Chapter Twelve: On The Couch
Bella had run all the way back to the Cullen house. She had gone straight to the upstairs bathroom and showered five times before she'd finally felt clean. She had spoken to Jacob and he had explained that he felt that Edward needed to talk to her so that he had given him the space to do it. She was upset with him at first but she soon forgave him. It wasn't his fault his brother was disgusting and there was no way he could have known what Edward would do!
Now, three years later Jacob and Bella's relationship was perfect.
Edward. Bella tried to stay out of his way. He, on the other hand it seemed, sought her out. He was always begging for forgiveness or asking her to talk. He would often be waiting outside his door on those nights that Bella made her way across the corridor to be with Jacob. "Please Bella? Could you just spend some time with me? I just want to talk! Please." She'd heard him time and time again, but each time she'd walk past his room as though he didn't exist. He'd finally got the message and left her alone, he just stopped appearing in the corridor.
After that he'd taken up only speaking to her when Carlisle was around since he realised that she would talk to him then. She didn't want to make Carlisle upset so she humoured Edward in front of Carlisle. On the rare occasion that Carlisle was at home Edward used it to his full advantage; asking Bella about how she was going and even on occasion inviting her to some party or other. Bella's responses were always the same. A polite no!
Carlisle had arrived last Tuesday so Bella had braced herself for another onslaught of invitations from Edward. As they sat together having their Friday night dinner he began:
"So Bella, there's a party tomorrow night at the Squeeze … and I was wondering if you might want to go…with me?"
"I don't think so Edward" Bella replied politely
"Why don't you go Bella? It will be good for you to get out and good for you to spend some time with Edward." Carlisle interjected.
She wondered where that came from. "It's just that I'm very tired Carlisle. I don't know if I'll be up to going out tomorrow."
"Well here's what, why don't you take tomorrow off? That way you'll be well rested tomorrow night and the two of you can go have some fun."
"Ok." Bella searched her mind to figure out how she could put off this outing. Then it dawned on her, "Maybe Jake can come along?" If she couldn't put it off at least maybe Jake could come along.
"No…I think Jake has some deliveries to do on that night don't you Jake?"
"Um yeah...yeah I have to make a night time delivery, you know flowers for a wedding the next morning." Jake chimed in.
Bella was now certain that this was co-ordinated. She had never seen a night time delivery before. She wondered what lies Edward had spun to get Jake and Carlisle to agree to this charade. "Well I guess it's settled then." She looked over at Edward, who usually sat directly opposite her at the table, and smiled. She hated him so much at this moment she wondered if he could tell, even in spite of her smile. She only saw optimism on his face. He was so clueless. She wondered what exactly he thought this charade would achieve.
When dinner was over she cleared the table, cleaned up the kitchen and headed upstairs. She made a point to visit Jacob in his room. Carlisle was not home, having left for a short stay at the Hyatt, so she did not hold back on her screams of ecstasy. She knew Edward would be listening and she hoped it would upset him.
By the look on his face the next morning she knew she'd achieved the desired result.
Her achievement actually relaxed her and Bella actually enjoyed her day off. She took a walk into the town centre and bought herself some new clothes and shoes. When she returned home she was so tired that she took a nap on the upstairs lanai. The area was well shaded by the plethora of potted ferns that hung from the surrounding beams but Bella noticed that the sun always found a way to peek in through the plants. Somewhere between sleep and wake, she realized that she no longer felt the sun; whose rays had it seemed previously taken up residence on her legs. She opened her eyes and discovered that the reason for the sun's sudden absence was Edward. He had been standing over her for how long she did not know.
He must have noticed that her eyes were opening so he said,
"I was just wondering if you might want to go inside to nap…I notice that you seem pretty tired after your trip to town so I thought you might be more comfortable inside."
"I'm fine right where I am Edward."
"Well Ok. I was just concerned."
"Thanks, but no thanks Edward."
He just sauntered away and left her alone.
Before long it was eight o'clock and Bella was dressed to go out. She wore a loose fitting dress that did an excellent job of disguising her figure. They drove in silence all the way to the club and Bella stared stoically out the window. She supposed he knew better than to try and make small talk with her and she wondered what he really thought he would achieve tonight. He had to know she hated him.
