Disclaimer: Not mine…just playing with SM's characters. The plot is all mine though, so no stealing! Stealing is bad!
A/N: Oh my God, I hope this is working this time! Sorry for all the update fail! I blame FFn...Anyway, thank you so much for reading & reviewing! Real life was getting pretty crazy, but I managed to get this chapter done! Maybe tissues are needed? I don't know…
Blog is updated with some new character pictures. Check them out here: http:/ / noelleseven(dot)blogspot(dot)com
As always, HUGE thanks to my friend and beta eternally_addicted. She makes all my craziness make sense :-D
But in another life
I would be your girl
We'd keep all our promises
Be us against the world
In another life
I would make you stay
So I don't have to say
You were the one that got away
The one that got away
- Katy Perry, "The One That Got Away"
Chapter 10: The One That Got Away
Age 16, June 20th
Edward clenched the necklace tightly in his fist, and slammed it down on the steering wheel again as he sped towards Bella's house. His eyes were blurring with tears of hurt and rage, and it didn't help any that it was beginning to get darker. With his eyes focused solely on the road ahead of him, he didn't notice the over turned bicycle in the ditch by the road, and pressed down on the gas even harder, hoping that Chief Swan might be working, and pull him over, simply to prove his father was wrong.
His lungs felt like they could hardly even take in enough air, and Edward's chest ached as he pulled up in front of the dark Swan house. Was his father telling the truth? Where was Charlie? Renee? Bella? Each step Edward took towards the house made him feel like pieces of his heart were breaking off. By the time he reached the picture window that looked into their living room and kitchen, Edward almost felt like he was having a heart attack.
Sheets covered all of the furniture in the living room. The garbage was waiting to be picked up, which wasn't happening for another two days. The lights were all off. The front door was locked. All of the cars were gone.
Edward stumbled backwards from the living room window. His father couldn't possibly be telling the truth. Bella wouldn't…she promised. Edward prayed over and over as he took his phone out and dialed Bella's cell phone one more time. It went straight to voicemail. He gasped in pain, one hand going to his chest, and the other dropping Bella's necklace, which Edward didn't even remember that he had.
His father was telling the truth. His father was telling the truth. Bella was gone. She didn't want to go with Edward, and she didn't want to be with him.
Edward staggered backwards, leaning heavily against the car. He was all alone. There was no one else. He was alone. His cell phone buzzed in his palm, and Edward allowed himself the small amount of hope that it might be Bella, but he clenched his eyes shut when he saw that the message was from Sam.
When are you and Bella planning on getting here? Got everything ready for you two.
His fist clenched so hard, Edward thought he was going to break his phone. He typed out a hasty reply, the words on his phone screen sinking into his brain and his heart.
Bella's not coming. It's just me. I'll be there in two days. Getting a new phone. Text you when I get it.
Before he could think twice about it, Edward jumped into his car and took off, making his way towards the roads that would lead him down to California. As he passed all of the familiar sights of Forks, his foot pushed down harder on the gas. He needed to get out of here. He needed to escape. As he sped past the Welcome to Forks sign, he clenched his teeth together and gripped the steering wheel as tight as he could. There was nothing welcome about Forks, and there never would be.
It was then that Edward Masen vowed that he would never return to Forks again.
Elizabeth Masen was doing everything she could to keep from shaking and crying. She clutched Bella's phone close to her chest as she tried to listen to where Ed was. She had to stifle her cries when she heard him muttering to himself about killing the Swan girl.
"Should've just killed her…" Ed grumbled as he paced in front of the kitchen. "Little bitch will tell…but you've destroyed Edward…that's what you wanted…now it's just you and Liz…how it always should have been…"
Elizabeth squeezed her eyes shut tight as she heard Ed come in to the kitchen. Based on the way he was mumbling to himself, she knew Edward had been right all along. Ed was using again, and he hadn't gotten any better. She willed her tears to stay away. She had to do something. She couldn't just cry in the corner and pretend like nothing was happening. Ed had not only been abusive to Edward for years, but he attacked Bella. She tried not to cringe when she felt Ed's hand on her head, running his fingers through her hair.
"It's just you and I now, Lizzie…just you and I…"
Elizabeth listened to Ed's footsteps leave the kitchen and head upstairs. Peeling her eyes open slowly and making sure that he was really gone, Elizabeth quickly took out Bella's cell phone and dialed 911. As she waited for the phone to connect, she realized that this was a call that she really should have made years ago, the first time Ed ever struck her or Edward. Elizabeth just prayed that they would get here in time.
"Nine one one, what is your emergency?"
