Chapter 21: Back To School
Edward couldn't come back to Washington until a few days before college started again. But he was so busy buying everything he would need to live in a dorm with Emmett that he couldn't leave Seattle. It was depressing to not see him for so long, but I was happy to learn that he was living in the same dorm I was, only one floor above me.
We kept in touch by talking over the phone; he told me what he was doing, I told him what I was doing, and both of us expressed wishes for college to start back up. I hinted at it a lot, but never got around to actually telling him I missed him tremendously. The day before I moved back to Seattle he told me he was finally prepared to live at college. "Great!" I said into the phone, a little too enthusiastically. "You could come over. Alice still hasn't heard you play piano." I was practically begging him.
"No!" he said, quickly and angrily. Tears pricked my eyes from the abruptness of his refusal.
"Why not? You're finished packing aren't you?"
He must have heard the strain of my voice. "I'm sorry Bella. I didn't mean to snap." He exhaled loudly into the speaker. "I'm just…well it's…I'm a bit grumpier of late. I'm not exactly myself right at the moment." I could just see him running a hand through his hair.
"I don't mind. Maybe I could cheer you up somehow. I could gush over how well you play the piano, if you wanted me to." I wanted to see him urgently. It had been three weeks since he left, and I didn't care if the heartache in my voice showed or not.
"I can't Bella. It's not safe. It's my time of the month, if you catch my drift," he explained.
"Oh," was all I could think to say. After a pause, in which I was in utter anguish for not being able to see him, I finally asked stiffly, "Have you…you know…heard anybody?"
"Yeah," he answered solemnly. "I would understand…Bella…if you weren't interested…I mean…if you didn't want to see me when you get back, it would make sense."
"No!" I whisper-shouted into the phone, almost as angrily as he had said the same to me. "I know what you have to do, but that doesn't mean I'm going to suddenly change my mind. Once you…" I gulped. "…Once your eyes are yellow again, you'll be fine. Just don't fall back into that 'I hate myself' routine."
"Okay, Bella."
"Promise me!" I said, in a tone I hoped was forceful, but more likely came out as desperate.
"I promise. I need to go. I'll see you in a day or two, depending on when…well, just depending. Bye."
"Bye, Edward. Miss you." I hung up before he could reply.
Turning angrily to face my bed, I stared at the suitcase, which was overflowing with a pile of clothes that I had steadily accumulated over my stay here. Alice had dumped everything she wanted me to take onto the bed before dashing downstairs to meet Jasper, who was taking her to see a movie. Releasing an exaggerated sigh, which mad me feel a little better, I started sifting. Sundress here, capris there.
Without thinking about much, except for how long it would be until I would see Edward again, I sorted through all the colorful camis and designer tops, occasionally moving something into the 'I don't want this' pile on the floor. The most notable of these items was a set of lingerie – matching navy bra and panties covered in lace that was revealing, to say the least. Where – and when – did Alice even buy this? It was still on the hanger, though the price tag had been removed. Great. Now I can't take it back. Maybe it will fit Esme…
"Put that back." Think of the devil, and she shall appear. I looked at Esme, whose face was emerging from behind the doorframe into my room.
"Why? I'm never going to wear it," I scoffed. Honestly, I couldn't think of one reason why I would want to touch the frilly things, let alone put them on. "Do you want it? I might be the same size as you."
"No. I have my own undergarments, thank you, and Alice bought that for you." She gave me a surprisingly stern, motherly look for a woman with no children. "She would be hurt if you just discarded it like a dirty sock. Besides, it's pretty."
I scowled at the lingerie in my hands. "It may be pretty, but does it look like anything I'd ever wear?" Running my thumb over the lace edging, I added, "Not to mention it looks really itchy."
She gave me a sly smirk. "Trust me, it's not." Taking the hanger from my hands, she laid it, along with the underwear it was holding, in my suitcase. "You never know when you might want something like this." I rolled my eyes, but left them in the bottom of my suitcase, where they would hopefully stay for the rest of my life.
