Thank you MC!
Tick Tock Chapter 11
EPOV
I was left standing there in shock. Bella had never talked to me like that before, and I wasn't really sure what just came over her. I was so surprised by her behavior I had no idea what to think; it was so out of character from what I knew of her so far. I guess the worst part was when she began dragging her father out the door before I could even say anything else. In that situation though, I didn't know what to say. She'd just dropped a bomb on me that her father was a germaphobe.
How do you respond to that?
I had no idea how long it was that I stood there until Tanya knocked into me and interrupted my musings.
"Hey Eddie, what's happening, stud?" she asked with a smile.
I knew that she didn't mean what she said, that it was just a joke, as she was in her late twenties and looked more like a model than a doctor, but she was fun to talk with.
"Not much. I was just dropping lunch off to my dad," I murmured, still stuck in my own head, as I stared at the now empty hospital exit. Bella was gone and I was still trying to process what had just happened.
"Well, that was very nice of you," she said as she finished up a chart. I watched her hand as it moved furiously over the paper writing in notes.
She handed it to Jane, the nurse at the desk. "Alright, Swan has been discharged and I'm heading home."
My eyebrows shot up, what was wrong with Bella's dad?
Jane accepted the file and told her to have a nice night.
But I wasn't about to let her just leave. I needed to find out what was going on with her father and I wondered if Tanya might let a few details slip.
"Hey E, you hanging around this place on a Saturday night? Come on, someone as handsome as you must have a hot date lined up?" she asked, as she grabbed her bag.
"Eh, I've got a party to go to, but I'm not sure if I'm gonna go."
"Oh yeah? Some pretty girl break your heart?" she wondered, as we walked through the parking lot.
"Sort of," I whispered, still feeling stunned. "Hey, real quick. That last guy you saw, is he going to be okay?"
Tanya looked up at me for a moment, seemingly confused. "The guy?" she wondered.
"Yeah, the older guy, he looked kind of sick."
"Oh him!" Tanya looked thoughtful for a minute. "Yeah, he'll be fine," she murmured.
"Well, this is me," she said quickly, as we reached her car. "Try to have fun tonight!"
"You too T, tell Rob I said hi."
"I will! I'm sure he'll be calling you wanting to go to a game soon," she said before getting in and pulling away.
I still felt stunned, so much so that I didn't even want to text Bella. She seemed so out of sorts that I knew she must've been shaken up from having to take her dad to the hospital. I just hoped he'd be okay like Dr. Denali said.
I sighed and decided that going to the party would be better than sitting at home all night wondering what the fuck had happened with Bella. So I headed home to shower and change.
But first I had to pick up Rosie…sisters were such a pain in the ass. I left the hospital and drove to Mrs. Cameron's house, and thank God Rose was already outside; I was in a hurry.
She ran to my car when I pulled up and hopped in. "Hey, jerk, how's it hangin'?"
I raised my eyebrows, and replied, "As if I'm gonna fucking tell you that."
Rose scoffed, "Aww, what's wrong, Bella finally realize what a dork you are?" She laughed.
"Shut the fuck up and just sit there, I'm not in the mood for your shit tonight." I was getting really annoyed with her little comments already and we'd only been in the car for a few minutes. I was going to end up smacking her before we even made it home.
"Oooooh, what crawled up your ass?" And when I didn't reply, she continued, "You know, Bella seems really nice, Edward, I hope you don't fuck her around, 'cause I know some of the skanks you've gone out with."
I glanced over at her and growled, "Rosie, I am warning you once, you shut up and leave Bella alone."
"I'm not sayin' anything; I just hope you treat her right because Alice doesn't think Bella's had it all that easy...whatever that means." She shrugged her shoulders.
I guess she finally decided she'd said enough because she turned up the music and didn't say anything else until we got home, when she muttered a, "Thanks," before running in the house.
I was just relieved to be out of the car and away from her.
Rose was a good sister, but she could be so fucking annoying sometimes.
