today, then, Bella?"
There was a glint in her eye that told me exactly what she wanted to do. "No shopping," I said hastily.
Alice only pouted for a second. "I guess you're right. I don't think Edward would want you leaving Forks anyway."
I closed my eyes and moaned in frustration. See? You see what my life had become? Little Bella: can't leave Forks, can't leave the watchful eye of one of the Cullens, can't get dressed.
"It'll be fine, Bella," said a deeper voice. When I looked up, Jasper was sitting across from me at the table.
Jasper had been almost as bad as Edward when the Cullens came home. He wouldn't say more than a word to me at a time and avoided me whenever we saw one another. I knew he was blaming himself for the paper-cut thing (something which was my fault, my clumsiness) and therefore ultimately, the Cullens leaving.
"Bella…" Jasper looked at me, fishing for the right words.
"Hey!" I jabbed the spoon at him, tiny droplets of milk flying. "You better not be apologizing, Jasper Hale."
Jasper's face was melancholy as he shook his head, about to press on. "No! No sorries," I insisted. "You only say sorry when you've done something wrong." I remembered my hesitant apologies in the early days of my relationship with Edward, how he had called me absurd for being sorry for my blood calling to him. I could see now how it might be a bit upsetting.
There was undisguised curiosity on Jasper's face. "But I have. How can you sit there and tell me I haven't?"
"Look," I said as Alice scooped up my bowl to wash it, "let's say I was a rabbit, okay?" Both Jasper and Alice appeared confused, but I continued, "And you were a…head of lettuce."
"Ugh, lettuce smells awful," I heard Alice grumble on her way to the sink.
I ignored her. "Now rabbits eat lettuce, don't they? It's what rabbits do." Understanding dawned on Jasper's face. He opened his mouth to answer. "How bad would it be," I said interrupting smoothly, "if I had resolved myself to never eat lettuce ever again and that lettuce was hanging out around me all the time. Sweet smelling, juicy lettuce…"
Alice mumbled something too quick for my ears to catch and wrinkled her nose in disgust.
"I mean, it's there every time I turn around! All my other…rabbit friends are fine with the lettuce, though. I seem to be the only one not able to handle it. Palling around with this lettuce, taking it shopping, talking to it, um…sleeping with it—" I blushed at my words, though they were the only way to describe what Edward and I did at night, despite the other implications behind them.
"…cooking for it, playing piano for it, going to school with it, catching it whenever it falls. It's driving me crazy!"
The corners of Jasper's lips upturned a little. "Well, if you put it that way…"
"Not finished," I said holding up a hand. "Not to mention the fact that this lettuce has tiptoed in front of me so many times and I'm in physical pain trying not to eat it. Right?" Jasper nodded, smiling fully now. "And then one day, when this lettuce is so intoxicating and right in front of me, I snap. The lettuce…erm, rolls away unscathed and here I am apologizing to it for being like a normal rabbit and wanting a taste?"
Alice giggled. In the midst of my metaphor, I hadn't seen her come up behind her husband. She squeezed Jasper's shoulders. "Told you she wasn't mad."
"Bella, I…" Jasper broke off shaking his head. Well, that speech was kind of mind-boggling in its silliness, I supposed. "You really aren't like other humans, are you?"
"Jasper," I said smiling beatifically, "that just may be the greatest compliment you've ever given me."
Jasper and I were back on good terms and I was glad. I may not have always understood him, but he was my friend's husband, my boyfriend's brother, and my friend. It was nice to have him back.
Still, I was inches from growling at him when he said: "We're taking that?"
My car was my baby! It didn't matter how old or rusted it was. It ran fine and it was reliable. Besides which, Charlie had given it to me my first day in Forks.
Jasper was looking at it like he was expecting it to collapse. Alice wasn't too pleased either, but she thankfully held her tongue.
"Yes, Jasper, we're taking my car. And just for that," I said when he opened his mouth to reply, "you get to sit in the back."
Alice stuck her tongue out at her husband and skipped into the passenger seat.
"You know, Bella," Jasper said once we were all piled in and buckled, "you should have Rosalie do some…cosmetic work on this ju—" At my glare in the rearview mirror, he altered his words at the last second. "—ust fine model of…American car-making."
Edward and his siblings had taken turns trying to convince me to let them buy me a new car or get mine remodeled. I just wasn't having it. I mean, their cars were so flashy and shiny and ostentatious. I secretly felt a little sorry for my rusty truck. I drove it as much as possible so it wouldn't feel bad for not living up to their foreign-car standards.
"Nope," I said simply, watching the road. "And if you're so concerned about—what was it? Ah, cosmetics—talk to Alice. I'm sure she'd love to give you a makeover."
Jasper grumbled but didn't reply.
