Disclaimer: Twilight and characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.
Edward spent his afternoons chatting with Emmett and Jasper. Emmett and Jasper had computer class after lunch and had cleverly downloaded an instant messenger program on the school computers. The teacher just focused on the sounds of typing since it was a typing class. As long as they were pounding the keys, the teacher paid them no attention. Conveniently, this did help boost their words-per-minute. They were getting quite good at this typing thing. It also helped them learn new ways of creating vulgar icon symbols.
This link to the outside world only lasted an hour a day, so Edward spent more time playing piano than he ever had previously. He never would have thought staying home from school would be so boring. Even though it was Friday, he was still grounded. He hadn't worn pants all week and he was starting to smell. He thought about doing laundry or housework a few times but blew it off to mope around instead.
Edward hadn't seen Bella all week. Well, he watched her at night from the confines of his special hiding spot, but that wasn't the same. This watching from afar junk was getting on his nerves. He planned on confronting his parents when they got home. He wanted to ask Bella out before he had to go back to school. Esme was missing most of the week, but Edward never bothered to ask her where she had been. He preferred her absence. It made doing nothing easier. If she were home, she'd make him clean…or shower…or put on pants.
When Esme and Carlisle walked in the door that evening, Edward was waiting in the parlor for them. He was about to plead his case. He had a whole speech planned out. He also had come up with elaborate lies, just in case the truth didn't work, but they cut him off.
"Edward, we have some news."
Carlisle held Esme's hand in his lap while he explained to Edward that he got a job offer in Chicago. They were going to have to start packing that weekend. Edward was responsible for helping his mother with the heavy objects since he would be working most of the weekend to afford the travel expenses. They were hiring a moving team, so it wouldn't be too much work. Esme contributed to the conversation with encouraging phrases about how this would be best for the family, that he could attend the best schools again, that they loved and wanted better for him, etc.
Edward was in shock. He left the room before they finished speaking. He locked himself in his childhood bedroom and roughly tugged on his hair before he slid his body against the hardwood door down to the floor. His body went limp. He looked like a puppet after its strings had been cut. Chicago was so far away. He thought about the dead fish that was buried in the backyard. He thought about Emmett and Jasper. This was his home. He was leaving. He was leaving Bella for good this time.
Bella's week had been torture. She had taken to eating lunch alone. Her supposed friends were no longer speaking to her. Everyone else avoided her like the plague. Victoria and her minions glared at her every chance they got, and James and his friends would snicker and stare whenever she had to pass them in the halls. High school had become hell. The worst part about the whole thing was that she hadn't heard from Edward all week. He hadn't called or anything. She constantly had to console herself that maybe he was grounded and unable to use the phone.
She was also holding on to the idea that maybe next week things would be better. She summoned the strength of Scarlett O'Hara to get her through the week. There is always tomorrow. There is always tomorrow. Perhaps Edward would eat lunch with her. She had always wondered where he went during lunch anyway. Maybe this would be a way to push them together again. She only hoped.
Bella woke up on Saturday to rays of light sneaking their way through the window blinds. She turned her head towards the intruder. After blinking a few times, she felt compelled to go to her window. With tired hands, she pulled the strings roughly letting in the harsh light. She covered her eyes with her free hand until her eyes adjusted. The sun shone bright, which was a pleasant surprise. Some foreign confidence flowed through her and she knew what she had to do. She was going over to Edward's.
After a quick shower and putting on fresh clothes, she bounded out the back door. Loud voices and banging sounds echoed towards her from her targeted destination. She couldn't imagine what the Cullens were up to to be making all that noise. What she saw as she snaked around the side of the house made her stop in her tracks.
While boxes were being loaded onto the truck, tears rolled down her flushed cheeks. She didn't even know why she was so upset. Why would he tell her he was moving? It was not like they were friends anymore. It was not like he made her any promises. She hid herself behind the bushes of her backyard and watched the men stack boxes upon boxes. She was hoping to maybe catch a glimpse of him before he took off. At least then she could say goodbye with her eyes. Inside her head it was like a boxing match. Half of her wanted to run over there like when she was a kid and tell him goodbye. To tell him that she will miss him. The other, stronger half, kept her right where she was.
