Chapter 12 -Confrontation Part III

-Angela's Point Of View-

It was eerily quiet, as everyone casually stared at the vacant door, that moments before Bella walked out of. I knew that eventually my best friend was going to blow a gasket, but, I never expected her to get hurt in the process. Glancing around, I took notice of Paul. He was rubbing the back of his neck, and his eyes mimicked someone in severe pain. He shifted a few times, and then finally settled with his head resting on the cushion that Bella had been seated on.

"Has she always been like this?" Jared asked.

Snapping my eyes to him I answered, "Like what?"

"This.." He stumbled for a few seconds before finishing, "Bitchy."

"You guys honestly have no idea, do you?" I asked.

He cleared his throat and sat up a little straighter. "What? I get it. We were mean. Hell, I think we all get it. We did stupid shit. We were kids. It's over... done with." He dragged his hand through his hair and then locked his eyes on me. "There's no reason why she has to be like this. It's not like she lost anything... "

"She lost two freaken years." I blurted, as I cut him off and pointed my finger at him.

"What are you talking about?" Jake asked, as he shifted to look at me.

"She moved away because of you!" I spit out. "All of you! This is because of you!"

"What do you mean?" Jake questioned.

"She moved because of the way that you all treated her!" I cried. "She couldn't handle the way she was being treated! She didn't see Charlie or Renee for two years! I lost my best friend! The first time that I saw her was when she stepped off of that plane." Glancing around as I swiped my eyes, I inhaled sharply. " You guys have no idea what she went through. Do you have a conscience at all?" I finished as I buried my head in my hands.

"You're saying, that she moved away because we picked on her a little? Seriously?" Sam asked.

"A little?" I asked, as I lifted my head to stare at Sam. "A little." I said again quietly in disbelief.

Glancing around the room, I realized that they all sat in confusion, and it dawned on me that they didn't understand the magnitude of what they put her through. They really had no idea.

"I shouldn't be telling you anything..." I started, as Sam raised his hand to stop me. "But, it light of the situation, I realize that you all, obviously, don't realize what you put her through."

"Do you know, that Bella isn't really clumsy? At all?" I asked as I twisted the hem of my t-shirt in my fingers. "She had to endure lecture after humiliating lecture, about how she had to pay more attention; be more careful." Lifting my eyes again, I glanced at each of them. "She never fell, or tripped, unless someone was pushing her."

Most of them dropped their eyes to the floor in recognition in what I had said.

"On the rare occasion that she did try to fight back, she was lectured on how un-ladylike it was. She was told she needed to control her temper."

The room was silent as they all absorbed the small amount of information that I was willing to give them to make them understand, at least a little.

"Embry?" I asked, as I shifted my gaze to him.

"Yea?" He whispered, almost silently, as he looked up at me.

"Do you know how many times she went hungry?" I asked, as I shook my head and released him from my penetrating gaze. "Her mother would tell her that she wouldn't be so hungry if she actually ate her lunch at school." Lifting my eyes back to him I asked, "Do you know why she didn't eat her lunch?"

His eyes dropped back to his lap, but he didn't answer. The guilt on his face was answer enough.

"Thought so."

I let him off the hook as I addressed everyone in the room, as a whole. "I sat with her on so many nights. So many nights, while she cried herself to sleep. Hell!," I yelled, "She even protected you from her parents! I was the one that saw what it did to her. I knew, but I didn't do anything! She never thought she was good enough for anyone."

"It isn't like that." Quil said in defense.

I stared at him briefly, at war with my own mind. I didn't want to tell them too much, but I had to make them understand.

"She envied you all." I whispered. As a tear dropped from the corner of my eye, I hurriedly swiped it away. "All she wanted was to be accepted. You never did. None of you. You all were so relentless in your quest to destroy her. Why? Why her?" I asked."What did she do, that warranted any of that?"

I sat up and cleared my throat, as it suddenly began to feel as if it was closing up on me.

"I hope that you all realize, that you created that bitch, as you so eloquently called her. You did that"

"We fucked up." Jake whispered, as he rubbed his forehead roughly.

"Yea." I answered. "You did."

"Hell, we're still being asses towards her." Sam said, as he sat forward. He placed his elbows on his knees and dropped his head into his hands. "We're still treating her like shit."

"I love that girl." I said, breaking the momentary silence that swept the room."With every fiber of my being, I love her. She's my best friend. She always has been, and she always will be. I'm telling you, right now, that if you don't stop, you'll never be able to see what kind of person she really is."

"What's she like?" A small voice said from the other side of the room. His head was still back against the cushion. His eyes were closed.

"What?" I asked, momentarily confused.

