Chapter 25
"You know, Hobbes, some days even my lucky rocket ship underpants don't help."
― Bill Watterson
Edward
"You gonna be okay today?" Emmett asks, and although I'd rather punch something, I just nod my head.
I missed half of Monday and all of yesterday, so that's weird to begin with since I usually only miss whole days to "skip school", but on top of that, I've got this massive fucking bruise to explain.
Monday's seizure was terrifying. Before Monday, the seizure Bella saw was the only one I've ever had outside the house, and that day, it came on so suddenly, I didn't really have time to panic.
But not this time. This time, I'd had the panic attack at school, so I was already shaky and worked up. When the aura hit, I just froze. I couldn't move, I couldn't breathe—I knew I should lie down across the seats or at least move away from the car door, but none of that happened.
When I woke up, my throbbing head was in Mom's lap in the backseat, and she tried not to cry as she told me the pain was from where I'd bashed my head into the door as I seized in the moving car.
In the fucking moving car.
I pinch the bridge of my nose, trying to hold back everything I'm feeling and to relieve the residual ache. Yesterday's headache was so bad I took as much codeine as Dad would give me and knocked myself out until the afternoon, but then I had to face everything, including the damage to my face.
I put down the car visor and look at myself in the mirror for what has to be the hundredth time since Monday—I had no idea bruises could get this fucking dark. I'm pretty sure I hit the hard plastic next to the window with my cheekbone—that's where most of the pain and tenderness is, anyway—but the bruising has spread completely above and below my eye.
I look like Emmett fucking decked me.
And if he hadn't protested, I definitely would have used that as a cover for what happened.
"It doesn't look that bad," Emmett says, glancing over as I poke and prod at the mottled skin.
I pause long enough to roll my eyes at him.
"Come on, it makes you look tough."
I can't contain my sarcastic huff. If only that were the case.
"No one will know what happened," he goes on, oblivious to my growing frustration. "And I'll—"
"I've got it, Emmett," I all but growl.
He purses his lips but says nothing more. Even he's smart enough to know when I'm about to lose my shit.
And except for the few hours Bella was at the house yesterday, I've pretty much felt like I'm about to lose my shit the entire time.
Bella.
She saved my ass on Monday, and then swept in yesterday like Mother Teresa of the pissed off—pulling me out of my misery just by listening to me bare my soul, anger and sorrow in words and notes.
Keeping that secret seems like a piece of cake right now compared to keeping my seizures hidden.
I startle when Emmett's hand lands on my arm.
"You ready for this?"
We're in the parking lot already; I hadn't even noticed.
"Yeah, I'll be fine," I tell him … and me.
I put on my sunglasses and wear them all the way to my locker, but the minute I take them off …
"Holy shit, Edward! What happened to your face?"
Okay, Edward, it's show time.
I smirk at Tyler as I glance over my shoulder.
"You should see the other guy."
"Who was the other guy?" he asks, but I just shake my head.
"I don't kick ass and tell."
Tyler chuckles, and by now, everyone within earshot is listening.
"And here I thought you didn't kick ass, Edward. You never seem to do it around here." Mike's gaze is hard, daring me to contradict him.
"Well, he did on Monday. It happened on school grounds, so he was suspended yesterday, dumbass. Didn't you know?" Jasper growls from beside me, and I nearly fall over as what he said sinks in.
Mike's face goes red as the guys around him try to stifle their snickers, and Tyler walks away, shaking his head.
Jasper waits for me while I grab my books, and we head down the hall before Mike can come up with a suitable retort.
"Thanks, Jazz," I mutter, feeling better than I have since the weekend.
"You gonna tell me what happened?" he asks, cocking his head at me.
Fuck. That didn't last long.
"Um …"
"Forget it," he spits out before I can come up with a suitable lie, and my stomach plummets to my shoes as I follow him into homeroom.
The rumor of my "suspension" spreads, and by the time biology rolls around, everybody's heard it. The junior and senior guys think it's hilarious while I've seen some of the younger guys looking at me with what I'd consider adoration. The girls just feel sorry for me, and I've had to avoid multiple fawnings this morning because I don't want Bella to get pissed off.
But I didn't see Lauren coming.
She sits in Bella's seat while I'm digging in the lab drawer for a pencil, and when I straighten up, she's right there, her hand extended to my cheek.
"Aww, Eddie, can I kiss it and make it better?" she coos just as Bella walks into the room.
