Disclaimer: We don't own...this, I know, because if I did...there would be no sparkly ones that dazzled unsuspecting townfolk.
A/N: Well, here we are, at Chapter 4...it's Spring Break for my Pre-Kindergartener so, instead of me being on some beach in Florida, drinking up tequila shots and being served Mojitos by hot Cuban guys, I'm uploading this chapter...while there's a pile of laundry sitting in the corner of my couch, waiting to be folded and put away, my kids are fighting about who gets to play with what stupid toy that I may very well step on, in the middle of the night, puncture my foot, and bleed all over the carpet, while walking to throwing said toy in the garbage! I hope you guys enjoy all the hard work and duty shirking that I've been doing! Still looking for betas and prereaders! Oh, and thanks for the alerts, reviews, and favorites! I appreciate and do my best to respond to you all! Now, on with the show!
Chapter 4
As Bella and Edward followed the directions to the location of the party, they didn't speak. There was an uncomfortable tension pressing down on them in the confines of the car. Bella rolled down the window, in an effort to let some of the pressure seep out; it didn't work. There was nothing that could be said to make the situation better, except for truthfulness on both of their parts. Therefore, instead, they sat there, both stubborn and unwilling to be the one that caved first. As the ride continued on, the car eating up the miles of asphalt between the house and their destination, they thought about the events that had transpired earlier that evening.
Flashback:
Bella stood in their enormous dressing room, beside the racks of her and Edward's clothes that ran the length of the room. Looking at herself in floor length mirror that covered the entire back wall, she held three different dresses up to her body before deciding on one that complimented her pale skin; a dark blue silk, above the knee cocktail dress that seemed to have tendrils of smoke imprinted onto the material. The belt and short, waist-length jacket, that completed the dress, were made of the same material. Her shoes were black satin pumps with an open toe, topped with large dark blue beads in the shape of a bowtie. She'd put her thick, mahogany hair in a simple up do, light makeup on her eyes, dark blue jeweled chandelier earrings adorned her ears, and a simple black satin clutch completed her ensemble. She gave herself a once over before nodding at her reflection; she looked damned hot!
Edward was dressed impeccably in a charcoal colored two-button suit, white button down shirt, a blue tie with swirls throughout the fabric, and sleek black dress shoes. He was putting on his silver and black cufflinks when Bella walked out of their dressing room, into the bedroom, in her dress; he almost swallowed his tongue once he saw the pattern on her dress. It reminded him of Alice's visions…inky, black, dense fog. He quickly averted his eyes and went back to his task, but not before Bella saw the look on his face. Before she could question him, he interrupted her.
"You look nice…I've always told you that blue makes your skin look astonishingly radiant."
Bella, too perplexed by his previous reaction, could to do little else but utter, "Uh, thanks…you, too." She, then, turned on her heel and left the bedroom.
As she walked down the hall and the stairs, the clicking of her heels echoing off the walls, she pondered how tonight might go. She wondered about the people she would meet; would they be friendly? Would they be freaks? Would Edward be able to handle a guy coming on to her? Would she enjoy herself and want to pursue the kind of lifestyle Angela was so comfortable with living and thriving in? Before her head had the chance to explode from all of her inner questions, Alice materialized in the doorway of the kitchen, her face carefully devoid of emotion.
For the first time since she'd known Alice, Bella was somewhat wary of her. She could finally see what Jacob, and the rest of the Pack, was trying to warn her about.
Then, Alice spoke, in an equally blank voice, "You look nice…try not to have too much fun."
Bella, not sure what to say to that, mumbled, "Uh, thanks…I think."
As she spoke, Bella watched as the mask slipped slightly from Alice's face, replaced by a mixture of remorse, sadness, and resignation. What the hell?
"Bella, you know that I love you, right? I mean, we all love you…so whatever you choose to do, we'll still love you, okay?"
With that cryptic message, Alice lightly touched Bella's shoulder and disappeared up the stairs.
What the hell was up with Alice and Edward? First, Edward was hiding things from her and now Alice was being creepy and cryptic. Bella was determined to get to the bottom of this, before she went bat shit crazy!
Just then, Edward appeared at her side and took her elbow to guide her out of the door, and down the stairs. Before they made it to the car, Bella paused and turned to face Edward.
"Hey, do you know what's going on with Alice? Before you came down, she was acting kind of weird…did she say anything when she passed you in the hallway?"
Edward, in the process of hitting the 'unlock' button on the security remote, swung his head to look at her with an unreadable expression on his face. After studying her face, and obviously satisfied with what he found there, he answered, "No, she didn't…what did she say to you?"
