Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.
"Where did you park?" I asked her as I walked by the girl, yet not touching her. Bella only paused a moment, letting me see her guilty look, before looking away as if it was nothing.
"Don't tell me you took the fucking El," I muttered to as we continued to walk.
"The last time I checked I was a grown ass woman who was free to do as she pleased," Bella shot back as with a dirty look as we walked down the crowded corridor together.
"You are, but…" I began as she shoved me so that I stumbled right before she slapped her hand over my mouth to silence me.
"No buts, Edward," she countered as she met my surprised look with a challenging one of her own.
"I can do what I want, when I want, and there isn't a damn thing you can do about it, right?" she demanded from me in a cool tone as she held my gaze, daring me to deny her ridiculous claim while knowing that I couldn't. It was enough to add to my frustration that she didn't seem to give a damn that we were earning ourselves stares from the others that passed us.
"Whatever," I mumbled against her hand as she continued to hold it in place as another group of people stared at us with an uncertain look. She waited, letting the vibrations against her skin stop before slowly removing her hand.
"I just don't think it's very safe, that's all. I mean, who gives a fuck if I worry about you," I grumbled as we began to walk once more only to stop as the meaning of my words filled the air between us.
"You worry about me?" Bella asked me with a teasing grin that horrified me for a split second before I recovered from my gaff with a cocky smile that I knew she would hate.
"Of course, I do. I mean, people saw us together last night and if you went missing I would be a person so suspicion," I mocked and then listened to her laughter. It was light and happy, warming from the inside while missing the mark with her.
"You're an idiot," she mumbled with a grin before slipping her arm through mine as we continued down the hall towards the exit where I had parked. It was a normal claiming move, showing people that her and I were together, yet it was also a reminder of days gone by when that's how we would walk together just about anywhere we went.
I remained silent, letting the buzz of the hospital around us fill the space between us. It was soothing as was her hand on my arm as we walked.
"Bella," I heard someone call out to her, causing her to slow her pace as she twisted beside me to see who called her name. I followed her line of sight to find the guy who upset her last night.
Riley.
I would know that dickface anywhere since it's not every day that Bella McCarty cried. I had witnessed her break her arm when she was ten and not a one tear was shed, yet this guy seemed to have the ability to bring her to her knees.
"Riley," she replied in a tone that was soft, yet I could hear in the ice in it. It was a beautiful sound that made me smile since I knew if she was pissed then she would be ok. We stopped and stood there before the man who looked disheveled in his turquoise colored scrubs. His blonde hair stood on end and he had purple bags under his eyes that hinted at a sleepless night, not that I gave a fuck about him.
"I...uh…I saw you last night," he mumbled while ignoring me, as if I wasn't standing there with his girl wrapped around me.
"Yeah, I saw you too," I listened to Bella snap in anger. It was a tone I was used to from her, but clearly he was not judging from the hurt look on his stupid looking face.
"How was your date?" she demanded without missing a beat as I felt her hand tighten on my arm.
"Bella, it wasn't a date….And I'm not doing this to punish you," he sputtered as the guy looked from Bee to me with an uncertain look on his face.
"We needed the time apart," he stressed as I found myself pulling her closer to me as if I could somehow shield her from his stupidity.
"But that doesn't mean you have to go slumming it with every fucking pretty face you see," he half spat n disgust as he eyed me with an angry glare that surprised me.
In the past I would have been pissed at the suggestion that somehow the girl was slumming it with me, but the man spoke the truth. She deserved more than me, but more than that it was the ridiculousness of his comments that made me lose it.
"You think I'm pretty?" I asked him, catching Bella off guard with my smart ass question directed at the asshole who refused acknowledge me directly. It was enough to take the tense look off of Bella's face and replace it with wide eyes of surprise followed by a loud howl of laughter. It was exactly what I needed to hear from her to know that she was ok with all of this.
"Come on, Bee," I said as I took hold of her hand in mine before tugging on it to follow me.
"I want to get out of here," I continued on, ignoring the man who was now gawking at me with what appeared to be shock. Bella stumbled for a split second before turning to leave along with me. The grin on her face told me that she was fine with our escape.
AN:
Thanks for reading!
Sorry this isn't beta'd I had one chapter waiting and then opted to go with this one instead.
Xoxo
Mamasutra