Chapter 26 Done Over You-Daughtry
"You two ready for the bill?" Our waitress asked us, sauntering over and looking at Hart in the rather…appreciative manner in which she had all night.
"Yeah, I think so," Hart responded, giving her the once-over right back.
I sat there and steamed. Oh, so I couldn't be taught to drive by somebody else, but he could flirt to his heart's content?
Okay, I admit it. I haven't dumped him yet. It's just…the subject never really came up, and I was still in pain from last night's little temper tantrum. I was still going to do it. I swear. I just…hadn't gotten around to it yet.
My phone vibrated in my pocket. I took it out and glanced at the screen. Another voicemail. I pressed the phone to my ear and listened.
"Who was it?" Hart asked me once I'd put it back. His voice was calm on the surface, but my practiced ears could tell whether or not Hart was jealous from miles away.
I looked up and stared at him, biting my lip. See, now was the perfect time. I would tell him who it was, and that I'd been cheating on him, or whatever it was that he was convinced I'd been doing. We'd be in public. He wouldn't be able to do anything. Right? "Embry." I told him softly."
Anger flashed in his eyes, but he didn't move. Thank God. "You were right about him." I said, trying to look sad or guilty or whatever it is people feel when they're telling some one that they've been cheating. "I can't do this anymore. Take me home, please."
There. He should have gotten the message.
Hart stood up and took me by the hand, leading me out of the restauraunt. Anybody whatching it would have seen it as tender, protective. Here's the thing though. Hart? Yeah, he was cutting off my circulation. Maybe I should have just left a message on his phone or something….
As soon as we were outside, he started moving faster, yanking me harshly so that I stumbled, trying to keep up. When I tripped, he grabbed me by the hair and slammed me up against the wall. I'd never seen him like this. Not last night, not the time I'd said Embry's name, not when I'd tried to dump him. Now though, he was beyond words. Beyond reasoning. He held me there for a second, just looking at me cringe with every rise and fall of his chest when he breathed. I really wished he would just let me go and get to the punching already. My head was probably bleeding from being scraped against the brick, and it hurt.
Then I'd gotten what I'd wanted, and I wished he was still holding me against the wall. He punched me with more force than I would have thought possible, the force of it slamming me against the brick. My head spun. My body throbbed. And there was a searing pain right above my cheekbone. "I let out a choked moan. "Hart, sto-" I start to plead, holding my arms in front of my body in defence.
Lets just say he didn't like that too much.
He grabbed both my hands and pinned them to my sides and kicked my in the stomach, knocking the wind out of me. I doubled over in pain, slinking out of Harts grasp to huddle against the dumpster-so, so gross, but better than the alternative-and putting my hands over my head.
Then Hart hit his stride, doing what he'd done almost every time he hit me. He started kicking. Again and again, my body hit the brick, each time hurting more than the last. I could have screamed. Somebody probably would have heard. I could have kicked him back. I was in the perfect position to get him in his you-know-where. But I didn't. For once, I didn't want to fight back. I couldn't. I was tired of defending myself. Tired of him. Tired of my life, tired of everything. I just wanted it all to be over, for it all to end….
And then, suddenly, it did. God knows how, cause the way Hart was going, he probably would have kept it up for hours. But suddenly the kicking stopped, andI heard Hart back up, pressing me into the trash can. "Shit." He muttered.
And then I wasn't tired anymore. Funny how that works, isn't it? I peered around Hart's legs to see a pair of giant bare feet, and another pair of smaller feet encased in a wicked pair of converse. I look up slowly, past the legs and the body, until I could make out the faces of Quil and Cocoa.
Quil has just enough time to look at Hart in such an evil fashion that it would have made the devil squirm before kneeling over to pick me up in his arms, cradling me against his scorching body. "You alright?" He whispered gruffly.
I nodded into his chest.
I heard a crunch that sounded suspiciously like a bone breaking and a muffled cry from Hart, mingled with a delighted-giggle? Cocoa knew how to laugh?- from Cocoa. "You get her to the car, alright?" Quil says to Cocoa.
