A/N: WOW, YOU GUYS WERE REALLY HATING ON EDWARD IN CHAPTER THREE...HMMM...MAYBE THIS CHAPTER WILL CHANGE YOUR MIND.
SHOUTOUT TO CHEECH83 AKA CARMEN, AKA 'THE REAPER' LMAO! YOU KNOW I LOVE YOU GIRL! 'TIA' TOO!
STEPHENIE MEYER OWNS TWILIGHT. I OWN A NOOK WITH A BROKEN POWER CORD...ACTUALLY, TWO BROKEN POWER CORDS. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED.
CHAPTER FOUR: BRICK WALLS AND BROKEN CONFESSIONS
I followed the casual yet confident gait of my cousin Jasper as we strolled down the well-worn trail which ran deep into the woods behind our grandparents house. We walked for what seemed like hours before reaching a familiar break in the woods. During the spring and summer, the meadow that lay open before us burst with an abundance of wildflowers ranging in a variety of colors from yellow and blue to pink, purple and red. This was not the springtime, nor the summer. It was nearing December and the meadow was quiet and dead, the brown earth slightly trodden by the tracks of animals in search of food. There was no chirping and singing of birds normally heard in the warmer seasons. Only the babbling of a small brook could be heard in the distance.
We approached an old, strong tree; the twisting, bare branches spreading out towards the meadow like the arms of a child embracing his mother. Small planks of wood formed a ladder of sorts traveling up the tree and about thirty feet up and ending at the base of a small wooden platform that Jasper's father had built years ago.
Jasper turned to me, his honey-blonde hair glowing from a stream of sunlight that broke through the bare trees. Those shaggy, blonde curls made him seem more innocent than the person that he really was. His eyes were a deep blue; the same color of the sky as the day drifted into night. His skin was golden-kissed from days spent outdoors and he had an easy, lazy smile that could melt the coldest person's heart. Jasper was five years my senior, and, even though he was only fourteen, he was by far the most handsome boy in our school. He was also my hero, my idol, my everything. I'd follow him anywhere.
"I'm going up first, Bells. I'll signal for you when I'm ready for you to climb up. Do you understand?" he asked me, smiling at the look of adoration upon my face. I nodded, chewing on my bottom lip and watched with wide eyes as he began climbing the thick tree, using the pieces of wood as support. Camouflage covered him from head to toe and his father's new rifle was slung across his shoulder and strapped to his back. Jasper climbed the tree with ease, making it to the tree stand in a matter of seconds. He quickly disappeared over the edge of the platform and several seconds later I saw his face peering down at me.
Jasper gestured for me to join him in the tree stand. I nodded bravely, grabbing the first piece of wood with a surprisingly steady hand. I began hoisting myself up the side of the tree and wisely avoided looking down at the earth below me.
When I reached the top of the platform Jasper grabbed me under my arms and pulled me the rest of the way up. A wooden rail ran along the edges of the platform. A folding chair, rusty from years of weathering, sat perched near the tree. Jasper quietly instructed me to sit on the chair as he situated himself beside me.
"Now...we wait," he whispered, a crooked grin crossing his face. His eyes scanned the meadow and tree line constantly. I tried to do the same, my eyes darting around often, the brook and our quiet breathing the only sounds breaking the silence. Eventually the excitement begin to ebb away and I found myself squirming around impatiently, but Jasper shot me a look that halted my movements.
The sun moved from its place in the sky as minutes slipped into hours before a flash of movement in my peripheral vision caught my attention. My heart fluttered frantically in my chest. Tugging on Jasper's coat, I pointed with two fingers at my eyes, then pointed across the meadow and to the north. His eyes narrowed to where I gestured and then as slow, excited grin creeped across his face. Around my neck hung a pair of bright, orange earplugs that I now pressed into my ears. I watched as Jasper loaded the slick, black, bolt-action rifle.
Jasper nodded to me and then down at the gun...I slid off the chair in excitement and understanding as he allowed me to hold the gun with his help. He nodded again, this time to the scope that mounted atop the long, dark rifle. Closing my left eye, I stared through the scope, zeroing in on my target.
The buck was about three-hundred yards away when he stepped cautiously out of the trees, his ears perked up as he stared around the meadow carefully, his white tail twitching occasionally. The red-brown coat he normally wore in the summer had long faded into a dull, grey-brown color. His eyes were big, dark, and more intelligent than most people realized. He could hear everything in the meadow...especially every soft, ragged breath that escaped my lungs in little white puffs into the cold air. His antlers spread into twelve points, a large amount of space between them and he had to weigh over two-hundred and fifty pounds.
