Disclaimer: don't even think its mine. Just…don't even go there.
A/N: Quick (ish) update! Yay! Because I love you all so much! And I kinda already wrote this chapter when I posted chapter 6. Anywayy….the secret is unfoldinggg!
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Maria was really quiet that day. Her smiles were forced, and her eyes were worn and tired.
We were sitting on the ground as usual, her books splayed out before us. Edward was at work, but he was texting me between each of his lessons. Maria's eyes weren't shining that day.
Something was up.
"Maria?"
She glanced up at me, giving me a little smile.
"I'm thinking," she said, "I think the answer-"
"Is something wrong?"
"Um…I don't know? Did I do something wrong in the problem..?"
"I'm not talking about the problem…is there…something wrong, you know, with you personally?"
Maria stiffened. She looked sadder now.
"Did something happen?" I asked, "What can I do to help? Are you-"
"It's stupid, Bella, really," Maria insisted, "I'm sure by tomorrow everything will be….fine."
"But there is something wrong."
She didn't answer. She didn't meet my gaze.
"And I'm pretty sure it's not too little. Maria, please. Please tell me? I want to-"
"Help?" Maria laughed grimly. I was taken aback by the bitterness. It also broke my heart to see Maria like this.
"I'm sorry," Maria stuttered, after noticing my shock, "I'm…"
All of a sudden, I stood. Maria looked at me, as if she expected me to leave or something.
"Let's go," I said, "We're going to go do something."
"Do-"
"It's fun, I promise," I laughed. Maria raised an eyebrow at me, and almost perfectly mimicked Edward's doubtful look.
"C'mon," I said, sticking my hand out to her to pull her up, "You've been working too hard this summer. It's time to let loose."
Maria's face let a little smile grow on her face. Small, but still the most genuine smile I'd seen from her all day.
"Won't Edward get…mad?" she asked.
"Mad?" I laughed, "Jealous is more like it. We'll have enough fun to make him green with envy."
She giggled, and brought her hand to mine. I pulled her up.
"All right," I said as I walked over to get my purse, "I'm just going to call Alice and Rosalie."
"Your roommates?" Maria asked.
"Mmhmm," I said with a smile, "They know the best places to shop, you know."
Realization hit Maria's face and she smiled bigger this time. Then it dimmed down a bit as she seemed to realize something else.
"You don't need to do this," Maria sighed, "I'm…just a kid. You don't need to incorporate me into your plans just because you feel guilty."
"Maria," I said sternly, "Listen to me: I want to do this. Friends do things with friends. Especially when friends seem a little down."
Maria looked up at me hopefully, with big angel eyes.
"Really?" she asked.
"Duhhhh," I said, drawling out the word playfully. She smiled and I took her hand.
We walked out the door.
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We walked to 58th and 5th among the bustling streets of New York. Alice and Rosalie were going to meet us there. Maria was beaming as she walked by my side, glancing up at me happily every so often.
The streets were steaming, hot dog stands sizzling, and music was sounding from a guitarist who was sitting on the sidewalk, playing for the enjoyment of everyone. Maria looked at him with awe, as if she's never seen one before.
"Wanna go give him money?" I asked. She nodded enthusiastically, and I gave her a dollar bill.
We walked over to the scruffy, young man. His guitar case was open in front of him, money from other people inside. He smiled warmly at us, still strumming the guitar. I held Maria's hand as she watched him happily. Maria glanced up at me cautiously, and I nodded encouragingly. She reached out, slowly dropping the bill into the guitar case. The guitarist grinned at her, tipping his grey, cloth hat.
"Thanks little lady," he said happily, "What's your name, sweetheart?"
Maria glanced up at me again, and I nodded again. It's a good thing I was with her, because if he asked her for her name when I wasn't there, then we'd have a problem on our hands. But I held her hand tightly, and I doubted the guitarist would try anything in broad daylight.
"Maria," she said softly. The guitarist beamed up at her.
"This one's for you, Maria," he said. His fingers began strumming again. I immediately knew the song and grinned. The guitarist winked playfully at Maria.
