Hey everyone. I just wanted to thank Alias of a Girl for pointing out a mistake with my math. I forgot that she would've had his baby, since it's been almost a year, but don't worry, surprisingly, I found a way so it still works and I don't have to change anything. Yay! Alrighty, on with the chapter!
Disclaimer: Still don't own Twilight, S.M does.
BPOV
I heard someone calling my name faintly. As well as a hand stroking my face softly. My eyes fluttered open.
"Huh?" I heard a sigh of relief come from someone near by.
"Oh. Bella, sweetheart, Are you all right?" a voice asked. I cocked my head to the right slightly, to see Wendy, Anthony's mother. She was looking at me with deep concern, etched in her face. Her eyes were anxious.
It took a moment to realize where I was. I remembered driving to the hospital and coming to see Anthony, then I saw her and nothing more.
"What's going on?" I barely recognized my voice.
"Sweetie, maybe now is not the time. Maybe when you get your-"
I cut off her pleading.
"Please, I need to know now." I begged. I looked up to see conflict in her wise eyes before she sighed heavily. Just then, the door swung open. Jonathon, Anthony's father, entered; carrying a young baby boy in one arm.
He was opening his mouth to say something, but was clamped shut when he witnessed the room around him.
I sprawled on the floor; disheveled, red eyed, with tears forming in the corners of my eyes. Wendy staring up at Jonathon; it seemed like they we're having a silent conversation, until Wendy nodded once and her husband let out a sigh.
The beyotch wasn't glaring at me for the moment, but was looking at the child in Jonathon's arms.
"Give him to me." The mystery woman said; her voice flat and emotionless. She snatched the baby, and glared at me before leaving the room. Wendy held a look of disapproval as she watched the woman leave before helping me up into a chair.
I propped up my elbow on the armrest and laid my head on my upraised hand. Jonathon and Wendy pulled up chairs beside me.
"Ok," I sighed. "Who is she?" They exchanged glances before turning to me.
"You were never supposed to know. Her name is Lauren Woodland. He was his old girlfriend and childhood friend." Wendy began quietly. Her head was down; not making any eye contact. "He wanted us to keep it a secret from you. He was just afraid of hurting you. We just couldn't bear to tell. He was so happy with you- happier than I've seen him in such long time." She looked up at me at this point. Her face was weary and tired; her eyes filled with tears of sadness and guilt. Her face was pleading with me to understand.
I put my hand on her shoulder and tried my best to smile. She smiled back, but it didn't touch her saddening eyes. I looked out of the window beside me.
"So, he just had this baby behind my back? I mean, shouldn't she have already had the baby if it was over a year ago? I inquired.
"Well, the little boy you saw is her and Anthony's child. He's almost a year and a half. The one she's expecting now… is a complete mystery to us." Jonathon stated. My head snapped up.
"She just cheated on him then?" I felt vaguely angry at that… witch for betraying Anthony like that. Even if I was mad at Anthony, I still loved him.
"Well, yes." They answered; their faces wiped clean of emotions for the moment. I took a deep breath, but it was shaky.
"Was he ever going to tell me?" My voice was cracking towards the end.
"I'm afraid not, dear." She admitted. Their faces were sad, once again. Guilt was consuming Wendy's expressions.
"I should go." I whispered. Wendy's eyes widened.
"Wait, Bella please. I know you don't deserve to hear any more bad news, but we need to-" Jonathon cut off his wife.
"Honey, just let her go. She's had enough to deal with for one night." She opened her mouth to protest, but thought better. She nodded then reached forward and pulled me into a tight embrace.
"Sweetie, I'm so sorry. Please visit when you can." I replied with a nod of my head. Not exactly promising that answer. She kissed me once on the cheek before passing me over to Jonathon.
Jonathon pulled me into a slightly awkward one- armed hug, and kissed me on the top of my head, before I left. I swung the door open to reveal the witch standing before me; her baby held precariously in one arm. I had the strangest urge to just reach my arms out from under. That way he wouldn't fall.
"So, they told you the news huh?" She sneered at me. Venom contaminated her voice. I glared at her.
"Yeah, they told me about a demon. Pretty scary." I pretended to shiver with horror, but couldn't hide my smirk. I was surprised I was able to make jokes after tonight. She came forward and slapped me across the face. Her child had his face hidden by turning towards her shoulder. He was whimpering softly.
"You can go straight to hell." She said calmly. "You're just jealous after all. Stay away from Anthony, you two faced witch." And with that, she turned on her heel and left. My eyes narrowed even more as I touched my cheek softly. I winced at the sting of my simple touch. I ground my teeth and walked to the elevator.
Luckily, I ran into nobody as the elevator started its decent. And I was glad. I sank down to the floor. Letting the waves of misery and exhaustion have me for the moment. The all too familiar ding was sounded and I struggled to get up. Other than stumbling slightly, I didn't do anymore damage. Not that I would know. I walked like a mindless zombie. It was like my legs were on auto- pilot. Like how I felt after a long run, then walking those first few seconds. Only this lasted so much longer and was 100 times more painful.
