Chapter 11: Sweet Nothings
As we boarded our flight to Paris I couldn't help but request Edward and I sit more towards the front of the plane, where there were less people. Edward had stopped at a kiosk to pick up yet another thermos of coffee to accompany the first from the other airport before we continued our journey round the world. I simply glared at him, still peeved at him about earlier and he gave me a knowing smile. As we filed into our seats I remembered with startling clarity the bittersweet reunion of Edward and the little blonde he worked with.
Somewhere in the midst of their conversation, back on the plane from Forks to JFK airport, Jane and Edward's hushed exchange became heated and appeared more hostile than casual. After I had piled together all of my questions I warily took notice of how tense Edward was beside me as Jane prattled endlessly. I couldn't concentrate on her, much like I couldn't really concentrate on anything these days. She was speaking low and I could have been imagining this but I swear with every word that left her mouth her eyes seemed to widen minutely. Thanks to the overdose I couldn't make heads or tails of trivial things and I had a really hard time focusing. Even while I thought of things to ask Edward I was distracted by by an oddly shaped cloud that resembled a football. I watched it till it was out of sight, then began twisting my hair around my finger, wondering what I was doing before the cloud passed by, steadily ignoring the two beside me.
And then I became angry. Why was Jane still here? Didn't she have a job to do? I'm sure that there were plenty of other passengers who would have appreciated alcohol or salty seafood. Wouldn't the other flight attendants have noticed her idling? Unless they were all planning to make a move on my husband.
Speaking of which, I wonder why he's so tense.
Oh! That's right – Jane's still here.
I scratched my nails lightly over Edward's knuckles and leaned my weight against his shoulder in what I hoped was a calming gesture. It worked. He released his death grip on the arm rest and turned his palm upwards to twine our fingers, tossing me a lazy grin as well.
Jane, who missed the small exchange, continued to go on and on with no end in sight and had finally bounced on Edward's last ounce of patience.
"Where is he?" Edward asked none too nicely.
Taken aback by his sudden interjection, Jane said shakily, "Who?"
"Your father, you twit."
The small woman stuck her chin out indignantly and narrowed her eyes in something akin to a glare. "He is in St. Marques on," she stopped to flicker her gaze from him to me, "business."
Edward gave a non committed grunt and stroked his chin absentmindedly. Was her father his boss? He clearly had some importance otherwise he wouldn't have been brought up into the conversation.
"He's only in town for a few days, though," she continued with that annoying shrill. "If you want to catch him I suggest you make it a priority to see him in the next two days.
"Speaking of business, where did you meet your lovely wife, Edward? And what of Tanya?"
"Rome?" Edward replied in a voice that made the answer seem obvious. "And Tanya and I were never really serious. You know that."
"Does she speak English? Or Italian for that matter?"
"No."
"May I ask?"
"Go ahead," Edward said waving his hand in a dismissive manner. "Have a fucking field day!"
The little woman turned to me with her eyebrow raised.
"You don't speak any Italian?" She asked in English. I simply furrowed my brow, maintaining my smile. "Or English? How about French? No? Are you sure? Well, that's too bad. Oh, I like your shoes; where did you get them?"
I knew what she was doing. What a ridiculously random question. If I answered her with an intelligent response she would know I wasn't who I said I was. I wouldn't feed into that foolishness. Not to mention she couldn't even see my feet. She hadn't taken her eyes off of mine for a second.
I cocked my head and asked her if she preferred pancakes or waffles in Romanian.
As she could tell I obviously wasn't going to give her a legitimate answer she turned to Edward. "Are you sure she's from Rome or is she just incompetent. I visit Rome occasionally, as you know, and I've never seen a native woman quite so plain."
I flinched a little at her insult but thankfully she still wasn't facing me.
"You know what, Jane? How about you get the fuck out of my sight?" Edward snapped.
"What did I say?" Really?
"I don't know, you just insulted my wife to my face as well as in her presence? What the fuck do you think you said?"
"I was just stating a fact. No need to get so feisty."
"Get the fuck away from me," he hissed viciously. "Don't forget your place just because you're on the outside, sweetheart. Not wise when you have to go back sometime, as do I."
Jane cringed and put her chin down to her chest, wringing her hands. Whatever facade she had put on for me just a moment ago disappeared as she straightened her posture and put her feet together. "Yes, sir. Forgive my carelessness."
