Hey folks! :D
Thank you so much for reviewing; Mrs. M Cullen, Clara Fonteyn, BellaCullenSwan17, Marijne, Porkkana, Lizzy, AutumnUrie, Lizzie, Mouse555, Emma, Rosaa, Bella'Swan'22, Rosalies-Evil-Twin, Heal my bleeding heart, Et1141412, Sprinter1, Sara Lautner, Gnomegirl13, 20xXMusicAngelXx09, Thari, BELLA-Brown-EYED-Spy, Jordan, Josefa (And Dr. Heart for taking over the reading, you rock!), Twilightaddict, xostaybeautiful, Otme0701, Masenej, LexiLeothegreat909, Temporaryinsanity91, Lisa and Silke112! And thanks for all the Easter wishes of course! :D
And also; Thanks for the chick flick and chocolate, Bella'Swan'22, and thanks for the crown for princess Bella, LexiLeothegreat909! xD
To Lizzie: Jasper is mentioned once as Alice's boyfriend, but he will make his first real appearance in about three or four chapters! :) And I don't think I will use the lullaby, I'm trying to keep it a little more original. ;)
To Thari: Do you have time for a date with my Edward tomorrow night? He'll pick you up at seven, let me know. ;)
To Jordan: That's alright, hope the moving went well. Good to have you back! ;)
To Josefa: Aahw, sorry to hear that you're not feeling well! I'm giving you a free, digital Edward to take care of you! And it's so sweet of Dr. Heart to read it to the children and nurses when you weren't around! :D It's still very cool to hear that even men like this story. xD Oh, and I'm giving Rosalyn her own, digital prince Edward, I'm sure she'll love him. ;) Get well soon!
To everyone who thinks Bella should move in with Edward: First of all, that wouldn't be much of a story. :p Second, don't forget that they've only known each other for one short week, it might seem longer, but it really isn't. :p I want to keep things a little realistic, even if it's just fiction. xD I'm not saying it won't happen, just not at this point.
Alright guys, new chapter! Enjoy! :)
When Stepmoms Freak Out
All good things come to an end, the cliché states. I wasn't looking forward to going back home and facing Regina, but I was out of time. If I didn't make sure that I was home before six, I would truly be in trouble. I wished this afternoon could have lasted forever. Not because of the chocolate, the movie, or the comfortable bed, but because being in Edward's arms was like heaven. I couldn't remember a place where I had ever felt so safe and protected.
"Are you sure you will be okay?" Edward checked for the umpteenth time as we were standing at the front door.
"I'll be fine, really." I assured him. "I'm sure those journalists are long gone by now."
He sighed, his green eyes troubled. "Alright then… If anything is wrong, or if you need to talk to someone, you can always call me."
"I know, Edward…"
"Even if it's in the middle of the night." He insisted.
I let out a short laugh at his overprotective behavior. I guessed that he hadn't had a real friend in a long time, and that he was taking his duties as a friend very seriously.
"I know, thank you. And thanks for today… That was… Just what I needed." I said, smiling timidly.
He rewarded me with his adorable, uneven smile, and then unexpectedly pulled me in for a hug. I reacted automatically, wrapping my arms around him. I closed my eyes for a second, enjoying the feeling of being in his arms one last time before I had to face reality again.
He released me from his embrace, but quickly after leaned in again to press a soft, lingering kiss against my cheek. The light touch of his lips was enough to cause an electric current to flow through my entire body. I was pretty sure that the color of my cheeks could've put lobsters to shame.
He pulled away, and smiled at me. "I'll see you tomorrow, princess." He said, lightly brushing his pale fingers against my jaw line.
"See you, Edward." Was all I managed to mutter.
I reluctantly stepped outside and I heard how he closed the door behind me with a soft 'click'. I think I literally floated to my truck, completely dazed. Despite the horrors that were surely waiting for me at home, I didn't feel anxious or depressed. I was on another one of my Edward-highs.
I was lost in thought as I drove along the bumpy dirt road, but I got a wake-up call when I reached the white gate at the end of the path. A rather large crowd was standing at the other side of it, and I recognized a few of the journalists who had chased after me at school. The goldfish-woman was with them, and she frantically started to wave her microphone in my direction as soon as she spotted my truck.
I groaned in annoyance. These people needed to get a life, instead of preoccupying themselves with messing up other peoples' lives.
