Living the Life
Chapter 10 – It's going to be okay
BPOV
Another few days passed by similar to my first day on the job. James hung out with me more. The next thing I knew it was my last shift this week.
I went up to get a beer as soon as I walked into the bar. Edward was sitting on the other end of the bar from me. Cal handed me my usual beer.
"Thanks, Cal," I said. I walked up to the stage and took a sip. I stepped up to the microphone and the song Since You Been Gone for Kelly Clarkson. I couldn't help but think about how untrue her song is. Since you've been gone, I can breathe for the first time. I can't breathe right without Edward. I'm so moving on, yeah, yeah. I am not moving on in the least.
When the song was over I took another swig of beer. I moved onto the next song.
Edward sat in the same spot the whole time I was singing. When I was done I finished my second beer and went over to the bar counter.
"See you in a few days, Cal," I smiled and winked.
"See you in a few days, Bells," he smiled. I went out to my truck and it was pouring rain. I started my journey home.
I got back to my house, locked the door and went up to my room. Alice and Rose left me a note saying that they were sorry they missed my singing and that they were at Port Angeles to watch the Independence Day fireworks. So many emotions were flashing through my mind that I couldn't keep up with any of them.
I heard car doors slam outside. I looked out my window to see two men dressed in black. My heart started to race. They didn't look familiar in the least. One had blondish brown hair and the other had red hair.
One of the men looked up and saw me standing there. He pointed at me and I stepped to the side of the window so I was out of sight. I heard the door being shaken as they tried to open the locked door. I quickly sighed with relief that I remembered to lock the door. I heard the door hit the wall with a bang and metal falling on the floor.
I stifled a scream and crawled under my bed. I dialed Edward's number on my cell phone and looked at it for a minute. Should I call him? Will he answer? I pressed the call button and hesitantly brought it up to my ear. I listened to the dial tone while listening to the shuffling footsteps.
"Hello?" he answered.
"Edward, it's me," I whispered in a panicked voice.
"Bella, calm down, what's wrong?" he asked.
"I know I shouldn't be calling but there are two guys that just broke into my house. They saw me in the window and they…wait, they're coming," I whispered as tears of fear fell from my face.
"Bella, I'll be over there soon just stay on the line with me," he said. I heard his car door open and close. Two pairs of feet appeared by the side of my bed and I heard them start whispering. Edward's engine revved through the phone. They started walking out of my room after they finished talking. As soon as I thought they were out of hearing distance I spoke to Edward again.
"Edward, I think they're leaving. I think –," I started but felt my feet being pulled and I screamed. "EDWARD!" I shrieked. I dropped my phone and frantically tried grabbing for it before one of them picked me up. I fought against their grip around my waist and arms. The other man went to go pick up my cell phone.
"Hello, Edward," I heard a familiar voice.
EPOV
"Hello, Edward," I heard James say.
"What did you do with her?" I growled as I raced down the street to Bella's house. Fucking traffic. Get out of my way!
"She's right here. Poor Edward, you are going to feel such guilt when you come to find her dead," he sighed. I heard Bella struggling to break away from the person holding her.
"No, stop! Edward!" I heard her scared voice in the background. I heard some banging of things being knocked over.
"Let me talk to her, please," I pleaded.
"Now why would I let you do that, Eddie boy?" he asked.
"I just need to talk to her one last time," I said, making it sound like I was giving up.
"You didn't put up much of a fight," he pointed out.
"I'm not looking for a fight, James. Just give her the damn phone!"
I heard him sigh and then he put the phone up to Bella's ear.
"Edward," she said through the phone.
"Bella, I'm sorry. I'm not giving up, I'm on my way. Just don't fight him. Please, Bella, for me, put your stubbornness aside and don't fight."
"You're time is up, Edward," James said. I heard Bella scream in the background from the other man holding her tighter.
"Don't hurt her!" I yelled.
"We'll see," James said as he hung up the phone. I slammed my cell onto the seat next to me and sped down Bella's street. I'm coming Bella. Just hold on.
BPOV
"Let me go!" I yelled as I kicked the man holding me as hard as I could.
"Bella, you might as well stop fighting. Listen to your precious Edward. I'm just going to kill you either way," James smiled.
"Why are you doing this?" I asked.
"Because, Bella, I vowed to myself that I would do anything in my power to get revenge at Edward for putting me in jail," he explained. My eyes widened as I realized what he was saying.
"You…you're the James that killed Edward's mother," I said. My breathing became shallow and quick.
"Such a clever girl, aren't we?" he said. "It's a shame I'll have to rid the world of such a pretty face." My breathing hitched before going back to being uneven. He came over and cupped my face in his hand. I jerked my head away and spit in his face. He wiped his face against his sleeve and then slapped me. "Bitch," he spat. My face burned but I looked at him with all the fury that I could muster. He sat me down on the ground and tied my hands behind my back with rope so that they were attached to the bottom of the bed post. He looked out of my window and came over to me.
"Now," he started. "Do exactly what I tell you. When Edward comes in, tell him that we left and everything is okay and that he should leave. Tell him you don't want to see him. You better hope that you are a good actress because your life depends on it."