Dang. You know, as far as rescuers go, Quil and Cocoa were pretty suckish. After Quil set me down, Cocoa sort of took me by the elbow and dragged me to the car . Like I couldn't walk just fine on my own. I wasn't that injured. She opened the door and tried to help me in backseat, but I ignored her. Cocoa being gentle was just too weird for me.
"Great guy you got there," She commented once she was in the driver's seat. "Where'd you get him, back of a cop car?"
I was grateful and all, what with her saving my life-probably-and punching my boyfriend, something I'd been wanting to do for forever, but I really didn't want to listen to her. "Shut up." I told her. God, did my voice really sound that bad? Like I'd been crying or something. Which, I will admit, I was very close to at this point. But I wasn't letting Cocoa see me cry twice. I'd rather throw myself off a cliff. And not for recreation, either. "I'm so not in the mood."
"All I have to say is," Cocoa said in an annoyingly condescending voice as she started the car. "Told. You. So."
"That's never all you have to say." I growled.
"It is for now." Cocoa said, glancing over her shoulder at me as she pulled out of the restaurant and started driving…in the opposite direction of my home.
"Where are you taking me?" I asked, suddenly on guard. I twisted around in my seat-ignoring the searing pain in my side as I did so-and searched desperately for Quil. Surely he wouldn't leave me alone with her….Only he was a little preoccupied, as it turned out. With beating the crap out of Hart.
"The Cullen residence," Cocoa responds, ignoring my tone.
The Cullen residence. The name sounded familiar somehow…. "Why?" I demanded.
"Cause doc lives there. And Alice'll clean you up so Embry doesn't freak."
Again with the Embry thing. "Why would Embry even care?" I asked her, way peeved at this point. I needed a distraction, or I would end up strangling her with a tie I'd found under my seat. It still had the tag on it, and looked completely ancient. Oviously, Quil wasn't the type for formalities. "Isn't this Quil's truck?" I asked her.
"He has a way home," Cocoa said lazily, brushing me off.
I seethed. What was with her and steeling cars?
Suddenly, there was I loud thud from the back of the car. I jumped about a mile, yelling in shock. I admit, for a split second I thought it was Hart. You know, coming back to kill me and all that. But it turned out to only be Quil. He, I soon discovered, had quite the temper. "Cocoa!" He snarled. "Get the hell out of my truck!"
"Shoot! Stupid car don't have locks!" Cocoa muttered, fumbling with the switches on the door.
Quil appeared at the window out of nowhere. He opened the driver's door and picked Cocoa up, despite her struggling, and pushed her out of the car. Without stopping the car. Or even slowing it down. That, my friends, takes true talent of which I have not seen since said incident. Cocoa scrambled to her feet, sputtering just about every curse she could think of at top volume. Quil sped up, eager to leave her behind.
"You okay?" He asked me.
"Yeah," I replied listlessly. "Fine." You know, aside from the fact that I was being driven to a stranger's house where said strangers will be told that I let my boyfriend slap me around like some sort of spineless wuss by a giant dog that probably hates my guts. And, you know, that I was covered with bruises and scrapes, some old and some just forming, but all painful. Other than that though, I was perfect.
We drove for a while in silence. Slowly I noticed that the buildings, though there weren't many in the first place, were thinning out. And the buildings that were there were getting bigger. Then, as if appearing out of thin air, a road appeared turning off into the woods. Quil took that one, and drove another couple miles before coming to a clearing. The yard was ginormous, the grass all smooth and luscious and perfectly cut. My stepfather's dream lawn. But I didn't pay much attention to the yard. It was the house that was ridiculous. It was three stories, like mine, but much wider, and about three thousand times more fancy. All white, kind of like those big ranch houses you always see in those old timey movies, but at the same time unmistakably modern. Quil cut the engine, and opened my door, trying to help me out. But he was just as helpless when it came to that sort of thing as Cocoa. He did nothing but get in my way.
The door opened before we got a chance to knock. Standing in the doorway was an angel. Seriously. There was truly no other explanation for that kind of beauty. He was tall, though not near as tall as any of the wolves. Muscular, but not in the gross obsessive way. He had wavy bronzish red-brown hair that fell jauntily over one eye. His skin was so totally pale and flawless that it hurt to look at. And every feature was completely proportional, totally straight and perfect.
