I do not own Twilight! I just like to make the character more diverse and interesting.
I avoided Emmett as much as I could. I knew he wouldn't make a move on me but just to make sure, I took Edward's advice. And when my day off finally rolled around, I waited for Jacob in the kitchen. I sat on one of stools by the chopping table and stared at my feet.
I wore my pants and lace up boots today. I figured it made more sense to wear that instead of a dress. I also had on a light blue button shirt. Instead of up in a bun, I had my hair braided in two rows going back.
"Liberty Bell! You ready for your lesson?" I heard Jacob say when he entered the kitchen. He didn't have his hat on; he was in his day off clothes too. He had a white long sleeve undershirt and his dark grey pants. His brown boots. His shirt clung tight to his muscles.
He was handsome. The perfect shade of brown, like a ginger snap cookie. Jake had long wavy black hair, half as long as mine. And he had nice straight teeth as white as scrubbed tiles. And he was tall, almost as tall as Edward.
But he didn't give me butterflies like what they talked about in those books I read. In fact he never made feel that way, I just felt comfortable around him. He made me less clumsy, made me feel safe.
I smiled at him and put my fists up. He laughed. "Ok doll, let's go to the basement." I jumped off the stool and went through the back staircase, past the laundry room to the basement where he kept all his boxing things.
"Ok first thing you gotta know is balance, you gotta be able to keep you self planted."
"Jake, it's me. Balance is not my pal. Just teach me how to throw a punch." He smirked at me and shook his head.
"If you can't balance yourself how can expect to punch without falling?"
"Guess your right." I said.
"So stand like this, feet firm legs slightly bent like this." He bent his legs some and I copied him. "OK that's good doll." I smiled.
"Teach me how to punch. Show me the good stuff." I begged.
"Make a fist, not like that, keep your thumb like this." He grabbed my hand fixed my thumb. "Hold it like this."
I held both my hands in a fist, I felt pretty good. So I smiled. "Now when you punch, don't straighten your arm all the way out. Do it like this. Strong." He stood sideways and showed me. He threw a punch.
"Then when you punch hold your other hand close to your body like this." I did the same thing he did. He put his arm down and looked at me. He straightened my arm a little.
"Every time you punch, you can't leave yourself open to get hit. Get it?" I nodded. Then he stood in front of me and held his hands out, the palms facing me.
"Now hit my palms. When I say 'right' hit right. When I say 'left' hit left. Got it?" I nodded. "Ok show me what ya got."
As he said "right" and "left" I hit each hand. He encouraged me to hit harder. So I did. I kept hitting each hand over and over and my knuckles started to hurt.
"Ok I need a break," I said. I shook out my hands. He grabbed my hands and looked at my knuckles. Rubbed his large thumbs over them gently.
"Hands like these shouldn't be worried bout sluggin' out a Cullen. Or any of the other things they do." His voice seemed a little sad.
"Well what other choice do I have? I can't do anything else. What else could do, sing in jazz clubs for money? Teach some of these bad city kids? Check coats at the theater?" I stared at our hands together. His were large and rough, mine were small and soft.
I looked up into his light brown eyes; he had been staring at my face. Then our eyes locked. "Anything else Liberty Bell. Anything else is better than this. When I go, you should leave too."
"I can't just leave mama Jake...and where would I stay?" He smirked at me.
"With me. I think we could make it outside this stupid mansion. We could move to Harlem. Colored people are doing well there nowadays." I pulled my hands out of his and put them on my hips.
"Jake, I'm not living with you and gonna play your lil maid." I shook my head.
"Not play my maid. It would be more like a partnership. You could be my-" he got cut off by Angela's loudmouth.
"Did I miss anything?" She said. I looked at Jacob and he looked at me. She bopped over to us.
"You missed everything." Jacob.
"Did you break any of his teeth Bella?" Angela asked. She pretended to punch Jacob in the mouth. She had her hair out and curly. It bounced as she moved.
"No" I laughed.
"She could if she wanted, she has a iron fist." He winked at me.
"So what else are you guys doin' today?" Angie asked.
"Although, I'd love to spend it with you two chicks, I have to finish training. I have a match coming up soon." Jacob crossed his arms.
"I don't have any plans but I need to do my hair." My day off was the only real time I had to do it. I could see the light shine in Angie's honey brown eyes.
"Ooh let me help you do it! Please." Angie had dreams of owning her own beauty salon. It was actually what she'd been saving her money for. She was pretty good at doing it too. And it would give us some time to talk.
"Alright. Let's go girlie." I said to her. We left Jacob in the basement. First we went to my room to get my comb, brush shampoo, conditioner. Angie grabbed some towels.
We headed back downstairs to the smaller kitchen that was only used during special dinner parties when the upstairs one was too busy. Any other time, all the girls used it to do hair. It had cut yellow wallpaper with stripes and a few plants. Mama Maggie had some of her herbs for tea planted in them.
There was also a small radio that was stuck on one station. Lucky enough it was stuck on the station we listened to our favorite soap opera "Stephanie's Saga". It was about a girl who couldn't choose between two guys that she loved. One was very rich and the other was a regular Joe. I couldn't wait to hear what was going to happen next.
I quickly took my top off because I didn't want it to get wet. Then I unbraided my hair and leaned over the sink under the running water. The water wasn't as hot as I liked it but I knew it would heat up.
