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What Do You Want From Me

Chapter 7

It's a little after seven in the evening when I hear a soft knock on my door. I walk to it pulling it open to find Bella standing there.

"I brought you a piece of the birthday cake that Esme made for me," she says holding it out for me to take.

"Thank you," I whisper with a small smile.

"My Dad's taking me home now so I'll see you tomorrow."

I give her a nod and she waves walking away.

I close the door and unwrap the cake eating it with a hum over how good it tastes.

I walk over to my window, and see that the Chief is loading up his car with bags of gifts that must have come from Esme and Carlisle.

Bella walks out with Esme who is hugging her. My eyes stay on Bella who seems to be flexing her left wrist. This doesn't go unnoticed by Carlisle, who quickly walks over to her and picks up her arm, but she only waves him off. My eyes glance at the Chief who looks worried. I tilt my head seeing some anger on his face which confuses me.

Bella waves both men off and gets into the car. Esme pulls Carlisle back a little as she places a hand on the Chief's shoulder. He gives her a smile and then walks around to his door, and drives off.

I walk away from the window and head downstairs to pick up my dinner.

"Evening, Edward," Carlisle says as I pass him.

"Yes, Evening, Edward. There is a plate for you in the warmer." Esme chimes in.

"Evening," I reply back to both of them. "The cake was lovely, Esme," I carry on making her smile.

"I'm glad that you enjoyed it."

I give her a small nod and then continue into the kitchen.

I uncover my dinner and sit at the table to eat it.

"I'm sorry," Esme says making me frown looking up at her as she keeps speaking. "That Bella being here was sprung on you without notice."

I shake my head swallowing the food that is in my mouth. "No, she told me a few days ago that she was coming over for dinner. I just wanted to give you all time alone."

"You were very welcome to join us," Carlisle says as he hugs his wife.

"I know, thank you. Maybe next time," I say and then carry on eating.

It only takes them a few minutes to realize that I am finished talking. They walk out of the room, leaving me alone again.

~WDYWFM~

I wake up and set off for my run. Arriving at the Chief's house a little early, I jog in one spot waiting for Bella. The door opens; the Chief walks out, and just gives me a tilted head nod, before driving off in his car.

"Edward?" Bella says sounding confused.

"I thought we could run together in the mornings—well, at least for half of my run anyway."

As soon as the words are out I am hit with worry. Does she even want to run with me?

"Sounds good to me," she states with a hum and starts to run.

I easily catch her, and slow down to her pace.

"I also thought that you shouldn't sit on the hard floor outside of my room to eat anymore. As you have been kind enough to share your space in the meadow with me, I thought that I could share my office with you at lunch time."

"That's very kind of you, but if you need some quiet time just let me know, I won't take offense."

I give her a nod as we keep running, and in no time we are back at the Chief's home.

"See you this afternoon," I say and she nods with a small smile.

"Maybe earlier if you attend today's assembly," she says.

I give her a confused look. I knew about the assembly because I set everything up, but I have never attended any of the others so far.

"My father is giving his speech today; you should come and tell me if it is as odd as the whole thing makes me feel it is."

I give her a small nod, feeling a little intrigued.

~WDYWFM~

I stand in a corner of the gym with my arms crossed watching as the kids come in and find a seat. When the hall is full, Mary and the Chief stand on the stage.

"Well, ladies, gentlemen, and everyone else, you know what this assembly is about."

"Yes, Mr. Swan," everyone says in unison.

"Now we are not asking you to be friends with everyone, but we are asking that you have respect for them. Not everyone is going to share your thoughts, ideas, or feelings. Everyone has the right to believe or not believe in different things. You have no more rights than any other student, teacher, or person in this school.

When you discuss topics, I want you to do it in a healthy manner and not resort to name calling, and yelling at each other. Can you tell me what it is when you deliberately seek someone out and aggressively tell them how they make you feel?"