-X-X-
Edward's POV
I waited, just as I had waited so many times before, just as I had waited for Bella. Enveloped by shadow, I watched as he returned from a difficult rescue mission.
I hope I won't still be sore in the morning. That dive was a killer. No, he would most definitely not be sore in the morning, because in the morning he would be dead. I felt bad for the guy, knowing he was doing his best to help people. But the second he stepped out off of the swaying boat, a gust of wind blew his scent my way. The thirst erupted in my throat, blowing all feelings of pity back into the streets behind me, and the stinging smell of the salty ocean only made it worse.
Ouch! I hope I didn't tear something. At least that woman is safe, and her daughter, too. Darn it, that HURTS! He was limping away from the docks, favoring his left leg.
Really, it was too easy. The man couldn't even walk for crying out loud! Deciding on a course of action, I stepped out of the side street so he could see me coming toward him.
"Mike! Mike!" I yelled, waving to get his attention.
His eyes narrowed as he tried to remember who I was. "Um hi…Edwin. Long time since the evacuation, huh?"
I let the mistake slide, since it didn't matter anyway. The beast was roaring inside me, telling me to do it now, whether others could see or not. I forced it down. "Yeah, it has been a while. Listen, I was wondering if you wanted to grab a drink with me at this local joint. I hear the music's great."
"Well, I'd love to, but…" my leg is killing me. I should probably go the doctor in the morning.
"But?" I prompted. He was trying to think of something impressive to tell me so he wouldn't feel like a wimp for complaining about his leg.
"But I'm actually to young to drink, legally." He winced as he shifted his weight. "I'm only nineteen."
"Oh, c'mon," I tried to pressure him into it, and he was starting to cave, thinking that he could meet some girls – who would have undoubtedly impressed with his diving injury. "You don't have to drink if you don't want to. I just need some company, and the rest of the guys down at the station are on shift."
"Well…" Indecision flickered on his face for a moment.
"And the chicks are to die for." Indeed, they would be, for him.
"Okay." It might be worth it, but only if I get at least a few phone numbers.
I gave him my most genuine smile. "Great! My car's parked down here." I turned back in the direction I came from, tolerating his slow pace with tedious patience. He followed me down the same side street where I had stalked him; the fear in his thoughts rising slightly when he noticed there was no car.
"Hey man, I don't know…"
I cut off his sentence. It's hard for humans to talk when their necks have been broken. The monster inside me thundered in glorious victory. Since he was already dead, I had to move quickly if I wanted the blood to be fresh. I sliced an opening in his neck to begin, and the demonic burn in the back of my throat subsided, finally quenched.
I made quick work of him, in case anyone wandered along the abandoned alley. The only thing I had left to do was to dispose of the corpse.
As I sprinted to the nearby cliff with the dead weight over my shoulder, the realization hit me like it always has. The beast was placated, the thirst satisfied. And another person's life had been taken prematurely – by me.
Trying to remember the promise I made to Bella, I threw Mike Newton's body into the churning waters below. No doubt it would be pulverized against the rocks, and by morning, no part of him would remain.
Mike was a true American hero, and he was getting an inglorious, undeserved death in return for the service he had provided. I wanted to hate myself all over again, but forced Bella's words through my mind again. 'Stop blaming yourself for being a cougar…the fact that you can't help your nature doesn't make you the bad guy.'
Despite Bella's advice, and despite my promise to her, I allowed a wave of remorse to wash over me. I sighed and fell on my back, staring up at the dismal gray clouds.
Nine hundred and eleven.
-X-X-
Bella's POV
"Ready, Bella?"
"Ready, Alice." I held my breath as Alice swiped the card through the reader next to our door. When the little green light came on, I twisted the door handle, letting the air whoosh out of my lungs when I saw the inside of the room. Everything was the same as when we had left, down to the pile of clothes at the end of Alice's bed. The only discernable difference was the light layer of dust that covered the furniture.
"Well that's a relief," I commented, glancing at the desk to make sure my laptop was still there.
"Yeah. It's almost like we never left." She threw her suitcase on her bed and began unpacking. "I guess they didn't have to repair anything this high up."