"We'll discuss this later. Turn back the way you came and don't let me see your face for the remainder of this flight. Tell your pretend friends to stay away from us as well and if I so much as see you glancing in this direction there will be hell to pay, do I make myself clear, Jane?"
"Yes, sir."
"Go," he commanded, flicking his wrist, and Jane turned to leave, tending to the other passengers before disappearing behind the cockpit. A few people turned in their seats or craned their necks to get a look at us, meaning Edward wasn't nearly as discreet as he'd hoped to be.
But the eavesdroppers were in the back of my mind. I stared open-mouthed in complete awe of the man beside me, unsure of what the hell just happened. How he got Jane to go silent and then leave without question eluded me.
"How—?"
"Wrong language," he said cutting me off."
"How the hell did you get her to am-scray?" I asked correcting myself.
"Simple. I told her to leave."
"No shit, Einstein," I said rolling my eyes. "I meant what you said to her. What was that supposed to mean?"
He sighed dramatically and propped his head on his hand, the fingers of his other hand holding the bridge of his nose. "Isabella, I really don't want to discuss this right now."
"Okay. I won't push you." Now.
A few minutes later I'd felt the effect of my continuous consumption of sweets. I was parched. Unaware of what was really inside of Edward's thermos, I took the cup from it's holder, brought the lid to my lips and took a healthy swig, sputtering and coughing as a familiar yet foreign burn coursed down my throat. I held the cup away at arms length and stared at it disbelievingly before tossing an evil eye in Edward's direction. At the sound of my distressing coughs he had opened his eyes and was now sporting a guilty expression. He smiled apologetically but too bad for him I was too beyond mortified to really disregard this.
"Edward Anthony..." I stated in a low, somber tone.
"Love, allow me to explain—"
"I really don't think there is anyway you can explain bringing—"
"But, honestly, there is a genuinely good reason—"
"For bringing Scotch on a plane in a coffee cup? Then, please, do explain this to me."
Disbelief. That was the perfect way to sum up my feelings at that moment. Was I angry that Edward smuggled liquor on the flight with him? No. But I was upset at the fact that he did this and didn't tell me about it. I wasn't particularly sure why this upset me, but it did. I hadn't even known he drunk! On top of that, I hadn't smelt it on him; not on his clothes or on his breath when he'd kissed me. Or maybe I was so far gone that I hadn't noticed. Either way, my little dizzy spell seemed to have past—good riddance!—and I was feeling extraordinarily aware.
"Love," he started, running his hand over the back of his neck and into his hair, "I don't know what to tell you. It's not as if you didn't know I was an 'alchy.'"
"I didn't!"
"Oh, come now. Yes, you did. I drink in front of you all of the time."
I was just about to object when I had a rather disturbing and abrupt remembrance. The mornings that I woke to a warm and calm Edward purged my thoughts. When he served me my breakfast of fruits and juice I'd somewhat take notice of how dark his cup of juice was. We'd drink from styrofoam so it wasn't as if I'd see him guzzling from a bottle. How the smell of his cup would bring a pungent scent to my nose returned with precise clarity and I registered how it was exactly like the liquid in my hand. After I finished my cup I was awake and ready to go; when Edward finished his, those jade eyes of his would become darker and began to swim inexplicably as well as his hands and mouth suddenly having the need to touch me. And then it all made some semblance of sense. The only way Edward found me attractive was when he was drinking. Alcohol made him horny and I was the nearest being with a vagina. It finally made sense. I always knew his attraction to me was some kind of fluke and damned if I was wrong now. It also explained Edward's random mood swings. I couldn't believe I was only just figuring this out.
It was almost impossible to ignore the pain that stabbed at my chest. I took a shuddering breath and simply glared at Edward playfully. Joking was the only way I knew to mask my true feelings. I was so used to doing this that it came second nature to me.
"So you're a drunk, huh?"
He nodded, unsure of my reaction.
"Well ain't that a bitch," I muttered shaking my head, hoping to disarm him a bit.
It worked. He stared at me for a moment before his face broke out into my favorite lazy grin and he nodded. I hated that grin now. I sighed, tossed back the thermos, and replaced it in it's holder. Edward wove his fingers through mine and I instantly noticed how his skin was warmer than was normal. I was such a fool for not realizing something like this earlier and now the evidence was blatantly mocking me.
"You know, I wasn't so desperate for a drink before this frail brunette came flying through my house," Edward mused, joining in the fun at my expense. "The second she started convulsing on my floor I knew I would have to take a step up from shots to Vodka."
