Okay, here it is. Chapter seven. I'm so sorry that it's so much later than I'm sure you were all expecting, and I'm sorry in advance if it's not up to scratch, but summer school PE (I didn't fail it, but I have to take it unless I want to take it with freshmen in Senior year... my school's weird...) is exhausting, and on Monday I got the sunburn to rule all sunburns. I think I now truly understand the whole "Turned into a tomato" saying. But, please, enjoy and review. After this chapter, there should only be one more until Edward! Be happy!
I wandered the dark streets, lost. For the I-lost-count-how-many time, I sighed and turned another unfamiliar corner. The dark, empty buildings lined the streets, their windows like dark, shady eyes watching my every move. I was reminded of those Halloween masks that had The Scream style face shape, with the black eyes that I'd found so frightening when I was a child. I shivered and hugged my arms around myself tighter, vaguely wondering when I'd lost my jacket. As I rounded another corner, the street lamp ahead of me flickered. Every horror movie Jacob, Rosalie, Rene, anyone, had ever taken me to see or brought over to watch came to mind. Now would be when the unsuspecting heroine would slow down, finally realizing the danger that was lurking up behind her.
I turned back around, not wanting to go down an unlit street in a scary, unfamiliar neighborhood. Just as I passed the street lamp, it went out. I glanced over my shoulder, jumping slightly, and quickened my pace. Soon I was running, trying to outrun the lights going out behind me. But I tripped, falling on my knees and hands, skinning the palms and skin of my kneecaps. As I looked up, the rest of the lights went out.
Fear coursed through my veins, adrenaline spiking as I looked around. Without even the street lights, the windows loomed like abysmal abysses, or black holes that were going to suck me in.
'Great,' I thought. 'Now, thanks to my overactive imagination, I'm even more terrified.'
I made to stand up, only to trip, again. On the third try, I managed to get fully to my feet. The hairs on the back of my neck rose, that prickly, uncomfortable feeling that someone was watching you. A shiver ran down my spine, my senses seemed to be working overtime, and I could hear the blood rushing in my ears. Trembling, I looked around the pitch black streets.
The wind blew, rustling the dry leaves on some trees across the street, sounding like whispering chuckles, and a piece of trash tumbled down the sidewalk into the street, getting caught in the curb after a few moments. A sound behind me had me whipping around with a gasp, my heart beating erratically.
No one was there. Not even a piece of trash being blown by the wind.
The sound came from behind me again, and I spun around, thankfully and miraculously not stumbling, just in time to see a shadow blend into the deeper ones I couldn't penetrate. I was panting for breath, fighting to keep from hyperventilating. Soon I was spinning around in circles, chasing shadows, half-sobbing in confusion and fear.
"It's just a dream," I sobbed to myself, falling to my knees in the turmoil of my emotions. "It's not real, just a dream. A dream." I gasped for breath, yet nothing seemed to be getting into my lungs.
A slim, pale hand fell onto my shoulder, and I looked into a pair of penetrating green eyes, oddly familiar, yet I couldn't quite place.
"Wake up, Bella."
I gaped, confused, and tried to place the eyes before me.
"It's just a dream, Bella. You can wake up now." I almost had them placed….
"Bella. Bella, wake up." A hand shook my shoulder, and I blinked my eyes open, staring up into a pair of bright pacific blue eyes.
"Rose?" I mumbled, rubbing sleep from my eyes.
She laughed. "Who else? You were having a bad dream, I think, so I figured you wouldn't mind being woken up a whole hour earlier than you planned."
I cast the alarm clock on my bedside table a glance and fell backwards into bed, groaning. "Rosalie, it's only nine in the morning, on a Saturday. Ten is the earliest I will wake up on a weekend, and you know it. I hate mornings." I added in a low grumble.
Rosalie laughed. "Yes, and you take the sleep in until noon approach, but we have to go shopping for Alice's birthday present."
