Ok, here is the second update, as promised! This one is a little long LOL. It gets kind of intense, you've been warned. Let me know what you're thinking. Also would any of you be interested in a chapter from EPOV at some point? As always I do not own any Twilight related material.
By the time I got in the car with Alice, I was in a foul mood. My head ached from lack of sleep. I did not want to be here. I sighed.
"Bella, what is wrong with you today?"Alice asked.
"I just didn't sleep very well Alice, sorry, I'm a little grumpy," I laugh inwardly, a little grumpy, ha!
" Well cheer up, I'm only going to keep you for a couple of hours. I'm going shopping for fabrics and paint today and I know how much you hate shopping. So I'm not going to make you come with me," she turned to me as she shut off the car.
"Thank you," I said with relief filling every syllable.
I followed Alice around the office, waiting for Edward to inevitably show up and glare at me, but he hadn't showed up yet. Part of me was disappointed, thinking maybe Edward in my dream and real Edward were somehow the same person. I strained to her the notes from the piano over the din of the workers, but that was absent as well. I secretly wanted to sneak to his office just to see if he was avoiding me, but Alice would want to know what I was doing and I didn't want to share this with her at the moment.
"Ah, almost done Bella," she sang, "Just my uncle's office left to check then you are free!"
"Where is your uncle anyway," I wondered just noticing his absence as well.
"He went to New York. He didn't think he should be in our way as we redid his office. Plus, Edward usually runs this office most of the time anyway," Alice shrugged jotting thing in her notebook as she spoke.
The workers were doing an excellent job, I was sure Alice's demeanor had something to do with that. She treated them well, she joked with them and treated them like friends. Happy workers were good workers. I also noticed she was paying more attention to a tall, blonde, man. He looked to be about our age and had a southern accent, his name was Jasper. She danced even more than usual when she was around him, he brought a sparkle to her eyes. I liked the effect he had on her, like a happy pill. Not that she needy to be happier. I sulked in the doorway as she chatted with him. I watched her face light up and then she hugged him with as much force as she had, she looked child-sized next to him. She pranced towards me and grabbed me by the arm to rush me out of the room.
"What are you doing Alice," I laughed.
"Jasper and I have a date tonight!" she poured her excitement out.
"Oh! I'm so happy for you, I wondered if that wasn't where that relationship was going," I nudged her in the ribs lightly and she giggled.
"You'll be alone for the rest of the day, does that bother you? I know you came out here for support but," I interrupted her mid sentence.
"Alice, go, have fun," I hugged here and she squeezed me back, "I'm just going to get a cab home. You go do your shopping and I'll see you later."
I watched her walk away smiling and waving, not sure if she was waving at me or Jasper, and once she was out of sight, against my better judgment, I turned towards Edward's office.
The lights were on and the door was crack just slightly. I walked as quietly as I could up to the door to peak in, no Edward. I wrung my hands together, thinking of going in. What would he do if he found me in his office? Again, my better judgment lost the fight. I pushed the door open and walked inside.
Everything was as it was before, except the desk lamp was on and a pencil was left in the middle of the desk. I sat down in the chair and looked at the calendar on the desk top. Today was circled, in a big black circle. Normally I wouldn't have thought anything of it, he was a lawyer it could very well have been a case or deadline, but today neither Edward or his father was here and I felt like that couldn't be a coincidence.
Then it hit me like an ice hunk, maybe this had to do with his mother. I wondered if I could fin her obituary in the archives at the library, then I felt guilty for thinking it. Yet, despite that guilt, I stood and walked towards the door knowing my legs would carry me to the library.
The cab ride was short and I began to wonder if I would be able to go through with this as I walked up the steps to the library doors. The reference desk was blissfully free of other library goers so I wouldn't have the chance to change my mind in a line.
"Hello Miss," the older woman said in a hushed tone, " How may I help you?"
"I want to look at the newspaper archives from 9 years ago, around today's date," I tried to sound sure.
"Yes just follow me and I will show you to the room to view them," She walked and barely made a sound.
I followed the librarian to a small room with one uncomfortable looking plastic chair and the machine to view the archives on. She slid a film on the spool, showed me how to look through it, then walked out of the room.
I began searching, for anything that said Masen in it. I looked for about an hour before I saw anything, then I immediately wished I had left it alone. The Headline read, "Elizabeth Masen, wife of powerful Chicago lawyer Edward Masen, falls to her death, suicide suspected".
I gasped, not sure I wanted to read further, suddenly feeling as though I was violating Edward's privacy, but I continued.
Elizabeth Masen, wife of Edward Masen, fell to her death from the second floor balcony of their family home. She was thirty-nine years old and a prominent force in Chicago society. Her son placed the call to 911 shortly after she fell. Sadly, she died on the scene. Police suspect suicide.
