AN: I know I've promised you all a press conference with chief Swan, but Edward was getting impatient. He hasn't gotten nearly as much stage time in this fic as the others…. So, we're back at Bella remembering her's first couple of months in Forks and her first impressions of Edward . This chapter is outlining the second time the two of them are properly interacting.
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-=[ Bella Swan,17 y.o. – The past]=-
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Chapter 21
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Previously: 'Someone… Someone knows… 'The words were eerily similar to the ones that had echoed in Bella own mind for the last five years. Someone had to know more than they let on… It was the only conclusion that ever made sense to her.
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Despite not having actually attended any classes in little over six months, Bella had gotten sucked right back in to the vortex that was high school in record time.
She'd hoped that the 'new girl' novelty would wear off quickly, but apparently it still hadn't. The more she tried to blend in, the more she stuck out as a sore thumb. She'd never attended a school this small before and her plan to remain aloof and avoid "connecting" with her fellow students, had pretty much been shot to pieces by week four, when she'd accidently-on-purpose hit Mike Newton in the head with a Volleyball in PE. The impact had a caused a nosebleed. You'd think he'd get the hint after that, right? Well, wrong! He'd somehow managed to guilt tripp her into sitting with him at lunch the following day… and the day after that ….
It had been awful…just plain awful. So much so, that when she saw him come for her on the third day that week, she'd run straight for Alice Cullen, begging for protection. Alice, of course, had embraced her with open arms.
Bella's only true ally in school, Angela, had been home sick with a nasty stomach bug that particular week. She found the whole thing hilarious though, once she returned to school a few days later and found Bella going through great lengths to hide from both Mike and Alice once the lunch hour came around.
Speaking of ducking out of an awkward situation … This brought Bella back to her current mad rush to get away from curious eyes and well-meaning, but slightly intrusive questions.
Breathing out a sigh of relief, Bella let her feet carry her down the walkway leading away from the house, or mansion was more like it, because holy shit, the Cullens lived in a freaking mansion! She wished someone would have warned her… She knew from the cars they drove and the clothes they wore that they were well off, but no one had mentioned they lived in a house the size of a small country.
The afternoon study session with Alice had been all sorts of awkward and the dinner that followed, with the parents, a.k.a Dr. and Dr. Cullen (or Esme and Carlisle, for those on first name basis with them), had been even worse…
Esme had been trying to be discreet, acting like she didn't already know Bella quite well through their therapy sessions. Frankly her acting skills left much to be desired. Her husband had apparently been briefed by his wife sometime between walking through the front door and sitting down at the dinner table, because he, too, was behaving a bit shifty, being overly friendly and way too interested in anything Bella said or did.
Bella just wanted to get home and forget about this whole miserable day all together. She longed for her pajamas and her bed. She just wanted to go to sleep and start over in the morning.
With that in mind, she hurried her steps. It was past seven now and it was completely dark outside, save for a generous number of garden lights, casting an eerie glow on the walkway in front of her.
When said walkway split in two directions, she halted for a moment – she could stick with the path on the right and go round the side of the main house and onto the driveway, or she could take the left option, leading her towards the garage. If she remembered correctly, there was a shortcut behind the garage that let you bypass the driveway altogether, taking you directly down to the pine-tree-lined road below the Cullen property.
Of course, there were no garden lights at the back of the garage. In fact there seemed to be very little light at all back there and no concrete slabs to walk on. It was just a grassy lawn, split in two by what looked to be a well-used 'cow path'. It did not look particularly inviting, not in the slightest actually… She wasn't afraid of the dark, per say, it was more like a perfectly justifiable wariness about whatever nastiness could be hidden in the darkness.
Taking the route around the garage would, however, be the fastest way to get away from any curious eyes watching her through the windows of the house behind her. Well duh, a shortcut is typically faster by definition… Anyway, when you put it like that, it was a no-brainer… sure, she wasn't too fond of the dark, but what she hated even more was the feeling of being watched, checked, supervised, and reported on… By this point, Bella's feet had already started moving on their own accord, steering left, heading into the darkness.
It started out alright; she swiped her phone to life and used it as a flashlight. It was a bit of a juggling act though, because aside from her phone and her school bag she was also carrying around two plastic containers, filled to the brim with food.