"Harassment," everyone yells in unison again making me smirk.

"Well done, you are all correct. Now, is harassment a jailable offense?"

"Yes," everyone answers.

"That's right, you can go to jail for harassment. Now, can you put your hands on someone?"

"No," they all say together but carry on talking, "unless you are defending yourself or a loved one. Even at that it should only be the force that is needed, and not exceed limits. If you put your hands on anyone, then you can be prosecuted and sent to jail."

"Would this be tolerated in workplaces?"

"No, and definitely not at the police station," they again answer.

I snort at the fact that they all answer the question fully and together. It's clear that they have heard this many times before.

"You all make me feel so proud not only with the fact that you clearly know the answers, but that you show us that you also understand the words, and try to follow them. Let's move on to bullying.

"Bullying is when you are unkind to someone with your words. This is not a pleasant thing to do, and wherein we all may face unpleasant words when we are older, it shouldn't get to the stage where someone is victimized by others. And more importantly, bullying, above anything else, is not something that this school or I can or will condone. Everyone's school day should be easy going and as happy as possible. It is everyone's job to make sure we look after each other despite our differences. Even taking into account, things such as who voted for whom in the Presidential election, or who they are a fan of, or what sports team they support.

"I am a firm believer that it is not those in power that make a difference, but it is the rest of us. The small people – the ones that stand for what's right. Those are the people that can and will make a huge change in this world. Let that start with you; knowing that we can work together with anyone no matter what our thoughts or ill feelings are. Learning to overcome and work through your not nice thoughts will only help you in the future. Only you and your choices shape your future. Remember that before you think about bullying someone differently than you. If we're all the same, the world would be a very boring place. If you see someone struggling with being bullied, say something. Stand up and be the one who makes a difference. It is about each and every action you make that will define the outcome of your own future. Make sure to do your best to make your future a brighter and happier existence.

"Remember to also forgive, and to not write people off—everyone has a story. Always get their side of things before making a judgment call on whether that person will be a good friend or not. Always treat others with the respect that you have clearly been taught by your parents, school, and me. Remember to treat everyone the same way that you want to be treated.

"Lastly, I would like everyone to enjoy this school year; work hard, study, and above all else, have a little fun. Good luck to the crews that are taking up the tradition of trying to prank me. Keep in mind that after many years, I'm still winning."

He stops and looks around giving a few students a smirk and a wink.

"I have arranged a surprise for the Halloween dance if you all show me that you can abide by the rules, and implement the things we all agree that you know. Let today's talk guide your actions, and the surprise will be worth it." The Chief walks away as everyone cheers and it's clear that most seem to like him despite that he's a police officer.

Mary walks to the podium and starts to talk about the cafeteria, reminding everyone that they are not allowed to video record there, or in any other part of the school. She also takes a moment to remind everyone that no one at this school is a maid and that they are to start cleaning up their lunch trays and picking up after themselves. She goes on to tell them that she will watch the CCTV tape and give each person a detention that leaves so much as a napkin on a table if things don't improve drastically.

"How did you like it?" The Chief asks, making me jump.

As I turn to face him, he chuckles.

"I have been trained to get around without making a sound," he carries on still chuckling as I calm myself.

"It was good," I say answering his question.

"Glad you liked it; not sure if you know, but I expect the adults to live by those rules, too."

I just look at him and he shrugs.

"I have enough to do without having to be called in to the school because two people are calling each other names. It gets old very quickly, and sadly, I still haven't been able to pass a law that will allow me to arrest people for being twats."

This time I chuckle knowing what he means.

"Are you planning on running with Bella every morning from now on?"

There's no harsh tone to his voice which makes me nod at him.

"Glad to hear that. God, I love her, and I make sure she carries and has her cell, but that doesn't take the worry away that she will fall and break her leg again, or worse be grabbed by some passerby."

"She carries ... like a gun?"

"No, she carries a spoon," he deadpans.