"Bella?" I heard Edward call. "Bella, where are you?"
"Edward, they left. Go away. I'm fine. I don't want to see you," I called back before crying. James pointed the gun at my neck. I struggled to untie the rope from my wrists and eventually got it. I sure hope Edward is still here. I quickly grabbed the gun and ripped it from James's hand before pointing it at him.
"Don't do this, Bella." He started backing away from me with his hands up in surrender. "What would your father say? He is the chief of police. If you kill me, you will have no one but yourself and my partner as a witness. He will testify against you and you will end up in jail."
"Go to Hell," I said before I pointed it at his stomach and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. "Shit," I said breathless as he started to laugh.
"You are so naïve, Bella," he laughed. "You actually thought that I would cock the gun as I didn't pay attention to you?" I looked at the gun quickly and cocked it before pointing it at him again. He tried to get away but I shot him in the side. I heard the loud gunshot and then James's body hitting the floor. I cocked the gun again and pointed it at the other guy. He held his hands up as he backed out of the room and ran down the stairs and out of my house.
EPOV
I heard James's laughter followed by some talking. I went towards the stairs when I heard a gunshot and I dropped to the floor. I then heard a body fall to the ground. No. It can't be. Damn it, no! I thought. A man came running down the hall and ran out of the house. I quickly went up the stairs and stopped in Bella's doorway. She pointed the gun at me. Her whole body was shaking and her eyes were full of fear. I put my hands up so she knew I wasn't going to hurt her.
"Bella," I said lightly. "Bella, put the gun down, it's okay." Her shaky hands slowly released the gun and it fell to the floor. I went over to her and held her as she sobbed. I ran my hand through her hair. "The police and paramedics are on their way," I said against her shoulder. "I thought he killed you, Bells," I said as I sat on the bed and pulled her into my lap.
"I'm sorry," she said repeatedly.
"Why are you sorry? You didn't do anything wrong," he said.
"I didn't listen to you. I fought against him."
"I don't care, Bells. You're safe and that's all that matters."
"This is the police, is there anyone here?" I heard a man call.
"Upstairs, third door on the left," I called back. They walked in with their guns raised. One of them walked over to James and felt for a pulse.
"He's still alive," the officer said. Some men with a stretcher came in and took James away.
"Who shot that man?" asked the officer. Bella got up off of my lap.
"I-I did," she said.
"We need to take you down to the station for some questioning," the officer said.
"Edward," she said as I stood up. She turned to the officers. "C-can he come, please?" she asked.
"Sure," the officer said. I went over to her and held her hand as we walked down the stairs. "I'm sorry, but policy says that I have to handcuff you, Miss…," the officer said.
"Swan, Bella Swan," Bella told him.
"Ah, the chief's daughter. This should be interesting," he nodded. He handcuffed her wrists before we went any further.
"Bella! Bella, you're being arrested?" Alice shrieked.
"I'll be right behind you," I promised. I went up to Alice. "I'll explain later, let me just help Bella not get taken to jail," I said.
"Edward, wait, this will take one second," Alice called and I internally groaned.
"Yes?"
"Don't do anything that will hurt her if you leave again. She won't be able to take it."
"That won't happen. Don't go in Bella's room, trust me." I walked off and sat in the back of the cruiser with Bella. I wrapped my arms around her and she leaned her head on my chest. She was still shaking slightly.
"I'm scared," she whispered.
"Everything will be all right," I promised.
"I can't get arrested, Edward."
"You're not going to jail, Bells," I said. Charlie probably wouldn't allow it. We pulled up to the police station and were escorted inside. I had to wait outside of the interrogation room. I sat on a chair as I impatiently waited.
BPOV
"Hello, Miss Swan. I'm Officer Atteara," the officer said as I sat down. I looked down at my hands. "Would you mind telling me the reason for shooting that man?" he asked.
"It was out of self defense," I said.
"Could you tell me what led you to shooting him?" I told him my whole story from start to finish. "Thank you Miss Swan, you are free to go. I'm sorry we took up your time," he said as he led me out. I saw Edward stand and I went over to him. He hugged me to his body tightly and I wrapped my arms around his neck.
"You can stop pretending," I whispered.
"Pretending?" he asked.
"I know that you don't want to be here."
"Bella, I want to be here because you're here."
"I-I don't understand," I said as I furrowed my eyebrows.
"Bella, I love you. I have always loved you and will always love you. I lied when I told you that I didn't. I knew about James but he said that if I broke your heart he wouldn't hurt you. I hurt you to protect you from being hurt, if that makes any sense," he said with a smile. He leaned in and kissed me. "I'm sorry," he whispered against my lips. We pulled apart and he held onto me.
"Let's get out of here," I said.
"Bella," I heard my dad call.
"Shit," I muttered under my breath. I turned to face him. "Yeah, dad?" I asked.
"You shot someone?" he asked. I nodded. "What the hell were you thinking?" he asked.
"Chief," Edward stepped in. "It was out of self defense. The man that she shot originally had the gun pointed at her. You must have taught her some self defense skills because she got the gun out of his hands and shot him where it wouldn't kill him," he explained.