My heart skipped a beat.
"Hey, Edward." Quil said.
Edward. I needed this guy in my life.My eyes went immediately to his hands. A ring. Dang. He already had a bride.
Edward nodded to Quil, but his gaze went to me. His eyes were unreadable, but I got the impression that he was scrutinizing me, making a mental note of every bruise, every scrape. And that he was very, very angry. Suddenly, he looked up at me, his eyebrows raised in surprise.
I decided that maybe I didn't have to steal this guy away from his wife. He was a little weird for me. The corner of his mouth twitched. It looked like he was holding back a laugh. Then he glanced up at Quil. "I used to make them pay." He murmured softly. "Men like Hart."
The hairs rose on my arms. I had a feeling that getting on this guy's bad side would not be a good thing. "Come in." He said softly, stepping aside.
"Nah," Quil shook his head. "I gotta call…" He let his voice trail off, but Edward seemed to understand. Even if I didn't.
"Cathryn," he said.
I looked over my shoulder at Quil, throwing him a pleading glace. If he left me with these people to fend for myself, he was going to wish that Hart had strangled me when I was through with him.
Edward chuckled.
A woman appeared at his side. I jumped. I hadn't heard any footsteps…. She was every bit as beautiful as Edward, with the same pale skin and perfect features and smoldering golden eyes. She was a few inches shorted than me and had dark brown hair falling in soft ringlets down her shoulders. "Edward?" She asked, touching his arm. It was obvious that she was his wife. The way that they looked at each other was just as nauseating as Emily and Sam.
Edward's lips moved quickly, too fast and soft for me to understand. But the girl seemed to get the message. She smiled at me a little hesitantly. "I'm Bella." She said.
Yet another gorgeous person appeared, just as suddenly as Bella had. She was the smallest girl I'd ever seen in my life, and so thin, with jet black hair sticking up in spikes around her face. "Hello, Cathryn." She said, giving me a dazzling smile. "I'm Alice."
It occurred to me that these people probably shouldn't know my name. Yet I couldn't really bring myself to care a whole lot.
Alice took me by the arm and led me into the house.
I looked around me in wonder. I couldn't seem to let myself look at any one thing for more than three seconds, there was always something-or someone-even more magnificent distracting me. The house was even bigger than it had looked from the outside, with glass for a back wall. Which was kid of dumb, in my opinion. I mean,. this was the Olympic Peninsula, after all. Rain and storms not stop, and all that? What if lightning hit a tree, or something, and that tree crashed into their house? The house would be reduced to ruble.
Then there was the people. In addition to Edward, Alice, and Bella, there were three other guys and three other girls, including Renesmee. I grimaced. It hadn't occurred to me that she'd be here. I really wasn't in the mood to deal with her and her snobby attitude. I heard a small hiss from behind me. It was Edward. He no longer looked beautiful. He glared at me with undisguised loathing. I shrank back a little against Alice. She whacked him on the shoulder. "You saw what happens." She told him meaningfully.
He rolled his eyes. "We saw what might happen." He corrected her.
"Nope. This one's rock solid." She looked back at me, and gave me another encouraging smile. "Carlisle is going to make sure you're not hurt, then I'm going to clean you up." She told me. "Is that okay?"
"Um," I said awkwardly. "Sure."
A blonde man stepped forward. He looked a bit older than the others, though he still couldn't be past twenty-five. He held out a hand. I stared at it blankly like the genius that I was. After a second, he put it back down. Which was, of course, when it finally occurred to me that I probably should have shaken it. "I'm Dr. Carlisle Cullen," He said politely. "I'm just going to look you over. Just to make sure that you don't have a concussion or any broken bones. Is that okay with you?"
This time I knew that the correct thing to do would be to nod. I did, and Doc began making his evaluation, which consisted basically of touching random body parts and seeing whether or not I cried out in pain, and if I did, how loudly. This got boring after about two seconds, so I entertained myself by further inspecting the people there.
