I stormed angrily across the campus grounds, venting my anger on every snowbank and ice-crusted bush along the way. How dare he? He lied to me, he manipulated me, and regardless of what he said (or how bad he claimed to feel) I somehow knew if given the chance he'd do it again in a heartbeat.
Edward had told me he'd been nearly incoherent with joy when Jake disappeared. I probably should have realized then that there was something very, very wrong with this picture. Tossing this new information into the mix I was forced to look at everything in a different light, and I have to say, I didn't like what I saw. Every time Edward had hugged me, every night he'd held me close after yet another nightmare where something awful happened to Jake and no one was there to stop it, every time he'd reassured that Jake would be back sooner or later, he knew.
Ten minutes with Jake would have gone a long way toward setting everything straight, and I'd missed out on all of that because Edward was jealous. Suddenly, it was crystal clear, and I was pissed.
Of course, when you're trapped between a werewolf and a vampire, there's only one thing you can do. I pulled my cell phone out of the pocket of my thick corduroys (thank you, New Hampshire) and started to dial.
An hour and a half later I was sitting in a booth at Margarita's, a Mexican bar and grill located just off campus, with my old roommate Max and her new roommate Jazmine.
"Oh my god Bella, it was amazing!" Max gasped out, almost choking on a mouthful of tortilla chips, she was laughing so hard. "He had pink goo coming out of his ears. It was the worst chemistry fuck up I've ever seen!"
Max and Jaz were both pre-med, and they always had awesome stories about the idiots in their classes. Apparently having tools from both a biology and a chemistry lab at your disposal made for a whole new world of stupid experiments, and it seemed like every year they had someone that had to try everything once.
There were tears running down my face, and they didn't have anything to do with Edward. The two women sitting across the table from me were the best friends I'd ever had. Well, human friends, anyway. Max, at 5'9" with this amazingly spiky black hair (I was pretty sure it wasn't natural), thin frame and terminal goth ensemble looked completely out of place next to the short, petite Jazmine, with her red hair, freckled face and a wardrobe that could have been imported straight out of the 60's. Max was loud, Jazmine was quiet. Max listened to punk rock, Jaz usually had the classical station on.
Men and sex aside, they were the love of my life.
"So tell me Bella, what did Edward do that was so bad you're ditching him on his first day back?" asked Jaz, reaching out and loading up another chip.
"Ugh." I squeezed a lime into a bottle of Corona. "So, get this. You remember my friend Jake, from high school? Apparently he showed up at the Winter Bonfire freshman year and Edward not only didn't bother to mention it, but he actually told him I was too busy and didn't want to see him again!"
The two women gaped at me. Max had been my roommate my first year, since Freshman were required to live on campus, so she knew exactly how tore up I'd been over the whole situation with Jake and Edward. That was how she'd gotten me to the stupid bonfire in the first place-by promising me that Edward wouldn't be there and I'd actually get to cut loose and have a good time.
"Men are such pigs," Max said finally, stuffing another chip in her mouth and trying to talk around it. "If you ask me, we should all just become lesbians and get it over with."
Jaz rolled her eyes.
"I don't think Bella appreciates your liberated world views nearly as much as you do," she said drolly before turning back to me. "I do agree, however, that Edward was being an jerk. I assume you tore a strip off his ass when he got home?"
"Sort of," I muttered, shifting in my seat. "In that, 'I told him I was pissed and knew what he did right before I got my coat and left so I didn't have to talk about it' kind of way."
"Oh Bella, tell me you're not going to let him get away with this," said Jaz, her eyes dripping with sympathy. "Remember, you have to begin as you mean to go on. If you let him get away with dictating to you like this now he's going to do it for the rest of your life."
"Jazzy's right," said Max, reaching over to squeeze my hand. "They only get worse after they get a ring on your finger. I always thought Edward could be a manipulative bastard when he's not trying to be charming. If you let this fly now you're going to spend the rest of your life wondering what else he's keeping from you."
"I know, I know. The sad thing is, with a little perspective (I held up my Corona) I can actually see why he'd think he could get away with it. God, I've been such a little doormat. I just figured…I mean, Edward's so perfect, and I'm so not. If keeping him happy meant he'd stay, what was the big deal, right? After all, he only wants what's best for me, right? But now…I mean, I can't see any way that keeping Jake away was what's best."
"Never underestimate a man's stupidity in the face of pure, blind jealousy," said Max in an authoritative voice. "They woo us, they win us, then when they've got us they give up until they think someone else wants us. Then it's all flowers and chocolates and moonlight kisses and 'I'm only thinking of you' until they've got you right where they want you."
Jaz and I both looked at her in surprise.
"Speaking from personal experience there, Max?" I asked lightly.
