How was Edward's Fourth of July weekend? Let's find out. . .
EPOV
It's the week of July fourth and everyone was getting into the spirit of being American. There were American flags lining the lawns of houses, stores were starting their annual firework sales, the smell of bonfire was permanent as people started celebrating the holiday early. It seems like this is the only day that people go all out red, white and blue and it sometimes leaks into the few days afterwards.
Not only was it the week of July fourth, it was also the week of Emmett's family's summer party. Each year, his uncle threw a huge extravagant party on the fourth. There was a huge fireworks display, bonfire, barbeque and lots and lots of booze. They always try to keep it on the down low, but it always manages to get out there and people from around Forks show up.
The five days leading up to the party were kind of boring. The only thing keeping me dying from boredom were the calls and text messages from Bella from New York. After the call on Sunday, the text messages and pictures didn't stop coming. On Monday, I got about a million pictures of Times Square. Pictures of her standing near red bleachers, a picture of her taking a picture of her on a jumbo tron, a picture of her looking shocked that she is on a jumbo tron. She looked like she was having a great time. She also sent me a picture of a half naked old lady dressed as a cowboy with the caption, "Hubba hubba."
We talked on the phone on Tuesday while she was walking through central park. "Oh my god." She interjected into her story about Jane's eclectic group of friends.
"What?" My voice sounding urgent.
"I think, I think I'm looking at Emma Stone." Bella stuttered.
"You think you are?" I asked.
"Yes," Her voice sounded distant. "I'm going to casually walk by her."
There was silence on her end for a few seconds. I could hear her breathing become uneven and then stop before she breathed again. She whispered into the phone, "It was her. Oh my god!"
"Why didn't you say hi to her?" I smiled.
"Edward, come on. I'm too shy to do that." I could hear the blush in her voice.
"Chicken," I teased her.
"Hey! At least I walked by her," She retorted. "You would have walked the other way."
"So not true!" I defended myself.
"Uh huh," She chuckled.
By Thursday night, Bella had had two more celebrity sightings. She saw Dakota Fanning in a coffee shop while she was walking to class that morning and then she had seen one of the Franco brothers walking into the Rockefeller Center that afternoon. I had asked if she had gotten pictures and she said there were paparazzi already, so it didn't seem right.
It was Friday, one day before Emmett's big family party. Things were getting busy around Forks. The heat was killer and didn't seem like it was going to be cooling down anytime soon. Which was good in a sense because then maybe it wouldn't rain on Saturday, like it almost always does on the Fourth. I had volunteered my time to help Emmett and his family set up for the big party since I didn't have anything better to do. Jasper was knee deep in prep for the wedding that was happening in a month, so Alice was driving him crazy but he said he didn't mind. "Alice was just being Alice." He had said when I asked if he wanted to come help me.
Rose and Em were in some sort of fight. He was trying to explain the logistics to me while we shopped for the millions of fireworks his uncle needed for tomorrow. We pushed a shopping cart up and down aisles in the firework warehouse in Seattle. Emmett was reading off the list, as I plucked the explosives off the shelf and dropped them in the cart.
"I mean, I don't even understand what I did!" Emmett said. "All I did was help a girl up after she tripped and suddenly, I'm being accused of flirting with her and checking out her rack!"
"Were you flirting with her?" I questioned.
"No, pick up four of those ones," Emmett pointed to boxes of sparklers on my left. "At least, I don't think I was. All I said was, 'Are you okay?' and 'You're welcome.' I don't think that is flirting."
"Maybe you said it in a flirtation tone." I shrugged, picking up some boxes and tossing them in the full cart.
"What qualifies as a flirtation tone?" He air quoted the last part. He steered the cart down the last aisle.
"I don't know! I'm just trying to think like Rose," Which wasn't that hard to do. "Were you also checking her out?"
"Dude," He looked at me like I was stupid. "Come on. If I did, it was on accident. She tripped, so the odds of me looking at her chest were there because I was trying to look at her face to make sure she was okay."
"You know Rose likes to blow things out of proportion because she gets jealous easily," I said, peaking at the list and grabbing a box of firecrackers and tossing them on top of the pile. "When did this happen?"
"A few days ago when I took her to the beach in La Push," He pushed the very full cart towards the check-out lanes at the far end of the store. "We were having a great time, making out and shit. And then we were walking back to my jeep and I saw a girl trip and went to her aid. And it all blew up from there. She hasn't talked to me since. I've tried to talk to her but she is ignoring me."
"Do you think she'll come tomorrow if she's mad at you?" I began unloading the fireworks onto the conveyor belt. This was going to cost a fortune. Thank you, Emmett's uncle for the money.
