Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns all.
A/N: So this is WAY later than I planned. But anyways, Merry Christmas Eve, peoples! You all are great! Reviews from you are absolutely lovely, and I appreciate them all.
This chapter has lots of emotions in it! Anyhow, I'll let you get to it!
Chp. 12
Time for Help
EPOV
I watched helplessly with a burning hatred as my wife sauntered in the nearly empty classroom, her hand in another man's. I nearly growled, desiring nothing more than to tear into the vulnerable flesh of the young human teenager before me.
And then an emotion hit me with such force, I nearly cried out. Because of my lack of control, I was losing her. My Bella was slipping right through my fingers, and I was just allowing it to happen. My mood changed drastically, one of unadulterated fury to an unimaginable grief.
After spending my entire class period staring shamelessly at the back of her beautiful, endless mahogany locks, my emotions were drastically out of control. They ranged widely from rage, to shame, to loss, to self-pity, to remorse, and then the absolute worst; desolation.
Abashed, I kept my head faced downwards as I approached my last period of the day. As I crossed the threshold, my eyes darted up instinctually to meet Bella's. She gazed back at me, no sign of emotion gracing her lovely features.
Gulping, rather loudly, I must admit, I stood gaping at her for a moment, clueless as to what I was supposed to do.
Would she move if I were to sit beside her? If I chose not to, would she see it as an end to things? As me distancing myself from her? Would she not speak to me the entire lesson?
Deciding to take a slim chance, I hesitantly crossed the distance between us, anticipating the moment when she'd speak out, exclaiming for me to stay far away from her…that she saw me as an appalling traitor of the love we shared. That she despised me for not being strong for her, for giving in so easily.
However, the harsh words never escaped her lips.
When I was seated, neither of us spoke, so I tapped my fingers gently on the wooden desk to break the tense silence. Bella, never ceasing to astound me, snatched my hand away, twiddling with my fingers, even circling my wedding ring with her fingernail. I immediately became rigid, my voice escaping me as my eyes fled to hers, bewildered.
She gazed upwards at me with beautiful, massive topaz eyes, reflecting a purity that I knew to be false. Then, being sure my eyes still held her own; she brought my palm to her mouth, placing her divine lips upon it.
The remainder of our day was spent between bashful glimpses and hesitant brushes of hands, neither of us knowing where exactly we stood. When class was over, she grasped my hand firmly within her own, our fingers naturally threading together as we walked unhurriedly towards the parking lot.
We waited noiselessly beside our vehicle for our missing passengers, and with an abruptness I didn't quite comprehend, Bella stretched onto her tip toes, her lips innocently touching my own.
However, just tasting her sweetness wasn't enough, I needed to have more. I twisted the both of us around, my hands fixed upon her waist, my mouth devouring hers with fever.
I desired her, more than anything else in this entire world, and this was me showing her. Today turned out to be a jagged bump in our relationship, but at the end of the day this glorious woman was mine, and mine only. I was going to move on from whatever this obsession was. It ended right here, right this very moment. Bella was first and foremost, the only woman my focus would be upon.
My lips trailed down her delicious skin and onto the long expanse of her neck, inhaling her scent. The faintest of whimpers escaped her lips, her small hand fisting mightily into the fine hair at the nape of my neck.
An abrupt clearing of a throat broke us apart, and I rested my forehead against hers, my breathing now raspy and ragged against her lips.
"You know, you two weren't that big on PDA at our last school. Why torture us now?" A sharp smack rang out after Jacob's gruff voice. "Ow, honey, what was that for?"
We both turned our heads gradually towards our daughter and irritating son-in-law. "Because," Renesmee replied. "I like seeing them together."
His nose scrunched up. "You enjoy seeing your parents ravish one another like animals against your car?" he nearly gagged.
She rolled her eyes, as if his answer wasn't exactly what she had just implied. "No, that's not what I meant. It's just…you know how things have been lately. It's nice to see them happy again."
A pang of remorse tore at my heart as she spoke those words. My head suddenly hung in shame, until Bella whispered threateningly into my ear, too soft for anyone but me to hear. "Don't you dare feel guilty. I've told you time after time it wasn't your fault."
Inhaling a deep breath, I snapped my head back up. Jacob and Renesmee didn't seem to take notice of my reaction, as they were having a staring contest of sorts.
Renesmee finally broke his forceful gaze, her eyes gently staring into my own. "I'm glad things are better now, Daddy," she said softly as she took a step in my direction, my little girl showing through her grown woman exterior. "I've really missed you and Mom."
"I'm so-"
"I swear to god, Edward, if you apologize one more time I am withholding our nightly activities for five months straight," Bella chimed in, her voice stern. "And I won't give in, no matter how much effort you put into seducing me this time around."
I nearly apologized for apologizing, but quickly caught myself in the act and chose to say something safer. "Yes, dear."
Jacob pretended to crack a whip while imitating the sound it made and I shot a glare in his direction. "I wouldn't be talking, mutt. My little girl's had you wrapped quite snugly around her finger since she was less than twenty minutes old."
"Touché," he muttered.
The girls shook their heads at us, beginning to finally step into the car. Just as I opened the driver's door, my eyes automatically glimpsed over the top of the car, meeting a depth-filled brown five cars away.
There, Alison leaned against her car, her eyes intensely penetrating through my own. Somehow, although she was several feet away, I was instantly aware of that fact that she heard our entire conversation.
She knew who Renesmee was.
- -
During the course of the ride home, I was on edge, my plan to go hunting quickly forgotten.
My mind was absorbed in my newfound information. Alison knew about me and Bella having a daughter…she could expose us. She was now a threat. Well, an even more dangerous one than she was before.
My thoughts were filled with one thought, and one thought only; something had to be done about Alison Gray.