He lifted his head slowly and opened his eyes. "What's she really like?" Paul asked again.

"You all would know if you didn't treat her like shit." A humorless chuckle left my lips as I shook my head from side to side. "She left because of all the shit you all put her through. When she came back, you all hounded her to hang out with you. You didn't want shit to do with Izzy, but you all wanted Bella. I can, completely, see why that would make her jump up and down at the opportunity to be close to you."

"Please." Paul asked again in a very quiet, very un-Paul like voice.

"Do you really want to know what she's like?" I asked.

They entire room nodded, but remained quiet.

"She's loyal." I said, after a brief debate in my own mind, on how much I was willing to give them. "She'd bend over backwards for anyone that needed anything. She loves unconditionally." I said, smiling slightly as I began picking at the hem of my shirt again. "Even if you piss her off, she'll eventually get over it, and it'll be like whatever initially happened, never did. She's a straight A student. She's never had anything less than an A. She never hurt anyone... she never used to hurt anyone." I amended with a chuckle. "She's completely selfless. I can go to her with any issue I have, and she'd never judge me. She never has. Not once."

Laying my head back, I closed my eyes briefly. "I wish though, that you would all just... just, open up your eyes."

"I think we all just got hit with a strong dose of reality, Angela." Jared said, from his spot on the floor.

"Good."

"She's still going to try and prank us though." He continued.

"Yes." I said smiling. "Yes she is."

"Is there any way that you can, I don't know, stop her?" Jared continued. "Just so we can get a chance to actually talk to her?"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"Is this what this whole thing's about?" Kenda snarled, from beside me.

"What?" Sam asked.

"You're trying to get on our good side. You just want information to use against Bella. That's what this is, isn't it?"

"No. That's not what we were trying to do." Sam finished.

"Then why in the hell does it matter if she does decide to prank you?" Kenda said. She was becoming more and more angry as the minutes ticked by. "If anything, you guys deserve a whole hell of a lot more than what she's dishing out. But Jared?" She said, as she pointed in his direction.

"Yea?"

"I feel so bad for you." She smirked.

"Why?" He asked hysterically. "What's she going to do?"

Kenda started laughing loudly. "You think..." She said, between breaths, " You think I'd actually do that to her? You are sadly fuck that I'm on her side though, and that I'm not on the receiving end."

A throat clearing ended the laughter. "Kenda, can I talk to you please?" Paul said, as he moved to stand up.

"Why?"

"Please?" He said, motioning to the door. " I just need to clear my head. It'll only take a few minutes."

Kenda stared him down for a few minutes, and then turned to me. "If I'm not back in fifteen minutes, call the coroner." She joked, and I laughed at her bad humor.

She stood swiftly and followed Paul out of the back door.

o0o0o- Kenda's Point Of View -o0o0o

They all were trying my patience. I wanted to laugh when Bella hit Paul, but then I saw the look on her face. In her eyes.

My glee turned to rage, when I realized that as Bella was cradling her hand in obvious pain, Paul was sitting there, un-phased.

When Angela started talking about Bella, I saw the remorse that each of them had. It was written in all of their eyes, as they tried to absorb, at least some of the information that was being supplied , even if they were undeserving in the gift that was being given. It seemed as if they were finally realizing some of the damage that they undoubtedly caused. They were finally beginning to understand that they were the fuel that was poured over her two years ago, and their treatment of her, since her return, was the match that lit the flame.

I'm proud of Bella. She may be hell bent on getting them all back in one way or another, but she was remarkably strong. She is the the strongest person I've ever known.

I saw the fear in Jared's eyes, as Angela poured her heart out onto the carpet for everyone to see. I was slightly amused at the entire situation. It was comical to know that little ole Bella, struck solid fear into these "big bad wolves". But the humor left the building when Jared started drilling us about the pranks.

I knew, in the back of my mind, that there was an ulterior motive. At least there was for Jared.

"Kenda, can I talk to you please?" Paul said, as he stood from his position on the floor.

"Why?" I asked, only slightly curious as to what he wanted to talk to me about.

"Please?" He said, as he nudged his head in the direction of the door. " I just need to clear my head. It'll only take a few minutes."

I sat staring at him for a few minutes, debating on whether or not it would be worth speaking to him. We hadn't talked in a quite a while, and the last time we did, it didn't end well.

"If I'm not back in fifteen minutes call the coroner." I said to Angela as I stood and followed him out the door, and into the backyard.

Walking over to the picnic table, I quietly sat, and waited for him to say what it was he needed to say. This wasn't my show. I wasn't breaking first.

