A/N: Thank you all and by now you know why I always thank you guys :P So without further ado, here's the next chapter. And don't forget to review.
Chapter Eight
We reached a small house situated in a place where there was almost no residence. It felt as if it was a country-side area but it doesn't really look like it. The weather was chilly as it was September already and the dark sky wasn't starry. The car stopped and Edward and I got out of it. He went to get my bags and I stood there, admiring the house.
It was pure white in color, and looked warm and cozy. It did look expensive yes but the best feature was that it was small. I loved living in small and cozy places. But not cramped up places. Edward walked ahead of me and I followed him. He put my bags down and took out the key to unlock the door. He told me to open it while he brought my bags inside.
If I had said that it was beautiful from the outside then I had under-estimated. It was absolutely gorgeous from the inside. The walls inside were white, too, with abstract paintings covering the walls. As we entered the door, on the right hand side was a small kitchen that was completely attached to the living room. The living room had the furniture it should and I wasn't shocked to see that a place where Edward lived was clean. As I walked in, I saw the flight of stairs leading upstairs. Edward put my bags down and went into the kitchen to get drinks. He returned and gave one glass to me.
"Do you own this place?" I asked, still looking around the house. I felt him nod beside me. "It's wonderful. I'm actually not that surprised that you keep this place tidy." I said as a joke but he merely shrugged. I looked at him to see why he wasn't speaking anything and saw that he was looking at me. He finished his drink, picked up my bags and led me upstairs.
"Come on I'll show you your room." He said as he climbed up the stairs. I followed him. The storey upstairs had a corridor kind of look. As soon as the stairs finished, there was a door on my right.
"This is the bathroom." He said as we walked into the corridor type place. All the rooms here had white doors. He stopped in front of the second room on the right.
"This is your room, Bella. And the one in front of it is mine." He said as he dropped my bags.
"You know what; I'll take my bags from here. I've already made you look as if you're in charge of carrying them for me." I said. But he opened the door, picked up the bags smiled at me and led me inside.
"I can be your servant whenever you want." He said and I looked down at my feet. He turned to me. "Bella, there was something I wanted you to know." I nodded in response to encourage him to go on. "In week days I get home at maximum 5.30 or 6.00 and on Mondays or Fridays it might get late as they are the starting and ending days of the working week. So please make yourself comfortable here. If you need anything feel free to ask me or search for it. Take this place as your own. I'd be happy. And yeah also as tomorrow is Saturday, I and some of my friends have decided to go out at around 8.00. But
there's something you would definitely hate me for." Pause, "Mike's gonna be with us too." he finished looking at me for some sort of outburst of anger and grimaced.
"Well, he's your cousin and it's okay. Thanks Edward for inviting me here by the way. I guess I did need a break from the office." I said.
"Pleasure is all mine. Now, what do you want for dinner?" he said as he put his hands on my shoulders and led me out of the room and downstairs. It literally burned where he touched but felt good at the same time.
"Anything. But are you a good cook?" I teased and he squeezed my shoulders, laughing.
"Don't worry I'm not that bad." He said and released me when we got to the kitchen. I sat on the stools on the outside of the kitchen, in front of a counter and he quickly got to making dinner. During the time, we spoke to each other and got to know each other better. He told me how his parents had loved me that night on the wedding and I told him about my parents. I didn't go into much detail and sensing my hesitation, he left it at the point where I mentioned that they were divorced. He understood that it was something bad.
"So when's your birthday?" he asked casually.
"September 13th. Why do you ask?"
"Just like that. 13th is like a week away." He stated and I nodded. I asked him his and he told me that it was 20th June. Passed. He got the dinner ready and put it on the table behind me. I hadn't noticed what he had cooked until I had to eat. Pasta.
I took a bite and was actually surprised that it was the best pasta I had had in a very long time. The only pasta I liked was made by my mom.
"This is really good, Edward." I said, taking a sip of my Coke.
"Thanks. I'm glad you like it." He said and then we ate in silence. I felt that it was easy to be around with Edward in a very comfortable silence. Just like it was with Alice and Angela and Jasper.
I hadn't noticed what he was cooking until he was finished and placed the two plates and glasses of Coke on the dinner table behind me. Pasta. And quite surprisingly, it was the best I had eaten in a long time. The only Pasta I liked best was my mom's.
"This is really great, Edward. I'm surprised you cook so well." I said, while sipping the drink.
"Thank you. I'm glad you like it." He answered and then we ate in silence. After dinner, I insisted on doing the dishes and though Edward was reluctant to let me work, I won and washed while he was watching TV. I joined him after finishing and after about half an hour, he stood up and stretched.
"I'm off to sleep. What about you?" he asked as he straightened and I shook my head.
"Nah. I'm gonna watch a little TV" I replied.
"Alright. Goodnight." He said and ascended the stairs and I heard his door close with a click. I lied down on the couch and while watching the movie that was playing, I fell asleep. Later on I woke up as a pair of two strong yet gentle arms picked me up off the couch and started carrying me up the stairs. I knew it was Edward so I didn't dare move or say anything or even take a peek. I was amazed at how easily he carried me and how easily he opened the door to my room. He put me on the bed and wrapped the comforter around me, tucking me in as if I was a baby. Then he did something completely unexpected. He leaned in and left a gentle and soft kiss on my forehead, and the way he did it it was quite evident that he didn't want me to wake up.
I knew I was bound to blush, so I pretended to be asleep, moan and roll over, snuggling closer into the comforter and went back to sleep.
The light sun rays woke me up in the morning but they weren't early enough. I looked at the clock and it said that it was a quarter to one. I quickly got up, took my clothes and made my way to the bathroom. I was glad that I didn't bump into Edward. I quickly showered and dressed into Jeans and a black halter top. I made my way to my room and towel dried my hair and left them cascaded down my back so that they could completely dry up.
