Edward:
Day 2
Today has been crazy. It started off great – Bella making me a pot noodle – but soon went downhill. We argue so fucking much. It's hard to believe it.
Some of her outbursts I understand. She's nervous, worried. So, she's taking it out on me. Also, when I tried to be smart. That's fair enough that she got pissed at me. Though, she thinks I didn't see her wipe away the tears.
The thought of me making her cry made my chest constrict in a weird way.
Others, though, I have no idea about. Like her insistence for me to not call her Isabella. What's the deal with that?
Again, I feel bad for hurting her because of it.
Why? I couldn't tell you.
She's just someone I'm stuck with. She didn't even seem happy when I suggested we make friends. If anything, she looked hurt.
Women – strange, strange people.
"Someone's trying to contact us," Bella says, sounding both excited and nervous.
"Contact? Fucking contact with the outside fucking world!" I shout, fist pumping and swearing loads. Right now, I don't give a shit if Bella's annoyed.
Ignoring my outburst, Bella picks up the walkie-talkie and presses some buttons, somehow getting it to work. Once again, I'm thankful she's in here with me. Despite her weird emotions.
"Hello? It's Bella Swan?" Bella speaks into the receiver.
"You need to say over," I point out, chuckling. She scowls at me, rolling her eyes.
"Over," she adds. I smirk, victorious.
"Edward Cullen? Bella Swan?" A voice, slightly distorted, calls out. I feel like crying in relief.
But I rein it in. For now.
"Yes, that's us!" Bella responds happily.
"Where are you?" The voice – which I recognise as a man's voice – asks us.
"We don't know, a cave somewhere near where the avalanche happened," Bella speaks into the walkie-talkie. "Can't you trace the walkie-talkie?" Bella asks, sounding desperate.
"Um, not right now," the voice replies. What the fuck? "There's a lot of snow near where the avalanche hit," the voice continues nervously.
"No shit…" I mutter. Bella surprises me by laughing at me outburst.
"What are you trying to say?" Bella asks, more polite than how I'd put it.
"It could be another few days before we even find the entrance to the cave. We haven't been able to go back to the site of the avalanche for fear of aftershocks, but we're planning on beginning our investigation tomorrow," the voice replies. I just get angrier.
"All you have to do is search for a large rock, and we're behind it!" I speak into the walkie-talkie for the first time.
"Can't you use an infra-red heat sensor to track our body heat?" Bella suggests. Probably a better suggestion than mine.
"We don't have the availability for that kind of technology," the voice answers pitifully.
I'm about to make some angry reply, but Bella beats me to it.
"Availability? Or funds? You don't want to waste your precious money to save two teenagers, trapped on a school trip. I'd like to speak to my parent's," Bella demands angrily.
When I'm not on the receiving end of her anger, it's actually quite hot. Just to see her getting so passionate about something.
It's hardly like I have a crush on her on anything.
Of course not.
"But they're back in Forks…" the voice trails off. It's a bit rude we haven't been told their name yet.
"Then call them and hold the phone to the walkie-talkie. I need to let them know I'm alright. And Edward would like to do the same." I would?
I raise an eyebrow at Bella. She just nods at me, smiling slightly. She should smile more often.
Only because it makes her look happier.
"Go on, Mike, where's the harm in that?" A second voice enters the conversation. This must mean the first man is called Mike.
"Fine. Grab the phone, John."
Do they realise we can still hear them?
"We've decided to agree to your request. We'll phone your parents first, Bella," Mike tells us.
"Thank you," Bella smiles – pretty fucking widely – looking ecstatic.
There's a bit of a pause, obviously the two men are calling Bella's parents at the moment. Bella's clearly thought about getting in contact with her parents, but I haven't. What the fuck do I say?
I'm alright.
That'd be a lie. I'm not fucking alright. I'm trapped in a small, dank, dark cave. Lost.
