Chapter 7: Two-Headed Boy

Edward:

"What?" Bella asked, almost yelling. She was looking from me to the road as she put her seat belt on.

"It doesn't even matter, I'm taking you home," I said, slightly calmer, now just angry.

"Okay, all right," she said, annoyed, slumping into her seat and crossing her arms.

She waited a second and then she started again. "I don't understand wh-"

"Do you know who that was?" I asked, my voice rising.

"Of course I knew!" She yelled fully now, huffing and turning from me completely, putting all her attention on her firmly clasped hands.

I shook my head, squinting my eyes, peeling my foot off the gas slowly and relaxing my position. Endless moments passed as I decreased my speed little by little, focusing entirely on what was in front of me. After a long silence, I felt Bella's eyes on me again.

"Are you done, now?" She asked, slightly belligerent.

I clenched my jaw. "I know I said wanted to be friends, but it's not going to work out. I'm sorry," I said, through gritted teeth. I had to end it now, finish it, before it got worse.

She wanted to say something else, I knew she did, but she turned her head in surprise as I pulled into her complex, the speed at which I'd gotten us here impressing me, as well. I shut off the car and slumped back in my seat, waiting for her to say something, knowing my earlier statement likely had no effect in swaying her.

"I thought you didn't care if he knew," she said meekly. She practically whispered it, and I realised that she sounded like she was afraid of me or my reaction.

I sat forward, looking at her for the first time, searching her face, waiting for her to meet my eyes. When she finally looked at me, I started to speak.

"I didn't care because I thought he never would know. It was just so-he never would have... you don't understand," I said, giving up.

"No, you're right, I don't understand anything you're saying," Bella said, exasperated.

I rubbed my eyes, trying to think of where to start. "There's so much more than you know, than anyone does. Carlisle is not the same man he was. He hasn't been for a long time. He started to change while he and your father were still friends. Charlie tried to help, you know," I said, watching her expression.

She shook her head, eyes squinted, her confusion telling me that she didn't know any of the story I did.

I sighed. "Carlisle was acting like a different person. My mother, Esme, went to Charlie for help, knowing she could trust him. She and Charlie tried everything, trying to figure out what had happened to him. He was paranoid and completely erratic, hiring guards, destroying documents, no one ever knew why. He stopped trusting us, too. I was young, but I remember the way he was acting, how suddenly, one day, he just wasn't my father anymore. My mother was afraid for me and herself. He started to lash out at us, at me," I paused, refusing to go into more detail on that part.

Bella searched my face, and then her eyes widened.

I continued, changing the subject. "After a while, he started to shut everyone out. He was slowly taking things away from Charlie without his knowledge, almost as though he was covering his tracks. He became suspicious of my mother and Charlie, accusing them of anything he could think of, and that's when it really started. You must remember, that's when it started to come up in the papers," I said.

She nodded mechanically.

I went on. "When I was old enough, after my mother left, Carlisle stopped going outside. That's why I thought it was so impossible, so safe. He never leaves the house. He oversees things through me, which is why I really came back here, back to Seattle. I only stay because eventually, he's going to leave the company to me. Then I can take care of things, my mother, give Charlie back what's his," I looked back at Bella, her hand covering her mouth.

"You know none of this?" I asked. "Charlie hasn't told you any of it?"

She didn't move, so I assumed her answer.

"That's good. Probably protecting you," I thought out loud. "Which is something I should have thought of. He probably thinks you're spying for Charlie or something else as equally insane. I'm sure he knows who you are. That's why I was trying to get you out so fast; I'm sorry about that by the way, I was just hoping he hadn't seen who you were," I said, downplaying.

"I... " Bella trailed off, not even trying.

"No one is supposed to know, of course. I didn't want you to know," I said.

Bella's lips parted, but nothing came out.

"You have questions," I assumed.

She nodded. "How can... how is he still in charge?" She asked.

I pursed my lips. "Carlisle is a very smart man. While he's lost touch with a lot of things, business sense isn't one of them. All that time he spent secretly taking the rug out from under Charlie's feet? That was flawless on his part. That's why, legally, no one could do anything, which is something else I'm sure you remember," I said.

"I do. I remember that well. But how did- I just, I don't know what to say," Bella grabbed her head with her hand, scrunching her hair in a fist, then letting it drop back into her lap.

I leaned forward and slowly pushed a stray hair back from her forehead, then pulled back quickly, realising what I'd done. She seemed like she was too preoccupied to notice, so I stayed quiet.

"How do you know all this?" She asked.

"My mother," I said simply. She accepted that answer easily.

"What was he pulling out of his pocket?" She asked, more curious.

"You saw that," I said, surprised that she'd noticed. "Probably about to call one of his henchmen," I said, sarcastically.

She furrowed her brow.

"One of his guards, like I said before," I explained, wondering only to myself if it was a phone he'd been reaching for. Now, I couldn't really say.

She studied my face but didn't miss a beat, continuing to ask the first questions that came to her head, like she was checking them off a list.

"But you said that you never thought he would know. About us, I mean. How can that be? If he's the way you say he is, wouldn't that mean that this is exactly the kind of thing he'd know about? You can't be his only connection, can you?" She asked.

"Yes and no. Carlisle doesn't really concern himself with what I'm doing unless it's actually related to his interests. His mind is just one track now. While he may be... unsound in other areas, his focus remains pretty much intact. His goal, for whatever reason he built in his head, is to protect the Cullen name, whatever it stands for. He deals with other people when he has to, depending on his use for them, but he dismisses them easily when it comes to trust. He keeps me around, I guess, because I'm a Cullen. It's my automatic in," I said, thinking out loud by this point.