He chuckled and I punched him in the shoulder with my free hand, hating how that beautiful sound made my heart wrench.
"Well excuse me if seizures don't tickle your fancy, Mr. Chloroform."
"Quite the contrary, actually, love. I was tied between cutting off your airways and settling betwixt your thighs to get you to settle down." I was blushing at the roots now. To add to my embarrassment Edward gave me a pointed look and started waggling his eyebrows like some old school criminal. I burst out laughing, having to hold my stomach and keel forward to avoid my abdomen cramping up on me. Edward joined in a moment later and at one point he snorted causing another round of hysteria before an older passenger a few seats ahead of me shushed us.
"Piss off, you scraggly old wanker."
That was the first time that I'd heard Edward speak in unadulterated British; not a hint of an accent but the real damn thing. I pressed my lips together, my eyes wide as saucers, and ducked my head in Edward's chest to giggle as quietly as I could possibly manage.
The old man huffed and turned around in his seat before throwing headphones over his ears.
Eventually my laughter subsided and I looked up to see Edward staring at me.
"What?" I asked self-consciously.
He shook his head. "Nothing. I've just never heard you laugh before."
"You have so."
"No," he said with absolute certainty. "I would have remembered something like that."
The look he was giving me made my stomach flop uncomfortably and I lowered my head to hide my red face. I curled my fingers into the fabric of Edward's shirt near his stomach and lightly brushed my little finger over the skin there, loving how the muscles rolled under my touch.
"I really do love your laugh, Bella."
I raised my chin so I could look him in the eye to determine if it was the Scotch talking. His eyes were lighter than I was used to, too soft a green to hold any alcohol. I gave him a slow smile and punched him weakly in the abdomen. "Shut up." I can't take anymore sweet nothings from you. Just, please, shut up.
The plan ride lasted about another 20 minutes before we exited and immediately boarded the next flight to the predetermined destination. I was exhausted in the true sense of the word and the second my ass hit the seat I curled up on Edward's arm and passed out for the duration of the trip.
I was still a little woozy as we jumped into the rental car. Edward made a point to get the fastest car on the lot and this made me nervous. I had planned to go back to sleep on the window when Edward said the three words that hit me like scalding coffee down a sports bra:
"We're being followed."My head shot up and I peeked behind my headrest to find the spies. "Two cars back, the mini van," he assisted.
I peered trough our followers' windshield and frowned. They didn't look like spies, but then again I wasn't really sure what spies looked like so I took Edward's word for it.
"Sit back," Edward said with authority. "Put your seat belt on and keep your feet on the ground."
I did as he said and when he saw that I obeyed his foot stomped down on the gas pedal and we flew down the highway. With every five miles that the speedometer gained my eyes widened a fraction until we were speeding at 97 mph. I shut my eyes tightly and clutched the seat beneath me until my cuticles hurt. The cop's daughter within me was weeping and chanting wildly as we sped up still and began weaving in and out of traffic. I figured Edward was trying to shake off our company but I'd never forgive him if he did so and got us killed.
After maybe 10 minutes we did slow. I opened my eyes fearfully and saw that we were now cruising through thick forestry. France had always seemed an eternally beautiful place to me, but who knew I could find beauty in dead trees? Brown bodies of bark raised 30 feet above our heads and stretched each of their dead branches up to the dark gray sky, like a mass prayer of nature begging for the sun to return to them, to re-gift them their livelihood. It was such a quiet and serene setting that it temporarily cleansed my jumbled mind. I sat for a few minutes, just watching the scenery fly by, finding some form of tranquility that I hadn't had in what felt like forever.
When that finally got boring I got fidgety, playing with my reflection on the foggy window and writing my name backwards until Edward told me to stop. I stuck my tongue out at him and he threatened that if I did it again he would find something better to do with it. Needless to say, I, in fact, did it again and thoroughly learned that Edward made good on his promises. Although he didn't get to do exactly what he wanted with my tongue he did hold it until I popped my jaw far out enough to bite him. Then I decided that I didn't really want to risk my life for something as stupid as flirting so I turned back to my window. Little did I know I'd been flirting with danger the second I laid eyes on the copper-haired man beside me.
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After about another hour of dead trees I got agitated.
"Are we there yet?"
"Not to my knowledge, no," Edward remarked with wide eyes.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, Isabella, I'm sure."
"How about now?" I asked after a few minutes.
"Not yet, Bella?"