I can hear the sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"Of course a gun," he snorts. "I can teach you to shoot if you like. You cannot be in possession of a gun, because of the felony charge; however, you can learn how to shoot one, with me. I am the law, and to be honest, I prefer that everyone knows how to properly operate a gun, and know what they are doing."

I give him a nod then shake my head at him. "I'm not sure; can I think about it? I mean, I'm not sure if there would be a point, it's not like I would need nor want a gun."

"It's a handy skill to have and not need, especially when the opposing rule would be to not have the skill but the need is a necessity."

"True," I agree as a woman's voice comes over his radio.

He takes a few steps away from me and talks into the radio. I hear him let out a sigh as he makes his way to me.

"See you later kid, duty calls," he says walking away.

~WDYWFM~

"Hey," Bella says standing at my office door. "Is it still okay to come in?"

I nod at her, and she walks to the soft chair and curls up in it. "Did you like the assembly today?"

I give her a nod. "My school had talks on bullying and would always say that it wouldn't be tolerated, but that was their biggest lie. I guess it is strange to see a school taking it so seriously."

"Is that a good thing?"

I again nod at her. "Hopefully it works; it would be nice to see a school overcome it."

"It is a work in progress; we're far from being completely perfect, but I think just maybe we'll get there if everyone heeds what he had to say."

We fall silent and as we both eat our lunches. My eyes glance at Bella when she takes out her pad of paper and begins to draw.

I soon find myself staring at her. The expression on her face is so clear. It's almost as if she's telling a story; a sad, pain-filled story. It fills me with worry, and fear about what she has gone through to feel so much pain. As time slowly goes by, Bella's face changes almost coming to a happy ending to whatever story she is drawing. Bella's eyes close and she smiles just a little looking much more relaxed.

"See you later, Edward," she says as she closes her pad.

There is a part of me that wants to ask her what she drew, but from my own experience and feelings, I know it's not something I should do.

"Later, Bella," I say softly as she stands.

"If you need a ride home, just come down here and sit with me until I am done, and I'll drop you off," I carry on.

She nods a little seemingly as surprised as I am over my offer.

At the end of the day, I feel a bit relieved when the Chief picks her up on time.

I still don't get Bella, nor do I get what she wants from me, but at the same time I'm finding that I feel more like my old self when she is around.

~WDYWFM~

I look at the bar and grill where I have to meet the Elf. From the outside it looks quiet, and there are not a lot of cars parked outside. In fact, I can't even see the Elf's tiny yellow, roller-skate of a car.

I glance at my watch and see that it is in fact seven. I pull at my hair, and let out a long breath before walking through the door. I look around open mouthed that there seems to be so many people here. From the first glimpse I recognize many teachers and students, as well as a few people that say hello to me on my morning run. The vast majority though, are people I don't know.

"Yo, Edward!"

I look around again for the Giant who yelled my name. It only takes a second for me to find him over in the corner.

I walk over to their table and see there are a few more teachers along with Mary, Copy Girl, and the Nurse.

"I'm happy to see that you made it," Mary says softly, and I give her a small nod.

"What would you like?" the Elf asks. "We have beer, wine, orange juice, Pepsi, or Mountain Dew?" she continues pointing to each of the pitchers. "Or, if you would rather have something else, I will grab it."

"Pepsi, please, I can't ... don't drink," I say feeling freaked out by her odd and overly happy attitude.

"Here you are," she says handing me a glass of fresh poured Pepsi and ice. "Here take a seat."

"Has someone given you speed?" I ask without thinking about how it sounds.

"Nope." I jump when I hear the Silent Assassin's voice. "I'm going to give her a Xanax if she doesn't chill out soon," he carries on with a smirk making the Elf slap his arm.

"Stop abusing me, woman," he says.

"Shut up. Edward, you can take a seat," the Elf states again, and I slide into the seat next to Copy Girl.

