I don't own Twilight, these characters belong to Stephanie Meyers.
This story has been beta'd by the wonderful Fran Walsh.
Chapter 6
Demetri looks between the two of us as we silent stand opposite each other, scrutinizing our appearances.
"You know my uncle?" Demetri asks, raising an eyebrow skeptically. I open my mouth to reply when I mentally backtrack and slowly process his words.
I freeze.
Carlisle slightly nods his head; he's as speechless as I am at the sight of his clean-shaven friend.
Quickly I try to mask my suspicious look as I gaze from Demetri to Carlisle. I play it cool and stick a hand in my pocket. I furrow my eyebrows and with the slight nod of my head,
I open my mouth to speak. "Good to see you again Carlisle." I hold a hand out to Carlisle and watch as he stares down at my hand in confusion but still takes it to shake. If it was that easy for him to recognize me, how come Bella hadn't? Apparently, she hadn't ever noticed me.
Pain wracks through me and I begin to feel ill just from the thought. Bella would never accept the fact that I have no job, no home, no ambition. Even if she fell as deeply in love with me as I am with her, she would never accept the real me.
Suddenly I feel the urge to empty my stomach, feeling miserably ill at the thought of being rejected.
I tip my head to Carlisle needing to get a breath of fresh air. "Excuse me,"I say shortly, making a hasty exit out of the front door.
I walk to the end of the street, feeling better as I inhale and exhale the fresh air.
Seconds later I hear the front door of the house open.
"Let's go." I hear Alice call out to me in an irritated tone.
Twenty minutes later, I'm walking into my apartment feeling tired, and for once feeling appreciative of the fact that I have a bed to sleep in.
I can't even make it to the bed at the moment so I fall out onto the couch thinking about her. She's all I seem to think about.
I wonder if she thinks about me.
I sigh heavily and close my eyes to picture her in my head. I try not to focus on the looks that she gave me tonight, and focus on her smiling face from the other day. I had been able to make her laugh and I knew right then that I loved her unconditionally without a shadow of a doubt. Her smile made this all worth it.
But right now, she's running. She doesn't want to entertain her attraction for me. She probably didn't even want to see me anymore. She had broken my heart with four simple words.
"You don't belong here."
I wanted to tell her that she was wrong and that I belong wherever she is, but I knew that I couldn't. There're so many restrictions on my love, so little that I can say or do to let her know just how much I love her. So much that I can't tell her.
I hear the doorknob twisting and I instantly feel guilty. Alice and I had an extremely tense car ride back here so I assumed when she pulled up that she wasn't coming inside. So I rushed out of her car and into the apartment, closing the door on her.
The door opens and I know what's coming so I stop her in her tracks.
"I don't want to talk about it, Alice," I shout out from my living room.
I hear the front door close, and the clinking of her heels against the tile floor letting me know that she's approaching the living room from the entryway.
"What the hell Edward?" She snaps, and I look up in time to see her raising her arms up dramatically, before dropping them roughly at her sides in disbelief.
I close my eyes, drop my head back to the couch, and rub my hands down my face in frustration. "I had to get out of there." I groan out.
"Don't tell me you're the reason Bella was crying?" She breathes out and I can hear the judgment in her voice. "Did you hurt her?"
My eyes snap to hers, upset and hurt by the accusation.
"If you think for one second that I would ever hurt Bella-" I all but growl. The person that she should be pissed at is her cousin.
"I don't know Edward, would you?" She shouts at me. "I don't know what you would do."
Jumping off the couch, I'm resigned from the situation. This is never going to work because there's no way Bella is going to want me. She has everything she could ever need already. Why would she throw it all away for an attraction?
Walking towards Alice with slow, careful strides, I let out a harsh and bitter laugh before meeting Alice's disappointed gaze.
"You're absolutely right Alice. You don't know what I would do because we're not friends. Never were." As soon as the words leave my lips, I instantly regret them. Alice has been a great friend to me, she didn't deserve that.
Feeling guilty, I look away not wanting to see the look on her face.
Ready to put this day as well as this part of my life behind me, I walk passed Alice and out the front door.
Even though I'm pissed that Alice would even suggest that I would hurt Bella, I try to see her side of it. She really doesn't know me.
A part of me understands and a part of me can't help but feel hurt by the fact that she was ready to condemn me without hearing my side of the story.
I haven't had many friends over the years, but even I know that's not the way to resolve an issue with one.
I try to keep that in mind when I spot Carlisle pacing back and forth beside the back door of the bakery where we were fortunate to receive a lot of our meals over the years.
"Carlisle," I call out, trying not to fly off the handle with assumptions and accusations as Alice had done only minutes ago.
He stops pacing and walks over to me. When he reaches me, he stares, clearly speechless at the change in my appearance.
"I went to see my brothers." Carlisle begins, offering a half smile. "My brother..." He clears his throat, looking down at the ground, probably to gather his thoughts. "His son is getting married. I couldn't miss his engagement dinner regardless of my issues with my family."
"I understand." I tell him, and it's true. He had a good reason for up and leaving as he did.