Joe also noticed me, and he swiftly walked up to my truck. I opened the window, and he gave me his professional smile.
"Miss Swan, it's best if you slowly drive past them when I open the gate. Just make sure that you keep driving, they'll move out of the way. Don't open your window or stop to talk to them, then everything should be fine." He informed me.
I nodded uncertainly, not sure if this was such a waterproof plan. "Okay…"
I firmly closed my window while he made his way back to the gate. He opened it for me, and I followed his instructions, slowly making my way past the journalists. Most of them were directing their cameras at me, but I blankly stared ahead, ignoring them completely. I vaguely heard their muted voices, and from the corner of my eye I saw how all of them gradually backed away to let me through.
The second I was clear, I took a deep breath and turned onto the main road, driving off as fast as my old truck could handle without falling apart. I sneaked a look at my rearview mirror, and to my relief none of them were making a move to follow me. At least I was rid of them, for now. Too bad that the same couldn't be said for Edward, it seemed that he was their new target…
I drove at a pace that was unreasonably slow, even for my worn out truck. My Edward-high was wearing off, and my anxiety increased as I got closer to home. I knew what was waiting for me, and it wasn't going to be pretty…
When I turned into my street, I was relieved to see that all the journalists were gone. At least that was one thing less to worry about. I parked my truck, getting out at a snail's pace, stalling. What would Regina have in store for me? What would Lauren say? I hadn't seen Lauren since last night, but I could only imagine how much she hated my guts right now. She was probably outraged because I hadn't told her that I worked for Edward. Not to mention that she would without a doubt believe the stories in the tabloids… She would think that I was dating the man who she had unofficially claimed as her future husband…
I opened the front door, my hands trembling. I mentally braced myself for what was coming, and bravely made my way to the kitchen. As soon as I stepped inside, I spotted Lauren. She was sitting at the kitchen table, talking to someone on the phone, but when she noticed me she quickly ended her conversation.
"Oh, I'll talk to you later, Jess… I've got something to take care of… Yeah, that's right, the boyfriend-stealer is here... Yes, I'll let you know. Bye, Jess." She said darkly.
Lovely, exactly what I had expected. She saw me as a threat to her happily ever after.
"Look who we've got here…" Lauren lilted dramatically. This girl had watched too many bad soaps.
"Just say what you want to say, Lauren." I urged her to cut to the chase.
"I don't even know what to say, you filthy liar!" She snapped, getting up from her chair and wildly waving her index finger at me in a reprimanding way.
"I never lied to you! I told you that I had a new job as a housekeeper, but seeing as you couldn't care less about my life, you just never asked for any details." I angrily snapped back.
"Oh come on, are you going to try and play innocent now!" Lauren hissed in disbelief. "You know how much I love Edward Cullen, and you don't bother to tell me that you actually speak to him every stinking day! You could've at least introduced me to him, but you didn't! Even worse, you're dating him yourself! I thought you didn't even like the guy!"
"I'm not dating him, Lauren." I replied tiredly.
"The hell you aren't! I'm not blind, I saw that picture of the two of you at that restaurant, staring into each other's eyes." She said, her tone filled with disgust.
"I was just doing him a favor, keeping him company. I got paid to do it." I explained, emphasizing the word 'paid'.
"Then why is he staring at you like a lovesick puppy in the picture?" Lauren challenged me, narrowing her eyes at me.
I incredulously raised my eyebrows at her, a little shocked. A lovesick puppy? I knew that we had been sitting rather close, but Lauren was making a bigger deal out of it than it actually was.
"We're friends, Lauren. Nothing more than that." I did a last, halfhearted attempt to convince her, but I already knew that she wasn't going to believe me, no matter what I said.
"Whatever. You're a big, fat liar!" Lauren exclaimed childishly. "You're going to regret this, Bella! Someday soon you're going to be sorry that you were even born! Mark my words!" She continued in a more threatening voice.
"Whatever you say. All I can tell you, is that I'm not dating Edward." I muttered, giving up on defending myself. "Where's Regina?" I added, wondering why she still hadn't showed up to back up her daughter and yell some more at me.
"She went out to get a last minute manicure to take things off of her mind. I predict she will be back within now and… ten minutes. I'm sure she'll be delighted to see you." Lauren informed me, feigning a sympathetic look before a smirk formed on her face; she was obviously enjoying my misery.