"My name is Elizabeth Masen," she whispered, "It's my husband. He's attacked Isabella Swan, my son Edward, and myself. Please…send help. He's upstairs in our house right now, but I don't know how long he'll be or what he's doing. We live at 5612 Merchant Road! Please help!"
"Stay calm, Mrs. Masen, we've sent help and they're on their way. Stay on the line with me until they arrive all right?"
"Please hurry…I don't know what Ed will do. Please."
"I've got two cars on the way Mrs. Masen. Is Ed still upstairs in the house?"
Elizabeth got up to her knees and crawled towards the doorway of the kitchen. When she looked up the stairs, she could hear him moving around in their bedroom.
"Yes…but please…I can hear him moving around. I don't know what he's doing."
"Can you tell us where Isabella and Edward are, Mrs. Masen?"
"I don't know!" Elizabeth cried softly, tears finally starting to spill over her cheeks. "He…Ed attacked Isabella with a broken bottle and then he hit me in the face and I fell to the ground. I…I think Isabella got away. Edward…Edward took off too."
"All right, Mrs. Masen. You're doing great and helping us so much. The cars should almost be there."
Elizabeth nodded silently, her eyes never straying from the closed bedroom door at the top of the stairs. She started to shake. What would Ed do when the police got here? Would she be safe? What about Edward? Isabella?
The sound of sirens echoed up their driveway and Elizabeth crawled to the corner of the kitchen where she could see the front doorway, but couldn't be seen from the stairs that led upstairs. She curled herself up in a ball and hugged her knees to her chest, letting out a shaky breath of relief.
"They're here," Elizabeth whispered into the phone. "They're here."
"Everything will be all right now, Mrs. Masen. Everything will be all right."
Deputy Brady Collins was bored. Not that he had anything better to do on a Saturday night anyway, but he at least could've driven down to Port Angeles if he wasn't working. Maybe he could've met someone new for once, maybe there would be girls from Seattle in town, or some other tourists. It didn't matter though. No…instead, being the rookie cop that he was, Brady got picked to take the Chief's patrol watch, since the Chief had taken the night off to spend with his wife.
"Must be nice to be Chief," Brady muttered, reaching to take a sip from his travel coffee mug. He grimaced as he drank the sludge from the station. Well, at least the caffeine would keep him awake as he patrolled around Forks.
Brady snorted to himself. Nothing ever happened in Forks. Sure, they had some drama a couple of months ago when that Ed Masen went missing, but he had still been training then and wasn't a part of the force yet. What he wouldn't give for something exciting to happen like he saw in the movies and television shows when he was growing up. It was part of the reason he wanted to be a cop in the first place.
"Should've moved to Seattle," Brady muttered as he turned to head down the drag that was on the outskirts of town. The only people who really lived out here were the Masens, and everyone knew it.
As Brady drove down the road, he squinted as he saw something ahead of him off to the side of the road. He sped up to get a better look and as he got closer, he realized that it was a bicycle that had veered off the side of the road. Brady pulled over, grabbed his radio and climbed out of his car slowly. There was definitely a body lying next to the bike.
"Hello?" Brady called out, approaching the bike and person slowly. As he got closer, he realized that it must've been a female as her long brown hair covered her face, and he gasped loudly when he saw the blood on her clothes.
"Oh shit!" Brady cried, fumbling with his radio. He bent down to check for a pulse as he began to radio in to the station.
"This is Deputy Collins, over."
"Go ahead, Deputy, over."
Brady let out a sigh of relief when he felt the girl's neck and a pulse, though it was faint.
"Yeah, I've got a girl here on the side of Merchant Road. From the looks of it she took a spill off her bicycle. There's blood on her shirt, over."
"Where about Deputy Collins, over?"
"Just south of the Masen place," Brady said as he moved the hair that covered the girl's face. "Holy shit! It's Isabella Swan!"
"Repeat that Deputy Collins! Did you just say Isabella Swan, Chief Swan's daughter?"
"That is affirmative! This is Isabella Swan!"
"Can you assess her injuries, Deputy, over."
"She's breathing but unconscious. There's blood on her shirt, but I'm not sure if it's hers or not. Her shirt looks torn. I think it's her blood."
"Deputy, an ambulance is on its way, over."
"Got it, over," Brady said. He quickly stood up and rushed back to his car to find something to keep to Isabella warm with until the ambulance got there, and also something to stop the flow of blood from her wound.
Brady swore to himself as he remembered what he was thinking not ten minutes earlier. Sure he wanted something exciting to happen in Forks, but not at the expense of Chief Swan's only daughter. He remembered Isabella being a few years younger than him, maybe a freshman when he was a senior. Brady found a blanket in the trunk and rushed back to Isabella's side, partially covering her and checking for the source of the blood.