"I was going to come back when I got everything settled. I was going to come and get you, son." He says and I furrow my eyebrows. "I haven't been completely honest with you about my past life, or my family, Edward -."
"Your family has money, I get it." I finish for him. That's not something he can apologize for.
"I have money. I have an overwhelming amount of money and I can't stand it." He drops his head. "I worked so hard, so hard Edward, all for my wife. We were supposed to enjoy that money together. The money I worked for, as well as the inheritance money my brothers and I were to split." He takes a shaky breath. "When Ann died I-," His voice broke.
"You couldn't enjoy it. I get it, Carlisle."
"I didn't want it." He exhales. "My two living brothers have wives and kids to share their wealth with, their life with, but I had no one," He says with deep-rooted sadness. "But you showed me, Edward, you showed me that I wasn't alone. You're as much my family as any of the people that you met tonight. You are my son." Carlisle said before hugging me. I was thankful for Carlisle. Thankful to have such an excellent role model in my life.
Carlisle wanted me to see his home, and to see if I could see myself living there. When we arrived, he tells me to make myself at home, which I did with ease.
Walking through the house, I came across an office. I stepped in and observed the well-kept room as if Carlisle hadn't been absent for years. He must have people to dust up and clean, but how had he continued to pay them? I'd have to ask.
I looked on his desk, observing a picture of him and his late wife. She was a beautiful woman with dark brown hair, brown eyes, and a kind smile. They made a great couple together and I can tell from the picture that they were deeply in love.
Minutes later, I step out of the office in search for Carlisle. I find him walking down the hall towards me with clothes in his hand.
"You can sleep in this." He hands me black pajamas and leads me back down the hallway to a room near his office.
The room was spacious and had an instant, soothing effect on me.
The bedroom had richly stained wood floors and white walls with a built-in shelf above the king sized floating bed. And across from the bed was a glowing fireplace.
I continue into the room noting that there was a small hall that led to a walk-in closet, across from a full sized bathroom.
I nod my head in appreciation. This room was considerably larger than the master bedroom at the apartment that Jasper gave me.
"There should be towels in there," Carlisle says from the door.
"Thanks, Carlisle."
Carlisle backs out of the room with pursed lips and furrowed brows, looking as if he wants to ask something. Then he speaks.
"Alice is quite taken with you," He says, and then smiles. "I have never heard her speak so highly of someone." He smiles proudly.
"She talked about me?"I ask.
He shrugs. "She mentioned that she'd made a great friend in Seattle. Never imagined it would be you." His smiling face turns confused. He scratches his brow. "She also told me to pretend that I knew you because she told Bella that you two have been friends for awhile."
My eyes widen. Of course, Alice would say that. She doesn't know that I already know Carlisle. I sigh heavily. This lying thing is already causing problems. I never lie. I have no reason to. I have nothing to lose. Had nothing to lose...until Bella. I almost laugh to myself. She's not even mine to lose.
"Edward." Carlisle snaps me out of my thoughts. "Do you know anything about that?"
Releasing a huge breath, I stretch and rub my eyes roughly with the palm of my hands. "Yeeaah!" I drag out the word, prolonging the inevitable explanation. "Can I tell you about it in the morning?"
"Okay." He nods repeatedly, as if he is trying to understand. He backs further out of the room. "Get some rest," He says with his usual half smile. "We'll talk more tomorrow, I have more questions."
I nod with pursed lips before turning around to check out the rest of the room. I follow the hall to the bathroom, deciding to take a shower and change into the clothes that Carlisle gave me.
After my shower, I was so eager to end this day that I didn't even fold the covers back, opting to sleep on top of them. The last thing that I think about before falling into unconsciousness is Bella.
The next morning I wake up and frantically search for a clock knowing that I slept longer than I usually do.
It was almost ten in the morning according to the clock on the dresser, and I knew that I officially slept in; I was officially late for work.
I wonder if Jasper is going to fire me now that my deal with Alice is off? I suspect it's a given since I'm an hour late.
I quickly got out of bed thinking that I should maybe call Jasper to see where I stand. I mean, he's still technically my employer.
"Edward." Carlisle calls, bringing my attention to the bedroom door. "Clothes." He puts them on top of the dresser. "Meet me in the dining room," He says before turning to exit the room.
I shower quickly, opting not to shave. For today, I'm going to be myself. I'm okay with a little facial hair.
I throw on the clothes and then go off in search of my friend.
When I see the huge spread of breakfast food on the table in front of Carlisle, I rub my hands together ready to dig in.
"They missed me," Carlisle says as he stares down at the spread.
"Who? Your staff." I question as I slide into a chair and begin to fill my plate.
"My cook likes to prepare every breakfast food imaginable."
"You kept them?" I ask Carlisle and he nods in reply. "But no one has lived here for years."
"Yes, but I couldn't just fire them. It's not their fault their boss fell off the deep end. They still have families to feed." Carlisle explained.
"You continued paying them." It wasn't really a question, more so stating facts.
"No, my nephew, Demetri, kept this place up in hopes that I would return."