"I'm going to trust you on this one, Edward," Charlie sighed.
"Dad, I just want to go home," I said quietly.
"Okay, call me if you need anything," he said as he hugged me.
"Thanks," I said as I let him go. Edward put his arm around my shoulders and we started walking back to my house.
"Bella, it's okay to cry," he said as he saw me wipe a few tears from my eyes.
"I don't want to cry," I said. He stopped and looked me in the eyes.
"Bells, you're scared. You're upset. Just let it all out. It's fine," he said. Those words broke the barrier that held my sobs in. I sat on the ground and put my head in my hands. He sat down beside me and I leaned against his side. He put his arms around me and rubbed my arm. "Its fine," he said softly as he kissed my hair.
"It's not fine, Edward. It is everything but fine! I have had possibly the worst week ever. First, Sarah dies. Then, you break up with me, leaving me confused and not wanting to wake up the next morning." Edward tensed a little. "And then, I meet a guy who I think is going to be a great friend and a distraction but he ends up being a psychotic killer who is set out to make you miserable. Then I shoot the guy, and nearly get arrested!" I sobbed.
"I'm not going to let anything like what happened tonight happen again. And I promise never to hurt you like I did earlier this week. It killed me knowing that I hurt you like that. I'm sorry, I can't say it enough to make it better," he said.
"Don't promise not to hurt me."
"Why not?" he asked, bewildered.
"Because if I do get hurt it'll hurt more that you broke your promise."
"Alright, I won't hurt you though."
"I love you," I whispered. Tears still streamed down my cheeks freely but the sobbing slowed. Edward stood up and helped me up. He draped his arm over my shoulder and I held onto his hand as we walked.
"I love you too," he said as we started walking. It was silent the rest of the walk home but Edward would lean down and kiss my cheek or squeeze my hand every so often. When we got back to my house I sat on the couch. "I'm guessing you don't want to sleep in your room so I'll go get you a blanket and a pillow," he offered.
"Edward," I called as he walked away. He stopped and looked at me. "Can you stay, please?" I asked.
"Of course, love," he smiled. He went up the stairs to get the blankets and pillows.
EPOV
I went upstairs to grab some pillows and blankets for Bella and me. I heard a door open and Rose came out.
"Edward, where is she?" she asked.
"She's on the couch, she's pretty shaken up," I said.
"What happened?"
"James came over and threatened to kill her. He held her at gun point and she took the gun from him and shot him in the side. She was taken to the police station for questioning."
"Oh my gosh!" she said as she put her hand over her mouth.
"Go tell Alice, I'm getting some blankets and pillows for us. She wants to sleep on the couch. I'll clean up her room tomorrow."
"Okay, don't do anything to hurt her," Rose warned.
"Wouldn't dream of it," I said as I walked into her room. I took a look around and saw a huge blood stain on the floor where James was, a chair and a bunch of her things that were on her desk knocked over, a vase and flowers on the floor, rope on the ground by her bed, and her cell phone. I went over to her bed and grabbed her pillow and blanket. I went back downstairs and back to Bella. I set the pillow down and she laid down and patted next to her. I joined her and held her tightly in my arms. She slowly fell asleep before I let myself sleep.
The next morning I woke up and Bella was still sleeping. I kissed her forehead and went up to start taking care of the mess in her room. I walked into her room and first put a towel down on the now dry blood stain. Next, I picked up the flowers and furniture. I threw the rope out and picked up Bella's cell phone.
BPOV
I woke up the next morning alone on the couch. Did he leave? I wondered. I started to panic at the thought of him leaving without telling me. I got up off of the couch and took a deep breath before heading up to my room to get my phone. When I got up there Edward was finishing cleaning up my room.
"You didn't have to clean my room," I said. He looked at me and smiled a dazzling crooked smile.
"I wanted to," he said. I looked around and besides the towel on the ground covering the blood, everything looked normal.
"I noticed that the door is fixed, and it shuts properly. Was that your doing too?" I asked with a smile.
"No, that was Emmett. He came over last night while we were gone," Edward explained as he came over to me. He wrapped his arms around my stomach and I wrapped mine around his neck. He leaned down and kissed me sweetly. It quickly turned into a heated and passionate kiss. I started taking his shirt off. "Bella," he groaned. "If you don't want to do this here, in your room, you better stop taking off my shirt."
"Let's go to your house," I smiled. He picked me up and threw me over his shoulder. "Edward! I can walk!" I laughed. He sighed before letting me down and settling for holding my hand. We walked down the street and to Edward's house. The second he shut the door he picked me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist. He carried me to his room and laid me on his bed.
He started kissing down my neck and when he got to my shirt he lifted it over my head. He took his own shirt off and he went back to kissing me.
"You are wearing too many clothes," he murmured against my skin. I pushed him off of me and took off the rest of my clothes.
"Better?" I laughed.
"Much," he said as he took of his pants and boxers. He went back to kissing me and slid his member into me. I moaned loudly. He thrust into me harder with each one. "Bella, you feel so good," he groaned against my lips. I moaned ooh's and ah's as I started getting close to my climax.
