Thanks for all the reviews! Everyone here gets a doughnut! Okay that sounded creepy, so yeah. Okay one of the reviewers wanted the part about Toney and Bella from Edward's point of view, so I'll try to put it in at the top. However, since Edward was gone for most of it and only showed up for the last part, it will be a little hard so bear with me if it sucks.
Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.
Chapter 10. Accident?
He smiled at me and got into the Volvo. "You got it from here Princess?" asked Edward, turning to me.
"Yeah, thanks for helping Your Highness," I said. Toney had already disappeared. "I don't think we've seen the last of him."
Edward shook his head. "Neither do I." Edward got into the car and pulled away. I saw the others walking out of the club, looking worried.
"We heard about the commotion," said Angela, walking over to me. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, I am okay," I reassured her. "I just want to go home. And can we not mention this to anyone?"
Danny nodded. "Its not worth getting your father all worked up over nothing." I followed them back to Angela's house and thought about everything that had
happened today.
Why couldn't I just have a normal life with any strange things going on? It was a good thing I had taken those martial arts classes though. They had definitely
come in handy tonight.
EPOV:
I stared in horror for several seconds, then the realization of what was probably going on hit me. Toney's words from earlier ran through my head. Yes, Isabella Swan wasn't bad looking at all and Toney would probably know that if he'd seen her. Bella was in trouble and whether or not I was willing to admit it to myself, I needed to help her. I turned to see Brad struggling to get Erin and Jack into the car. Quickly, I grabbed Erin by the shoulder and threw him into the back of the car.
"Way to be gentle, Edward," Brad teased, putting Jack next to Erin and getting into the front seat.
"We have to find her," I said, not really knowing why I cared so much. I put the Volvo into gear and began circling the parking lot, praying he hadn't already left with Bella.
A million different emotions were going through me at the moment. Fear, worry, and something else. It scared the living shit out of me. Finally, I saw them. Toney had Bella backed up against a pillar and had just pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. I smiled slightly at the look of disgust written all over Bella's face as he pushed her hair back. Then she did something that gave me a new feeling of respect for her. She clenched her fist and cold cocked him in the face, knocking him backward flat on his ass.
I heard Brad's stifled laughter from my left and joined in for a second. When Brad let out a sharp intake of breath, I stopped laughing and returned my gaze to the fight in front of me.
"You bitch!" Toney shouted, jumping to his feet and pulling a switch blade out of his back pocket. Well, more accurately it was Brad's blade that Toney had stolen one weekend when Brad was drunk and refused to give it back. A bruise had already formed where Bella had punched him. "You little bitch!"
I caught the quick flash of fear that flitted across Bella's face and pulled open my door, followed by Brad.
"I'll kill him," Brad said. I put a hand on his shoulder, restraining him.
"Not here you won't, unless you Wanna get arrested." That got his attention and he settled for leaning against my hood. Toney stepped closer to Bella and grabbed her by the hair. Her body tensed and she looked like she was trying to plan the best way to squirm or fight free.
"Let go! You're drunk. I'll take you somewhere, just let go." By this point, I had had enough.
"Toney, what the hell do you think you're doing?" I was shaking with fury by now. How dare he do this to Bella? How dare he do this to any girl? I saw Bella's eyes go wide and Toney spin around in surprise.
"Back off Cullen, you don't even like her," Toney growled, glaring at me angrily. That was the thing though. Anymore I wasn't sure if being Bella's enemy was working out for either of us. Unbidden, the memories from last night played again in my mind. We had been standing so close…
My pattern of thoughts was broken when I saw Bella pull away and aim a kick at Toney's abdomen. I saw Brad's lips twitch up into a sort of half smile as Toney dropped the knife. I stepped forward, picked it up, and held it to his throat. It took all my self control not to kill him right there in the parking lot.
"If you ever mess with my sister or any of her friends again, I'll kill you and may God have mercy on your soul," I spat out through clenched teeth. I saw Danny walk up and put a hand on Bella's shoulder. Suddenly, it dawned on me that she could possibly be hurt.
"Bella, are you okay?" he asked, looking her over for scratches. I noticed that her skirt was a little dirty, but besides that she seemed pretty healthy.
Bella nodded and her posture straightened. "Never better." Danny laughed and high fived her, before turning back to Toney.
