I don't own Twilight . . . obviously.
I gaped at my abode in horror. My poor apartment. My poor, poor apartment. I was in a state of shock. Who would do this? How did they get in? What was I going to do?
I took a step inside in a dazed state of mind. I needed to see everything. I needed to see all the damage that had been done. I wanted to know who did it, and then I would hurt them. Weapons might be involved. They were not going to get away with it.
Mr. Mason gently took hold of my shoulder, "Bella, it could be unsafe. What if somebody is still inside?"
I looked up at him fearfully. What if somebody was still inside? They could hurt him. I couldn't let that happen. Nobody needs to get hurt because of me. "What should we do?" I asked panicked.
He pulled out his blackberry and said, "I'll phone the police. We'll let them take care of it."
I zoned out of Mr. Mason's phone call with the police. I didn't want to hear him replaying what we are seeing. It would just make everything seem more real. All my things were destroyed. I wasn't a very materialistic person, but the few items that I did have were very important to me. Like my books. I wonder how my books are. I had them all nicely organized on my bookshelf. They were all in alphabetical order. I had maybe about 100 books on my book shelf. I would be simply devastated if those were ruined.
I couldn't stand waiting there anymore, just outside the door. I needed to see the damage to the full extent. I rushed inside quickly, before Mr. Mason could stop me again. I took everything in as I went. The couches were slashed, my fridge was on the ground and open with a few items rolling around the floor and the TV screen was smashed also. My few DVD's were out of their cases and broken in fragments on the carpet. I rushed off to my bedroom.
My sheets were ripped and torn and my pillows had the stuffing cut out of them. I quickly turned my gaze towards where my book shelf would be. Sure enough, it was toppled over and pages were fluttering across the room from the breeze that the broken window was making.
I hadn't bothered to turn the lights on. I sat down next to my pile of destroyed books, picked up a handful of pages, and then cried. I felt completely and utterly pathetic. I heard movement from behind me, but I didn't even bother to turn around. I knew that it was Mr. Mason.
I felt so ashamed. He probably thought that I was an unlucky nutcase. I think that I was an unlucky nutcase. Again, I was thinking about those therapy sessions that Carlisle had suggested. I just didn't know what I should do anymore.
"Bella?" Mr. Mason asked tenderly.
I just sniffled as I tried to quiet my tears. I felt him come closer to me. He sat down next to me. "I promise that I'll get these fixed for you. Each and every last one. I'll get you new ones. Don't worry Bella." He put his arm comfortingly around my shoulder. I shoved my face into the crook of his neck and sobbed. I know, completely unattractive and dramatic, but I couldn't help myself. My books were so important to me, and now they were gone. I've been collecting these my whole life. They each held sentimental value.
Eventually, the police showed up. They let themselves in since the door was already open. Mr. Mason didn't bother shutting it behind him.
The police concluded that the intruder broke into my home through my bedroom window. There's a fire escape right outside, giving easy access. I could've kicked myself. I should've seen that coming. I mean, I even sometimes used that fire escape as a short cut to the parking lot in the summer time. It was also a nice place to sit and read. I should've know that somebody could easily break into my window through there.
I'm just a naive small town girl. Maybe Charlie was right. No. I needed to stay strong. I needed to prove to him. If I go running back now, I will never get my chance to break away from him. He'll baby me forever.
Jacob ended up showing up also, which annoyed me a great deal. Mr. Mason and Jacob were having some weird stare down again. I cleared my throat and Jacob shifted his attention towards me. "Are you alright Bells?" He asked.
I shrugged, "Do you guys know who did it?"
Jacob shrugged in return, "We're not sure yet. We'll figure it out though."
Mr. Mason then thought that it would be a good time to say something, much to my chagrin, "Bella thought she saw one of the bank robbers earlier."
Jacob turned to me with wide eyes. I glowered at Mr. Mason, who shrugged his shoulders. Traitor. "What?" Jacob demanded.
I worried my bottom lip and said, "Well, I saw a blond man with the same build as the robber James and he was giving me a weird look so I just freaked out and automatically thought that it was James. I could've been mistaken though."
Jacob was writing what I was saying down, making me nervous. "And where was this?" He asked.
"Umm, at the gas station just down the road." I said.
Jacob nodded again. "I'll be right back." He then walked over towards other police officers and began showing them the notes. Great.
I turned to Mr. Mason, "Thank you for that."
"What?" He asked, looking surprised, "It was a vital piece of information. It was probably James that broke into your apartment."
I sucked in a panicked breath, "Do you really think so?"
Mr. Mason softened his expression, "Don't worry Bella. The police will find him."
"Really?" I asked dubiously, "They haven't really been doing that great of a job as is."
"Thanks." I heard Jacob mumble. Shit.
I turned around blushing slightly. Well, he deserved to know how I really feel about the work they've done here, which is absolutely nothing. I could hear Mr. Mason snickering behind me.
I turned and glared at him. He shrugged innocently. "I'll see you later Bella. Do you have a place to stay? You could always sleep over at my house." He asked a little too innocently.
Mr. Mason stopped laughing immediately. I felt uncomfortable. "Um, I've got some friends that I could stay with. Don't worry."
Jacob eyed Mr. Mason distastefully, "Well, if you need anything, I'm only a phone call away. I'll keep you updated on this situation. I think we've got all the evidence we need."
"Thank you Jacob."
He leaned in for a hug before he turned and left. I was as rigid as a board. I hadn't forgiven him yet. He still had some work to do.
Within an hour, all the police had cleared out of my apartment, causing it to look even more pathetic than before. The carpets were laced with dirt and mud and the police took no discretion in tossing my things around "searching for evidence" as they put it when I yelled at them.
