Chapter Ten
The pit of my stomach was burning as I watched the exchange between Edward and the tall blonde now indentified as Tanya. How could I have been so foolish as to believe that he wanted me? I wanted to run away, crawl into my bed, and fade away from the world.
"Shit," I heard him mutter under his breath. I looked up at him skeptically. I could see that while he was smiling, it wasn't a real smile. It was forced, and unlike all the other's I had witnessed, it didn't reach his eyes.
"Eddie! How have you been?" she asked as she approached Edward and me.
"Um, good," he said politely.
"Tanya?" Alice said as she and the rest of the group approached.
"Alice! It's so good to see you, and oh my, is that Emmett!" she exclaimed as she looked at the group.
"Yeah, it's me," Emmett replied in a less than Emmett response. He was generally eager and excited, but he seemed really distant and withdrawn. I noticed that Rosalie seemed to have a death grip around him. Something was definitely up.
"What are you doing here Tanya?" Alice questioned. I noticed too, that her voice didn't seem to hold the same inviting tone that it normally held.
"Oh you know, just out and about. Irina and Kate wanted to see what type of clubs Phoenix had to offer and dad had some kind of business proposition he was going over with someone," she explained rolling her eyes when she spoke of her father.
"Oh, sounds fun, where are Kate and Irina?" Alice asked.
"They went to go get the car."
"Oh, well we're kind of in a hurry, we have class tomorrow," Alice said as she started towards the restaurant.
"It's a shame we couldn't catch up more. I'll give you all a call and we will have to meet up soon," Tanya replied.
"Definitely," Alice replied without turning around. Edward took my arm and led me in behind the rest of the group.
"It was really nice seeing you again Edward," she called out to him, emphasizing the really. I looked up at him to see him roll his eyes as we continued into the building. Was I imagining things, or did Edward and the rest of the group seem sort of cold, almost hostile, towards Tanya? I instantly felt that I was missing a big chunk of the puzzle.
Once in the confines of the restaurant and seated, the entire group seemed to exhale at once as they had held their breath for the entire encounter with Tanya. I looked at all them, confused as to what was up.
"God, can she really be that retarded?" Rosalie finally spoke.
"She has to be the most annoying person on the face of the planet," Emmett added. I looked around the group; they all seemed to nodding in agreement, even Edward.
"Could you all please fill me in?" I asked.
"Oh sorry, we didn't realize that you have been lucky enough to have never crossed paths with her," Alice laughed.
"Yeah, for real," Rosalie snorted.
"What makes her so horrible?" I asked. Other than her flirting with Edward, she seemed to be a nice person.
"Edward, I think you should tell her," Alice said looking over at him. I glanced over at Edward to see that he was rubbing his eyes in frustration.
"You don't have to if you don't want to," I sighed.
"It's not that," he replied quickly, "Tanya's father and our father were college roommates and so our families have been connected for a long time. Unlike their father, Tanya and her sisters are a bit, well, a bit bothersome."
"Just say it like it is Edward, they're whores," Rosalie interrupted.
"They have questionable reputations. But, what makes them intolerable is that Tanya, Kate, and Irina think that Jasper, Emmett, and I want them or something. Despite what we say, or the fact that we are dating people, they think they have a chance. We've all had to change our phone numbers multiple times," he finished.
"Wow," I said awed at the lengths these ladies had went to for recognition.
"You better watch your back Bella, Tanya can be a bit of a backstabber," Alice said a small shutter escaping her.
"Why would she want to bother me? I don't even know her," I asked.
"Just trust us Bella. If she thinks you of are of any interest to Edward she is bound to try something," Rosalie warned. It was then our waiter approached.
"Hello, what can I get for your drinks?" he asked in a thick Latin accent. We all told him what we wanted and he walked off leaving us menus to figure out what we wanted to eat.
"So, enough about Tanya and her sisters; what are everyone's plans for tomorrow?" Alice asked changing the subject.
"Going to class," Emmett spoke first.
"Same," Rosalie replied.
"Going to class, and I have to buy my books," I said.
"You haven't bought your books yet?" Alice asked in a shocked tone.
"Nope," I answered.
"You need to go tomorrow the first chance you get," she said.
"Alice, don't worry, the bookstore will reorder the books if they run out," Emmett laughed.
"Yeah, but who wants to wait?" she asked. The waiter then returned with our drinks, placing each down in front of the respected owner.
"Are you ready to order?" the waiter asked.
"Can you give us a few more minutes?" Edward asked. We all had neglected to look at our menus.
"Yes, I'll be back," he replied as he left us to look at our menus. I cracked mine open and looked at the list of different dishes. I hadn't eaten at many Mexican restaurants and all I had really ever tried were steak fajitas.
"Everything looks so good," Emmett sighed as he gazed down the menu.
"You're not ordering everything," Rosalie said while looking at her own menu.
"Fine," Emmett muttered. I had to stifle the laugh I had witnessing the exchange between the two of them.
"What are you going to get?" Edward asked looking over at me.
"I'm thinking steak fajitas," I replied.
"Sounds good. I think I might get the pollo bandido," he said as he looked over at his menu.