"Oh fuck," Brady gasped, seeing the long jagged gash that ran up Isabella's side. It was obviously the source of all the bleeding, but he wasn't sure it was something that she could've gotten from falling off her bike. He quickly applied pressure to the wound with the blanket and breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the sirens of the ambulance. This wasn't turning out to be the night Brady thought it would be.
"Where's my daughter? What the hell happened?" Charlie Swan roared as he ran through the Emergency Room doors. Renee scrambled after him, latching on to his right arm quickly.
"Charlie, please…calm down!" Renee pleaded. She was freaking out just as much as Charlie was, maybe even more.
They were at the Inn when Charlie received the call. Isabella, their Bella, had been in some kind of bicycle accident out on Merchant Road. Renee was confused and shook her head in denial. Bella was at Angela's house, which was clear on the other side of town. Renee began to get a sick feeling in her stomach, knowing that Edward and his family lived out near Merchant Road. She pleaded with Charlie to tell her what was going on, to tell her that there was some mistake, but when he began to shout for details and run around looking for his things, Renee knew it was true. In a last ditch effort to keep the truth away, Renee dialed the Webbers' home. Angela answered and said she didn't have plans with Bella that night and she hadn't seen her. Renee almost threw up, but was snapped out of it when she heard the door slam. Quickly grabbing her things she ran after Charlie and caught up with him before he took off to the hospital.
A nurse came forward and tried to calm Renee and Charlie down.
"Chief Swan, Mrs. Swan, the doctor is in with Isabella right now. As soon as he's able he'll be out here to give you an update on her condition."
"What the hell happened?" Charlie shouted. "That's my baby girl in there! Someone better tell me something!"
"Charlie, calm down, please!" Renee cried, trying desperately to keep her tears at bay. Charlie hadn't told her anything as he sped towards the hospital, and his yelling at the nurses and doctors certainly wasn't going to help any.
"Chief!" someone shouted, and both Renee and Charlie turned to see Deputy Collins and two other officers standing there. Charlie marched over to them immediately.
"What the hell is going on?" Charlie demanded.
"Deputy Collins here found Isabella on the side of Merchant. She must've taken a nasty fall off her bike."
"And? Is she okay? Was she conscious?"
The officers looked at each other before they nudged Brady to tell the Chief.
"Um," Brady stuttered, "She was breathing but unconscious. She…she has a long cut on her side."
"From what?" Charlie barked.
"Sir," one of the officers spoke up. "We don't believe it was from the fall or from the bike."
"What are you talking about?" Renee asked, butting in. "How did she get it then?"
The officers all looked at each other nervously before once again nudging the rookie.
"Chief, the other squad car is out at the Masens' house. They're bringing in Ed Masen, Senior. Emergency got a phone call from Elizabeth Masen. Her…her husband attacked her, their son Edward, and…and Isabella."
Renee felt her knees buckle and she barely caught herself on Charlie's arm. Charlie quickly wrapped his arm around Renee's waist, keeping her upright. He barely felt like he was standing upright himself.
"Where…where's Edward? Elizabeth?" Charlie asked.
"Paramedics are bringing Elizabeth Masen in, and…" Brady trailed off, turning to look at the other two officers.
"And what, Deputy Collins? Damn it, man!" Charlie shouted.
"We can't find Edward, er…Edward, Junior. Mrs. Masen doesn't know where he is."
"What?" Renee gasped. She knew her daughter loved Edward dearly, and Renee had grown to care for him as well, especially given the stories she had heard about his life at home. She prayed that he was all right.
"Well, let's do something about this damn it!" Charlie cried. "Who's on duty? We need to start a search for Edward, and make sure that Ed Masen, Senior is held at the station for questioning."
"Charlie!" Renee cried, shaking his arm. "We need to check on Bella!"
"We'll take it from here, Chief Swan," one of the officers spoke up. "We just wanted to brief you on the situation."
"Well keep me updated!" Charlie growled.
Renee slowly dragged Charlie back towards the waiting room. She wasn't sure what to think. Ed Masen was such a vile man, but she knew Edward was a good boy despite it all. He made her Bella so happy. There was a part of her that was always scared that something like this was going to happen, but her daughter was so happy that she figured it would never happen. Bella and Edward would happily be the teenage couple in love, Charlie would be the occasional over-protective father, and Renee would be the ever supportive mother…but it seemed that it wasn't meant to be.
Both of the Swans jumped to their feet when the doctor came from behind the swinging Emergency Room doors.
"Chief Swan, Mrs. Swan, I've just come from Isabella's room. Follow me, please, and I'll discuss things with you on the way."
