Word Prompt: Gimmick

Dialogue Flex: "Have you ever had one of those days?"

not beta'd, rated M, Twilight and all recognizable characters belong to SM.

When I awoke, Edward was sitting at the foot of the bed, speaking quietly on the phone. I could tell by the way he hunched over, how he kept running his hand through his hair, that he was tired. Yawning, I squinted at the little digital clock beside the bed.

4:30. A good a time as any to get up.

Untangling myself from the sheets, I slipped out of bed and made my way to the bathroom. My eyes met Edward's as I closed the door. He half-smiled, rolling his eyes at whomever was on the phone. I blew him a kiss and got into the shower, hoping it would wake me up enough for the drive home.

I'd hoped Edward would join me in the shower, but when I got out, he was still on the phone, speaking a normal volume now. Drying off, I wrapped my towel around my hair and stepped back into the room, shivering in the a/c.

"I'm going, J. Call when you're outside," Edward said, disconnecting. Resting his elbows on his knees, he watched me cross the room naked before clearing his throat.

"You teasing me?"

"Never." I tossed a look over my shoulder, not surprised when he tackled me on to the bed. I wrapped my legs around him - the grey sweatpants were back - and he gave me a long, lazy kiss.

"We got time for a quickie?" he asked, early morning husky.

"Depends on how quick," I said, already melting back into the sheets.

Twenty minutes and another shower later, we got dressed for real.

"No more dresses?" he teased, watching me throw on jeans and a tank top.

"I only brought the one," I said, throwing my towel at him. "Why, you got a thing for dresses?"

"Got a thing for you," he said, tossing my towel aside. "Dresses just make it easier."

I shook my head, laughing. "Romantic."

"Don't give me that, girl. You like it just as much as I do."

Blushing, I zipped my bag and sat on the bed. "Never said I didn't."

"When we get out of here you can wear dresses all the time."

"Unless it's winter."

"Unless." He smirked, standing.

"So who was on the phone earlier? James?"

"Yeah."

"Everything okay?"

"Just ironing out the details. He doesn't always think things through, always wants to rush things. Gonna get him in trouble one day."

"You saying you're the more practical of the two?"

"Something like that."

I grinned. "That's funny."

"You're funny," he shot back, pulling me up so he could wrap me in his arms. "Hey. Promise me you'll be careful."

Closing my eyes, I slipped my arms around his middle and held on just as tightly. "Shouldn't I be telling you that?"

"Promise me."

"I promise."

"Leave that pig alone."

Easy, I thought. "I will."

"And just...wait on me. After this, we'll have what we need and we can be together."

"Sounds like a dream," I sighed, tiptoeing so I could kiss his scruffy chin. "You promise me you'll be careful too."

"I'll do my best."

"Sure you can give me any details? Even something small?"

"Nope." Leaning back, he gazed down at me. "You know I can't. You can't know anything. It's better that way."

Nodding, I rested my head on his chest.

"I know that sounds shady, but-"

"I know, I know. You don't want me to implicate myself."

"Yeah. Stay innocent, Bella. Please."

"Little late for that..."

"Bullshit." He stepped back, holding me at arm's length. "You haven't done anything wrong but love me."

"There's nothing wrong about that," I laughed, twisting out of his grip just so I could shove him. I didn't know where the playfulness was coming from; I guess Edward brought it out of me.

But he just grinned like the rascal he was. "Exactly."

Saying goodbye this time had been even harder.

I hadn't been able to keep the tears at bay, though I'd tried, and even James looked like he felt sorry for me. For us.

Edward remained stoic, leaning into the car window right before I left. "Only thing that could keep me away is death, you know that right?"

"Don't even say that," I said, anguished at the thought. "Don't even put it out there, Edward."

"Hey." He grasped my chin, pulling me so I'd look at him. "All of this? It's nothing in the grand scheme of things. There's no way our meeting like that was a fluke. This is real. It's ours."