I ignored her evil grin, and figured that the wise thing to do would be to start making dinner. Hopefully Regina would go easy on me if I followed her orders like a good girl. I made steak and a salad, and Lauren was glaring at me the entire time while I moved around the kitchen. Thoughts were visibly tumbling through her head, but I didn't even want to know which sinister plans were forming in the dark realm that was Lauren's mind.
We were both silent, until I distantly heard the sound of Regina's car.
Lauren snickered. "I'll be upstairs, I don't want to witness this."
She darted up the stairs, a serene smile on her face that stayed in place until she was out of sight. Stupid cow, she was bound to end up like her mother. I almost felt sorry for her. Almost…
The sound of the front door made me flinch. I felt uneasy, already anticipating the nerve-racking conversation with Regina that was now less than a heartbeat away.
"Isabella." She sneered my name while she stepped into the kitchen.
I forgot all about the food I'd been preparing as her nasal voice invaded my ears, and I turned around to face her. She was still wearing the too tight, purple dress; how long until she would actually burst out of it?
"Yes?" I unwillingly responded.
"It's time that you and I have a serious talk." She all but hissed.
"Why? I'm here, I'm making dinner, and I promise that I will use the rest of the evening to do my other chores." I pleaded.
"That's not what I'm talking about, and you know it."
I sighed. "Look, if you're talking about Edward Cullen, I told you the truth earlier. He's my boss. The thing in the restaurant didn't mean anything, he paid me to accompany him."
Regina glared at me. "Enough with all your pathetic excuses! Come on, it's obvious that he has feelings for you!"
"No, he…" I automatically opened my mouth to go against her statement, but stopped talking when I realized that she was the second person who had mentioned that…
No, it couldn't be… Regina and Lauren merely saw what they wanted to see. That had to be it… He couldn't possibly have feelings for me. Not that kind of feelings, anyway.
"What, no clever comeback?" Regina taunted me.
"Why do you think that?" I asked, trying to keep my annoyance in check long enough to pry for more information. Regina's opinion normally didn't hold any interest for me, but I had to admit that I was truly curious now.
She rolled her piercing, gray eyes at me. "Oh for god's sake, stop playing innocent! This afternoon he protected you like you were his most valuable possession."
I groaned. So that was what she was rambling about. I should've known that overprotective-Edward would raise suspicions…
"We're friends. That's why he was acting like that." I muttered, knowing that she wouldn't buy it.
"Save it, Isabella. You're telling me that you're working, but in the meantime you're doing god knows what with that movie star boy!" She snapped, her tone growing louder with each word.
Her face changed color, turning the same shade of purple as that awful dress that she was wearing, and I could see that she was slowly starting to lose it.
"So what?!" I suddenly blurted out, my anger also getting the best of me. "So what if I'm dating him? As long as I make sure that I clean up your stupid mess behind your lazy ass, it's none of your concern!"
I put my hand over my mouth the second I realized what I'd blabbed out in the heat of the moment. Never before had I talked to Regina like that… I'd never had the guts, and so I had always silently endured her tirades. I didn't know what had come over me this time, but I guessed that even I had a boiling point…
She looked as shocked as I felt, and for a moment she could only stare at me. To my horror her little blackout didn't last long, and she raised her hand in a threatening gesture.
"Don't you dare speak to me like that, Isabella." The quiet tone that she used was even more scary than the usual yelling and screaming.
And then she swiftly moved her hand. Before I even had time to duck my head, I felt a sharp sting against my cheek. My eyes widened and I gazed at her in horror. I could feel a bruise forming on my cheek, and I brought my hand to my face to lightly rub it. She had always treated me like dirt, but she had never hit me before…
"I trust that this will learn you to mind your manners from now on." She said, a miniscule smile tugging at her lips. "One more mistake on your part, and you're quitting that 'job' of yours. Now get back to work, I'm starving." She continued mercilessly.
"Sure…" I mumbled weakly.
"Oh and Isabella… I've made a list with chores that I want you to finish within now and twenty-four hours…"
xxx
I wasn't sure how I had survived the rest of the evening. After I had served Lauren and Regina dinner, I had directly started with the chores on Regina's endless list. Eating had been the last thing on my mind anyway, and so I had settled for doing the laundry, washing the dishes and cleaning the bathroom. Around eight, Lauren had interrupted me while I'd been scrubbing the shower, only to tell me that she needed me to write her English essay.