"Bella, hardly anyone wins arguments with Jasper," Alice commented, rifling through my CD case. "You should be proud."
"She didn't win," Jasper said in a voice that sounded suspiciously like a whine. Two points for Bella! "I…simply needed some time to mull over my thoughts a little."
Alice snorted. "Whatever, Jazz."
It was lovely to hear my friends acting like typical teenagers (though technically, both were old enough to be…well, dead by now). It wasn't often—especially not these days—to experience the playful banter that comes with being in a relationship and I smiled a little in hearing it.
My heart thudded painfully in my chest. I wouldn't be able to do the same with Edward…unless it was over the phone. I hated that. I couldn't see his facial expressions or breathe his scent or have him dazzle me over the phone.
But I missed his voice. And I'd take what I could get.
Jasper was quiet in the backseat and I knew he was feeling what I was. "Sorry, Jasper," I said.
Alice slipped in my Debussy CD. When Clair de Lune flooded through the speakers, I immediately switched songs. Alice looked at me curiously. It had become second nature to flip past that song when I was without Edward. With a mumbled apology, I switched back.
"Where to, then?" I asked with forced cheerfulness over the straining notes of the music. If Jasper and Alice noticed (which, of course they did), they chose not to comment.
"Our house. We could watch old movies," Alice suggested.
"Or play a game." I was suddenly wary of that shine in Jasper's eyes. I knew he wasn't nearly as competitive as Emmett, but I didn't exactly want to put myself in that position.
"Is everybody home?" I turned onto the road that led to the Cullens'. I'd driven there so many times, I could probably do it with my eyes closed. Not as much recently, of course, since not even Alice could make Charlie budge on my punishment.
But what Charlie didn't know couldn't hurt him. The proof was in the car with me.
"All except Carlisle," Alice responded. "Esme made cookies for you, Bella. She's trying out a new recipe."
Esme was my mother in all ways but the genetic one. My real mother, Renee…well, she was more of a big kid than an actual mother-figure. I'd taken care of her all my life and I was good at doing it. I loved her dearly, but having a mother to…mother me was wonderful.
I smiled, turning to Alice. "What kind?"
"Chocolate chip." Alice grinned in excitement as though she would be the one eating them.
I looked at Jasper in question. "Chocolate is just about the only human food that smells good to us, Bella." Chocolate's pleasures were universal. Irrationally, it warmed my heart a little to know that some things survived the change.
I'd be lying if I said I didn't have some reservations about becoming a vampire. I wanted to yell at Edward that they hadn't changed at all since he'd left, that this separation was only making me get a headache. I felt a wave of calm wash over me and smiled at Jasper gratefully.
At the final crescendo of Debussy, my cell phone vibrated against my hip. I really hated having to carry around a cell phone, but it was—as Edward said—a safety measure. I brought the car to a screeching halt that left me reeling. Alice and Jasper appeared unfazed.
"Hello?"
"Bella," that sweet voice said. "You didn't call."
Edward. I sighed breathily and saw Alice roll her eyes. She mouthed 'lovebirds' to Jasper, but I'd be angry with her later. Now, I had time for one person only.
"You said you'd be busy," I said cradling the phone tenderly and wishing it was him I was touching. "I thought I'd wait until you called me."
"I dialed your number a million times, but I didn't want you to think I was pressuring you so early."
"Edward, you could never pressure me to do something I truly didn't want to." It was true. There were times I just gave in, secretly pleased at being dazzled, times I let myself be talked into things. Edward had never, ever made me feel pressured. He couldn't.
"Mmm-hmm." I could hear he wasn't very convinced. "We'll just see when I come home, huh?" The words sent a thrilling shiver through me. "I miss you."
"I miss you," I echoed.
"Are you with Alice?" he demanded.
I nodded, and then realized he couldn't see. "Yes, sir. My jailer is right here." Alice giggled when I passed her the phone.
"Hello, Eddie." I could hear Edward's growl in reply. "Temper, temper, Edward. Bella doesn't want to hear your dirty mouth. Yes…I said I would, didn't I…he's here too, like you asked…it's your move, Edward…ugh, fine…uh-huh…uh-huh…but!...okay."
She handed back the phone sullenly. "Nope, no shopping."
I probably would have agreed to go with her, just to spend more time with her, but I liked Edward's idea better. "Thank you," I said into the phone.
"No problem," he laughed.
"Um, Edward?" I asked when I heard the hoot of a car behind me. "I'm kind of in the middle of the road; can I call you back?"
"Of course. I love you, Bella."
"I love you too. Always." The phone shut with a click. I sat there for a moment, reliving his voice, until the honking jarred me back to the present. With a sigh, I shifted the car into gear and pressed on to the Cullen mansion.
I have been in love with the Cullens since I met them. I couldn't deny that I liked some better than others, but I loved them all.
