Chapter Ten
"Odd"

(Edward's POV)

The only decent thing about my lunch hour was that food was involved. Other than that, the sixty minutes were usually pretty tedious. Today was a little different, however, because my sisters had seemingly disappeared. A trip to the bathroom may as well have been a trip to Paris, considering the length of time they'd been gone. It was also different because I hadn't caught even a glance of Bella. I wondered if she'd gone home for some reason and then I had a full on debate with myself about whether or not I should text her. Last time I did that, she ignored me. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea.

"I say we send someone in there," Emmett said, the three of us loitering outside the door of the girl's bathroom. If anyone saw us here, they'd most definitely think we were up to something.

"After you," I said, grinning wickedly.

"I meant another girl," he replied, rolling his eyes. "They're all obsessed with you, Edward, so ask one of them to check. How about Jessica?"

"Like I need to give anyone more encouragement," I muttered, shaking my head. "No, I don't want my sisters punishing me for interrupting. Maybe something happened in there."

Jasper scoffed. "Like what?"

"I don't know," I said, shrugging. "As long as I'm not about to become an uncle, it's none of my business what they do."

"It's definitely not that," Jasper said, guffawing loudly.

"You sure?"

The two of them exchanged a wary glance.

"Oh God," I whispered, scrunching up my nose. "Yeah, let's just wait here.

Alice did open the door a crack at one point, but when she saw us standing there, she emitted a loud squeal and let the door slam shut. We all laughed, though we probably should have been more concerned. We decided just to leave after we knew that one of them was, at the very least, conscious.

I took refuge in my bedroom the first second I possibly could when we arrived home. My mood was solemn, the guys were irritating me, and the girls were acting strange. I didn't particularly want to spend time with any of them. When you've got a big family, it's sometimes necessary to have some time to yourself. It's a rare occasion in this house.

Perhaps I lay there for hours, staring up at my ceiling, or it could have been minutes. I wasn't really aware of how time was passing. Nonetheless, some time later my phone alerted me that I had a text.

'Make the world stop right here. Make everything stop and stand still and never move again. Make the moors never change and you and I never change.' B.

I frowned, re-reading the extract no less than a hundred times. I tried to get past the surprise of an unexpected text from Bella, in order to figure out what exactly it was that she meant. I would swear down on my mom's life that I'd read that somewhere before. I ran through a list of possible sources in my mind, quickly coming to the conclusion that it must be from a classic. I know that she knows I'm a fan of the classics, so she's expecting me to understand what she means and where she retrieved the words. Of course, it came to me fairly quickly.

Wuthering Heights... I should have known. E.

I want to stay here in my room forever, Edward. B.

If you did that, I would never get to see you. E.

You're allowed to visit. B.

Only me? E.

I like your sisters. I might let them come. And your mom, too. B.

I wasn't at all aware she was more acquainted with my sisters than the single time she'd met them here. I wracked my brain, trying to figure when and if I'd ever seen them conversing in school, but it was useless. I couldn't remember such a time. Unless... Before I could ask, she'd sent another text.

You'd have to come when my dad isn't around. He doesn't let me have people over. B.

Why is that? E.

If I could tell him something without fear, I would say, 'How cruel. Your veins are full of ice-water and mine are boiling.' B.

You're afraid of him? E.

I'm afraid of lots of things. B.

What's your biggest fear right this second? E.

You. B.

Me? E.

Yes. B.

You're afraid of me? E.

No, Edward. I'm afraid that you won't be around very long. I have to go. B.

I was left feeling even worse than I had before she texted me. She'd given me far too much information to comprehend but I'd rather know it than not know it. It was some sort of relief to have something to occupy my mind with, however, these revelations concerned me.

What is she hiding?

I stood from my bed, heading slowly towards my bookcase. I knew its arrangements by heart but it still took me a few moments to track down what I was looking for. I flicked through the pages, desperately trying to find Heathcliff's response to Cathy's words, seen as I couldn't for the life of me remember it.

'The moors and I will never change. Don't you,' Bella. E.

"How was your shift, dad?" Emmett wondered, plonking himself down into his usual chair at the dining table.

He didn't truthfully care to know the answer, we all knew that, but it was impossible for him to stand the silence we'd been subjected to. Alice and Rosalie were sitting having a very hushed discussion across from me, resulting in pointed glares every time one of them looked up. Jasper was sitting with one earplug dangling out of his ear; I could hear Muse blasting all the way from here. My parents weren't even making an effort to talk because my mom was too busy trying to figure out her new phone using only her index finger.

I nearly dropped my head to the table in despair.

