A/N: I don't have words to apologize to you people for updating so late…but I have been really busy. But I somehow managed to update this chapter, with much difficulty I might add…
A hearty thanks to all my regular reviewers - puasluoma, twilightluver39, ReadItAndWeep-Nik, readingmermaid, Elsiii93, -laugh-love-live-always-,Esme A. Cullen, knkqh, goldeyedsoul, EboniJade,Twilighterzxox, luvnovels123, Darcyfan14.
Sorry if I might have forgotten someone, I really didn't have time to go through it properly.
Also special thanks to vampiregurl
I so understand what you said in the review. Trust me, I've been through all that as well. I guess that's why I'm able to express Bella's feelings so well in this story. thanks for your wonderful reviews.
and also a huge thanks to sidny88 for your encouraging PM. you guys have no idea how good it feels when you tell me that you've read my story more than one time. it encourages me a lot :)
Chapter 14 – The Weekend Trip
EPOV
3 weeks…
It's been 3 weeks since Jessica and I got together…
And 3 weeks since Bella started dating…Jacob.
I still fail to fathom the reason for my intense dislike for him as I continue to talk Bella out of dating him. I know I'm being way too selfish. Even though Bella still abhor Jessica, but she accepted her without any predicament. But even as I try my best to suppress the irrational insecurity that somehow Jacob would distant Bella away from me, I blatantly fail. His arms around my Bella in the same protective stance as my loving embrace always triggered some unidentified emotion in me that at times become so unbearable that I had to literally leave the room when those two were together there. But Bella never complained because she too left the room everytime Jessica was in ten mile radius to me. I can understand. Though Jessica had apologized to Bella the very next day that she called me, it was crystal clear that Bella didn't believe a word she said. I thought Jessica seemed genuinely repentant but then again, I have no right to have any say in this matter seeing the hostility with which I treat Jacob for no specific reason at all.
All in all, I was just merely satisfied by having Bella by my side as the best friend a person could ever ask for and being able to achieve the love of the girl to whom my heart has belonged ever since I first laid my eyes on her – Jessica.
At that thought my mind went directly to the conversation I had with my sister, Rosalie, a few weeks ago.
~FLASHBACK~
"For the love of god, I can't understand what you're trying to imply through this speech Rose! I know for some weird, unknown reason you seem to dislike Jessica, but she is the girl I love! Why can't you just accept that fact? If you don't like her, I can't force you…although I do expect for you to just accept the fact that I truly love her and there's nothing you can do abut it." I seethed, anxious that I might just break the phone into two due to my fury.
"LOVE…?"Rosalie barked followed by a malicious laughter. "Edward for once, would you please try to open your eyes and distinguish between 'love' and 'lust'?" she stated callously.
My nostril flared. "You think the only feeling I have for Jess is lust?? You think that I'm so naïve that I can't even differentiate between love and lust?" I almost snarled at her. Rosalie and I often end up in a fight but whenever the topic concerns Jessica, it always gets overboard.
"Alright Edward, tell me one thing that made you fell in 'love' with her. And it better not be because of her looks or the way she dresses because that will just prove my thesis correct." She said a little calmly now.
Her question left me flabbergasted. I tried to think about what made me so obsessed with Jess. The only thing my mind was able to register at that thought was her perfectly curved body, her sexy face, the swaying of her hips as she walked gracefully, her stunning blue eyes…and apart from that, I was able to come up with nothing. A wave of shame rushed through me as I mentally berated myself for not being able to come up with a proper argument to defend myself.
I expected Rosalie to laugh at me or tell me something through the lines of 'I told you so'. But she shocked me by giving out a rather sympathetic sigh and gently stating "Edward, since we were in high school, you had been the most popular guy. You got every girl you ever desired. You just had to smile at a girl you wanted and she would leave any relationship she was in just to get to spend a night with you. Even after high school, you never had to face any difficulty in getting a girl you desired. Jessica obviously is declared as one of the sexiest actress of the world…but she was taken. You wanted to prove the world that the best thing belonged to you. But she was obviously not responding to your advances. This just hurt your ego and it became more of a 'mission' rather than 'obsession' as you like to state it, to win over her.
First I was okay with it, thinking once you achieved your goal, you'll get over your fascination. But that bitch just enjoyed your advances while she never left her previous boyfriend. I've seen her Edward. She is mean, selfish, proud, self-centered and evil. Did you forget the party when a celebrity complimented me on my looks while Jessica was standing right beside him? She literally went red with jealousy and spent the rest of the night passing snide remarks at me. Is that what made you fell in love with her? Or was it the fact that she never leaves a single opportunity of using you to make Jacob jealous?