"Touch her and you're dead. Got it?" Apparently I wasn't the only one who cared about Bella's well being. It made me feel better that someone else was also able to look after her. Why was I thinking like this? What the hell was wrong with me? I was all of a sudden caring about whether or not some stupid girl was okay or not.
Brad stepped forward then and took the knife from me. "Oh, and I'll be taking that, especially since it was mine to start with."
"The name's Brad by the way," he said, shaking her hand.
"Bella," she replied and smiled. Brad turned then and got into the Volvo.
I turned my eyes back to Bella. "You got it from here Princess?" I noticed with fury that Toney had disappeared into the night.
"Yeah, thanks for helping, your highness. I don't think we've seen the last of him."
I had a strange feeling in my gut that she was probably right. "Neither do I," I said, getting into my Volvo and pulling away.
"How does she do that?" Asked Brad, looking at me in shock.
"How does she do what?" I was confused.
"Did you see that skirt? It barely covered her ass! But when she fought Toney, she had no problem. And you couldn't even see anything when she kicked him!"
"I guess she's just good," I said. "If Isabella Swan can do one thing, its fight. And she's damn good at it," I said, then got a teasing smile on my face. "Why were you looking, Brad?"
He glared at me playfully. "No man it ain't like that! I got a girl you know that."
I laughed. "Brad, I was only kidding. So, should we go back to the hotel or what?"
"Its too late at night for us to try to get these thugs back, so I guess the hotel would probably be best," Brad grinned and poked Erin in the back seat.
"He's going to have one hell of a hangover in the morning," I muttered and Brad laughed.
"Damn straight." We spent the rest of the ride back to the hotel talking about what we were going to do about Toney.
"I don't care what the rest of you decide to do, but there's no way in hell I'm hanging out with him anymore," I said.
"Me neither. Toney crossed the line this time," Brad agreed.
"So what do we do? Just ignore him or what?" I asked, feeling a bit unsure. With Toney, you couldn't just ignore him.
"I guess we could do that for now, but I think something will have to be done eventually."
"We can't call the police, we don't have any proof. And the last thing we need right now is to be dragged into court," I mused as I pulled up in the parking lot.
"Like I said man. We'll just have to play it by ear. Everything will work out in the end. Bella's a big girl. She can take care of herself," Brad tried to calm me down. "Let's get these two up to the room."
I lay on the bed that night, tossing and turning. For some reason, I couldn't sleep. Maybe it was the thought of Bella keeping me awake. Maybe it was the thought of Toney and the way he had talked about Alice and what he had done to Bella. Finally, I drifted off into an uneasy sleep and dreamed of Toney, attacking Alice.
"Too late Cullen," he said, standing. Alice cowered back against the wall.
"Why couldn't you do anything Edward?" she whimpered. "You couldn't even save me. You are worth nothing."
Then Toney turned into my father and Alice into my mother. "You are worth nothing," my father said. "And neither is the bitch that had you."
I gasped and shot up in bed the next morning. Everyone else was still asleep, so I stood and made my way into the shower.
It was ten thirty in the morning when we left for home. The ride was pretty much silent, Erin and Jack were too hung over to say much and Brad was reading a comic. I don't know what it is with that kid and comics, but for some reason that the rest of us had yet to figure out, he was obsessed with them.
We got back into Forks abound Twelve-Twelve thirty and I dropped everyone off. Finally, it was just me in the car and I drove back to my house. Alice ran onto the porch and threw her arms around me.
"Edward! I heard about last night. Are you okay? What about the others? Did Toney hurt anyone else?" I held up a hand to stop the barrage of questions.
"Who told you?"
"Bella's motorcycle ran out of gas on the way home last night, so she called me. At first, she wouldn't tell me why she was in the middle of nowhere, but when I threatened to bring Charlie into it, she told me."
I nodded. Typical Alice would do something like that for information. "Sometimes you're just too nosey for your own good," I teased, ruffling her hair. I needed sleep. The three or four hours I had gotten over the last few days just weren't cutting it.
"Come and get me when dinner's ready," I told Alice.
"You're going to eat with us tonight?" she asked, barely containing her joy.
"If you wake me up I will," I replied, a small smile flitting across my face.