I rolled out of bed, stumbling slightly when my feet hit the floor and grabbing the bedside table for support. Already, the details of my nightmare were fading, disappearing back into the unconscious part of my mind that had conjured them in the first place. I trudged into the bathroom, heating up the water in the shower and then stepping inside, sighing as the muscles in my shoulders relaxed under the stream of warm water.
I took care of all my bathroom needs, and stepped out, my blow-dried hair pulled back with a scrunchie into a simple ponytail. Rosalie glanced up from where she was lying on her back on her bed, reading a Cosmo. She smiled at me.
"Come on, Bella. I know you're practically brain-dead this early on a weekend morning, so I took the liberty of placing an outfit on your bed."
I rolled my eyes as I headed for the appointed outfit. "No," I muttered. "You just took advantage of a situation to play dress-up Bella."
She smirked. "Hey, at least I'm not Alice. She plays Bella Barbie."
I grimaced, pulling the fitted t-shirt on, then the faded gray jeans, and then headed to the door. "Come on, let's get this over with." I told Rosalie.
She looked to be holding back laughter, and I glared at her, wondering what was so funny.
"Um, Bella, aren't you forgetting something?" she said, a stray giggle escaping her.
I frowned and followed her gaze down… to my bare feet. I blushed madly and mumbled an "Oh.", heading back to my bed and pulling on a pair of chucks before returning to the door and a waiting and amused Rosalie. With a look that clearly said 'Don't even think of saying it', I proceeded her out the door. We hopped into Rosalie's bright blood red BMW M3 - my Aston Martin was in the shop for a check up - and she started towards downtown.
"So," Rose said, a small frown on her face. "How's Charlie?"
I shrugged. "He's doing okay, I guess. The doctors say that he should be able to go back to work soon, as long as he doesn't overwork himself. They don't want him stressed out."
Rosalie nodded. "How's Rene coping?"
Rene. My hair-brained mother without a care in the world. And suddenly she had an injured Charlie on her hands.
"Not well." I admitted. "She hates being tied down for long, and as much as I think she does love Charlie, she wants to be free to go wherever she wants, whenever she wants to do so."
With a nod of understanding, Rose said, "She's not the most responsible woman, and taking care of Charlie is testing her limits."
"Exactly." I agreed. A huge sigh left me. "Sometimes I wonder who is actually the parent and who is really the adult."
Laughing, she asked, "Doesn't your mom call you her middle-aged child?"
I smiled, thinking fondly of her joke about me, and became lost in my thoughts of the time we'd lived in Phoenix, while Charlie was climbing in the political world. I'd always been the one to dissuade my mom from some of her more eccentric ideas for hobbies, and come along to make sure she didn't get out of hand on others. It had been nice, and I missed the beautiful scenery of Phoenix. Though Charlie had a (somewhat) smaller house in Washington DC that we stayed in most of the year, sometimes Rene and I had gone back to Phoenix just the two of us. That was before I was sent to this boarding school, in hopes that Rene and Charlie would spend some more quality time together. I was worried that they were drifting apart. That they had been for some time now.
I was so deeply lost in my thoughts that I didn't even notice where Rosalie had stopped the car until she threw her gum wrapper at me. I blinked rapidly, and turned to look at her.
"What?" I asked, a little annoyed.
She raised a brow. "I said, we're here."
I glanced out the window and felt my eyes widen in surprise. "Wow, Rose. The mall? Big surprise!" I said with extremely thick sarcasm.
She rolled her eyes. "They have those card-things that are like mall-wide gift cards. Since Alice loves shopping so much, I figured I could pay for her to have a huge shopping spree."
I smirked. "She's going to love that. You'll be her hero."
Rosalie fanned herself. "I know." she said, then glanced at me, grinning slightly. "So, what are you going to get her?"
I shrugged. "I don't know, honestly. What do you think she'd want?"
Rosalie shrugged. "A chance to re-do your wardrobe?"
