Alright, so now that I have more time to write, the chapters are coming out quicker now. And I'm glad that you all liked the last one. It was the beginning of this maelstrom of emotions and I'm glad that it came out the way that it was supposed to. Now, I believe you'll like this one as well, and comments are always welcome.
Also, I've made this Facebook page in hopes to attract more people to read my stories and get more notice about when I update and such, so here is my link:
(Facebook dot com)/ #! / MortalParalight (remove the spaces and please fill in the blanks that are written there, i.e.. (Facebook dot com) is the address of Facebook)
So now, without further ado, please READ AND REVIEW!
Disclaimer = I don't own Twilight or anything mentioned in here!
Chapter 6
The Truth Comes Out
Edward's Point of View
Becoming friends with Bella was one of the best things that could have happened to me.
Everything changed when being around Bella. My girlfriend was the farthest thing from my mind whenever being with Bella. She made me feel as if Tanya didn't even exist. And when I wasn't with Bella, it became clear that Tanya was really starting to irritate me. Every small and insignificant thing that Tanya did or said rubbed me the wrong way and made me snap at her nearly every single time.
At one point, I couldn't take it anymore, and I broke up with Tanya the Monday after her birthday.
I asked her to come to my house after school, and we had a long chat, which ended with our break-up. Of course, Tanya didn't take it well. Actually, she begged me to stay with her, as if she needed me to breathe. But I couldn't do it anymore. She didn't bring happiness to my life anymore. Tanya only brought misery, which is something I couldn't handle anymore.
Being in a relationship shouldn't be just one sided. The glass shouldn't be half full.
When Tanya left, sobbing uncontrollably, I didn't feel any remorse. In fact, I felt a sense of relief. It was uplifting to be free of that woman. I wouldn't need to be at her beck and call anymore.
Mom asked me why Tanya was crying, and I explained things to her, but she wasn't quite surprised. In fact, she was pleased to hear about our break-up. When Alice heard the news moments later, she was thrilled. She was even performing her own happy dance, which made me roll my eyes. I always knew my sister didn't like Tanya, but not to this extent. My eldest sister, Rosalie, even made a point of informing me that this break-up should have happened long ago.
To be honest, now that things have changed, I realize that they were right. This break-up should have happened long ago, but I didn't realize it until Bella and I began interacting.
Speaking of which, now that Tanya was no longer a part of my life, it could mean that Bella and I could broaden our friendship. With these new feelings of mine, maybe it could mean that our friendship could grow into something more. It would just take time, that's all.
After a little while, I decided to go on a run to clear my head. There was a path in the forest near the entrance to the city that was perfect for runners like myself, which was my ideal place to train. Driving toward my usual path, I spotted something in the distance, something familiar that made my heart churn in my chest. When getting closer to it, I noticed it was Bella's monster of a truck. What was she doing here, all alone, and so close to the forest? There wasn't a house for miles. If she were to get hurt, then no one could be there to help her.
When that thought entered my mind, a feeling of dread spread through my body, as if my heart was reaching out toward Bella. If she were to get hurt, or worse…it was simply unimaginable.
What were these feelings I was experiencing for Bella Swan?
I drove toward Bella's truck and parked beside her truck, taking in the state of it. It seemed unharmed, so I don't believe someone could have hurt her…at least, not yet anyways. The forest was a dangerous place to be.
Without a second thought, I began running down the path, thinking it was best to follow the path for now. If Bella were to have gone into the forest, she would have logically followed the path until stopping somewhere. I continued running through the forest, trying to find some sort of clue that could lead me to Bella. Seeing as there weren't any clues on the ground, it might be best to start calling for her.
"Bella? Bella, where are you?" I asked, my voice resonating through the forest.
Unfortunately, there wasn't any response.
I tried calling her one more time when suddenly, a particular sound made me stop in my tracks. When reaching my ear out to hear the sound, my heart clenched even more. Someone was crying. Could it be Bella? Why would she be upset? More importantly, what could I do to ease her sadness?
I followed the melancholic sound and found myself venturing toward the depths of the forest. It was unsafe to go in these parts of the woods alone, but leaving Bella alone was not an option right now. I was her friend, after all.
