Have I told you guys how much I appreciate your reviews and love? Well I do! So effing much! You guys provide such great motivation for this procrastinating writer ;)
Anywho, here is Kid.
Chapter 14- Party
"Kate? Was she s-s-smart?" I whisper. I'm embarrassed for asking. But my curiosity is heavy on my mind.
"Yes, very. She was going to college with me," he answers without hesitation. "She was always a better student."
"Hmm. And was she p-p-pretty?"
"She was beautiful. She had long blonde hair, big blue eyes and the best smile."
"Wh-what did you lo-l-love most about her?"
Edward finally looks away from his book and right into my eyes. He searches for something in them. He finally gives up and places his book down with a light sigh.
"Why are you asking, Kid?" He asks with a smile on his lips. He scoots over, closes the space between us and gently runs his finger tips across my cheek. "What do you wanna know? I feel like you're really asking me for something else."
The touch of his finger tips to my skin momentarily causes me to goose bump and not answer him. I smile at his beautiful and patient face.
"I j-j-just wanna know."
"Really?"
"Yes. You n-never talk about her."
"Well," he starts. He takes a deep breath and leaves an arm over my shoulders. "She was very smart and beautiful like we've established already. She was elegant and gracious. She never cursed or fumbled with her thoughts. She always knew. She came from a very good family. She looked like her father and mother, but she mostly acted like her mom. I don't talk to them anymore. I think I remind them of her somehow. Anyway, she had plans to be a doctor. She wanted to save people. What I loved most about her is that she knew who she was and was determined in whatever she was doing. She never cared about the negatives."
Edward stops talking and stares at the floor in a strange silence.
He's thinking about her.
He probably misses her.
He hasn't let her go.
I sit still, thinking that I have a lot of work to do.
I'm not any of the things she was.
"I wa-wanna be smart, Edward," I tell him. "I wanna be like n-n-normal people and not s-s-stutter." I look down at my lap.
The stripes on my pajama pants appear to move if I stare at them for too long, but instead of turning away I let my eyes lose themselves in the black and white lines.
I suddenly feel his lips against my head. I start picking at a hole I found in one of the white stripes. My pale skin, which is viewable through it, almost matches the stripe.
"Oh, Kid. Nobody is normal," he says. "You're a special girl. You're gonna go to school, learn and rule the world."
"I am?"
"Yes. Your big heart will lead the way."
"Ar-are you g-g-gonna come with me?"
He chuckles. "Sure, Kid. I'll follow you wherever you want to go."
~NLG~
"Now say it slower. Take a deep breath, relax, don't move and if you feel like you're gonna stumble, stop and gather yourself."
"Okay."
"Go!"
I take a deep breath. "The boy went to the s…"I stop. I can feel my tongue as it starts to stick to the roof of my mouth, imprisoning my next letter. It doesn't wanna let it go. If I fight it, I'll stutter. I don't know how to set it free without a fight. "I can't d-d-do it! Just g-g-give me the piece of cake!"
"No, Kid. You're going to say this sentence without stammering," Edward says pulling the plate holding the damn piece of cake I want a little further away.
After dinner, he thought it would be great to practice my speech. He spent twenty minutes looking up speech exercises on his phone.
"Ass."
He chuckles. "That's a start. Come on. Go!"
Okay. I'm not supposed to move a lot. I can't move my face, only my lips. I stare at Edward. I take a deep breath and relax. "The boy went to the store and…" Damn tongue. I breathe. "And bought milk."
"Fuck yes!" Edward cheers. He lifts me up, wrapping me in his big arms and spins me around. I laugh hard against his shoulder as he continues to cheer. I hang on to his t-shirt for dear life. "I knew you could do it! Soon we'll get you sounding all smooth and shit! Yes!"
"You're s-s-silly!"
"Who cares?"
"I d-don't know!"
He laughs and slowly lets my feet hit the floor. My body is pressed against his. He smells nice. He's warm and strong. I just wanna stay like this.
With him.
He just smiles at me, kisses my forehead and releases a warm breath.
"Good job, Kid. I'm so proud of you." He steps back, reaches over to the kitchen counter and grabs the plate of cake and two forks. "Let's dig in!"
We finish the cake and two big glasses of milk.
As I lick the chocolate off my fingers I hear Edward lowly chuckle.
"What?"
"You have chocolate and milk all around your mouth. You look silly."
