AN: Hey happy new year. Sorry I hadn't updated in a while. I hope you guys didn't lose your taste for my story. This chapter will answer some questions I'm sure you are having.
I don't own anything except my imagination.
"So Edward is going to help you get Jacob?" Jessica asked on Monday at school.
"Yeah."
"But I thought —" Angela began.
"Me too," Bella interrupted. She continued in a mumble, "I guess we were wrong."
. . .
Edward's idea was to include Bella whenever his group gathered during the course of the school day. If Bella was part of the group, Jacob was bound to notice her. He and Leah had broken up recently and so he was looking for someone new to date.
Over the next two weeks some things started to change. She spent lunch and an extra half hour after school sitting with the A-crowd listening in on their conversations while they watched Emmett practice football on the field or Rosalie's cheerleading. In between classes, members of the group began acknowledging Bella's existence, waving or giving verbal hellos when they passed. Unfortunately when Jacob was around she was tongue-tied, so he ignored her just as thoroughly as before.
On Friday Edward met Bella in the hallway just after her class. He had come up with a new idea. He drew out a plan on a leaf of paper indicating a way to get Jacob's attention. Jacob tended to stay behind in his next class to talk to the teacher. As he would walk out Bella would walk in. The two would collide spreading the books she was holding and he was just the type to bend down to help retrieve them. Bella agreed and they set to meet outside her class in the next hour.
The plan was all set. Edward pulled Bella quickly to get to the right classroom before it was too late. He caught sight of Jacob still in the class just finishing his discussion with the educator. He directed her toward Jacob. She fumbled with her pocket mirror, holding it to her face and taking a prolonged glance.
"How do I look?"
His fingers circled his face quickly then his waved his hand around swiftly. Beautiful. Come on!
She put the mirror back in her purse and picked up the books just as Jacob passed the threshold into the hallway.
"Hey man," Jacob saluted Edward as he passed them. Edward looked at Jacob then at Bella. His hands fell down at his sides and his expression soured. Jacob stopped by his locker at half the length of the corridor.
Edward pointed at him, pressed his index finger to his mouth and pulled it away. Speak to him. He gently nudged her toward Jacob.
She took a step toward Jacob, but then turned around. "I can't."
He threw his hands up in the air in frustration. He reprimanded her, signing, I keep talking you up to him. Why won't you talk to him? All you need is to say one word, "Hello."
She just stared at his hands not understanding what he was trying to say.
His brow furrowed.
"Why can't you speak?" she inquired.
His face became blank at the unexpected question.
She continued slowly. "Did you get sick? Is it because of some disease?"
He looked down and shook his head infinitesimally.
"Then why?"
He looked up at her for a long moment. He turned and walked to Jacob, patted him on the shoulder and pointed at Bella. Edward continued walking. Jacob looked at her for a moment. Her face drained of all its color. She dropped the books she held and ran in the opposite direction.
. . .
Bella felt horrible about botching up a perfect opportunity like that. She wanted to speak to Edward and figure out a better solution. As she walked home, her thoughts revolved around Edward verses Jacob. She didn't know what to do. She really liked Edward, but he was helping her get someone else. Jacob — a boy she liked for nearly three years. She could feel the date within her grasp, but did she really want it now.
Meanwhile, all this planning was getting in the way of hanging out with Jessica and Angela. As soon as she got home her phone rang.
"Hey Jessica."
"Oh, I'm surprised you still remember me."
"Yeah, I'm sorry about that."
"So make it up to me," she offered, "Let's hang this weekend."
"I can't. I have a chemistry test this Monday. I was also thinking maybe I'll go get a video on sign language, so I could understand Edward better."
"Do you hear yourself? You should be focusing on communicating with Jacob not with Edward," Jessica suggested.
"Yeah but —"
"He's the bottom of the barrel, Bella."
Bella felt as if Jessica just slapped her. "Well if he is, it's the A-crowd barrel which is better than any of the losers roaming around school."
Jessica didn't know what to say. Bella just defended him and she didn't want to mess up their friendship. "I guess I'll talk to you later then."
. . .
That Sunday Bella headed over to Edward's house hoping to apologize. She came up to his house and knocked.
A young woman with caramel hair and brown eyes opened the door. "Yes?"
"Hi, I'm Bella Swan. Is Edward home?"
"Esme Cullen. You're here to see Edward? Are you his . . . friend?" she asked.
"Yes, we're in the same grade. He was helping me with something."
"He's not home at the moment. Why don't you come inside? I never get to meet any of his friends."