His conviction was powerful. I found myself absorbing his strength, sorry I'd allowed him to carry the weight of it all himself. He'd always been positive, confident about us, and all I'd done was live in fear. I said I had faith - it was time to start acting like it.

"I believe you," I said.

"Don't forget."

I fiddled with my phone, barely able to see the navigation app through my tears. "I won't."

"I'll come, I'll find you."

"All right."

"I mean it. Even when the situation says otherwise, even if..." He shook his head. "Even when it gets hard. Don't let go of this."

I nodded.

"I trust you." I said, nodding. "I love you, okay? Be careful, and...I'll see you soon."

"Yeah. You will." He leaned in, kissing me soundly. "Love you."

Driving away physically hurt. I watched him briefly in the rearview, getting into another car with James. And then he was gone, and I was gone, putting miles between us.

At first I was scared, stomach in knots, imagining Jacob everywhere I looked. The further I got from Spokane, though, the more I relaxed. My trip was blessedly uneventful and, thanks to springtime in Washington, undeniably beautiful. The sun rose with a blush, brightening the sky, and I was grateful to witness it. I hoped Edward was looking at it, too. He was rough around the edges, but he was a romantic. He noticed the little things, the pretty things.

It was just past noon when I got back to Alice's. Using the remote, I pulled into the garage and parked, glad I'd accomplished what I'd set out to do. I could only hope there wouldn't be any complications from here on out.

"The star crossed lover," she cooed when I walked through the door. "Want some hot chocolate? I could add it to your coffee?"

"That would be great, actually."

She nodded, bustling around the kitchen. "How'd it go?"

"Good." I leaned against the counter beside her. "He's gonna disappear awhile. Let the dust settle."

Alice blew out a breath. "That's rough...but it's good. You need some down time from this insanity."

"I know." I rubbed my face. "It is crazy. I never thought I'd be in this situation..." I made a face at the ridiculousness of what I'd just said, laughing. "You know what I mean."

"I do, actually." She stirred a long spoon into an oversized coffee cup. "Marshmallows?"

"No thanks." I wrapped my hands around the mug. "This is good."

"So, um. Don't be mad."

"Oh jeez, Al, what?" I set the cup down again, bracing myself. Images of an emotional Alice with pregnancy brain, spilling the beans to someone, flickered through my mind.

"No, no - nothing bad. Just...Jasper wanted to help out so he start messing with your car -"

"What?!"

"I didn't know he was gonna! I took a nap and when I got up he was all Tim the Tool Man Taylor out there - you know how he gets, all uber-helpful and it's even worse now that I'm pregnant, well, that's usually not a bad thing-"

"Alice."

"Yeah, so anyway, he said nothing was wrong with your car, which, obviously, is true, and you know he has a sixth sense for these things -"

"Kind of like you."

"Exactly!" She seemed relieved. "Exactly like me, so I kind of had to tell him a little piece of the truth."

"What did you tell him?" I asked, trying to stay calm. In reality, I knew I could trust Jasper no matter what - that was the good thing. The bad was that the more people knew the secret, the less it was a secret.

"I just told him you had some stuff to do and Jacob was getting on your nerves so you switched cars out."

"Oh, like that's so normal!" I giggled, slightly hysterically. "What did he say?"

She arched an eyebrow. "You know he thinks Jake's the world's biggest douchebag." This was true. They'd never really gotten along, especially when I'd dated Jacob. "He got really protective, actually, wanted to know if you were in trouble. I told him you were totally fine, and that this was more of a personal thing." She smiled. "He knows there's more to it but he left it alone."

I gave her a dubious stare, fiddling with the handle of my mug.

"He trusts me, Bella. He was actually kind of hurt we didn't just tell him to begin with."

"I know, and I'm sorry," I said, feeling like a selfish jerk. "I didn't mean to make things difficult with Jasper."

"It's okay. This isn't exactly a typical situation. Let's just..." She shook her head. "Get through it. Just know if you need any help at all Jasper is down. Okay?"