Alice squealed and threw her arms around me, then turned and ran up the stairs, calling Emmett's name. I laughed and walked to my room for some sleep.
The next thing I was aware of were people whispering around me. "Should we tell him now, or let him get some sleep?" asked Alice, her voice was shaking.
"I think we should tell him," Carlisle's voice held a note of worry.
Groggily, I opened my eyes to see my family surrounding my bed. "Tell me what?"
A tear slid down Alice's cheek and she shrank back into Jasper, who put his arms around her. Carlisle sat down on the edge of my bed and stared at me for a moment. Then he spoke.
"About an hour ago, there was a car accident. Your friend Brad was on his way to meet his girlfriend at the movies. Apparently, he lost control of the car, over corrected, and hit a tree. The impact killed him instantly. I'm sorry, son."
BPOV:
I lay on my bed on Sunday after finishing my homework. Charlie had yet to find out about what had taken place last night and I hoped to keep it that way. Speaking of Charlie, I figured it was about time for me to start dinner, so I stood up and walked down the stairs.
I was almost finished with the spaghetti when the phone rang. Curious, I walked slowly over and answered it.
"Hello?"
"Bella. It's Dad. Listen Honey, I'm not going to be home until much later tonight."
"Why dad? Is everything okay?" I asked, feeling a stab of worry in my stomach.
"Actually, there is. One of Edward's friends died in a car accident about twenty minutes ago. The impact killed him instantly."
I let out a horrified gasp before I could stop it. "One of Edward's friends? Which one?" I thought about where Danny might be at the moment. Or what about Brad, or one of the other boys in the back seat of the car?
"Brad Martial," Charlie said distractedly.
I was silent for a long time as the truth of those words set in. "Bella?" asked Charlie. "Are you still there?"
"Yes," I said, trying to keep my voice even. "I've got to go Dad. The spaghetti's finished and I need to turn off the oven."
I hung up the phone and leaned heavily against the wall. Why Brad of all people? He was a good guy, always there to help someone if they needed it. He had been there for me that night and even though I hadn't known him for long, the fact that he was dead hit me hard. Just then, the phone rang again. I whipped the tears from my cheeks and answered it. "Hello?"
"Bella, its Alice. Did you hear,"
"Yes, I just got off the phone with Charlie. How are you doing?"
"I've been better," Alice said. "It happened so fast. I was only talking to him just yesterday and now he's dead." Her voice broke on the last part and I felt my own resolve wavering.
"Do you need me to come over there?" I asked, putting my boots on.
"No, I don't want to be a bother. And anyway Charlie will worry."
"Alice, it wouldn't be a bother and trust me. Charlie won't mind. If there's one thing that scares him, its tears and there will be a lot of those in the next few hours. He'd probably thank me for leaving the house before I start balling my eyes out."
"Okay, just ask him first. And Bella?"
"Yeah?"
"Please be careful."
I nodded, then remembered she couldn't see me. "I will I promise." Then I called Charlie.
"Hey Dad?"
"Yeah Bells?"
"Can I go over to Alice's for a while? She's taking it pretty hard."
"Yeah go ahead. Just please be careful."
"I will. Love you."
"Love you too Bells. Bye."
I was about to hang up when I heard Charlie's voice still on the line, speaking to someone else in the background. He must have forgotten the proper way to hang up his cell phone again. "That is very strange," I heard his voice saying. "There's a hole through the middle of his right hand, but there doesn't seem to be any sign of broken glass in it."
"Maybe it's just a coincidence," said another voice in the background. I hung up the phone. That was strange indeed. A hole through the back of his right hand? I jogged out to my motorcycle and hopped on. It was going to be a long night.
When I got to Alice's house, she rushed out and threw her tiny arms around me, crying into my shoulder. This was how the next two or so hours went. We cried together in Alice's bedroom, taking comfort in each other. I kept the little piece of information about Brad's hand to myself. I would have to think about that later.
EPOV:
I sat in stunned silence, just staring at the wall. Brad, dead? No it couldn't be. I had just talked to him only six hours ago. I had dropped him off at his house. My family had left me alone a while ago. I had lost count. The only thing I could register at the moment was pure and utter shock. Brad was the glue that held our group together. Without his cheerfulness, we would all lose it completely.