Bella walked in and saw a wedding picture framed gold onto the living room wall above the fireplace. This same young lady was positioned elegantly beside a blue-eyed, blonde-haired youthful man.
"Wow you haven't changed a bit," Bella complimented.
"Well I should hope not. This wasn't too long ago," the woman commented in all seriousness. She picked up another framed photo and handed it to Bella. It showed the groom with a familiar boy in a tux. "My husband Carlisle and his adopted son Edward."
"Adopted? That's why neither of you has his bronze hair or his emerald eyes."
"Yes." She walked to the mantel and pointed to the golden trophy. "When I met them, Edward was a very talkative boy. He's won loads of these for spelling."
Bella picked it up and took a good look at the inscription under the figurine. Spelling Bee Champion.
"But, this wasn't always the case. Carlisle was part of a big brother program that worked with orphans. He was Edward's for a bit when Edward was six or so. Carlisle noticed his personality began to blossom the more he came around so even though he was just twenty, he adopted him."
Bella seized another glance at the brave man who voluntarily took on fatherhood at such a young age.
"Shortly after," Esme continued, "Carlisle discovered he had throat cancer and had to remove his vocal cords as part of the treatment."
"So his dad was mute," Bella said with realization.
She nodded. "They came up with different ways to communicate along with learning sign language. Edward spoke for Carlisle. They were inseparable. Carlisle took him to his check-ups at the hospital. That's where I met them. I was visiting a friend. I instantly fell for Carlisle's kind eyes and Edward's youthful charm. He interpreted Carlisle for me at first. We were married almost a year when his cancer returned. He battled for a bit, but when Edward was at the end of eighth grade he lost."
"Oh no!" Bella couldn't imagine losing one of her parents and Edward had lost three.
"Once his dad was gone, Edward refused to utter another word from his lips. At first I thought something was physically wrong with him, but no doctor could find anything. Since he already knew sign, I put Edward in a school for the deaf and mute. He never communicated, never interacted; he failed his ninth grade year. Eventually I begged him to reach out to me. I asked him what he wanted so I could help him. He wrote me a letter explaining his sadness. How being around
the silence made him feel worse. So I pulled him out and placed him in a regular high school. He had to repeat the grade, but he seemed to thrive. A month in, I saw him smiling again."
Bella stared at the photo of Edward. "So he just stopped speaking."
"He chooses to communicate in unconventional ways, only reverting to sign when he needs to."
Bella laughed. "He's good at it though. I don't know sign so his gestures help me understand him."
The front door knob jiggled for a second and then Edward walked into the house. He saw Bella and signed to his step mom, What is she doing here?
"She came to see you," Esme answered.
He nodded and extended his hand out toward the next room. Esme took the hint and left. He glared at Bella suspiciously still holding his trophy and pulled it from her hand. He shined it with his sleeve and placed it back in its rightful place.
He turned to her and twisted his pointer finger by his lip then hooked his pinky as he pulled down his imaginary long hair. You talked to Jacob?
She shook her head. "No, I didn't."
His brow furrowed. He touched his temple with his fingers then pulled them away folding down the three center ones. Why?
"Can you really speak?" she asked.
He paused and dropped his expression. His mouth shut and his nostrils flared. His eyes hit the floor as his head shook. He looked up at her. He pointed to his chest and then banged his pointed finger against the pointed other hand. I can't.
He saw the confusion in her eyes. He picked up the picture of Carlisle and showed it to her.
"Your dad." He nodded and hugged the frame against his chest. "You miss him."
He nodded again. He put his hand to his lips as if holding something. He twisted it around and pretended to throw it across the room.
"So you locked your voice up and threw away the key," she determined.
He nodded once and looked at the carpet by his feet.
"Edward," she sighed. "If you miss your dad so much, maybe you should talk to someone about—"
He began frantically shaking his head. He began signing so quickly that even if Bella had known sign, she would've had a hard time following. It's none of your business. I don't need to talk to anyone pretending to care. I don't need anybody's advice. You should be working on your own speaking problem.
He took her hand and led to the front door. He waved her a firm goodbye as he opened the door.
"I didn't mean . . ." she started as she walked out. "I just thought if you spoke, you could be normal."
His brows dropped and his face contorted. He slammed the door behind her.
She gazed at the entrance before turning and heading home. She kept trying to understand how things got so messed up. She came to apologize, but also she wanted to tell him she didn't want to be with Jacob anymore. As she listened to his story, she realized Edward needn't be mute. He could talk if he wanted to. If he spoke, people like Jessica wouldn't call him the bottom of the barrel.
AN: I know it was a long chapter. I just kept writing. I hope you all are reviewing.