I know I promised Bella would be around by Chapter 7, but I lied. This chapter sorta took on a mind of it's own. I blame Emmett.
Smmiskimen beta'd this super fast. I made a few additions, any slip ups are my own. Risbee and Flightlessbird11 own me.
I don't own Twilight. I do have a narcoleptic dog.
Wednesday Afternoon
"So, this is the part where you thank me for getting us to this point," said Emmett smugly as I looked at him through narrowed eyes and I clutched, yet another, clipboard in my hands. I was sitting in a hard plastic chair at a clinic we had been directed to by Alice, the casting Nazi, in order to get ready for filming.
Ready for filming.
Those three words caused me to break out into a cold sweat and my heart would begin beating out of my chest. It was freakish really. What the hell had we gotten ourselves into?
"And why would I be thanking you? I'm sitting in a skeezy clinic in Northridge waiting to get tested for STD's so I can get on a porn set in the hopes of talking to Bella? It isn't even a given that I will see her, and if I do, she may be boning some slimy porn star with a name like Dick Hurtz. What about this situation warrants a thank you?"
"Well, we are closer to finding her."
"We found her apartment and I just didn't have the balls to go up and say anything to her. This could have been so much easier if I could pull my head out of my ass and grow a pair."
"To your benefit, you did see her making out with an uber hot bitch. It would have knocked the wind out of most men in your situation."
"Do you really think there have been many men in my situation?"
"Well…fuck no, you are clearly in a one-in-a-billion type situation, dude. You know it's not every day that people catch their ex-girlfriend, the porn queen, playing tonsil hockey with another porn queen. However, I think that overall we are moving in the right direction," Emmett added as he smiled at me and then patted my shoulder gently. "We'll get our test results that give us the all clear and then we will show up on the set after Alice gives us the details and you can corner Bella and talk to her."
"Do you really think it will go that smoothly?" I questioned, immediately anxious. I began thinking that I should just leave the clinic and go straight to Bella's apartment to talk to her directly. Hell, I could wait all night for her if I had to. It's not like I had somewhere else to be these days. Emmett smiled happily and nodded his head silently in response. Hmm…this no answer thing was a bit disconcerting; Emmett was rarely quiet.
"Edward Cullen…you're up."
However, his silence was not as disconcerting as the tests I had to take.
Thursday Afternoon
Emmett and I slept in on Thursday morning, though not for long since the California sun was pouring through our thin curtains, waking us at only 8 in the morning. However, I still didn't sleep well. I tossed and turned, my mind trying to run through every possible scenario of what could happen in the next few days. If I wasn't having a nightmare, I was having a wet dream and both fucking sucked.
"Feel like heading over to Maple Juggs? I hear they have 'Whipped Cream Thursdays'."
"Where's the whipped cream?"
"Anywhere you want!" Emmett laughed heartily as I groaned and lay back down on my bed. We had no plans yet for the day, because we were waiting on a call from Alice, but Emmett kept insisting we get out and see the city. "Okay, so Juggs is out, but what about if we headed to Santa Monica or something?"
"Seriously?"
"Disneyland then? I mean, it's not very often we're in California with nothing to do right?"
"You hate kids. Can you honestly say you want to spend the day surrounded by screaming, crying, little nose miners?" Emmett leaned back in his chair momentarily and then looked at me with a frown.
"Okay, so Disneyland is out. What about The Grove?"
"If you feel like being surrounded by paparazzi hunting down celebrities, then the Grove sounds awesome."
"I heard Britney Spears shops there... oh and Target. She loves Target."
"How do you know this shit?"
"TMZ," he said with a grin. Just as Emmett was about to say something else, his cell phone rang on the desk and he reached his hand out, desperate to answer it. His face dropped when he saw who was calling and he raised his hand, signaling for me to be silent.
"Buck Wylde speaking." Emmett mumbled and nodded his head, as though he expected the caller on the other end to see him agreeing with them. Sometimes I wondered why the hell he did that shit. "Sure, we can meet you this afternoon. Can you text me the location? Sure thing, Alice, and thanks again."
When Emmett hung up the phone he looked at me with a smug grin. "We have plans with Alice for an early dinner. Clean up, don't dress like a bum…"
"I was only dressed like a bum yesterday cause you ripped my pants," I countered angrily as Emmett shrugged his shoulders.
"Anywhoo, get cleaned up. We're meeting her in two hours at some Brazilian steakhouse in Tarzana, wherever the fuck that is." I rolled my eyes as Emmett ran into the bathroom to take a shower and began to wonder exactly why Alice needed to meet with us. It just didn't make sense to me.