"Hi," she says with a smile and licks her lips.

"Jessica, knock it off and leave him alone," Barbie says, "besides you're getting married in three months."

"That doesn't mean I can't flirt with a hot guy."

"Yeah, it does," a male says from behind her.

"Oh come on, Mike," she mutters sadly, but he just shakes his head at her.

"But you're so cute when you are jealous."

Mike just shakes his head again but leans over. "If you don't stop, then I will just have to find a girl to flirt with."

"The only girl that entertains you is Bella ... and she's—"

"The Chief's daughter," I blurt out interrupting her.

"The one and only," Mike smirks. "And I don't mean her, and she's not the only one ..." he moves on answering Copy Girl.

"Are you sure? You did model for her ... naked, "the Elf laughs.

"Yeah. Because none of you would do it, and besides, I had my nightstick covering my ... area." He stops and looks around. "May I remind you all that the Chief was there the whole time, too? Lastly, women dig a man in uniform, right, Chief?"

"Yeah, that's right."

I jump looking behind me to see the Chief sitting there with a beer.

"But no flirting with my daughter," he says strongly while giving Mike the evil eye.

"She'll get a boyfriend soon enough, Charlie; you can't keep her locked up forever," the Elf says.

He rolls his eyes. "I do not keep her locked up as you well know, Alice. I just want her to have a guy who is not someone else's cast off; someone that will make her happy."

"Happily ever after is not real as you should very well know," Mary tells him.

"Still, I want her to have a good guy, one that will make her as happy as I know she'll make them."

They all jump in and start to sing 'Happy,' which I have learned is by a guy named Pharrell Williams.

"You all are bat shit crazy," I mutter making everyone laugh out loud. I feel my face heat up, not having meant to say that out loud. "Sorry, I didn't mean to say that out loud."

"But do you think we're bat shit crazy?" The Chief asks with a raised brow.

I just stare at him while opening and closing my mouth, trying to think of something to say.

"Shit, Bella was right, you do have foot-in-mouth disease," the Silent Assassin says with a chuckle. "It's fine, I have certified all of them," he carries on with a wink making me just look at him.

"Bella talks about me?" I ask.

He simply looks at me and his eyes change to the way they look during our time in his office.

"Just when Emmett insulted her, and she muttered something about men having foot-in-mouth disease."

My eyes jump to the Giant who's looking sheepish.

"You insulted Bella? Why?" I ask feeling more angry and upset than I should.

The Giant just looks at me, and then to the Chief. "It just slipped out," he whines while looking at the Chief.

"He told her that he didn't want her hitting the wall today. She turned to give him a death glare and stumbled and fell to the ground. Without missing a beat, Emmett said, "Checking gravity again, Bells?" the Silent Assassin tells us.

I look at him, with half of me wanting to laugh and the other half feeling bad for Bella.

"Maybe you should stay away when she's doing shooting practice, she may accidentally shoot you in the ass," I mutter at him making his face turn redder as the rest of the table breaks out in laughter.

I raise my brow looking at the Chief.

"She did that last year, with a Taser," he says sounding oddly proud of it.

I raise my eyebrow at him making him chuckle.

"He was assing around, and gave her a scare. I am pleased to say that she shot him in the ass."

"I wouldn't have been trying to scare her if I had known the midget was armed," he stops and looks at me. "I think she was more upset than I was over it though."

I draw my eyes off him as I feel like someone else is looking at me. My eyes scan the table to see most of them are sort of looking at me.

"So … what were you in prison for?"

"Jessica!" a number of people's voices from around the table are heard.

"Come on, I want to know ... the rumors make him sound like he's going to hack us all up," she carries on with a whine. "I mean, he looks so nice and all, but then I'm reminded of Ted Bundy." When she stops speaking she looks back at me. It's like she is waiting for an answer.

I feel my heart take off, and now I need to leave immediately.