Bella felt her brows furrow as she let out a loud groan. Her side was throbbing and her head felt like there were jackhammers pounding away at her brain. She couldn't open her eyes yet, the pain was too much and overwhelming her. What had happened?
"Bella?"
Another groan left Bella's lips as she tried to shift herself into a more comfortable position. It seemed like no matter which way she moved, she couldn't get comfortable and her side seemed to throb more.
"Bella? Baby? Don't move, honey. Open your eyes."
"Mom?" Bella croaked.
"It's me, baby. Open your eyes, Bella, please. Can you do that, honey?"
Bella turned her head to the right, her nose wrinkling when she realized there was something covering her face. When she pealed her eyes open, she saw her mother's blue ones staring back at her.
"Mom?" Bella rasped, her throat becoming thick as she saw the tears slip down her mother's cheeks.
"Oh, honey…we were so worried," Renee cooed, reaching up and brushing the hair from Bella's eyes.
Bella swallowed heavily, attempting to coat her dry throat.
"Here, baby, have some water."
Renee offered Bella a cup with a straw and Bella greedily sucked down the cool water. She had so many questions she wanted to ask, but she knew where she wanted to start.
"What happened, Mom? Where's Edward?"
Bella's entire body jolted at the thought of Edward and it caused her to cry out in pain.
"Bella! Oh, honey, stay still! Your father went to get the doctor."
"Mom…where's Edward?" Bella whimpered. "His father…oh God, Mom…his father…"
Renee's heart broke even more when she saw her daughter's tears begin to slip down her cheeks. She didn't know what to tell Bella. Ed Masen had been arrested and taken in to custody. Elizabeth Masen had given her statement, saying that Ed had attacked Bella, Edward, and herself, but how was Renee supposed to tell Bella that there was still no sign of Edward?
"What, um…what do you remember, sweetheart?" Renee asked softly.
Bella winced as she shifted to the right.
"My…my side…" Bella whispered as her brows furrowed, trying to remember exactly what had happened.
Flashes of the Masens' kitchen and screams from both her and Elizabeth played in her mind. She thought he was going to surprise Edward, but found Ed Masen instead, and he was drunk and high on something. Bella felt herself begin to shake as the tears poured down her cheeks.
"Ed Masen…he…he…he attacked me with a broken bottle!" Bella cried. "I…I got away on my bike, but…but I collapsed on the side of the road!"
Bella began to try and move, but she struggled, the pain in her side and the loss of blood making her feel week. She cried out in pain and frustration.
"Bella, honey, you need to rest!"
"Mom, where's Edward? I need to see Edward!" Bella cried out, trying to move again.
"Bella!" Renee cried, moving to restrain Bella. She held her tears in the best she could. Bella was becoming hysterical, and she didn't even know that Edward hadn't been found yet.
"Renee!" Charlie cried as he came into the room with the doctor in tow.
"Daddy!" Bella shouted. "Daddy, where's Edward? I need to see Edward!"
"Bella, calm down, baby!" Charlie said, rushing to her side.
"No! I need to see Edward! He…I…Daddy, please!" Bella cried. She was quickly becoming frantic, all kinds of thoughts invading her mind, and she struggled against the holds of her mother and father, despite the pain in her side.
"We need to sedate her. She's going to tear her stitches open," the doctor said.
"No!" Bella cried. "Edward! Where's Edward?"
"Do it," Charlie ordered the doctor. It pained him to see his daughter like this, but she needed to rest and heal. There was no way he was going to jeopardize her health either, by telling her they didn't know where Edward was. The doctor worked quickly, and soon Charlie felt Bella's body calming down underneath his hands.
"Thank you, doctor," Charlie whispered.
"I'll be back to check on her shortly," the doctor replied before leaving the room.
Bella could feel her body relaxing despite her effort to stay alert and awake. Her eyes were beginning to feel heavy and her body didn't seem to want to cooperate with her anymore. When she couldn't fight it anymore, she whispered to her father.
"Check the boat house, Daddy. The Masens' boat house by the river. Edward and I were meeting there…"
Bella's voice trailed off as she succumbed to sleep, and Charlie and Renee looked at each other over their daughter's sleeping form, both their eyes filled with worry.
Age 16, August
"Renee, it's been over a month! Almost two!" Charlie shouted, slamming his fist down on the table.
"Do you think I'm not worried, Charlie? Do you think I'm blind?" Renee snapped back, standing up so quickly the chair that she was sitting in at the kitchen table crashed to the floor.
Renee hastily cleared away the uneaten breakfast from the table in front of her.
"I see it, Charlie. Dear God do I see it."
"She needs…she needs help, Renee. It isn't healthy," Charlie whispered.