Dr. Cullen – Esme—had insisted on having Bella bring home leftovers for Charlie. She meant well, but Bella knew vegan spaghetti Bolognese with mushrooms and zucchini pasta would not be a hit with her father. He was the type of man that considered any meal without meat a waste of time. And also, for him to eat mushrooms that didn't come served with cheese and crust in a pizza box, was simply unheard of.
Bella had searched for the words to explain this to Esme, without sounding like she was dissing the meal itself… but she came up blank.
"Put the food in the fridge and leave it there. That's what I do. Men, when hungry enough, will eat just about anything," Esme insisted, as she handed over the plastic containers, leaving no room for objection. "Bet you he won't even notice that it's vegan, Isabella. Just tell him that it's home cooked and Italian. I have yet to meet a man that doesn't love a good Italian meal," she stated, with great conviction.
Bella wasn't as convinced, but whatever… she was stuck with the food containers all the same.
As she reached the backside of the garage, several things happened at once. It started with an unexpected cracking, creaking noise. It startled her a bit, but it wasn't too bad. It didn't end there, however. A millisecond later, a foreign object the size of a small rock, or a twig, or something, came flying towards her, landing by her feet.
She was already jittery because of the dark and the simple fact that she couldn't see much of anything. So, naturally, this sudden 'attack' had her whipping around, fully expecting to find a squirrel, or raccoon, or God forbid something bigger, coming towards her, ready to eat her alive.
Simultaneously, one of the plastic food containers, started to slip out of her grasp. She stumbled forward to catch it, which nearly made her trip in the process. The container hit the ground with a sudden thud. The lid popped off, spilling food everywhere, a big portion of it ending up on her shoes - her favorite sneakers, of course. Just her luck!
However, before Bella could start cursing herself too heavily, she heard that cracking, creaking noise again. It was the sound of someone stepping down some sort of stairs, she realized.
Just then, another pea-sized gravel came flying through the air, landing on the ground in front of her and she jumped a second time.
"Wow, you really are as klutzy and skittish as everyone say you are!" someone said from somewhere in the darkness behind her…. or rather slightly above her.
Her head snapped up. She knew that voice, even though he had only actually spoken directly to her that one time- her first day at school when she'd quite literally run smack into him - she recognized who that voice belonged to right off the bat. It was the ever-so-friendly and cheerful Edward Cullen gracing her with his presence (note the sarcasm there…).
He'd been missing at dinner, but none of the others had said anything about it. Not that she'd cared enough to ask about him, or anything. She'd just noted that he'd been absent… and that no one else had found it strange, or unusual that he wasn't there.
Well, his whereabouts was no longer a mystery….
"And you Cullen, you really are just as rude and creepy as everyone say you are," she flung back at him, purposely mimicking his choice of words and speaking pattern, only changing 'klutzy and skittish' for 'rude and creepy'.
"Creepy?" he asked, stepping closer.
She still couldn't see much, but she knew where he was as she could detect the tell-tale glow from a cigarette. She could also confirm that there was, indeed, a wooden staircase with an iron railing, clinging to the wall behind him. She figured he must have been sitting on the stairs smoking, when she came rounding the corner of the garage.
Bella took in a deep breath, feeling just how scared she'd really been there for a second. "Yeah, creepy… I mean, what the fuck is wrong with you, sneaking around in the dark like some kind of mass murderer or pervert?!"
"I'm not sneaking around, I live here," he spoke up again, irritation evident in his voice. "I'd like to hear your excuse though, Swan."
Bella gritted her teeth, as a sudden anger flared up inside her. Excuse…? Excuse for what exactly? Existing? Breathing? Crossing the lawn to access the road leading into town? Eating dinner with his family? He was just too much, this guy…
Instead of answering straight away, she started wiping the goo off her shoes on a patch of grass. Her sneakers had absorbed quite a bit of Bolognese sauce already; resulting in stains that would be a bitch to get out.
"I'm waiting," Edward added expectantly when she didn't say anything.
Screw this! Screw him! There would be no excuses, no apologies coming from her, Bella decided, throwing a nasty glare in his general direction, as she still couldn't see much of him because it was so dark.
"You know what Cullen, I may be a skittish klutz, in fact I'm fairly sure I am," she informed him, crossing her arms over her chest. "But the way I see it, this mess…" She made an angry gesture with her hand towards her shoes. "…was just as much your fault as it was mine, if not more your fault. And now, thanks to you, my most comfortable shoes are ruined. You just don't sneak up on unsuspecting girls like that, especially not in the dark."