There was Renesmee, who was leaning into Bella and looking distinctly uncomfortable. On the couch a man was watching a basketball game. He was a good foot and a half shorter than any of the wolves, but he was just as muscular. His hair was a dark mass of luscious curls that most people would kill to have. Standing at the head of the couch was a tall woman with caramel colored brown waves and a heart shaped face. There was something softer, sweeter, about her demeanor than the others. In the corner stood two blondes. A boy and a girl. The girl was so heartbreakingly beautiful that she almost hurt to look at. She was the whole deal. Long blonde locks all the way down her back, and the figure of a model-but with bigger boobs. She was scowling at the ceiling. The boy was long and lanky, and in between both of his brothers in the muscle department. His blonde hair was a complete mess, but he made it sexy. He seemed somehow tenser than the others, and pained somehow. Very odd.
"All right, Cathryn." Carlisle said, looking at me intently. "Your bones aren't broken, but many of your ribs are badly bruised." He told me. "Your scratches seem to be healing well, and if you do have a concussion, it is very mild. But I would keep a very close eye on everything. Especially the bruises. You're going to feel tender for quite a while."
I nodded like this was all very reassuring. In reality, this guy had told me virtually nothing that I didn't already know.
"I'm going to clean you up a little now, okay?" Alice asked me, dancing forward.
"Yeah." I said, and let her lead me upstairs and into her giant bathroom, covered with every skin/hair product imaginable. Which made no sense, because it wasn't like any of them would ever need any of it.
"Stand still," Alice told me, suddenly businesslike.
She got to work, putting medicine in my scratches and drowning my bruises in cover up. She did the same with my face, disguising my black eye, damaged jaw, and the circles under my eyes with the expertise and competence of an artist. Not even kidding. I've always thought of make up as something to make insecure girls feel pretty, but Alice…. She made it look amazing. Like it was a talent, a complicated masterpiece that had to be done just right. And believe me, she did it just right.
Within about fifteen minutes I was deemed presentable and let out of the mini beauty store. We found Renesmee waiting in the hall. "Uh, Alice, can you…?" She asked softly.
"Of course!" Alice beams at us both before going down the hall and stairs with more speed than I would have thought was possible.
For a moment, neither of us said anything.
"Hi." Renesmee said finally.
"Hi." I responded, feeling bored.
Renesmee took a deep breath. "We're vampires." She said quietly. "The Cullens are. Did you know that?"
I stared at her, to shocked to respond, or even breathe.
"Well, except for me." She corrected myself. "I'm half and half."
She looked at me, obviously expecting me to say something. I worked to choke out the words. "But-how-" I sputtered. "I thought werewolves and-blooodsuckers- were supposed-I mean-enemies. Deep loathing, and all that."
She smiled. "We've learned to get along. Now it's nearly effortless." When she smiled, it looked like she might actually have a heart under all that richness and beauty.
I bit my lip, still trying to wrap my head around it. "Why are you telling me all this?" I demanded.
Renesmee stopped smiling. "It's just that…." She took another deep breath. "I can't imagine anybody doing, you know, what it was that Hart did to you. I can't even fathom it." She shook her head, looking genuinely confused. I realized with a jolt that she was used to being loved and cherished by everyone. I was probably the first person to ever not like her. Of course a boyfriend like Hart would seem foreign to her. "I just don't think that any body deserves to be treated that way. And you seem like you might be a pretty nice person. Maybe." She went on, more cautious now. "I was wondering if we could like…start over?"
I stared at her pityingly. I really was the first person to ever have disliked her. Didn't she know that nobody ever started over? That hate always lasted a lot longer than love? Still, she seemed sincere. And I was really much too tired to deal with another fight with her. "Sure." I said listlessly. "Okay. Whatever."
The corner of her mouth twisted, like she was fighting back a smirk.
Then I heard something. A voice that drowned out everything else. That stopped whatever I'd been thinking about Renesmee in its tracks. A voice, loud and deep and strong and anxious and protective, that I had absolutely not idea I'd missed that much until the second I heard it.
"Where is she? Is she okay? I swear to God, when I get my hands on him…"