Renee hung her head over the sink and closed her eyes.
"I can't see her like that again, Charlie," Renee whispered.
Charlie stood slowly and went to stand behind his wife, wrapping his arms around her waist. He loved Renee more than he could possibly say, she and Bella taking up all the room that he had in his heart. So many people had told him he was foolish when he said that he was in love with the then seventeen year old Renee McCarty, but Charlie didn't listen to them. He didn't listen to them again when they said it wouldn't last and that he was only marrying Renee because she was pregnant. He wished now, more than ever, that he could drown out the voices of the town of Forks.
Ed Masen, Senior was charged with the attempted murder of Isabella Swan, not to mention possession of illegal substances, and assault.
Isabella Swan was going crazy, left behind by Edward Masen.
The Swan girl is delusional. Nearly drowned herself down at First Beach.
Charlie cringed at his last thought and leaned his forehead down against Renee's shoulder.
"Renee," he whispered softly, "That's why she needs help. She can't keep holding on to him. He's not coming back, Renee."
They both thought it had been a good idea to try and get Bella out of the house. Angela and Ben, who had been extremely worried about Bella as well, offered to take her to the beach or something. It was a sunny day, and though it pained Ben to do it, he didn't bring his surfing things, and he and Angela took Bella down to La Push for the day. Charlie Swan never thought he would get another emergency phone call about his daughter almost drowning again.
The day had started off relatively fine. Bella perked up at the mention of going to the beach, and neither the Swans nor Angela or Ben had thought anything of it. They were all just happy to see her smile and wanting to get out of the house. Angela and Ben were fooled by Bella's smiles when they arrived at the beach, and the couple had been both relieved and happy to see Bella looking human again. They hadn't left Bella alone for long, maybe five minutes when they had gone back to the car to get the cooler of food and drinks Renee had packed them for lunch. When they had left Bella, she had been reading a magazine quietly and looking out at the waves every now and then.
When Angela had screamed, "Bella", Ben dropped everything and ran for the water. The couple had seen her struggling form amongst the waves, and Angela's screams had caught the attention of the lifeguard, who quickly jumped off his tower and followed Ben. Ben had barely gotten to Bella before she went under, and she fought both he and the lifeguard as they dragged her back to shore.
"He's out there!" she had cried. "He's out there! Ben, don't you see him!"
Angela's eyes flooded with tears, knowing exactly who her best friend thought she had seen out on the waves. Bella was desperately holding on to the hope that Edward would come back for her, and the stress of everything was causing Bella to hallucinate. Angela knew that Bella wasn't sleeping, hardly eating, and pretty much didn't do anything. She had barely been able to testify against Ed Masen, but Elizabeth Masen's testimony was enough to put him behind bars for good. Bella was withering away, waiting and waiting for Edward to return. The only thing was, Edward was never coming back. Everyone knew that, except for Bella.
The situation at the beach had been a week ago, and since then, Bella seemed almost worse than ever. The worst had been when it had been discovered that Edward had left Forks, and no intention of ever coming back for anything or for anyone. After Bella had said to search the boat house, the police did just that, finding Edward's things gone, but a letter left on the bed from Edward himself.
Don't look for me. I'm 18 years old now. Legally an adult. You have no say in my life anymore, and there is no way in hell that I'm staying in Forks any longer. There's nothing here that means anything to me. Absolutely nothing. I am never coming back.
~ Edward Masen
Charlie had the letter memorized. Edward had been true to his word. He was gone. His cell phone was disconnected and there was no money in his bank account. Edward Masen left the city of Forks behind. Charlie had been furious when he found out. Edward had abandoned his daughter, a girl he claimed to love more than anything. Now, he couldn't even be bothered to return to Forks, not even when his father had been on trial for the attempted murder of Bella. Charlie swore if he ever saw Edward Masen again, he wouldn't hesitate to punch him in the face. Ben made the same promise.
When Charlie and Renee told Bella that Edward was gone and had shown her the letter, she had needed to be sedated again. Her parents had never seen her so angry before. Bella had screamed and lashed out at them, telling them that they were liars and that Edward would never leave her and that he would come back. After that, whenever someone attempted to tell Bella that Edward was gone, she simply refused to believe them. Even after she was shown Edward's letter, and had been allowed to try and call his cell phone, she refused to believe that he was gone.
Bella had finally admitted that she had been planning to leave with Edward on the day that she was allowed to go back home from the hospital. Charlie felt like his head was going to explode. Not only had he been dealing with the Ed Masen case, plus Edward Masen's absence, but his daughter had just told him that she was supposed to have gone with Edward to California. Even in the presence of Charlie's ire, Bella remained calm and said that Edward would come back for her, that he wouldn't just leave her. In Bella's mind, he was just getting things set up with the PSA and his friend Sam, and he would be back.
