A/N: Wow, you guys respond well to a challenge! We reached 12 and above for last chapter. Am I being too pushy if I plead for 15?
This is one of my favourite chapters I have written so far. Those of you who are crying out for a twist - I have one, but I'm not entirely sure it's too unexpected.
There was something different – something I couldn't put my finger on. He had changed – and not just physically. He was harsh, almost cruel with the way he had come and gone just like that. Like he was brandishing his beauty in my face, and showing me exactly what I couldn't have.
Chapter Seven
"This is the staff lounge." I yawned, before hastily reaching to cover the evidently offending movement. My brand-new boss – the creepy Goth girl from the day before, who was aptly named Morticia – considered me with a contemptuous expression. I resisted the urge to poke out my tongue.
"It's…nice," I replied, scanning the medium-sized room. The main piece of furniture appeared to be a tan leather sofa, which was at this moment occupied by the beer-bellied fry cook Lenny. He was watching some big game with his sweaty t-shirt lifted up so that he could pat his hairy stomach affectionately. I pulled a face.
"Here," said Morticia. "This is your new uniform." She thrust a drawstring bag into my hands. "You have ten minutes to get changed – we open in twenty, and I need all the napkin dispensers stocked." I stared down at the bag. "You can change in here," Morticia added, and I shot a doubtful look in Lenny's direction.
"I'll take the restrooms," I answered, quickly fleeing the wrath of Lenny's leer. As I opened the drawstring bag, and the smell that greeted me was repugnant. I wrinkled my nose in disgust. Couldn't they have dry-cleaned it first?
I peered over my shoulder, trying with unsteady hands to tie my disgusting coffee-stained apron. I yawned again, cupping my mouth with my hand. Truth be told, I hadn't exactly had much sleep in the last 24 hours.
O.K, make that no sleep in the last 24 hours. The rain in Forks had been particularly heavy the past couple of days, and I had told myself it was the loud weather that had made me restless. But I knew myself well enough to know that it wasn't the rain keeping me awake – I had grown up with Forks' crazy rainfall.
No, it was Edward's reappearance yesterday afternoon that had been the reason for my insomnia. It wasn't the usual yearning I felt after that, it was concern too. Edward had been different – something was not as it should have been. I could have dealt, in time, with the fact that Edward didn't want me – or at least that was what I was telling myself – but the fact that he wasn't one hundred percent O.K didn't settle well with me. I found myself hoping and praying every single second since he had disappeared again that he would come back, and I would know for definite whether or not he was alright.
"Knock, knock." I glanced up – Morticia was rapping on the cubicle door. I cleared my throat.
"Nearly ready!" I called back. Morticia sounded disgruntled.
"Hurry up, Swan," she ordered. "We open for breakfast in five minutes and I still don't see any napkins in those dispensers." I heard her walking away, and sighed. I finished tying up my apron and unlocked the cubicle, dumping my bag onto the tan sofa next to Lenny on my way out. I bade a sorrowful farewell to my own clothes – my shopping trip with Jacob had been completely wasted.
I stocked the dispensers in silence, already bored with the monotony of the job. I thought about humming whilst I did it – that would cheer me up; it would annoy Morticia for sure – but decided I didn't need the aggravation of being fired on my first day.
Tomorrow I'd give it a shot.
"And we're open," announced Morticia, flipping over the "Closed" sign, and I reached for my notepad, ready to take orders. I don't know whether or not I'd been expecting a sudden rush of customers as soon as we were pronounced open, but I was surprised when ten minutes passed as we still didn't have a single person come into the diner. Morticia, however, didn't look bothered.
"Everybody goes to Starbucks first thing in the morning," she told me, nonchalantly. I didn't bother asking why we opened for breakfast. She was already distracted, her eyes flickering towards the door. "Hey, look," she said, straightening a little, and playing with her hair. "Your first customer. He's cute."
My heart flipped as I turned to follow her gaze, but the disappointment was hard-hitting as I realised it was Jacob. I returned his easy smile as he came through the door, and pretended like he didn't know I worked here.
"Bella!" he cried, enveloping me in a bear hug. I balked in his arms, giggling nervously. "Get me a table, silly girl. What are you still doing hugging me like this?" I rolled my eyes, and found him a table for two by the window. I handed him a menu and lifted up my notepad.
"What can I get you to drink?" I asked, and he raised his eyebrow.
"What's good here?" he teased, and I smiled again. He looked past me, suddenly, and saw Morticia staring back at me. "Bells," he said, out of the corner of his mouth. "Creepy Goth Girl over there is looking at me funny."
