A New Dawn
I apologize in advance for any mistakes you may find...
Chapter Fourteen
"Distract me," Edward pleaded, his voice still dangerous.
"What?" I asked.
"Distract me so I don't turn around and try to hunt those bastards down," he clarified. His hands gripped the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles had turned ghostly white.
"Oh..." I trailed off, trying to think of something, but I was still in shock. "I...Where do I start? How the hell did you...where did you come from?"
"I was in the area," he said as if it were that obvious.
"Edward," I said, annoyed. "Were you...were you following me?" I demanded, raising an eyebrow at him.
He closed his eyes briefly, reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose.
"Watch the road!" I half-shouted in a panicked tone.
His eyes popped open and he looked at me. "Bella, those men were going to hurt you."
"Well, no shit, Sherlock, but I asked what you were doing there," I said impatiently.
He laughed darkly. "What makes you think I was following you? Conceited much?" he asked sarcastically.
I raised an eyebrow at him. "Well, you do have stalkerish tendencies."
He laughed once. "Like what?" he demanded.
"Like lip-reading my conversations, remember?" I snapped.
He paused, his lips pressing into a thin line. I had him there, and he knew it.
"I'm sorry," he said so low I almost didn't hear.
"For what?" I asked.
"For doing that. I shouldn't have. It was creepy," he said.
"Yeah," I laughed. "It was. It's even creepier that you can do that."
He shrugged. "It comes in handy."
"So you've said."
We drove along in awkward silence for a few moments.
"Angela and Bree are probably going insane wondering where I am," I said suddenly, remembering my plans to meet up with them.
"Do you have your phone?" he asked.
I shook my head. "No," I frowned. "It was dead, and I forgot to charge it last night, so I didn't bother bringing it."
He shook his head, sighing. "You certainly didn't think, did you?" he demanded, sounding both annoyed and angry.
What the hell?
"Stop the car," I ordered.
He glanced at me like I was insane, probably wondering if he'd heard me correctly. "What?" he asked, looking and sounding confused.
"I said stop the damn car," I repeated louder as I gripped the door handle.
"What? No!" he argued. "I'm not dropping you off in the middle of the street. You obviously can't be left alone. You're a magnet for trouble."
"What!? Okay, let me out now asshole!" I yelled at him, ready to use my pepper spray for the second time that night.
He ignored me, and when the car didn't stop or even slow I simply opened the door as we sped along. His head whipped in my direction and his eyes widened in shock. He slammed on the brakes, and I quickly took off my seatbelt and tried to bolt from the car. His hand caught my arm in a strong grip. I tried to squirm free, but he had me.
"Are you crazy!?" he shouted at me, his eyes wild.
"Let me go now or I'll scream," I threatened, eyeing the gang of scary-looking bikers down in the alleyway next to the McDonalds.
I could see his sharp jaw flexing furiously as he clenched and unclenched it. He let go of my arm finally and I grabbed my bag and slammed the car door before starting to walk. I heard the engine stop and the sound of his door slamming.
"Bella," he begged, following me.
I spun around, flipping him off before I continued up the street. "Where the fuck am I?"
"Even now as you've threatened to have a bunch of bikers jump my ass and have given me the finger you're asking for directions?" he bit out sarcastically. He was sickly amused by this and began laughing at me.
"Fuck you," I said, walking faster.
I heard him sigh before he caught up with me, placing his hand on my shoulder to stop me. I immediately shrugged off his hand and he stepped back.
"Look, I'm sorry, okay? Please get back in the car and I'll take you home," he offered.
"No, I have to find Angela and Bree," I said stubbornly. "They're probably worried sick about me."
"Here," he said as he dug in his pocket, pulling out his own phone. "You can use my phone to call them."
"Fine," I huffed even as I hated to accept help from this asshole.
"You know, you'd think you'd be a little more grateful since I saved you from those men," he said.
What the fuck!?
"You cocky bastard, I was doing just fine without you!" I yelled even if it wasn't completely true. I don't know for sure if I would have gotten away from the other two without a getaway car.
"Yeah, right," he scoffed, rolling his eyes.
"You know what? Fuck you and your phone," I said, throwing it back at him.
He barely caught it as I thrust it towards him. "Damn it. Stop it, would you? You're acting like a child."
"And you're acting like a jackass," I threw back as I kept walking. "Oh, wait. What am I thinking? You aren't acting."
He sighed loudly. "You know, this running away thing is getting really old."
I rolled my eyes. "Bastard," I mumbled.
"What?"
"Bastard!" I shouted loud enough so that he and everyone else around us could hear.
"Bella, stop," he growled, sounding annoyed and embarrassed.
"Bella, stop," I mocked him without slowing down.
The farther we walked the less people we saw until it was just the two of us.
"Hey!" he shouted at me, grabbing my arm roughly.
Then it was like a reflex as I clocked him right in the nose. He released my arm instantly and stumbled back, his eyes widening to the size of saucers in surprise. His hands reached up to cover his now bleeding nose. I rubbed my knuckles. They were stinging from punching his big, fat nose.
"Holy shit," he groaned. "I think you broke my nose," he accused, his eyes still wide in disbelief.
I stared at him in pain with a sick satisfaction until it was all almost too much. No, it was too much. By the time he regained any sort of composure I was bent over at the waist laughing at him. I had just punched Edward Cullen in the nose, and it felt really good. The small soreness in my hand was easy to ignore once I burst into a fit of laughter.