"Ed-Edward," I moaned. I felt the knot in my stomach loosen and pleasure took over. He thrust into me as I rode out my orgasm, him reaching his climax soon after. He pulled out and laid next to me.
"I have wanted to do that to you since Florida," he groaned. I laid my head on his chest and he ran his fingers through my tangled hair.
"Me too," I said.
"Edward," Emmett said as he opened the door. I quickly pulled the sheet up to cover my breasts.
"Emmett! Get out!" he yelled.
"Sorry," Emmett said as he covered his eyes childishly. I couldn't help but giggle. "I just came in to tell you that Jasper is out with Alice and I am going over to watch movies at Rose's. How are you, Bella?" he asked.
"She's fine, Em. Now leave!" Edward said as he pointed out the door.
"I believe I asked Bella," he said as he stuck his tongue out.
"Emmett, I am fine," I smiled.
"Good to hear. Well, bye!" he said as he shut the door.
"If he had a brain, he would be dangerous," Edward chuckled.
"That is so mean," I giggled.
"I love him like a brother, but really? Shouldn't he have learned what knocking is?"
"Alice has the same problem. Hey! Maybe they're related," I laughed.
"They both act childish, they don't knock. What else?" he asked as he counted on his fingers.
"I don't know," I giggled.
"What's on your agenda today?" he asked, changing the subject.
"Nothing. I don't have to work tonight," I said cheerfully.
"Since when do you work?" he laughed.
"Since…hmm…a week ago?" I said.
"Wait, the singing at the bar is your job?" he asked.
"Yes, sir," I smiled.
"What time?" he asked.
"Seven to nine tonight. I'm thinking about quitting. It was just a pass time because I was completely useless without you around," I giggled.
"Did you ever pay back your ticket?" he asked randomly.
"Yeah, why?" I asked.
"No reason. You won't let me pay for it so if you didn't then you might have changed your mind about quitting," he shrugged. I climbed out of bed and put on my bra and panties before climbing onto the bed and sitting Edward's stomach. He looked up at me and smiled. "I love you," he said.
"I love you too," I smiled. I leaned down and kissed him.
"Hey, Edwar – woah!" Jasper said before clamping a hand over his eyes. I screamed slightly and I felt the blush creeping onto my face.
"OUT!" Edward and I both yelled.
"I was just going to say that Bella, Alice wants you, she's in the living room." Jasper shut the door and I went to go put my clothes on.
"You know, we wouldn't have been interrupted if you had this new thing. Ya know, it's called a lock," I joked.
"I think they would still manage to get in," he chuckled. He got out of bed and put clothes on himself before I went out to meet Alice. I looked at her and she was beaming.
"Hey, Al, what's up?" I asked. She didn't say anything and just held up her left hand. "He didn't!"
"He did!" she squealed. We both jumped up and down and squealed.
"Jazz, why did you bring her here when Bella and her could be screaming at her apartment?" Edward laughed.
"Well, that's the thing. This is her apartment," Jasper explained. I stopped jumping and looked between them.
"You're moving out?" I asked her, bewildered. She gave me an innocent look.
"I'm sorry, Bells. Jazz and I are going to stay here until we can find our own apartment," she smiled half-heartedly. I smiled at her. She hugged me tight and started gushing about how she needs to find a wedding planner and how her and Jazz we going later today to look for apartments. I looked up at Edward who was talking to Jasper and then stared in front of me. I can't believe she's moving out, I thought.
"Earth to Bella!" Alice said as she waved her hands in front of my face. I blinked a few times and looked at her.
"Sorry, I spaced out a little," I smiled sheepishly. "I am going to head home and shower. I want to visit my parents today," I said as I stood up. "I'm so happy for you," I said as I hugged her.
"Thanks, Bells," she hugged me back. "I'll talk to you later," she said as she let me go.
"Bye, Edward," I said as I walked over to him. I hugged him and he kissed me lightly.
"I'll call you later," he said. I walked out of the house after congratulating Jasper. I walked the short distance to my house and went inside. I walked up to my room and looked around. I moved the towel on the ground and saw the stain. I slowly sank to the floor and the tears began. I let out some quiet sobs.
"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I'm sorry." I don't know who I was apologizing to and I know that I shouldn't need to apologize but I had to. I didn't expect all of the guilt that was building up to go away without me doing something.
"Bella, I'm home," Rose called. I cleared my throat.
"I'm getting in the shower," I called back as I went into the bathroom. I turned the water on and got in as soon as the water was heated. I let the tears fall down my face as the water washed them away. When I got out I felt better. I walked into my room and Rose was sitting on my bed.
"Hey," I said. "What's up?" I asked.
"Nothing, I just saw that you uncovered the stain."
"So?"
"Maybe we should take care of it. Get new carpet? Clean it?"
"I think we should just clean it," I said. Rose hugged me before leaving. I know what I have to do. I quickly changed and put some make-up on before putting my hair up and heading out the door. I got in my car and drove to the hospital.