"What do I know. She might be over it by then, she might not. But, it's a party. She won't miss out on it," Emmett sighed and helped take out the rest of the fireworks.
It ended up costing around seven hundred dollars for everything and there was barely any room in the car for us and the fireworks. I helped Emmett carry the fireworks to his Uncle's shed, which took many trips.
"If this isn't enough fireworks for tomorrow, we've got a problem." Emmett huffed, locking the shed back up.
Later that evening, I'm lying on my bed half asleep when my phone beings to play Bella's ringtone. Right on cue.
"How was New York today?" I answered.
"Long," She sighed into the receiver. "I think the teachers are getting bored with us. They made us do weird name games and one had us make a mad lib. Each student had to say a word, so you can imagine the story got really dirty. Luckily tomorrow is the last day."
"Are you not enjoying the fabulous New York lifestyle anymore?" I joked, rolling over.
"It's not that, it's just," She paused. "This orientation week was fun the first few days, but all I really want to do is walk around the city and enjoy it. Not play stupid name games."
"Ahh, I see. You can do that tomorrow though, right?"
"Yeah, after the final meeting. A lot of people are going to see the fireworks tomorrow night."
"And you are also going." I stated.
"I don't know," Bella hesitated. "I mean, I have such an early flight on Sunday. I don't want to oversleep or-" I cut her off.
"Isabella Marie Swan," I said seriously. "You are in New York fucking City. One of the greatest fucking cities in the world. You are not going to miss out on probably the greatest firework show ever to sit alone in your dorm reading. I want you to promise me, that you will go watch those fireworks and have a great fucking time."
"Was saying fuck that many times, really necessary?" She asked.
"Yes. It added extra emphasis," I said matter-of-factly. "Anyways, do you promise me?"
"I suppose," She yawned. "I'll go see the fireworks. But not because you told me too. Because I've already put away my books." I chuckled.
There was a beep on her end. "That's Charlie. I'll talk to you later. Bye."
"Bye." I set my phone down and closed my eyes.
~oOo~
I woke up a little after noon the next day. I showered and threw on a dark red tee shirt and some cargo shorts that showed off my untoned legs. I needed to start working out again. I slipped the only pair of flip-flops I owned on; I hated sandals with a passion. I walked downstairs and was greeted with the smells of different desserts.
"It smells like Willy Wonka's Chocloate Factory in here." I commented, getting a Powerade out of the fridge.
"I'm helping Mrs. McCarty out by baking desserts for the party," Mom smiled at me, while pulling a tray of cookies out of the oven. "So far, I've made four dozen chocolate chip cookies and three batches of brownies. All I have left to make is my famous cherry pie."
Esme's Cherry Pie was probably the best dessert you could ever have. I don't know what she put in it, but it was delicious. "It all smells really great. I bet it tastes ever better."
"We'll find out tonight," She smirked. "No tasting anything till tonight."
"Umm," I held back a laugh. "You should have said that two seconds earlier."
"Why?" She spun around and saw that my dad had a cookie shoved into his mouth. "Carlisle!"
"Whuuut?" He looked so innocent, his hands were in the air.
"I guess you can have one too," She sighed, shaking her spatula at me. I swiped a cookie before planting a kiss on her head.
"I've got to go help set up the yard. See you guys later." I took my drink and cookie out to my car.
When I pulled up to Emmett's house a few minutes later, I could see set up was already in progress. I made my way to the backyard and saw picnic tables being set up. There were lights stringed up from the roof of the house to the shed in the back. Way behind the party scene, you could see Emmett's Uncle and a few other guys marking off the firework spot with yellow tape.
"Hey Edwardo!" Emmett yelled from across the yard.
"What can I help with?" I jogged over to him, helping him set down the table he was dragging across the grass.
"Thanks," We set it down with a thud. "You can help me carry out extra chairs from the basement."
After a few hours, the tables were covered in red, white or blue table clothes that were taped down. There were three grills set up off to the side, ready to start serving food. The other food was being set up in the kitchen, like the desserts and snacks. Over by the firework shed, there were a bunch of kegs. This party was never complete without at least half the people being drunk. Lastly, there were speakers set up so the people outside could hear the music from the stereo indoors. It was going to be a huge party.
When it was nearing five, people started to show up and the party atmosphere began to pick up. Somehow word got out about the party, like it always does, and people from around town started to show up including people from my old high school. The backyard smelled of hamburgers and hotdogs and it was filled with the sounds of laughter and music. Emmett, Jasper, Alice, Rose and I claimed a table near the back patio. We were mostly people watching and waiting to see how long it took before the host got super drunk. We actually placed bets to see what he'd set on fire this year.