My eyes widened in fear. "No! No," I repeated, more calmly. "I...I'll think of something."
I followed Rosalie as she wandered through the mall - because of course she couldn't just get what she was buying for Alice - my thoughts wandering from what to get Alice, to the vague, blurry, mainly forgotten details of my dream, to what I wouldn't give to be able to be back in my room reading my favorite book instead of at the mall.
Rose was looking through the hair dye and extensions in Hot Topic, when a song came over that I recognized vaguely came on. Rosalie glanced over at where I stood and laughed. "Emmett loves this band." At my confused look, she rolled her eyes. "Remember? When he came over last week, to take us to the movies with Alice? He was playing this in the car."
"Oh!" I said, finally realizing that I had indeed heard it in Emmett's big red jeep. "They're... not bad, but not something I'd listen to all the time. I can't understand the screaming." I admitted.
Rosalie nodded in agreement, and held up two bottles of wash-out hair dye. "Which one? The purple or the blue?"
"For what?" I asked.
She shrugged. "Alice's party, of course. I'm wearing that black shirt I bought with my new frayed skirt. The grayish one, not the blue one."
I shrugged. "Purple, then. It looks better with black."
She smiled happily and put the blue one back, grabbed some nail polish bottles, and then headed to the register. I listened to the song for a little longer, following her out the store when she was done paying.
I grinned, and Rose glanced over with a apprehensive look. "What?"
"I figured out what to get Alice." I said. At her questioning look, I told her. "Concert tickets. Of course, I might as well get two, so she can take someone. You know, as a date."
Rosalie nodded. "That's a good idea. But concert tickets for who?"
I shrugged. "I'll see who's playing soon and relatively nearby when we get back. I can just order them online, it's not like her birthday is tomorrow."
With a roll of her eyes, Rosalie said, "No, but it's this weekend. You better hop to it, Swan."
A week later...
Alice raced from her cute little house to yank open the doors of my car.
"Jeesh, Alice," I said teasingly. "Do you want to send my car back to the shop?"
She giggled, her whole face glowing with happiness. "I don't know, if I do, will you have to stay longer?"
Rosalie laughed. "Alice, we'd love to stay here past Sunday, but unfortunately, Monday means school. And Bella has a major test on Monday that she has to study for, so she has to go back tomorrow. But I'm staying!"
Alice pouted at me. "Bel-la, please?"
I looked away from the scarily perfected pout. "Alice, I'd love to, but this test is big. It's like ten percent of my grade." Stupid La Groan. I'd passed the fifty point project, at least, with a low A. "And to top it off, I still have to polish up my history paper. It's due on Thursday, and I think I can still improve it."
Rosalie groaned. "Bella, you have that paper perfected every which way. There's no need to work on it some more."
I glared at Rosalie. "I failed the last test because I didn't study due to Largoan's stupid project. If I don't get at least a B on this paper, I'll only have a B in the class."
With a roll of her pacific blue eyes, Rose turned to Alice. "She's a perfectionist." she whispered like she was telling a sad secret.
I humphed, and led the way inside, Rose and Alice giggling behind me. Esme looked up when we entered the living room her hazel eyes landing on us, her young - remarkably young to have had a teenager - face breaking into a smile.
"Bella, Rosalie, it's so nice to see you two again."
"Thanks Esme," we chorused. Esme saw us practically every weekend now, even if it was only for an hour or so. Most of the time, we even stayed for dinner; Esme's home-cooked meals were the best I'd ever tasted. Alice dragged us both by our wrists to the backyard, which was being done by Esme. Right now, flowers and plants were everywhere, but she told us she wanted to put in a swing and add a path or something. A few people I didn't recognize stood in a group and looked up as we came out.
"Okay," Alice said stopping. "Everyone, this is Bella and Rosalie. Bella and Rose, this is Heather, Jessie, Dani, and Jack, her boyfriend." She smiled as all the people waved in response, mumbling responses.