He was rubbing the back of his neck, furiously. So hard in fact, that I was worried he was going to rub it raw. Worry and regret? was etched into the lines of his face. I knew then, that whatever it was he had to speak to me about, was going to be difficult for him.

"Listen..." He started, but stopped short from finishing.

"Yea?"

"Where the hell do I begin?" He asked, more to himself.

"Look, Paul. Just spit it out. You wanted to talk. Here I am."

I tried to act indifferent. Truly, I did. But for someone unknown reason, I only felt... bad. At least for him.

"I'm sorry." He blurted out as he came to sit next to me at the table.

"What?" I was a little confused on why he was apologizing.

"You..." I started, as I tried, unsuccessful, to hide my grin. "You just apologized."

"Yea. I guess I did." He said, smirking. "Kenda, I was an ass." He turned his head up to gaze at the dark cloudy sky. "I still am an ass."

"You can say that again."

He laughed. Really laughed, and then looked down at his hands. His expression returned to one of sadness, and he continued where he left off. "I had no right to do what I did." He whispered. "I took advantage of you. And then made it worse by rubbing it into your face." He turned to look at me, and I saw the sincerity in his eyes. "I got scared."

"Paul..."

"No, no let me finish." He cut me off, as he rubbed his temple. "I know that's not a good excuse. I started feeling things for you. Thing's that I told myself that I shouldn't be feeling. If I'm being completely honest with myself, you scared the living shit out of me."

"Me?" I asked, a little dumbfounded as to where this was going.

"Yea." He said, looking back up into the night. "I was a pussy. Here I was, with this incredible girl, but I didn't want to have anyone that close to me. I knew that you had strong feelings for me. I knew, and the only thing that I could think to do, was to make you hate me. I needed you to hate me!"

He stood up and started pacing back and forth in front of me.

"You deserved so much better, Kenda. I pushed you away, because I knew that you could do better."

"Paul...stop." I said, as I reached out to grab him. The pacing was starting to give me a migraine. "You don't have to say anything else, Paul. I get it."

The pressure that had been resting on my chest for a long time started to release. I had a choice here. I could go on, the way I have been. Or I can forgive. Forgiveness could be freeing. Liberating. Harboring this... hatred, could eventually drown me. Could suck me under until there was nothing left.

My mother told me once that anyone could hold a grudge, but it takes a person with character to forgive. When you forgive, you release yourself from a painful burden. Forgiveness doesn't mean what happened was okay, and it doesn't mean you'll forget. It just means you have made peace with the pain, and that you are ready to let it go.

And I was.

"You're forgiven."

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. A genuine smile, lifting the corners of his lips. "Now that I have all that shit off of my chest..." He said, chuckling.

I laughed in response and patted the seat next to me. He returned and ungracefully plopped back down.

We sat silently for a few minutes and then he nudged me lightly with his shoulder.

"You know Embry has a thing for you, right?" He asked smirking.

"Huh?"

"Look." He said, nodding towards the house. "There are some things that I can't tell you. Talk to Embry. He'll tell you."

"Cryptic much?"

"There's some shit about this whole wolf thing that still needs to be discussed. It's not my place." He sighed, and then turned to look at me. "Do you think Bella will be calmed down enough when she gets back, to just... hear us out?"

"What is it about Bella?"

"What do you mean?" He asked, turning his head quickly away from my penetrating gaze.

"What do you mean, what do I mean?" I asked as I stood up moved directly in front of him. "I've seen the way that you look at her. I saw the look you had in your eyes when Seth left with her. Come on!" I said, as I reached out and shoved his shoulder. "Spill! There's gotta be something going on in that thick fucking scull of yours." I finished, as I poked him in the head with my pointer finger.

It felt... odd, to have a seemingly normal conversation with him.

"Well...ugh...I sort of... ugh...well..."

"You like her." I finished for him.

"Is it that obvious?" He asked, as he raked a hand through his hair.

"No...well, yea right now it is." I said, grinning. "You do know how to get under her skin, though."

"How do I apologize to her, Kenda? How do I make this right?" He huffed, and then climbed back down off of the table. "I don't even know where to start."

"I can't tell you that, Paul. That's something you're going to have to figure out on your own." I said quietly. "Besides," I said as I shoved him lightly with my shoulder, "if I tell you how to apologize to her, then it really wouldn't be you doing it. Seth seemed to get through to her."

He started growling, and I laughed. "Oh, shut the hell up. Seth probably earned points in her book for going against you all and apologizing."

"It pisses me off that he's so close to her now, though."