"The most beautiful sound I've ever heard," he sang sweetly, "Maria, Maria, Maria, Maria…"
Maria giggled slightly, and a smile grew on her face.
"All the beautiful sounds of the world in a single word…" he continued, "Maria, Maria, Maria, Maria…
"Maria! I've just met a girl named Maria, and suddenly that name, will never be the same to me…"
He winked at Maria again as he kept singing. We waved goodbye, and he kept strumming, nodding a goodbye to us.
"Where's that song from?" Maria asked excitedly, "I've heard it before, I think!"
"West Side Story," I laughed, "One of my favorite musicals back in high school, you know."
Maria grinned at me. And now, her eyes were shining. And now, she was practically skipping across the street.
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Finally, I saw Alice and Rosalie. They were sitting on the steps outside F.A.O. Schwartz, one of the biggest and most famous toy stores in New York.
How could I not think of that? My friends were brilliant.
They saw us too, and stood up, waving us over. Maria looked at me nervously.
"They'll love you," I ensured truthfully. She smiled appreciatively at me.
We walked to the steps, and Alice came bounding down, with Rosalie right behind her.
"Bella! You never told me Maria was so cute!" she chirped. She clapped her hands excitedly.
"Hey!" Rosalie laughed, "She's a blonde just like me!"
I smiled at Maria, who was blushing slightly.
"Don't attack her," I chided playfully, "And Alice, she's not your new Barbie doll."
Maria giggled as Alice stuck her tongue out at me.
"I'm sure she'd be more cooperative than my current Barbie doll," Alice quipped with a grin.
"Maria, this is Alice," I said with a laugh, gesturing to Alice, who waved happily, "And this is Rosalie," I gestured to Rosalie, who mimicked Alice's wave.
"Hi," Maria giggled. Alice clapped her hands again, obviously excited for our shopping extravaganza.
"So, have you been to F.A.O. Schwartz, Maria?" Rosalie asked.
"When I was little, I think," Maria said, "I don't remember much…" Rosalie let out a fake gasp of horror as Alice and I shook our heads in fake disappointment.
"We have to take you, then!" I said, grabbing Maria's hand. We skipped over to the door, where a man dressed in a nutcracker costume tipped his hat to us. He opened the door for us.
We pulled Maria around the whole store, showing her everything. I bet we were just as excited as she was. She especially loved the giant piano keyboard. Basically, it was a dance floor shaped as the keys of a piano, and when you danced on a specific key, it gave the note's sound, just like a normal piano.
All four of us danced on it together, laughing happily. Alice danced an awful version of Mary Had A Little Lamb, falling less-than gracefully across the giant keyboard.
"Shut up, you guys," she said with a pout after finishing her rendition, "I'm tiny. I can't hop across the keyboard too well."
We ran around the whole store, taking pictures with the life-size figures made of Legos. Rosalie tried to fit in the tiny, plastic, electronic Mercedes car made for two year olds. She crouched inside, her knees poking out the doors, zooming around with a look of concentration. She insisted that Maria hopped on the back, so she did, and was clinging for life onto Rosalie's back. Alice and I were in stitches from laughing so hard. The store clerk looked confused, but I think he didn't feel like running after Rosalie. Maria was laughing too, screaming whenever Rosalie made a fast turn.
Finally, we stumbled out the store, laughing so hard that tears were in our eyes. We got a hold of ourselves, and Alice clapped her hands excitedly.
"Oh my God!" she said excitedly, "Let's go to H&M!"
We all agreed, running down the streets to H&M. I don't think I've had so much fun shopping in a long time.
Inside H&M, we ran around too, picking out different things to try. The real fun was at the sunglasses and jewelry area, where we tried on all the crazy jewelry and sunglasses, laughing at each other's expressions.
Maria really hit it off with Alice and Rosalie. She was having fun, and that made me happy.
Then, we all tried on different sunglasses, posing. We only left when the clerk said we were making too much noise. As we walked away, the clerk turned his back, and we all made faces at him, Rosalie even going so far as to giving him the finger.