I doubted Jasper would be "down" if he knew what that entailed, but I appreciated the sentiment. "Hopefully it'll never come to that."

"No kidding." She shuffled out of the kitchen. "Come on. We put the crib together last night and I want you to see!"

I followed her, feeling lighter than I had in a while. My life was crazy, my ex was crazier and my current was MIA, but I still had Alice.

And Jasper, apparently.

Maybe it was the calm before the storm. I wasn't sure, but my life had become completely non-eventful. Days turned into weeks, and then, months. I took my classes, went to work. Alice, Emmett and I threw a successful surprise party for Rose. I had Margarita Mondays with Rose when I wasn't working and sometimes, if I was feeling naughty, even when I was. We all helped decorate Baby Whitlock's nursery, humoring Alice's fantastical whims. Next on the agenda was Alice's baby shower.

School. The bar. Social engagements. It was the way my life had been before Edward had reinserted himself back into it.

That peacefulness had once been welcome, but now it put a knot in my stomach because I had no idea where he was or what he was doing, if he'd completed his "one last job" or if he'd been caught trying. I hadn't heard from him at all, hadn't heard anything on the news or online, and while I'd expected this silence, it hurt a little more each day.

I hadn't heard from or seen Jacob, though, either. Sometimes I felt the loss of the friendship we'd once had, but mostly I was relieved he was leaving me alone. He'd gotten overwhelming in the end, and I couldn't even look at him without feeling like I was being dishonest. I'd never been that kind of person, and it weighed on me now.

On the morning of Alice's baby shower, I was multitasking: frosting cupcakes while trying to make her ginormous gift bag look presentable. Wondering if colored tissue paper was really necessary or just a gimmick to make shitty gift wrappers like me feel better, I was a second away from stuffing it the whole damn package when my doorbell rang.

I hated when people dropped in without calling, and there were really only a couple of people who made a practice of it. So I wasn't surprised when I peered through my front window and saw Jacob standing on the other side.

Sighing, I opened the door.

"Hi, Jake."

"Bella." He nodded politely, hands behind his back. "I didn't mean to intrude, but you changed your phone number and I wasn't sure how to reach you."

That was true. I'd gotten a new line in an effort to distance myself and Edward was the only one with the number to my burner phone. Call me paranoid, but it had felt like a good idea at the time. "Yeah, I did. What's up?"

He smiled. "Have you ever had one of those days where everything just comes together? When it's like the points of light all connect and the thing you've been waiting for...happens?"

None of this was making me feel too confident. I shrugged, then nodded. "I mean, yeah. That's always...good."

"Good's an understatement." He took a deep breath, still smiling. "But listen, first I wanted to apologize for my behavior before. I know now it was uncalled for."

"Okay." I nodded again, but I was studying him, too. I didn't trust him. I couldn't - especially knowing he didn't trust me, either. There was always an angle with Jake. "Is that why you're here?"

"Wow. Can't I stop by and say hi to an old friend?" he asked, finally dropping the mask. Ah, there it was: irritation.

I shifted uncomfortably. "How's Leah?"

He straightened. "We're not seeing each other anymore. It's been a busy time for me, and it wasn't working out. Which actually brings me to why I'm here. I've recently received news of Edward Masen."

My heart plummeted, but as always, I remained impassive. "Oh? Big break in the case?"

"You could say that." Any hint of a smile disappeared, and he stepped a bit closer, hands in his pockets. "There was a deal down in Mexico, near the border. Deal gone wrong."

Words I'd hoped never to hear.

Still, though. Mexico?

My feet were glued to the ground but inside it was as if I'd been thrown underwater, tossed upside down by the most violent of waves.

"I'm flying out tonight to verify, but..." He sighed. "Bells, it looks like he's dead."

still with me?

update tomorrow; promise. thank you for reading! love you guys.

xoxoxoxoxo