Only this lasted till I unconsciously reached my car. I searched for my keys absentmindedly and slammed the door behind me. Seconds turned into minutes before I realized I was sitting in the dark. Alone. I put the keys in the ignition and with the most focus I could put in, I concentrated on not having an accident.
I finally pulled up into Alice's driveway. I looked up at the dashboard on my truck. Dull green numbers read 11:43. I took a quick look in the mirror and saw my reflection for the first time.
The hairnet in my hair, (I forgot it was in) had mysteriously vanished. Leaving my hair quite soft. My eyes were slightly blood- shot; the once bright sparkles in my eyes were now dull. Even before my recent visit. There were tear stains running trails down my face. They ran down to meet at the middle of my chin. I tried my best to wipe them away. Then I proceeded to wipe my face clean of emotion so they wouldn't be suspicious.
I climbed out of my truck and up Alice's porch steps. Tonight I was fervently grateful Alice gave me a key to her house after announcing she could trust me, sometime 2 years ago.
Slowly I turned the key as quietly as I could. I kicked off my shoes and put them neatly to the side. I looked up the winding staircase to see a light still in Alice's room. I made my way up slowly; careful not to make a squeak on the stairs.
I knocked on Alice's pink door hesitantly. It opened in a flash. A small flash of black hair nearly knocked me over with a hug.
"Bella! You're back!" Alice exclaimed in exuberant whispers. My arms wrapped around her, but they were strangely weak. I saw Rose leaning on the doorway smiling at Alice and I. Alice pulled back slightly to see my expression.
"How did it go?" Her eyes were wary.
"Good." I lied; working to make my voice indifferent. Shrugging to make it seem less important. Alice and Rose's eyes narrowed at the same time.
"What happened?" Rosalie demanded. I opened my mouth to see if any words would come, but to no avail. Instead the painful memories of tonight came rushing back. Jonathon and Wendy's pained faces, the sneer on the Lauren's face, her round belly, but most of all, the way she touched Anthony's face so lovingly.
Waves of pain washed through me like a wrecking ball through thin tissue. But I didn't say a word.
APOV
I was in my room with Rose, quietly discussing our matches and clothes here and there. A larger part of my mind was wondering if Bella was alright. She was never the same after the accident and it hurt to see her hurting so badly.
As Rose was about to launch into what her summer plans were in the coming months, I heard the front door open with a creak. We really needed to get the door oiled…
I heard the pitter- patter of steps that were trying to make their way up quietly. I tensed slightly and peeked out my bedroom door. There stood Bella. I was so excited to see her I nearly tackled her to the ground as I ran to hug her.
"Bella! You're back!" I whispered quietly, but with relief and happiness. I glanced over my shoulder to check if I had woken up my parents in the other room… Nope. All clear. Rose stood in my bedroom doorway; admiring our reunion from a short time.
"How did it go?" My voice was careful. I pulled back to see her expression. My hands held her out at arms length.
"Good." She replied with the shrug of her shoulders. She tried to make her voice indifferent, but failed miserably.
"What happened?" Rose's sharp voice demanded. Bella opened her mouth as if to say something, but nothing came out. Sudden strong waves of pain came over her face. Her lips were pressed into a firm line, but her eyes expressed all the pain.
My eyes started to water from the sight.
"Bella? Bella? What happened?!" My voice was frantic. I shook her shoulders as gently as I could without harming her. Her body suddenly slumped from under my hands, and for a second, I thought she passed out.
I came down by her side in an instant. Rose came too, taking one of Bella's hands into hers; whispering reassurances in her ear. I cautiously gauged Bella's expression, bracing myself for the pain I would see.
Her expression surprised me, (when usually nothing surprises me) and scared me even more.
Bella held no emotion to her face. Even after the accident, she always had a sparkle in her eyes somewhere. She tried her best to be happy, though no one really bought it, to please everyone and assure others she was ok.
I saw a gleam of pain her dull eyes, but it was buried deep through her sudden numbness. I pulled her head to rest on my shoulder.
"Bells… please tell us what happened." I whispered softly. Before I continued, I closed the door to my parent's room, that way; they couldn't hear us in case they did wake up.
I settled Bella's head back on my shoulder.
"Please tell us what happened," I begged. "We want- no need to help you."
She started mumbling to herself at rapid speed; so fast, I couldn't catch the words. Finally, she took a deep breath and sighed. It wasn't a sigh of pain; it was one of resignation and surrender.
"Anthony cheated on me." She mumbled.
RPOV
"Anthony cheated on me." Bella mumbled. As soon as those words processed, my anger flared more than I thought possible.
"HE DID WHAT?!" I nearly shouted. Alice tried to shush me, but immediately backed down when I glared at her, as she saw the fire in my eyes.
I never glared at Alice before.