"Rosalie!" Alice and I laughed. Rosalie looked puzzled, and then jumped when she saw Maria giggling.
"Oh…whoops," she chuckled, "I forgot she was only ten."
Maria actually looked proud and smug at that.
We ran up to the next floor, grabbing some clothes to try on in the dressing room. We got some clothes from the kid's section for Maria.
I stepped out in a sexy, green dress with giant gold jewelry on me. I would probably not wear something like this, but that was the fun of it. I was feeling really happy, and feeling extremely spontaneous. Music was blasting in the background, and the song "21" by The Starting Line came out.
Alice stepped out in a little, fluffy pink dress with bright red fishnets and black Converses. Rosalie stepped out in giant, baggy men's jeans with a tight blue tank-top and the giant pink sunglasses. Maria came out in neon blue skinny jeans with a billowy, purple and green, flower print dress and flip flops.
We all looked completely eccentric and out there, and we burst into laughter at ourselves in the mirror.
"I look crazy!" Alice said tugging on her pink dress with a laugh. Rosalie was still gasping for breath at her appearances and Maria was covering her own mouth to contain her laughter.
"I don't know, you guys," I laughed, "If we wanted to, we could definitely pull this off."
"Hell yeah!" Rosalie agreed, "But Bella, your boobs are falling out and you look like a whore."
"Why, thank you!" I said, fluttering my eyelashes flirtatiously. We all broke into laughter.
The same store clerk from before walked by, giving us a strange look, and once he passed, we all broke into laughter again.
Then, we shed out of our crazy clothes, and ran out of H&M.
We went to tons of different stores, Alice leading the way and all of us running around her like crazy. Alice had a lot of fun dressing Maria up in clothes.
In Abercrombie and Fitch, Alice had a field day. While Rosalie, Maria, and I were standing by a rack of t-shirts, looking for stuff for Maria, Alice came sauntering over with a giant pile of clothes in her hand.
"Oh God," Rosalie and I muttered in unison. Maria looked at us questionably.
"Maria!" Alice sang, "Look at all these cute clothes!"
Maria's eyes popped open, and Alice dragged her into the dressing room. Rosalie and I followed, watching as Maria came out in different outfits. She looked adorable!
"Ooooh! Maria!" Rosalie laughed, "You'll have all the boys going crazzzyy!"
"Poor Edward's going to have to fight of the horde of boy-fans," I teased with a laugh. Maria giggled and blushed.
"Boys are stupid," she said, shaking her head, "Especially at my age."
"Amen to that," Alice sighed.
"And they never change," Rosalie said, shaking her head dramatically.
We all laughed, nodding.
Too soon, it became 6, and I had to take Maria home.
"No!" Maria whined, "Can't I come with you guys to a club or something?"
"Aw!" Alice said, giving Maria a hug around her head, "Can we, Bella?"
Alice and Maria gave me the puppy-eyed look, but I stayed strong.
"As much as I think that would be fun," I laughed, "Your brother will probably murder me."
"But he's your boyfriend!" Maria insisted, "Convince him!"
"I don't think so, sweetie," I said, patting Maria's hair. She sighed.
"We've had a whole lot of fun today," Rosalie said, "Now that we've met you, Bella's not allowed to keep you all to herself."
"We should all hang out again sometime!" Alice chirped. Maria was smiling happily.
After a couple of hugs and goodbyes, Maria and I walked back to her apartment. She was rambling her favorite parts of the day, and I was laughing at the funny ones.
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We skipped down her hall, singing "Maria" from West Side Story at the top of our lungs. Our shopping bags were flailing around in the air as we skipped. Maria was in a fit of giggles and I was laughing pretty hard too.
We opened the door, still singing. Then I stopped abruptly, my smile wiped off, when I saw Edward standing there.
He was not happy.
His arms were crossed, and his expression was deadly. I expected flames to be coming out of his fists.
"Um…" I said, not knowing what to say. Frankly, I was a bit scared, but also very puzzled.
"Maria, go to your room," Edward said, but with his deadly eyes fixed on me.