I heard the roar of Bella's motorcycle pull up outside. She was probably here to help with Alice. Suddenly, the truth hit me like a ton of bricks without warning, breaking through the haze of shock. Brad was gone. I would never be able to teas him about his comics, he would never smile again. I would never hear him crack another joke about how stupid Jack got after a shot of Tequila, or what dumb asses we were all being when we got into fights. Then came the pain. I took a deep breath, trying to control the tears I knew would come. Crying was weak, below me. I could hear the sounds of Alice's crying coming from down the hallway and sighed. Alice had been pretty close with Brad over the past year or two. They had been inseparable, like twins almost. As I sat there on my bed, I wondered how much more I would lose in my life.
I sat in one of the middle rows of the church a few days later as an old man stood on a podium, talking about my friend. He droned on and on and on about what a wonderful person Brad was and how he would be missed. I tuned him out after a little while. This old man didn't know a damn thing about Brad, or what kind of person he was. I thought about what Brad would say if he were here right now and had to suppress a laugh. What was wrong with me? But then I remembered that if Brad was still alive, we wouldn't be here right now.
I noticed Toney sitting in the very back of the church and swore under my breath. That two faced son of a bitch had no right being here as far as I was concerned. I saw Erin and Jack looking that way too. Finally, it was all over. I turned my eyes away as the coffin was put into the ground. Julie, Brad's girlfriend was crying silently, tears smearing her make-up everywhere.
I saw Toney make his way over to her and put his arms around Julie. Immediately, the atmosphere changed. Danny, Erin, Jack, and I made a beeline in her direction. Julie was tensed, as if she was half tempted to slap him across the face, but didn't dare at a funeral.
"What the fuck is your problem?" Danny shouted, walking up to Toney. "What was your plan? Wait until Brad kicked the bucket then go after his girl again? What kind of sick piece of crap are you? You are a sick, twisted pervert and I hope you burn in hell."
Julie pulled free. "Stop it!" she shouted. "Stop it both of you!"
Toney stepped around her to face Danny. "The hell'd you call me?"
Danny looked him squarely in the eye. "I called you a sick, twisted pervert who needed to burn in hell."
Toney threw the first punch and all hell broke loose. Danny dodged, Erin kicked Toney in the face, Toney lifted Erin off his feet and body slammed him, knocking the breath out of him. Then he threw a random punch, which to my horror, hit Julie, who was trying in vain to stop the fight, knocking her sprawling into Jack, who caught her.
BPOV:
The funeral was a living hell. Emmett sat next to me, stone faced. I could see Edward on his other side. There were no tears, but what broke my heart was the look in his eyes, almost pleading. Rosalie sat in a similar pose as Emmett, jaw set, staring straight ahead.
We all walked outside for the burial and that's where everything went down hill. I didn't hear everything, but I walked closer when Toney threw a punch at Danny. I stared at the fight in fascination as it played out in front of me. Julie let out a cry of pain as Toney's fist connected with her face and fell back into Jack. I was furious.
"Enough!" I shouted, stepping forward. "Toney, leave before I kill you myself."
Danny was checking Julie for any serious damage, Charlie came over to break up the fight. "You people have no respect. Fighting at a funeral, you should be ashamed of yourselves."
"That basterd," Edward muttered under his breath. "Can't he just leave girls alone?"
"Cullen, are you okay?" I asked, walking over to him. His head snapped up and our eyes met.
"Uh, yeah. I'm fine thanks," he had a grim look on his face as he turned away from me to find his family.
"C'mon Bella," Charlie said from my left. "Let's go home. And thanks for breaking up the fight."
"You're welcome dad," I replied. The last few days had taken a tole on me and I was exhausted.
In spite of my exhaustion, sleep just wouldn't come. I tossed and turned in bed, thinking about Brad. Something just didn't ad up in my mind though. What would have made a careful driver like Brad run off the road? The day he died had been one of the few sunny days in Forks. And what could have gone through the back of his hand if not a piece of glass?
Everything is dark, desolate. Okay this was a really depressing chapter. How many of yaul saw that one coming? Review me with your thoughts. I'll try to have the next one out before Breaking Dawn comes out, but no promises there. I can't wait to have that book in my hands!
Now, if you'll excuse me, it's 1:45 AM and I'm going to sleep.