Before she had ushered us off to the clinic the day before, Alice had informed us that when our tests came back clean then we would be contacted by her and she would give us the information on the movie shoot. Dinner was not something I expected at all. What could it mean? Was there a problem with our tests? I bet Emmett had crabs or something and wasn't going to get the chance to fuck Roslyn. Nah, Emmett was as clean as a whistle as far as I knew. He hadn't even gotten laid in weeks as far as I can remember, and sadly I remember a lot since he would tell me about every indiscretion.
And fuck, I loathed those conversations.
Twenty minutes later when Emmett strolled out of the bathroom looking calm, cool and collected, he practically forced me in there to clean up a bit, but all I could do was stand in the shower with the water pouring down on me and assume the worst. Surely if Alice was going to deliver bad news she wouldn't do it over dinner, would she? Is that how shit was done in California?
Needless to say, it was with complete anxiety that I walked into Kravings with Emmett at my side. The hostess informed us that Alice had already arrived, so we were ushered to her table and seated swiftly. I looked Alice up and down as she welcomed us to her table. She was dressed impeccably in a dark grey suit with a skirt and her short black hair was styled perfectly, like she had just come from the salon. For someone who worked in porn, she certainly flaunted what money she made.
"Would you boys like something to drink?" the waitress asked as Alice motioned with her hand for us to order.
"I'll just take a Stella."
"Can I get a Bikini Martini?" Emmett questioned simply as Alice coughed loudly and I looked at him incredulously. "What? You know I can't resist anything with pomegranate."
"Are you sure he doesn't bat for the other team?" Alice asked me with a laugh as Emmett smacked his hand down on the table in frustration.
"Listen, there is nothing wrong with a man drinking a pink drink, alright? It sounds fucking tasty and I am thirsty. Deal with it."
"I can't say he's not bi, Alice."
"I only like pussy," Emmett declared vehemently as Alice nodded her head, pretending she believed him. "Oh, and ass. I would tear that shit up!"
"Yeah, guy ass."
"Jesus fuck, what the hell is wrong with you?" Emmett shouted as Alice reached her hand across the table and rested it on top of his soothingly.
"Emmett, you are out in public, behave yourself."
"Wait…how did you know my name was Emmett?" I froze in my place and I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Emmett did the same. What the hell was Alice's deal?
"It's my job to cast these films and know everything I need to know about my actors. Let's just say, I know quite a bit about you two. Like that you aren't Buck and Peter, you are staying in Chatsworth in a shitty hotel and you…" she paused and looked right at me. "You… I know who you are, Edward."
"And who would that be, Alice?" I replied, slowly pronouncing her name like she had done for me a moment before. My hands were clasped tightly beneath the table, sweating profusely as I fretted over what Alice was about to say.
"Accounting Graduate from the University of Washington. Parents are Esme and Carlisle Cullen and your dad basically forced you into joining the family business. Unrequited love is one Isabella Marie Swan, otherwise known as Bree Tanner. Am I close?" she asked with a raised eyebrow as I nodded my head slowly, unable to speak.
"How did you…?" Emmett questioned as Alice kept her eyes trained on me, trying to decode my every move. She looked innocent and sweet, but Alice Brandon was definitely a wolf in sheep's clothing.
"I didn't know anything until this morning. Your test results all came back negative, which was great, but when I saw Edward's name on the fax from the doctor, I knew the name sounded familiar, so I did a little digging."
"Whoa…wait. How did my name sound familiar?"
"Bree Tanner…or Bella Swan to you, just happens to be my best friend. Your name may have come up in conversation a couple of times in the past few years and I have the memory of an elephant."
"And balls of steel," Emmett added as Alice laughed at him and I let out a groan. Alice knowing my history was not going to bode well for the plans Emmett and I had set in motion.
"Listen boys, I take my movies seriously. Sure, to some people it's just porn, but to me it's my livelihood. It puts food on my table, keeps my kid in clean clothes and means I can put away money in savings so that one day I can find a better, more stable job in the industry. I'm not just gonna sit back and let you two fuck things up for me because Edward still harbors some school boy crush on Bella."
The waitress took that moment to come back to our table with the drinks and she set them down nervously as she explained to us briefly how things worked in the restaurant. We were each given a disc with two sides; red for stop and green meant go, and they were talking about the meat being served for dinner and nothing else. Emmett immediately flipped his round disc to green and rubbed his hands together in excitement. I, however, couldn't stop thinking about what Alice had said.