"She thinks you're cute," I informed him, much to his revulsion. He ordered a Coke, and begged me not to leave him too long whilst I went to get it. I passed Morticia, whose eyes were still on Jacob. She spoke to me without looking at me.
"You can take a break, if you want," she said. "You know that guy?" I nodded, reaching for the tap and filling a pint glass with frothy Coca Cola. "He's cute."
"You said," I reminded her. "And yeah, I do know him. He's a family friend." I replaced the tap, and looked up to see that she still hadn't moved. "Are you sure I can have a break? I've hardly been working half an hour."
"Sure," Morticia agreed, and she raised her voice so that Jacob could hear her false generosity. "You've been working so hard, and all." I shrugged, and carried Jacob's Coke over to his table, sitting in the chair opposite him.
"Here," I said, handing his drink over. "You can come again – you earn me breaks." He grinned, taking a sip, and slipping me a few bucks.
"Consider it your tip," he replied, and I smiled, gratefully. "For being such a charming waitress." I tossed my hair over my shoulder dramatically, and he laughed; a big, booming laugh that echoed across the café.
"Thanks for making me apply for this job, Jake," I said, reaching across the table for his hand. "You've been a good friend to me these past couple of days." He looked down at our entwined fingers.
"What are you saying?" he asked, jokingly. "I've always been a good friend." I waved a hand dismissively. "In fact," he continued, finally looking up again and raising an eyebrow. "I think it's time I got repaid." He squeezed my hand, before leaning over the table towards me. I was transfixed; watching as his lips got closer and closer to mine… before something in the diner doorway caught my eye.
"Oh my God!" I whispered, and I tore my hand from Jacob's, leaping up from the chair I was sat on. "Wait!" I called to Edward, running across the diner, dodging the tables and chairs, depositing my apron on one of them. "Wait!"
I didn't even hear Jacob call my name.
Edward was gone from the doorway before I reached it, but I kept running, following the occasional copper flash in the crowd before me. He turned down an alleyway and I did the same, my heart racing with adrenaline. I had him cornered.
Edward slunk into the shadows, and released a hiss. "I'm useless," he snarled, mostly to himself. "I am not fit to live in this world." He chuckled to himself, like what he said was somehow ironic.
I frowned, stepping into the shadows beside him. I was incredulous. "Are you kidding me?" I demanded, and he glanced at me in confusion. "You are not useless, Edward," I panted, still breathless from my run. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me – when you're not breaking my heart disappearing into thin air."
Sunshine passed over us – just for a second – and I saw for the first time the colour of his eyes. I hadn't spotted anything else, only that his previously green eyes were now a piercing red.
The colour of blood.
I stepped away from him immediately, continuing to back away towards the business of the main street again.
"Bella," Edward pleaded, but I kept moving, keeping a careful eye on him as I moved. Suddenly he sprung, and he was behind me, preventing me from any further movement. "Bella," he purred in my ear. "Let me explain."
I struggled in his arms, unexpectedly terrified. His grip of iron held me in place without much effort.
"Don't make me angry, Bella," he warned me, and I grew still. "I'm not sure if I can completely control myself if you test my temper." I trembled.
"What happened to you?" I asked, my voice brittle and unsteady. "Did you get hurt?" He laughed softly, his cool breath tickling the back of my neck.
"I am in constant pain," he told me, sorrowfully. "But there's no medicine that can help me." He paused. "The only cure is something you can give me." I didn't hesitate in responding.
"Anything," I promised him. "I'll give you anything you need." There was doubt about it.
His lips rested on my bare neck, exploring across my back and shoulders. His fingers were tender on my hips and I could feel my legs buckling, as well as the frequency of breaths on my skin increasing. I could feel my world starting to spin and I held my breath, hoping to steady myself. I knew I couldn't move even if I wanted to – even I fainted Edward would no doubt still be able to hold me to attention.
"Bella," Edward said, suddenly, and he sounded pained. My ears perked, and my heart fluttered agitatedly.
"Yes?" I replied, weakly.
"Leave," he begged me. "Now." His hold around my waist loosened, but I hesitated.
"Will I see you again?" I inquired, desperate for the answer I yearned for. He paused too, still restrained in his actions.
"You will," he promised me, and I breathed a sigh of relief – my first exhalation for what seemed like minutes. "But only if I'm one hundred per cent sure you'll be safe around me." He gave me a push and I ran for the street, not looking back.
Confusion swamped me till I felt like I was drowning, but I was no longer feeling the depression that had consumed me as I had woken up this morning. Instead I felt hungry for answers, hungry for Edward's company.
Yet somehow I had the feeling he hungered for a lot more than my company.
