Chapter Seven—Angry

Edward had to face the music, or in his case, a gun-toting father and police chief. He turned slowly, waiting for a fist to the face, but something told him Chief Charlie Swan was a smart man. He wouldn't want a witness around, and Mrs. Cope seemed the type to love juicy gossip.

An emotion, something entirely different from what he expected, was on the Chief's face. There was no mistaking the anger in his dark gaze, but what Edward saw was worry etched in the cop's eyes and face. It was expected, sure, but anger would be prominent if their positions were reversed.

Edward realized the Chief stood before him as a father, not a cop. He had obviously heard what Edward had said about wanting to hurt his classmates and the reasons why. Admitting it to Mrs. Cope wasn't his finest moment, but anger still tore through him. The emotion was not only because of what he'd witnessed, but also at himself. He'd heard what the asshole said during the attack, saying Edward had said she'd like it.

"Edward, I'd like a word with you after I have one with Mrs. Cope, please." There was a hard edge to the Chief's voice, but Edward was surprised to find it wasn't directed toward him. Bella's father seemed angry as fuck with the woman behind him.

"You know I can't do—" Mrs. Cope clamped her lips shut when Charlie lifted a hand up to stop her from talking any further.

"Save it, Shelley. Just arrange for Bella's schoolwork for the rest of the week to be ready for her by tomorrow afternoon. As you can imagine, she's likely not going to feel up to coming for a couple of days. Guess you'll have to run all the errands you send her on."

The old lady blushed beet red to the roots of her gray bouffant hair, tucking in an imaginary wayward curl. "I'll have everything ready by noon tomorrow, Chief." She turned her attention to Edward, a little surprised he was still there. "I'm afraid there's nothing I can do for you, Mr. Cullen."

Edward's jaw ticked. "I guess I'll have to endure it."

He left the office before he hit someone or said something to get him in more trouble. His emotions, all-negative, were too close to the surface. Everything seemed to set him off, but the thought of those assholes trying to hurt a girl…hurt Bella.

His fist hit a nearby wall, the drywall giving away to the assault. He kept walking, ignoring the sting in his hand. A hand clamped onto his shoulder a minute later, startling him. Still feeling volatile, Edward shrugged it off and prepared to hit the fucker stupid enough to touch him. He turned, raising a fist, almost landing it. Someone else pulled him back.

Fuck. He almost hit Bella's father.

Instinct had him fighting whoever held him, but his grip was too strong. "Let go. I ain't going to hit him. I thought it was someone else." He had no interest in hurting the man more than he already had, but anyone else was free game in his mood.

A deep voice replied, "Calm down first. Breathe, damn it."

Edward's breathing was hard, enough to make him lightheaded. He allowed himself a few deep, cleansing breaths, and it wasn't long before the brute behind him relaxed his hold and let him go. The entire time the Chief watched Edward get under control, he hadn't said a word, his face devoid of emotion.

The vacant look in the Chief's eyes reminded him of what Bella looked like when she had come out of that fucking classroom, of the words that she screamed at him.

"Fuck!" Edward turned away from Charlie and the newcomer. He punched a nearby locker, hitting it three times before they swooped in to stop him, only releasing him once he backed away.

The guy who held back Edward was huge, built like a linebacker, with broad shoulders, and he had the telltale brown eyes that were undeniably Swan. "Now that we know how you really feel. Why don't we go for a ride?" He held out his hand. "I'm Emmett, Bella's cousin."

Edward didn't know what else to do other than to shake his hand.

"Where exactly do you think you're going with him, Emmett?" Charlie's arms crossed over his chest, his right eyebrow twitching.

"Wait." Edward was confused as fuck. "Why aren't you two beating the fuck out of me?" He felt he deserved it.

"Seems like you're doing a good job by yourself, son." Charlie was serious, but there something in his eyes that instilled fear. "Besides, revenge is best served cold."

Emmett clamped a hand on Edward's shoulder, directing him toward the nearly empty parking lot.

Charlie shook his head. "I asked you a question, Emmett. Mind answering?"

Bella's cousin smiled over at his uncle. "I got two words for you, Charlie." He held up two fingers. "Plausible deniability." Before the Chief could protest, Emmett already had Edward in the passenger seat of his Jeep.

Emmett decided it was time to pay a visit to a couple of his former teammates.

Edward thought he'd been seeing things over the last two days. It didn't seem possible to know as much as he did in so little time. Secrets seemed to run the school, with the jocks and the BB's on the top. They didn't seem to bother hiding anything from anyone. They did questionable shit out in the open; the incident with Bella proved it.

"Can you please explain to me why everyone seems to worship the ground Garrett Wilson, Eric Yorkie, and that stupid as fuck Bitch Brigade walk on. I'm not talking about other students, but teachers, too."

"They're pretty much untouchable, like their parents." Emmett turned down a familiar street, and Edward recognized Bella's truck in the driveway of a tiny, two-story house. "At least we know she's safe at home. Charlie should be on the way here soon."

"I should talk to her." Edward wanted to, but he had no idea what he'd say. Her last words to him replayed in his head, reminding him she fucking hated him.

"You knock on the door right now, and she'll likely send you to the hospital. They said she broke Eric's nose and possibly Garrett's tailbone or tore his hamstring. Baseball season is going to suck this year for the school. At least this may have cost them any chance of scholarships."

"What the fuck does it matter what happens to those fucking assholes? They deserve losing their scholarships and more. They're both eighteen, they should be arrested."

"Charlie's hands are tied." Emmett drove past Bella's house and continued down the road. "He's not allowed to work on the case for obvious reasons, so they'll have someone on the local department working on it. Mark Williams is about as shady as they come. Garrett and Eric will get a slap on the wrist and that's it." Emmett looked about ready to hit something, too. "We played sports together. I know what they're like. I've seen shit like this happen in the past."

"How can the rest of this town let shit like that go?"

"They have no choice. Let me guess, your parents thought Forks, Washington was the right place to get away from big city problems."

Edward nodded.

"We may not have a high crime rate, but that's only because the cops are too scared to go after the ones committing the crimes. The Wilson, Newton, Smith, Mallory, Davis, and Yorkie families run this town, and one of the biggest drug rings in the Pacific Northwest."

Edward laughed out loud, though it was far from humorous. Great job picking out the cutest little town, Mom and Dad.