"I've never tried it."
"It's chicken, peppers, and onions grilled with a white cheese sauce over it," he explained.
"It's great!" Alice added enthusiastically.
"Sounds like it is," I replied as I reconsidered my order.
"The fajitas Santa Fe is good," Alice said as she put down her menu.
"Yeah, it's sort of a mix between chicken fajitas and pollo bandido," Jasper inputted.
"This is really confusing," I said as I considered all the options.
"What are you interested in?" Edward asked.
"All of it," I laughed.
"The Santa Fe fajitas, steak fajitas, and pollo bandido?" he questioned.
"Yeah, I think I will just get the Santa Fe fajitas," I replied as I sat down my menu.
"No, get it all if you want it," he said.
"No way! I can't eat all of that," I laughed.
"Really if you want it I'm paying," he replied.
"If Edward is going to order all of that I'm going to order more," Emmett said looking at Rose.
"Oh, really?" she said questioning him.
"No," he muttered looking like a reprimanded little kid.
"Thanks Edward, but I'm just going to get the Santa Fe fajitas, and I'm paying," I replied.
"Ok, if that's what you want. But I'm paying," he said as he sat down his menu.
"Edward," I started but was cut off.
"Let him pay Bella," Alice butted in. I looked at her evilly realizing that there was no escape.
"Fine," I muttered. I looked around the table to see that everyone had seemed to come to a conclusion as to what they wanted to eat.
"Are you ready to order?" the waiter asked as he approached the table.
"Yes," Alice said, "I'll have the Santa Fe fajitas." Nodding he took down her order and turned to Jasper. He then continued to go around the table taking everyone's orders. He finally came to me.
"And what will you have senorita?" he asked eyeing me.
"Fajitas Santa Fe," I replied as I watched him scribble down the order. He finally turned his attention to Edward.
"I'll have the pollo bandido," Edward said.
"Is that all you all need?" the waiter asked before leaving.
"Yes," we replied.
"I'll be back with your chips and salsa," he said as walked away. I was turning to talk to Edward when my cell phone went off, blaring "I Hate Everything About You," by Three Days Grace. I gulped when I realized who it was calling-Jacob.
"I, uh, I'll be right back," I said as I took my phone from the purse Alice had let me borrow and jetted to the bathroom. I rushed in, my phone still ringing, and seeing the coast was clear I answered it. I hadn't talked to him since the 'incident', and I didn't know what to expect.
"Hello," I said.
"Bella," he said. His tone was off. I couldn't place what was wrong with him.
"What do you want Jake?" I asked angrily.
"Bella, don't be like that. I miss you," he replied.
"Jake, I don't want to talk to you," I said loudly.
"You know you miss me too. We were meant to be together," he persisted.
"No, no we weren't. I've moved on and so should you," I told him. I felt myself begin to shake I was so upset. I hadn't spoken to him in months and now he expected for me to miss him after what he had done? I was getting sick to my stomach just talking to him.
"You haven't moved on and you won't," he said his tone getting angry.
"Jacob, leave me alone. I don't want anything to do with you," I replied as I shut my phone, hanging up on him. Tears streaked down my cheeks and I started to shake. I had shut the whole thing out of my life. I prayed that coming here would get me away from him forever, yet he still was mocking me here.
Gaining my composure, I wiped my eyes and walked over to the sink and washed my tears away. Somewhat pleased with my appearance, I walked out of the bathroom and back to the table. I saw that our food had arrived and they were waiting on me.
"Sorry about that," I said as I took my seat next to Edward.
"Are you ok?" he whispered in my ear. I nodded my head and looked down at my plate. I was suddenly not feeling very hungry. I picked up my fork and pushed around the contents of the plate.
"The fajitas are good," Alice said as she looked over at me.
"Yeah," I agreed as I took a bite. I felt as if all eyes were on me. I wished I could just sink away.
"I hate everything about you, why do I love you?" my phone called once again. Sighing loudly, I picked it up and decided to just push the ignore button. I didn't feel like talking to him again.
"Wow, the 'F' you button, who messed with you?" Emmett chuckled in between bites of his food.
"Just someone annoying," I muttered before taking another bite.
"Are you going to eat the rest of that Rose?" Emmett asked as he finished off his plate.
"No, you can have it," she replied as she pushed her plate over to him. I noticed that Alice and Jasper were sharing plates. I looked down at my food and I instantly felt terrible that I wasn't eating more of it. I took another bite, but my appetite was lost.
"Are you feeling alright?" Edward asked as I pushed my plate away.
"Yeah, my stomach is just bothering me," I answered before taking a sip of my Coke.
"Do you want to leave?" he asked.
"No, that's alright," I replied noticing he still had a lot on his plate.
"You haven't eaten anything Bella," Alice said noticing my plate.
"I just couldn't eat any more. My stomach is bothering me," I repeated.
"Well if you're not going to eat that, can I have it?" Emmett asked. I chuckled at bit at him, but shook my head yes.
"Thanks!" he exclaimed as I handed him my plate.
"You're going to get sick Emmett," Rosalie told him as he started to dig into my plate.