You've never chased a girl for that long. Hell, you never needed to chase a girl before. Due to the long time span that you wasted trying to win her over, you thought that you started having some sort of 'feelings' for her which is absolutely untrue! I kept quiet all this time, thinking that one day you'll see the truth. But I can't anymore! You're throwing away the best thing that happened in your life, your real love because of your sick fantasy that you're in love with Jessica! I'm only trying to help you Edward, trying to protect you from the heartbreak that you're bound to suffer if you don't open your eyes soon."
To say I was speechless would have been an understatement. I've never before seen Rosalie pore her heart out in front of anyone. Ofcourse she always advised me when I needed her help and assist me through problems, but she never pleaded me the way she was doing now.
But then something she said caught my attention.
"Wait…what do you mean 'Your real love'?" I asked utterly baffled.
I heard her give another sigh before she admitted – "Emmett told me a lot about this 'Bella Girl'"
"Ugh…"I grunted letting my forehead rest on the palm of my free hand. "So this is what this is all about? You're saying all this crap about Jess because you think I'm in 'love' with Bella? for once, would you and Emmett stop making decisions for me? I know what I'm doing! Bella and I don't feel that way for each other. SHE'S JUST A GREAT FRIEND!!! You don't know Jessica like I do. There are so many things about her that makes her that I adore. And she loves me too! We've only just started dating and I'm sure I'm going to discover more about her and clear all your doubts as to whether my feeling for Jess is love or lust."
"Fine Edward! Do whatever you want. But this is not the reason why I called you. No matter what, she is not coming to our beach house this weekend." She stated vehemently.
"Well if can't come then neither can I" I firmly affirmed.
There was a long pause before she started speaking again. "Alight…" she began slowly as if contemplating something. Her tone sounded calculating and…impish, as if she was planning something.
Oh boy, this can't be good.
"She can come on one condition." Rose continued. And what she said afterwards shocked me.
"you'll also have to bring Bella along with you – " she began but I interrupted her mid sentence.
"PERFECT!" I literally shouted in the speaker. I couldn't help it, it was almost impossible to contain the excitement within me.
Rosalie chuckled lightly before continuing "wait, I'm not finished. I meant to say that you'll have to bring Bella along with you…and her boyfriend Jacob."
"NO!" again the word came out impulsively and a bitter feeling in my heart crept up that appeared everytime anyone mentioned Jacob as her 'boyfriend', as irrational and illogical that is.
"Why? You can't come without your girlfriend and expect her to come without her boyfriend? And honestly, I can't understand the reason behind your argument either." She challenged.
After thinking hard for a couple of moments, I didn't come up with a sensible enough answer, I dejectedly admitted to her terms.
"Fine" I agreed.
"oh, and this is the first time she'll be visiting me, and seeing how shy she is…please make sure she knows that no media would be bothering us over here for the weekend, maybe a few people who might insist on autographs but I'll try my best to avoid that from happening too. And tell her that she can even bring a few of her friends if she want, just so she feel comfortable." She said.
I rolled my eyes. She is taking so much pain to ensure Bella's wellbeing when she hasn't even met her! And even after knowing Jessica from a long time and knowing how badly I'm in love with her, she never gave a crap about her.
Well atleast she likes Bella. That thought made me jubilant.
"Alright, I'll make sure to tell her that" I replied, already knowing the 'friends' she would be taking with her. Alice and Jasper of course.
I sighed. Let's just hope Alice try to act a little civil to me during that trip. Ever since I started dating Jessica, she had been nothing but hostile towards me. I guess she hates Jessica pretty much as Bella hates her. I won't say I'm surprised. After all, Bella and she had been like sisters from ages.
~END OF FLASHBACK~
So here I was, I popular restaurant – after taking care of wearisome fans and media – on Jessica and my first official date. She went to the washroom a few minutes ago and I was still waiting for her to return. With a bored sigh I glanced at my watch and prepared myself for a few more minutes of tedium till she came back. So far the date had been nothing but…a little annoying. The only thing we talked about – correction, the only thing she talked about is Jacob and what made him fell for Bella. I tried to be understanding, knowing that she had just recently suffered heartbreak and it would be difficult for her to keep up with it, but honestly it was taking a toll on me. As if I didn't had to bear enough of that Jacob as it is. But I kept up my hopes, anticipating that after the ramifications of this heartbreak have disappeared, she will see me in the same way as she saw him, just much more passionately.
When my patience began to reach it's brink and Jessica had still not returned, I did the only thing my heart cried out for.
I dialed Bella's cell.
"Hello?" her sweet melodic voice rang through the phone. Her voice was filled with hidden laughter and hearty mirth. Joy evident in the way she spoke the irreverent little word.