I walked through the double doors and found James's room. He was watching TV and was handcuffed to his bed.
"Bella, what a lovely surprise," he said with a smirk.
"I trusted you," I said. He was about to interrupt but I held up my hand. "Don't talk. You don't get to talk. I trusted you, and I thought that you were helping me get over Edward. I thought that you were going to be there for me when I needed you. I trusted you! When I look at you now, I feel guilt. I feel nothing but guilt. Only you can be the one to make it go away."
"I don't know what you mean," he said.
"Tell me not to feel guilty. Tell me that I don't need to feel this way."
"Bella, why the hell would you feel guilty?"
"I almost killed you! And unlike you, I have a soul."
"Don't feel guilt, Bella. You saved yourself. Just keep your eye out. Now get out before I'm tempted to do something that we'll both regret." I turned and left. I went to my mom's house after that. I knocked on the door before entering.
"Mom?" I called.
"In here, Bells," she called out. I walked into the kitchen and saw my mom making a peanut butter and banana sandwich.
"Mom, you hate bananas," I pointed out.
"Oh, this isn't for me," she smiled as she put the two slices of bread together and cut it diagonally. "Vanessa, your lunch is ready!" I heard my mom call.
"Vanessa as in my little cousin Vanessa?" I asked. My mom didn't get a chance to answer because, sure enough, my three year old cousin came running into the kitchen and sat at the table.
"Thanks Aunt Renee," she smiled. She made a slight 'w' sound in place of the 'r'. She looked up at me. "Hi Bella!" she smiled.
"Hey, Ness," I said.
"Hey, Bella?" my mom asked. I looked at her to let her know that I was listening. "Would you mind watching Vanessa while I run to the store?" she asked.
"Sure," I said. I went over and sat at the table as she ate. "Hey, Ness, how would you like to go to the beach?" I asked.
"Yeah!" she said happily.
"Alright, hurry up and eat so we can get you into your swim suit and we can leave. My mom kissed my head before leaving. Vanessa finished her sandwich and changed into her swim suit. I found her car seat was already in my truck so I picked her up and put her in. We drove to La Push beach and found a place in the sand to set our stuff.
"I'll race you down to the water!" I said as we raced. She won and cheered. We splashed around in the water for a little while until she wanted to go sit down. We sat on our towels we laid out and ate some snacks. I looked over to see her asleep on the towel. I laid down too and closed my eyes.
I woke up to the sun setting. Ness! I looked next to me and she was gone. I heard her high pitched scream. I looked at the water to see Edward chasing her. Her scream shortly turned into laughter. I watched as they played together for another few minutes.
"Bella!" Vanessa yelled as she ran over to me. Edward walked over after her.
"Hey, you," I smiled. "You scared me!" I said playfully. She stuck her tongue out at me.
"Hey look, Bells! It's like a mini you!" Edward joked causing Vanessa to giggle. He leaned down and gave me a peck on the lips. Vanessa went down to the waterside again and would jump over the water as the tide rolled in.
"She's sweet," Edward said as he sat down and took my hand in both of his.
"Yeah, Ness is the cutest little girl I have ever seen."
"I was wondering why I saw a car seat in your truck," he chuckled. I laughed slightly. "Are you okay? You kind of left Alice's all of a sudden," he said. I looked down at the sand and pursed my lips.
"I guess I was feeling guilty about shooting James. And the fact that Alice is moving out scares the hell out of me."
"Why does it scare you?" he asked, ignoring my first statement.
"Just change. It's not that her moving out scares me, it's the change that will come with it."
"Everything will be fine, Bells," he said as he kissed my temple.
"Thanks," I smiled weakly. "I better get Ness home, it's getting late."
"Okay," he said as he helped me up. "I'll talk to you later."
"Love you," I said.
"Love you too," he replied. He leaned in and kissed me sweetly before I went over to get Vanessa. We went back to my mom's house and she was watching TV.
"Go get ready for bed, Ness," I said and she ran up the stairs. "How long is she staying?" I asked.
"She isn't leaving. Her mom dropped her off with all of her stuff; she couldn't take care of her anymore. So your dad and I took her in."
"Oh, okay," I nodded.
"We're adopting her soon."
"Okay, well I'm heading home. Call me if you need me to babysit," I said. I hugged her before I walked out the door and to my truck. I drove to my house and went inside.
"Rose? I'm home," I called.
"In here!" she called back from the living room. I walked over to her and saw that she was watching Sixteen Candles. I sat down and watched it.
I faintly heard the TV get shut off and felt a blanket get draped over me.
"Bella, Bella! Wake up!" I heard Alice's distant voice. I shot up into a sitting position and was gasping for breath. Alice rubbed my back as I tried to calm down.
"What happened?" I asked.
"You had a nightmare; I could hear you screaming in my room so I ran down here," she explained.
"I thought you were staying at Jasper's," I pointed out.
"Bella, it's not an immediate thing!" she laughed. "I still have to pack my stuff and I want to spend a few days with my best friends before I move out!"
"Thanks, Al," I said.