We finished unloading all of our new clothes – Alice had about twice as much as I did – and were starting to dust when a knock at the door made us pause.
"I'll get it," I offered, and Alice went back to wiping off the coffee table. Hoping against hope it was Edward, I pulled open the door as calmly as I could, without bothering to put down the spray bottle of cleaner I was holding. What greeted me was the long-haired, gangly, bespectacled form of Eric Yorkie. "Eric?" He jerked his head once in affirmation.
"The one and only," he said, leaning against the doorframe.
"No offense or anything, but why are you here? And how did you know we were in this room?" I specifically recalled not telling him what room Alice and I were in, given that we hardly knew him.
"Oh, I'm just checking out all the rooms to see who's back, and ask them how their hiatus went," he said, with a cheesy smirk.
"Well, ours was fine," I answered noncommittally. "Um, listen, Alice and I just got back. We're barely unpacked and we're trying to clean up." I waved the bottle of 409 at him as proof. "I'm glad you stopped by and all, but now's not exactly the best time."
A slight frown puckered between his eyes, but he regained his composure quickly. "No prob. I'll stop by later. Tell Alice I said…" Right then Alice walked up to the door.
"Eric!" she said gleefully. "How nice to see you! We'll have to hang out sometime! But now Bella and I have to get to work." The dreamy look on Eric's face told me he took her words at face value, instead of seeing them as her polite but permanent goodbye.
"Yeah, cool." He winked at us. "Catch you two ladies later." He sauntered down the hallway.
I shut the door. "Was he that weird when we met him?" I asked Alice, not sure if that was the same funny, if dorky, Eric we had met during the evacuation.
"Not quite. He must be on the prowl, now that he's back in his natural environment." I snickered at that, and we went back to our housework. While I was dusting off the cabinets above our tiny kitchenette, I tried to formulate my reaction when Edward did finally call or come by. I wanted to make it plain that I missed him, but now that it was actually getting close to the time when I would see him, I didn't want to come across as desperate and clingy.
I had just worked my way to my desk when there was another knock on the door. Alice, scrubbing the shower, shouted, "Got that?" from in the bathroom.
"Yeah," I replied loud enough that she could hear. I pranced over to the door, thinking it couldn't really be anyone else than Edward this time. When the vaguely familiar face was behind the door belonged to a girl, my shoulders slumped in disappointment.
"Hey!" the strawberry blonde said. "Is Alice here? I wanted to see if she could go out tonight. I'm Charlotte," she added, sticking her hand out to shake mine. I took it, and she said, "but I go by Carlie. I'm a friend of Alice's."
"Bella," I said, returning the introduction. "Yeah, I'll get her. Just a sec. Come on in, if you don't mind the smell of orange oil." She sat on the desk chair while I retrieved Alice from the bathroom. They started talking about what they had done over the "vacation," and I joined in occasionally. When the conversation turned to Jasper, however, I started cleaning again. Everything she said to Carlie was something she'd already told me; I wouldn't get any new information.
After twenty minutes, Carlie left, leaving Alice to return to the bathroom and me to dust off the TV. Yet again, I heard a knock at the door. Well, I thought, bracing myself, third time's the charm.
I had to fight back an exasperated sigh when I opened the door. "Eric? Why are you back?" He was starting to annoy me, with a corny look on his face that was supposed to be suave.
"Well, Isabella, my friend Peter and I are hosting this back-to-school movie party in the lobby at seven tomorrow. And I'm giving you," he wiggled his eyebrows, "and Alice a personal invite. Can I expect you there, babe?"
I blushed, but whether it was more out of embarrassment or annoyance, I wasn't sure. "I don't know. I'll get back to you on that. As you can see," I gestured with my dusting rag, "we're still busy. But thanks for the invitation." I shut the door, as gently as my irritation would allow.
Before I could turn around, three sharp knocks beat against the other side of the door. What now? "Bella! I forgot to ask you," Eric said quickly after I opened the door. "Pete and I are asking for suggestions. Is there any movie you want to see?"
"Eric, please, we need to get finished," I said sternly.