"It was a quiet one," he mumbled, picking up his cutlery to begin eating. "We had a trauma come in at around 10am which was a bit of a nightmare but after that it was dead in that place. Waylon's nephew came in with a broken finger."

"Waylon's the guy with the boat, right?" I checked, still trying to get used to hearing all of these names in this new place.

"Yeah, that's the one," he said, grinning. "How's that girl doing? Bella, was it?"

"She's fine," Alice said, far too quickly. My suspicious-behaviour-sensor went through the roof in response. "She's totally fine."

"How would you know?" I asked, raising a single brow.

"I just know," she replied, shrugging a little too nonchalantly.

"Have you spoken to her in the last hour?"

Rosalie's head snapped up from her lap at that and the two of them sputtered out a why at the exact same time, which resulted in only amusement from me. I had a funny feeling that their bathroom escapade had something to do with Bella, but I was far too much of a coward to ask what it was about. This was because I wasn't sure if I'd want to know, nor was I sure if it was something I should know.

"No reason," I chortled. "I was just wondering."

"I'm getting the sense," said my dad, "that you all are keeping things from each other. I'll extend my assurance that if you are, it is not a wise idea."

"We bumped into Bella in the bathroom today, that's all," Rosalie informed us calmly.

"So that's what was taking you so long. We thought one of you had committed a murder in there or something," Jasper said, laughing heartily. "Anything we ought to know about?"

"It was just girl talk," she said, smiling softly. "It's not a big deal."

None of us guys would let it go easily. "What sort of girl talk?" asked Emmett.

"The kind that guys aren't to know about."

"What kind is that?"

"Sex! Love! Periods!" Alice exclaimed, laughing when all four guys in the room cringed into their seats in somewhat terror. "Happy now?"

"I'll never ask again," Jasper muttered, putting his other earplug in.

I didn't miss the apprehensive glance the two girls shared, and I knew there was more to this. They were hiding something big and either they, or Bella, didn't want the rest of us to know a thing. Part of me didn't want to push it in case it truly was something embarrassing that none of them would thank me for knowing. However, a bigger part of me feared that this was way worse than girl talk.

I couldn't rule out the possibility of it just being my paranoia.

I went back to eating, letting my thoughts roam wherever they wanted to. They always seemed to find Bella whenever I let them wander and this time was no different. I had millions of unanswered questions about her strangeness and her fears. I wanted to know what she was doing now. For some odd reason, currently, I have an overwhelming urge to know that she is okay.

Perhaps because I now know that something about her father is frightening her.

I'd done my subtle research in school (asking other kids) and being the Chief of Police, he wasn't the type of person you'd think of as scary. Though, it certainly explains her severe overreaction when she was last here. I could only make guesses as to what it was that she was so afraid of. I queried whether or not it could be because he's strict with her. That sort of thing could be down to overprotectiveness after losing his wife all those years ago. But, strictness didn't seem to scream fear to me. Punishment, on the other hand, had the potential for fear plastered all over it.

How bad could a punishment be?

At best, you get grounded for a couple of weeks. At worst, you get your phone taken away—which, in Bella's case, wouldn't truly be much of a loss. I couldn't figure out why these common parental punishments would cause someone to be frightened. I didn't want to get carried away inside my brain. I mean, I might not even be heading down the correct route; it could have absolutely nothing to do with punishments.

I looked to my dad, who was already looking at me.

It was almost as if he'd been on that mental journey with me.

"Have you met the Chief of Police?" I asked, my voice cracking. Of course, my brothers laughed and then proceeded to mock me. I ignored them, waiting for an answer.

"Charlie?" he checked, and I nodded because I was sure that was his name. "I met him on my first day at the hospital because there was a disturbance in the waiting room."

"What's he like?"

"He didn't say much," he said, frowning at the memory. "I wasn't sure what to make of him. For the Chief of Police, he wasn't much of a people person."

"He has a daughter who goes to our school."

"I wouldn't have guessed he was a father," he mumbled, clearly surprised. "Who?"

"Bella."

My mom finally looked up from her phone, and Rosalie just about choked on the bit of food she'd just put in her mouth.

"Her dad is a police officer?" she half-shouted, coughing and sputtering.

"Edward, are you sure?" my dad asked, dropping his cutlery onto his plate. He looked a little taken aback by this news, as did my mom.

"100% sure."

"I was putting it lightly before," he said, wiping his mouth with a napkin. "The guy was... unnerving. His intensity made me uncomfortable. Did Bella mention him to you?"

"Only briefly," I lied, refusing to share the little information I had until I knew more.

He sighed. "What an odd pair."

"You're telling me."