A/N: Hope I didn't confuse anyone too much. A word to the wise—read the author notes more often. Haha. Sorry this has taken a few days; I know you're all anxiously awaiting the appearance of the Cullen family again. I've really been trying to start writing my book. :) And I'm quite pleased with what I've gotten so far. Oh well, here's a new chapter, in Edward's POV, for you all. :) We're going to guess-timate that the date of the party in January 25, kay? Review. And never forget that Sweeney Todd is always lurking in the shadows….
Three agonizingly slow weeks, twenty four days to be exact, passed much the same. I watched Bella more carefully, always waiting for the perfect moment to go after her. Waiting for her to make the mistake, the one that could possibly end everything I love. Nothing about her demeanor changed, although I did notice she had become quite…impartial to Mike. That alone comforted me; I would rather see her with one of the wolves than with Mike Newton. I shuddered at the thought.
She finally began to rise. I was sitting conveniently in a tree outside the Stanley house, again assuming my role as stalker-slash-protector. She sat up carefully, willing to not wake Jessica. Little did Bella know the favor she was doing; Jessica had been asleep for the entirety of an hour. She shuffled quietly to the shower; I turned my head momentarily to allow her privacy. I shifted in the branches so that I was completely out of her view when she stared out at the fresh-fallen snow. Her tears forced my head to turn away in shame.
Before long, Jessica accompanied her in the bathroom, and they chatted over their plans for the day. I didn't catch all the plans, as my cell phone began vibrating annoyingly in the back pocket of my dark jeans. I held it up, only to see Alice's face smiling on the tiny screen.
"Yes, Alice, what is it I can do for you today?" I waited for an answer, but the only sound coming from the other end was an over-excited, never-ending squeal. "Alice! What. Do. You. Want?" I asked gravely, my voice trickling with frustration.
"Gosh, you don't have to be so mean about it. I was just going to say…..MEET US AT THE AIRPORT!" The ear-shattering squeal started again. "We're coming home, we're coming home," she chanted. I could imagine her doing her 'victory dance' already.
"I'll see you there," I chuckled. "When does the plane land?"
"Two!"
"So soon?"
"Well…YEAH! You're not the only one that missed her, dumbass."
I heard a thump, followed by, "Watch the mouth."
"Sorry, Esme," Alice said sheepishly. "Oh, and I had a vision. And, unless you want to go inside and tell Bella and Jessica you're back, we can't exactly go home."
My eyebrows knit in confusion. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means Mike Newton and Tyler Crowley are planning to break into our house and throw a party tonight. I thought we'd leave the alarms off, you know, make it easy on the poor kids. And then when we show up a little later…" she trailed off, giggling.
"You're incredible," I sighed. I'll be in Seattle by two, but how is everyone getting home? The Volvo only holds five."
"Oh, I guess I didn't mention this…but…I bought a new car. Me and Jazz are gonna pick it up when we get there."
I was immediately intrigued. "And what have you given Rosalie to tinker with?" I joked.
"Oh, not much, just a canary yellow Porsche 911 Turbo. Nothing special," she replied, faking nonchalance.
"Well, well. At least I've taught you something over the years," I sighed proudly. I'd begged her for years to buy a nice, fast car, to no avail. Always something about needing all her money for her shoes.
"Yes, I know. Anyway, I'll see you at two. Bye!"
I snapped the phone shut and took in my surroundings. I heard the girls chatting with, not to mention lying to, Jessica's parents in the kitchen. Not five minutes had passed before they were up the stairs and into Jessica's room again. Bella stood in wonder as Jessica gathered her party necessities.
Vodka, check. Weed, check. Ex, check. Uhm…what else. Ooh! Condoms, check. I drowned out Jessica's thoughts immediately, as they had partially turned to Mike while she continued on her scavenger hunt.
The girls were off to a friend's house, from what I could see in Jessica's mind. Rather than sit through that visit, I went back to the house to be sure nothing could be entirely ruined during the party. Once I had secured our most precious items in the attic, I followed the girls to Lauren's house. I saw in the mind of Lauren Mallory that the three were on their way to Port Angeles, shopping for new clothes to wear to the party.
I also saw that Bella nearly set her hair on fire. Will she never learn? Lauren called her clumsy, and she visibly tensed. She didn't speak for the remainder of the trip, and eventually they gave up trying to talk to her.