"You're not my father," Maria muttered weakly. Edward turned his wild gaze on her.
"To your room, Maria. NOW," he said sternly. Maria glared at him, but stomped off into her room.
"Edward-" I began.
"Where have you been?" he interrupted.
"Shopping…?"
"Why? Why the hell are you not home? Why the hell didn't you call!?"
He was shouting already, and I was getting a little ticked off.
"Woah, Edward. Sorry I didn't call, okay? But, does this little situation need all this anger?" I said, getting a bit angry that he'd explode at me like this for something so trivial.
"Its. Not. Little," he spat angrily.
"Something wrong?" I asked, anger in my tone, "Someone drop a piano on your foot?"
"I'm not kidding, Bella."
"I realized that, thanks," I hissed sarcastically. Edward's eyes looked stung for a moment, but he regained the angry-look.
"Now you're angry at me?"
"I'm not angry, Edward! I'm just defending myself! God! All I did was take her shopping! She was working too goddamn hard!"
"It's not your job to make sure she has fun, Isabella."
Now I felt stung.
"Not my job, huh? Well, maybe you should find a girlfriend you can trust with your little sister, then!" I said, angry tears forming in the back of my eyes.
My voice wavered a bit at the end, and Edward noticed. His eyes softened ever so slightly, and his shoulders became less stiff.
"What's the real reason Edward!" I demanded, still angry, "Why did you suddenly explode like this, huh!?"
Edward didn't look at me.
"Maria was upset about something today, Edward," I said in a lighter tone. Edward's head sprung up, looking at me wide eyed.
"I didn't know what it was, but I wanted to….I don't know. I wanted to make her feel better," I muttered. I looked down.
More silence.
"I trust you Bella," Edward said with a sigh, "Really, I do. Just….sometimes I get…."
I didn't look up, but I saw Edward's feet walk towards me until they were right under me. I felt his hand gently lift my head up to look at him.
"I get really…scared, sometimes," Edward admitted, "And I just….I let it get the better of me this time."
I opened my mouth to say something, but Edward talked instead.
"I shouldn't have blown all my anger on you like that," Edward sighed, "I'm really sorry, Bella."
I blinked.
"Edward," I said. Edward looked at me expectantly, his eyes filled with sadness.
"What's wrong," I begged, "Please tell me. Something is going on in. And….it seems to be affecting you and Maria. More than you're admitting. Please tell me?"
"You're right," Edward said slowly, "There is something…that made me both scared and angry today."
"I'm just…" Edward muttered, looking down, "I don't know if-"
He looked up at me, and then looked back down.
"Bella," he said at last, letting my name come out in one big breath, "Bella…."
He looked up at me, his eyes looking like they were about to be brimmed with tears.
"Maria has leukemia."
I couldn't believe the words, even as they tumbled from his lips. It felt like someone stabbed a knife in my gut, and wrapped their hand around my neck to cut off my breathing.
Maria, the girl who was sunshine, all bottled up into human form. Maria, the girl whom everyone loved, even my own friends. Maria, the girl I skipped down the halls singing with.
I couldn't believe it. I wouldn't believe it.
"W-What?" I stuttered, stumbling back on my feet a little. Edward looked remorseful. Absolutely dead. I've never seen him so pale and grieving before.
Then I heard a stifled sob behind me.
I turned around. It was Maria. Tears were rolling down her cheeks, her sparkly blue eyes wet with sadness. She stiffened, dropping her head wiping her tears hastily with the back of her hand.
"You...you told her…" she muttered sadly.
She looked up at me, her chin quivering, but her eyes trying to keep control.
"I guess now the secret's out," she said, her voice cracking.
With a last sob, she turned and ran into her room, not taking a second glance back.
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Gah! You guys are such good guessers! Haha, it's okay though, I wanted it to be fairly obvious. I think only one of you guessed leukemia (and I applaud you!) but a lot of you guessed cancer/terminal illness.
Find out why the Cullens even kept it a secret in the next chapter! I have the next chapter already, I just need go over it. Butyour reviews helped a fast review last time! (cough cough hint hint)