Edward was ever the perfect gentleman, or at least he tried to be. As he parked outside the club he asked her to wait in the car but when Bella realized he was coming around the car to open her door for her she hurriedly jumped out of the car before he had the opportunity to reach her door. They walked into the club together and Edward immediately asked her if she wanted to dance. He really had to be kidding! She didn't answer him but she was sure that the look on her face would tell him that there would be no dancing with her tonight. They found a table and Edward went to the bar to get drinks. Upon his return they again sat in silence for twenty minutes before he finally spoke up:
"I've been trying really hard to figure out how to act around you. I realize that you were hurt by … by what happened between us but I want us to move past that. Bella I have very strong feelings for you and I know that right now you are…in a relationship with Jacob but I hope that we can at the very least be friends."
"That's not going to happen, Edward." Bella replied flatly
"Bella, please give me a chance to make it up to you."
"Whatever Edward" She was tired of this conversation. She didn't care enough to argue with him. Her tone was resigned and he must have picked up on it. Ever the optimist he asked:
"Do you want to dance, Bella?"
"No, actually, I just want to go home." She gave him a bright but wry smile. She could see that he wasn't surprised by her request. He just quietly got up and waited for her to lead the way out. The ride home was as silent as the ride to the club.
Once she was home she didn't bother to go to her room, she headed straight for Jake's room which was the first room at the top of the stairs. Edward had followed her up the stairs so he would have had a perfect view of her entering Jacob's room. Once there, she practically assaulted Jake.
""Um, …Um. O Jake I love sucking your cock. …Um…Um…Um" Bella knelt before Jacob and gave him the blow job of his life. Her head bobbed up and down in his lap. She could tell that he was enjoying her efforts as his head was thrown back and his eyes were closed. Obviously he was enjoying what she was doing. She knew that she was good at it and it wasn't long before Jacob came. It was good that she didn't have to wait long before he had another erection.
The sex was mind-blowing and apparently utterly exhausting. Bella didn't realize that she had fallen asleep in Jacob's room until she was awakened by a knock at the door and realized that she was not in her own room but was lying in Jake's bed. His arm was draped over her and they had slept in a spooning position. Bella hoped that there would be many more nights like last night (at least the part that involved Jake) and mornings like this morning in her future.
The knock at the door jolted her out of her fantasy.
"Bella?...Bella?"
It was Edward. "Yes Edward."
"Good Morning Bella..Jacob" he said from the other side of the door. "Carlyle wants to see to you both in his study as soon as you get dressed."
"Oh, okay. We'll be down in a minute" She wondered what he wanted to speak to them about. Wondered if he had realized that they had slept in Jake's room and wanted to chastise them for doing it. She was totally embarrassed. She dressed quickly and rushed downstairs not wanting to provoke his anger or prolong her shame. Jacob it seemed was less concerned about whatever it was Carlyle was about to say. She knocked timidly on the door to Carlyle's study.
"Come in." She entered quietly, Jacob followed.
"Good Morning, Carlyle. I understand that you wanted to speak to me...us." As she surveyed the room she noticed that Edward too was seated on the sofa in the study, she wondered why he was here but didn't ask; instead she greeted him, "Good morning, Edward." He greeted her in return but did not make eye contact. It seemed that he had found something very interesting on his lap and he was making a study of it.
"Have a seat Bella." Carlyle offered. While she looked around for a seat he continued, "Yes I do need to talk to you; I've put this off for far too long. You can sit on the sofa next to Edward."
She made her way over to the sofa and again noted that Edward did not make eye contact with her. She was certain now that he must have told Carlyle that she spent the night in Jacob's room. She wondered what would be her punishment (surely she alone would be punished, he would not punish his son. Jacob was a man after all and would be seen as 'just sowing his wild oats' it was she who would be considered the loose one) and sincerely hoped that she would not be sent back home to Debe. Edward was really too much. He was a jealous, spiteful, hateful person.
"Bella, do you remember when your school visited the Farmers' Market in Guaico all those years ago? You must have been in Form Four at the time."
"Yes I remember."
"Well you may not have known it then, but Edward saw you at the market."
She looked over at Edward. Now she really did not know where this was going. It did not seem to be about last night.
Edward finally spoke up "I gave you a bouquet of flowers, Blue hydrangeas. You said they were your favourite." he said as he continued to look down at his lap.
"I remember that … but why are we talking about my trip to the Farmers' Market?"
"You'll see in a while Bella. Be patient." Carlyle answered "We're talking about that trip because it's central to your life and …to Edward's." he paused just long enough for her to really wonder where this conversation was going. "Bella, do you believe in love at first sight?"
She thought about Jacob. She could not honestly say that it was love at first sight. It had taken time for love to grow between them. So she answered honestly.