Ignoring the pounding of my heart and the ball of nerves that formed in the pit of my stomach, I stared through the scope and found my kill point just like Jasper had trained me; high shoulder area near spine. Steadying my shaking finger by taking a deep breath, I slid my finger over the trigger and gently squeezed.
There was no time for the shockingly loud crack of thunder that erupted from the gun or to enjoy the smell of fresh gunfire that stung the cold, winter air. There wasn't second to spare to just enjoy the satisfaction of taking a life to feed your own. There wasn't a moment for any of that, because Jasper had underestimated the power of his father's new rifle that he had stolen from his gun cabinet. The recoil of the gun slammed into my right armpit, knocking me from Jasper's arms as I flew backwards through the air. My body slammed against something rough and hard, my head taking the brunt of the hit. Slumping against the hard, rough surface, I landed on the platform. The sky began to fade away into darkness, Jasper's face hovering above me like that of a fallen angel, horror and panic corrupting his normally relaxed features. Something warm pooled beneath my head and on the dirty platform. Looking up, I realized that it was my blood that trailed down from the tree that I hit and now seeped out around my head. Jasper's frantic voice could be heard over the ringing in my ears as my eyelids grew heavier and heavier.
"Bella! Bella! Wake up!" he screamed, his voice cracking, as he gently clutched my shoulders. He shook me gently, trying to wake me from my slumber. "Bella! Oh, God, Bella, I'm so sorry! Bella! Please wake up! I'll do anything, God, please wake up!"
"Jasper..." I whispered as his screams slowly faded away and the darkness enveloped me. All was quiet for a long time and I wondered if this was death. If this was death, it was peaceful and quiet. I briefly thought of my mother and wondered if she would be there to greet me somewhere in the darkness. The pain in the back of my head was gone and I floated for a while until a voice began calling me, sounding far away like an echo in a tunnel.
"Bella! Wake up!" the voice repeated, growing louder. The darkness that I floated in suddenly began to seep away and I saw light behind my eyelids.
"Jasper...did I get him? Is he dead? Did I kill him?" I asked frantically, trying to open my eyes unsuccessfully. The voice didn't immediately answer, so I called for my cousin again.
"Did you kill who, honey? This is Jake, Bella. Jacob Black. Do you remember who I am?" the voice asked carefully, making me feel like a small child.
"Of course I know who you are, Jake!" I snapped. "But where is Jasper?"
"Sweetie, I don't know who Jasper is. You're at work...at the bar," he explained patiently as I felt soft, able fingers brushing a stray lock of hair from my forehead. Using all my strength, I pried my eyes open and met the worried gaze of Jacob Black, who knelt beside me.
"What happened?" I asked, my eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Jacob's eyes broke away from mine and shot an accusatory glance at someone nearby. Following his gaze, I found Mr. Cullen standing nearby, running his hands through his hair, tugging at the ends. He stared down at me with an unreadable expression on his face.
"According to Mr. Cullen...you fainted...for no reason," Jacob muttered, sounding as though he didn't buy Edward Cullen's explanation of the event. I groaned in horror and covered my face with my hands as the memory of fainting flashed through my mind; the narrowing hallway, the anger in Mr. Cullen's eyes.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" I moaned, mortified by my actions. "I did faint...with everything going on with the bar being sold...plus I haven't had anything to eat in a while...since this morning actually. I guess I just got weak." Jacob helped me from the floor, and I stumbled, my head swimming dizzily. Jacob put one arm around me and assisted me to a chair.
"Is everyone gone?" I asked Jacob, ignoring Mr. Cullen. The bar was empty and quiet, completely different from the usual atmosphere. Tia and Carmen were nowhere in sight and even Mr. Cullen's bodyguard had abandoned his post at the door.
"Yes, but your friends were hard to get rid of. I assured them I would take good care of you and you would call them in the..." Jacob began, but stopped as Patrick came rushing out of the kitchen, a wet washcloth in his hands.
"Is she okay? Oh, God! She is! Thank God! Oh, Bella, please don't sue me? Please, please, please don't sue me!" Patrick called desperately, catching his foot on the leg of a chair. He tripped, lurched forward, then grabbed the back of a chair to steady himself before launching at me again. He came at me with the washcloth, his clumsiness causing me to cringe, but Jacob snatched it from his grasp, folded it and pressed it to my forehead. Patrick stood for a moment defeated before slumping into the chair next to me.
All was quiet until Mr. Cullen decided to speak up. "She should eat and drink something," he said, surprisingly quiet. I looked up to find him staring down at me, his eyes a deeper green than usual. He rubbed the back of his head slowly and his chiseled features were somehow softer. Jacob begrudgingly agreed and rose from his seat, offering to get me something from the kitchen. I tried to argue with him, but he ignored me, tossing the washcloth to Mr. Cullen and jogging across the bar. He disappeared into the kitchen, leaving me alone with Patrick and Mr. Cullen.