"Calm your titties, Swan. I didn't do anything. I was just sitting here minding my own business. You're the one that came barging around the corner like a freight train," he said stiffly, showing no interest in accepting any part of the blame.
Bella let out an unimpressed sound that was somewhere between a scoff and a huff.
"But for what it's worth, I'm sorry about your snea-… No scratch that. I don't care about your shoes. I'm sorry good food is going to waste, that's as far as I can go," Edward continued, stepping into the moonlight, so that she could see his face; fierce and steely….and savagely beautiful. This guy had eyelashes to kill for - insanely long, casting impressive shadows across his cheek.
"I mean, it looks like mom been trying to woo you with her take on Italian, right?" he asked, motioning with his chin towards the gooey mess on the ground, where the container had landed. "Spaghetti Bolognese… for chief Swan, I'm guessing?"
Bella heaved a sigh, shaking her head. "That's none of your - " she started to say, but then changed her mind, "Yes, there will be no Spaghetti for Charlie tonight. He'll go to bed hungry and grumpy and it will be all your fault."
"Chief Swan grumpy? You mean he isn't Mr. Eternal Sunshine all the time?" Edward barked out a short laugh. "So anyway…. You want me to hose you down with the garden hose, Swan? I can totally do that for you, free of charge..."
"Thanks, but no thanks."
"Alright, your loss. Could have been fun. Nice chatting to you," he said, then waved his hand at her dismissively. "Now, off you go!"
"Geez! Yes, I'll get going. I'm sorry I interrupted your brooding-in-the-dark routine. No need to be so rude about it."
Bella unclenched her fists, trying to force herself to relax.
Technically, it was not Edward's fault that she was this jittery and that his mere presence irked her. Not his fault tha-...
"Rude is my middle name, it's something you'll have to get used to," Edward said, interrupting her train of thoughts.
"Edweirdo Rude Cullen — how fitting," Bella snorted.
"Ha, ha, funny….NOT!" He wasn't laughing.
"Seriously Swan, I think you should leave now. I've got stuff to do and you're wasting my time," he said, before demonstratively lifting his cigarette to his lips.
He held the smoke in for a while and then exhaled.
Time seemed to stop as Bella became aware of the comfortably familiar smell of weed. Funny, she hadn't caught whiff of that earlier, actually…. And it smelled like it could be of good quality….
"Seriously, Cullen," she said, mimicking him again, "I can take a hint. You want me gone and I'll leave, but first…," she trailed off in a studiously casual manner. "But first, let me have some of that as a parting gift."
"Excuse me?" He looked her up and down. "You want what?"
"I want a drag of your blunt, please." She smiled sweetly at him. "Was that better? And don't look so surprised, you thought I wouldn't recognize the smell?"
"Well, I was hoping you were more the pill-popping kind of girl," he said in a bored tone of voice, but he was clearly holding back some amusement, judging by the way his eyes squinted a bit.
"You're such a jerk, Cullen. Now give me that," She leaned forward and surprised them both by reaching out and stealing the blunt from right where it had been dangling between his lips.
"Hey, I just lit that up!" he protested.
"Don't be greedy now," she teased, backing away. "Sharing is…" She had to cough, before she could continue. "Sharing is caring," she finally managed to get out.
She kept coughing for a bit as the smoke itched and burned her throat.
In the meanwhile, Edward scowled at her, but kept his distance.
Surprise, surprise, he did actually have some redeeming qualities after all - good weed and a healthy appreciation for personal space (or a crippling fear of germs, perhaps?).
"I was invited, by the way," she told him, feeling charitable, as she let a puff of the smoke out between her lips.
"To your house, this afternoon," she added, answering the questioning look on his face. "Alice and I got paired up for some stupid Biology project. We were supposed to work on it in the library after school, but your sister insisted we'd do it here instead, said no one would be home…and that the books in your dad's home office are better than the ones in the library. Those were blatant lies, it seems. I ended up meeting your entire family and if your dad has any books on Gene-sequencing-biology, he sure doesn't keep them at home. Your sister can be a bit… manipulative at times – no offence."
