Chapter 14: Liar
BPOV
The next day had arrived entirely too quickly. I wasn't ready to leave Edward and his lovemaking. It was the best I had ever experienced. I couldn't forget about his nightmare, though. Him being so afraid was what frightened me the most. What haunted his dreams? I didn't want to bring it up, because by morning, Edward seemed like his usual self. Almost as if he had forgotten about dreaming entirely.
We left Ali's Bed and Breakfast by seven, and Edward took me home. The car ride was too short, but we spent the time joking around.
We didn't have to talk much about our romantic escapades, because we were both on the same page. I was happy, and so was he. I began to think of our relationship as becoming a long term thing.
I quickly changed clothes at home, then Edward walked me out to my little truck.
"What will you do today?" He asked.
"Visit my parents. You?"
"I have my breakfast with Emmett and then I have a meeting tonight." My face fell. "But can I see you tomorrow?" He asked.
"Yes," I replied happily. Edward chuckled and opened my door for me. I climbed into the divers seat and started the ignition. He leaned in through the window after closing my door and sighed.
"I don't know what you've done with me, Bella, but I like it." My heart swelled.
"I'm falling pretty hard for you, too, Mr. Cullen. I think we are official."
Edward frowned slightly. "I want us to have a big talk soon. Can we do that? Tomorrow?" I nodded slowly as worry flooded into my happy body. "Good." He kissed my mouth, and then he was gone, leaving me to wonder.
...
Luckily, my parents didn't live very far from my house. I crossed town for the millionth time in my life, but looked at it differently. I was getting older, slowly but surely, and real life was beginning to crash down on top of me. But, so was love as well.
I wasn't quite ready to admit my strong feelings for Edward even to myself. I was afraid of jinxing it, and worried that maybe he didn't care the same way. He was still a mystery, and now I wondered whether or not that was a good thing. I got what I wanted, but was it true? Maybe some mysteries aren't meant to be solved.
Death had never touched my life until college. My parents were both alive, and so was everyone else in my family. I had never even been to a funeral, and now, death was all around me. In fact, sometimes I felt like it was following me. I couldn't help but think back to Jake accusing Edward. Death followed behind love closely after I had met him. I frowned, and forced those thoughts away, deciding that a good talk with Edward was necessary.
I pulled into the local Starbucks for some caffeine when I spotted Jake's truck. I smiled and parked next to him. When I go out of my small, Ford Ranger, I heard shouting. I quickly jogged around to the other side of Jacob's big truck and flinched in surprise. Alec was inches away from Jake's face and he was shouting.
"She's mine now, bitch," Alec spat.
"If you touch her again, I'll fucking kill you," Jacob yelled back. I stepped between them and held my palms up against each of their chest's.
"Whoa, calm down!" I yelled.
"Bella, get out of this," Alec seethed.
"Leave her alone," Jake replied.
"What, mad because you can't have her either?" Alec teased. Jake shot forward, pushing me into Alec's chest hard.
"Stop!" I screamed. Both men jumped apart. People leaving and entering the coffee shop stared at the three of us with raised eyebrows. Alec huffed and straightened his black button up.
"See you around, Jacob," Alec sneered.
"You better wish otherwise, bitch," Jake snapped. Alec chuckled and walked to the end of the parking lot, jumped in his Mazda, and sped off.
"What the fuck was that about?" I asked angrily. Jake hung his head in shame.
"Dude won't leave Bree alone," he replied with a shrug.
"Did you ever think to ask who Bree wants? That might save you a few childish moments," I snapped.
"She won't answer either of our calls. Will you talk to her?" I groaned. "Please, Bella?"
"Fine, fine. Just don't start anymore fights, okay?"
"He started it," Jake replied childishly.
"Jacob," I scorned.
"Okay, deal."
"Good. What are you doing here?"
"Meeting Seth." Just then, Seth pulled into the Starbucks parking lot beside my truck. He got out and walked over to us happily.
"Hey, guys."
"Hey," I said.
"Needing coffee, too?"
"Like you wouldn't believe," Jake mumbled, walking towards the building. Seth raised his eyebrows as we followed behind Jake into Starbucks.
"What's his problem?"
"Don't ask," I warned. Seth shrugged and we came up to the counter. I studied the menu, even though I always ordered the same thing.
"Where were you last night?" Seth asked.
"Oh, uh, with Edward," I said, not looking to his face.
"Oh," he replied lightly. "How's that going?"
I groaned internally. "Great. How is Jane?" Seth smiled widely and his cheeks flushed. "Thought so," I told him smiling.
After our drinks were handed out, I went to leave but then decided to sit on the patio with the guys for a few minutes.