"Bella?" I replied.
"Edward! Where are you? If you can, come at Alice's house as soon as possible. We're having so much fun! I swear to God I haven't laughed so much in my entire life" she replied followed by a chuckle.
I could here the voices in the background vividly.
"Bella, tell her to stop chasing me, please!!!!" Jacob's terrified voice rang through the speaker as he practically begged. "She's driving me insane. She's even worst than the annoying fans I had to escape to come here to visit you and it looks like her boyfriend would kill me any second!"
Bella gave out a loud laughter before shouting back "stop it Alice! Don't give Jake a hard time or I very much doubt he would ever want to return back"
"Not even if hell consumes me will I ever want to return to this place." Jacob yelled in the background.
"Oh c'mon Jaky…I'm not asking for much. Just a song and an autograph on my bra. Please!!!!" Alice whined.
Then I actually heard Jasper growl on the other end.
"BELLA, PLEASE HELP!!!" Jacob shouted again.
By this time Bella was laughing so hard that I worried she'll run out of air in her lungs if she didn't stop briefly enough to inhale.
I cleared my throat in an attempt to get back her attention.
"oh, sorry Edward. I got lost. So are you coming?" She asked expectantly.
As much as I heard listening to her jubilant laughter, it was killing me that Jacob was the reason for it and…not me. I shook of that absurd thought immediately from my head and replied – "sorry, Bella. I'm on a date with Jessica right now. Probably won't be able to return back before late night." I clarified. Being in the same room as Jacob and looking him and Bella going all lovey-dovey was the last thing I wanted at this moment. I suppressed the bile that threatened to rise in my throat at that thought.
"oh" was all Bella said and it didn't escape my ears how all of a sudden her voice transformed from joyous to utter disappointment. Before I could ask her what was wrong, she continued. "if you're on a date with her then why are you calling me?"
I was taken aback by the amount of irritation that her voice held as she accused me. I didn't know how to answer her. if I were to answer her truthfully then I would have said – well I missed you like hell even though it's just been a few hours since we last saw each other and for some insane reason I've been dying to here your voice ever since. Oh and also I wanted to make sure that you and Jacob aren't alone. I know, I'm an ass but I can't help it. If I could interrupt the time you both spend together alone as much as I can, then I'll do it unabashedly. It just makes me relieved. So now you know how much I hate your boyfriend.
Yeah, I better go with an easier explanation which wouldn't scare her away.
"Well I…she went to –" before I could finish my explanation, Jessica appeared from the corner. "well she's back. I'll call you later?" it came out more of a question, fearing she would get angry.
I heard her sigh before replying "yeah, I'll see you later. Have a nice time" she said softly, her voice sounding almost apologetic.
After that we hung up and Jessica came and sat opposite to me.
"yeah, so…where were we?" Jessica asked.
"Well, I wanted to ask you something." I stated quickly before she could resume talking on her favorite topic – 'Jacob and heartbreak' "I was wondering if you would like to go to the beach house I mentioned before? You know, the one where Rosalie invited us?" I asked cautiously.
"Well Edward, I would love to go…but you know how dramatic your sister can get sometimes. I'm surprised that she even thought of inviting me. We don't really get along that well as you already know."
"c'mon Jess, it would be a good change from all the paparazzi and I'm sure we'll all enjoy it."
"we…??" she questioned.
"um…yeah – " I coughed nervously before continuing. "Rosalie also invited Bella and Jacob and some of Bella's friends"
Jessica's hands that were resting on the table suddenly clenched while her jaw tightened and her face scrunched up in one of the fiercest expression I've ever seen.
After a moment she took a deep calming breath before arranging her features and giving me a strained smile.
"of course, I'm sure we'll all have a lot of fun" she said with an edge to her voice.
oh boy, I hope this trip doesn't turns out to be disastrous.
Then I thought about it rationally.
Jacob and Bella – Jess and I, all in the same room.
Yeah, disastrous would be an understatement.
Jessica's POV
I'm gonna make this trip a living nightmare for you, Isabella Swan…
A/N : ooohhh, what's Jessica up to? Lolz. Well the next chapter will be the one you all have been waiting for. No, I'm not revealing anything…but if you're smart enough, you'll take the hint ;)
Please read my new fanfic – 'My Secret Diary' I didn't get the desired amount of reviews for the first chapter. please read it and review and tell me what you feel about it. Give it a chance. It has an excellent plot.
Last but not the least, I have to give you the bad news that I probably won't be able to upload the next chapter anytime soon :(
Don't be mad at me, I have my final examination plus certain competitions that I have to prepare for. So wish me luck…I really need it. :)
PLEASE REVIEW!