Alice beamed. "Once Edward and Emmett get here, we can start the fun, cake, ice cream, the whole shebang. Tomorrow's swimming; we're going to have so much fun!" Alice squealed, clapping her hands and jumping up and down.
The back screen door was flung open, banging against the house and propelling back to the doorway, behind the person who had just entered.
"Th party can start now, I'm here," Emmett said. Alice raced over and smacked his arm, just as Esme yelled from inside, "Emmett, don't slam the screen door! If it falls off again, you're paying for it!"
I laughed as Rosalie looked at him in adoring amusement.
"This is my party, Emmett, and it can't start until Edward gets here." She stopped and looked at him suspiciously. "I thought he was catching a ride with you?"
Emmett rubbed a hand across the back of his neck, uncomfortable. "Well, you see, about that."
Alice groaned. "What now? Is he avoiding us?"
Emmett gave her a slightly sad look. "No, Alice, you know he loves you guys. I think he's just being... Edward, you know?"
With a disappointed sigh, Alice said, "And?"
He leaned closer, speaking in a low voice. The other guests had turned back to whatever they were discussing, so I doubted they even noticed Alice and Emmett. ROsalie and I were close enough to hear them, though. "His mom's having a bad spell again. I guess he when he came home from school, she was already practically gone. He has no idea who-"
Alice cut him off. "How is she?" She was obviously concerned and worried, gnawing on her lower lip. "Does Esme or Carlisle need to go help him out?"
Emmett shook his head, his curls flopping around slightly with the movement. "No. He just said he's sorry, but he can't make it. I guess he's afraid she'll somehow get some more without him there to keep an eye on her. She was having a breakdown, when I left.
Alice glanced towards us, then the other group of people, all of whom I'd almost instantly forgotten the names of, though I was sure Rose would remember, and then at the door. "I should call him, just to make sure... I'll be right back." With that, she rushed inside, disappearing as the screen shut with only a slight slam.
Emmett came over to us, and wrapped his arms around Rosalie. She hugged him back, placing a light kiss on his chin.
"What's wrong?" she asked in a soft whisper.
He sighed, tightening his arms around her. "Edward, Alice's cousin, is... his mom's having troubles, lately, and he's taking care of her tonight. He can't make it. Alice and her family are really worried about him and his mom; it's why they moved out here from Chicago in the first place. Carlisle was making way more money than he is now, but they sold their house and moved out here to help Esme's sister."
I nodded, feeling sorry for this faceless person that I didn't know. A few minutes later, when Alice still hadn't come out, I decided to go see if she was alright. I wandered inside - the other group of people, whom I assumed went to school with Alice or lived nearby or something of the sort, were still all talking and laughing together, while Rosalie and Emmett were still immersed in simply each other - and then up the stairs to Alice's room. I heard muffled talking inside, and knocked. There was a moment of silence, and the door pulled back to reveal a stressed-looking Alice.
"Oh, Bella, it's you. I thought it might be Jessie or Heather. They're nice people and all, but the only reason they really came here was because Edward was supposed to show, and they both are infatuated." She sighed. "But it's just you." she repeated, and turned to go sit on her bed, closed cell phone in hand.
I slowly sat next to her, and put a hand on her shoulder. She seemed deflated, unhappy, and stressed; all three were things that I didn't like seeing on the usually-perky pixie's face.
"Do you want to talk about it?" I slowly asked, unsure if I was overstepping. We had only known each other for a little over two months, and only really become good friends after that first sleep over about a month ago. I wasn't even sure she'd want to talk about this, but I did want her to know that I was there to listen if she needed someone to.
She smiled sadly. "Well, Edward, my cousin? He's... his mom hasn't been doing too well since his dad passed away over three years ago. We moved out here right away when we finally learned about her problem - she's Esme's sister, Elizabeth - but Edward still refuses help. He's so stubborn!" she cried desperately. "And tonight, when I called, he got mad at me for 'interfering', as he put it." She groaned in frustration. "Why doesn't he just accept our help? Carlisle and Esme love him, and I know that I've only really been part of the family for about six years now-"
"Wait," I said, cutting her off. "Six? What?"