That's why I was currently sitting in my room, at my desk, working on her homework. Was I the only one recognizing a pattern here? It didn't help that a terrible headache was nagging me, and I rubbed my temples, briefly pausing my typing activities. I blankly stared at my computer screen for several minutes, taking a few deep breaths and trying to relax the painfully tense muscles in my neck.
I nearly fell out of my desk chair when the sound of my cell phone disturbed the peace. I got up to get it from the nightstand, and saw that Angela's name was flashing on the screen.
"Ang, hey!" I greeted her when I picked up.
Angela sounded agitated when she spoke. "Bella! I've tried to call you all day! Are you alright? Mike told me what was going on, and later Katie showed me a tabloid with pictures of you and Edward! So that's why they were after you! Are they gone? Are you grounded for the rest of eternity? Did Regina…"
"I'm fine, don't worry." I interrupted her rambling. "The journalists are gone, and Regina did freak out, but for now I'm allowed to keep the job." I rapidly provided her with a short summary before she would bust a vein.
"Oh… And you and… Edward?" She asked hesitantly.
"What about us?" I questioned teasingly, already knowing where she was going with this.
"Well… Is it true? I mean are you guys… dating?" She carefully formulated her question.
I snorted. "If that were the case, I would've told you, Ang. Edward and I are just friends. We were at the restaurant as friends, it was not a date."
Angela giggled. "Are you positive?"
I frowned, despite the fact that she couldn't see me. "Yes, why?"
She let out another small giggle. "The way he's looking at you in the picture… Well, let's just say that it speaks for itself. I can imagine that people are thinking that there's something going on between the two of you."
I was speechless. Wow. It was one thing for my retarded stepfamily to think that Edward had feelings for me, but my loyal friend Angela… She wouldn't lie to me about this…
"Are you still there? Bella?" Her voice sounded from the other end of the phone.
"Yes…" I muttered, confused.
"Oh okay. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to… Hey… Oh my god, he's on TV!" She broke off her apology to inform me.
"Excuse me?"
"Edward! He's on TV, it's live. He's talking to that scary woman who chased us with her microphone."
"Really?" I asked in astonishment.
It sounded very unlikely to me that Edward would voluntarily speak to the journalists who were desperately waiting for him at the huge, white gate.
"Yes! Go look! Shoo!" She pushed me.
She told me which channel, and we quickly said our goodbyes. I turned on the small, prehistoric television in the corner of my room, and sat down on the edge of my bed. I flicked through channels until his perfect face filled the screen…
He was standing behind the gate, flanked by Joe and Emmett. He was talking to the goldfish-woman, seeming very relaxed and at ease… He even smiled, and his green eyes were determined, but friendly. I turned up the volume, curious what he had to say. I had missed the first part of the interview, but he was currently explaining that he and I were just friends. He also made it clear that he had never cheated on Tanya, and that it was all a big misunderstanding.
As far as I knew, this was very unlike Edward. No temper tantrums, no cold glares. He was acting like an adult, handling the situation. He was sharing the real story with the world, giving people the choice whether they wanted to believe his side or not. My heart swelled with pride, because according to Alice, I was one of the reasons that he had changed so much in such a short amount of time…
After a few minutes a commercial for cornflakes announced that the interview had ended, and a goofy smile crept up my face as I turned off the television. Seeing him like this only made him more attractive… I was glad that he had cleared things up, instead of hiding in his white palace and running away from the problem.
I carelessly dropped the remote control on my bed, and dutifully fell back into my desk chair. I had a hard time concentrating on the rest of Lauren's essay after Edward's little revelation, but I did feel better, more relaxed. I bravely kept typing, praying that this essay would make some sense once I was done.
By the time that I was almost finished my cell phone buzzed briefly, startling me. I checked it and saw that I had a new text message, but I didn't recognize the number of the sender.
"Weird…" I muttered, opening it.
'Hey there! I'm sending you a virtual hug, in case you need one. Sweet dreams. Edward'
My heart skipped a beat. Oh right. I realized that I'd used this phone to call him, that one time when I'd been on the verge of a breakdown. He must have saved my phone number… Stalker. Not that I had a problem with that, my insides were spontaneously melting at his sweet message. I bit my lip, deliberating for a moment, but before long I was already texting him back.
'Back at you, if anyone deserves a hug it's you… I saw you on TV, I'm very proud of you, Edward. Sleep well. x Bella'
Thanks for reading! Hope to see you all tomorrow! :)