"That doesn't add up," Bella said, also thinking out loud.

"Well, there's a lot more to it than I'm explaining, Bella. What doesn't add up for you?" I asked.

"You're saying he trusts no one, but he trusts you so easily? There must be someone, somebody who'd tell him if they saw you, us; someone watching, anything. You were so sure, I really thought you didn't care," she said, searching for reason.

"That part is simple, only because, I'm all he has left. My mother is gone, his friends are, obviously, gone. If not for me, there would be no one to continue his legacy- as it were," I added.

"Then how did he know? How did he know to be at that dock, at that exact moment?" She asked, still pressing.

"That place, it's Carlisle's. I used to go there with him, before he... just, before," I said, stopping myself short.

She waited.

"It could be coincidence. Or things may have changed, I don't know. I haven't been here in so long, everything could be different," I offered.

Bella looked at me quizzically, still unconvinced, almost impertinent.

I opened my mouth to attempt providing more logic behind my conclusions, but only stifled air came out as I shrugged my shoulders, not finding the words.

She eyed me skeptically for a moment, but then her expression changed, a worried line creasing her forehead. "What do I... should I warn Charlie?" She almost stammered.

"Not yet. Give me a day. I'll find out what's going on and I'll come see you. If you want me to, I mean," I said, suddenly accepting that, after this, we may not, or should not, see each other.

She nodded, biting her nail, looking absently away. She turned back me, now biting her lip. "I'm sorry, Edward, this is just so much to take at once. I can't even think right now," she said, putting her nail back in her mouth.

I sighed, worry present in my voice. "Are you all right, Bella?"

She looked at me, removing her hand from her face. "Are you?" She asked. Then she laughed nervously, which surprised even me. "And here I was, thinking I had it hard," she chuckled.

I smiled without humour. She was unhinging now, I had thrown too much at her, and now she was reaching for anything. "It's something you get used to. Are you sure you want to me come back?" I asked, steering the conversation elsewhere.

"It's too late for all that, Edward," she said, waving a hand in the air dismissively.

"For what?" I asked.

"For turning back, for pretending it didn't happen," she explained.

"I'm just worried," I said, looking for understanding. "I don't want to drag you into this any further," I offered, trying to make her see.

"Oh, stop. I dragged myself in. We're in it now, the both of us," she said.

I raised an eyebrow. Her sudden control and bravery reminded me of the first impression I'd had of her; solid, unmoving, unafraid.

"I'm worried too. But maybe, well, maybe we can fix things," she said, hopeful.

It was my turn to laugh then, the idea seeming entirely impossible.

She rolled her eyes. "You never know," she said flatly.

"I'll take that," I said, noticing her tired eyes, trying to concede, trying to end what I'd started. She needed rest, she needed to be safe in her apartment, away from me and all the trouble I brought with me.

I shifted my weight and opened my door, moving stiffly out of the car. I walked to her door as she was opening it, crawling out just as slowly. I stood, waiting for her, until she straightened out and came to face me. I reached down and took her hand in mine, quickly turning and leading her to the stairs. It was bold of me, again, but I still didn't care. I grasped her small hand firmly, and I felt her holding on, which was all that mattered. I pulled her up the steps, leading her around me when we got to the top, leaving her in front of her door. She stared at me for a moment, and I stared back as I carefully loosened my grip, letting our fingers brush past each other.

She unlocked her door, letting it push open, entering and then turning, standing in the doorway.

I moved forward and leaned against the door frame. "That's good," I said, motioning to the deadbolts screwed into the door.

She glanced at them as she took off my jacket, hanging it off her finger from the collar, holding it out to me. "Safety first," she smiled weakly.

I smiled back, taking my coat and moving closer still. "Okay, Bella," I almost whispered, while leaning down and placing my hand on the back of her head to pull her a little bit closer, kissing her forehead softly. "Have a good night," I said as I backed away.

I didn't turn back as I made my way down the stairs and towards my car. I was overwhelmingly conflicted, excited yet worried and completely stressed. I really didn't want to think of what I'd just started with Carlisle, what reaction I could have possibly created. I remembered the terror I felt when I saw him, the shock and complete disbelief. Had I actually missed something in my time away from here, he'd kept it from me well. I couldn't figure out why I felt calm despite the look in his eyes, one that I'd seen before, something I knew only meant bad things. Up until now he was always curt and dry in our exchanges, giving nothing away, as expected. Seeing him tonight, so unbound and free, was beyond unsettling. I tried not to acknowledge it, tried not to think of what he would say to me, what he would do. I almost shuddered as I pushed it away, hoping to leave it for tomorrow. I wanted to embrace my worry, deal with it as I should, but my time with Bella had been too distracting, had felt too warm and comforting, somehow filling me with peace. My stomach churned as I remembered small details and quiet revelations, all the things I'd shared with her so candidly.

I focused on the road, fighting the mental exhaustion, just wanting to get home so this night could have an end. If it was finally over, it meant I didn't have to think about Carlisle again until tomorrow, it meant I wouldn't have to admit my strange attraction to Bella, my excitement over knowing I'd see her again so soon.

I rolled my eyes at myself, entirely annoyed by the things going on in my head, amazed by the trouble I had already caused, and now knew I was likely about to cause, for myself and everyone I knew.