Sam came by a few moments later and we chatted for a bit. Mr. Mason and Sam still had this weird aversion towards each other.
After Sam left, I sat down against the wall for a breather. Mr. Mason sat down next to me. "Do you really have friends that you could stay with?" He asked me.
I laughed without humour and shook my head no. Tears sprang to my eyes. Tears of anger and frustration.
Mr. Mason smiled, "How did I know you were lying?"
I just shrugged and the tears spilled over onto my cheeks. He pulled me in for a hug, "Don't worry Bella. You can stay with me."
I pulled away immediately, "No! I couldn't impose on you like that! And it's completely unprofessional!"
Mr. Mason laughed, "You've seen my house. It gets lonely there all by myself. Besides, I was going to ask you to move in eventually."
Butterflies came to my stomach and I looked at him confused. Seeing my expression he clarified, "For work. You are my personal assistant. I would eventually need you with me all the time. The year's just starting so things aren't that hectic yet."
"Oh." Duh! I felt so stupid. Not to mention embarrassed. Obviously he wasn't hinting at some sort of relationship. "Well, thank you Mr. Mason. I don't know what to say."
"How come you always call me by my last name?" He asked.
I looked at him, slightly taken aback, "Uh, well, no offense, but Henry doesn't really suit you. It doesn't seem like the right name for you."
Mr. Mason blushed, "Erm, I got a name change?" He asked almost as if it were a question.
"Oh. May I ask why?" I was curious.
Mr. Mason just shrugged nervously, "Well, it was Anthony before."
"Anthony?" It still didn't seem right.
"Yes."
"What's wrong with Anthony?" I asked.
"I don't know. You may call me Anthony if you'd like." He said with pleading eyes.
I shrugged, "I guess I could." Anthony was a little bit better, but there was still something off about it. Mr. Mason was a strange guy. I couldn't help but feel that he was lying about his name.
Anthony, I guess was his name now, stood up and offered a hand to me, "My lady." He said with a fake accent.
"Thank you kind sir." I replied in the same manner.
We both smiled as Mr. Ma – Anthony, led me out of my apartment and towards his car.
We were back at his wonderful house again. Mr. Mason parked in the garage. It was a six car garage and each garage had a car in it. They were all expensive sports cars. Mr. Mason must've been extremely wealthy. Again, as shallow as this sounds, I was impressed that his business went so well that he could actually afford all this stuff.
He led me into the house, turning on lights as he went. He led me up the beautifully carved marble staircase. "These are beautiful stairs Anthony." I said. Then I felt like an idiot. Stairs? I was complimenting him on his stairs?
Anthony beamed though, "Thank you Bella. I'm glad you noticed them. They're my favourite part of the whole house and no one really pays much attention to them. I'm glad you did though." That boosted up my pride a bit.
He led me down a beautiful hallway. One that I didn't see the day before since we didn't come upstairs. He led me down the hall and opened up a large carved wooden door. The door had hand carved flowers all along the edges. It was a work of art.
The room was even more spectacular. It was like a queen's room. There was a large beautiful white iron canopy bed with a rose theme to it. The windows were so high; they went from the floor to the ceiling, and they opened up into a beautiful balcony. My windows over looked the back of the property where there was a large rose garden and a lake farther back, towards the forested area. There was also a gazebo back there. It was simply wonderful.
I turned towards Anthony, "Oh my goodness," I began breathless, "This is so beautiful, but it's too much. I'm afraid I'll ruin it."
Anthony laughed, "You couldn't ruin it. I'm not giving you another room. This one is perfect for you."
He walked towards a door and he opened it. It led into a bathroom with a carved marble floor and bathtub. The bathtub was connected to the floor. It wasn't carved and then glued on top, but it was literally carved out of the floor. The counters were black granite and everything was in pristine condition. "This is the bathroom. I'll bring you a change of clothes for you to sleep in tonight, and then tomorrow we could go shopping."
"Shopping?" I squeaked out.
"Yes. I would like to buy you things for your bedroom if need be and go buy you some clothes." Anthony suggested.
"Um, maybe we could just go back to my apartment and see if there are any clothes that I could salvage." I suggested instead.
Mr. Mason shook his head, "There is not. We are going to buy you some things whether you like it or not. You can't dictate what I can spend my money on." He teased.
I pouted and then blushed embarrassed, "I'm sorry but I really can't afford it."
Mr. Mason paused, "Bella, I'm buying it for you, no if's ands or buts. Just let me do this one thing for you."
I sighed but then nodded my head timidly. "Great!" He beamed at me. God, he was happy. "I'll go start on dinner! You could relax here for a bit if you would like, or you could come down with me. Just remember that this is your home now, so feel free to go wherever you would like. We could even watch a movie in the basement if you want! I've got a popcorn machine. Or we could go for a swim. Wait, you don't have a bathing suit. That's going to be added to the list of things I need to buy you. What would you like for dinner I have . . ."
"Um, sorry to interrupt Anthony, but you're talking awfully fast. Why don't we just go down and start dinner." I said.
Anthony blushed, "Sorry. I'm not used to taking care of people, or having guests so I'm a bit excited.
I smiled at him, "No worries. Now let's go see about dinner."
There you have it! Chapter 12! Isn't Henry/Anthony/ Ed so cute? And doesn't his house sound amazing?
I just wanted to get this chapter out there because pretty soon I'll be busy with school and tests. I actually should be studying right now for my French test, but I figured that this was funner and more important. And I know that 'funner' is not a word.
Anyways, please review. I spend the time to write for you guys so I would appreciate the feed-back. Thanks for everyone who reviews already! They make me so happy and excited to read them. Keep an eye out for the next chapter! Thanks!
~greeneyes-99 (Nat)
