Bella and the Bum

By SDFreeze…Sandi

Chapter 4

Edward lives life on his own terms and meets a woman who needs to learn what life is really all about. They make a deal to spend a day in each other's world. Someone will have to change if they want a relationship, but each one is certain their way is best. Stephenie Meyer owns the Twilight Characters.

This story will deal with some mature themes with regard to abuse. If this is a trigger for you, you may want to read THE CUBE instead.

4
I had done some great things in my life. I had traveled the world, met powerful people, never stood in line for anything, but the thought of making a tent in my living room with Bella seemed like a lot of fun. I wondered what she would think of my basement apartment. It wasn't fancy but it was comfortable. I didn't want things for show, everything in my place could be used and most importantly, it was all me.

We stopped by her place so she could grab her toothbrush and a few more appropriate blankets. From there she insisted on driving her car. I gave in, although I would have loved to see her trying to manage all her stuff on the city bus. It wasn't odd for me to have someone relatively unknown sleeping over, I had done that many times. I was just shocked she would agree to do it.

Bella had a spontaneous side that she was trying hard to repress. I hoped to bring it to life. I was anxious to see her response to my apartment so I opened the door and stood back to let her see it. She peeked in; as if afraid something was going to grab her.

I chuckled and nudged her into the room. She made a full circle and then turned to address me directly. "You actually live here? I mean, you are Edward Cullen and this is where you live?"

I walked over to pick up the plastic Ninja Turtle and smiled. "Yep, this is me and Raphael's place."

She glanced at my thrift store sofa and mismatched chair and continued to hold the blankets in her hands. Did she really think I had lice or something? I walked over and took everything she was holding and dumped it on my sofa.

"Come here," I suggested. "You have to see this." I pulled her to the window and we watched a few people walk past. They were all wearing rain shoes and Bella groaned in disgust.

"Can't someone design a decent rain boot?"

"No, don't look at the shoes, look at the feet," I pushed.

She gave me an odd look and backed up a few steps. "Do you have a foot fetish?"

"No, you can relax," I said to help her relax, but then added, "I have a breast fetish."

Her eyes darted to the door and I began to laugh. I had no plans to touch her, even if she wanted me to touch her. I just really enjoyed getting her worked up for no reason. She offered me a close glance of her middle finger and I responded with, "You wish sister, and that is exactly how I see you tonight, as a sister."

"You're more deranged than I thought," she mumbled and came back to the window. I thought it was a good opportunity to bring up the big guy.

"Who was your date last night?" I asked.

"None of your business," she said angrily.

"If he shows up to beat my ass I would like a name to give the police," I said with a big grin.

She smiled back and said, "Don't worry, he won't show up."

"Not a fighter or not willing to go to the mat for you?"

"You are such an annoying child," she said with her own grin, so I let it go. I liked this version of the woman and I didn't want to cause her to phase back into the bitch.

We commenced making a tent. It was epic, not the usual tent a child would make, using kitchen chairs and stacked books. We made a tent an Arabian Prince would envy. I wasn't opposed to stapling sheets to my ceiling, but I did have to fight Bella for permission to staple her sheets. She felt tiny little holes would somehow devalue them. Wait until she sees my blankets!
I pulled my mattress into the living room and we climbed inside to sit down. "This is a kick ass tent," I laughed.

"I think I'll add tent building to my resume," Bella added, still thinking like a lawyer.

I told her to stay put and I scurried out to find us something to munch on, every great camp-out should have snacks. I found a bag of Cheetos and some Little Debbie's brownies and brought them into the tent.

"I'm not eating that crap," she said fiercely.

"Why, you smoke," I pointed out.

"I smoke so I won't eat crap like that."

"The crap is better than the smoking and it makes you smell so much better, too."

She grabbed the box of brownies and angrily tore open the end. I didn't speak again until she had ingested the chocolaty goodness. I knew it would put her into a euphoric mood and she didn't disappoint. "Oh my God," she moaned. "I haven't eaten one of these since high school."

"What were you like in high school?" I asked, curious to see if she had changed recently or if she always had a stick up her ass.

"I was…angry," she said with a lot of thought.

"Me too," I smiled. "I was pissed at the world, my parents, and the entire music industry. What were you angry about?"

"Oh I don't know, everything, nothing. Just teenage angst I guess."

"Come on, we're out in the wilderness, miles from another living soul, you can tell the truth," I prodded, but the sound of a siren broke through our wilderness pretence. We both laughed and I thought the subject would come to an abrupt halt, but she finally answered.

"My parents shuffled me back and forth so that was fuel for my anger. My mother dated men who could be my brothers. They would say vulgar things to me and ….well, I tried to stay away from home as much as possible."

We had a light on so I reached over and turned it off, leaving only the glow of the flashlight. It felt safer to share our pain in the dark, at least for me it did. "I went to boarding schools. It was nothing but a pharmacy. I had access to any drug I wanted, all from the kids trying to forget they were rich and their parents didn't care about them."