Maybe I should lie? You know, make them feel better. I wonder what Bella will say. Maybe she'd want me to leave her alone, give her some privacy. I could always wait in the tent.
"Hey, d'you want me to go in the tent? For privacy or some shit?" I offer, trying to be polite.
"No, it's fine," Bella smiles warmly at me.
"Sure?" I check, just in case. She just nods again. "Oh, and thanks. For getting a call to my parents, too," I tell her.
"It's the least I could do. Consider it part of my thanks for saving me," Bella says, smile still in place.
This is…new. We're talking, but there's no shouting. No arguing. And no fucking insults.
In my defence, Bella can give as good as she gets.
I shrug, still processing everything. I consider Bella being my friend when we get back to Forks. Despite her differences, I know she'd fit in. Emmett would take joy in mocking her – not in a harsh way, just what he does to everyone. I can picture her insulting him right back.
Then there's Rosalie, Emmett's girlfriend. To some, she may seem vain, but we know the girl behind the looks (that's not to say she's not fucking obsessed with looking perfect, though). Rose is like the mother to our group, and I'm certain she'd take Bella under her motherly wing.
Everyone else…once they got to know her, they'd love her. She's not just about the grades, which I think I'm slowly beginning to realise.
"Bella, sweetheart! Is that you?" A motherly voice gushes over the phone, already sounding like she's crying.
"Hey mum, it's me," Bella says, sounding close to tears herself.
"Oh honey, we've been so afraid! When we…when we heard about th-the avalanche, we considered flying over," Bella's mum sobs.
"I'm guessing dad talked you out of that," Bella chuckles.
"Of course I did, Bells," Bella's dad – I presume – replies. "Now that we know you're…alive, your mum's more determined than ever," he adds, chuckling at his wife.
"That's not necessary. They said we could still be in here for maybe a week," Bella admits sadly.
I raise an eyebrow, catching on to what she's doing. She's making the men feel guilty about how long they said it'll take to rescue us.
She's pretty smart. And devious.
I laugh at her actions, surprising her.
"A week!? We're definitely flying up! We're gonna be there when you get out, and we're gonna make sure it's a helluva lot less than a week!" Bella's mother fumes. I laugh again, this time at Bella's mother. She sounds hilarious.
And oblivious to Bella's scheming.
"That's not necessary, mum," Bella says, though I can tell she's lying.
"Nonsense! Charlie will book the next flight out!" Bella's mum decides, final. Bella's next smile is victorious.
"If you insist," Bella finally agrees, trying to sound reluctant.
"Now, I hear there's a boy with you?" Bella's mum asks. I smirk while Bella blushes.
"Uh, yeah, Edward," Bella mumbles.
"The Cullen boy?" Charlie – Bella's father – confirms. "His father, Dr Cullen, is a good man. Been worried sick." My stomach clenches at the thought of my parents worry. My parents; whom I've barely thought about.
"Anyway, is he there? I'd like to speak to him," Bella's mother request's. I gulp.
"I'm here, Mrs Swan," I speak up for the first time. Bella laughs at the look of nerves on my face.
"Please, call me Renée," Bella's mother – Renée – asks. I nod, even though she can't see me. "I'd like to thank you, for sa-saving my daughter. What you did was completely selfless. I'm not sure we'll ever be able to repay you." I try to reply, but the words get stuck in my throat.
She's thanking me? It wasn't even intentional; my body just reacted to the avalanche and grabbed Bella.
"How did you know about that?" Bella asks, saving me from making some awkward reply.
"It was reported on the news what happened. One of the other students – I think they said his name was Emmett – explained how Edward grabbed you and jumped into a cave," Renée explains to us.
I sigh in relief upon hearing that Emmett's ok.
"The boy, Emmett, do you know if he's ok?" I ask nervously.
"Just a broken leg, the news said," Charlie tells me. Once again, I sigh in relief.
Bella continues to speak to her parents, focussing on things other than the accident. I listen, but don't really pay attention. Bella seems happy, content, talking to her parents.