The last thing I wanted to do was ruin her situation, especially since she had a kid in the mix, but I hadn't come all this way for nothing.
"Edward, what on earth are you doing here?"
"He came to bring Bella home," Emmett interrupted as the first gaucho appeared with a spear full of meat and Emmett motioned for him to slice off a bunch of filet onto his plate.
"Is your name Edward?"
"No, fank gaw," Emmett replied with a mouthful of steak as Alice and I both turned away from him and focused on each other. When did he even manage a minute to cut it, let alone chew it?
"Did you get a message in a dream or something that said she needed to be rescued?"
"Well…no."
"Did you talk to her or Facebook her and found out she was unhappy or some shit?"
"No."
"Then what the fuck possessed you to come all the way to California from Seattle to try and drag Bella home. Has she ever seemed like the type of girl to just bend to the will of others? Don't you think she can handle herself?" Alice declared forcefully as I downed a huge gulp of my beer and steeled my nerves. There was no way I was letting Alice ruin this for me. I needed to talk to Bella and not be forced home by some intimidating chick who was the size of a hobbit.
Two more waiters dressed like gauchos arrived at that moment, Emmett's grin spreading wide across his face as they asked if we wanted some Tequila Lime Chicken and Ginger Wasabi Steak. Alice turned her small disc over and accepted some food, Emmett kept asking for more, and I sat there with no appetite whatsoever, trying to figure out what to say.
"Listen Alice, I don't expect you to understand because you don't know the Bella that I do, but this whole porn thing…it's not like her."
"Are you sure that you know the real Bella, Edward?"
"I was with her for several years, Alice. I've known her since we were kids. She must have been in some sort of fucked up situation to get herself pulled into the world of porn."
"Oh, fhe's fawked now, huh?" Emmett asked as I stared at him. Was he even chewing his food? Jesus, it was fucking disturbing.
"How or why Bella got into the industry is her own story to tell," Alice said softly with a long pause before she continued. "I will say that Bella is thriving these days. She makes the rules, she picks who she performs with and who she doesn't. Each and every decision is made by her and she is in complete control of her career and her body."
"What does James have to do with it?"
"James…" Alice said as she stopped to take a drink. "He sort of recruited her back when she was working for Maple Juggs, a rather illustrious strip joint known for launching several careers…"
"Yeah, I'm familiar with the place," I groaned as Alice looked at me curiously. "Let's just say this asshole beside me as a thing for pancakes."
"Oh…well…okay."
"Anyways, I came with the sole purpose of convincing Bella to get back to her life in Forks. She's lying to her parents, her real friends and everyone else…for what? What possible reason could she have for doing this?"
"She likes it?" Emmett questioned as I smacked him upside the head. "What? Some women are addicted to the cock. Some are addicted to my cock, actually. I'd really like Roslyn to have a chance to ride the McCarty Express."
"Is this guy for real?" Alice asked as she motioned to Emmett and I shrugged my shoulders indifferently. "Anyways, Bella knows what she is doing, Edward. I am worried that if I let you boys onto my set, all hell will break loose. I can't just let Bella be blindsided, a real friend wouldn't let that happen. I need to tell her what is going on, Edward."
"No…no you don't. Just give me five minutes alone with her on the set and she doesn't have to know that you knew about me. Keep all this Buck Wylde and Peter Stryker shit going and just don't say anything. Emmett can get to spend time with Roslyn like he's dying to do and I can be cast as a pizza delivery dude or something…just give me five minutes with her."
"It took Bella a lot to get over you, Edward. I just…I don't feel right about all this." Well that was a surprise to me. She had a difficult time with our breakup? That was unexpected, especially considering the situation we were in.
"Can you sleep on it? Filming doesn't start till Saturday, so you have time to decide."
"What if I say no?"
What the hell would I do if she said no? I didn't even want to think about it, if I was being honest. "I'd come up with another plan. Maybe corner her at her apartment."
"Jesus, that's a horrible idea."
"Do you know something better?"
"Yeah, go home and move on. Bella is doing just fine without you."
"No she's not," I shouted angrily as Alice narrowed her eyes at me and grew furious. "She's not the same girl I was with. She's lost the spark in her eyes that I used to love and she doesn't even look like my Bella…there's no light…there's no hope."
"I'll see what I can do," Alice declared with no emotion and she didn't exactly leave me with a hopeful feeling. "Until then, eat something you lovesick idiot. We don't generally let the pasty, skinny kids on screen."