"So," Jake began slyly, looking at Seth. "Did you finally get some?"
"A good man never tells," Seth replied, his cheeks blazing.
Jacob snorted. "Dude, this is fucking huge, though. A twenty-seven year old virgin?"
"Leave him alone," I said, trying not to laugh.
"I'm a chemistry major, Jake. Don't you have any idea how time consuming that is?"
I laughed and Jake shrugged. Seth sighed. "It was so..."
"Hot?" Jake offered. Seth frowned then nodded.
"That night would have been great had Tan-" Jake cut off, sadly.
We all fell silent for a moment, remembering the life that was taken too early from this world.
"That reminds me," I began sternly. "Lets get something straight," I said between sips of my Caramel Macchiato. The boys put their drinks down and nodded.
I lowered my voice. "Edward is not the killer."
"How do you know?" Seth countered. I took a deep breath.
"Because, I know. I know I can't make you believe anything, but I'd appreciate it if you kept those thoughts to yourself from now on." They slowly nodded at me. "They're not going to get you anywhere anyway. You're not FBI agents last time I checked."
Jake snorted. "Who do you think it is?"
"Honestly? I have to fucking idea."
"It has to be someone we know, don't you think?" Seth asked quietly. I shrugged.
"I don't really want to think about it at all, actually."
"Rumor has it, you have something to do with it, Bella," Jake whispered.
I scoffed. "Me?"
"You're one of the last people to have seen them both alive," Seth informed.
"Yeah, and you hated them," Jacob added
"I didn't hate them," I defended. "I wouldn't wish death upon anyone."
"But they did treat you like shit," Seth said.
"So?"
"Hey, we're just saying," Jake said, raising his palms in defense. I sighed and stood up.
"I've gotta go to my parents'," I said. "I'll see you guys around."
"Say hi to Charlie for us," Jake said. I waved a hand at them, not turning back to look. Anger bubbled within me, but uncertainty soon took over that emotion entirely. They were just as suspicious as everyone else, and we were all on edge.
...
"Bella," My dad cheered.
"Hey, daddy," I said, coming into the living room. "Where's mom?"
"Grocery shopping. She'll be gone for hours," he chuckled. I smiled and took a seat next to him on the couch. Music played softly from another room. It always felt good to return to my childhood home. I was accepted and loved unconditionally here. I left my troubles at the door.
"Alison Krauss?" I asked, nodding towards the den where the music wafted from. My parents were her biggest fans, and she was always on repeat throughout my childhood.
My dad nodded and smiled. "Of course. How are you holding up?" He asked. I sighed lightly.
"Fine. I'm fine, really."
"Bella, you're not fine. How could you be?"
I shrugged. "I can't think about it too much, or I won't be fine, Dad."
"I should have been there."
"No," I snapped, then sighed again when I saw his face fall. "Is that why I'm here? So you can yell about things you can't control?" Charlie shook his head.
I knew full well of the attachments he still held with the police force, and also knew that nearly all of them paid him a visit explaining the recent crime scenes of this case. My chest eased and I placed a small hand on his forearm.
"Sorry it's taken me a while to return your calls, Dad. I know you're just worried, but I'm here now. What's so important?"
Charlie shrugged. "I...uh, want to show you something." I narrowed my eyes, and Charlie got up, grabbing a large, thick folder from the dining room table. He sat back down next to me.
"What's this?"
"It's about Edward," he hedged. My stomach fell to the ground. Charlie had a file on him?
"Can I have a drink first?" I begged.
Charlie chuckled and led me into the kitchen. He grabbed a beer for himself, and then the vodka from the freezer, handing it to me. I took out the orange juice and then a glass from the cabinet.
My mind was racing with the possibilities of the contents in that folder. Maybe Edward had been in jail before? It wasn't unlike my father to dig up whatever he could on any guy I took an interest in. I mixed my drink and tried to slow my breathing. Whatever was in that folder, I made a decision to still love Edward no matter what. I suddenly swallowed hard, realizing that I had thought about the word love-again-when thinking of him.
I returned to the living room, took a large swig of my drink, and looked to the folder.
"What is it with this guy?" I teased. "Time in juvy? Did he cheat on his SAT's?" I chuckled, but my father stayed quiet.
"No," he said. "Do you know what he does?"
"Uh, he's a student?" Charlie took a deep breath and opened the folder. An 8x10 photo of Edward was the first thing I saw. His hair was buzzed, and he wore a Navy uniform. He wasn't smiling, and his green eyes were hollow. I frowned, and thought of Emmett.
