AN: Well you asked, so I will deliver. Despite my busy schedule. I just got back from England again! Hold the applause ;) Thank you for the reviews! And I also want to strangle Edward too sometimes. I still don't own anything you recognize. And there will be lots of songs too (in order).
For You- Angus and Julia Stone (This is an incredible song)
Shopping for Blood- Franz Ferdinand (If I had to choose my favorite song ever, this comes close)
The New Stone Age- Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark and Warren Zevon
I Could Have Lied- Red Hot Chili Peppers
I sat, watching Edward as he sat with his hands coving his face and his elbows resting on the table. A man with a broom walked slowly by, sweeping up the glass and turning around to continue sweeping the floor. I couldn't help but admire the thick muscles and bulging veins that crawled up his arms. I couldn't help but imagine those arms on either side of my head- I blushed at that thought, especially since his arms were so clenched now. Shaking my head clear of those thoughts, I tentatively tried to figure out how to broach the elephant that was currently running wild in the room. It was the fact that Edward used the word love and me in the same sentence.
"Edward, what do you mean by 'actually love you'?" I whispered. I watched as he sighed, took a deep breathe and lowered his hands ever so slowly to rest on the table. He looked at me bluntly, his eyes full of emotion, murky and deep green, not the sparkling emerald orbs that often left me breathless.
"Isabella Marie Swan," he sighed sensually. Wether his tone was intentional or not, I left me squirming. I was sitting there for what seemed like an eternity, silently begging him to continue, when he took a deep breathe. "I don't know how to say this or what to do in this situation. You know that."
I nodded, silently begging him to continue.
"You will work for me soon. It will be my job to protect you, guide you and mold you into what I need you to be. And apparently, I'll need you to be my wife. But you won't play the role of the dutiful wife in the future. And, I have no fucking idea how to react to that. You know what a wife does in this family. They stay at home, cook dinner, have kids and look pretty. But with you, I have to protect you while trying to make this entire family work," he said, looking at his interlocked hands.
"Edward, you know that I will do whatever it takes to make everything easier for us," I said, feeling my heart break ever so slightly as I thought of the possibility of not having Edward in my life.
"I want you in my life Bella. I just don't know what role you will play," he said, obviously sharing my sentiment. I smiled sadly at him and patted his hand. "We have to go and kill that fucker that sold Emmett those drugs."
"Because that will clear my head," Edward said, sliding out of the booth and offering me his hand. I wobbled up onto my feet and enjoyed the fact that I could nearly look him in the eye. I let his hand go, and headed towards the back exit with him trailing behind me."
After four hours of hunting, we finally had a lead that seemed to be the end trail to all of the dealers' stories and connection. It was four am and I was exhausted, but I felt I had to do this, if not for Emmett, then for all of the other people with addictions he was supplying.
Edward had turned off his headlights as we began to drive into one of the rougher parts of town that was controlled by gangs, not the mafia. In Chicago, it was the mob on top, and the gangs had connections too us, but they would run away scared if it came down to an actual fight. And driving an Aston would certainly draw unwanted attention. It was no surprise that Emmett bought from a guy with gang connections. All the dealers affiliated with us knew we would kill them and that their families would also be at risk, especially since it was Carlisle's son.
We stopped outside of a run down apartment complex, stained concrete and broken sidewalks and it was dirty, illuminated by to pools of yellow light that came down off the top of the building. Edward reached down in front of my legs and popped open the gun compartment a pulled out two guns. He looked at me and I glanced into his eyes and gave a slight nod. It was time for a performance.
He pistol whipped me, not hard, but just enough to cause my nose to start bleeding and I tried to make myself cry and I rubbed my eyes to smudge my eye makeup. He ripped the top of my dress and I kicked off one of my shoes. I messed up my hair and got out of the car. It was a brisk night and I held onto my clutch and covered the gun with it. I staggered up to the door and began to knock on it frantically. It cracked open and I let my words tumble out.
"Help me!" I cried out, as the door opened wider to reveal a middle aged man with tattoos and the tattoo of a cross on his earlobe. "He's going to get me!"
"Come inside sugar," he said, leering at my exposed cleavage. I wearily stepped through the threshold and I saw Edward catch the door and hold onto it, so it would slam, but the metal wouldn't engage. I looked around the living room at the drug paraphernalia all over the place and the empty beer bottles. The stench was horrific.
"You wanna call someone?" he asked.
I shook my head. "I have no one to call."
He grinned lazily and I saw the glassiness in his eyes. "We could use more girls like you."
"For what?" I asked, doing my best to look scared and play the part of a damaged girl.
"I mean, you could be useful," he said pulling out a gun. "Don't move, sugar. I need to call the boss."
I glanced up nervously, and quietly released the safety on my gun. I slipped my finger onto the trigger and I kept looking around nervously, and tried to pull up my dress. He lumbered back into the room and began talking on his cell phone.