"Just off the top of your head," he pushed.
"Crosshairs," I replied without thinking. "Now would you please let us go back to work?"
"Hey, a horror fan, are you? That's awesome…" I closed the door in his face.
Alice came out from the bathroom, putting her bottle of Lysol under the sink. "Who was that?" she asked.
I gave a loud sigh. "Eric again. He invited us to a movie party tomorrow."
"You going?"
I snorted. "Yeah, right. That's the night before school picks back up." She nodded, familiar with my practice of putting school before social gatherings. "I'll have to go over everything, pick up my assignments where I left off, and finish reading my book." Plus I want tomorrow open in case Edward wants to do something with me…
"Well, Carlie is picking me up in half an hour to go to Common Grounds," she named the popular coffee shop. "Want to come with?"
"No." Alice pouted. "I mean, I do want to come, but I can't. I have loads to do, and someone needs to be here in case somebody drops by."
She grinned at me. "You're waiting on Edward, aren't you!" she shouted, more a statement of fact than an inquiry.
"Guilty." I looked at the floor. "But can I take a rain check? I'd love to go out when the timing is better."
"Well, duh, of course. I hope you see Edward soon. I'm gonna go get ready." She danced off into the bathroom. Grabbing the broom from its cranny behind my bed, I started sweeping, taking my time to do a thorough job. I didn't realize how long I had been at it until Alice called "I'm off!" as she stepped out the door.
Putting the broom away, I curled up on the loveseat to pick up reading Wuthering Heights where I had left off at the Cullens'. Esme had let me have it when I told her I'd always wanted a copy of my own, and now I wanted to finish it before school started again.
I was becoming steadily engrossed in the story when someone knocked, making my heart leap into my throat. "Coming!" I yelled. I took a quick glance in the mirror to make sure I was presentable before rushing to the door.
"Hey E…Eric." I could feel myself slouching dejectedly before stiffening in aggravation. "What do you need?"
He didn't miss a beat, my negative body language not fazing him in the least. "I just wanted to run some titles by you, see if you liked them. These girls on the second floor suggested The Notebook but I think everyone's seen that. What do you think?"
"Look, I've been thinking about it…"
"Say no more!" he interrupted happily, startling me. "I will be glad to swing by beforehand. In fact, we could go together. You know, I kind of like The Notebook, it's really romantic and all…" He said all of this in one breath.
"No, Eric. I mean, I don't think I can come. I've got loads to do before classes start again, and I'll need a while to get caught up. Sorry."
His face fell, and I had to remind myself how annoying he'd been so I didn't feel bad for him. There were at least two thousand other girls on campus, after all.
"No prob. See ya." Shoulders hunched, he plodded away. I closed the door, thankful he had finally gotten the message.
I curled up on the couch again just as the sun started to set, casting an intense, dark yellow light on the pages of my book. I opened the novel, focused my eyes on the page, and groaned loudly when a knock at the door interrupted me.
"Eric! I already told you, I can't go. Now please let me read in peace!" I yelled, stomping to the door and yanking it open.
"Surely you aren't comparing me to that awkward specimen trudging down the hallway?" The blood rose to my face and my chest went into overdrive when I looked into his pale face; his crooked grin and sunny eyes made me temporarily forget who I was.
"Edward! I missed you!" And before I could stop myself, I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him as hard as I could. It took a moment for me to remember what effect this sort of contact had on him, but once I did remember, I pulled away quickly, mumbling "sorry" and staring at the floor.
"It's all right," he assured me, placing a cool hand on my shoulder. "I'm all better now. You still smell wonderful, but I'm not thirsty in the least, so it doesn't bother me."
"You're sure?" I hated the thought of causing him pain.
"Absolutely. You see," he ran his hand from my shoulder to my wrist, bringing it up to his face so he could inhale deeply. "Easier all the time," he purred.
"Well, don't stand out there like an absolute stranger," I said, feeling the need to break the silence that had formed as he held my hand. "Come in. Make yourself at home." He followed me to the loveseat, and sat down while I poured myself a glass of water.