- -
BPOV
On our way back to the house, I sensed that something was off about Edward from his stiff posture and guarded expression. Just moments ago, in the parking lot, he had been kissing me, and joking around with Jacob.
So what changed within the three seconds it took for him to step into the car?
"What's wrong, honey?" I asked when we were within the safe confines of our bedroom.
He slumped down into the powder blue suede couch that decorated our room, pushing his head into his hands. When the only answer I got was the tugging of his hair, I cautiously sat beside him, placing what I intended to be a comforting hand on his back, rubbing in a soothing motion.
"You can tell me," I urged, trying to pry whatever was bothering him out.
The suddenness of his actions startled me. Before I could comprehend what had occurred, he was already on the other side of the room, walking towards the door. "It's nothing. I'll be downstairs."
I could have cried at the response he provided.
- -
Sometime around seven in the evening I exited my room, only after finishing a rather long novel Carlisle purchased for me a few days prior.
I could sense that Edward was in the music room, so I steered clear of that area, carefully making my way into the living room. Almost immediately I spotted Jasper studiously watching Emmett play a video game, so I gracefully hopped over the back of the sofa and onto the cushion next to him. He threw a friendly smile in my direction so in return I threw my legs over his lap and settled myself into a laying position.
There was nothing intimate or romantic about it, just simply stretching my legs out. He didn't really seem to notice all that much, his eyes still glued to whatever Emmett was doing.
"So what's all this about?" I wondered, gesturing towards the strange controller in Emmett's hand.
"It's a Wii remote," Emmett answered, as if it were the most obvious thing in the entire universe.
"Am I supposed to know what that means?"
Emmett just rolled his eyes, instead ignoring me and focusing back to what he was doing. I breathed out a sigh of annoyance just as Alice sashayed into the room, her movements graceful like a ballerina. She eyed Jasper and I's position for a moment, her expression one of contemplation, like she was trying to figure out where she was going to sit because we took up the entire couch.
Instead of simply sitting in the arm chair or even the floor, she dropped her tiny body onto my stomach, sitting upright with a grin. "Thank you, Alice," I mumbled sarcastically.
She only nodded, her hand flitting around to find Jasper's, linking their fingers together.
"Hey, Em, I need for you-" Rosalie's voice died in her throat as she stepped into the living area, taking in Alice, Jasper, and I's strange seating arrangement. She shook her head, a smirk twitching on her lips. "I'm not even going to comment on that. But anyways, Em, I need you help me work on the BMW."
"Ask Edward," he replied distractedly.
She stomped her foot impatiently. "Edward would only screw it up. He doesn't work on cars."
Emmett inhaled an impatient breath, pausing his game to turn around and face her. "Then ask Jacob. He's just as skilled as you are when it comes to that sort of thing," he recommended.
"You have got to be kidding me. I'm not going to ask the pup to help me with anything! He'd purposefully screw up my baby just to piss me off."
Emmett whined uncharacteristically. "Baby, please, can't you just ask Jacob? I've helped you every single day for the past week. Can't I have a one day break?"
She stared him down for a moment longer before flipping her golden hair around, sauntering back into the garage. "Fine."
- -
"Edward, please talk to me," I begged, my voice low so not to alert the others of our conversation.
Currently, he was seated on his piano bench, where he had been, unmoving, for the past six hours. The only thing he did manage to do was play, and it was like nothing I'd ever heard come from his masterful fingers. It was…horrid. The tune was out of beat and made no sense coming from his musically talented mind.
Something was terribly wrong.
He shot a fleeting glance in my direction before snapping his head downward again. "Bella, I'm fine." He couldn't even lie correctly! Edward had always been very excellent at the art of deception, but as of right now, he was about as transparent as air.
"Fine, if you don't want to tell me, whatever," I ground out. "But don't come looking for me when you decide I'm good enough to help you."
Planning on storming out of the room, I spun around, but a slender, pale hand grasped my forearm. "Bella, I'm sorry, don't, please," he apologized with haste.
Instead of giving into him, or starting a fight, I simply shrugged his hand off of me, walking determinedly out the door.
- -
By the time the morning rolled around, I desperately longed to be near to my husband once again. Stomping out of the room was already a decision I had come to regret. It didn't fix anything; all it did was cause more heartache, not to mention driving an even further wedge between us.
When Alice, oblivious to our issues, excitedly called out that it was time to leave for school, we all rushed down the steps.
Edward and I avoided one another's eyes with fierce willpower. Renesmee eyed the obvious distance between us warily. She subtly touched my hand as we all trailed out the door, sending me a question from her mind.
What happened?
"Hell if I know," I grumbled without looking at her.
Is there anything I can do?
"No," I muttered dismissively.
Edward drove Renesmee, Jacob, and I to our hell of a high school, the journey leaving me edgy and uncomfortable afterwards.
I was almost certain that Jacob became alert that something was off, for the way he kept peeking at me with uneasiness flooding his expression during our car ride. Edward opened my door for me, grabbing my hand in his when we arrived, but it felt wrong, dirty even. I didn't want to hold his hand…for once in the entire time I've known him.
So instead of enduring it, I snatched my hand away from his, sauntering past his stunned form. "I can walk myself to class without your help, thank you," I called over my shoulder, noting the suffering captured within his bright golden-brown eyes.
Sure, it was probably a stupid move, and if I was ever going to get him away from Alison, this wasn't the way to go about things. But damn it, my heart was hurting too, and I couldn't just remain at his side and allow for him to hide things from me.
So as I left him behind, my mind was unfalteringly made up. Tonight would be the night I would bring out the big guns.
Tonight I was speaking to Carlisle.
Gulp. Bringing out the big guns! I wonder what Carlisle will say….oh, that's right, I already know. ;) Reviews are much needed.
