Chapter Ten – (Confrontations)
EPOV
As I awake from my deep sleep, I roll onto my back and stretch out my muscles. The sound of Linkin Park envelops my ears as I remember I put the CD on repeat before going to bed. I wonder if Bella found the Sia CD I put in her bag. She looked so disappointed that she didn't find it. After she handed me the Linkin Park CD, I couldn't not sneak the Sia CD into her bag.
She seemed to enjoy the picnic. I asked Alice if she would have any idea about what Bella's favorite foods were. Luckily for me, they had done an 'all about me' survey in English on our first day back. And because Bella and Alice were seated together, they had to do it on each other. I can just imagine what Alice's paper would look like, probably three whole pages long. Poor Bella.
When we got back to her place, we sat on her porch steps, looking up at the night sky, letting time pass by. As I was leaving, she asked me to ask Alice to come over the next day. I took her in my arms then kissed her forehead before going to leave. She then began to blabber on about me coming over once she leaves, and tried to think of something that we could do. I cut her off and told her to text me when Alice is about to leave. She looked so vulnerable at that moment. Her cheeks were flushed with her bottom lip in her mouth. I don't know why she's so insecure.
I drag myself out of bed and head downstairs to get some breakfast. I poor a glass of milk as Alice comes into the kitchen. She jumps up on the bench and smiles down at me.
"Hey, Eddie!" she greets me excitedly.
"Hey, Ali. You heading over to Bella's?"
"Yeah, I was just about to leave. What are you doing for the day?" she asks as she jumps down off the counter.
"I don't know, probably just play some piano and listen to some music until you leave Bella's. Then I'll head over to hers." I lean back against bench. Alice is looking at me with a huge grin on her face.
"What?" I ask her as I quirk my brow at her. She laughs, shaking her head.
"Nothing," she says with a smirk on her face.
"I'll see you later," She adds before turning on her heels and walking out of the room.
"Alice!" I call out to her as I walk into the lounge room.
She stops and turns around with an annoyed expression on her face.
"Try not to torture her, will you?" She narrows her eyes and pokes her tongue out at me before walking out the front door. I laugh to myself as I head over to my piano.
I run my hands across the keys softly, before pressing down on them and continuing the music piece I started the other day. Realizing now, that it's inspired by Bella. I lean over the piano putting my all into it, creating new notes, repeating others. My fingers run over the keys quickly, and then they begin to slow. I don't know how long I've been playing for, but to me it doesn't seem like a long time. I can play the piano for hours on end and get completely lost in the music, not realizing how long I've been playing for.
As I continue to play, my mind wanders back to Bella. Remembering how she said she used to play, but gave up because of her coordination. She also said she sang for a hobby. I can't help but wonder if she's good or not. I can picture her with a soft angelic voice, but still have the capability of turning it into a deeper one. I wonder if she would ever sing for me while I played the piano. Maybe I'll ask her one day.
I stop playing and look up at the clock. 1pm. I've been playing for over three hours. I head upstairs to have a shower. When I'm done, I get dressed in a pair of black jeans and a plain white shirt. My leather jacket is on the back of my chair. As I go to grab it, I notice I have a text message from Bella. I smile to myself as I open the phone to read it.
Hey.
Alice is leaving in about half an hour.
Did you still want to come over?
-B
I shake my head at her clear uncertainty. I notice that it was sent twenty minutes ago. I type out my message, and then click send.
Okay, cool.
I wouldn't miss out on a day with you for the world.
See you soon beautiful.
-E
I can imagine the blush creeping into her cheeks as she reads the last sentence. She has the most beautiful blush I've ever seen. I'm going to make sure I make it appear more often.
I put my phone in my pocket before heading back downstairs. I go into the kitchen and make a chicken sandwich. I eat it quickly as I grab out a can of coke from the fridge. I head into the lounge room and pick up my car keys. I head out the door and into my car.
I arrive at Bella's to see Alice's bright yellow Porsche still there. I get out of the car, walk up her driveway and knock on her door. The door swings open and on the other side is Bella with a big grin on her face.