Alice blinked, then looked away. "Oh. Yeah. I forgot you and Rose didn't know yet." She sighed and looked at me. "I was going to tell you two soon; I waited this long because people tend to, well, treat me differently if they know. Carlisle and Esme, you had to have noticed they looked too young to have me." At my nod, she continued. "That's because they aren't my real parents. I was adopted six years ago, when I was almost twelve, by them. Don't get me wrong, Edward doesn't treat me any differently then he would if I were his biological cousin, he just... he's stubborn and doesn't like to have people help him, ever."
I smiled at her. "He's independent." I stated.
She snorted. "It goes beyond that, but yeah, pretty much."
I squeezed her shoulders. "So... what's going to happen?" I asked.
She shrugged. "Carlisle left to go see if there's anything he can do to help."
I didn't ask what was wrong with Esme's sister, because I knew Alice would tell me when she was ready, or that she wasn't telling me because it wasn't her place to tell. And I respected that. I stood up, offered her my hand to help her up, and we went back outside to the party.
Rosalie came over and hugged Alice. "Is everything...okay?" she asked in Alice's ear, so no one else could hear.
Alice nodded, and Em came over to put his arm around Rose's shoulders.
Two of the girls from the other group, whom I assumed to be Jessie and Heather (though I didn't know which was which), came over.
"Alice!" the red-head chirped with what to me sounded like fake cheeriness. Or maybe I was just too used to Alice's over-abundance of cheer.
The other - a girl with bleached blond hair (I could tell because of the roots showing a sandy color) - grinned so big, all her teeth showed. "Um... so, is everybody here?" At Alice's nod, both frowned.
"I thought Eddie was coming?" the red-head asked.
Alice shrugged. "He changed his mind." she said off-handedly.
The both looked disappointed; the other two came up, the girl on her cell phone and the guy - I recalled his name was Jack - followed, his arm wrapped around her waist.
"Ali, I'm so sorry." she said apologetically. "But my mom just called. She's mad about my grades; I guess she just got my report card. And you know how much of a stickler she is for grades. She said I have to get home now, or else I'm grounded for a month instead of a week."
Alice frowned sadly, and hugged her. "Bye, Dani. Jack, are you going with her?"
The tall guy nodded, his arm tightening around her waist. It may be the last time I see her outside of school for a week or two."
Dani handed her a wrapped box, saying, "It's from both of us," with a roll of her eyes and a pointed look. Alice giggled and hugged her tightly. "See you at school Monday." With a general wave good bye to everyone gathered and polite smiles, the couple left around the side house through the gate. Jessie and Heather were whispering.
I leaned across to Rosalie. "So, remind me... which is which?"
With a snicker, Rosalie said, "The red-head is Jessie, and the other is Heather." I nodded in response, and then Esme came out of the house carrying a huge shoe pinata.
Alice squealed, jumping up and down. "Perfect!" She turned to us. "It's filled with lollipops and miniature dark chocolate bars."
I grinned and glanced at Rosalie. "Hear that, Rose? Lollipops."
She rolled her eyes. "Shut up, Bells."
Last year, during Christmas time, Rose and I had bought a huge pack of candycanes and lollipops. We'd gotten such a sugar high that I had called a candycane a lollicane instead, and the name had stuck ever since. Rosalie and I had both sworn never to buy either unless it was a special occasion and we had supervision.
We glanced again at each other, our thoughts apparently taking the same route, and grinned. One, we hadn't bought them, and two, we had supervision.
Of course, we all made Emmett go last to hit the pinata, because we knew he'd break it. Sure enough, while we only dented or tore small holes in it, Emmett busted it wide open. Everyone gather up the candy, and then rushed inside to eat it. Esme stopped us before we'd even reache rthe foot of the stairs.