"None taken. We call her the evil pixie around this place," he said with a rather gruff, but fond voice. "She can be quite stubborn when there is something that she wants. However, she's also loyal to a fault and successful in everything she tries her hands at. You could definitely do worse as far as study partner goes… or friend, I suppose. There are a lot of skanks and nasty bitches at school-…"
"So I've noticed," she interrupted him. "Listen, I don't want a bff. I just want to be left alone."
"Good luck, telling Alice that," he laughed. "I'll give you a little tip on how to get rid of her for when she's bugging you. Just tell her she's got something between her teeth. That will have her digging around in her purse, or even better, running off looking for a mirror. Works every time and gives you a few seconds to slip away."
"Thanks. I'll try and remember that," Bella took another drag and exhaled slowly, while contemplating her next move.
This weed really was of the excellent kind. It had been long-too long-since she'd last gotten her hands on something remotely decent. Unfortunately, Edward was beginning to look impatient, already snapping his fingers, indicating it was time for her to give it up. She was going to have to talk to him for a bit, distract him while she finished the blunt.
Ugh… small talk was really NOT her forte. Where do one start?School? The weather? Zodiac signs? Boring!
She racked her brain for something to say and ended up picking the first thing that came to mind (never a good move), "So your parents… they are quite the pair, aren't they?"
"My parents? You want to talk about my parents?" He rolled his eyes at her, as if saying, 'that was lame, is that the best you can do?'
"Yes." Lame or not, she decided to stick with it. "It's just that I met your dad for the first time tonight and he nothing like I would have imagine a small town surgeon to be. He's a surgeon, right? For starters, he's in surprisingly good shape for someone his age. Does he take work out tips from your brother, or is it the other way around?"
Edward raised an eyebrow and gave her what looked to be a what-the-fuck-face.
"Anyway…" she continued. "Your mom seems to be very youthful as well. They must have been quite young when they had you, right?"
"Well, yeah. But enough about my parents," he interrupted her, snapping his fingers again. "Let's talk about your dad instead. Do I need to worry?"
"I don't know, do you?" she returned the question, as she indicated she wanted one last hit. "Worry about what? I'm not sure I follow…"
"Is the Chief on his way over here to pick you up, or what?" he clarified.
"Ah, no. You can relax. He's busy sorting out some hunting accident or accidental shooting, or something… He called to let me know he'd be home late."
"Alright. Someone else is picking you up then?"
"No," she shook her head. "I'm walking."
"Walking? Why?" his eyebrows shot up. "I mean, Alice got a perfectly functioning car and a squeaky clean driving record. She ran over a squirrel once, but that was very much unintentionally. She cried herself to sleep-…."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Bella cut him off. "I don't mind walking. Gives me time to clear my head a bit. Listen, your family is great and I bet every single one of them would have offered to give me a ride, had I asked for one. However, I've had my quota of socializing all used up for the day, if you know what I mean…"
A moment of silence followed. Then, Edward let out a breath, or rather, a deep sigh. "Alright Swan, that's up to you, I guess," he finally said, as if he actually did know exactly what she meant. "I know where you live and it IS walkable, absolutely. But are you sure you wanna make that walk alone at night?"
"Why not? Because I'm a girl? Don't tell me you've never done it. I bet you've walked into town at night a million times. I mean, before you got that fancy Volvo of yours…."
"Nah, too lazy for that," He shoved his hands into his pant pockets. "I used to steal dad's mountain bike occasionally… but mostly I just stayed around the house."
"Well, I don't have a bike and like I said, I don't mind walking."
He looked at her quietly for a long moment.
She held her breath, half expecting him to offer to drive her himself, or walk with her or something. He did nothing of the sort though and the moment passed.
Why would he? she scolded herself. They weren't friends and they didn't socialize. They had a nodding acquaintance, if even that.
"Is it a deliberate thing?" he suddenly asked, seemingly out of the blue. "The whole 'not driving' thing? I know the Chief takes you to school in his cruiser every morning, everyone knows about that…but… I mean, you DO have a driving license, don't you?"
"I do have a license, yes. What I don't have is my own car. If I could afford it, I'd buy myself one like yesterday." She narrowed her eyes at him. Why would he ask that? Did he know…err something? He was acting a bit shady all of a sudden.
"Not all teenagers live in mansions and drive brand spanking new cars," she added when he didn't say anything.
"So, daddy says no, I take it?!"