Her fingers brush my skin, and I try not to wince—at her words or the pain.
"I believe that's my … seat," Bella says, her tone low and dangerous.
"Oh, is it?" Lauren answers, still staring at me. "Not very good at … keeping it, are you?"
She hops off Bella's stool lightly.
"I'll see you in Spanish, Edward," she says, flipping her hair over her shoulder, and I close my eyes and count to ten, not at all looking forward to what's coming.
"Edward?"
We're in a room full of witnesses—I shouldn't have to cover my balls, right?
"Uh … yeah?"
"How's your head? Any better?"
Erm, I didn't just imagine Lauren sitting here flirting with me, did I?
"Um … it's okay. My cheek is still sore, though."
"Aww … can I kiss it and make it better?" she asks, a devilish light in her eyes.
How the fuck am I not in trouble for this? Lauren was in Bella's chair!
I shake my head until I remember that fucking hurts.
Just go with it. Who cares about why?
"Sure," I answer, grinning as I lean toward her.
Bella glances over her shoulder, staring until she catches Lauren's eye, then she leans over and gently places her lips on my cheek. I can't help but turn my face until her lips meet mine, and we kiss until the bell brings us back to reality.
I stare at her in a daze, trying to catch my breath, but Bella looks over her shoulder and puckers her lips in Lauren's direction.
Whack!
Lauren's book hitting the desk perfectly covers the sound of Bella's giggle as she turns back around, grinning like a cat who's swallowed several canaries.
"Don't get mad, get even," she whispers, and while I have to stuff my fist in my mouth to keep from laughing out loud, I can do nothing about the bulge rapidly growing in my pants.
Smartass Bella is sexy as hell.
¸.·ˆ¯)¸.·ˆ¯)¸.·ˆ¯)¸.·ˆ¯)¸.·ˆ¯)¸.·ˆ¯)
Lunch is a completely unwanted adventure in stress as the whole fucking room seems to be staring at my face.
I wish I had my damn sunglasses. They might attract a little less attention.
Bella and I sit down at our table, and the quiet tips me off that something's very wrong.
Angela, Ben, and Eric merely stare at me coldly, but Alice is definitely imagining ripping my dick off—or maybe something even worse.
"So whose ass did you kick, Edward?" Ben asks.
"Were you really suspended yesterday?" Eric chimes in.
I can feel Bella's eyes on me, but I know this game well enough to know I can't look at her before I answer. If I do, everyone will think I'm lying.
"I wasn't suspended," I answer shortly. "And as for my face, it's none of your damn business."
"Edward," Bella says, and when I look at her, her eyes are so brown and so sad.
Welcome to a day in the life of Edward Cullen.
"He didn't hurt anyone."
My eyes snap up to Bella's, but she's staring around the table, daring anyone to argue with her.
"He doesn't have to tell you what happened, but it's not what you're thinking."
"Bella—"
"No, Edward. They're not being fair," Bella says, putting her hand on my arm. "You haven't been hanging with Mike and his band of assholes for a while now, and I'm pretty offended that everyone at this table would assume the rumors about this are true anymore than the rumors about anyone else."
"She's right," Alice says, and I have to duck my head to keep my chin from hitting the floor. "I'm sorry, Edward."
When I raise my eyes, she's smirking at me, and her hand is clasped with Jasper's.
"Sorry, man."
"Sorry."
Angela doesn't say anything, but her eyes look wet as she nods at me.
"Thanks," I mumble, no better able to handle this kind of attention than any other. But I feel as if a little of the weight of today has lifted from my shoulders.
Conversation begins again, and Bella squeezes my arm as she grins at me. I smile back at her for what feels like the first time in days.
The rest of the day isn't so bad. By afternoon, everyone's seen my face and decided what they want to believe, so the gawking and hushed whispers have died down. Spanish is an exercise in looking straight ahead, but I can feel Lauren's eyes on me the whole period, and by the time the bell rings, I'm ready to jump out of my skin.
I bolt, wanting to grab my shit and be at Bella's locker by the time she makes it up the hall from physics, but nothing in my life ever goes as fucking planned.
As I straighten up to hoist my bag on my shoulder, an arm wraps around my waist, and I know in a heartbeat it's not Bella's.
"When are you going to ask me to the winter formal, Eddie?" Lauren purrs in my ear, and it takes everything I have not to just spin around and punch her.
Instead, I grip her arm and turn, unwinding her from me as I put a reasonable distance between us.