"No. No I don't"
"That's surprising. I thought most women believed in it."
"I'm sorry to disappoint you but I just don't, Carlyle" she kept her voice calm, even since she really had no idea where this conversation was going.
"Well Edward does." She looked across at him; still he refused to raise his head. "He fell in love with on that trip. He says from the first moment he saw you he was in love with you. He was so in love with you that he couldn't stop talking about you when he came home. I'd never seen him so excited about anyone. Of course he'd had his crushes before but I knew this was different. So…we called your school and got contact information for your mother and uncle."
"Why would you want to contact my mother and uncle? And when exactly did you contact them?"
"I called them about four years ago and arranged … for you to marry Edward."
"What? To marry Edward? There must be some kind of mistake! I … I love … I have very strong feelings for Jacob. This can't be right." Bella was totally confused. How could he say that he had arranged for her to marry Edward, he must be mistaken. Her mother would never have been party to any arranged marriage. Even though arranged marriages were common in some quarters of the country, Bella's mother always told her that she believed that people should be free to find love on their own.
"Bella I know now that we approached this wrong. We should have told you from the start; in fact your mother and uncle were supposed to have told you before you came here but when they told me that they didn't, I had a talk with Edward and told him that you didn't know. I told him to be patient and kind with you and that love would grow. It seems however that he's been a bit too patient. Allowing you to develop feelings for Jacob in the mean time. It really does not matter now. Your little fling with Jacob is over. You were sent here to be Edward's wife and that's what you'll be." He was calm as he spoke; Carlyle was always calm. His calmness usually made her feel at ease around him but this time it was just annoying her.
Throughout it all, Edward still hadn't said a word. The only thing that had changed since she had come into the room was that he was now staring straight ahead instead of in his lap. She continued, "Carlyle, I know that you think that I was sent here to marry Edward, but you're mistaken. My mother would never do that to me."
"Do you want to speak to your mother Bella?" Carlyle questioned politely.
"Yes, I would like to actually."
"Okay." Carlyle said as he reached for the phone and dialled what she could only presume was her mother's number. He waited for a while and then began.
"Good morning Mischa… yes I'm fine and Bella is fine. In fact she's right here and she wants to talk to you. Hold on a second."
Bella took the phone from his outstretched hands. "Hi mom"
"Hello Bella baby. It's been so long since I've heard from you. How are you and Edward going?"
Bella felt crestfallen. "Why would you ask me a question like that mom? What made you think I would be with him?" From the corner of her eye Bella could see Edward's movement as he adjusted himself in the chair. It seemed that he sat up straighter somehow. It was as though her question to her mother somehow gave him confidence.
"Aren't you two together yet?" Mischa replied.
"No mom, we're not together. Why would you ask me that though mom? There's something you're not telling me! Carlyle said that I was sent here for an arranged marriage to Edward, is that true mom?" Bella already knew the answer but she wanted to hear her mother say it.
"Yes it's true Bella."
"How could you mom? How could you do this to me?"
"Bella, I just wanted what's best for you. The Cullens are a good family and Edward is a nice respectful young man. He will be good for you Bella."
"Why mom? Why would you do this to me? I thought you believed in love" Bella felt totally humiliated.
"Bella I'm sorry but … your uncle insisted. Hewanted that new car. He would never have been able to afford it and it was a good thing for the entire family. Remember how he used to pick you up from school, Bella?"
Then everything fell into place. The car that her uncle had got when she was in Form Four, he had got it soon after she had made her class trip to Guaico. The car was her dowry. She had been sold like a piece of chattel in exchange for a car. She let the receiver fall from her hands. There was nothing more to say to her mother. She would have nowhere to go to even if she decided to run away from this 'arrangement'.
While she'd focused on Edward's silence, she had not missed Jacob's. He'd said nothing since they came into the study. Like so many other times before, he wasn't there for her. She briefly wondered why but then realized whether he stood up for her or not it would not have mattered. Carlyle had already pronounced the end of their relationship and Jacob could not challenge that. She would soon be married to Edward whether she wanted to or not.
The rest of the conversation passed by like a blur, Bella wasn't able to concentrate. She was brought back to reality by Edward's voice,
"Bella?... Bella? …Bella …Bella … Bella, wake up. It's like you've been dreaming…" Her eyes focused and it was Edward who was shaking her, but she was in the wrong place. She wasn't on Carlyle's couch any more. She was seated at a table and Edward was across the table from her. As she looked around she realized that she was at Jacob's wedding she must have drifted off….