There was a picture of Edward and his father, looks of horror on their faces and Edward looking half crazed, watching the ambulance drive away. I sat just staring at it for a long time. Edward had been there when she fell, had he seen it? Is that why he refused to go on the balcony? That made sense, if he had seen her throw herself off the balcony I could understand his refusal to come out onto it. I felt awful for him. If I had seen Renee do something like that I doubt I would retain my sanity. I rubbed my arms with my hands trying to chase away the cold feeling. Then I looked at the date on the article, it had happened today. That's why they hadn't been at the office. Alice had known and had protected their privacy and I had violated it.
I needed to tell Edward I knew.
I caught a cab home, then changed my clothes. I didn't even pay attention to what I threw on, I could have had on neon orange pants and not noticed. I put my hair in a pony tail and caught another cab, thank goodness for my stash for cab fair. I gave them the address, which I had remembered from the night before, and sat back to wait. It was times like this I wished I had brought my truck. I watched as the buildings changed and it was obvious we were in a residential area. Finally, the cab began to slow down and stop.
"Keep the change," I tossed the money at him.
I should have had the driver wait, but if Edward wasn't here I intended on waiting for him until Alice called looking for me. I didn't know what he drove, but there was a silver Volvo in the driveway, if it was his he must not have been home long because it hadn't even made it to the garage. Would I be interrupting something private? I didn't care. I wasn't sure why I was exposing myself in this way but I didn't feel right about what I had done and I had never been god about keeping a secret.
I bit my lip, hard, as I rang the bell.
I waited for what seemed like forever and almost walked away, but then I heard footsteps and the lock moving.
"Miss Swan?" he looked bewildered.
He was dressed casually in light colored jeans and a dark blue, cotton, long sleeved shirt. His hair was messier than normal, and I noticed he was running his hand through it as I looked at him, almost in a nervous way.
"Can I come in," I asked, a bit of desperation in my voice.
"My father isn't here, he went back to his apartment in New York," he said, looking passed me as if he was looking for someone else, probably Alice.
"I'm not here to see him," I pushed.
"Very well then," He opened the door wide and gestured for me to come in.
I followed him into the sitting room we had been in before and watched as he sat down in a high-back chair. I began to pace the room like a caged lioness.
"Bella," he said an eyebrow raised, "why are you here?"
"I did something today, something I am not proud of," I put my hand up to keep him form interrupting my momentum.
"I remembered why you were sent to Forks, I was curious. I went to the library and looked up some information and I instantly regretted it. Edward, I am so sorry, and I feel as though I have violated your privacy," I watched his expression darken as he began to realize what I meant, "I know what happened on this day the year you came to my town. I know how your Mother died."
I could have sworn he growled, his arms were crossed tightly to his chest, his fierce green eye were boring holes in me.
"I'm sorry," I begged.
He stood so slowly it was surreal. I was frightened. It was stupid of me to think this would go any other way. I watched as he moved toward me, his expression not changing. When he got close to me I could feel his anger radiating from his body. His eyes were so intense I had to look away. That is when I felt his fingers on my chin, cool even in his anger, he pulled my face to his and forced me to look in his eyes.
"What do you think you know," he hissed.
"I, uh, well," I stuttered, "your mother killed herself. Threw herself from the balcony."
I let my eyes drift toward the stairs until I felt his fingers increase the pressure on my face ever so slightly.
"You don't have any idea what really happened here,"he seethed.
He grabbed my hand with his free one and jerked me towards the stairs. I obediently followed, I had brought this upon myself and I would let him say his piece. I tried to be braver than I felt. We reached the top of the stair to the second floor and he pulled me toward the familiar room. In the daylight it was beautiful, open and full of light. He pulled me inside and let my hand fall to my side.
He stalked to the french doors and flung them open, the sound they made hitting the house made me flinch. He stood there, framed in the door, the light playing is in hair and anger playing on his lips, looking at me.
"You want to know what happened, well, I'll tell you. The story no one knows but my family," he quickly crossed to me and pulled me towards the door.
"I was sixteen at the time," he began, "my mother had a problem that no one wanted to address. She was addicted to pills, pills of all types. The drug for the high society woman. It was beginning to take it's toll on her until we finally told her she had to quit. She didn't want to go to rehab, too many people would have known. So she tried to do it on her own and it worked,for a while," the clouds in his eyes grew more intense, " The first time she fell off the wagon, we forgave her, she was only human after all, then there was the second time, the third time. The night I came home to find her here standing out there," he pointed to the rail I had been leaning on before, "I was standing in the middle of this room and spotted the not, I quickly knew what she was about to do. I called her name, she looked at me over her shoulder, and tole me, Edward, go back inside. I didn't I begged her to come off the rail. When I had I thought I had calmed her I went to her. I reached for her hand and she smiled, then I knocked her leg by mistake and I watched in horror as my mother lost her balance on that rail. I tried to grab her, any part of her, but she fell, and I was the one who pushed her."