"No problem, just get some sleep," she said as she stood up. I laid back down and fell back asleep. I woke up the next morning and stretched. I let out a sigh as I wiped the sleep from my eyes. I got off the couch and went into the kitchen.
"Bella!" Alice called as she came down the stairs.
"Yeah, Al?" I asked as I pulled a bottle of water from the fridge.
"We were just invited to a prom type thing that Angela and Ben are throwing," she said.
"Like a dance?" I asked.
"Yeah!" she clapped her hands.
"So…what does that mean exactly?" I asked.
"Shopping!" she squealed. I groaned. "The guys are coming over so get ready!" She pulled me upstairs and instructed me to get changed. I put on a simple tank top with shorts. I walked back downstairs and sat on the counter again. I grabbed an apple from a bowl on the counter and bit into it. I heard the guys walk in and Edward came over to me.
"Hey," he said as he kissed my lips. "Mm, apple," he smiled.
"That may be because of the apple that I'm eating," I laughed. He chuckled and I threw out the core to my apple. Alice and Rose came downstairs with the guys and we went to Emmett's Jeep and drove to the mall. We pulled up and the guys went to go get suits while we girls went to go search for dresses.
"This is really fancy so we need to find elegant dresses. Like prom dresses! Oh how I miss prom!" Alice swooned. She handed me about twenty dresses before I went to go try them on.
"Al, I like this one," I said as I came out for about the tenth time. It was a horizon blue dress that went to the floor. It was strapless with a sash around the mid section that tied at the side. It had a pick-up skirt so it looked the dress was scrunched in a few places. Rose and Alice already had dresses that they were wearing and we headed back to our house.
On the car ride home I laid my head on Edward's shoulder.
"Tired?" he chuckled.
"Very," I sighed. I soon felt Edward lift me up and carry me into the house. I felt myself get laid on my bed. I scrunched my eyebrows before he laid next to me.
"Why are you so tired?" he chuckled.
"I didn't get much sleep last night. I had a nightmare and then trouble falling asleep again," I mumbled. He held me tight in his arms.
"What was your dream about?" he asked.
"James," I said simply. "It was about what he said at the hospital," I said and then clamped my hand over my mouth realizing that he wasn't supposed to know that. "You didn't hear that," I said beneath my hand.
"Sorry, Bella, I did," he said with a hint of anger in his voice. "You went to the hospital?" he asked, his anger pushing through his calm façade.
"Yes," I whispered.
"Why the hell did you go to the hospital? Especially after he tried to kill you!" he asked, his voice rising. I pushed his arms off of me and sat up.
"I went there because I felt guilty! Unlike him I can't shoot someone and feel okay with it!" I said in a hushed yell.
"Oh, so you went to go visit him? What if he hurt you? Did you ever think about that?" he asked his voice louder than mine.
"Yes, Edward, I did! I still went though because I thought 'let's purposefully piss off Edward and get hurt'!" I said sarcastically. Edward got up off of the bed. He kicked the towel off of the blood stain.
"Do you see this Bella?" he asked. I looked at him angrily. "This was so close to being you! This was going to be you if you never took the gun from him. This could have been you in that hospital!" he yelled.
"But it wasn't me! I took the gun, I shot him, and I felt guilty! Because of the guilt I went to go see him which, might I add, I found him handcuffed to the bed! So, please, Edward, tell me how the hell he could have hurt me!" I countered.
"You didn't know that he was handcuffed before you went! What if he wasn't handcuffed?" he said, ignoring my last statement.
"Get out!" I yelled. I went over to him and tried pushing him out the door. He walked out and I screamed as I slammed my bedroom door. I went over to the towel and covered the blood stain before lying on my bed and crying. There were some knocks on my door.
"Go away."
"Bella, I'm sorry," I heard Edward's voice.
"Go away," I repeated. I heard him slide down the wall to sit on the floor. I turned my head away from the door and fell asleep.
EPOV
I sat down outside of Bella's room feeling like an asshole.
"Hey," Rose said as she walked up the stairs. "What happened?"
"I flipped because she went to go see James at the hospital. I was a total ass," I sighed.
"Don't say that. She's had a rough few days, she's moody. This is no more your fault than it is hers." I heard Bella start mumbling things in a panicked voice.
"Nightmare," Rose said as she got up quickly. I stood up with her and told her that I would take care of it. I quickly walked into Bella's room.
"No! Edward, look out!" she yelled. "James don't! No!" she cried.
"Bella, Bella, wake up," I said as I lightly shook her shoulder. She thrashed against my touch at first and then eventually woke up. I pulled her into my arms and she secured her arms around my neck. I sat next to her on the bed. "It's fine, it was just a dream," I said as she buried her face in my neck and her arm.
"It seemed so real," she cried.
"I know, love. I know," I said. "It's over now." I kissed her hair softly and rocked her for a few minutes. She calmed down after about five minutes.
"I'm sorry," she mumbled against my skin.
"Don't be. I was being an ass."
"We were both asses," she giggled.
"I guess I can compromise with that," I chuckled.