After I got to my room, I took a quick shower and changed my clothes, and then I was out the door and on my way to the Em's. If Bella wasn't going to at least talk to me, or have the decency to respond to my texts, then I would just go out, forget about it, and have a little fun with Em. Maybe even get in a good game of beer pong.
I pulled out my phone and dialed Em, realizing when I glanced at my dashboard clock that I was running late.
"Hey, meathead."
"Listen, you fucking pussy, you better not be bailing on me."
Yeah, Em hated that. Once some of our friends got girlfriends they tended to bail on their real friends. That was life in high school, but it was also a poor way to treat friends that had been with you since Kindergarten.
"I'm not, I swear. I'm just running a little late, I had to pick up Rose earlier. I'll meet you at Jasper's, okay?"
"Yeah, that's cool. You bringing Bella?"
"No, she couldn't make it." It wasn't really a lie and I wasn't in the mood to explain anything else.
"Sounds good, more beer for us!"
We ended the call and I drove the busy streets to Jasper's house. I would be staying there tonight, that's the only reason why I was bringing my car at all. I was planning on having some beer, and I wasn't stupid enough to drive afterwards. An OUI could kill my scholarship, so I needed to be careful and responsible.
When I rolled in I saw Em was already there, unloading a keg. After I parked, I ran up to help him.
I grabbed one side and he got the other. "In the kitchen, man. Jas doesn't want the disaster from last time in the living room," he said as we heaved the beer filled can into the Hale's house.
I remembered what happened last time well. Rachel, my ex, ended up getting very drunk and grabbing the tap, letting the beer flow all over the Hale's hardwood floor.
If I had been still dating her at the time, I was pretty sure I would've lost Em and Jas as friends that night.
She was always trying to show off, though I wasn't really sure what she was going for when she ended up wasting perfectly good beer and nearly wrecking the Hale's house. Not to mention busting up our party.
We made a plan to stop inviting her and her twin sister, Rebecca, at that point. They just weren't welcome anymore, but that didn't mean they wouldn't show up. They were two of a kind; they could never seem to take 'no' for an answer.
"Hey Jas," I said as I turned and saw him putting out some snacks.
"Hey, Cullen, glad you could make it," he replied with a devilish grin. "Let's have some fun, and relax!"
We finished setting up and greeted our friends as they got there.
I didn't put too much effort into partying, because honestly, once I was there, I wasn't really 'feeling it'. I wanted to go find Bella and talk to her; find out what the hell was going on with her. Leaving things the way we did was driving me nuts.
"E, how about defending that pong title of yours?" Eric asked when he found me slumped on the sofa.
"Sure," I sighed, because getting drunk seemed like a lot better option than being bummed all night.
I played six games and was surprisingly still sober when I decided I was done.
The rest took turns, forming teams and battling it out all while I looked on and tried to forget about Bella.
It just wasn't happening though.
Just as I was getting up to get another beer, I heard a voice I was not in the mood for.
"Eddie! There you are, baby!" Rachel squealed as she ran over to me and flung her arms around my waist.
I immediately unhooked her hands and shrugged out of her grasp. "Rachel, what are you doing here?" I looked between her and Rebecca.
"Oh, you know us, always up for a party! Aren't you glad to see me, baby?"
"Rachel, I am gonna tell you this again…I am not your baby; we broke up, remember?" And then I walked away with Rebecca telling Rachel not to worry, that I would come around. I shook my head and kept walking.
It wasn't too long after that, I heard Jasper tell them to leave, they weren't welcome. And that was the last I saw of them. Thank fuck for that!
Eventually the hours slipped by and I just sat around and chatted with my friends, checking my phone for messages ever now and then.
People passed out and the party wound down. I claimed the couch and attempted to sleep, but it just wasn't coming to me; all I wanted was some kind of contact with Bella.
So I pulled out my phone and rattled off one last text message before plugging in my headphones and closing my eyes.
Hoping tomorrow would be a better day.
What did you think of his question to Dr. Denali... or her response?
How about the party?
Or what Rose mentioned to him?
I wonder what he texted to her...