They all worked so hard to keep me happy. Esme's cookies were one thing, but Emmett letting me win at his game on the Xbox (though he trounced me soundly twice afterward), Rosalie actually speaking to me, Jasper joking with me like he never had, Alice and I looking through catalogs (which is, surprisingly, a lot more fun than actual shopping); it made me wonder what I had done to deserve all this.
I was still floating on a cloud when Alice and I went back to my car. It was parked just in front of Edward's Volvo, the cars sitting front to back. He'd left it here, so he couldn't be very far, and Alice had assured me he hadn't taken anyone else's. I feathered my fingers over the glossy silver coat and smiled. It was Edward's and because it was a part of him, it was a part of me, as well.
"Please let's take my car Bella. If you love me at all," Alice begged for the third time.
"In," was my only response as I held the passenger door open.
"Why do you insist on driving such a big hunk—" Alice froze, her eyes glazing over. It was a vision—that much I knew, but the look of horror on Alice's face afterwards was what startled me.
"What?" I asked.
"Just…drive. Carefully," Alice answered. I could tell the vision was bothering her, though, because she got those little lines on her forehead.
"It's nothing, Bella," she said at my inquiring look. "Just drive."
I never got the chance to reply. To my dying day, I'll remember the screech of the tires trying to gain traction on the icy driveway. I hadn't had the chance to install my snow-tires; oh, how I was regretting that.
There was a shatter of glass and the loud car alarm sounded before it ceased abruptly. My forehead bounced on the steering wheel hard enough to break the skin. I couldn't even see Alice.
It was several minutes before the blood drumming in my ears allowed me to hear anything else. I felt like a zombie as I opened the car door to let myself out. Alice's seat was empty, but I couldn't think of that now.
I will be the first to admit that I've done plenty of things that are…for lack of a better word, questionable. Edward has claimed on several occasions that I'm not your average human. Honestly, I'm quite content—no, ecstatic—with being abnormal. It's my strange quirks and desires that led me to Edward, is it not?
I'm wont to act on those desires…somewhat irrationally at times. My reactions aren't always what one would expect, a point Edward never hesitates to stress.
But as I stood in the Cullens' front yard, the front of the silver car smoking belatedly, I couldn't react at all. I was completely incapable of moving; frozen, not unlike my encounter with Laurent in the meadow.
There are few possessions I can claim have ties to me in this world. Hardly anything inanimate, of course. There's Charlie and Renee, the Cullens (even Rosalie), and Jake. I have to say that I could peacefully leave just about anything else behind without a single thought.
Edward was…different.
There were so many things in Edward's life! I suppose when you're alive for more than a century, these things tend to pile up, but I have a feeling if something were to happen to say, his stereo system for instance, he would be a tad upset.
This was on a completely different scale.
The toe of my sneaker kicked at a warped circular piece of metal. There was an encumbering pressure in my chest at the sight of it. Time stopped for that brief moment, seemingly giving me the chance to run very far away and never look back. I'd been given that opportunity before; I knew my decision even before I made it.
I stooped to read the tarnished letters, burnt black from the flames.
Volvo.
"Bella!" Alice threw herself at my crouched form, hugging me tightly. "Thank goodness you're okay!."
I could feel the slow trickle of blood from the gash on my forehead and remained absolutely still as Alice scented it.
"It's alright. I'm not breathing," she said tightly. "Hospital."
"No!" It was an involuntary response: someone tries to get me to the hospital, I resist. "I..I just need a band-aid, Alice, really."
Alice fished a compact out of her jeans. "Does that look like a little boo-boo to you, Bella?"
I felt my head spin a little as I saw the diagonal gash across my forehead. No, it would take several band-aid to cover that. And it may get infected and—
"Just to Carlisle, Bella. At least let him look at it."
I couldn't breathe properly. My air passages seemed to have frozen in the winter atmosphere, which felt like it had dropped about 20 degrees. I couldn't see anything but Edward's car and mine. It was almost funny, really. My truck was wedged into the dashboard of the Volvo, its back still unharmed.
I couldn't say the same for the Volvo. Its front was molded around the butt of my car, the windshield shattered. It was almost ironic how the rear of it was perfectly unscathed.
"Shit," murmured Alice seeing the wreck for the first time.
"Shit," I agreed.
"No concussion," Carlisle commented, shining a light into my eyes. "But that wound will need stitches."
Alice held my hand as Carlisle sewed the gash shut. I was still numb, though, and couldn't feel a thing even without the anesthesia Carlisle had given me.
All I kept seeing was the Volvo, the thing Edward hardly ever let anyone else drive, sitting in the driveway, crushed like a broken toy.
Alice watched me carefully as we took the car back to my house. I kept seeing her sneak glances at my face which remained emotionless.