Following the sound, I saw something shine in the distance. Moving a few branches along, a small 'wow' escaped my lips as I came across a beautiful meadow. Several types of flowers aligned the clearing, and a small river passed through it. (description of the meadow)
And just beside the river sat Bella, her forehead on her knees and her body shaking with sobs.
Frowning, I took a few steps toward her, but Bella suddenly lifted her head, turning her head toward me while wiping her eyes. "Who's there?" she asked, obviously unaware of my presence as she wiped her tears.
My legs stopped carrying me toward her and I simply looked at her face, the tears still evidently leaking down her pale face. Her eyes were puffy and red, meaning that she had been crying for a while. Something obviously upset her, because in this very moment, Bella looked like a small child who's lost her parents. There was a certain frightened look to her, one that I was hoping that she would share with me.
"It's me, Bella," I said softly, my voice just loud enough to carry over to her.
Bella turned her head away from me after a few moments and wrapped her arms tighter around her knees. "Please go away, Edward…" she whispered, placing her head back against her knees.
It broke my heart to see her like this, and my feet unconsciously brought me toward her. "It's dangerous to be in a forest all on your own, Bella," I said, sitting down beside her and bringing my knees to my chest. "As your friend, it's my job to make sure no dangerous beasts attack you." Looking over at her, she was hiding her face from me, as if she didn't want me to see her like this. But I wanted nothing more than to comfort her in her time of need. Placing my hand on her arm gently, she didn't flinch from me, which was a good sign. It meant that she didn't mind me touching her, at least not now.
"And it's also my job to try and help you when you're sad. What's wrong?" I asked, my voice taking on a smooth and gentle tone.
"It's none of your concern, Edward… Please…just go away…" she said, her voice breaking once more as tears began to once again leak down her face.
Bella's face moved once more when I attempted at touching her face, which gave me the perfect opening to talk to her face to face. Placing my fingers gently under her chin, she tried to move away, but I didn't let her this time. Turning her head gently toward me, my eyes locked with hers, seeing her fully for the first time in a week.
Bella had changed since I'd seen her, and I don't know if this was a short or long-term thing. The bags under her eyes had gotten not only darker, but also larger since we'd last seen. Her eyes, which normally had so much life in them, seemed to be drained of that, as if she was giving up—which was still unknown to me on the reason why she would give up. Her face was unusually paler than usual, and a large bruise was beginning to form on the left side of her face, indicating someone must have harmed her. When seeing that bruise, a boiling rage began to form within me and I began to look for other injuries. Luckily, there didn't seem to be any other ones.
"What's wrong, Bella? What happened to make you so upset, sweetheart?" I asked gently, my voice just as soft and patient as before, maybe even more now. She seemed to hesitate once more and I said reassuringly, "You can tell me anything, Bella. I'm here for you."
Bella was silent for a few moments before she said, "I don't know what to do anymore, Edward…" as a few more tears began falling down her cheeks.
I cupped her injured cheek ever so gently and began wiping away her tears with my thumb, running my finger against her smooth skin. "What happened?" I asked once again, liking the feeling of running my finger against her skin. It was smooth like silk, so different from Tanya's.
"My stepmother took all of my college funds and gave it to my stepsisters…" she said, making me frown in both shock and sadness. "She took everything…"
"Why would she do that?" I asked, moving closer to her and placing my hand on her back, rubbing it softly while trying to comfort her as much as possible.
Surprisingly, Bella didn't move away from my touches. She was uncertain about my hand gesture, but it was appreciated to see her so cooperative. Bella looked at the water down at the water in front of her and wrapped her arms once more around her knees, clutching them tightly. She seemed to hesitate once more, not quite certain if she should indulge this information onto me, but in the end, she started talking.
Bella explained everything to me; what it was like before her father married Victoria, his heart attack, what she's had to endure at the hands of Victoria and her stepsisters, everything. It was as if she finally trusted me enough to let everything out. It was reassuring to know that she trusted me, and I tried to comfort her throughout her explanation to the best of my ability, just as any friend should. Maybe my comfort went a long way as well. But from her explanation, it sounded as though Bella needed someone to be there for her, to listen to her.
My heart went out to Bella, unable to imagine how painful and lonely her life must have been. To be someone's slave for so long without anyone knowing…that took a lot of courage and strength.
