Stephenie Meyer owns this, not me. :( Sadly...
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Chapter Twenty One - Trouble
It's not that I was vehemently opposed to November 21—it was any other square on a calendar, holding no significance under normal circumstances. But this Saturday would be the first time I—or Edward, for that matter—would be serving detention for our little...incident in the janitor's closet.
What made it worse was that I was the only one who was even marginally upset by this.
Emmett found this situation endlessly entertaining, his thunderous laughter ripping through the house since our sentence. I had to slam the door quickly shut to contain his loud and embarrassing laughter. It was my penalty for getting a ride with him.
And Edward let this all roll off like raindrops on a water-proof porch.
In the library, where detention was served, I sat silently. Moping. Edward was a table away from me, but that did not impede him on gazing in my direction.
"Are you alright?" Edward asked, not concerned about getting caught violating the No-Talking-Allowed rule. We were the only two stupid enough to get caught and get detention this Saturday. Lucky us. This question confused me--he knew exactly what I was thinking, and how I was feeling. So his question was quite superfluous.
His clarification was swift. "I miss hearing your voice. Please let me know what's wrong."
I had been very careful to contain my exact reactions towards this situation when I was around Edward—something that was very strenuous. My fingers were loosening their grip on these emotions, and since we were alone, I figured that I might as well be honest.
"This..." I motioned to our surroundings. "It's all my fault."
He chuckled, creeping towards the edge of his table. "I think I was in the closet with you, love."
I shook my head. "If this had happened without me involved, you could've charmed your way out of it. Instead, we're wasting a Saturday sitting in the library." I looked down, embarrassed. The only thing that would make me feel happy was forbidden. "I can't even hold your hand."
"Says who?" Edward crawled towards my chair, grabbing my hand forcefully. "Look. I doubt they'll keep us here next Saturday for acting like a married couple."
I shushed him, my hiss filling the almost empty room. "We have got to be more careful around school."
"I told you, I'm done being prudent. If I want to hold my beautiful wife's hand..." His lips trailed along my fingers affectionately. "If I want to kiss her..." His lips dashed from my hand to my motionless lips, enjoying the flavor of his kiss. "If I..."
"Stop there." I choked out. "If you keep going, we're definitely going to be spending next Saturday here, and..." I swallowed hard, trying to compose myself. My voice was quavering with anticipation. "Neither of us would like that very much."
He didn't stop. His thoughts became raunchy, yet so tantalizing.
"Come on." He muttered, his hand brushing my collarbone. Those alluring thoughts intensified, rapture searing through me like a blazing flame. It was no longer want—I needed him. His enticing whisper only augmented that need. "Let's get out of here."
"That's what got us here in the first place." I muttered, not even in control of my emotions right now. He was just...too persuading today. His lips began touching where his fingers had once been along my collarbone. His copper hair swept along under my chin as he continued converted me.
"You know how easy it would be to just coast right out of here."
He was right--escape would not be hard, given our speed. Not to mention the trust detention's supervisor placed in Edward and me. Of course, it wasn't really trust—"big sale" was the more appropriate noun here. We were free to leave at 3:00, completely trusted by Mr. Jacks.
There was another factor involved. "Knowing my luck, we'll get caught before my feet could touch the ground."
In one swift and quiet motion, he scooped me up into his zealous arms. My now empty chair landed on the floor with a resonating thud. "I guess I just won't let your feet touch the ground." His wonderfully crooked grin surfaced as he twirled me around, hamming it up a bit.
I had lost all control by this point.
With giddy anticipation, Edward sped out into the parking lot with me in his grasp, unable to move fast enough.
Adrenaline raged throughout me. This was exciting—escaping detention. Edward turned the key to his car, just as nonchalant as he'd been a few minutes ago. I was fumbling with the radio when I heard the knocking. Soft rapping on the glass, sounding like whenever Edward had tried coming into my room.
My first instinct was that we'd been caught—the big sale had failed to deliver, and Mr. Jacks was here to snare Edward and I. Out of the corner of my eye, I expected his beady blue eyes to be condemning me with another Saturday detention.
Instead, I saw something worse. Much, much worse.
"Oh, God..." I muttered under my breath, tightening every inch of my body. As if curling in a ball would help me avoid this.
Relax. Everything will be alright. He insisted, calmly rolling down the window. And I had a hard time believing him.
I refused to make eye contact at first. They spoke up incredulously despite my lack of fascination. "Bella? Is that you?"
And at that, I turned to stare with disbelief into the unholy and inescapable face of my past. The one person who could potentially expose my family once and for all.
Apologies all around for the cliffhangers. (This one and in The Facts Were These) But review and I'll update! (yes, that sounds like blackmail. Oh well.)