Daddy's Little Cannibal: I was in the hospital last Sunday so we couldn't update. It wasn't anything special. I just had to go there for my fingers. Lame, I know. Anyways, we're back and hopefully we can update every week instead of every other week.
Bronzehairedgirl620: If we don't update, it's for a good reason. Please stop asking me if we're giving up on the story. We aren't. Some weeks are harder to update on than others. With that, we hope you enjoy this chapter.
Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.
Dale- forty year old biker
B- fourteen year old
Victoria- vampire
Emily- OCD girl
Marie- French chick
Chapter Nine
"So I heard that you're trying to figure out what happened to Bella," I told Edward as I sat across from him in the living room. We were having another "heart to heart" as he liked to call it. I didn't like the term "therapy session" because it made me sound crazy, so he agreed to call it "heart to heart" for me. I liked it a lot better; it makes me feel like we're a couple that is spilling our guts out for each other.
Edward looked up at me from his notebook. His green eyes shined behind his bronze bangs. My heart started to beat faster and the butterflies in my stomach flapped faster. I bit my lip and tried not to blush.
"How did you know?" he asked. He put his pen on the spiral and frowned at me.
"Alice told me," I said. I pulled my feet onto the chair and crossed them under me. I put my elbow on my leg and rested my chin on my upturn hand. "Why do you think Charlie has something to do with what happened?"
Edward's lips pursed. "Do you know what happened, B?" he asked.
I shook my head. "No, of course not!" My voice got louder than I meant for it. "I was just wondering why you think Charlie has something to do with Isabella?"
Edward sighed. "I don't. I was just asking Dale a question, he manipulated my words around."
I leaned back and crossed my arms over my chest. "Why do you think it has something do with a police officer? Maybe it was someone dressed up like a police officer. People like to play dress up. Cross dressers do it all the time."
"Do you know something, B?" he asked again. He closed his notebook and set it on the table between us. "I won't tell anyone if you do. I know that an alter holds the memory of what happened. I thought it might be Dale, but if you know…" he trailed off.
"I don't know anything," I said, again. This time my voice was harsher than I meant for it to be. At least I didn't squeak. "Besides, it happened to Isabella, not me. Why would I know what happened?" Part of me wanted to get off of the couch and crawl up the stairs to Isabella's room. The other wanted to continue to sit across from him and tell him all my secrets.
"I'm sorry," Edward apologized. "I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable." He grabbed the notebook on the table and put it on his lap. He opened the cover and held the pen to it. "Have you eaten anything today, B?" he asked. "I didn't see you eat breakfast."
I shrugged. "I don't like eggs," I said. "Besides, I wasn't hungry."
"You should've eaten," he frowned. "It's not good to skip meal, especially breakfast. It's the most important meal of the day. And you ran with me this morning." I blushed at the memory of seeing Edward in his running shorts. "I may not be a medical doctor, but I still worry about your health, B."
I rolled my eyes. "I'll eat dinner, then," I promised. "We'll order pizza."
Edward made a face. "Pizza?" he asked. "We had pizza the other day."
"You had pizza the other day, I haven't," I reminded him. "Besides, you can never get tired of pizza."
Edward mumbled something under his breath. It was something along the lines of "yes you can" or "trust me." I didn't catch everything that he had said.
"Are we finished?" I asked. I put my palms on the seat under me and got ready to push myself up. "There's marathon of a Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel today."
Edward raised an eyebrow. "Hannah Montana?" he asked.
"Oliver is cute," I defended.
Edward shook his head. "No, there's nothing that I need to talk with you about." He got out of his chair the same time I pushed myself off of the couch. "Thank you for talking with me, B," he smiled at me.
"No problem," I smiled back at him.
"Now go eat a banana," he ordered
--
"Pizza will be here soon," I heard Alice say as she walked back into the room. B had disappeared for the moment, giving me time to collect my thoughts and mull over what she had told me.
I was having a difficult time understanding B. I had never been a teenage girl so every movement or reaction that she made, surprised me. I thought, because she liked me, I could get her to tell me something about what have happened, but it seemed to backfire. The girls' mind is a scary and confusing place.
It seemed like each alter was putting Isabella's health (mental and physical) in danger. B was developing an eating disorder, Dale acted out violently and hid his emotions with alcohol, Emily was obsessive and had to have control over everything, Victoria never sleeps, and who knows what's wrong with Marie.
Maybe it's Marie that knows what happened to Isabella. She's the only one that seems to act normally. At least, she has never shown any sign of developing abusive or controlling behavior. But then again, wouldn't the alter that actually knew what happened Isabella be more likely to abusive or angry?
The interrogating had gone less than well, and putting my notebook aside, I decided to give myself some time to think over it later. I pinched the bridge of my nose, willing for the headache to go away, but someone bounding down the stairs broke my concentration.
B stood in the doorway, her hands on her hips. She had changed outfits, the third time that day, and walked towards me, a smile on her face.
"Hi, Edward."
I did my best to control my actions. "Hello, B."
She laughed as if I had said something extremely funny. I suddenly wished I could pull out my notebook again as a distraction, but I knew it would only offend her. I never knew how to interact with the alters when I wasn't talking to them about Bella, and B was making me increasingly uncomfortable.
"How are you, Edward? You never talk to me."
I cleared my throat, awkwardly trying to shift to the side and put more distance between us. "We talked earlier, didn't we?"
She missed the underlying sarcasm. "But we never…talk. You know?"
I sighed, shaking my head. "No, not really. What would you like to talk about?"
I could tell it had taken a lot of courage for her to come down here and strike up a conversation, but what she was pursuing I wasn't entirely sure.