I sat down next to him, thinking he looked like Apollo even when he was sprawled across the seat. "Missed me, did you?" he asked, with one eyebrow raised. I nodded, sure if I spoke I would squeak with excitement that he was here. "Well," he continued, "I missed you as well. Fending off flirty waitresses isn't the same without you. Bella?" he said when I didn't respond. I was too busy admiring how the orange light of the sunset made him look as if he were carved of solid gold.
"What? Oh, sorry. I was just…wondering," gawking is more like it, "why you aren't sparkling with the sunlight right on you."
He shrugged. "It has to be direct sunlight. I suppose the stuff diffused through the window isn't strong enough."
"Hmm," I said, remembering something I had been worrying about after he left Forks. "How are you going to go to all of your classes without people seeing?"
"I just keep well-covered. I put on a long-sleeve hoodie and a pair of gloves, and people assume I'm just another emo kid." He changed the subject. "So what did you do during your break? Break the hearts of millions of restaurant hosts?" he asked with a grin that didn't meet his eyes – almost like he was afraid it was true.
"The only heart I broke was Esme's when I had to leave," I replied. "But Alice did it too so it really doesn't count."
"Well, that's good. How was moving back in?"
"Really simple, actually," I answered. "Everything was pretty much the same as when we left it. The only thing that needed to be done was clean up a bit." We said nothing for a while after that. I kept taking small sips of water, trying to think of my next move. I didn't want to seem too forward, but I wanted something to happen besides us trading polite, trivial conversation.
"Who is Eric? He must have been pretty aggravating if for you to yell at him like that."
Scowling, I put my glass on the coffee table and rested my chin on my hand. "He was this guy Alice and I met in Forks' gym the day of the evacuation. While he was talking to us, he was funny and cool, in a nerdy way. Then he came by today and it wouldn't leave us – me – alone. He invited us to this movie party tomorrow night, and kept bugging me about it until I told him I couldn't go."
"Why not?" Edward asked, seeming somewhat disheartened, but about what I had no idea.
"School starts the day after tomorrow, and I have tons of stuff to do before then." I took a deep breath, feeling the blood rising to my cheeks already. "And…I was hoping I could go do something with you, you know, before things get really hectic." There! I said it.
"Bella, I…" He stuttered for a moment. Staring at his lemon-hued eyes, I tried my best to plead with my dull brown ones. "I'd enjoy that, very much," he finally finished with a slightly shocked expression that I couldn't decipher.
"What do you want to do?" I asked him while inching my way closer to him on the loveseat.
"I don't know. What do you want to do?" His perfect face still seemed a bit bewildered.
I laughed, quoting in a bad Cockney accent, "Now don't start that again!"
Breaking out of his reverie, he chuckled back, "The Jungle Book?"
"Yeah. It used to be one of my favorites as a kid." Leaning ever so slightly closer as I said this, I put my hand over his arm in a friendly gesture. "I have this place I like to go when I'm done with studying or homework. It's a mambo club, called Monterrey Maria's."
"You dance?" He raised eyebrows in surprise.
"Only occasionally. I'm not that great, but I suppose it's passable. Most of the time I just enjoy watching."
As he spoke, he twined his marble fingers in mine. "You do remember I told you that I am a Latin ballroom dancer? If – when we go, realize that I won't let you do much 'just watching.'"
I gulped at the idea of trying to dance, or even walk, when he was in the vicinity. "Are you sure about that?" My voice quivered. "Do you remember how I become the world's largest klutz when I'm near you?"
"Yes, I remember, very distinctly. I believe your terminology involved a goat and bacon grease." He grinned that heart-stopping crooked grin of his, while continuing, "But trust me. It's all in the leading."
I was still dubious. "You're sure?" I stared at our entwined fingers resting on the cushion between us.
"Positive. What time should I pick you up?"
"Seven, I guess. Is that convenient?"
He laughed quietly, a beautiful rumble that reminded me of a waterfall. "Silly Bella. Any time is convenient. We only live one floor above you. Which reminds me," he paused, considering, "would you like to meet Emmett?"