Sorry for the wait! Here's chapter 14. Enjoy!
Don't even ask how I managed to get Friday night off. The important thing is that I did.
Jacob's reaction upon hearing it was better than mine. It seemed like all his anger at me suddenly went away.
Friday could not have come sooner. The entire school week literally flashed before my eyes. I could not wait until seven o'clock came by. But that changed with an idea Jacob had at lunch.
It was halfway through the period when Jacob spoke his mind.
"So are you going to tell him tonight, Bella?"
"Tell him what?" Jacob gave me a straight face.
"About you being Cinderella."
"Oh. Well, I wasn't really planning on telling him tonight." (Or ever.)
"Why not? It's the perfect opportunity."
"Because Jacob, in case you need reminding, he asked me out, not Cinderella." Jacob put up his hands in defeat.
"Whatever. But you know you're going to have to tell him at some point right? Especially if you two start getting serious."
"It's just a date Jacob. And there's a pretty good chance he won't even like me in a romantic way. Surely he sees Alice and Rosalie and believes I'm just like them."
"Or not."
"Well Jacob, stop bothering me!" I exclaimed as I stabbed my mystery meat. "I'll tell him when it's time to. Would you like if on your first date with someone they told you huge secret? Probably not. So just drop it okay?"
"Okay." He mumbled angrily.
Three o'clock couldn't have come any quicker. Neither could four, five, or even six. Before I knew it, it was 6:30 and I was nowhere near ready for my date with Edward. Long story short, I was a nervous wreck and had no idea how to calm down. I considered calling Jacob as a refuge. I even considered faking sick and not going at all. I soon realized, however, that my anxiety level would be way low if I wasn't harboring the Cinderella secret.
Deep in my own thoughts, I barely registered when the doorbell rang. I got up from my bed and let out a squeal (yes, a squeal) before opening the door and walking out of my bedroom. I checked the clock: 7:00 on the whistle. And isn't it lovely that the first I see when I get visibility of the foyer is Edward standing next to Alice and Rosalie?
"Isabella!" Alice cheered when she saw me. "Why didn't you tell us you were going out with Edward tonight? We could have gone on a triple date!" She finished while nudging Rosalie.
"Alice, clearly she didn't want us interfering." Rosalie answered for me while giving me the death stare.
"Nonsense, Rosalie." She shook her off. "So where are you two off to tonight?"
"I am going to take Isabella out to dinner." Edward replied while looking at me.
"Oh, where?" Alice pondered. Edward turned to look at her.
"At a restaurant, Alice." He said firmly, ending the interrogation. "Are you ready?" He asked me, and I got a huge sense that he was just as, if not more, nervous than me. I noticed Alice and Rosalie glance at one another.
"Umm... bye girls."
"Bye." They said in unison.
Edward held the door open for me and shut it quietly behind him. We walked to his car and he, like a gentleman, held the passenger door open.
"Thanks." I mumbled.
Our ride to the restaurant wasn't long, nor was there any awkwardness. We made simple small talk and completely stayed away from the topic of Cinderella.
As of now, things were going smoothly. We were seated in a secluded booth in one of Summit's best restaurants. At least that's what Edward told me. I don't think I've ever felt more comfortable. I seriously considered telling him my secret. But it would be rude to interrupt him while he was telling me his life story. It was like reliving the night of the party all over again, only this time, I wasn't being Cinderella. It was a little grueling to sit through, I'll admit. I just hope that didn't show on my face.
"Oh, sorry. Am I boring you?" His voice sounded alert.
"What? No! Not at all."
"God, I'm such a jerk, I've been talking about myself for the past ten minutes."
"That's okay."
"Tell me about yourself, Isabella."
"Umm…."
"I mean, your stepsisters barely talk about you so I really don't know much. How did they become part of your family anyway?" I looked down at my lap. I rarely speak about my mother's death, my dad meeting Esme and what happened beyond that. I've only ever said it once; to Jacob.
Realizing what happened, Edward spoke.
"I'm sorry Bella, - do you mind if I call you Bella?"
I smiled and looked up at him.
"I'd love for you to call me Bella."
He smiled back.
"Okay. But if you're uncomfortable talking about it, it's-."