"B," Alice warned, looking up from her book. "Watch the movie."
She sighed but listened, sitting down next to me on the couch. I wished I was sitting in one of the armchairs, but I couldn't move now.
Fortunately I wasn't stuck in that predicament for too long. The door bell rang and Alice jumped up before B was able to make it to the door.
"I'll get it," she said as she walked across the room to the door. She opened the door. "Edward, could you hand me my-"
Her voice trailed off, and when I stood up to hand her the wallet sitting on the table that she was undoubtedly asking for, B grabbed my arm and pulled me back down.
"What-"
"Shh," she hushed me, pointing towards the door. "Hold on. Just watch."
I moved forward, wallet still in hand as I peered over to see what the big deal was. It was then that I saw a boy about Alice's age standing on the doorstep with a pizza in hand and an uncomfortable expression on his face.
"Uh," he said, clearing his throat. "That'll be $12.28."
Alice smiled, looking at him intently. I could hear B muttering something behind me, but I couldn't focus on either.
"I've been waiting for you," Alice said, and no one in the room missed the underlying connotations behind her statement.
"Yeah," the boy said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "Sorry 'bout that. Car wouldn't start."
He pointed towards the beat up truck parked on the curb. Alice laughed as she leaned against the doorframe, but once he shifted the pizza from one hand to the other, she snapped out of whatever reverie she was in.
"Sorry, what was the amount?"
He looked down. "$12.28."
I handed her the wallet, which she proceeded to root around in for the money. She ended up handing him a twenty, a grin toying on her lips as she handed it to him.
"Keep the change," she said, effectively stopping him from handing her whatever amount he owed. He laughed, the first display of emotion he had shown, and gave her a crooked smile.
"Thank you, ma'am," he said, his Southern drawl more pronounced. Alice merely nodded, stuffing her hands in her pockets.
"No problem."
He peered into the house slight as Alice swayed back and noticed B and me sitting on the couch. I nodded in acknowledgement while B hardly noticed, her eyes not-so-subtly flickering to me every few seconds. The boy tried to stifle his laughter as he watched, but with no avail.
"Thanks for the tip," he said once more before winking at Alice, kicking the gravel of the walk as he made his way back to the beaten truck.
He turned back once, giving the house a strange look while shaking his head before clambering in, the car starting with a roar.
She closed the door, an awed look on her face. "B, do you remember when I told you I would know exactly who I was going to marry the moment I met them?"
She nodded, bouncing in her seat. "Yeah."
"I think I just did."
B surprised me by rolling her eyes. "Why does everyone get someone but me? You have the cute delivery boy. I'm all alone."
I hated the genuine sadness that smothered her complaint. It struck something within me that I couldn't identify, and that worried me.
"You'll find someone," Alice supplied helpfully. "Just give it time, B. You're still young. Live a little before you settle down."
I almost laughed at the exchange but was able to compose myself. "She's right," I agreed, trying to appear helpful, but it only made her look at me with that same lustful look in her eye. I quickly grabbed the box, trying to ignore it.
"Do you even know his name?" B asked, her mouth full of pizza.
"Jasper," Alice answered, never missing a beat. B looked up, shock written across her features.
"How do you know that?"
"He moved here a few years ago," she sighed, sinking back into her chair. B snorted, raising an eyebrow.
"Have you ever talked to him?"
Alice laughed. "Besides just now?" B nodded. "A few times. He's been working at the pizza place for a while. He works every other day, that's how I knew he would be here today."
Choosing that moment to bow out, I stood up, a piece of pizza resting on a paper napkin in my hand. "Thanks for the dinner, Alice," I said, my notebook tucked under my arm.
"No problem," she said, glancing between B and me. "You're welcome to hang out here with us, if you want."
I shook my head. "I'm tired; I think I'll head upstairs."
B looked disappointed. "We're going to watch Saw."
I looked away as I shook my head. "I think I'm just going to head to bed. I haven't been getting much sleep lately." I also didn't think I could stomach a torture movie while I was eating pizza. The tomato sauce looks too much like blood.
"If you open the window, it won't be so stuffy," she advised, grinning at me. "It helps me sleep better."
I gave her a smile. "Thanks, B."
Her elated expression grew. "Anytime."
As I climbed each stair, I began to think about what she had told me about the police officer this morning. None of it added up, and I couldn't connect the dots to anything. I was getting frustrated, but being patient was all I could do.
Although I wanted to help Bella from strictly a professional point of view, there was something about talking to each alter that made me feel strangely attached, as if it was my duty to help Bella. She deserved as much.
I laid down on the bed with my mind racing. I knew I couldn't do anything until morning, but the idea of never finding a cure made my stomach churn.
I had to do whatever I could, and yet the path I was taking now didn't seem to be right. It never seemed to be enough.
It was like Bella was a victim in one of those Saw movies. She was strapped up to some mental torture device and I was the only one that can help her. But every attempt that I made, failed, and only seemed to make things worse for her.
I ran my fingers through my hair and tried to wish away the headache I was getting.
"Damnit, Bella." I mumbled to myself. "What happened to you?"
End Chapter.
Daddy's Little Cannibal: We can't make this plot move any faster. I'm sorry, but we have to be careful. Besides, it's not like we're going terribly slow. It's the ninth chapter. The chapters aren't terribly long, anyways. I mean, c'mon, Twilight took forever for it to get action packed. And the plot is moving along. Whether you think it is or not, it's still moving along. Anyways, reviews make me smile. :)
Bronzehairedgirl620: If you really think about it, their relationship has to move slow or it really would never work. We want to do this realistically, and this story is so complex. There are so many different parts and things we have to remember. Things will get moving. Promise.
Please review!