All summer, the Swans, Angela, and Ben watched as Bella slowly started to slip away. She talked less and less to people, and left her room with even less frequency. Bella spent her days sitting in her chair by the window that faced out towards their driveway. She sat there for hours, just staring, never moving, and watching for any sign of Edward. Her already lithe frame was becoming frail and weak, and she had dark shadows underneath her eyes. She had looked better that day, that fateful day when she had gone to the beach in La Push. The truth was that Bella had always associated the beach and surfing with Edward, and she thought that maybe he had planned to surprise her with Ben and Angela.
Charlie sighed, his mind coming back to the present. Bella looked even worse than she had before, if that was at all possible. Charlie feared that he was watching his daughter waste away in front of him, and Renee felt the same. They had already done some researching, looking into a therapist for Bella. Bella had already refused professional help, and the therapist, named Dr. Banner, suggested that Bella hadn't reached her rock bottom yet. Rock bottom was where more often than not, people realized that they needed help.
"Did you see what Ben brought over?" Renee asked quietly. Charlie nodded against her shoulder.
"I swear to God if I ever see that kid again…"
"Charlie," Renee huffed.
"I know. I'm just saying."
"This might be her rock bottom, Charlie. If Bella sees this…" Renee trailed off.
They had already talked to Dr. Banner after Ben left. It was agreed that this might very well be the thing to set Bella off and realize that Edward wasn't coming back and that she needed help. Dr. Banner was ready to come over to the Swan house if necessary. They all agreed that Bella couldn't behave like this any longer.
Charlie sighed heavily. "All right. Let's show her. Dr. Banner is on call?"
"He said he'd be ready and waiting," Renee answered.
Charlie nodded before he turned and went back to the kitchen table, picking up the magazine clipping Ben had dropped off. There were so many emotions swirling around in Charlie's head and he didn't like it. He wasn't used to feeling so many different things. Anger, sadness, fear…they were all jumbled up inside him and he knew Renee wasn't much better. His wife linked her hand with his free one and gave it a squeeze before they climbed up the stairs to Bella's room.
Bella was where she always was, sitting in the chair by her window, knees tucked under her chin, arms wrapped around her legs, and her eyes staring out at the street, hoping a silver truck would drive up at any moment. She knew Ben had stopped by earlier, having seen his car, but she couldn't be swayed to move from her spot. She turned her head when she heard someone knocking on her bedroom door.
"Bella?" her mother called, before opening the door and stepping inside, followed by her father. Bella said nothing, just staring at them. She was growing tired of everyone insisting that Edward wasn't coming back for her and that she needed to move on. They didn't know him like she did. He wouldn't just leave her. He was coming back for her.
Bella watched as her mother and father approached her slowly, and she noticed something in her father's hands. Seeing what she was looking at, Charlie offered it to her.
"Bella, you need to see this," Charlie said quietly and as calmly as he could. Both he and Renee were trying to stay calm despite the fact that they were both on edge. Neither of them knew how Bella would react.
Bella took the magazine clipping slowly, unsure of what her father was giving her. When she held it in front of her face, she wasn't sure what she was really seeing and reading. There in full color, in his wetsuit and a purple flower lei of some sort, was Edward. He had a smile on his face and was holding a trophy of some sort. She let her eyes scan the words below the picture.
Edward Masen wins in debut in the PSA Hurley Invitational at Huntington Beach.
Bella's breath caught in her throat and she felt like she couldn't breathe when she looked at the next picture. It was from the same surfing event, and Edward was now kissing a very blonde and busty girl in a bikini.
Edward Masen celebrates with fellow PSA surfer and model Jessica Stanley.
There was no amount of preparation that could've been done by Renee and Charlie to prepare them for Bella's reaction.
"What the hell is this?" Bella screamed, jumping to her feet, balling the magazine clipping back up, and throwing it at her father. "What the hell do you think you're doing? Do you think this is funny?"
Charlie and Renee were shocked. They hadn't seen Bella this active in days. Bella rushed at her father, pushing him in the chest and screaming at him.
"How did you make it? Why would you do this to me? He's coming back!"
"He's not coming back, Bella!" Charlie shouted. "That was from one of Ben's surfing magazines! He dropped it off this morning! Edward isn't coming back and he's moved on!"
"Don't you dare say that!" Bella shrieked. "You're lying!"
"Bella, honey…" Renee tried.
"NO! He'll come back! He…he…" Bella's screams were getting weaker as was her body. Days of not eating, sleeping, or doing anything were catching up to her.