Poor girl. She's never going to get over him, Lauren thought as she carried on her conversation with Jessica.
I really wish there was something we could do for her. He completely ruined one of my best friends, Jessica murmured to herself with remorse.
It was quite insulting to be referred to as 'him' constantly. From what I gathered, no one had spoken my name since I'd been listening. They didn't even use my name when Bella wasn't around. I would settle for Dumbledore as a nickname, but just him? It was a bit depressing.
Jessica finally caught Bella's attention when she parked the white Mercury in one of the many available spaces in the parking lot. They dragged themselves inside, and I decided to hunt while they shopped. Considering I hadn't been since a few days after New Year's, I thought it wise to dedicate the afternoon to the meal. Of course, I would have to be at the airport, so the small trip would be postponed a few hours.
I ran back to the house, making the trip in only ten minutes. Once I'd retrieved the car, I sped off to Seattle, arriving just short of two. As I had expected, the family was already waiting and ready to go.
"It's so nice to see you, Edward," Esme whispered, hugging me tightly.
"You, too," I returned as she loosened her grip. "It's nice to see all of you. Shall we go? There's still a few hours before any of them will be arriving." My eyebrows rose, anticipating an answer.
"Actually," Carlisle began, "Maybe we should hunt. I can tell you haven't been in a while, and Jasper's a little jumpy after the flight."
I looked over at my brother, and sure enough, he was trembling slightly. "That sounds excellent," I confirmed as I turned to exit the terminal.
Alice walked down the road to the nearby car dealership. We were all waiting for the new addition to our family of vehicles in the airport's garage by the Volvo. Only a few minutes later, a bright, small car screeched to a stop in front of us. Rosalie began to rattle off every detail of the automobile, while I only walked around it, evaluating the condition of the superior car.
"Interrogation over yet? Hunting?" Alice asked from the driver's seat, beaming at the delight of her new car.
"Sure. Let's go, everyone."
We hunted within the forests of Forks until six. Alice had a vision of the boys, and we thought it best to go watch out for them. Alice was smirking and skipping lithely all the way home, much to my irritation.
"Alice, why are you thinking about the Miley and Mandy Show on youtube?" I asked, wondering what it was she was hiding.
"Because that one video is just great," she replied with a giggle. I knew she couldn't keep the secret long.
"Fine," I grumbled, my impatience growing until Jasper was glaring daggers. "Sorry," I mouthed to him.
Watching her was one of the hardest parts. I knew I had to do it, but I greatly dreaded it. We were watching, from the surrounding forest, as Jessica's car pulled into the already-full driveway. Bella seemed almost catatonic as she stumbled onto the porch and into the house. I smiled at her lack of grace, despite myself. With so many people in the way, it was hard to watch her carefully. I sent Alice around to the side of the house to see what she could find out. Just before she returned, Bella shuffled out into the cold weather in nothing but a short-sleeved top, jeans, and open-toed shoes. I looked at my father, my face contorted in pain.
Go to her, he thought, his eyes stern. I nodded my head, and ran into the house when she fell to the ground, her back to me. I burst through the back door, receiving a few sideways stares. I completely ignored them and began my search for Tyler; I needed to say something to him. I spotted him standing by the stereo system, chatting with someone I, amazingly, didn't recognize.
"Tyler," I greeted, "May I speak to you for a moment?"
He looked absolutely astounded. What the hell is he doing here? If he does anything to hurt her, I swear… "Sure…" the astonishment shifted quickly to confusion.
We walked up to the study for brief privacy. I turned around to face him. "Thank you," I sighed. He almost spoke up, but I stopped him. "Just give me a second. I know I made a huge mistake. And I wanted to thank you for taking care of her. I believe you were the only one with the honest intention of making her forget me. And you had every right to. I am eternally grateful. And if she doesn't take me back, and I hope against hope she will, I should hope you'll continue to take care of her. And for God's sake, keep her away from Mike."
He laughed. "You really don't deserve her, Cullen. She's amazing. And you broke her heart. But I appreciate your…thankfulness, or whatever," he chuckled. "You want me to go get her?"
"No," I replied immediately. "Let me handle that one. Go enjoy the party before my parents get fed up. You know this is my house, don't you?"
