Rocking Horse Fly

I do not own twilight

Thank you so much to everyone for their great reviews you rock!

Bella

Driving back to the place I have always felt safe, my mind was replaying every kiss and promise Jacob had broken. It was like a bad movie I could not eject.

Parking the jeep behind my truck I forced myself to "put on a happy face" as I opened the back door, it was late and my only blessing was Charlie would already be asleep. Rose and Emmett were watching a movie and I could her Roses girly giggle and I gathered Emmett was trying out his "boyish" charms. Thinking I might be able to grab the truck keys and run before I had to face them I shouted to them from the kitchen while grabbing my keys "Hi guys, thanks for sorting the truck! Em the jeep is in the driveway I filled it up for you. I'll see you both Saturday!"

Opening the back door, thinking I'd got away with the sound of foot steps stopped me, I had my back to him but I knew it was Emmett. "Wow! Wow! There little sis, I think you owe me like 2 hugs for saving the rust bucket from the big scrap yard in the sky!" I could not force myself to look at him. Still standing with my hand on the door handle ready to bolt, "yeah thanks teddy, the bucket and I thank you, look I have to go I'll see you Saturday."

How silly of me to think I would be able to hide. "Bella, what's wrong? Look at me I'm not stupid Bella I know something's not right" My big brother turned me round to face him, and the little girl inside me crumbled. Emmett took me into his huge arms and smoothed my hair. "Bella calm down please, you know I don't like to see you upset, just please tell me what's wrong and I promise I'll make it all better."

Emmett carried me into Rose and sat me gently in the small armchair, feeling even worse then before because I now had the guilt of upsetting my family over my silly insecurity I forced myself to get a grip.

Slowly I calmed myself down and once I could speak I told them both what had happened, how I had been feeling so happy at dinner, how much I wanted to be with Edward. Even thought it was hard for a big brother to hear, Emmett never interrupted or became "puffy".

"Bella, I don't understand if you're so happy about everything with Edward why are you crying?" Rose had been sitting on the arm rest smoothing my hair.

"Because, when we were kissing he told me I was beautiful….. Rose the last man to tell me that was Jacob….." I looked up as Emmett let out a grumble and looked pissed at the sound of his name.

"Ah, I think I understand now. Its scary letting your heart open again. To believe what you're hearing and let yourself be loved by someone after what you went through." I just nodded my head "But sweetheart you have to know Edward is not Jacob, and you're not the same person you were then. Bella you've grown up so much since then. Look how far you've come, your teaching, you own your own home and over the last few years I have seen the difference in the way are, you hold head higher, you don't sit in the shadows with your head in a book anymore."

Listening to Rose letting her words sink in, I willed myself to believe her.

"Rose is right Bella; you have become such a more confident person since the "dick weed" fucked up. As your big brother I may not like the idea of you doing anything "adult" with a guy, but I've seen the change in you since "Doc Ritz" administered that kiss" poor Emmett looked very uncomfortable telling his sister she looked happy from kissing a guy.

"It's scary I have never felt this strongly for anyone in my whole life. It's like 100 million times more intense then what I felt for Jacob. So that means when Edward leaves me it's going to hurt 100 million times worse. I don't know if I can live through it again"

Rose smiled softly and took my hand, "Or you know what Bella, it could be 100 million times better then what you had with Jacob. It is scary, but how will you know if you don't give Edward a chance."

Emmett made each of us a cup of tea and we all sat together, talking about the game on Saturday. I told them about my waffle date with Edward, before joining them to watch Charlie play. I was soon feeling a lot better, and I thanked my teddy and Rose for everything.

Before I went to bed I sent a text to Edward. I promise to try and let you be the one to wipe them away x

Edward

The hot water wasn't helping; nothing was removing the tension from my back. I kept seeing my girl in my arms crying; who ever had hurt her did a hell of a job. How could anyone ever hurt someone like Bella?

The promise I made to her was not some grand gesture, I fully intended on keeping it.

All I could hope for was that Bella would let me prove myself to her. I just needed her to take the chance on me.

Just as got into my cold empty bed, my phone buzzed I checked it thinking it could be the hospital, my heart swelled when I seen it was from my girl. A small simple line that made me confident, I promise to try and let you be the one to wipe them away x

My morning started early, I had a lot to organise before my shift at the hospital. I called triple M repairs and left a voice message for Emmett telling him I had arranged for a tow truck to drop off the Volvo after last nights breakdown, I told him I would call in later on my home from the hospital.