"You don't really have a right to be pissed off about that, Paul. You haven't done anything to even try to become her friend. Hell, you two can't even be in the same room for more than a couple of minutes without getting into some sort of disagreement. Don't get me wrong though," I said, smirking. "It's amusing."

"Yea, yea, yea." He said, shaking his head. "To be completely honest with you, that's one of the reasons why I like her so much. She doesn't put up with my shit. She fights back."

"There's only so much fighting you can do there buddy, before you piss her off to the point of no return. Hell, look at what happened tonight. She punched you. Punched! She's never hit anyone before."

"I should maybe apologize for that too, huh?" He said laughing.

"You think?"

He laughed and turned his body to the door. "We should maybe get back inside. Wouldn't want to get a surprise visit from the coroner. It's been more than fifteen minutes."

I stopped him from walking with my hand on his arm. "I hope that you know, that even though we've had this conversation, I don't intend on backing out on what Bella has planned." I said seriously. "And, I'm hoping that this wasn't an ill attempt to gain my favors. I'll stand beside Bella regardless of anything."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." He said smirking. "I'm really looking forward to what you have planned.

"You know... you really are an ass." I said, laughing.

"Who would I be, if I wasn't."

"You're right. I don't think anyone would be able to tolerate you if you dropped the attitude and were actually nice once in a while." I said, as I rolled my eyes.

He pulled me into a tight hug. "Thanks Kenda. Really." He whispered by my ear.

"You're welcome, Paul." I said as I pulled away. "But, I'm letting you know right now, that if you hurt her, I'll hurt you. And, it'll be one hundred times worse then any prank that she ever pulled."

"Gotcha." He winked.

We walked back into the house quietly, and took up our previous positions.

"Are you alright?" A small voice asked from his position on the floor in front of me.

"Hmm?" I asked, looking down at him. "Yea, I'm Em."

He started laughing quietly.

"What?"

"You called me, Em."

"Oh. Well shit. Sorry."

"No, no, no. It's okay. I like it." He said, smiling up at me.

A nudge in my side had me turning my head away from the deep eyes that I was drowning in.

"Bella called." Angela said. "She said that she had to stop off at the sporting goods store, but she should be back at any time."

"Okay." I said as I gathered everyone's attention in the room. "I'm warning everyone. When she comes in, you lay the hell off of her. You guys may be wolves or whatever, and I've seen that a fist doesn't do much damage to you, but there is an aluminum baseball bat in Bella's room. I won't hesitate getting it and beating the shit out of anyone that says anything!"

"No problem." A few of the overgrown boys replied.

"No problem what?" Bella said, as she strolled through the front door.

"Nothing." Everyone jumped to say.

"Sure..." Bella replied, giving everyone but Angela and I, dirty looks.

She walked over to the spot she was in before she left, and threw herself down with a thud. You would think that with the way that she punched him, and the way that they talked to each other, she would sit as far away from him as possible.

"How's your hand?" Paul whispered, when she got herself situated.

"Broken." She mumbled. "I have to keep the cast on for six weeks, and then we'll see what happens after that."

"Sorry about that."

"Okay?" Bella asked, a bit unsure.

She eyed him for a few minutes, and then turned her attention back to the group.

"I got you all a gift." She said, jumping up and down in excitement. "I was pretty bitchy about everything and I wanted to get you something that would show how much I appreciated knowing about the wolf secret." She waved Seth over, and he handed her a bag. "Now, it's nothing big. But I wanted to show everyone that I do care."

She smirked as she opened the bag, and started passing out her "gifts."

As soon as I saw what it was, I started rolling in laughter. Leave it to Bella.

"What the fuck is this?" Jared yelled, as he tossed the offending gift to the ground.

"It's a puppy shock collar. What the fuck does it look like?" Bella said, clearly amused. "It's used to train dogs. Look..." She said as she snatched the one she handed Paul, back. "I even had tags put on them for you. It has your address and everything, so if you get lost..."

Angela and I had clearly lost it, as we both hunched over and laughed. Paul and Seth were just about as bad as us. At least Paul got the fucking joke.

"Gosh, you guys don't appreciate anything." Bella said, as she threw herself back into the couch.

I wasn't sure how she was able to keep a straight face.

"This isn't funny." Embry said, as he tossed the collar into my lap.

"Yes it is." I said, as I wiped the tears from my eyes. "At least she isn't setting up vet appointments for all of you to get rabies shots."

The room got eerily silent, and Bella started laughing. Hard.

"I never thought of that, Kenda. Genius. Maybe first thing Monday..."

"NO" The room chorused, which started another fit of laughter with the girls that were present. Minus Leah.

"Hey Angela, do you think they'd give us a discount if we neutered all these fuckers at the same time?"