"Can I get my gift now?" I ask, turning to face the Elf who looks like she's experiencing a mixture of hurt and worry.

"It's in your office at school," she tells me sounding sadder and more sedate than I have heard her before.

I get up and walk out of the bar. As soon as I am in my truck, my eyes close. I try taking a deep breath hoping that I can calm myself without taking a tablet. When it is clear that I can't, I down one dry just as there's a knock on my window.

I open my eyes to see the Chief standing there with the Silent Assassin.

I roll down my window just looking at him.

"I'm not saying that you should, but you may need to think about telling them what you were charged with," the Chief tells me.

I shake my head at him; he may say and act like he believes I didn't do it, but it doesn't mean the rest of the town will.

"Things like that have a way of coming out, and its better coming from your mouth than from someone who may not place you in the same light as they do," he adds.

I again shake my head but the Chief places a hand on mine.

"Son, you know it could help you relax. It may take away the worry and fear that people will leave or dismiss you when they find out. Just promise me that you will think about it."

He moves away and my eyes look to the Silent Assassin.

"What?" I ask as he hasn't said anything.

"Jessica didn't mean anything by what she asked. She has foot-in-mouth disease, too."

I frown at him as he starts to walk away.

"Does Bella talk about me much?"

He stops and sighs. "Bella talks about everyone and everything else, just so she doesn't have to talk about what she needs to."

I frown again but let him leave.

~WDYWFM~

"Hey," I say lowly as Bella joins me at the end of her path. We start to run, but I feel Bella looking at me every few seconds.

"You seem down – didn't you enjoy meeting everyone at the bar and grill last night?" she asks making me tilt my head at her. "It has been the talk of the town. You know, the new guy finally goes to the bar and grill," she says.

I sigh, unsure of how I'm supposed to feel about this. In prison everyone knew everything about everyone. You never had a choice of keeping anything private. It was so bad that most of the inmates knew about my mom's passing in the time that it took me to go to the Warden's office to officially be informed of her death, and to walk back to the recreation room.

"They don't mean any harm. I think most of them are happy to see that you're out making friends."

I snort loudly shaking my head. "That's not what I was doing, nor is it something I will be doing in the future."

I feel Bella staring at me from the corner of her eye, but she doesn't ask me anything. We make our way back to her home, and I pull at my hair feeling badly about how I ended our conversation. I was being truthful with her, but I am starting to think I may have been snappier than I should have.

"So ..." I say unsure if she´s going to the meadow right now. I don't feel as if I've worked off enough steam to go home and feel calm.

"I'm going to hit my punching bag for a bit, so if you have time you can join me, unless you want to run some more? You are free to join me; I mean, if you like. There are two bags, one is hung more for my Dad than mine. You can punch his for a while if you need, or want to."

I start to refuse her offer, but then I find myself wanting to work off some of my anger. "That would be great, um ... if you're sure you don't mind?" I ask.

She nods and points to her back door.

"If you want to turn on music and start, I'll get some bottles of water," she says heading into the house.

I press the power button on the music system and walk over to the bigger bag. It only seems to take a few hits before my brain imagines Cheney's face on the bag, and I start swinging harder.

"Do you want boxing gloves?" Bella asks but I shake my head not wanting to stop now that I am in my zone and feeling like I am working off the anger and hate I have for that man.

The sweat is dripping off me, and I still feel angry but also exhausted. I stop and bend over, breathing deeply. When it doesn't make me feel any better, I close my eyes. As I slowly regain my breath, I'm hit with the pain in my hands. I open my eyes taking a look to see that they are both red and swollen.

"Here's some ice pack wraps," Bella says softly.

I glance up at her expecting to see fear and worry but I don't. Her face only holds understanding, but there is also sorrow there. Sorrow is something I don't want her or anyone to feel for me; it makes me feel weak and that's something I never want to feel again.

Bella gently places the ice wraps around each of my hands.