The tow truck company understood where the car was and where it needed to be towed too. The hospital had a car coming to pick me up and I would grab a bus back to the village later.

While eating breakfast I thought about my girl, I hoped she was feeling ok; I could not even stand the thought of her being unhappy, I would ask Angela to help me pick out a nice surprise to send over to the school for her later today. Flowers seemed too predictable and easy.

Two hours later I found Angela in the break room, "Hello my favourite, most glamorous nurse in the whole hospital" she smiled and knew instantly I wanted to ask her a favour, "Ok Doctor Ritz how can I help you?" I could not believe Angela just called me that, I asked where she heard that name from "Oh Doctor Cullen, told me and some of the others this morning during the early medication rounds. Its certainly taken off proving a huge hit with nursing staff" Oh great so even my father knew how I was "cracker hot" I would never live this down, it was worse then "Twinkle Toes Eddie". I explained to Angela my desire to send something special to Bella at work. With in seconds her eyes lit up "I have the most perfect thing, you said she loved Alice In Wonderland and the tea party thing, so how about cup cakes?" It was perfect; Angela even knew the best bakery to order from, I kissed her and left to ring the bakery so my girl got her surprise before the end of the afternoon.

Bella

Waking up this morning I decided to put last night and every bad feeling about Jacob where it belonged in the past. From now on I would only look to the present and may be even my future with Edward. Rose was right how will I know if I don't even try and give Edward a chance.

My positive attitude did not last long, it was Friday and I had the detention with James to attend to later. Well that would be just fine, I hope missing part of his Friday evening would help him think before he acted in the future.

As I predicted a very "happy, relaxed" Jazz joined the morning staff meeting, he invited me to join him and Alice for a drink after work, but understood when I explained about my detention with James.

My lessons were full of the normal Friday buzz about parties and who was going on dates with whom. I worked through my lunch and decided I would grab something during my free period before my last lesson of the day with my senior class.

While I walked passed the office on my way to the café, the school sectary Sarah stopped me "Bella, I have a parcel here for you, it's from "the Rocking Horse Fly" it came like 5 minute ago.

I thanked Sarah and turned back towards my office with the small white box that had a blue straw string tying it up. There was a card, it said "To make you smile E x" I wondered what Edward had sent to me, everyone knew the Rocking Horse Fly was famous for its amazing birthday cakes but my birthday was not yet for months. Opening the box I saw 4 very colourful cupcakes each a different colour and covered in the most delicious candy. It really did make me smile. Sitting in my chair I sent Edward a text telling him his treats did fulfil their prescription and that I was smiling.

As if he could smell the sweet treats, Jazz's head popped up in my doorway, he was lucky he had 2 coffees in his hands or I wouldn't be sharing.

My last lesson of the day was with my seniors, as I had come to expect Victoria was sitting in the back with James and I once again had to fight for their attention. When the bell rang my students wrote down they're homework and left wishing me a good weekend. James walked to the front of the class and sat on my desk, after kissing Victoria.

"Now Mr Hunter, please make yourself comfortable right here at this desk, I'm sure you can make good use of your time sorting through some of those papers from my classes you failed to turn in." I pointed to a desk at the front of my classroom, I know I could have given him some meaningless task to waste his 2 hours with but in truth I was trying to help him catch up on what he had missed. I would even help him through them if he asked.

James gave me his normal death stares, taking the seat with as much noise and force he could. Really I should find this seventeen year old senior a little threatening, he like most of the male students in the school were a lot bigger then me.

Sitting behind my classroom desk I planned on using the next 2 hours on getting ahead start on my weekend marking so I could free up my time for Edward.

With only 10 minutes till the end of the detention I began to pack up ready to leave. James had not spoken once in the whole time we were working, he passed me the paper he had been working on.

At a quick glance it looked really good. I told James I was impressed and that it proved that if he could produce this kind of paper in 2 hours, he like Victoria had great presentational. I told him that if they spent a little more time working together and less time fooling about with each other they could both do really well.