"Are we there now?"
And then he made a sharp turn. I slid in my seat a bit and Edward teased that my belt was too loose. I almost stuck my tongue out at him but thought better of the action. Instead I undid my seatbelt, just to spite him. He'd pulled into an imperceptible break in the trees, something that would have been unnoticeable if you hadn't been looking for it. We ventured through and the stretch went on for at least an additional 10 miles to our three. Edward made another abrupt sharp turn, causing me to slide in his direction, and drove for yet another three miles. The urge to ask him if we were there yet was strong but I bit my tongue to acquiescence myself. I tapped my nails on the dashboard, crossed, uncrossed, and folded my legs beneath me before finally I gave in to my baser instincts.
"Are we there yet?"
The car made a sudden stop and as I was just beginning to rearrange my legs I went flying into the windshield. My forehead went smack into the glass before I fell roughly back into my seat and my head rebounded off the cushion before settling again.
I sat still for maybe three minutes with my eyes closed, my hands balled at my sides as my head throbbed like an angry vein. Edward didn't make a move to disrupt my silence, smart boy. When I could finally get my eyes opened I turned a murderous glare on the smug smirking asshole beside me.
"A little heads up would have been FUCKING nice, Edward!"
He swung his head around to give me a lopsided grin and swiftly exited the vehicle.
"Maybe you should have kept on your seat belt, love."
"Fuck you, Edward!"
"Would you really, babe?"
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We had to hike another two miles before coming up to Edward's shack. Why we didn't just drive, I had no idea.
"Why didn't we just drive here?" I voiced aloud.
"Because I don't want anyone to know exactly where we're going. They know the general location so let's not give them the exact spot, hmm?"
I turned away from him and looked to our temporary home for the next few days. I hated when he patroized me. On the upside, the house was gorgeous. A Vicorian style adobe of granite rock walls. It wasn't too big of a house; it looked more like a home for a small family. There were bay windows much like the ones of my own home and a verandah with stone columns that gave way to elegant french doors. When in France, I guess.
We climbed the few steps up the porch and Edward unlocked the door, ushered me in, and locked the door behind him, punching in numbers on the security system before turning to me with a mischievous glint in his eye. I raised a brow but otherwise ignored him, turning to the open room.
"Horny Brit bastard," I muttered under my breath.
"You love it."
I rolled my eyes. This room was a lot like Edward's stone harem back in Forks Crystal Cavern. The fire place, the mixed oriental rugs in front of those. But at the same time, the living area was also a lot like an industrial apartment, not so dissimilar from the first one I lived in while in college. The living room and kitchen were were all in one space, seperated by three marble topped counters that led to the stove and refridgerator. I didn't know if there was anything to eat here but I was ravenous.
I turned to Edward hopefully and his expression suggested he knew where my train of thought was heading. I followed him into the kitchen and sat at the table as instructed. Expecting him to present me with TV dinners or something, I couldn't help the look of absolute sorrow as he pulled out four fruits. My face fell into a pout and I crossed my arms over my chest as he sat across the table from me and pushed two blood oranges my way. As he dug in, I continued my fret like a petulant child and watched him eat, silently demanding real food. He returned my stare, peeling wedges of his second orange into eigths and laying them flat on the table.
"Are you hungry, cherie?"
I gave one stiff nod and went back to silence. Edward went back to eating. Apparently two was not enough to fill him as he made a face after devouring the last orange piece. The sun was now risingand I was unsure of what to do with myself. It seemed sort of vampire-ish but I felt an aversion to the sun; I was still to sensitive to it's light. I was also still hungry but I refused to consider oranges a meal. I was being bratty but I'd be damned if I didn't get my way.
Edward raised his brow at me and I raised one back in return. He shrugged, stood from the table and told me to follow him. We took a small tour of the house and he showed me exactly where everything was. The bathroom, the bedrooms, the basement. It was, in fact, a small house and there weren't too many places to go. My stomach growled loudly and to ignore the pain I told Edward I was going to bed. I'd taken only a few steps in the direction of the smaller bedroom that he'd shown me when Edward caught my wrist and wrenched it up to his chest.
"Where do you think you're going?"
I tried to break his grip but he only held me tighter.
"Edward, I'm tired. Can I please go to bed?"
"Hell no."
"Why not?" I asked flabbergasted.
Because I owe you an explanation and your not leaving my sight until you have it."
And those were the magic words. How the hell was I supposed to resist that?