Bella was obviously the strongest person I knew, and I commended her for it. I would never have been able to do what she's done for so long.
"Before my dad died of a heart attack eight years ago, he gave me his bankcard to use for school. It was supposed to be enough to get me through college," Bella continued, never looking over at me. "I thought that he wanted to help me, but it seemed like it was just a ploy. My dad wrote in his will that, on the girls' eighteenth birthday, Victoria was allowed to give them a chunk of his savings. He didn't leave me anything…"
My eyes widened in shock as she finished her explanation. Her father hadn't left her anything? How could he do that to her? And why would he do that?
"Why would he do that? You are his biological daughter," I said, finding it hard to believe that Bella's father would do that to her. "Do you think that your stepmother might be tricking you into believing this? It seems as though she would be capable of anything."
"I already thought of that, but the document looked so official… I really don't know what to think anymore."
"It sounds like your stepmother has something wrong in her head. I can imagine her doing something like this," I said, seeing Bella remaining quiet. Maybe she was thinking about what I said, but I couldn't be too sure. Looking at her face, I reached my free hand up and ever so softly ran the tip of my fingers down her injured face, having Bella flinch from my touch.
"She's the one who hurt you, didn't she," I asked, pulling my hand away. Bella didn't respond, which confirmed my suspicions. Sighing, I rubbed my forehead softly and said, "I can't believe that stepmother of yours would lay a hand on you like that."
"She only does it when I disobey…" she said sadly, sighing in defeat. Bella moved one of her hands to her neck, nearly clutching the small pendant. It made me wonder what she could be holding, but judging by the way she was holding it, it must be very important to her.
Which made everything click into place. "Your father gave you that necklace, didn't he," I said, moving my hand up to squeeze her shoulder softly.
Bella looked over at me for the first time since she began explaining her story before finally looking down at her necklace, opening her hand and showing me the pendant.
Bella nodded slightly and spoke quietly. "It's Saint Jude, patron of lost causes." She was quiet for some time before speaking again. "I guess that's why he gave it to me. Because I'm a lost cause…"
My heart plummeted as she voiced her theory, unable to believe that her father would be that cruel. Obviously, this must be a ploy from Victoria to make Bella's life worse than it already was. I couldn't believe people would be that cruel, but obviously this woman was proving me wrong.
Placing my hands on her shoulders, I turned her upper body slightly toward me as to look in her eyes, wanting to have her full attention. "Bella, you are not a lost cause. None of this is your fault. There has to be some reason behind everything, because your father couldn't have left you with nothing. I know he couldn't." Bella was about to interject, but I shook my head and continued on. "Everything that has happened today is simply a bad coincidence. No matter what, you can't give up on your college dreams."
"Edward, I don't have any way to go to college now," Bella said, obviously in a dark place right now that she cannot think straight. "There isn't enough time to collect enough money so I can—"
"Bella, you have worked hard to be able to go to school and still survive everything that those wicked people have sent your way," I said, trying desperately to get her to understand. "They can't take that away from you." Cupping her cheeks, I looked deeply in her eyes and softened my voice once more. "We'll figure things out together. I won't leave you alone to face all of this. I promise. We'll figure this out."
Bella looked in my eyes, not uttering a word. I began to get worried that I spoke out of term when suddenly, fresh tears began to form in her eyes, and she began sobbing uncontrollably. Instinctively, I wrapped my arms around her and brought her closer to me, holding her to my chest as she continued to cry. Bella clung onto my shirt and continued to sob while I rubbed her back softly, remaining silent, but offering her the comfort she desperately needed.
After a few moments of consoling, Bella began to calm down and her tears stopped falling. After a few moments of silence, I decided to break the ice and chuckled dryly, suddenly finding something amusing.
"I should have known that someone else was doing Tanya's homework. She's not that smart," I admitted, smiling in spite of myself. It was true. When you've known Tanya as long as I have, one could start to question how she got through school in the first place.
Bella laughed at my statement and surprisingly, that made me smile even more.
In that moment, when hearing Bella's wonderful laughter, I realized that this could be the start of something good.
So, what did you all think of this one? Was it good? Was it to your satisfaction? Did I get the emotions right? Please let me know your opinion in some REVIEWS!
Mortal-paralight
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