"Yo, boss? I got a potential. She's good. I mean, we need a runner like her-" he was cut off as an arm wrapped around his neck and I recognized Edward's shirt. The phone fell to the ground as the guy slipped and began to struggle and fight a losing battle against the strength of Edward. I picked up the phone and heard the confusion.
"Listen. This is Isabella Swan, daughter of Charlie Swan. You know who I am, don't you? If not, this is a warning. Never mess with my family. Next time, there will be more bloodshed. And you will be next. If you don't know who I am, ask around and see for yourself." I hung up the phone and wiped if down on my dress, before smashing it with my heel. I nudged it under the guy's dead body as Edward shot him three times in the back with his gun. I could hear the sound of the air whipping past the bullets, and something about having a silencer made it seem just that much more deadly.
Edward nodded at me, and he took my hand and led me back to the car before calling to cops and saying he heard gun shots. We both knew that the police would be happy that another drug dealer would be off the street and I smiled at him tentatively.
The ride back to my house was quiet, both of us wrapped us in our own thoughts. It was still hard to watch someone die; watch the life slowly flicker out of their eyes. How Edward could kill so personally, without a weapon scared me. Was he really that ruthless? Deep down, I knew that he must have feelings about killing, but he never let them surface and that scared me.
He pulled into the driveway and turned off the engine.
"I'll walk you in," he said.
"You don't have to. It's late and we have school tomorrow," I said softly, not meeting his gaze, but secretly pleased that he would be so chivalrous.
"Are you okay after today?" he asked as we meandered slowly up the path and towards the front door.
"I guess. I'm a little less freaked out, but I still feel so guilty," I said, biting my lip and looking away.
"He would have had killed you Bella. or sold you, or raped you. It was a life or death situation. And we went there for that reason. To kill him for what he did for Emmett."
"I know, but it still makes me cringe. I have killed one man and have been the accomplice of many, not to mention the fact that I caused the explosion and burned down Jacob's house," I said, suddenly remembering that I was the cause of ten deaths from that horrific day. Realization crashed over me and I fought back tears. How was I supposed to be a leader if I couldn't deal with death?
"Bella, shh. It's okay. Just lock it away. Don't think about it," Edward said, engulfing me in a hug. His scent overwhelmed me and I relaxed into his embrace, furiously blinking back tears. I pulled away and wiped my eyes.
"I'm okay. I'll see you tomorrow?" I said, putting up the defenses and pulling on a brave face.
"Yes. Good night Bella," he said, and with that he walked down the path and drove away.
I unlocked the front door and immediately stiffened at the sound of shouting and thuds and the smash of glass. I pulled out my gun again and slipped of my shoes before running towards my father's office. I stalled as I put my ear against the sliding door.
"IS THAT ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY? 'I'M SORRY'? YOU KNOW WHAT I DID FOR YOU AND YOUR PARENTS. YOU KNOW YOUR PLACE, YET YOU BETRAYED ME AND THEN LED ME TO BELIEVE THAT SHE IS MY BIOLOGICAL DAUGHTER? YOU ARE NOTHING BETTER THAN A COMMON WHORE!" I heard my father scream.
"YOU KNOW WHAT? I WONDER WHY I HAD TO FIND SOMEONE ELSE TO LOVE OTEHR THAN YOU. I'M SO HAPPY THAT ALICE IS NOT YOUR DAUGHTER, MAYBE IT WILL BE GOOD FOR HER! I HATE WHAT YOU HAVE BECOME CHARLIE! I'M LEAVING AND I WANT A FUCKING DIVORCE!" my mother screamed back.
"You know that you can't get a divorce from me," Charlie said softly.
"Is that a threat. So help me god if that is a threat... Fuck you Charlie. Fuck you," my mother said, and the door slid open.
"Bella?" my mother asked, both of us mirroring the other's expression of a deer caught in the headlights. I sent a contemptuous glare at the two stunned adults and ran to my room.
I slammed my door shut and locked it, breathing hard.
"Bella?" a timid voice asked from the other side of my room?
"Alice?"
"Bella, what's going on with mom and dad?" she asked, and I heard the scratchiness in her voice and knew she had been crying.
"Allie, I need to shower," I said, waving her into my bathroom. I hopped in and turned on the hot water, thankful for the fogged glass shower stall. She walked in and sat down on the toilet.
"Alice, I don't know what to say or what to do, but I think Mom and Dad might be getting a divorce," I said hesitantly.
"What? Why? They never fight or anything!" she looked shocked.
"Things aren't working out for them like the hoped." I instantly wondered if my life as Edward's wife would be full of affairs and fights.
Alice was silent, wrapped up in her own thoughts as I finished washing my hair. We went back into my bedroom and I noticed that I had twenty missed calls from Alice.
"Hey I'm sorry I didn't call you back," I said.
"I was scared. Bella, why are they doing this?" she asked, sitting across from me on my bed.