I felt thirsty and so I got downstairs to get some juice and not seeing Edward there, I thought he must be in his room. I poured myself a glass of juice but as I turned to go out of the kitchen to the stairs, I bumped into Edward, spilling the juice on his shirt.
"I am so sorry Edward." I said, putting the glass at the counter beside me.
"It's okay, Bella. It's fine." HE tried to calm me.
"No it's not." I said, grabbing paper towels off the counter and gently wiping at his shirt. The whole time he stood still and didn't say anything thereafter. I looked up at his face and he was staring at me. I was about to throw another round of apologies at him when I looked into his eyes and lost all the words. I didn't know how long we stood like this but I was glad that reality hit me again and I looked away.
"Umm … you better change your shirt. I'll wash it for you." He nodded and went upstairs.
He did change his shirt but didn't allow me to wash it. I argued with him for about two minutes and then gave in and it was confirmed that he was stubborn indeed.
"And you call me stubborn." I said over my shoulder while making my way to the living room. We watched TV, had lunch and when it was getting darker, we got up to get ready.
"Where are we going by the way?" I asked.
"Night club." He answered and I stepped into my room. It had been a long time since I had been to a club. The last time I remembered was going with Alice and Jasper about four months back.
I decided to dress up in a small black dress that reached just above my knees, with a white sash around the waist. I wore stilettos that had really small heels, put on a simple gloss and left my hair cascaded down my back. I checked my reflection one last time in the mirror and exited the room. I descended the stairs and Edward was sitting on the couch in a simple jeans, full-sleeved shirt which he had rolled up and had his jacket in his hands. He looked up towards me as I made it to the kitchen and poured myself a glass of water.
"Shall we?" he asked, getting up from the couch. I finished drinking water and nodded. He stood there for a second, probably trying to manipulate something by his expression, but decided not to say it. He led the way to the entrance door and opened it for me. Suddenly the cold wind hit me but it wasn't as cold to make me shiver. We walked to the car and got in and drove-off.
When we reached the club, everyone was already there. Edward introduced me to everyone. His best-friend Nick, Tanya and Chris. And of course I knew Mike. He was actually standing aloof from all of us and not really participating. Everyone was very sweet to me and within minutes I felt like a part of the group.
I noticed Nick and Chris were giving Edward looks as if they knew something the others didn't know and in return Edward would give them a warning look.
All in all I felt really welcome in the group and enjoyed myself. After some time, Mike came up to us and turned to me.
"Bella, you don't give a damn about me. Can I at least have a dance?" he said. I would have made some excuse and refused if he wouldn't have said the first part of what he said. I nodded out of shame and dignity and followed him to the dance floor.
Mike led me far off into the corner of the room and I noticed that I couldn't see Edward. Whether he could or not I didn't know. I started getting uncomfortable of the fact that Edward was out of my sight. In fact everyone was out of my sight. After dancing for a few seconds only, Mike started closing in on me and I had to keep stepping back. I couldn't really comprehend what was going on. I was pinned against the wall and Mike's mouth was on my neck and his hands moving freely on my body. I tried to protest but I was totally pinned against the wall and couldn't do anything. The music was so loud that my shouts wouldn't matter and I was sure they would never reach Edward. I was struggling hard under his hold when suddenly I was free of him. I quickly got away from the wall and people scattered off of the dance floor.
And next I saw Mike lying on the floor, holding his nose, and Edward standing over him, shouting.
"Learn to keep your hands to yourself, Mike! It will save you a lot of pain!" he shouted as Mike scrambled to his feet and that was when I noticed that he was drunk. As soon as he stood up, he made his way towards me and Edward caught him again, grabbing his collar as Nick and Chris tried to free Mike and get both of them away from each other. I decided to intervene.
I quickly went up to Edward and put my hand on his shoulder.
"Leave him Edward! He's drunk. I'm fine." I said and as soon as he began to protest I cut him off. "Edward I am telling you that I am fine. He's drunk and he's your cousin. Release him now!" I literally ordered him.
He let go off Mike, pushing him backwards and stormed out of the club. I looked at Chris, Nick and Tanya and they suggested me to go after him, while they dropped Mike to where he was living.
I walked outside and suddenly the cold air hit me but I was immune to it after seeing Edward walking towards the parking lot. I reached him.
"Edward. Why did you do that? He is your cousin and you just literally broke his nose. He was drunk and not in his senses. He didn't know what he was doing. Are you listening to me? Edward..." I was silenced as Edward pushed me up against the nearby wall and put his hands on either side of the face on the wall.
"Now you listen to me." He literally shouted. "I don't care if he was drunk or sober. I don't care if he's my cousin or a mere stranger. All I know is that he touched you without your permission and you didn't like it. You can feel sorry for him all you want, I don't. And I'll keep you protected as long as you are with me." He finished.
We were glaring at each other. For a second I was frightened at his sudden outburst but then I got a little angry. Our faces were inches apart and he still had his hands on the wall beside me. I quickly shoved him back and started walking off towards the car.
"Fuck." I heard him say as he kicked the wall. I didn't care. I didn't turn around. All I was angry for was that he shouted for no reason. I wasn't shouting at him. And also what he did in the club, according to me was wrong.
As soon as I reached the car, I sat in the passenger seat and slammed the door shut. I was feeling cold but I didn't care. I don't know why but angry tears started forming in my eyes and I blinked them back. He got into the driver's seat and drove off. Through-out the ride, I was looking anywhere but him and out of the corner of my eye I could see him glancing at me every other minute. The whole ride went like this.