"He's only on his second beer and he's already kind of tipsy," Alice scoffed, whipping mustard off her cheek. "I bet he'll set the food on fire."
"Nah, that's too easy." I waved her off. "He's going to set one of the tables on fire by setting off a firecracker."
"Um, yours is too easy," Rose was spinning her cup on her finger. "He is going to set himself on fire using a sparkler."
"I agree with the set himself on fire part," Emmett said. "But, it will be from backing into the grill. His butt will go up in flames!"
"He'll end up setting the field on fire trying to launch a firework, if he even gets that far," Jazz said looking at him drain his second beer. We all groaned.
"Why does your family still let him host parties when he doesn't even remember anything past the first two hours?" Rose asked.
"Because he has the best yard for the display," Emmett shoved the rest of hamburger into his mouth. "Anybody want anything while I'm up?"
We all shook our heads as he left the table.
"You two seem to be doing okay," Alice commented.
"I'm playing nice for the party," Rose threw her hair over her shoulder. "I'm still really pissed."
"So you're saying, he should have let the girl fall on her face?" I suggested.
"No," Rose narrowed her eyes at me. "He just shouldn't have flirted with her."
"That's not what I heard," Jasper whispered under his breath.
"Whatever. I need to pee," She said storming inside.
"You just broke the twin code. Always have each other's backs," I chided.
"She's been in such a sour mood lately. It's getting on my nerves and our parents." Jasper said into his cup.
"Alice, you're a girl. What's wrong with her?" I asked, popping a chip into my mouth.
"Well, since I'm a girl," She put emphasis on the word girl, rolling her eyes at me. "She is either PMSing hardcore or she is just being an idiot. She'll get over whatever is really bothering her, I hope."
It was a little while later and I was up making my rounds, talking to people from high school who I haven't talked to since. People were already hammered, and you could tell because they laughed at almost anything you said. And Rose ended up winning the bet, Emmett's Uncle set himself on fire with a sparkler and thought it was the funniest thing in the world. He was among the drunk population. My mom's desserts were a big hit, she was getting compliments left and right, especially for her pie.
I went inside for a little bit to get away from the heat, and pulled out my phone. It rung a few times before she picked up. Before she got a chance to say anything I chimed in. "Please tell me, you are not in your room reading Catcher in the Rye for the millionth time?"
"No," She dragged out the o at the end. "I am waiting for the fire explosions to start. And FYI, I didn't even bring that book with me." I chuckled.
"Well then, Miss Sassypants. I'm glad you aren't all alone. Is Jane with you?"
"No," She stated. "She went to some underground secret band thing. Fireworks are beneath her, I guess. Besides, I have plenty of company here."
"Oh yeah? Like who?"
"Uh, like," I heard her hesitate. "Like my new friend Joe the hotdog man and the pigeon who is bobbing its head a few inches from me." I just shook my head.
"I don't know. That pigeon seems sketchy." I laughed.
"He looks pretty sketchy. I'll keep an eye on him," She giggled, I missed her laugh. "How's the party going?"
"It's insane and it's not even seven yet. Emmett's uncle has already set himself on fire, with a sparkler." I rolled my eyes remembering the scene that happened only moments ago. "I'm currently in the living room, trying not to be caught in the line of destruction."
"His uncle is going to be completely wasted before fireworks time," Her voice was judgmental. "I wish I was there."
"Me too," I said. Just then, Alice came into the room and sat down across from me.
"Is that Bella?" I nodded my head. "Tell her I say hi!"
"Oh, Alice says hi." I tell her.
"Hi, Alice!" Bella cheered. I was about to relay the message to Alice. She snatches my phone out of my hand.
"HI BELLA! OMG HOW IS NEW YORK? I WANT YOU TO COME BACK! I MISS YOU!" She yells excitedly. I look at her, with eyes that say give me back my phone. She sticks out her tongue at me.
"Good!" Alice cheers.
"Can I have my phone back now?" I reach for it but Rose grabs it from behind Alice. I sat back and cross my arms across my chest.
"Bella, tell me one thing. Are city boys hotter than small town boys?" Rose demands into the phone. Alice and I exchange a look.
"Reasons! I won't tell Edward your answer," She looks at me. "We'll keep it between us."
I glared at Rose as she stared at me. Her facial expression changed. "I knew it!"
"Can I have my girlfriend back now?" I demanded.
"Fine," She said to me. "Edward wants you back. Bye, Bella."