"I'm not going to ask you. Why the fuck would you think I was?" I snarl, thinking about the way she treated Bella this morning.
"Oh, come on, Edward. Who else would you ask? Bella? I would have thought you'd gotten in her pants and would be over it by now. Certainly, you'll be done playing with her by Christmas and would want a respectable girl on your arm to be seen in public."
My blood boils so quickly it's a miracle I'm not vaporized, and this time, it's the thought of my mom's face if I get suspended for punching a girl that keeps my fists at my sides. But just barely.
"Lauren!" I bark, and I have to take a few deep breaths and clench my fists to stay in control. "Lauren, I'm dating Bella. I've already asked Bella to the dance, and we're going together. Why can't you get it through your fucking head? You and I have never been together; we're never going to be together! You think you're respectable? You've fucked every jock in the junior and senior classes, except for my brother, and that's only because Rosalie would kick your ass!"
"Edward—"
Lauren's eyes are as wide as saucers, and I can see the tears in them, but I don't fucking care. I'm so sick of all the bullshit I have to deal with I can't take one more thing, and I have to make her understand, once and for all.
"I don't fucking want you, Lauren! I never have! I'm with Bella, so leave me the fuck alone. Leave her the fuck alone!"
I'm right up in her face, and I'm so focused on keeping my own hands down that I never see hers coming.
The slap hits my bruised cheek and snaps my head to the right, and I see fucking stars, leaning over and gasping from the pain.
"You're wrong, Edward. You and I were meant to be together, and I'm going to prove it to you!" Lauren yells, and she spins on her heel and stomps off down the hall.
"Fuck!" I bellow, and when I look up, I notice the large crowd, staring at me like I owe them something. I feel like my head is going to explode, the blood is pounding in my temples so fast, and I'm panting like I've run a marathon. I snap up my bag, and my fist finds my locker door, slamming it hard enough to rattle the entire row.
Suddenly, my arm feels like it's in a vice grip, and Emmett is propelling me up the hall.
"Fuck off!" I yell, but Em just grips tighter.
"We need to get you the fuck out of here," he growls, moving me bodily out the north-end door. Instead of heading for the car, though, he rounds the steps and takes me up the grassy hill, finally letting me go when we're almost behind the building.
"What the fucking—"
"Is there Xanax in your bag?"
I glare at him like he's deranged.
"Edward! Is there fucking Xanax in your bag?"
I'm still hyperventilating, shaking with rage, and his question makes absolutely no fucking sense to me.
He rips my bag off my shoulder with a frustrated growl and paws through it until he finds my pill bottle.
"Take one. Take fucking two before you have a goddamn seizure!" Emmett commands, thrusting the pills into my hand, and the fear in his eyes suddenly makes sense.
The rage pumping through my system turns to an ice-cold deluge of fear.
"No …"
"No?" Emmett asks, but I just shake my head, toss the pills into my mouth, and swallow them dry.
"Not here," I whisper, still gulping for air, but now it's from panic and not blinding anger.
"Here, sit," Emmett says, maneuvering my shoulders until my back contacts the brick wall of the school, and I slide down, crossing my arms over my drawn up legs and resting my head on them.
"Just breathe and try to calm the fuck down. Don't think about anything else."
I focus on my breathing, trying to will everything away but that.
In. Out. In. Out.
Slowly.
Em stands over me, positioned between me and the side of the school so that anyone coming around the corner would see him and not me.
It takes about five minutes, but finally, the block of ice in my chest thaws, and I can freely take in oxygen. Normally, this would mean I'm no longer lightheaded, but a double of Xanax is roughly equivalent to my limit in Rainier.
"Are you all right?"
"Yeah, just … high. One Xanax probably would have done the trick."
"Oops. I'll remember that for next time," Emmett says, and I can hear the smile in his voice.
"Help me up so I don't fall on my ass?" I ask, peering up at him with one eye closed.
"Sure."
And suddenly my feet are under me, and I'm holding Emmett's arm for balance.
"You okay to walk?"
"Yeah. Just … grab me if I stumble. Sometimes Xanax makes the fucking sidewalk come up and hit you in the face."
Emmett chuckles and walks down the hill beside me while I focus on putting one foot in front of the other.
This used to be easier, I swear.
"Edward!"
I hear my name as something solid propels me backward, but it turns into softness as Bella clings to me, holding me up.
"Oh, my God, are you okay? I stayed after physics, and when I came up, you were gone, and somebody said Lauren slapped you?"