"I am going to kill him," I promised in a low threatening voice. "I am going to pay him a nice little visit. And that's where-"
"Stop." Bella whispered. She seemed to have gained some of her strength back, but she still looked frail.
"What?" I hissed. "You're just going to let him get away with what he did to you? Not on my watch!"
"No," She replied calmly. "I will get him back… Just not when he's like this." She winced at the end.
"What do you mean?" My teeth were gritted and I spoke through them. Alice placed her hand on my arm.
"Calm." She pleaded. I shook her arm off, trying to ignore the shot of hurt in her eyes. I turned back to Bella.
"I could never try to get back at him like this." She whispered. She was looking at her knees, which were curled up by her face. "Even if he did hurt me," She glared at her knees at this part. "Even then, I couldn't stand to hurt him when he's already so close to death." Her eyes sparkled at the thought.
"You still love him?" Alice questioned in a soft voice. Bella hesitated then answered,
"Yes." I released her hand at this point and focused on keeping myself calm.
"And what if he never wakes up?" I demanded in a hard voice. Bella flinched away from me and tears started to pour down her face. My whole face softened by then and was replaced by a pleading face.
"Bells… I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to-"
"Save it." Bella hissed. I was about to say something harsh back, when it struck me that I deserved that.
"My hope is already running out as it is. I don't need a reassurance that it's in vain. I already know it is. Either way, I suffer whether he wakes up or not. Thanks so much for the reminder." Acid and venom were mixed strongly in her voice. My eyes widened; I've never heard her use that with… well anyone.
"Isabella Swan." I turned my head slightly to see that that hard cold voice came from very perky Alice. "I know you're upset. But don't you even dare talk to Rose like that. She was trying to-"
"Help?" Bella hissed. "And I guess you're on her side with 'helping me.'"
"Yes, because we hate to see you in pain! We love you Bells." Her voice softened immensely when she said this. For that I was glad. Alice's cold hard voice scared me. "We're trying to help you and we're sorry if we ever mention something painful. You may be in pain, but so are we when we see you so full of it all." She was looking down when she said this. Alice looked up to reveal tears coming down silently.
"Do you see where we're coming from?" Alice asked. Bella nodded and turned to me. I leaned away, ever so slightly, afraid to encounter her vicious voice and hardened face again. But I saw no hostility in her face. Her face was warm and she placed a small smile on her face with some effort. Trying to rein in the pain.
"I'm sorry, Rosalie. You didn't deserve what I said to you. I'm so sorry." Her face begged for my forgiveness. I pretended to ponder for a moment; playing around with her.
"Ok, you're forgiven. And I'm sorry too, Bella. I shouldn't have brought it up." Her smile got wider slightly and it lit up her face.
"You're forgiven as well." Bella said with a soft smile. I squeezed her arm and smiled back.
"Ok, time for bed, I guess!" Alice's voice soon returned to her perkiness. Bella and I chuckled softly. "Bella, you must be wiped out! Let's get in our PJ's and get to bed!" She skipped merrily to her room while we followed.
We already had clothes here in Alice's room because we slept over quite often. Usually, Alice got her own bed, and Bella and I slept on her floor. Tonight Bella was on the bed, despite her protests, and Alice was "bunking" with me.
Alice stretched out her tiny arm to turn off the bedside lamp on the table. It took us a few moments, as always, to fall asleep. Usually we stayed up 'till about 5:00, but tonight was an exception.
"Bella?" Alice whispered in the darkness.
"Yeah?" She answered.
"If you, err… don't want to do the blind date thing anymore, I'd understand if you'd want to drop out." We let the question float there and let Bella think for a moment. She let out a small laugh. A laugh I haven't heard in a while.
"Alice, have you ever thought of me as a quitter? No matter what… I'll see through to this until the end." I heard a smile in her voice. There, I knew she wouldn't change her mind. The good lord blessed her with a stubborn mind and a hard head. She was determined once she set her mind to it.
"Thought not." I heard a grin in Alice's voice and I could've sworn I saw her silently celebrating this news. It was silent after that and before long, Alice and Bella fell asleep.
"Lucky." I muttered under my breath. It was always hard for me to fall asleep. That is, until I thought of something enough. My mind wandered to my 'blind date.' I read through my sheet when I got it. Over all, he was a prankster. I pondered that, on whether he would be 'the one.'
Guys drooled all over me, but I could care less. They didn't want Rose, the person Alice and Bella saw. No, they wanted Rosalie Hale, beauty queen, wanted only for my looks and my body. I prayed that this one would be different.
I wanted my own teddy bear…
At this thought, my eyelids fell and sleep claimed me before I could finish my last thought.
And there you have it! I'm so sorry for the long wait. I went on vacation last week. Plus… I'm kind of losing my interest in this story. Well… more like writing and updating. Like I said, I'm more of a reader than a writer, I think. Anyways, the boy's sleepover will come in the next chapter. Please stay tuned. I apologize if it's a slow update again.
Review please!!
Toodaloo!
Quiet Reader421