"No, no. I'll tell you. Well, basically, my mom died giving birth to me. So I never got to meet-." I suddenly remembered the locket. I wonder if he had it on him. "Meet her. My dad was devastated but he kept on going and raised me as a single parent. When I was six, he met Esme in a coffee shop while waiting for a client for a meeting. He was a lawyer, and very well-known and successful. They began seeing each other and married a year later. And well, that's how Rosalie and Alice came into my life. When I was nine, my dad had to fly to Dallas for a big case. The plane had a slight engine problem. The pilots took off though, because they didn't think it would cause any trouble." I sighed. "But they were wrong. The plane went down somewhere in New Mexico. I don't remember exactly where." I finished and didn't notice I started crying until I reached a hand up to my face. I looked at Edward, who looked like he would start crying at any moment.
"So that's pretty much it. I think around eight months after the crash, you and your family moved into town. You know the rest." He nodded.
"So wait, everything just went to Esme? She kept everything?"
"He didn't leave a will. At least, not one I know about. So since she's his wife…." He nodded again.
"I'm so sorry Bella. That's a horrible experience to go through at such a young age. You didn't see anyone about it?"
"You mean like a shrink?" He nodded. "No. I believed I was strong enough to get over it myself. I still fully haven't yet but I don't think I ever will."
"Of course. I know how you feel. My mom died due to drunk driving."
"She did?"
"Yeah, it was terrible. I was only three. My mom loved to be the center of attention and would do whatever it took to get it. My dad loved that about her. One night she went off to one of her friend's birthday parties. And everything was going good. She was having a good time, having fun, and then her friend's boyfriend proposed. So automatically all the attention went to her newly engaged friend. She felt out of the loop. See, up until that point, her friend was the only one in the close circle that wasn't engaged or married. Once she got engaged, that made my mom the only one not going through the excitement of preparing a wedding. And she couldn't stand that. She isolated herself and had a few drinks. She left but no one noticed. I don't think she was even halfway home when she crashed into that store window." I think the tears in Edward's eyes were there ever since the beginning of his story. I ran my hand across the table, past our plates of pasta, and held his hand.
"Thank you for telling me that. It means a lot that you trust me with that." He gave me a wry smile and held my hand tightly.
"They don't really talk about it, Jasper and Emmett. And my dad will never forgive her for not calling him to pick her up. That was just a tragic day in all our lives."
I remembered something.
"Esme and the girls think your parents are divorced."
"I know. That's what we tell everyone, because we really don't like talking about it."
"It doesn't do any good to lie about it, or pretend it never happened."
"I know." He repeated. "We just really loved her. I know every family says that when they've lost a loved one, but you really have no idea how much we loved her. We accept the fact that she's never coming back, but it pains all of us to repeat the story to anyone who gets close to any of us." I nodded, somewhat understanding.
"So then why are you telling me?" He looked at me and stared into my eyes.
"I'm not really sure. I think it's because in the short amount of time I've known you, I know I can trust you. I can tell you anything. You have such a big heart and so much to share. You're in need of someone to be there for you and for you to be there for. You're nothing at all like you're family and now I understand why. You're an amazing person, whether you know it or not. You're one of those rare, good people that are very hard to find nowadays. I think that's why I told you."
I looked down and blushed, then immediately felt guilty.
"Edward, there's something I need to tell you. I know you think I'm honest and good and all that but-."
"Everything okay?" Our waiter, whose nametag read 'James', approached our table and asked.
"Yeah thanks. Everything's fine. Great pasta." James smiled.
"Glad to know you're enjoying it." He walked off.
"What were you saying?" Edward questioned.
"Umm…." I shook my head, thought quickly, and pointed down at my plate. "I actually really don't like this pasta." He chuckled.
About forty minutes later, we were in the car on our way home, laughing and smiling since we left the restaurant. We talked about music, school, and that confrontation with Jacob at the movie theater two weeks ago.
"Yeah, sorry about that. Seeing as he's my best friend, he's a bit overprotective of me. He likes to pretend that he's my boyfriend sometimes to prevent other guys from hitting on me." I lied through my teeth.
"But you don't mind kissing him?" he asked, slightly bewildered.
"Well, that kiss was a little unexpected, but I have kissed him before so it wasn't too awkward."
"Wow." He laughed while shaking his head. "So does he know you're here with me?"
"Yep. It took some persuasion but…." We both roared with laughter.
"What's his name again? Jaime?"
"Jacob! How come nobody can remember that?"
"Jacob, Jacob. Alright. I'll remember."
"Try to at least." I laughed.
We pulled up to my driveway and he stopped the car. I swear I saw a curtain closing on a window on the second floor.
"Do you mind if I ask you something?" He questioned.
"Sure. Go ahead."
"You were at my party right?"
I gulped.
"Yeah."