"All this hair girl. Jake should call ya Rapunzel instead of Liberty Bell." Angie laughed. Her fingers felt so good as she scrubbed my scalp and hair with the shampoo.
When we were done with the shampoo and the conditioner, we would have to comb it out. Combing it out was the hardest part. I hated it. It was a little easier when it was wet, but it was still a task. It was even heavier and felt like a thick black sheet against my back.
"I don't know what you're eating to make it grow so long so fast girl," Angie said as she started to clean everything up.
"I have no idea. I'd switch my fast growing hair for your big breasts any day." I wrung my hair out so it would drip down my back.
Then I heard her gasp. "What?" I laughed. I glanced up and Edward was standing in the kitchen with us holding a mug in his hand. I couldn't move. I was frozen. My hands held my hair and I stood there. His eyes moved from my chest to my face.
I wasn't wearing a shirt anymore and my bra was just about soaked wet. I had forgotten the stupid towel! Edward stared at my little breasts. I was so embarrassed...I didn't have anything to hide what I hated most about my body.
"I'm I'm s-s-sorry. I didn't mean to intrude. I just just wanted to make a cup of t-t-tea." He started to stammer. His face turned completely red.
I grabbed a towel to cover myself and avoided his eyes. My hair fell wet against my arms. My heart started to pound. Angie said nothing; she never spoke to the Cullens or around them.
"I'll give you some privacy...so sorry Bella...Angela I didn't mean..."he said as he backed up, and slipped on some water on the floor. He dropped the mug and it broke against the hard floor.
"F-" he muttered. I never heard him swear before.
I watched as he nervously tried to pick up the pieces. He pricked his finger on a piece and bright red blood started to cover his pale finger. Even though I was entirely embarrassed, I felt bad for him. I knotted the towel and went to help him.
"N-no. I'm the idiot here, you're off duty..." he said. He looked up at me, his beautiful eyes caught mine and he shook his head no. Then his eyes glanced at me up and down his cheeks turning red again. Angie nudged me from behind and we left Edward.
"Let's go back to my room fast." I said. We passed by the main kitchen but I stopped short when I seen Emmett. He stood there talked to someone. Angie stopped too.
"Who's that guy with Emmett?" She whispered. We hid behind the corner of the wall and listened.
"I still have access to the cash I had before yes, but the jerk didn't include me in the will. He must've re-written it before he died, because the last time I checked, I was in it." Emmett said angrily.
"So just your mom, sister and brother are still in it?" The guy asked. I couldn't see his face. His back was toward us.
"Yeah."
"So he got bumped for nothing?" The man said. He sounded like one of those tough guys. He was even dressed like a gangster.
"it wasn't a trip for biscuits, but that wet sock has access to all of the money, plus what was left for him in the will. He was left in charge of everything...the whole freaking empire. The lousy jerk can't even speak without pissing his pants and he's in charge." Emmett snarled.
"So you wanna give him the kiss off?"
"I don't know yet. Don't know if I wanna fill him with daylight. Let's go somewhere else and talk." Emmett said and they head somewhere else.
I looked at Angie and her mouth was wide open. I know mine was open too but I covered it with my hand. "I think Emmett poisoned Carlisle." Angie said. "And now Edward might be next!"
"What should we do?" I whispered.
"I don't know, tell the coppers?" she whispered. I shrugged my shoulders. I was nervous and scared. Was Emmett really behind Carlisle's death? Who was that guy? Would Emmett kill over money? So many questions ran through my mind as we walked to my room. We sat on my bed facing each other.
"He's gonna kill Edward..." Angie said. "That strange, poor, beautiful ruby- haired man..."
"I hope not...what can we do?" I thought about clumsy Edward. He had no idea what was going on right in front of him.
"I don't know Bella."
"Maybe we're just jumping to conclusions...we don't really know what happened. Or even what we heard. Let's not panic...we just have to wait and see." I say as I tired to sound calm. But I shook like a leaf.
"Well, you're always upstairs. You can keep a eye up there, I'll keep my eye open for that Joe or any other weird guys I never seen coming into the house, at least in the kitchen."
"Deal." I said.
"let's braid your hair before it dries all the way" she said. When my hair was completed combed and braided. I lay down on my stomach facing Angela. If I didn't say something she would.
"I can't believe he seen my breasts."
"You would've thought they were solid gold the way he was looking at them." She giggled.
"Oh please."
"Why else would he go from white to red so quickly? Or pitch a tent in in his pants." She said plainly.
"I don't know. I wasn't watching his crotch...I too busy trying not to faint."
"I think Edward might be dizzy on you." She said.
"That's ridiculous." I laughed. "Pitch a tent?" I asked.
"Maybe I should say it like your lovey dovey books. 'His manhood started to rise'" Angie said dramatically.
"Leave it to you to think about fooiling around when we have a mystery to solve. We can't let Emmett hurt him…"I said. "We cant."
"Well to be on the right on the square, this is exactly what we need in this mansion. It's been so boring" she laughed.
I'm really happy that so many of you have been enjoying the story! A lot of you like this nicer, sweeter version of Edward. And all of you love this time period. I'll try my best to keep you entertained. Speaking of entertaining, Bella put on quite a 'show' for Edward. And the girls stumbled on some crazy info. Seems like Jake has bigger plans for himself and Bella. What do you guys think about it all? Tell me in a review or private message! Have a great week.