Bella let go of me and laid down and then patted next to her. I laid next to her and held her in my arms. She reached up and kissed me. It started out light before she deepened the kiss. I moved my hands to her jaw and held her firmly to my mouth. Her tiny hands wrapped around my wrists. When she needed to breathe I moved my lips to her neck and kissed my way along her neck.
She let out a soft moan and I moved my mouth back up to hers. After a few seconds we pulled apart.
"I love you," I whispered.
"I love you too," she smiled.
"Are you hungry?" I asked.
"Just a little." I got up and she followed suit. We walked downstairs and grabbed a slice of pizza from the box that was on the table.
"How long was I asleep?" she asked.
"About an hour and a half," I said. It was now dark outside and the dim light from the moon shone through the widows. Once Bella finished her pizza she laid her head on the table.
"Still tired?"
"Yes," she mumbled. I ate the rest of my pizza and picked her up.
"Where would you like to sleep?" I asked.
"My bed is fine," she breathed against my neck. I took her up to her room and set her down on the bed. "Please stay," she mumbled.
"Of course, love," I said. I took my shirt and jeans off before I crawled next to Bella and pulled the blankets over us. I held her in my arms as we slowly drifted to sleep.
BPOV
"Bella, wake up!" Alice said in a hushed voice. I picked my head up and opened my eyes slightly.
"What?" I asked. Alice shushed me. I saw that Edward was still sleeping. "What?" I whispered.
"We have to get you ready," she whispered. I looked at the clock. It was 10:30 in the morning.
"Half an hour?" I asked.
"No," she rolled her eyes.
"Five minutes," I whispered as I laid down again. She sighed and put her hands on her hips. I rolled my eyes and got up, careful not to wake Edward. We went into Alice's bathroom and I quickly showered before putting on a camisole and some shorts.
Alice blow dried my hair and pulled it back so that she could do my make-up.
"Hang on, Al. I'm going to wake up Edward."
"Hurry up," she sighed. I walked into my room and crawled onto my bed. Edward pulled me down next to him and held me in his arms.
"Where did you go?" he groaned.
"Alice is making me get ready for tonight. I was just coming in here to tell you that she is holding me hostage until further notice," I laughed.
"That won't do," he said as he pursed his lips.
"Bella! Get in here!" I heard Alice call.
"I've got to go," I said as I tried to get up. He held me to him.
"She can wait," he chuckled. "My lips can't, however," he said as he kissed me. I moved my hands to tangle themselves in his bronze hair as he moved his hands to rest on my sides. I felt a stuffed animal hit the back of my head and I pulled away from Edward.
"I told you to get in there," Alice said from the door.
"Edward wouldn't let me!" I blamed.
"She was all over me," he defended himself.
"Not cool, Edward," I laughed. He let me up and Alice dragged me back to the bathroom.
"Edward, go get ready!" Alice ordered. Edward walked out of my room and went home.
"Now, where were we?" she asked with a smile.
"Make-up and hair," I informed her.
"Right," she said. She plugged in the curling iron and started on my make-up. She put on a silvery shimmer for my eye shadow and paired it with light blue eyeliner. She put foundation on my face but didn't put blush on because I'm good in that department. Lastly, she put on some mascara.
Alice then started curling my hair into big curls. After that she pulled a few strands back into bobby pins.
Rose came running in with curlers in her hair and started doing her make-up.
"It's nice of you to join us," I laughed.
"Not a word about where I was," she said seriously.
"Where were you, Rose?" Alice asked with a smile as she started on her make-up.
"Don't, Al," Rose said.
"Were you in bed? Maybe with a certain man?" she laughed.
"Emmett is an arrogant asshole and I don't want to talk about it," she said as she threw her eye shadow brush down and started working on her hair.
"Hey, what happened?" I asked.
"I don't want to talk about it!"
"Don't let all of this just bundle inside of you. Let it out," I said.
"We were talking about our life together and he said that he doesn't know what he wants. I asked him if he loved me and he said yes but he didn't know what he wanted for his future. I asked if he thought that I would be in his future and he said that he didn't know. Why not just break up with me right then and there!?"
"Awe, sweetie, I'm sure he didn't mean it! You know how Emmett is! He's an idiot! But that's why you love him," I said.
"Why should I waste my time though? If he doesn't know if I'll be in his future then why should I stay in this relationship? It's going nowhere."
"Just forget about it and have fun tonight," Alice said. "Worry about your relationship tomorrow." Rose finally had her hair how she wanted it, big curls and partially up, and started working on her make-up again. Alice started running mousse through her hair and making it look messy but still tame.
We went into my room and started changing.
"Here, I bought this for you," Alice said as she handed me a black lacy strapless bra and matching panties.
"You shouldn't have…?" I said as I took them.
"It's for after the party with Edward!" she laughed.
"Oh," I rolled my eyes. I changed into the new panties and bra before putting my dress on. Rose and Alice put their dresses on too.
As Rose and Alice were finishing up getting ready the guys knocked.
"I'll go let them in," I said as I walked down the stairs. I answered the doors and all three of the guys were standing there.
"Hey, Bells," Jasper and Emmett said as they walked passed me. Edward came in and kissed me sweetly.