"Charlie!" Renee cried as she watched Bella's eyes roll back.
Charlie rushed forward, catching Bella as she fainted, right before her body hit the ground. Unfortunately, Charlie couldn't save Bella from hitting rock bottom.
Edward sighed as he looked out at the ocean. He was in Mexico now. Fucking Baja to be specific. He had gained quite the following and fame already from just two months in the PSA. Winning your debut on the tour would do that, and winning a competition up in Santa Cruz had certainly helped as well. Now he was here in Baja, Mexico for his first international competition. Sam had been a huge help in getting Edward into the PSA and set up with the tour. He also helped Edward forget how he arrived without Bella, and that Bella was the one to leave him behind.
He would never touch any sort of drug, but alcohol…alcohol numbed his brain. Edward knew he would never become like that fucking sperm donor of his, but he still needed the alcohol to make him forget. He needed it to make him forget soft brown eyes and bright smiles. He needed it to make him forget the feel of her lips against his, or the touch of her skin against his own.
"What are you doing, baby?" a voice purred from behind him.
Edward shivered as he felt naked breasts press against his own naked back. Jessica Stanley was another distraction, and another way for Edward to forget. She was nothing like Bella, and that was the only reason he was able to go through with sleeping with her the first time. That, and he had been drunk as a fucking skunk. Jessica was all blonde, tan, and fake breasts, and at 25 years old, physically nothing like Bella at all. Personality-wise, she was shallow, easy, and fake…everything that Bella wasn't. Jessica made her own money off the tour and her modeling, so Edward knew she wasn't after that, and he couldn't give a fuck if she was an attention grabbing whore. She made him forget, and that was what he needed right now.
"Nothing," Edward mumbled, taking a swing from the bottle of beer that he had resting on the table next to him on the balcony.
"Bed's getting cold without you," Jessica whispered, her hands beginning to trail over Edward's body.
"I was just thinking," Edward sighed, wishing he wouldn't think of brown eyes and sweet smiles.
"Thinking about what?"
Edward said nothing as he turned around, and Jessica grinned as she wrapped her arms around Edward's back and pressed her chest against his.
"Nothing important," Edward murmured. "Make me forget?"
"Absolutely," Jessica purred, taking Edward's hand and tugging him towards the bed.
It would take him a long time to forget about Bella, but Edward was determined that he would. He had to. After all, she had forgotten all about him.
Age 25
"I went to my therapist for years," Bella whispered, her eyes focused on her hands in her lap. "I still talk to him from time to time."
Edward couldn't respond, too shell shocked by everything that he had just heard to say anything.
"I…it took such a long time for me to accept that you weren't coming back. You were off surfing all over the world with that…that Jessica," Bella said with a sneer she couldn't hide, "And I…I was just left behind in Forks."
Bella laughed sadly. "I actually got worse before I got better. I had to go for a physical since I had been taking such poor care of myself. They asked me about my period and I realized that I hadn't had one in months. I remembered that we hadn't used a condom that last…that last time. I started to think that if you found out I was pregnant with your baby, that you would come back for sure. I started to think that you would come back again."
Edward closed his eyes and rubbed his chest. If he didn't know any better, he would've almost thought he was having a heart attack, but he knew this feeling. It was the ache in his chest he got every time he missed Bella, only now is was magnified by the truth of all her words, and his realization that he had been such an irrational prick, and so monumentally stupid to actually believe that his scum bag of a father could possibly have been telling the truth.
"It didn't matter though," Bella said quietly. "They made me take a test and I wasn't pregnant. They said my cycle was thrown off by all the stress and the fact that I wasn't sleeping or eating. That was when I truly hit rock bottom, and had to start building myself back up and working with Dr. Banner."
Edward choked on a sob that he didn't even realize was trying to claw its way out of his throat. He clenched his eyes shut tighter as a few tears escaped.
"It was a misunderstanding…" He whispered, his voice was hoarse. Even though his eyes were closed and Bella knew he couldn't see her, she nodded anyway, tears falling down her cheeks.
"It was all a fucking misunderstanding!" Edward shouted, standing and pushing away from table. Bella jumped as Edward beginning to pace, his hands buried in his hair and his mouth spewing and shouting unintelligible sounds.
"I…I should've told you about the painters," Bella said, attempting to calm Edward down. "I…I didn't think I would have to tell you my alibi. I…I didn't think your father- -"
"I can't believe I fucking believed him!" Edward roared, his hands slamming down on the table.