"Mr. McMillan, it's late and I'm sure you're tired. The next few days will be very busy for you. Why don't you go home and I'll take care of things here?" Mr. Cullen suggested, turning the washcloth over in his hands.
Patrick shrugged, murmuring that it would be his business soon anyway. I watched in horror as Patrick fished a set of keys from his pockets as he rose from the chair. He tossed the keys to Mr. Cullen, shot me another round of apologies, and then he was gone.
Mr. Cullen approached the table slowly, stood beside me for a minute, and eventually sat down in the seat previously occupied by Jacob. Turning away from him, I stared stubbornly down at the tabletop, refusing to meet his penetrating stare and mentally chiding myself for letting this man have any effect on me. We sat like this for a while, me avoiding his gaze with my arms crossed firmly over my chest while he carefully watched over me, leaning alarmingly close to me with his elbows on the table, his haunting scent wafting over me. He was the first to break the silence.
"Bella, is it?" he asked softly, his voice sounding like warm honey. I would not let that voice affect me. I simply nodded, still not meeting his eyes.
"Do you have a last name Bella?" he smirked, leaning back in his chair. His scent wavered a bit and, much to my horror, I found myself immediately missing the smell that was purely Edward.
"Swan," I mumbled, distracted by my traitorous thoughts. I hated myself for being attracted to this asshole.
"Swan, huh? So, Ms. Swan...would you like to discuss the giant elephant in the room?" he asked, curiosity clear in his voice. Finally, I turned to him meeting his gaze evenly. His eyes searched my face for a moment and I jumped in surprise as he reached across the table and pressed the cool washcloth gently against my cheek. His thumb accidentally brushed against my bottom lip causing a shudder to ripple through my body, and he dropped the washcloth in shock. I opened my mouth to respond to his question, but Jacob interrupted.
"I made you a sandwich and grabbed you a Coke," Jacob called, emerging from the kitchen. "Do you..." he stopped dead in his tracks upon seeing Mr. Cullen and I sitting at the same table, now facing one another, his hand still hovering my face. Jacob scowled, crossing the bar and setting the food and drink in front of me.
"Feel better, Bella," Jacob said, turning to walk away. He paused halfway across the bar before hollering over his shoulder, "And if you ever get tired of working for this asshole, you know where I'll be!" And with that, Jacob Black pushed open the doors of the bar and disappeared into the night. Mr. Cullen and I sat in silence for a moment, neither one of us speaking, before he finally slid the sandwich and Coke across the table in front of me.
"Eat," he demanded firmly, no room for argument in his voice. Glaring at him, I picked at the sandwich, tearing off pieces of roast beef and popping it into my mouth. The bread was a little hard, but other than that, it was an alright sandwich. Before long I'd inhaled the entire thing and drank half of the Coke. Looking up, I met Mr. Cullen's eyes, which were no longer disapproving.
I pushed the plate away and leaned back into my chair, crossing my arms against my chest. "So what about that elephant?" I asked, the sugar and carbs rushing through my bloodstream making me feel suddenly bold. He cocked one eyebrow, his eyes lighting up in amusement.
"Yes, the elephant being the fact that you left the scene of a crime like you were the one committing the crime. Is that what happened Ms. Swan? Were you somehow involved in the robbery?"
"Excuse me?" I asked in disbelief, staring at him like he was crazy. "What do you mean by that?"
He smirked, running his fingers through his beautiful sex-hair. "It makes sense, in a way. You pretend that you're simply in the right place at the right time when the crime goes down. You throw yourself in harm's way to save a poor little rich girl and her two rich friends. And then, coincidentally, you just so happen to work at the same bar that said rich girl's brother is thinking about buying? Do you really believe I'm that stupid, Ms. Swan?"
"Why would I do something like that?" I asked, dumbfounded. Nothing that he said was making sense in my head. He reached across the table, grabbing the Coke top and spinning it around in circles across the tabletop.
"Hmmmm...I don't know," he said, sarcastically. "Gain my family's trust? Maybe you're working for the government...or maybe you work for someone else who'd like to get inside information on my family. Another crime family, perhaps? We certainly have enemies, Ms. Swan. Yes, I'm sure this is all a ruse to gain my family's trust. My sister is already frantic with wanting to find you and thank you properly for what you did that night. You've already gained her trust. She's the reason I ran after you in the first place," he shrugged. That made me pause.
"She is?" I asked carefully, having asked myself every day why this man chased me that night. He continued to spin the top, but eventually met my wondering gaze. "Yes," he told me, his voice steady, his right eye twitching slightly. My gaze narrowed, and I let out a huff of annoyance. Pushing my chair away from the table, I stood up, my mouth set in a fine line of anger.