My brain wasn't idle, though. The thoughts ran through my mind at breakneck speeds. Edward yelling about how I'd ruined the Volvo; Edward leaving once again to "think" after what I'd done, and never coming back; Edward telling me I'd be better off with Jacob who wouldn't care what I did…
Jacob!
"Alice?" I asked tentatively.
"Yes, Bella?"
"Can we…go visit a friend?"
Alice sighed. "Let's just go home, Bella. We've had enough fun for one day, right?" She navigated us smoothly into my driveway and helped me out of the passenger seat. "Edward's going to kill me for letting you get hurt…" she muttered, taking the spare key from under the doormat.
No, Edward was going to kill me for destroying his prized possession!
Carlisle hadn't been upset as Alice explained about her vision of me being hurt somehow. She'd said that 'against her better judgment', she had ignored it and let me drive. Let me, because I was little, baby Bella who needed permission to do everything.
Everyone was more concerned about me than the Volvo. Didn't they realize how Edward would hate me when he got back and saw it?
Jake Black would once again be my salvation. All I had to do was bring the car down to La Push and let him fix it.
A niggling voice in the back of my head suggested that Jacob probably wasn't used to handling such…(cringe) large scale damage, that my best option would be Rosalie.
No! I wouldn't involve the Cullens in one of my mistakes again! This was something I would have to do myself, I realized, with my resources. And Jake was one of them.
"I need to see, Jacob, Alice."
Alice shook her head. "Edward said—"
"I know what he said," I interrupted, not wanting to hear his name, not when I'd done something so unforgivable. "But I have to go."
Alice looked at me for a moment before she spoke as she realized my plan. "You want to ask for his help, don't you? Well, forget it," she snarled. "Because I'll die before I let a werewolf touch Edward's car!"
I'd never seen Alice so vicious. She seemed to me to be someone who'd be more averse to the tension between the werewolf and vampire races; in reality, she was just as untoward to them as Edward.
"But Alice—"
"No!" she snapped, scaring me for the first time ever.
She must have seen the hurt in my face because she said, more soothingly, "You have to understand that this is something I can't do for you. Even if I hadn't promised Edward, I would never willingly take you to them. You could get hurt there and there's no way I can so much as set foot on their land. Would you really risk your life for Edward's happiness?"
Without needing to think I answered, "Yes."
Alice rubbed her forehead tiredly. "We'll just ask Rosalie to fix the car. She can probably have the parts ordered in a couple of weeks—"
My voice was gravelly and so unlike mine when I spoke. "Edward must not know. We don't have time, Alice. He must never find out."
"It's not a big deal, Bella, really. Edward's totaled loads of cars before now."
She was lying. She was lying through her teeth trying to protect my feelings. How could she not see how they would be shattered when Edward dumped me for wrecking his car? The replaying scenes of Edward leaving me once again were strangling me. Why couldn't she understand?
"Edward. Must. Not. Know."
Alice looked a bit frightened at the raw determination in my voice. "He won't then," she replied slowly, watching my eyes. "But you have to let me help you."
"I do this on my own, Alice. My mistake, my cost."
"Bella—"
"Bathroom!" I cried suddenly startling her. "I have to use the bathroom."
Alice followed me up the stairs, but I knew she wouldn't take Edward's words to the point of following me into the toilet. "I'm listening," she said sternly, clearly expecting me to do something.
She was right.
I blushed a little at the thought of her listening to me pee (well, it was weird!). "Two minutes, Bella," Alice said holding up two fingers. "Please, Bella. Don't do anything crazy. I'm trusting you."
I felt my conscience sock me in the gut at these words. Lying…again. It was becoming a bad habit of mine. But it wasn't crazy, I insisted to myself. I was acting in a logical fashion, or at least one that made sense to me.
I broke something dear to Edward, I would fix it. Case closed.
I knew what I had to do before I even closed the door. The bottle of water I used to rinse after brushing my teeth was on the sink, half-full. I clamped it between the mouth and the seat of the toilet, letting it spill into the bowl. Alice sounded convinced, for I didn't hear her say anything outside the door.
The tiny window in my bathroom would be just big enough for me to squeeze through. It would be a long fall to the ground below, but I didn't even think of it. Hopefully, the sound of me...ahem, "peeing" would be enough to conceal the noise.
When I landed in the snow, rolling into it as I lost my balance, I heard Alice call, "Are you alright in there, Bella?"
With a brief glance at the window and a whispered apology, I ran away from the house as fast as my feet could carry me.
not to take matters into her own hands when trouble comes a-knockin'? I liked the rabbit/lettuce part best –snickers- Review and let me know what you thought, what you liked. Thanks again for being patient with the funkiness of the site and my story; I love you guys! Look for my next update tomorrow :D
The stupendous Ellie