"She did," Emmett says, nodding, and it all comes back to me, and I wince as I touch my cheek.
"Oh, baby! What the fuck happened?" Bella exclaims, taking a step back, and when she lets go, I stagger backward until Em shores me up.
"Have you been drinking?"
"No! I got so fucking pissed at Lauren that Em thought I was gonna have a seizure, so I took two Xanax."
Bella goes completely still.
"What did that bitch say?"
"Why don't we go sit in my car so no one has to hold Edward up?" Emmett suggests, and I have to agree with him on that one. The world is pretty wiggly right about now.
Bella throws my arm over her shoulder, and although I'm sure it looks like I've just slung my arm over my girl to anyone who sees us, she's supporting a good bit of my weight and leading me in a straight line.
We get to the car, and I manage to get myself in, laying my head back and closing my eyes as Bella climbs in the back next to me.
Her hand brushes my bangs off my face, but her words are hard.
"Spill it, Cullen."
"She, um … wanted to know when I was going to ask her to the winter formal. So I told her fucking never because I'm with you. And then she slapped me and said I was wrong, and she'd prove it to me."
There's no sound from next to me, and even in my altered state, I know that's a very bad thing.
I raise my head and slowly turn to look at her, and even I'm fucking scared.
Bella glares, her lips a thin line, her nostrils flared with her heavy breathing. Her cheeks are a ruddy pink, and her brown eyes burn with dark fire.
"I'm going to fucking kill her."
"Edward thought about it," Em pipes up. "Good job not decking a girl, bro."
We fist bump, but Bella still hasn't moved.
"Bella?"
"I'm going to knock her right on her ugly little ass, then I'm going to—"
"Bella—"
"What?"
I scooch over to her, wrapping my arms around her and laying my head on her shoulder. "Please don't. I know she deserves it—"
"Edward, what would you do if a guy slapped me?"
"I'd bury him under the school flagpole after I tore him limb from limb, but this is different."
Bella huffs, but I stay where I am, holding her and trying to keep up my end of the conversation.
"Bella, you're better than her. You care about me and don't just want me as some trophy on your arm, and you know the truth about … well, everything. I need to get out of the spotlight at school as quickly as possible, and you having a catfight with Lauren is just going to drag this out. And I know you don't want to hear it, but I don't need a girl to fight my battles for me."
"It has nothing to do with that. She touched what's mine," Bella says, grazing her cheek against my head, and even in my relaxed state, my dick starts to harden.
"I am yours, and she sees it every day, and she'll see it at the formal. Please, just … stay away from her? I told her to leave us alone, so we need to leave her alone too. Please?"
"Dammit," Bella swears, and I cuddle into her a little closer.
I tilt my head up and kiss her neck, then whisper in her ear. "Do you know what you being all protective makes me want to do to you? How much it turns me on?"
Bella softens against me, her hushed whimper a breath against my forehead.
I lift my head, and the world spins, so I shut my eyes tightly.
Fuck.
"But I really need to go home and sleep off this Xanax high that Emmett was nice enough to give me."
"Hey, bro—"
"I know, Em; I know. But I'm still high as a kite and can't kiss my girlfriend without my head fucking spinning. That's all I meant," I say, squinting to focus on him.
Bella kisses my cheek, and I grin drunkenly.
"I'm sorry your day sucked."
"It really did," I say, thinking back to Mike this morning and lunch and then Lauren McBruiseslapper.
"You go home, and we'll talk more about this tomorrow, okay? I promise I won't lay a finger on Lauren."
"Thanks, Bella," I tell her, giving her what I know are sloppy kisses, but I'm too fucked up to do any better.
"Emmett, you'll take care of him?" Bella asks, and Emmett nods, giving me a small smile.
"Then I'll see you tomorrow." Bella gives me one last kiss on my forehead, and then she's gone.
"Dude, you are one lucky man to have a girl who actually listens. My Rosie would be in orange right now if that were me, and there's not a thing in the world I could do to stop her."
Your Rosie couldn't keep a secret if it was tattooed between her tits.
But I say nothing and just put my head back, letting the motion of the car lull me to sleep.
A/N: Rough day for our boy, but he's pretty turned on by mama bear Bella. I wonder what she'll do? This week's pic tease is not so much a tease as an after the fact, but I didn't want to delay the posting just for pictures. Teaser in Shadow Fics next week, and I'll see you here on September 20!