"'Where are you going, Ms. Swan?" he asked, standing from the table and following me to the door. I shoved the doors open and ambled down the sidewalk, leaving him with his frantic attempt at locking the doors of the bar. My anger grew deeper the further I made it down the sidewalk, and I bit the inside of my cheek until I tasted blood. He caught up to me rather quickly, falling in step with me. He said nothing as he walked beside me in silence, shooting curious glances at my angry expression.
"You're a liar," I muttered, the anger continuing to boil. He now stared at me unwaveringly as we turned a corner and passed a parking garage. The streets were completely deserted and I briefly wondered what time it was.
"What do you mean by..." he started, but I turned on my heel, stopping him in his tracks, poking my finger into his hard chest, the anger finally boiling over.
"You accuse me of all this stuff, which is stupid, by the way, and then you lie to me about why you chased me that night! You need to turn around, go home and leave me the hell alone! Don't look at me, don't speak to me...don't even breathe my name!" I swung around, stomping away from him, angry tears threatening to spill over my cheeks. I didn't make it two steps before Mr. Cullen grabbed my arm, swinging me around and then pressed me roughly against a brick building. My chest heaved with my ragged breath as I stared up at him. He held my arms against the building firmly, almost painfully and his face was dangerously close to mine.
"You think I'm lying about why I chased you Ms. Swan?" he whispered in a dangerous, yet seductive voice into my ear, his warm peppermint breath washing over me. Goosebumps erupted against my skin as my traitor body shivered.
"No...I don't think you're lying. I know you are. I just don't know why," I answered in the strongest voice possible, glancing up into those pine-colored eyes which were boring into mine. "There's something about you...I can't explain it. I could just tell that you were lying to me...and I can't stand a liar."
"You're wrong, Ms. Swan...well, at least partly wrong. My sister begged me to find you. But she's not the only reason I searched for you that night. Do you really want to know why I chased you that night, Ms. Swan?" he asked quietly, his lips now brushing against my ear, causing my body to burn in desire.
"Yes..." I whimpered, his voice, his smell invading my body, completely taking away all of my anger...all of my willpower...all of my strength.
"Fine, Ms. Swan," he replied, his nose skirting against my ear. "You want to know the truth, so here it is. I chased you that night because I have never wanted someone so bad in my life. When I saw you standing in front of that store..." he paused, and I felt his lips and tongue on my earlobe as he sucked it gently into his mouth. I moaned loudly, not caring that I was standing on a public sidewalk in the middle of the night pressed against a building by a man I barely knew. "When I saw you standing in front of that store, I was hit with a want so strong, all rational thought left my body," he confessed in a broken voice. "What have you done to me, Ms. Swan? Why can't I stop thinking about you? Have you bewitched me?"
He let go of my wrists, grabbed my hips and pressed his body fully into mine, shoving me harder against the brick wall, causing my short blue jean skirt to rise dangerously high. Grabbing my left leg he hoisted it up and ground himself against me, his lips abandoning my earlobe as he nibbled delicately at the skin on my neck. I could feel his hardness against me and I'd never felt like this before...I'd never felt so good.
His breath was warm on my face as he continued to press himself against me. He stared at my lips breathing heavily and leaned forward. I closed my eyes and parted my lips in anticipation for my first real, passionate kiss...a kiss that never came.
A/N: I DO NOT ENCOURAGE KIDS TO PLAY WITH GUNS; IT'S JUST PART OF BELLA'S STORY. I KNOW A COUPLE OF YOU WANTED TO SEE EMMETT, SO PLEASE DON'T BE DISAPPOINTED. I HAVE ALREADY WORKED ON A CHAPTER WITH HIM IN IT THAT I THINK YOU WILL LOVE; HIS PERSONALITY JUST DIDN'T FIT IN WITH THIS CHAPTER, SO PLEASE BE PATIENT. HAS YOUR OPINION CHANGED ABOUT EDWARD? WHAT DID YOU THINK ABOUT THE LEMON 'ZEST' I ADDED IN THE END THERE? IS BELLA CRAZY TO BE ATTRACTED TO THIS MAN? I KNOW MY CHAPTERS HAVE BEEN RATHER LENGTHY, BUT I FIND THIS IS THE BEST WAY FOR ME TO WRITE. DO YOU WANT SHORTER CHAPTERS OR SHOULD I CONTINUE TO POST THE LONG ONES? I NEVER REALLY REALIZED HOW IMPORTANT REVIEWS WERE UNTIL I STARTING WRITING MY FIRST STORY. PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO LOG IN AND REVIEW! LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!
JHOOD ;)