"What was your answer?" I asked as soon as the phone was back in my hand.
"I can't tell you. But," She started. "I will tell you that you have something city boys don't have."
"What is that?"
"You have charm and an adorable girlfriend." She declared.
"I don't know about adorable," I teased her.
"Whatever," I heard the smirk. "The fireworks are about to start. I'll see you tomorrow okay?"
"Yes, you will. I'll be there to pick you up. Love you." I stood up from the couch.
"Love you too. Try not to set any fires," She joked. I could hear music in the background.
"I'll try." I said, putting my phone into my pocket. I went back out into the yard with a fresh plate of brownies and pie. I sat down at a table and took a bite out of my brownie, so amazing. I was in the middle of savoring the gooey chocolate when someone sat down across from me. I looked up and was met with a surprise.
"Tanya?" I said bewildered.
"Surprise!" She beamed.
"What are you doing here? I don't mean to be rude, but what are you doing here? I thought you moved away?" It was like seeing a ghost. She still looked the same with her platinum blonde hair, pale green eyes and striking cheek bones. The only thing that was different was the braces were no longer there, and in their place was a perfect smile.
"I did move away, but I'm visiting my sister Irina. She is getting married tomorrow morning. I heard there was a party, decided to drop by. Who knew it would be a party that you were at!" She purred.
"Where did you move to?" I ripped off another brownie bite.
"Ugh, Oklahoma. I hate it there," She swiped a part of my brownie off my plate. Well, okay.
"Is that so?" I watched her lick the melted chocolate off her thumb.
"I live in the panhandle part and it's basically horse ranch city. Smells like horse shit, all the time." She rested her elbows on the table, setting her chin on her folded hands. "How have you been Edward?"
"I've been great," I picked up my fork, avoiding her stare. "Been a boring summer for the most part. Been to Disney World, but that's about it."
"Sounds like fun," She looked me up and down. "Still dating Bella?"
"Yep," I popped the 'P'. I put a forkful of pie in my mouth.
"Where is she?" Tanya asked, watching me with mischievous eyes. "I haven't seen her yet."
I swallowed. "She's in New York. She had orientation for NYU this week."
"Wow. That's pretty cool," She leaned forward just a little. "Pretty cool."
"Yeah," I looked at her, confused. "What do you want Tanya?"
"What makes you think I want something? I'm just catching up," She smiled. "It's been a while."
"Because you always want something Tanya." I wasn't buying her game. She took the fork out of my hand and stole from my plate again. Was there not enough food inside?
"I always want something," She repeated, slowly sliding the pie into her mouth. If she thought this was turning me on, she was sadly mistaken. "I. Want. You."
"Excuse me?" I sputtered.
"You asked me if I wanted something," She was licking the fork now. "And I answered. I want you. I always have."
"I have a girlfriend," I reminded her.
"As if," She waved me off, dropping the fork back onto the plate. She leaned over the space between us, using her hands for leverage. She was inches from my face. "Everyone knows you don't keep your high school relationship after you graduate."
"Guess I'm breaking that rule," I muttered.
"Don't you want to try other things? Be with other people?" She whispered centimeters from my lips.
I frozen in place. My hands were frozen into fists on the table top. "No, I don't," I murmured.
"You sure?" She brushed her lips across mine. I leaned away abruptly and fell off the bench with a thump.
"What the hell, Tanya?" I looked around and no one seemed to be paying attention to us. I saw Emmett coming over, probably because he heard me fall.
"Dude, you okay? What are you doing on the table Tanya?" He helped me up, while looking at her. She hoped off the table and straightened herself up.
"Just," She looked at satisfied. "Making sure Edward didn't hurt himself. He laughed so hard he fell off the bench."
"Uh uh," I said, brushing myself off. I looked at her with her sly smile. "Tanya is just so hilarious."
"I bet," Emmett looked skeptical, but wasn't asking questions. Yet. "What are you doing here, Denali?"
"Visiting my sister. Well I wanted to crash a party and since I did, I'm gonna leave now. See you boys." She waggled her fingers, before turning away. She turned her head and winked at me before exiting the backyard.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Emm asked, raising his brow.
I picked up my pie plate. "Bitch took my fork and ate my pie."
"Ha," Emmett laughed, shoving my shoulder. "Let's go get some alcohol! Most of the parental units are inside now."