I sighed and braced myself. "Alice, Mom had a number of affairs. I shouldn't be the one to tell you this. Fuck, I don't even know how to handle this entire situation. Allie, Charlie isn't your biological father."
She looked at me and sighed. "I knew it. He doesn't treat me the same as you. He found out tonight, right?"
I looked at Alice, wondering where the naive little girl I used to know went. "Yes. Allie, I'm really sorry. I know he still loves you. He never said that he didn't. He just hates Mom right now. I've been the worst big sister for the longest time. I'm not saying this out of sympathy, but I want to apologize for everything. I don't care that you are only my half sister, I love you Allie. And know it's just us two. I'm pissed off with Dad. He threatened Mom you know."
"What?"
I spent the rest of the early morning hours with Alice, telling her everything about our family, the situation with Edward. She comforted me as I broke down about the part I had played in people's deaths.
By 6 am we were both exhausted and I went downstairs to make us both coffee and I ran into my father in the kitchen.
"Bella, you Mom left me last night. I'm really sorry you and your sister will have to go through this," he said, drying his hands on a tea towel in the kitchen. I shrugged and poured two large cups of coffee. I didn't hear Charlie leave, but when I looked over at the tea towel, I saw blood on it. Instantly my mind went into over drive, but when I saw the bloody knife resting on the chopping board in the sink I relaxed. I climbed back up to my room and grabbed my phone to call Edward and let him know that I would be taking Alice to school today. We quickly got ready for school and arrived in record time. I knew Alice was still processing all of the information, but she promised me that she would only discuss this with Rose or Jazz.
I pulled into my spot and ran to Rose, who was hiding behind dark sunglasses, just like me and the sex god that was approaching us.
"Good morning!" Jazz said sarcastically, pulling off his glasses and revealing his dark circles. "Oh Bells, Riley skipped town and told me to tell you that if you and Edward don't work out, he'll come back for you."
I didn't say anything, but I knew we could all sense the tension.
"Bella and I are half-sisters," Alice said, dropping the bomb.
Everyone turned to look at us and I clasped Alice's hand. "Charlie and my mom are getting a divorce."
Edward pulled off his glasses and shared a concerned glance with Jazz. "Bella, our father's can't get divorces."
I shook my head quickly at Edward and he shut up, realizing that Alice didn't know exactly everything. The bell rang before we could talk anymore and we all dispersed and headed to our different classed. Rose linked her arm with mine.
"Bells, have your heard from Em?"
"Charlie shipped him off to rehab last night, and we have to keep it quiet or Carlisle will literally kill him. He isn't allowed to contact anyone until he gets out," I said.
"Thank you Bella. I hate him so much, but I still love him. Is that wrong?"
"No Rose. That's perfectly normal."
The day passed uneventfully and I found myself in Spanish class with Edward. We began a quiet conversation in Gaelic about Alice.
"Listen Bella. You can't tell Alice everything. I need find out what exactly happened between Charlie and Renee from my father. You did the right thing though, telling her everything."
"I just hope I did. I worry about her and I always have. She's almost taking all of this too calmly. She's okay with the fact that her sister is a killer. Her reaction isn't normal Edward, and I'm worried about it."
He reached for my hand and the contact made me shiver. "There's nothing we can do apart from watch her a little more closely. But that's it. If she won't open up, she won't and we can't exactly force it out of her."
"Not funny, Edward," I said, scowling at his teasing face and into his mesmerizing eyes.
The ticking of the clock was the only sound in the room. I was sitting next to Alice on the couch and across from Charlie.
"Alice," he began. "I know that all of this must have come as a surprise, and I know that I haven't exactly been the best father to you, but I want to change that. With your mother gone I want to become the father you never had. I love you Alice, more than you know and more than I have ever shown you. You know Bella and I have had our ups and downs, and I want to apologize for my behavior and favoritism. You know that I have been preparing Bella for her future, but that is no excuse. Alice, you and I are going on a father daughter trip to Hawaii for a few days."
Alice smiled and jumped up to forgive him. I was pleased for her and proud that Charlie could get over the fact that she wasn't his. My mother's indiscretions would certainly rock the family and I knew that Charlie needed to get away too.
"We leave in half an hour. No bikinis," Charlie said.
"Dad," Alice groaned.
Charlie grinned at her and she rolled his eyes and I wanted to cry from the happiness. Maybe that was just the exhaustion kicking in.
I kissed them both goodbye and it warmed my heart to see them both so happy. We all promised to call if anything happened, and Charlie had the locks changed in case Renee wanted to come back. I felt like a proud parent seeing the tow of them together, with a giant weight lifted off both of their shoulders. I was so thankful that Alice was so forgiving, but I was worried deep down that something would happen. As soon as the front door closed, I called Edward.
AN: The way Edward and Bella gained access to the dealer's house is actually a tactic used by potential robbers. It happened to us. But we caught them before one guy made it around the back and into the house.