A/N - Unscheduled update, just because :). Happy Sunday!
Chapter 3
This girl is a mindfuck combination of nothing I've ever known, and things so painfully familiar I want to gouge my eyes out with my fingers so I don't have to see the reminders any more. I look away from her for the same reasons that make me stare, and even though I've been madly trying to bury all the explanations for why my heart leaps and then sinks each time I see her walk through the door at work, I can never get them to stay buried for long.
"I make you uncomfortable."
We're standing at the side of the police station, out of sight of the public as we smoke her cigarettes. It's the first one I've had in six months. I thought I'd regret it instantly, the way my brain screamed at me to say no as my fingers were already sliding it from the pack, but, man, I'd forgotten just how much I enjoy a good fucking smoke.
"Yeah." Tendrils of smoke leak from my mouth as I reply. It would have been easy to lie. I have no idea why I didn't.
"Why?"
"You remind me of someone." My head spins a little and I don't know if it's her line of questioning, or the nicotine rush.
"An ex?"
"No." I hear the sharpness in my own voice, and from the way she regards me as she holds her cigarette to her lips and inhales, I know she heard it too.
"Okay." And just like that, she backs down. We're both silent while we finish our smokes. It's not comfortable, but it's not altogether awkward either. "What time do you finish?" she asks as I stub the end of my cigarette out on the wall beside me.
"Three." I pull my phone from my pocket and check the time. An hour and a half to go.
"You want to do something after?"
"You and me?"
"Uh-huh."
"Like what?"
"Like anything that'll keep me out of the house for as long as possible."
"You don't have any friends you'd rather be out with?"
"I have friends, but I wouldn't rather be out with them."
I laugh quietly and shake my head at this strange girl.
"I guess you could show me around. I haven't seen much of anything."
"I will." She nods as she drops her cigarette on the floor, grinding it out on the ground as she pulls her hair back into a ponytail and secures it with a hairband that was around her wrist. "You'll have to drive though."
"You don't have a car?" I ask.
"I do, but my dad took my keys."
"Why?"
She smirks and shrugs her shoulders.
"He overreacted as usual. It was nothing. Just a little weed." A roll of the eyes and a gentle sneer accompany her words.
I shake my head as I look down at the ground, smiling at her naivety.
"Well he is the Chief of Police. And you are his underage daughter." I risk a glance up, just as she takes a step back and glares at me.
"Whose side are you on, exactly?"
"I'm not on anybody's side, I can just see why he reacted."
"Overreacted," she says, trying to correct me. I shrug.
"I guess that's a matter of opinion."
"Well, fuck you," she spits at me. "Fuck you and your shitty opinions."
She turns and strides away, pulling up her hood as she goes.
"Crazy girl," I mutter, shaking my head. I'm not even going to try and understand what that was all about.
~Come Undone~
I'm leaving the station at two minutes past three, when Chief Swan notices me and calls me into his office. There's something about the man that makes me nervous. I guess it's that trait that helped him get to where he is today.
"Sit down, Edward." He closes the door behind us. I do as he says, but he doesn't join me, choosing instead to half-sit on the edge of his desk a couple of feet in front of me so I have to crane my neck up uncomfortably to look at him.
"A little bird tells me you've been spending time with my daughter, Bella."
I wonder how I should respond to this. I could tell him the truth; that she's been stalking me, showing up every other day for the past week whenever he's not around, and watching me work. Sometimes she talks to me, sometimes she just observes from a distance, then leaves. I could tell him we're hanging out this afternoon, but since our difference of opinion on his parenting decisions, I'm not so sure we are any more.
I could also tell him I kind of like that his daughter is appearing a little obsessed with me, because it fuels my own masochistic, sick little obsession with her too.
Or I could just keep quiet, which seems the wisest option right now.
The chief strokes his mustache and tires of waiting for me to reply.
"The thing is, Bella's a teenage girl, which means she thinks she knows it all. She doesn't, but she'll make you believe she does. That little girl of mine can be damn convincing when she wants to be. Now I don't know what your story is, Edward, but you should know Bella has a talent for finding trouble and dumping it on our doorstep. The fact that she's latched onto you makes me uneasy. Do the smart thing here, son."
A deep frown has formed on my forehead as I try to process all he just told me.
"I'm not sure I follow," I tell him.
"Let me make it crystal clear for you." He leans over so his face is right in front of mine. "Stay the hell away from my daughter."