His eyes widened. "Dude, I am so sorry. Mike said no one had lived here in years. I had no—," he began, but I cut him off again.
"No harm, no foul. Go." I shot him a friendly smile before leaving the room, in hopes of finding my next chatter buddy.
I walked down the stairs, receiving a longing stare from every female in the room. I rolled my eyes and continued to the kitchen, where I expected him to be.
"Mike," I said, just loud enough to make his heart sputter.
"Cullen?" he asked, his already wide eyes bulging. "What the fuck are you doing here?"
"Oh, not much. There's just one thing I needed to take care of."
I punched him.
Although I exerted almost no effort on my part, he looked up at me with a bloody, and very broken, nose.
"That's it, Cullen. You've had this coming to you for a long time."
The crowd of immature teenagers began chanting, "Fight, fight!"
I rolled my eyes; teenagers were just too…ignorant. I dodged Mike's first attempt at a punch quite easily, but before he had another chance, one of his friends jumped in between us.
"Mike, what the fuck are you doing? I was about to get laid." Bella's face flitted through his thoughts. He was recalling having to send her upstairs, to my room, to wait for him.
"GET THE HELL OUT OF MY HOUSE, NOW!" an alto voice shouted from the foyer.
An uncountable amount of wide eyes glanced at my mother for a few moments before collecting their thoughts and high-tailing themselves out.
"Go get her, sweetheart," Esme murmured with a pat on my shoulder after the crowd had cleared. "We're going to clean up this mess." She smiled hopefully and pushed me toward the stairs.
"Oh, my God," I sobbed when I caught sight of my fallen angel.
Her soft, fragile body lay pale on my couch, sweat and tears covering her sweet face. She hadn't fallen asleep yet, and I took my opportunity. She curled into me, hiding her face away in my chest. Protesting, I gently lifted her peaceful, now-sleeping face to a position where I could see her and she would still be comfortable.
"I love you so much," I whispered into her silky brown hair. I noticed how hot she felt, and I began to worry.
"Edward, I need to tell you something," Alice whispered from the doorway. I motioned with my head for her to sit with me. "Bella…may be in a little trouble, here. Don't expect her to remember a thing when she wakes up," she warned, rising suspicions in me.
"And why is that, Alice?"
"She took two rohypnol and a 10-milligram valium." My eyes bulged, but sadly, she continued. "And she washed them down with Crown Royal, if you didn't notice the bottle beside you. Surely she wouldn't intentionally drink that much with them," she sighed.
"How much did she drink, Alice?" I whisper yelled. I was quickly growing scared.
"About a third of the bottle. And that's a big bottle."
Before I could gather my thoughts long enough to do so myself, Alice called for Carlisle.
"I'll be right there. These kids really know how to make a mess," he sighed.
He's joined us, with his medical bag, in under two minutes. "What's she had, Alice? You were watching her when she took the pills," Carlisle reminded her, pulling his thermometer from the bag.
"A blue valium and two rohypnol," she repeated, her nervousness showing. Please don't be mad, Edward. I didn't know what you would've wanted me to do, she thought, her eyes wide with remorse.
"It's ok, Alice," I whispered. "It's not your fault."
"One hundred point three," Carlisle informed us, sighing.
My eyes bulged. "Is she going to be ok?"
"She'll be fine. Yesterday may be a bit of a blur, but she'll be up by noon. No worries. Now, get her into the guest room. It's the only one with a bed." Carlisle smiled and stood with Alice, leaving me with Bella to get her ready for bed. Knowing she always wore a tank top under her shirts, I pulled her top off for her. Alice, being the oh-so-helpful sister she is, changed Bella into a pair of navy blue shorts. I washed her face with a cold cloth, removing all sights of sweat or tears. Very carefully, I lifted the angel from my couch and walked down the stairs into the guest room.
"Sleep, my angel. I'll be here when you wake, and I pray that you'll still love me," I whispered into her ear.
Throughout the reminder of the night and the majority of the morning, Bella slept peacefully in my arms. It was noon when her peaceful sleep finally ended.
"Good morning," I whispered.
A/N: I had to make a reference to the Miley and Mandy show. That video parody was hilarious. But anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I have to study for a geometry quiz now. Gay. Review, or I shall make you do my geometry stuff! Insert evil laugh here.