"Hey," she greets me in a soft voice.
"Hey," I reply before smiling at her and walking inside.
"Thanks for the CD—"
"Eddie!" Alice exclaims as she descends the stairs.
"I didn't notice the time, I'll head off now then," she says in a cheerful voice.
"Oh, Alice. You don't have to go, you can stay too if you want." I can see the blush on her face and the worried look in her eyes. She honestly thinks she's being rude to Alice.
"Don't be silly, Bella. It's fine. I'll leave you two love birds alone," she says before winking at Bella. She heads out the door and Bella follows behind her.
"Thanks for coming over, Alice!" she calls out to her as she heads to her car.
"No problem, Bells. I'll see you on Monday!" She waves before getting into her car and driving away.
Bella turns around and heads back inside towards the living room. I follow behind her and see that she has all her biology homework spread out on the lounge room floor. My eyes go wide at the amount. I always thought she was a top student and not falling behind.
"Wow. You weren't kidding about not starting your homework," I say as I take in the huge pile of papers.
She looks at me, then to the papers on the floor, then back to me again. She blushes and looks down at the ground.
"Oh, right. Well, we can do something else if you want?" she says quietly. I realize then that I've probably upset her. I sit down next to her on the floor and take her hand in mine. She looks up at me and gives me a small smile. I smile back at her. A piece of hair falls over her face; I tuck it behind her hair, letting my palm linger on her cheek.
"It's alright. We should work on it. You can't keep putting it off forever." My lips form up into my crooked grin that I know she loves. She place her hand on top of mine and entwines them. She scoots closer to me and rests her head on my shoulder.
"Thanks. I just keep putting it off because my head hasn't been in the right place lately."
I kiss the top of her head and run circles on her back. She sighs before moving away from me and picking up her first set of homework. We work together quietly at first, then casually begin to chat. I tuck more strands of hair behind her ears, causing her to blush every time. She grabs other parts of her homework and comes and sits in front of me, leaning against my chest. We work through the problems together with our hands entwined. We finally finish her homework three hours later.
As Bella gets up and heads over to the TV to put in a DVD, I get up and sit on the couch. She comes and sits next to me. I lift my arm to allow her to lay on my chest. She presses play and the beginning credits for Step Brothers start. As we watch the movie, Bella constantly laughs at my side and quotes lines from the movie. She's obviously seen this a lot. I laugh along with her as it is a very funny movie. As the movie progresses, Bella slides down the couch and rests her head on my lap. I stroke my hands through her hair and see a smile play up onto her lips. As the end credits roll. She lays on her back and looks up at me. I smile down at her, causing her to grin back at me.
"Did you want to stay for dinner?" she asks. I look into her eyes and can see that she's beginning to relax around me now.
"Sure," I reply with a grin on my face.
She sits up, grabbing my hand as she gets off the couch and heads into the kitchen. I sit on a stool while I watch her move around the kitchen, grabbing pots and pans out of the cupboards. She certainly looks like she's in her element.
"What's for dinner?" I ask to start conversation. She looks over at me and smiles sheepishly.
"Um, spaghetti. Is that alright? I can cook something else." I laugh at her, causing her to place her hands on her hips and quirk her brow at me.
"What's so funny?" she asks in an annoyed voice.
"You," I reply. I shake my head and smile at her before adding, "Spaghetti is fine, Bella. Stop stressing out."
"Oh, sorry," she replies as a blush covers her cheeks. She continues to work in the kitchen. I help her unpack the dish washer as she waits for the pasta to boil. I set two plates on the bench with a knife and fork, and two glasses. She stirs the pasta before sizzling the sauce. She serves up our plates then pours water into our glasses.
I begin to eat and my taste buds go wild. Man, Bella can really cook.
"This tastes great, Bella. You're an amazing cook," I praise her. She looks at me and smiles.
"Thanks. I've been cooking since I was eight." There's a hint of sadness to her voice. I don't question her about it because I don't want to upset her further. Instead, I invite her to Jasper and Rosalie's party next week.