She shrugged. "Maybe. There was a guy last year I was totally into, but he turned out to be a creepy, controlling, manipulative bastard who would do anything to get his own way. I finally had to turn him in to the cops for stalking before he would get lost."
"Why didn't you say anything?"
I was drenched in guilt. Max was my best friend-well, one of them, anyway-and it seemed like I should have known if something this big was going on.
She shrugged.
"You were in Rio when it happened, and Jaz, you were out in Cali with your uncle. By the time you guys got back it was over. I just…I wanted to forget it ever happened, you know?"
She glanced up, and mischief filled her eyes.
"Now look, you've got me being a wet blanket when we're supposed to be cheering Bella up. C'mon."
Grabbing my wrist with one hand and Jazmine's arm with the other, she dragged us up to the giant karaoke machine in the front of the bar. As the first strains of "At first I was afraid, I was petrified…" drifted through the speakers I grinned, wrapping my arms around each of my friends and settling in to enjoy a night that had nothing to do with vampires, werewolves and ill-fated romance.
Jazmine, thank God, had quickly determined that Max and I were both going to be smashed before we left Margarita's, so she'd stuck to water and firmly declared herself designated driver at the end of the night. That suited me just fine; I could have the bus drop me off to pick up my car tomorrow. We happily rolled on home, belting out song after song on the radio with a carefree abandon that was getting harder and harder to come by these days.
As we pulled into the apartment complex, Jazmine glanced over her shoulder.
"You're sure you don't just want to crash at our place?" she asked.
"Nah, got to go in and face the music sometime."
Impulsively I leaned forward, wrapping my arms around both her and Max and just holding on.
"I love you guys."
From under my arm I heard Max's muffled voice say, "See, I told you you were doing it wrong."
Jaz snorted. "She's going to hate herself for this in the morning. Love you Bells. Call me anytime if you change your mind, all right?"
My eyes filled with tears as I hopped out of the car and started off on the long, slow trek back up the hill to my apartment. There was nothing like a little fiesta music, a talking parrot and taking first prize in a karaoke competition to cure what ails you.
The apartment was completely dark when I stepped inside. I had no idea where Edward had disappeared to, and frankly I was too tired, too drunk and too emotionally wrung out to care. That didn't stop me from screaming in surprise when he blossomed out of the shadows near our bedroom, a phone to his ear and a finger to his lips.
"No, I understand completely. We'd be happy to have her. Just let me know what time her flight's going to be coming in and I'll make sure I'm at the airport to meet her." He paused, listening, then his eyebrows shot up. "I assure you, I'll do my snacking elsewhere," he said dryly, glancing up. "Bella just walked through the door, so I'm going to pass you over to her to arrange the particulars." Another silence, then, "You're very welcome."
He handed the phone over to me. I frowned, lifting the receiver to my ear and hoping I could get through the conversation without slurring my words or falling on my face. Darn Max and her excellent observation that nothing chased down a 3 alarm chili like a cold bottle of beer. I never drank that much.
"Hello?"
"Bella?"
My eyes popped open, my buzz left behind in the shock of hearing Jake's voice at the other end of my telephone.
"Jake? What's going on?" I frowned, glancing up at Edward's cool and impassive face before turning around. "Is everything all right?"
"Everything's fine Bells. Listen, Andy's coming your way on Sunday. Her company's performing at the school, something about the music classes? I dunno, I honestly wasn't paying attention to most of it."
Typical guy, I thought, almost amused until I realized he wouldn't be calling my house at…1:00 in the morning just to give me an update on Andy's schedule. Hell, the girl didn't even like me. He wouldn't be calling me to give me an update anytime. As the silence dragged on, my eyes started to droop.
"Sooooo, she's coming here?" I asked, hoping to nudge him along so I could go collapse on the bed.
"Yeah, that's the thing. We've had a bunch of new vamps around here lately. I think it might be connected to your friend Jane. There's nothing else I can think of. One of us has been running Andy back and forth to classes, but I don't want her all the way up there unprotected and I can't close down the shop that long. I was wondering if she could stay with you and….Edward."
He was gritting his teeth, and I knew what it had cost him to have to pick up the phone and ask Edward for a favor.
"Yeah, of course." I didn't even bother asking Edward. I wasn't entirely sure I was speaking to him anyway, and if what I'd heard when I came in meant anything he and Jacob had already come to their own terms regarding her visit.
"Awesome, thanks Bells. I owe you one."
I smiled. "Lifetime of servitude still up for grabs?"
There was a beat of silence, then a warm voice said, "Always" before it hung up the phone, leaving me standing there with a warm, fuzzy feeling that ran all the way down to my toes and Edward silently looking on.