Edward was glaring at me as he pulled a handkerchief or something out of his pocket to wipe his nose.
"And you were acting like I can't defend myself," I somehow managed to say in my fit of laughter. I stepped closer to him, trying to calm myself down.
"What are you doing?" he demanded, stepping back.
I wiped a tear from my eye as I stepped closer again. "Relax. Don't get your panties in a twist. I just want to look at your nose."
"Oh, you're a doctor now?" he asked sarcastically, but he didn't move this time when I stepped closer.
"No, but I've been to the ER plenty of times," I reminded him. "Oh, Edward, it is broken," I said, biting my lip to keep from laughing. "Huh...I didn't think hit you that hard."
"Didn't hit me that hard? Then why the bloody hell is my nose gushing blood?!" he squealed like a girl.
I shrugged. "Noses aren't that hard to break. Come on, we need to get you to a hospital so they can patch up your nose," I laughed.
He glared at me. "This is not funny."
I mashed my lips together to keep from laughing all over again, and I actually saw the corners of his mouth turn up in amusement.
"You're right," I tried to say. "This is not funny," I mimicked his serious tone.
He finally caved, laughing lightly. "I guess I deserved it."
I nodded. "You did," I said as we began walking back to his car.
"Bella?" someone called.
I turned to see Angela and Bree running towards us.
"Where have you been? We've been looking all over! We were starting to get really worried!" Angela said before she noticed Edward standing there. She gave me a questioning look and I shook my head.
"I'm sorry you guys, but I ran into some trouble. Edward helped me out," I said.
"Trouble?" Bree asked, concerned.
"I was leaving the bookstore and some guys started bothering me," I shrugged. "I used pepper spray on one of them and then Edward showed up out of nowhere."
"Oh, is that what happened to your nose, Edward?" Angela asked, sounding panicked.
I glanced at Edward in his blood-covered shirt. It took everything I had not to fall on the ground and laugh so hard I couldn't breathe.
He gave me sideways glance but simply nodded at Angela's inquiry. "Yeah, one of them hauled off and clocked me. Tiny fellow."
"Yeah, he was pretty tough though," I added, trying to keep my face and voice serious. "I thought surely he would pummel Edward's ass, but Edward was taller, so..."
"Okay," Angela said slowly, awkwardly. "Well, I guess we better get going, Bella."
"Yeah, we probably-"
"I can take you home, Bella," Edward offered, but it sounded more like an order.
"No, it's fine," I said.
Angela and Bree looks at the two of us, confused as ever and clearly not knowing whose side to take on this. I tried desperately to send Angela and eyeball message of 'Are you crazy?! Take me with you!', but no such luck.
"Um, I guess that's okay. Bella, is it okay with you?" Angela asked.
"No," I said simply when I realized I didn't at all care about sparing Edward's feelings.
"But my nose is broken," Edward said quickly. "I need you to drive me to the hospital."
"He has a point there. He did save you," Bree said, eyeing Edward like he was McDreamy from Grey's Anatomy.
Puke.
I looked to Ang for help, but she simply shot me an apologetic look and shrugged.
"Sorry, Bella, they've got you there. You can drive Edward to the hospital and he can drive you home?" Angela asked Edward who nodded eagerly.
"Of course," he said right away.
"Great, so you've got her from here?" Angela asked him as if I were a child who didn't know any better.
"Yeah, we'll see you later," Edward told her.
What the fuck? They were acting like I wasn't even here.
But Angela and Bree were already practically skipping their way to wherever the hell Ang was parked, leaving only Edward and me again.
"Are you fucking serious?" I asked him.
"Hey, you punched me in the nose," he defended.
I glared at him and he threw his hands up in surrender.
"I may have deserved it, but it still hurts like hell, and you have to drive me to the hospital," he smiled.
"No, I don't," I shrugged. "I could let you suffer some more and then leave your nose a fucking crooked mess."
His eyes widened as if he was surprised to hear me talk like this, but then he smiled crookedly at me. He was amused again.
"What is so fucking funny?" I demanded.
"You," he laughed simply. "You're like a ferocious little kitten, all enraged but so harmless."
"If I'm so harmless then how did I manage to spray a bastard straight in the eyes with pepper spray, escape, and break your nose all in one night?" I asked.
This time he was having a fit of laughter. "You couldn't have escaped if I hadn't picked you up."
I rolled my eyes. "Let's go and get this night over with," I snapped as a yanked him by the shirt until we reached his Volvo. "Where are your keys?" I ground out.
He laughed. "Did you really think I was going to let you drive?"
I scowled at him. 'What is that supposed to mean?" I demanded angrily.
"I'm perfectly capable of driving even with a blood-gushing broken nose," he said smugly.
"Oh, wow. You're a real tough guy," I said sarcastically as I flung the driver's side door open. "Give me the fucking keys or I'll break all your damn fingers."
"Geez, you're so violent," he commented but still tossed me the keys.
"You're one to talk," I snapped which shut him up. "Plus, it's all your fault. You bring out the worst in me."
"Apparently," he frowned as he slipped into the passenger side.
The drive to the hospital was silent due to my anger, annoyance, and urges to smack him upside his massive head. He wisely kept his mouth shut.
Thanks for reading and reviewing :)
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