"Did you become addicted?" she asked.

"I had access, I didn't say I took them," I clarified. "I thought it was stupid to medicate because of money. It was smarter to just refuse to use the money. I'm very happy and I've never been more fulfilled."

"Ah yes, but you still have the millions," she chuckled, and finally ate a Cheeto.

"So why did you go to law school?" I asked, to put the attention back onto her.

"I wanted a certain kind of life. I wanted to be free and independent, able to travel the world and take care of myself."

"Why travel the world?" I asked her.

"To see beautiful places and meet interesting people," she explained.

"There are beautiful places right here I bet you've never seen. And the city is full of interesting people." I was thinking of Jasper and Emmett and even Rosalie. I had traveled a lot as a child and I couldn't remember one person I met that was any more interesting than the people in Mercy Park.

Her voice lowered and her eyes moved away from mine before she said, "I wanted to be someone special."

"Why did you think you weren't?"

"Because I let someone tell me I wasn't," she said softly.

"The big guy from last night?"

"No, he's….safe," she said and her eyes filled with tears. I understood without making her say the words. He was married so he would never put expectations onto her. She was taking what she perceived to be the easy way out and it saddened me.

"It is really hard to disappoint others when you please yourself. It won't matter what they think if you are happy on the inside." I knew what I was talking about, since almost everyone I knew was disappointed in me. My father didn't understand why I didn't want to have a big impressive office and enjoy looking down on people. Money meant nothing to me, but relationships were like oxygen. I thrived off of knowing other people and having real conversations with them. I used my guitar to express myself and would be willing to live off the small amount of money I got from it, but since I didn't have to, I gave it away to charity.

"I….need others good opinions of me," she said, and I reached out at touched her hand.

"I think you're a very nice person when the real you shines through. I don't much like the person you pretend to be."

"You can't live your life in a pretend tent," she said and took back her hand.

"Sure you can," I laughed. "Imagine coming home everyday to a tent where the rest of the world is blocked out. It is just you, the real you, existing however you choose to exist."

"I have a place like that, it is called a bathtub," she smiled.

"Yeah right, I bet you smoke as you soak and work on alliteration for your next court orator. Are you someone special now, or still striving?"

She finally relaxed completely and lay down onto her back before speaking. "I don't think you ever become the person you want to be. I have no idea what it would be like and I doubt you really do either."

"I'm exactly who I want to be," I interjected. "I wouldn't change a single thing about my life."

Her hands were folded over her belly with her fingers intertwined. I looked at their long slender shape and wondered who held her hands and talked sweetly to her. It didn't sound like her parents did, and the big guy was just a cheater, hurting two women at the same time.

I moved to my back and looked around at the amazing tent we had built out of her designer sheets and began to laugh. She joined in until we were sounding like a couple of drunken fools, even though we hadn't had anything to drink.

"If I fall asleep are you going to put my bra in the freezer?" she suddenly asked.

"What?" I asked, having no idea what she was talking about. Maybe it was a punishment she was given for falling asleep too quickly. "If you are tired go ahead and sleep, I won't mind."

"When girls have slumber parties the person who falls asleep first gets her bra put into the freezer," she explained.

"Man, girls are wicked," I teased.

"You have no idea, we'll destroy each other over a loser just so the other girl can't have him," she laughed.

"Like big guy?"

"Who?"

"Big guy in the tux last night."

Her smile fell and she turned her head so she was looking up at the ceiling of sheets. "Yeah, like him," she said softly.

"At this slumber party we only listen, I promise," I said lightly. I wanted her to feel she had a safe place to vent her worries and let go of the load she was carrying around. I made it a point to be blunt and honest about everything in my life so I didn't have to swallow regret.

"I know you think I'm stupid," she began.

I quickly interrupted, "No, I don't think you are stupid. I think you are chasing the wrong things, but that is a philosophical discussion, not a moral one."

"You're lying on a mattress in a pretend tent, don't wax poetic with me," she said and turned to roll her eyes at me.

"No, I'm lying under the stars, far from civilization, with a great person next to me. I just hope she'll let me get to know her better," I added.

Luckily it was dark, so when she stared directly at me it didn't feel so intrusive. I forced myself to keep my body still and my expression unreadable. I didn't want her to feel like I was judging her. She finally said, "I fell in love with another woman's man."

"Bullshit," I exclaimed. She was still hiding herself, more willing to be the bad guy than to let me see her real pain. I already knew what she was going to say, I had seen this scenario too many times. She has low self esteem, needs a big job and a lot of money to feel worth anything, and goes after a guy she can never have because it would hurt less than actual rejection.
I expected her to run after calling me some choice words, or to change the subject and then go to sleep. I didn't expect the response I got. She moved closer to me, placing her hand to my cheek and then leaned in to kiss me.

I wasn't sure what she expected to come from my end. Maybe she would accuse me of wanting her and hightail it out of here, or possibly having sex with me and then disappearing. But I didn't respond as she had expected either. I put both of my hands on her hips and pushed her away from me.