"I was the same," she says not looking at me. "When my mom passed away, I was angry at myself for being sick."

I frown not that she sees it; she's just looking at my hands.

"If I hadn't been sick, we wouldn't have been at her work, and we wouldn't have been there when he broke in to steal the drugs that were being kept there."

I close my eyes knowing without her saying it, that her mother was murdered and she was there. When I open my eyes, I see that Bella is shaking her head.

"I wasn't just hurt but so angry that he took her from me," she chuckles sounding nervous. "I think you'll live, and maybe the next time you will at least wear gloves. They take a few minutes to put on, but they will protect your hands."

As she stands, my hands take a hold of hers. I swallow having no idea what to say to her, and I don't want to say I am sorry for her loss or hurt. I just seem to stare into her eyes, hoping she'll see that I understand her pain somewhat.

After a few minutes, she gives me a weak smile. "I'm just going to take a shower. I'll see you back here in an hour?" she asks.

I drop her hands giving her a nod, and wait until she is in her home before heading back to my own.

The whole time I am showering, I find that Bella and the Chief are on my mind. It makes me wonder even more why he is giving me a chance when his wife was killed by someone breaking in, and killing her.

I arrive back at Bella's home, and I can see that she seems to have something on her mind. Her eyes that are normally a clear brown seem to have a new darkness in them making her look sad and filled with worry.

I wonder if my eyes are the same, and if people can see my hurt by simply looking at them?

We reach the cabin and both get to work.

"Do you and Esme have any plans tonight" I ask. I normally like the quiet but the quiet has an edge to it, making it feel heavy and awkward.

"Just a movie," she answers, keeping things plain and simple.

"She's a great cook, Esme, I mean," I try again.

"Yeah, she is."

I pull my eyebrows together. There is a part of me that wants to keep trying to talk to her, but the other part knows my routine. I do the same thing when I don't want to talk. I never knew how cold it sounded to others.

We sit down having our lunch; my eyes again fall on Bella as she slowly eats her food.

I am taken aback when she takes a pill that I recognize quite well.

"You take Ativan for anxiety?" I mutter out my question, realizing mid-sentence that it is none of my business.

I see her gulp, and grab my own and shake the bottle. "I take them, too. I'm hoping that soon I can go without them, but right now I seem to have to take at least one every day."

"I used to, too. Now it's just every now and then—" she stops and lets out a big sigh. "I am sorry if I am acting off this afternoon—"

Again she stops talking, and I take a hold of her hand that is closest to me.

"I understand; sometimes you just need to process your thoughts?" she nods at me.

"I'm just waiting for the day when it won't hurt so much. When I think about that day, and what he took from her, from me ..."

I just give her a smile of understanding. I am not the Silent Assassin and have no idea what to say that would help her. Hell, right now I can't even help myself.

"We'd best get back – my dad will be waiting, he loves fishing."

I give her a nod, and we both clear up and head out. We arrive back at her home without saying a word.

"Edward," I hear her call as I walk toward my truck, and I turn to face her.

"I'm sorry about ruining your quiet time today."

"Don't be," I say honestly not bothered by her talking at all.

"Thank you," she almost whispers.

This time I frown just looking at her.

"Normally, when I have days like today, I am on my own. I don't like telling my dad because he has work. Jasper told me I could call him, and so has Esme. Jasper keeps telling me that it's easier to have someone just to be there, no matter if we are talking or not." Bella stops talking and lets out a snorting sound. "Now I have to tell him that he was right. Somehow your just being there made me feel differently than I have at other times."

I give her a nod, not that I fully understand what she means, but I understand what she's saying.

"I'm glad that I am useful for something," I say with a shrug.

She tilts her head at me, and stays quiet for a minute. Taking a deep breath she gives me a small smile. "See you later today, Edward."

I give her a nod, before I get in my truck and head home.


A/N: Well what do you think of that progress? Any thoughts on where things will go from here?