"Bella, Edward is an FBI agent," Charlie said quietly. My face was expressionless, and I didn't breathe. The truth of my father's words sunk in slowly, like the sinking of a large ship. It was inevitable, of course -the sinking- but my mind was trying to fight against it anyway.
That was, until everything started to fall into place. The mystery of him wasn't as mysterious anymore. Edward was a cop, meaning he most likely had to lie about everything he ever told me. My heart started to shrivel up, and it was agonizing. Was it worth knowing the truth? My decision to keep on loving him wasn't so strong anymore. I think that was what hurt me the most.
...
I hadn't moved in what felt like hours, but in reality, it couldn't have been more than two minutes. My mind was reeling quicker than the rest of me could keep up with. I looked back down to Edward in his navy uniform and felt the sadness of betrayal overwhelm me.
"The FBI?" I finally squeaked. My father nodded.
"He grew up in Gatlinburg and joined the Navy at eighteen. He served a term, then left and went to school for psychology, specializing in criminal studies."
When I didn't make a move to speak, Charlie continued after shuffling through a few of the other pages. I stared down at my Screw Driver after taking another large gulp.
"He's thirty-" Charlie stopped because I suddenly choked on my drink.
"Thirty?" I spat. Charlie nodded slowly. "I can't," I cut off, my chest already feeling too heavy with what little information had been given. I blinked and cleared my throat. "I mean, are you satisfied, Dad?"
"What?"
"Well, all of your snooping has finally found something," I snapped. I was taking my anger out on him when I shouldn't, I knew that, but I didn't know what else to say or do.
"I didn't snoop, Bells. I recognized him."
I scoffed. "Like he recognized you?From where?" My dad sighed and grabbed another piece of paper.
"I met him when he was ten," Charlie started slowly. "I told you this, hoping to soften the blow for when he finally did tell you the truth. But I think Edward should be the one to tell you the rest."
"Oh? The liar should come clean?"
"I hate that he's not been honest with you, my little girl, but I called his boss. Bella, he's been undercover. He couldn't tell you."
"Bullshit!" I yelled, standing up. "He should have told me before he went and-" I cut off again, this time choking on my tears. "I trusted him, dad."
"I'm not saying you don't have reason to be upset, but you have to understand, he had no choice. I'm sure he didn't plan on falling for you." I folded my arms and huffed angrily. Charlie smiled softly.
"It's how I met your mother," he said quietly. I frowned. I knew the story, but never had it struck me so strongly until now.
"You know the story. I was undercover trying to bust a drug dealer. I came into a small diner where your mother was a waitress. I didn't tell her my real name until a week before we got married." Charlie chuckled fondly. "We never even caught the dealer."
"This is different, Dad."
"I know, Bells."
"How do you have his file?"
"Like I said, I've known him for twenty years, I just haven't seen him in at least fifteen."
"I need answers."
"Then go to him and ask the questions." My cell phone rang from my back pocket, startling me to jump in the air. I groaned seeing the caller ID.
"Hello?"
"Bella, it's Bree."
"Yeah, hey," I replied, pinching the bridge of my nose.
"Can you come over? I'm scared." My head snapped up.
"Of?"
"Just everything that has happened. My mom is out of town on business, and I don't want to be alone." Her voice was shaky.
"Yeah, sure. What if you came to my house? We got that new flatscreen and surround system. I think Jane is staying with her sister for a couple days."
"Great, I'd like that. I'll bring The X-Files. Thanks, Bella."
"Of course. I'll meet you there in an hour?"
"See you then." We ended the call and my anger had slowly began to slip away. Charlie watched me closely.
"Thanks for telling me, dad."
"Just be careful, alright? I'm not so sure about him and where he is mentally, but mostly, I just don't want anything bad happening to you. Those girls-"
"I know," I interrupted quickly. My chest ached. "I'll be careful," I promised.
"Well, just to be sure, one of the local new guys is going to watch the house for a few nights."
"Dad," I whined. Charlie's face hardened.
"It's for your safety, young lady. It's on the guy's patrol route anyway."
I nodded and fell into his chest as he hugged me. Now I knew what it felt like to be a grown up in love. I had decisions to make, and questions that needed fulfillment.
So, things begin to crack. Thanks Charlie! She knows a little, but not everything. More to come!
How about that little Jacob/Alec spat, huh? And Seth finally doing the dirty deed?
I can't believe your love! Over 400 reviews, and going up to 14,000 views! Holy smokes!
Thanks for sticking with me. I love this story. Sorry for all the stupid little mistakes that a Beta would catch! I read and read again, but after a while, it all meshes together. I saw one word that was "here" instead of "hear" and about fell off my chair. FACEPALM.
FYI: this story will have a HEA for E/B.
xox