Bella was also upset about learning the truth, but she wasn't physically showing it like Edward. She couldn't believe that all the pain, all the heartache, all the years of therapy…they were all her fault. She had never told Edward about the painters, and if she had, he wouldn't have believed his father. He wouldn't have run away from Forks without her. It was all her fault for causing the misunderstanding, and that truth weighed heavily on Bella. The tears hit her hard and she buried her face in her hands as she began to sob. The only other sound in the room was Edward's heavy breathing.
Edward's splayed hands curled themselves up into fists against the table and he breathed heavily, trying to get his anger under control. He desperately wanted to hit something, but he knew that would only scare Bella. What he really wanted to do was to punch his God damned fucking asshole of a father in the face, and kick him in the balls while he was at it too. Fucking Ed Masen! Edward was embarrassed that he was related to the man. Edward felt like he couldn't think anymore. There were too many thoughts and feelings threatening to boil over. The "what ifs" began to assault his mind and he cried out in frustration, leaning his forehead down against the table.
A knock on the door had them both swiping away angrily at their tears as Jasper entered the room, Esme standing worriedly behind him.
"Is everything all right?" Jasper asked quietly. "We heard a lot of shouting."
"We're fine," Bella answered. Her voice was shaking. "We…we both told each other…everything."
Bella looked at Edward to see if that answer was satisfactory for him. It was far from it, but he nodded his head anyway. He had so many questions and thoughts and emotions, and he didn't know what to do with half of them.
"Do you guys need some more time to talk?" Esme asked, looking at both Edward and Bella. It pained her to see the two of them looking so hurt and just beat down, but she knew that their talk was likely for the best.
"No," Bella answered before Edward could say, "yes".
"Bella…" Edward said, his voice sounding persistent. He knew she had to be feeling like he was and that there had to be more that she wanted to talk about.
Edward was right. Bell had so many things running around in her head and so many questions that she wanted to ask Edward, but she wasn't even sure if she had everything that he had told her sorted out in her own brain. She needed time to think, no matter how badly she wanted answers right away.
"I need time, Edward," Bella whispered. "Please…I…I just need time."
Edward didn't like that answer at all, but as he looked at her watery brown eyes, and the tears streaming down her cheeks, he knew he would give her what she asked for. After everything he had learned that day, the last thing he ever wanted to do was to cause Bella another ounce of pain ever again. Edward sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
"Okay, Bella," he said with a nod.
Bella stood on shaky legs and quietly whispered, "thank you."
"Do you want me to drive you home, dear?" Esme asked, moving forward and wrapping an arm around Bella's shoulders. "Carlisle is here and he can follow."
Bella nodded silently. She was too distracted to think clearly to drive home, and her body felt too drained to concentrate on the road. Edward stood up straight as Bella and Esme got to the door.
"Bella?" he asked. She turned to look at him.
"Can we…" Edward nervously fidgeted. "I…can we talk again? When you're ready?"
Bella chewed nervously on her bottom lip as she looked at Edward. She had only seen him cry a handful of times, and to see him now, eyes red, and tracks of tears on his cheeks, she knew he needed his own time to figure things out, but also that he would have questions just like her. It seemed only fair that he get to ask his questions and receive answers as well.
"Okay," Bella answered quietly. "I'll…I'll see you around the office."
With that, Bella let Esme lead her out of the office and towards the parking garage. Edward was left standing in silence in the conference room with Jasper. Edward felt completely drained, and sat back down in his previously vacated chair. Jasper took a seat in Bella's old chair and looked at Edward.
"So…this is probably the wrong thing to ask," Jasper said, attempting to lighten the mood. "But are you okay, man?"
Edward sighed and ran his hand through his hair again. Usually he would find Jasper's attempts at breaking tension amusing, but he just didn't have the energy in him anymore.
"I don't know, Jasper. I don't know."
The truth was, Edward Masen's world just got completely flipped upside down like he was stuffed in the barrel on a wave and he couldn't find his way to the surface. He had no idea where to even begin to make sense of things.
Well? Yes? No? Did we all survive that rough past? I promise, that's the last of the really heavy angst. The truth is out there now, and we'll just have to see what Edward and Bella do with it. Let's not forget that Bella also has Jacob that she needs to figure out too.
Anyway…this story was nominated for 2 Hidden Star Awards. Best Story All Human Best Asshole I believe it was. Winners haven't been announced yet, but thank you teamswitzerlandmom for the nominations. :-)
All right, well, I've got my shit a little more together now in RL, and I've planned out the next couple of chapters. Hopefully I won't take a month to update again. You can find me on Twitter (NoelleSeven) and Facebook (Noelle Seven). I post updates and other nonsense on both of those, and if you follow/friend me, please let me know you're from the FFn world, otherwise there's a good chance I might block you or not friend you. Anyway, let me know what you thought of the chapter, good or bad, pretty please? Hope to update soon! :-D