"Hold it right there, people. Dinner first."
At the collective groan, she added, "It's tacos. Simple and quick so you can get back to the sugar."
We ate the tacos, candy, and then had cake and ice cream. It was all just like any other party, and it passed in a blur, nothing too intersting happening.
"Presents!" Alice screamed, making Emmett wince.
"Wait, Alice, I don't think you blew my other eardrum yet," he muttered.
Hearing him, Alice skipped up to his other ear and screamed in it loudly, "How about now?" She pulled away with a grin. "Better?" she asked sweetly.
He grumbled, rubbing his ear, and stomped, pouting, into the living room.
Alice opened the presents from Jessie and Heather first; she got a small cute handbag and a gift card to Starbucks. She hugged them and thanked them, then looked around. Emmett handed her a huge box, unwrapped but tapped tightly shut. Alice struggled with it for a moment before getting inside. She dug through the Styrofoam and withdrew... a smaller box. Which opened to reveal a third box. Which opened to an even smaller one. Over all, there were seven or eight boxes, the last one being only about the size of a fist. Alice was looking annoyed, Emmett amused, and everyone else curious. As Alice opened the new one, it revealed one of the velvet boxes that hold jewelry. With an excited squeal, she popped it open and gasped.
Reverently, Alice pulled out a thin silver chain with a small silver pendant on it. It was of a shoe, and at the end of the heel, a glittering piece of opal shone brightly.
Emmett grinned proudly. "I've been saving up for that, Pixie. It's an Australian Black opal; I thought the shoe was very appropriate."
Alice leapt up and squeezed him in a tight hug. "Thankyouthankyouthankyou!!"
I was surprised anyone could talk that fast. She released him, screeched, and ran around to show us all. I glanced over at Rosalie in surprise to see her smiling at Emmett as he mouthed 'thank you'. I guess she helped him with the money. A small smile flickered across my lips; Rosalie liked to be able to pay for things in a relationship. She was all about equality.
Alice opened Rosalie's next. Her eyes widened incredulously, then she grinned deviously. I gulped nervously, already seeing the wheels spinning.
"Thanks, Rose. I can't wait to go to the mall, now."
Mine came last.
"What'd you get me, Bella? I swear, I don't know, cause I promised myself I wouldn't." She ripped open the envelope, pulled out the card, and laughed as she read it. I grinned. It had two "hot" guys on the front, saying I'd sent them to her, then you opened it and it said that they got lost and sent the card instead.
"Check the back," I told her. With a frown, she did, then screamed.
"Oh, my God! Bella!"
"So you like it?" I asked, suddenly worried.
"Like it? Hell no; I love it!" Suddenly, a horrified look crossed her face. "Who do I take with me?"
I shrugged. "A date. No one else. It has to be a date. That's the only way it works."
Her face turned thoughtful. "I'll have to work on that... when is it?"
"It's not until the ned of next month." I assured her.
She nodded, murmuring, "Good."
A few more hours of partying later, and I drove home. I had to get back and go to sleep so I could get up early tomorrow to work on the paper and to study for the Chemistry test.
I was half-way back when this nice, black Mercedes spun around the corner at speeds unacceptable on a freeway, let alone in town. I slammed on the brakes to avoid crashing, and they - whoever 'they' was - drove off without a pause, probably not even glancing in the rearview mirror. With an irritated sigh, I stared driving again.
What kind of psycho drove like that in town, in the middle of the night, and without lights on?
The school was quiet and dark when I got there, and I went straight to my room. I was coming down from my sugar high, and it was late, almost one in the morning. It had been a good thing I had keys to the gates, or else I'd have been spending the night in my car, I thought, crawling into bed. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out.
So, I hope it wasn't too bad, and I'd love some reviews. We got an average number last time, no more than usual, so let's try for ten this time. We haven't gotten ten for a single chapter yet. Thanks; Laughs and Hugs!!