"Your face looks s-s-silly all the t-t-time," I tell him. He laughs as he grabs a handful of napkins and gently starts to wipe my face. "I'm not a b-b-baby and you don't ha-have to grab so m-m-many napkins. Your face is b-b-big, not mine."
"Shut it, Kid."
I stick my tongue out at him, but he ignores me.
"Tomorrow night, we're going to a party."
"A par-party?"
"Yes. Alice is announcing her engagement to her friends and family."
"Enga-en-enga…"
"She's going to marry Jasper and she's going to tell people about it."
"That b-blonde man?"
"Yes."
"Oh, that's g-g-great!"
"It is."
"So I'm co-coming too?"
"Duh, Kid."
"Oh," is all I say and I grin so big it hurts.
~NLG~
"You look beautiful!" Alice squeals. She called Edward in the morning and told him she was going to dress me up for the party. I told her she didn't have to since she was the one decorating, but she insisted she didn't mind.
"Really?"
"Yes! You've really gained some good weight. You look healthy and beautiful."
I blush and bite my bottom lip to keep from giggling.
My yellow dress is pretty. I've never worn a dress. Alice helped me shave my legs. I almost cried at the thought of it hurting, but it wasn't that bad.
She curled my hair and put some cream and powder on my face and this shiny stuff on my lips. My face feels weird, but she says I look pretty so it's okay.
"Come on. Let's see what Edward thinks." She pulls me out of the restroom and into the living room where he is sitting on the couch.
"Are you girls ready?" He shouts over his shoulder.
"Yes. Edward look how pretty Kid is!"
Edward turns and looks at me. I suddenly wanna hide behind Alice, but his wide eyes and smile tell me its okay.
"Wow," he whispers. "You look great, Kid. I'm gonna have to start calling you Lady instead."
Alice giggles and maybe I do too.
He kisses my cheek, calls me "gorgeous" and leads me out the door.
~NLG~
"Edward?"
"Hmm?"
"I th-think mah-my birthday is next m-m-month."
We reach a red light. His face lights up as he turns to me.
"Really?" He asks excitedly.
"Well, I th-th-think so. Tha-th-that's what Maria told me once."
"Maria?"
"Ye-yeah. You know? The girl I t-t-told you about. That hel-helped me r-r-run away from my foster home."
"Oh, of course. But how did she know?"
"I used to ha-have my b-b-birth certificate. She read it t-t-to me. I had it in a b-b-backpack I carried around. She took it one d-d-day to rob a store. She was gonna put s-s-stuff in it, but g-g-got caught. I never saw her since then and s-s-so I lost my certificate."
"What? That's crazy, Kid! You realize if we find this Maria chick and if she still has it, we could probably find out your real name and maybe even your parents?"
"She told me th-that she couldn't f-f-find my parents' names on it."
"Hmm, we could probably still use it to find them."
"I wo-wonder w-where sh-she could be."
~NLG~
The party is nice.
Mrs. Esme made me sit with her for dinner with Edward across from me. She wanted to make sure I ate.
Alice sat on her other side with Jasper.
Jasper is somewhat quiet, but he is nice to me and even asked me questions and made jokes. He made a lot of fun of Edward who just rolled his eyes.
I thought maybe dinner was it, but Mrs. Esme said that the rest of the guests were going to arrive later for a party in the back yard.
Edward sat with me outside as the guests started to arrive and shared stories of when he was a little boy. He pointed at people and told me who they were.
But when Mr. Cullen arrived with a gift in his hands; Edward took one good and long look at him, stood up and told me he would find me later for me to go sit with Alice and her friends. He took me by the hand and sat with me next to them.
He walked away.
He walked away from Mr. Cullen.
Alice tried to include me in her conversation, but I could tell she was more excited to have her friends with her to talk about the wedding and the honeymoon.
Rosalie was the loudest of all the girls. She kept making jokes about sex and about things Alice should try during her honeymoon. The girls giggled while I just smiled to fit in. I didn't know what they were talking about. Sex had never been a fun thing from what I had heard.
My friend Jessica for example.
I really wish Edward hadn't left me with them.
I decided to walk around. The rest other guests didn't pay attention at me as I wandered through the backyard.
I found Mrs. Esme and Mr. Cullen talking behind in the garden. They discussed how he should try and talk to Edward. But he didn't want to push his son.
They are both silly.
Edward and Mr. Cullen are very silly. They waste so much time.