~oOo~
Two beers later, it was almost dark enough outside to start the show. Most of the food was gone, except the stupid veggie tray. I don't know why these were even at parties, nobody ever ate them. Emmett managed to sneak a keg away from the adults and started giving it out to the underage kids. Well, those of us fresh out of high school. All of us began to feel the party buzz and began to act crazy. We started a dance party out in the field near the firework launch zone. We were laughing and singing along to the songs. We were eventually shooed away when Emmett's dad, Jasper's dad and my dad started setting up the fireworks for launch. We congregated back near the picnic tables. The lights that were stringed above, gave the backyard a magical glow. I was talking to Eric Yorkie about whether or not The Rock could win in a fight against Godzilla when it happened.
"You are such a jackass!" Rose screamed.
"What the fuck did I do this time!? Did I look at someone wrong? What the fuck did I do!?" Emmett yelled back.
They were standing in the shadows having a quiet conversation a few minutes ago, now it was a screaming match. Almost everyone was looking over at them.
"What did you do?" Rose snorted. "What didn't you do, Emmett! God, you can't keep your eyes off of her. What? Am I not good enough for you or something?"
"Oh, I'm so damn sorry," Emmett was getting angry. "I'll just walk around with fucking blinders on the rest of my life because I can't look at anyone without it seeming like I'm into them. You are so stupid!"
"I'm stupid? I'm stupid?! Fuck you!" Rose shouted.
"Fuck me? Fuck you! You are too damn jealous. God! You are so pretentious! If I wanted to be with someone else, I would have broken this off long ago!"
"Long ago? What is that supposed to mean?" Rose jabbed him in the chest. I looked over at Jasper and he looked at me. We were bother thinking about intervening.
"It means, I overlooked your stupid jealousy thing long ago. But obviously, you can't get over it! I'm so fucking sick of it! One look and I'm suddenly cheating and flirting. Grow the fuck up, Rosalie!"
"If you are so fucking sick of me, then why don't you just end it right here? Huh?" Rose was pushing him. I saw Alice take a step towards them, but Jasper stopped her.
"I never said I was sick of you, geez! Stop twisting my words! Just, fuck off Rosalie." Emmett turned away and disappeared into the house with a slam.
"Fuck you, McCarty!" Rose shouted before disappearing around the corner of the house.
The backyard was quiet the only sound was the crickets, literally. The sound of a car coming to life out front startled everyone back to life. People began to move around and a low murmur of voices picked up. The music picked back up in the middle of a Michael Jackson song. I walked over to Jasper and Alice.
"I'm pretty sure that was Rosalie leaving," Alice sighed.
"Should we check on Emmett?" I suggested.
"No," Jasper shook his head. "Let him cool off." I nodded my head and sat down at the nearest table. Jasper and Alice joined me. This was a good day, then a bad one, then a good one and now a terrible one. I just wanted to see the fireworks and go home.
Emmett came out of the house a few minutes later, sitting down next to me. We all kind of sat in awkward silence. I looked at him and saw that he was rubbing his knuckles. Something was broken in the house. I patted his shoulder, he looked at him with a sad smile. "Best holiday ever." He said sadly.
Just then, someone killed the power. We were drowning in darkness, til there were a boom up above and purple light lit up the sky.
~oOo~
After the fireworks last night, I cut out of there after saying my good-byes. Emmett didn't stick around and went inside to clean up. I felt terrible for him. He wasn't his normal chipper self. I hope Rose and him fixed this. It was a crappy night all around. But, this morning made it all better because I was finally seeing Bella again after a week of her being gone. I woke up early and drove down to Seattle.
I got to the airport pretty early, so I found a seat by the incoming flight board and watched as her flight climbed higher and higher. Once it was at the top, I got up and stood outside the security check point, looking for her face among the crowd. I stood there with my hands in my pockets to keep them from fidgeting. I was becoming really impatient, and then I saw her face in the crowd. She was scanning her eyes until they landed on me. Her face broke out into the biggest smile, a smile I had missed seeing.
She cleared the final check point, and walk-ran towards me. She dropped her bag a few feet away and launched into my waiting arms. I lifted her off the ground and hugged her tight. Our lips found each others immediately, not caring that we were in a crowded airport. I set her down after a long moment, letting go of her soft lips.
"Hey," She breathed, smiling.
"Hey," I said, tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear.
"I missed you," She grabbed that hand and intertwined our fingers.
"I missed you too," I squeezed her hand. I walked over and picked up her bag, never letting go of her hand.
"So, what did I miss?" She asked as we walked towards the exit. She leaned her head on my arm.
"It's kind of a long, long story," I sighed. I suddenly remembered the Tanya thing, unsure if I should tell her.
"Good thing it's a long drive to Forks," She chirped.
Today was not the day for that story. "Well, it all started when I woke up yesterday morning. . . "