"Jazz and Rose are having a huge birthday party next weekend. You wanna be my date?"
She chokes on her drink, and for a second I think she won't want to go. She smiles at me then places her glass back down on the table.
"Alice was talking about that today. She said you'd probably ask me."
I roll my eyes at the mention of my cousin. Typical Alice.
"Yeah, that sounds like Alice. Will you come then?" I ask her again. I hold her gaze and she nods slowly.
"Yeah, I'd love to." She continues to eat the rest of her dinner as a small smile covers her lips.
Bella's front door opens causing her to freeze.
"Shit!"
She curses so softly I'm not quite sure if she actually said it. She practically jumps off her stool and chucks our dishes in the sink. She walks over to me just as a tall man with a mustache in a police uniform walks into the kitchen. He pauses and eyes both of us in a stony glare. Bella latches onto my hand and I squeeze her back reassuringly.
"What are you doing here?" he asks her in a cold voice.
I take a glance at her to see her eyes narrow.
"I live here, Charlie," she says in an annoyed voice.
I notice that this is obviously her father, but she calls him by his first name. He narrows his eyes at her and walks over to the fridge, pulling out a beer.
"Anyway," she continues. "This is Edward Cullen. His family is new in town." He looks towards me. I stand up and give him a small smile.
"You that new Doctor Cullen's boy?" he asks as he looks me up and down.
"Yes sir, it's nice to meet you." I extend my hand to him. He takes it firmly and glances between me and Bella.
"Are you two dating?" he asks with a hint of anger in his voice.
Simultaneously, Bella exclaimed no while I said yes.
"Um, I, we, wait what?" She looks to me with alarm in her eyes. So maybe I wasn't clear enough that we're dating now.
Charlie grunts then sits on one of the stools. Bella leans in closer to me as if she's scared of him.
"Try not to screw anything up, Bella. He might leave you just like—"
"CHARLIE, STOP! C'mon Edward, I think I feel like going for a drive."
She takes a hold of my hand before leading me out of the house and down to my car. I open the door for her, watching her intently as she slides inside. I glance over at her as we pull out onto the road. Her eyes look glazed over as if she's about to cry. I take a hold of her hand and pull it up to my lips for a kiss. She leans back into the seat and sighs.
"What was that your dad was going on about back there?" I ask her carefully.
She sighs again, and then runs her free hand down her face. "Nothing. And he's not my dad. Not anymore." I can hear the pain in her voice, along with anger.
"Oh. Is that why you call him Charlie? Because you don't see him as your father?"
"Pretty much," she replies in a quiet voice.
"You can stay at mine tonight. Alice won't mind having a sleepover." I glance at her. She looks over at me, gracing me with a small smile.
"Thanks, so, we're dating now, huh?" she asks through a laugh. I laugh with her and give her hand a squeeze.
"Yep," I reply with confidence in my voice.
She leans over and rests her head on my shoulder. She falls asleep on the way to my house. I call Alice and explain what happened. She's more than happy to have Bella stay in her room with her.
When we arrive home, I have to shake Bella awake. Her eyes are bloodshot, clearly because she was crying silently to herself. We walk hand in hand up to the front door. I open it for her and she walks in front of me. Alice is sitting on the couch and jumps up as soon as she sees Bella. She engulfs her in a tight hug. Bella leans in towards me and wraps her arms around my waist. I pull her close to me and squeeze her tightly. I kiss her forehead before Alice takes her hand and leads her upstairs.
I head upstairs not long after them. I have a shower, and then crawl into bed. I eventually fall asleep with my thoughts filled of Bella and what happened back at her house. I've never seen a father look at his daughter so coldly before.
Some alone time for B&E and a little bit of a show down with Charlie and Bella. Isn't Edward such a gentleman offering Bella to stay at his house, in Alice's room.
Thanks to my babe, Jenn for Beta'ing this mess. I've learn't more about grammar from you than my years at school. Haha.
Please review :)
-Natalee-x