"You look absolutely stunning," he whispered in my ear.
"Thank you," I smiled. I held his hand in mine as we walked into the living room. "Rose and Alice should be done in a few minutes," I said. "I'll go check on them." I walked up the stairs, leaving the guys in the living room. I knocked before entering.
"They guys are here," I said. Rose looked out the window.
"Don't even think about it, Rose," Alice said as she pulled Rose by the arm out the door. We went downstairs and Alice went over to Jasper and I went over to Edward. Rose stood by the stairs and looked in the opposite direction of Emmett.
"Excuse me," Rose said as she walked out of the apartment. I went to go follow her but Edward grabbed my arm. When I looked at him he motioned to Emmett who was starting to walk out there.
RPOV
I couldn't take it anymore. I walked out. I was not about to stand there and look like an idiot because Emmett and I were fighting. I started walking out to my BMW and fumbled in my purse of my keys.
"Rosie, wait," Emmett called from the door as he shut it and walked down onto the sidewalk.
"I'm not going to stand here and look like an idiot, Emmett," I said as I got my keys out.
"I'm sorry that I upset you Rose."
"I'm sorry that I wasted my time on you," I retorted.
"So everything that we have was a waste of time?"
"We have nothing, Emmett. What we had ended when you said that you didn't know if you thought that I would be in your future! I thought that we would have a future together! I thought that you loved me like I love you!"
"I said I don't know to your question because I don't think that you will be in my future, I know that you will be in my future! I love you Rosalie! You are the best thing that has come into my life in a very long time. Do you think that I would let you go just like that? I want you in my life. I need you in my life!"
"Don't do that to me, Em! When you told me that you didn't know I thought that you didn't want me! I was trying to picture my life without you and I couldn't. It consisted me of sitting on the couch all day!" I said as he came over and hugged me. He lifted me up just so that my feet left the ground.
"I'm sorry, baby," he said into my neck.
"I'm sorry too," I smiled.
BPOV
Rose and Emmett walked back in hand in hand and we got ready to leave. We took Emmett's Jeep to the party and got out.
Edward held my hand as all six of us walked into the building. We were immediately surrounded by music.
"Would you like to dance?" Edward said in my ear and I felt his lips pulled up in a smile against my ear.
"I would love to," I smiled. We went out to the dance floor and I started grinding into Edward. The next song was Hero by Enrique Iglesias. I turned around and wrapped my arms around his neck.
"How did I get so lucky to convince you to love me?" he smiled as we danced to the music.
"The same way I got lucky enough to have the man of my dreams," I smiled back.
"I love you," he smiled as he leaned in to kiss me.
"I love you too," I smiled against his lips before returning his kiss. I moved my hands to his neck and rested them on each side. When we pulled away he kissed my forehead.
"I'm going to go get us something to drink," he said as he let me go. I went over to Alice, Rose, Emmett and Jasper.
"Where did Edward go?" Jasper asked.
"To get something to drink." I felt someone tap me on the shoulder. I turned around and saw an unfamiliar man.
"Hello, Miss," he said in a British accent. "Would you like to dance?"
"Sure," I said as I held my hand out.
"I'm Stefan," he smiled.
"I'm Bella."
"Tell me, Bella, is that man that you were with your boyfriend?" he asked. I internally rolled my eyes.
"Yes," I said.
"Well, if you two break up throw him my way," he winked. I started laughing uncontrollably. "Is something funny about that?"
"I thought that you were going to hit on me!" I laughed.
"Sorry about that," he grinned. "What's his name?"
"Edward, Edward Cullen."
"It looks like he's getting jealous," Stefan laughed.
"He probably doesn't like that I'm dancing with such a handsome man," I laughed.
"He's coming over here," Stefan beamed.
"May I have cut in?" Edward asked.
"Sure, Bye Bella," Stefan winked.
"Bye Stefan," I smiled. I turned to Edward and started dancing with him.
"Why were you dancing with him?" he asked.
"Edward, he wasn't interested in me," I smiled.
"What do you mean?"
"Stefan asked me if you were single," I laughed.
"Oh," Edward said as he scrunched his eyebrows.
"You jealous, jealous man," I smiled as I leaned up and kissed his lips sweetly.
"I'm only jealous because you're beautiful and one of a kind," he smiled against my lips.
"Hey everyone!" The DJ spoke into the microphone. "Here is one last song for ya'll," he said as he played the song How Low by Ludacris. Edward, Alice, Jasper, Rose, Emmett and me all started dancing. At the part where Ludacris repeated 'how low can you go?' Alice, Rose and I dropped down as low as we could go and then rose back up laughing.
After the song ended we headed out to Emmett's Jeep. It was around ten thirty in the night.
Emmett dropped Edward and me off at my house and we went inside.
As soon as the door was shut Edward immediately picked me up and kissed me as he carried me to my bedroom. He stripped me of my dress and shed his own clothes and my life ended with pure bliss.
Hey everyone,
Sorry about the wait! I finally got it finished though! I will try to update as soon as I can. Thank you for reading and please review!
Lots of love,
Nikki