"Charlie is both cheap and overly cautious. He says I'll have to wait until spring time before he let me drive anything –bike or car- because, apparently, he doesn't think I can handle the roads up here. Oh and he claims everyone around here drives like maniacs?! So, thanks a bunch for that!"
"You're welcome." He gave a harsh, short laugh. "I can't say I blame him for being cautious though, given… you know, what happened to your mom and stuff."
What-the-hell!?
When she looked up, he wasn't meeting her eyes. "Excuse me? What did you just say?"
"There are a lot of old cars and huge trucks with insane speed on the roads up here. You have to look out for fallen trees and wild animals as well."
"No, that's not what you said. You were talking about my mom. What do you know - or think you know- about my mother?" she asked, accusation and near-panic in her voice.
"I know your mother totaled her car and that she-… He cut himself short. "Never mind, I'm sorry I brought it up in the first place. You all right there, Swan? Bella?" he asked, making it sound like he knew he'd said too much, like he cared….
She'd almost believe this sudden act of concern, if it wasn't for the fact that he'd used her moment of weakness against her and was currently trying to twist the blunt out of her grasp.
She tried to jerk her hand away, but wasn't fast enough. As their fingers touched it ignited that annoying spark of something again, a stirring of awareness. She didn't know why, but it just made her even more furious than she already was.
"Firstly, what happened to my mother is none of your God damn business," she snapped and took a few, slow, steps towards him.
Edward held up his hands. "I didn't mean-…"
"Secondly, you're nuts if you think I'm okay with discussing this with you, some random weirdo from school, of all people," she spat in his face.
That had him shoving her away, like he'd gotten a whiff of three-day-old garbage or something. Saliva, or germs more specifically, really did seem to be his kryptonite. She stored that knowledge away for future use.
"I've already said I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have brought it up. I'm sorry for your loss, Isabella. Really, truly sorry, okay?!"
"And thirdly, who told you?" she continued, calmer now. She could sense that he was about three seconds from turning around and walking away. She couldn't have that. She wanted answers. "How did you know and what do you know?"
"I just know, Swan… I just know," he sighed. "I guess you could say I've heard your father talk about it."
"My dad? Why? What did he tell you?"
"Nothing. He told me nothing." He shook his head. "Chief Swan came to our house to speak with mom, wanting her professional advice, or whatever. His visit was a bit out of the blue. Honestly, I thought he came to our house looking for me, that I was in trouble for something I'd done the night before. Anyway, I overheard them talking. This was during summer break, by the way, a week or so before you first arrived in town, I think. Mom didn't know I was home. She thought I was sat work, but I had called in sick….I had a hangover and-..."
"You were eavesdropping," she stated, motioning for him to continue.
He nodded. "I didn't hear much, just the basics. Frankly, I didn't find their conversation all that interesting. The way your dad was talking about you… I mean, I got the impression that you were a lot younger than you actually turned out to be. I didn't think you'd end up in school with us."
"So, basically what you know is that the reason I came here to live with my dad is because my mom k-…" She couldn't get the word out, without her voice threatening to break. She swallowed, before trying again, using a different word this time. "My mom totaled her car. The crash was fatal. She's gone, dead, no longer in this life."
He cleared his throat, "Yes. I haven't told anyone about what I heard that day and I won't. You can trust me with this."
"Trust you? I don't even know you," she commented bitterly, watching his back stiffen.
"I'm sorry you've lost your mother and I get that you don't want to talk about it," he responded, turning to leave. "I guess I'll see you around at school …."
"Wait!" she called after him. She didn't know why, but she didn't want to let him go just yet, not like this… "I apologize for coming off as a total bitch. It's just that… well, you're prodding at a wound that's still raw you know."
"Whatever… I've tried being nice, but I can tell you are not interested in nice. God night, Bella Swan! "
She felt herself scowling. "Okay fine, that was a bit hash, but whatever…" she said, trying to act like his rejection didn't bother her at all.
"Life hurts. Pain stings. Anger burns. Karma bites," he shouted over his shoulder as sprinted up the stairs. She heard a door open and close and then he was out of sight.
One second, two seconds, three seconds passed. He wasn't coming back. Bella sighed, not sure what to make of this.
At least she'd learned one thing tonight…. Edward Cullen was one weird dude, but he sure knew his dope.
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