"Nah," he shrugged her off as he continued to eat.
"I hate everything…" my phone started once again. Rolling my eyes, I grabbed it and stood up.
"I'll be right back," I said as I walked away and walked back to the bathroom.
"What?" I shrieked into the phone once I was in the safety of the bathroom.
"What the hell Bella? Why did you give me the 'F' you button? What are you doing?" he retaliated.
"Jake, just fuck off. I don't want to talk to you and I don't have to give you reason. When I get back to the dorm I'm blocking you," I screamed.
"Where the hell are you? Why aren't you at your dorm?" he interrogated.
"I'm at a party getting smashed, what the hell is it to you?" I replied angrily.
"It has everything to do with me. I will come there and get you if I have to," he replied.
"Who do you think you are? My father? Jake, get a life and leave me alone," I shouted.
"You are my life Bella."
"Well, I guess you'll just have to die because I don't want anything to do with you. What you did was unacceptable."
"Bella, baby," he started.
"Don't 'Bella baby' me, I'm over you, leave me alone," I replied before hanging up. I found myself shaking and crying once again. I walked to the sink and cleaned myself up once again. My eyes were slightly swollen and red from my current crying spree. Why couldn't he just leave me alone?
When I returned to the table this time, I had shut my phone off. I had had enough. If my mom or dad called they would just have to leave me a voice mail. I couldn't tolerate Jake any further tonight.
"Are you really ok?" Edward whispered as I took my seat.
"Yes, and I'm sorry if I've been rude," I told him.
"Not at all, I just hope everything is ok," he replied.
"It is," I answered. The waiter came with the check. All of us being finished, we decided to leave. Emmett, Jasper, and Edward split the check as Alice, Rose, and I waited outside for them.
"Bella, what's the matter?" Alice asked.
"Nothing," I lied.
"You can tell us," Rosalie said.
"I know, it's nothing really,"
"If it was nothing you wouldn't be upset. Please know you can come to us about anything," Alice said. I knew then she saw right through me. I just didn't know if I wanted to tell them or not. I was afraid that they wouldn't accept it well.
"Ready to go ladies?" Emmett asked as he walked out the door.
"Yeah," Rosalie replied before giving me a pleading glance. Alice glanced at me once more before retreating to Jasper.
"Ready?" Edward asked as he came to my side.
"Yeah," I replied as I followed him to the Volvo. Being the perfect gentleman, he opened the door for me and I climbed in. I involuntarily shuttered as I found myself mentally comparing him to Jacob. Jacob was never considerate; he was only worried about himself all the time. Edward, however, was different. He treated me with kindness and respect.
"So, care to tell me what's up?" he asked as he got into the driver's side.
"Jacob," I muttered. I gazed over to see his reaction. His expression seemed worried.
"Was that him calling?" he asked.
"Yes, he just can't take a hint," I sighed as I looked down at my cell phone.
"What did he say to you?" he asked as he started the car.
"He was just being Jacob," I told him.
"He was harassing you, wasn't he?" he asked. I noticed that his grip on the steering wheel seemed to increase, so much so that his knuckles were turning white.
"Yes," I answered.
"Bella, why don't you just block his number?" he asked.
"He's not called me since that happened. I never really thought I would need to," I conceded.
"Did he threaten you?" he asked as he backed out his spot and pulled behind Emmett.
"Not with physical harm," I replied.
"How?" he asked. I sensed that he was fighting to keep himself calm. His jaw had tightened and I became worried by his expression, it seemed deathly.
"He threatened to come here and get me," I told him.
"You know I would never let him get to you right?" Edward said as he looked at me momentarily before diverting his gaze back to the road.
"I wouldn't want you to put yourself in any danger," I told him.
"Bella, please don't worry about that. Promise me if he tries to come after you, you'll let me know," he said seriously.
"Edward, I appreciate your offer, but I could never put you in that situation," I replied. Jacob was huge. He was at least 6'5 and he was built. He and his friends loved to get together and wrestle and nine times out of ten he won. He was not one to be messed around with.
"Bella, I need you to promise me. If anything ever happened to you I would never forgive myself."
"Alright. But I don't think he would really try anything," I consented.
"That might be. But I want you to know that I am here for you Bella, no matter what," he told me as he grabbed my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. It was in that a moment, what felt like a current of electricity passed between us. I didn't know whether he sensed it or not, but at that instant I knew there was something special between the two of us.
"Thanks," I told him. For the first time in a while, I felt safe. Even though the threats Jacob had subjected me to, loomed over me, with Edward at my side I felt at ease. It was as if nothing in the world mattered, I knew he would always be there for me.
"Don't mention it," he replied giving me my favorite crooked grin. I smiled back. Though this evening had been plagued by both Tanya and then Jacob, it had ended well.
We made it back to the residence hall and the boys accompanied us back to our rooms. Once they had left, Alice decided to pounce. She wouldn't be easily deterred.
(A/N: So, what do you think? Will Jacob try to come after Bella? How will Alice and Rose react to what Bella has to say concerning Jake? Will the first day of classes go all right for the group? Review and let me know what you think.)