Chapter 10: Weeds and Broken Threads

"Have you ever heard a word?
Rather be lonely in love than alive with you and dead.
Have you ever heard a word?
Hear me out this time (Hear me out this time).
Where does one start
To pick up pieces
Of a gasoline heart?
When all he has is driving away."
-"There Is No Mathematics to Love and Loss" by Anberlin

November 23, 2002

"Edward, pull over and face it; the engine overheated."

"It did nothing of the sort," I said, staring through the steam that was pouring out from the hood of my car as we continued down the highway. Billows of gray clouded over my windshield, hindering my vision.

"Edward, pull over!! The car's going to blow up or something," she said, punching my thigh.

"Fine," I said pulling off to the side of the road. I sighed as Bella fished around in her purse for her phone so that she could call our parents and tell them that we would be late.

I popped the hood and held my breath as I fanned my hand in front of my face to diffuse the steam.

"I think your car just died," Bella said, almost smugly. She crossed her arms tightly and I tried not to look at her chest.

"Don't say that, woman!" I said, jabbing my finger at her, "Call Rosalie, she'll be able to fix it."

Bella sighed but dialed the phone nonetheless. I listened to her as she described our predicament to Rose. She bit her lip and stared at the trees, "I don't know where we are; we're out in the middle of nowhere."

"We're about an hour outside of Forks," I told her; so that there would at least be a little hope that Rosalie would find us. Bella tended to be directionally challenged. "We just passed mile marker 17."

Bella relayed the information and hung up. "She says she'll be here in about two hours."

"Ok," I said, sliding back into the driver's seat, leaning it back and trying to fall asleep. I had a pounding headache and I was upset about my car and I wanted Bella to give me a head-rub or something, but I doubted she would do that.

"Edward," I heard her whisper.

"What?" I mumbled.

"I'm hungry.

"There's a granola bar in the glove compartment," I told her, pushing a pair of Ray Band sunglasses over my nose and settling into my seat.

"Edward, this thing is disgusting, how long has it been in here?"

I rubbed my fingers over my temples and then snapped, "I don't know. Go scavenge through the woods if you want something better."

She harrumphed and then I heard her door open and slam closed. Great. I'd pissed her off. Just what I needed, especially since I'd been having such a nice fantasy about us making out in the backseat until Rosalie found us.

I rubbed my eyes and got out of the car, watching as she stomped into the forest.

"You're going to get lost," I called after her. Damn, infuriating, beautiful woman.

She turned and flipped me off.

"I'm not going to come find you," I called after her.

"Good, I don't need a knight in shining armor," she called back.

I glared at her disappearing back, "Fine! Go off and get raped by some woodsman or something—or be eaten by a bear!"

She gave no indication of hearing me; she just disappeared further into the woods. I growled and ran my fingers through my hair; I turned and kicked one of my tires in frustration.

"Bella!" I yelled after her, but she didn't answer.

Jesus, I was getting scared that she really had been kidnapped and molested by some random forest-dwelling maniac or eaten by a wild animal. What would I do without her? God I would die without her!

"C'mon Bell, answer me!"

Still silence.

I growled, grabbed my keys and my phone, and tromped into the woods after the stupid woman that I loved. I grumbled under my breath, "Damn woman. Gonna get kidnapped and eaten."

I was paying more attention to my feet and not running into trees that I didn't even notice that Bella was standing frozen directly in front of me.

I bumped into her and grabbed her around the waist, "What the hell, Bella? What's wrong?"

"Look at this," she breathed, grabbing my wrists so that my arms remained encircled around her.

I rested my chin on her shoulder and stared at the meadow that lie before us.

It was nearly perfectly circular, tall pines with narrow trunks encroached around the tall spidery grass. It looked like a scene from Lord of the Rings.

"It's beautiful," she breathed, leaning her head back against my shoulder.

I wanted to say something corny like, 'Yes, you are.' But I just nodded mutely, letting my agreement remain silent. I could feel her pulse thudding against my chin. I could just tip my head to the side and taste her neck, kiss her. But I remained platonic.

"And to think, we would've driven by this without knowing something so beautiful was here unless your car had broken down."

I was suddenly thankful for the steaming Volvo parked a couple hundred yards away.

I pulled Bella into the middle of the meadow, we were knee-deep in grass and wildflowers—it looked like something from a fairy tale. There were deep golden flowers and ones the colour of rubies.

Bella sighed and then plopped down into the grass. I could barely see her, the underbrush was so thick. She plucked handfuls of weeds and started to make daisy chains.

"You're going to get all dirty," I told her.

She threw a handful of crab grass at me, "Don't be a party-pooper, Edward."

I smiled down at her. She reached up and threaded her fingers through my belt loops and pulled me down to the ground next to her.

She grabbed a tall flower and broke the stem, tucking the bud behind my ear.

I laughed as she put a daisy chain around my neck. I started braiding long pieces of grass together.

I grabbed her hand and tied the braid around her wrist, just under the macramé friendship bracelet I'd given her when we were in second grade.

"Don't you ever take this ratty thing off?" I asked, running a finger over the fraying fibers.

"Hell no!" She said, pulling her hand away, "I wouldn't ever dream of taking it off!"

"Why not, it's probably harboring diseases or something, it's so old," I said.

"I love it; I'm never going to take it off." She declared, lying back so that her face was hidden in the grass and flowers.

And as sad as it was, not even a month later the fibers of the bracelet had worn down and had broken off her wrist.

We were sitting outside her dorm, eating popcorn and drinking beer that Emmett had bought for us because we were still underage.

Tyler Crowley walked up to us and asked Bella to come to some stupid frat party with him. She agreed and reached for his hand. The movement, though slight, pulled enough at the threads that the bracelet snapped.

Bella didn't even notice.

I keep the bracelet tucked behind my driver's license in my wallet, because it's just as much my identity as my license is. She is my identity.


PLEASE READ THIS: I will not be updating this Saturday. Get over it. I'm retaking the SAT so I can try to up my score by at least 110 points. Please keep me in your prayers, thoughts, ect. If I can raise my score this much I'll be eligible for a full scholarship, so that will be extremely awesome. SO NO UPDATE, but maybe I'll take pity and update on Sunday.

Also, I'm extremely stupid and forgot to put the link to last chapter's outfits on my profile. Forgive me. They're up now.

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