I'm now sitting by some kids. They are running around me and asking me to run with them. I don't wanna get in trouble so I tell them no, but I stay because they make me laugh. I tell the little girl she has a pretty dress and she tells me the same.
She plays with the boys until one of them pulls her hair after she pushes him. She starts to cry. A lady walks over and roughly takes the boy away by the hand, telling him that he's been bad.
I feel bad for him.
I continue sitting with the rest of the kids.
I hear a familiar laughter.
There he is.
Edward is walking to the drink table with Lauren on his arm. Her blonde hair is curled and the dress she is wearing looks expensive.
She's pretty.
She's pretty and stupid.
I hate her.
I don't like the way her fingers are wrapped around his bicep and I don't like the way she keeps making him laugh. The way his green eyes twinkle makes me mad.
"Do you like cotton candy?" The boy asks me.
I nod. I'm too mad to use words.
"My sister says you talk funny."
"I do."
"Why?"
"I d-d-d-don't know."
"Doesn't your mom take you to school? My mom makes me go. She says it makes me smart, but I don't like it."
I just nod and continue staring at Edward and Lauren.
"Are you a kid? Or are you a grown up?"
I stare at the talkative little boy. His innocent blue eyes wait for me to answer him.
"I th-t-think I'm a grown up. Wh-where is your m-mom?"
He points at a lady laughing with Rosalie and Alice.
"Is she n-n-nice?"
He nods.
"That's g-g-good. I'm g-gonna get a drink." He doesn't answer and continues playing with the rest of the kids as I head over to Lauren and Edward who are serving themselves punch.
"Well you should come!"I hear her say. "It'll be fun. You need a vacation. Just ask for those days off. We'll drink and part in Vegas."
"I don't know," Edward says, rubbing his neck. "I just can't get up and leave right now."
"Why?" She asks, just as I get there.
"Hey, Kid!" Edward says. He smiles and pulls me to his side. "I was looking for you. Do you remember Lauren?"
Lauren half smiles at me.
I just nod.
"Edward?" Another voice says. We turn and find Jasper walking towards us. "Dude, come help me with these damn bottles," he says.
Edward kisses me on the temple and tells Lauren that he'll be right back. I turn to the punch and start serving myself.
"Lauren, what are you doing?" A woman asks. She's blonde, tall and beautiful just like her friend.
"I'm talking to this little girl, Irina," Lauren says and stands a little closer to me. "How does it feel?"
"What?" I ask, not looking at her in the face.
"You know Edward is very young. He has a long life ahead of him, but he needs to start living it soon and he can't. You know why?"
I shake my head.
"Because he's got you living with him. How does it feel knowing that?"
I nervously take sip of my punch. The cold red liquid slides down my throat as she continues.
"I don't know, but maybe you should start thinking about him and his needs. He can't even go on a road trip with his friends because he has a teenage child he has to worry about."
"Why a-ar-are you so mean?" I ask.
"Oh, honey, I'm not being mean. I'm just being honest. Don't you think you're being selfish?"
"I'm n-n-not bad. I do g-g-good."
"I'm sure. You're so considerate. I'm so sure a little street rat like you doesn't give him any problems."
Fight back.
I take a deep breath and squeeze my mouth shut. I look down at the red punch. It moves around the cup, reddening the inside of it.
The next thing I know is that Lauren is covered in red punch from head to toe.
She screams a few times and bounces on her feet.
Suddenly a cold and heavy silence surrounds us. People are staring as Lauren gasps and in complete shock, finally just stands in place.
Irina grabs some napkins and tries to dry the red liquid off her stupid friend.
Lauren starts to cry and now I know I screwed up.
I look around for Edward, but don't have to look for long.
I find him staring at me with not only shock, but anger.
His green eyes are furious and his jaw is clenched.
He starts marching towards us.
This is when I realize that his angry green eyes are looking right at me.
He's marching straight towards me.
He's mad at me.
He's furious.
Umm, oops?
So we are getting closer.
Closer to what you ask? Continue reading baha!
Thanks for everyone who has pimped my story. It's cool to be scrolling around in Twitter and see people talking about NLG. I grin and maybe dance a little.
A shout out to Cris (Wisp author) and anhanninen (Fatherhood, Formula and Other F Word author) for pimping my lil story in their A/N. I got so many new readers because of them and the rest of you too!
Follow me on Twitter at HelloElla90 (I tweet random shiz) and join the facebook group, Kid Talk: Nobody's Little Girl for news, discussions and teasers.
Go!
Adios and hugs for Kid all around.