I'm freaking out about talking to mine. What will they ask? I hope they don't ask if I'm ok. I'd have to lie; it'd just be whether or not they believed my lie. Of course I'm not ok, I think they'd get that.
It could be worse, I guess.
Bella says a tearful goodbye to her parent's. I feel like I should hug her or something, to try and cheer her up. It's what a gentleman would do, right? Fuck if I know.
"Don't cry; you'll see them soon." I settle with just speaking words of comfort than hugging her. I have no idea what her reaction would be to that.
"Thanks," Bella mutters, hastily wiping away tears from her face.
"Edward, we're just calling your parents now," Mike informs me.
Again, I nod, so Bella replies for me. I take a deep breath, wondering if Bella was this nervous about speaking to her parents. She didn't look it. But, hopefully neither do I. I'm trying to not show that I'm having a mental fucking freak out right now.
"Edward, darling, is that you?" My mother asks, sounding a lot like Bella's mother. Close to tears. I look over at Bella, who's trying to suppress a laugh at my mum calling me 'darling'. I'll never live this down.
"Yeah, I'm here, mum," I reply, hopefully sounding calm. "Is dad there, too?" I add.
"I'm here, son. I hear you figured out how to use a walkie-talkie?" My dad jokes, laughing lightly. I laugh too.
"Actually, that was all Bella. She's the brains behind the operation," I joke back, happy for the light conversation.
"And you're the brawn?" Dad presumes, laughing. I hear the distinct sound of my mum hitting him on the back of the head.
"Can you not insult our son the first time we get to speak to him?" My mum huffs. I can practically hear her rolling her eyes. "How are you coping?" Mum asks.
How am I coping? Well? Maybe. I don't feel scared.
Strangely, it's comforting to have Bella with me. Even if we do argue.
"I'm good. Bella's keeping me sane," I answer honestly, looking over to Bella. She's looking down, blushing.
"I'm glad you have someone with you. And I hear you saved her. Your father and I watched the interview with Emmett, who seems fine. Apparently he's got Rosalie acting as his nurse." I cringe at the image my mum speaks of, and shudders. Once again, Bella suppresses a laugh.
"Least he's doing ok," I reply, trying to forget the image. "I'd hardly say I saved Bella. I just grabbed her," I admit. It sounds even weirder saying I grabbed her out loud.
"We're proud of you, son," My dad says.
"Getting emotional, old man?" I tease, mainly to stop myself getting emotional.
"What? A father's not allowed to be proud their son saved a girl from an avalanche?" My dad mocks outrage.
"Watch out, mum might hit you again," I chuckle, smiling at the thought.
"Nah, she's too busy booking flights. Once she heard the Swan's were flying out, she decided she wanted to come too. I think she's booking the same flights as them," My dad informs us. I groan.
"You really don't have to fly out," I tell them. I see Bella smirking over where she's sat. At least someone's finding this funny.
"I actually agree with your mother on this one. Those idiots will face hell if they think we're waiting over a week to see you!" I'm surprised at how angry my dad sounds. He's never angry, always the calm and controlled one. The only time he ever really lost his temper was when my younger sister, Alice, snuck out to go to a party one night.
Bella is still smirking, looking totally proud of herself. I sigh, reluctantly giving in to my parents demands. I don't think I'd be able to talk them out of this, anyway.
"Fine, fine. Do what you want," I sigh, speaking into the walkie-talkie.
"Does this mean I can call up Renée Swan and re-connect with her?" My mother asks. Bella and I both gasp at that, looking to each other in shock.
"Why the fu- I mean, why d'you want to speak to her?" I quickly cover up the swearing. Mum doesn't appreciate swearing.
"Is it such a crime?" My mother asks, feigning hurt. I roll my eyes.
"No, mother," I sigh again.
"Good. Now, we're gonna have to go now, we've got packing to do. I can assure you, darling, that you'll be outta that cave in under a week. I promise," My mum says.