Bella, exasperated with his charades, said, in a clipped tone, "You're a vampire, you have superior hearing so I know, that you know what was said! What, in the hell, is going on in this house? Why are you and Alice acting so strangely? Why are you lying and hiding things from me? I'm your wife, aren't you supposed to "honor" me? That was in the vows that we said to each other and you are not holding up your end of the bargain! Stop lying to me and tell me what's going on!"
Edward, momentarily taken back by her tone and rant, narrowed his eyes and replied accusingly, "And what about you? You're hiding something from me, aren't you? Don't stand here and act like you're completely just and innocent because you have secrets, too!"
Bella, at a loss for words, opened and closed her mouth a few times, before shooting back childishly, "Whatever…just unlock the fucking door so we can go."
"I thought so," he retorted before punching the button on the remote.
Bella, still seething and reeling from their argument, yanked the door to the car open, slid into the seat, and slammed the door shut.
Edward, still standing outside by the driver's side door, silently communicated with Alice, who was still inside.
"Why did you say what you said to her? Now she's suspicious and knows that we're hiding things from her!"
"Edward, if you didn't want her to be suspicious, you should have told her when you first found out! This is your fault…you had better figure out a way to fix this. Or do you not want to fix it? Are you purposely sabotaging your marriage because of the vision? Please tell me you're not that stupid!"
"Alice, don't be ridiculous! Of course I want to fix it…I'm just trying to protect Bella…if I tell her about you not being able to see her future anymore, she's going to go ballistic, start worrying, and think that someone's going to succeed in killing her…I can't allow that to happen to her. Just let me figure out what's going on first, okay?"
"Whatever, Edward. Don't come moaning to me when this comes back to bite you in the ass, because all I'm going to say is 'I told you so'!"
Edward chose to ignore that last comment, opened the door, slid into his seat, and shut the door. Instead of starting the car, he turned his body towards Bella and opened his mouth to speak. Before he could say a word, Bella unfolded one of her arms, held up her hand and said frostily, "I don't want to hear it. Start the fucking car and let's go." She, then, refolded her arms tightly across her chest and turned her face towards the window.
Edward started the car and pulled out of the driveway.
End of Flashback
When they were a block away from their destination, Bella whipped out her phone to call Angela. The call connected and Bella heard some kind of sultry, hypnotic music on the other end. Whispering, clicking heels, the metallic clink of a doorknob being turned, the muffled thud of a closing door, and then silence greeted Bella's ear before Angela spoke breathlessly.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Ang…uh, I'm sure I don't even want to know what that was about! We're almost there, about a block away, actually."
"Okay, cool! I'm on my way, as soon as I let him know, so we can meet you guys outside."
"Okay, see you in a minute," Bella said, before she hung up the phone.
They finally pulled up to a gigantic building that sat directly on the corner of two streets. While Edward was handing the keys over to a valet, Bella took in the sight before her.
The building was made out of faded red masonry bricks, with four rows of narrow rectangular windows wrapping around it. At the four corners of the building sat octagonal towers and, at the end of the tower at the back right, a portion of the massive structure had an arched top, with several sets of the narrow windows following the arch. There were bricks sticking out of the building in a random pattern, much like a rock-climbing wall. It was an impressive and intimidating piece of architecture.
While Bella looked over the building, Edward finished up with the valet, and walked over to stand next to her. He let out an appreciative whistle and said, "Esme would love this. This was an architectural feat."
Before Bella could reply, she heard a female voice that she recognized as Angela's, call her name. Before she could turn to see who was calling her, she heard Edward let loose a sharp hiss before he sneered under his breath, "So it is them…"
Bella, distracted by Edward's uttered words, didn't see as Angela and her companion approached. Instead, she turned to face Edward and asked, "Who are you talking about?"
He didn't answer her. Instead, he looked over her head, menacingly, at Angela's companion, who let loose a growl that rattled Bella's nerves and made her light headed and weak in the knees. She recognized that sound; it was etched into her memories from all the time she had spent down in La Push after Edward left her. It was a deep, angry, feral sound that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up.
"Bella, are you okay?" Angela asked worriedly.
Bella quickly composed herself before she turned around, head down and eyes safely closed. "Yeah, I'm fine…just talking to Edward about something."
"You sure?" Angela pressed.
"Sure, sure…" Bella supplied, afraid to look up. Edward was stock still behind her.
"Well, okay, if you say so. I have someone that I want you to meet!" Angela said, excitedly. "This is-"
Before she could get the introduction out, a familiar deep voice spoke, "Bella and I already know each other. No introductions needed."
Bella's eyes shot open and her head snapped up to stare straight into the angry, and incredulous, grey eyes of Embry Call.