Seemed like I had said the wrong thing, within seconds James was standing over me, "Just because you have nothing better to do then read a book because no man wants to take you out, that don't mean everyone else is just as pathetic. From now on you need to stay out of my life and that go's for telling Vicki's parents I'm a bad influence; I hope you know your attempt to split us up never worked. So from now on keep the fuck out of business,"

I was beginning to feel scared, never in my time teaching had a student ever spoken to me this way, or stood over me in this threatening manner. "Everything ok Miss Swan?" I heard Jazz's steel hard tone standing in the class door way, "Fine Mr Hale, James was just leaving my classroom, weren't you"

James stormed off out the door and I heard the hall door bang as he left the English department.

"Thanks Jazz, I was worried for a minute. Why'd you call back?"

"Oh I left my cell in the office, we also thought you may have changed your mind Alice is in the car, and we decided to try out the new Thai place in town. You want to come with?"

With papers still to mark I decided to go home and make the most of my free time before my date with Edward. Jazz walked me to the truck, I had a quick chat with Alice and told her about the cup cakes and she giggled saying Doctor Ritz wasn't too bad even if he was her brother.

I grabbed a nice glass of wine and sat in my fireside chair to finish my lesson plans and marking. The whole time I thought about my morning date with Edward.

Edward

My phone buzzed to tell me that the treats had made her smiled, and I was pleased I hope she got to enjoy them, during her busy day.

My shift went well and for once there was no huge dramas to attend too, even my interns had sorted themselves out today. I signed myself out and smiled I had the day off and a date with Bella to plan.

I called a cab to take me to the garage I had called Emmett during my break to explain what the problem with the Volvo was; he was really great about it. He said he'd given it a quick look over and that the fuel line was blocked, so it wasn't a big problem. The car would be ready to collect when ever I got there.

Good to his word there was my car sitting out on the garage forecourt waiting. I walked in to the workshop and found Emmett under a Land Rover.

I thanked him for sorting the Volvo out fast; he understood I needed it on the road for work. We chatted about the game tomorrow and I told him about my morning waffle date with Bella.

"Look Edward you seem like a really genuine bloke, but you need to understand, Bella is not just my little sister she's all I had left, when our parents died I made it my promise to always protect and watch out for her. When she started uni, I broke my promise." Emmett looked at the floor, "How much has Bella told you about Jacob?"

I told him that I never knew too much just that Bella had been hurt by her first and only love.

Emmett looked uncomfortable.

"Look it's not my place to tell you about Bella's past relationship but I know my sister, she will only play this shit down. Jacob was a year above Bella and he was a business student working in some city office, he meets my sister in her first year and they got real serious. They were living in a shared house and all through Jacobs's final year Bella did everything for the "Shit head," to give him time to study. When he forgot her birthday she played it down. Saying it was 1 birthday. That he was just stressed with exams." This sounded just like Bella.

"Then a few months later she rings Rose all excited about his leaver's ball, and how she wanted to look good and like she belonged with a guy like "Mr Shit head." Bella never felt good enough for him, but it was the other way around he was never good enough for her"

Emmett's body tensed up and his eyes flashed with anger "Then at 1 in the morning I get a phone call, she never spoke but I knew it was her from the cries. I got in the jeep and drove the 4 hours to the house and found her, still in the dress on the floor in the kitchen. Turns out Bella watched the "shit head" kissing and re dressing his co-worker in the hotel gardens." I felt my stomach flip and I felt sick at the idea of my girl watching something like that.

"We grabbed her stuff and I brought her home. It was only when Rose told me what that "shit head" had told Bella she wasn't cut out to be with a "high flying" business man that "play time" was over that I really wanted to hurt him. So I drove straight back to the house and had some "play time" of my own"

He seemed to relax a little as he looked back at me, "Look Edward, what I want to tell you is Bella never felt good enough, and after that "dick weed" told her what she had always thought it stayed with her. It's taken along time to get Bella back to herself but I've seen more of my sister in the last few days then I have in years."

He punched me playfully in to arm "I guess I have you to thank for that, but I promise if you hurt her I will be only too happy for us to have a "play time" of our own"

If I wasn't scared of Emmett before I was now. You had to respect the guy for protecting Bella; I would have done just the same for Alice.

I left the garage feeling I understood and respected Emmett on a whole new level, I also wanted to have a "play time with the "dog" that was Jacob but more then anything I wanted to spend some time fixing my girls heart.

The morning could not come fast enough.