"Thanks mum," I tell her, trying to hide the emotion.
"Goodbye, darling. I love you," My mum says.
"I love you as well, son," My dad quickly adds.
"I love both of you, too," I mumble quietly. My dad snort laughs and my mum shouts at him before they finally disconnect.
We end our conversation with Mike, as well, but arrange to contact them again tomorrow. Just to let them know we're alright.
I check the time, and see that is 7:42 p.m. It's been a long day, both physically and mentally. I'm pretty fucking tired right now.
"Are you alright?" Bella asks, sounding nervous. I look up at her, not realising I'd been running my hands through my hair roughly. "You'll go bold," Bella warns, teasing me.
"Been a fucking long day," I sigh, blowing out a large breath.
"You reign in your swearing around your mother, why not around me?" Bella huffs, pouting a little. It's pretty fucking cute.
"My mother's scary when she's angry," I chuckle. Unlike my dad, she's not laid back.
"And I'm not?" Bella asks, raising an eyebrow at me.
"No you're…" Shit, I can't say hot. For some reason I have a feeling that'd lead to more anger. "Ok, maybe a little," I wink, for good measure. She blushes, ducking her head. "Don't think I don't know what you were up to, calling our parents," I add to mess with her more.
Bella looks back up, though the blush is still on her face. "I don't know what you mean," Bella splutters, trying to act innocent.
"So you didn't think they'd demand to come as soon as they found out how long we could be stuck here?" I smirk at her as her blush deepens. I've never seen a girl blush as much as her before.
"I didn't think yours would," she replies stubbornly. "And it wasn't just to get them to come here."
"Then why go to all the hassle?" I ask, perplexed. I thought I'd figured everything out.
"This is a pretty major accident, which has been reported. If the story can get big enough in the press, there'll be more pressure to rescue us," Bella explains.
"Ah, so you were being devious," I smirk, still feeling triumphant.
"I was only trying to help us," Bella stubbornly replies.
"Whatever," I grin, getting up and walking over to my pack.
I grab a cereal bar and begin eating it, hunger after everything that's happened today. And still tired.
"I'm thinking of crashing early, I'm fucking shattered," I inform Bella once I'm finished with my snack.
"I think I'll join you. Uh, I mean, because I'm tired too, you know? Yeah, I'm…shattered," Bella stutters, blushing again.
I roll my eyes, bemused with her actions, and grab a change of clothes. I'm already beginning to feel messy what with not showering in two days. But, I can't think of any fucking way to have a shower while we're here.
"Um, I have some dry shampoo. It's not like a proper shower, but at least our hair won't be greasy," Bella offers, pulling out a bottle from her pack.
"That'd be great," I grin widely.
Bella pours some of the stuff onto her own hand before handing the bottle to me. I find myself watching her intently as she rubs the cream into her hair, a small smile playing on her lips. She turns and catches me staring, so I desperately search for some excuse.
"I was working out how much I'd need," I blurt out. No way does she believe my lie, but she just shrugs. Maybe, like me, she can't figure out why I was staring.
Once I've rubbed in the dry shampoo, Bella helps me to brush it out. I never usually brush my hair; it's still messy even if I do. But having Bella's hands softly massaging my head and smoothing out the knots feels pretty fucking great.
I have to stop myself moaning more than once.
"There, all done." Bella takes a step back from me, busying herself by finding clothes from her pack.
I clamber inside the tent to get changed, Bella joining me shortly after. Like the previous night, our bodies are close together due to the small space. Bella presses herself up close to the side of the tent, as far away from me as possible.
"I don't fucking bite…" I grumble under my breath, lying down fully.
"What did you say?" Bella glares, turning to face me. Shit, she heard.
"Nothing. Goodnight," I turn away and close my eyes pretending to be asleep. I feel her intense stare on the back of my head, before finally hearing her soft sigh and turning around in her sleeping bag.
A/N: Thoughts on their contact with the outside world? :O
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