When the sky fell dark she made her way into the house. In the kitchen, she ran the tap of cold water and splashed her face and then proceeded to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
She was still flushed from crying when she planted herself on her bed, nibbling at the pathetic sandwich.
Edward was making his way into his backyard when he saw her light flick on. He was exhausted from packing up the house, but he still managed to climb up the tree. He wondered why she wasn't out. It was a Saturday night after all, but he was glad that he could take comfort in her presence. Her light switched off way sooner than he would have expected. He didn't leave his resting place though. That night, in the tree, Edward finally put his foot down.
Bella was getting ready to head out. She went from sulking in front of the TV since five in the morning since she wasn't able to sleep, to forcing herself out of the house. Her parents asked her to accompany them to the diner for lunch, and she decided that she had to leave for her sanity's sake. When she walked out the front door, she saw a silver Volvo pull up behind her parents' car, where they were waiting for her. It didn't even compute that it could be Edward until she saw him exit the car. She didn't understand why he would drive over… why he was even here.
Her parents gave her a questioning look and Bella just shrugged her shoulders. Edward noticed this motion and glanced over to find her parents waiting in the car.
"Going somewhere?" he asked.
"Yeah, to the diner for lunch," she replied.
Edward hesitated a moment, but only a moment.
"Come with me instead…"
Bella agreed and then explained to her parents that she was leaving with Edward for lunch instead. She wasn't even sure she was going out for lunch, but used it as an excuse. They didn't care one way or another and waved her off. An open passenger side door waited for her, and she climbed into a very clean Volvo.
Edward was cautious when he left her driveway, but as soon as Bella's parents' car was out of eyesight, he increased his speed to his usual limit, which was pretty fast.
"Where are we going?" Bella asked.
"There is a place I want to show you. Is that alright?"
Bella really didn't care; she had just felt the need to break the silence.
"Yeah, sure."
Edward turned onto a dirt road. The road was heavily surrounded by the wilderness. He drove for a few more minutes and then pulled over to the side. Bella watched as Edward leapt from the car and sprinted over to her side of the car. He opened her door and stretched his hand out to her. She took it determinedly and he helped her from the car.
He led her deep into the thicket. Their legs and arms brushed the shrubs and tree branches aside. Besides the buzz of local wildlife – frogs, birds, and the occasional hum of a flying bug – the only sound was the crunching of their feet on the scattered leaves that littered the ground. She wasn't really dressed for this but didn't care. Her suede baby blue flats would be ruined, but her blue and white striped dress would come out unscathed if she was careful. These were her thoughts as he pulled her gently by the hand. She needed something casual to think about to distract her from what was really happening. And what's more casual than thinking of one's outfit? When the trail cleared enough, she took her free hand and straightened her hair. The same hand that had been pushing back limbs that tried to bar her way.
He wasn't dressed for such a hike himself. He was still wearing his long-sleeved button down shirt and khaki pants. She watched his blue sneakers sink in and out of the muck. The blue was slowly turning to brown. The hems of his pants were dirty and wanted to stick to the back of his heels. The further they walked, the less dense it became. The trees tried to steal the sunlight for themselves, but moist green moss and dark thick vines snaked up all around them. After about ten minutes of walking and endless silence, he brushed aside the last branch and pulled her towards him. Standing there with their bodies pressed together they held each other tight. The trees gave them their space.
Her head rested on his shoulder, and she tried hard not to be obvious as she breathed in his scent. She used to think nothing could compete with heaven, but now she begged to differ. With both of his hands wrapped around her waist, he squeezed her gently. Edward was the one that broke the prolonged silence.
"I'm sorry for dragging you all the way out here. I just have something to tell you but don't even know where to begin."
Her eyes were open wide now, and she took in everything around her. The brown twig lying there on the ground snapped in half. Murdered by her own two feet. The moth trying to blend into the tree, but unsuccessful. The shape of his footprint in the dirt.
"Are you alright? You are so quiet…" he breathed. His words tickled her skin.
"I think if I could breathe I would choke." She couldn't help but be honest.
He buried his face into her hair and smiled.
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