I nod in understanding as I dig into the pancakes on my plate.
"I invited him over for breakfast, I hope you don't mind." Carlisle asks and I drop my fork with a clink.
If he comes, I'm sure he's bringing Bella and I can't be here when that happens.
"Carlisle, Bella is the woman from the cafe," I tell him quickly. His eyes widen in shock. He has to realize that this is too many coincidences. I nod my head and pick up a napkin to wipe my face before standing.
"You're sure?" He squints his eyes in disbelief. "I was wondering why you would have been at my nephew's engagement party."
"Yes, it's the same woman, Alice introduced me to Bella at the café and we have since talked. She actually invited me to the party. We're..." I search for the right word, and realise that I can actually tell the truth. "We're friends." And sadly nothing more.
"I'm sorry Edward." Carlisle apologizes but doesn't give me a sympathetic look. Somehow I can't figure out if it's because he knows that I hate sympathy or because Bella is his nephew's fiancé.
Now that I think about it, Carlisle had never seen 'the girl from the cafe' so he had no way of knowing that they were the same person.
"I hadn't officially met her until yesterday myself, so I had no way of knowing, but I am sorry."
"Not your fault that I fell in love with a stranger who happens to be engaged to your nephew." I back away from the table. "Hey, Carlisle, can you not tell anyone that we met on the street? I mean obviously we have to tell people that we met through Alice, but still...can you not tell Alice the truth. We're pretending to know each other as you said."
Carlisle waves at me dismissively as if that was never his intention. "Matter a fact just don't say anything about me."
Carlisle nods repeatedly but doesn't lift his eyes from his plate. "Thanks," I say as I back farther out of the kitchen and make my way toward the hall and almost back into Demetri.
"Eva is the best," Demetri says with a big smile on his face as he stares at the food. Then he glances at me and squares his shoulders. "Edward." He holds out his hand once again, and this time, out of respect for Carlisle, I shake it with a firm grip to show him I'm not to be fucked with. "Carlisle mentioned he was taking you in. He's a good man, always befriending the strays." He says condescendingly as he pulls his hand away and wipes it on his shirt.
I don't reply, and he scoffs looking over at Carlisle but points at me. "You have to put up with this now?" Demetri jokes, and reaches around to pat my back which is way too friendly seeing that I haven't uttered one word to him since we met.
"Edward is overwhelmed with meeting so many new people, and you're being rude to my guest," Carlisle speaks, wiping his mouth.
"Whatever," Demetri says. "Where's Eva? I need to speak with her."
"In the kitchen." Carlisle nods his head to the right, and continues to eat, and read the newspaper. Demetri makes his way to the kitchen.
"I'm assuming you told him that I would be here?" I ask Carlisle, and he nods.
"I'm being hospitable to you because you're Alice's friend." He gives me a look to make sure that I understand his words. "Alice mentioned you were in between places, so asking you to stay here in this big house seemed simple." Carlisle says, and I smile to myself thinking about how much I'll miss Alice.
"Thank you, Carlisle. I would stick around but...honestly I hate your nephew."
Carlisle nods. "Understandable, but I still need an explanation later as to why I have to go around lying for you and Alice.
Without another word, I step completely out of the dining room and back down the hall.
As I leave, I see Bella turn the corner walking towards me and my heart skips a beat. The world slows as I watch her, too busy on her phone and unaware of my presences.
I take the time to look her up and down. She has on a strapless, black and white plaid dress, paired with red, peep-toe sandals, and she looks exquisite with her hair tied into a messy bun atop her head.
She looks up slowly with a frown already set on her face having felt my eyes on her.
When she sees me, she looks away and I swear I hear her curse under breath. She tries to ignore me, to walk passed, but I step in front of her.
She scuffs and snaps her head up quickly meeting my gaze.
"Why are you everywhere that I go? Why?" She asks rudely, folding her arms across her chest. I almost shout out that I want her, but then I remember that I gave up on that dream.
I put my hands behind me back to stop myself from reaching out and touching her.
"Carlisle has graciously offered me a place to live." I look back at the house and see that she does the same before frowning.
"What are you...homeless?" She asks as if the thought is absurd, and I momentarily freeze as she rolls her eyes.
"No, I am..." I trail off and clear my throat trying to think of what to say to her. "I was living with a friend, and things didn't work out." Half-truth. I'm still keeping score.
She shifts her feet impatiently, and I almost lose my nerve to say what I need to say.
"I want to-" I trail off, nervously shoving a hand through my hair. "I need to apologize to you."
She looks surprised by my confession.
"I should not have tried to kiss you yesterday. I-" I pause. "-I can see that it made you uncomfortable and for that I am sorry."
Her arms slowly fall to her sides as she stares at me. "I don't know what to say," She says slowly.
"Say that you forgive me, and we can be friends."
She looks away again, thinking, and I watch as her tongue darts out to wet her bottom lip. She looks back catching my gaze.
"Fine. Friends," she holds her hand out to me and I smile down at it before shaking it.
"Friends."
Thank you so much Fran for editting my story you're wonderful.:)