"I know I'm going to sound like an ass for talking about another girl while on a date with one but, did you happen to see that girl I was with?" I stayed silent and looked away. From my body language, he misunderstood. "Damn it. God, I'm a jerk. Okay, just forget I asked."
"No, no it's fine. I know who you're talking about. But sorry, I haven't seen her."
"But you know what she looks like?"
"Well, kind of."
"Okay. I just- I need to find her. You have no idea what it's doing to me Bella. I have to see her again. I'm pretty sure this-." He reached into his pants pocket. "belongs to her." And he pulled out my locket. My mouth dropped open. I couldn't help it. "Beautiful, right?" I nodded slowly. "Yep. Simple and beautiful. Just like her."
"Have-have you been able to open that?"
"Uh huh. I'm going to use it for evidence for whatever girl claims to be my Cinderella. She has to guess what's inside and go into detail about it. I don't suppose you'd like to try?"
"Well, there's a picture I'm assuming. It is a locket."
"Very good, but you'd be surprised at the amount of girls who would not guess that." I laughed.
"I know."
"But they would have to say more than that. Describe the picture. What is it of, does it have any kind of meaning? Something like that."
"Oh. Well, good luck I guess?" I reached for the locket. He pulled it away and placed it in his jacket pocket. I smiled weakly at him and mentally slapped myself. "Thanks for dinner, Edward. I had fun. It was great to get to know you and thanks for everything. We should probably do it again sometime." Probably? Bella, you're an idiot.
"Definitely." Then came silence, where I didn't know what to do. Before I could think of anything though, Edward leaned forward and kissed my cheek. Well, there. Awkwardness over. With a quick smile, I opened the door and stepped out.
"Bye." I whispered. He did the same and I walked around his car and towards my house, giving a quick wave before I entered. He was reversing out of the driveway as I closed the door behind me. I had only walked three steps when I heard Rosalie's voice.
"Hi, Isabella. How was your date?"
"Oh, it was-."
"Don't care. Are you aware you left Alice and I without any dinner?"
"I'm sorry. I just thought you were going to go out with Jasper and Emmett."
"Well, you thought wrong." Our entire conversation occurred as she proceeded towards and up the stairs.
I hadn't seen Jacob this morning but didn't think much of it. No way was he absent. He's a model student. I found him, though, on my way to first period when he nearly tackled me in the hallway.
"Jacob, you scared the crap out of me!"
"Never mind that. How did it go on Friday?"
I shrugged. "It was alright." He gave me that straight face of his. "What? It was. We had dinner-."
"Where did he take you?"
"I don't remember. It was like a color and room or lounge."
"The Cerulean Lounge?"
"Yeah, that."
"Bella, do you know that's the best restaurant in Summit? I heard they charge you just to be seated!"
"Oh. Well, I didn't know that."
"So what else happened?"
"We just ate and talked. Talked about our lives and why they have to suck so much. I can't really tell you much of the personal stuff…."
"Did you tell him?"
I took a deep breath. "No."
"Bella."
"I couldn't- I just couldn't. He shared something with me that was heartfelt and deep and I couldn't just drop that on him after telling me that. It wouldn't have been the right time. But on the bright side, you were right."
"About?"
"The locket. You were right about it. He had it with him, he showed it to me. He's going to use it for the girl to prove she's Cinderella. She has to guess what's inside of it in detail."
"And you know exactly what's in it."
"Yes."
"Well, you're not going to do anything about it anyway."
"Jacob!"
"You're not, Bells. Look at this, you went on a date with the guy and couldn't tell him."
"I already told you why I couldn't!"
"Well, that's your business, Bella. Are you going to see him again?"
"I don't know, maybe. But just as friends."
"Well, either way you should definitely get close to him. It'll just break his heart more when you do tell him."
"Jacob…." I rolled my eyes and left him by entering my class. Why was Jake so damn impatient? I'm going to tell Edward whenever I feel like telling Edward. It's not even any of his business. And if I continue to see Edward and never have the courage to tell him my secret, then so be it.
That was kind of a crappy way to end the chapter. Oh well. So how ironic is it that while I was typing Bella telling Edward about Charlie's death, the Glee versions of 'I Wanna Hold Your Hand' and 'I Dreamed a Dream' came on from my playlist?
For this chapter, I noticed I really developed the character of Edward's mom. That wasn't even planned prior to writing this chapter. I could write a lot about her. I really went into depth with her in my head while writing about her death.
To anyone out there who has ever lost a loved one, I'm truly sorry. A death is never an easy thing to get through. And if anything said or discussed in this chapter offended or disrespected any of you in any way, I am again, sorry.
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