So Right But So Wrong
WOW! What more can I say. New readers every day...welcome to you all, and thank you for reading. Please let me know what you think. Lots and lots of reviews, how happy can a girl be. Well, I suppose I could be happier if I perhaps had a little or a lot of Rob every day. (sigh)
As usual, I would like to thank SM for letting me borrow her wonderful characters, and Dollybigmomma for her literary janitorial services.
Chapter 25
BELLA
The family seemed almost relieved last night when we'd told them of my decision. Alice had begged for us to stay with her in Seattle after graduation, and even though Esme had cried a little, they seemed to know it was the right decision.
This morning, I had my letter typed out and in my briefcase. Over breakfast, Edward kept looking at me, and I could see the concern in his eyes. He squeezed my hand over and over in reassurance. I hoped things at school went as smoothly as I hoped.
It pained me to leave him this morning, our goodbye kiss long and tender. I could feel the emotions coursing through us both. Even after our lips were no longer touching, we held each other tightly, not wanting to let go. Eventually, I pulled away, knowing I must leave now if I wanted to catch George Bartley in the staffroom or his office before his teaching day began.
"Edward, please, baby, let me go. I need to do this so we can move on with our lives. The sooner I'm there, the sooner this day will be over. Remember, I love you more than my own life. I need you to be strong for me today. Please, baby."
"Okay, love, but please call me if you need me for anything. Will you do me one thing, please?"
"Anything, you know that."
"Meet me in the music room at lunchtime, so you can tell me what's happened this morning. I won't be able to last until I get home tonight. I need to know you're okay, Bella."
"Okay, I'll come in once you've started playing. That way, hopefully, no one will see or hear me."
He looked forlorn as I walked out of the door and towards my car. It took all the strength I had to keep walking and not to turn around and run back into his waiting arms.
The school car park was empty, well, there was only one other car there. It belonged to Mrs. Cope. Like most mornings, she was the first one here, and I would almost guarantee a pot of fresh hot coffee to help us start the day was already waiting, thanks to her.
"Good Morning, dear, how are you this morning? Such awful things going on here yesterday, I hope you know you have all the staff's support. That Aro Volturi is nothing more than a big bully. So used to getting his own way, and that daughter of his is going to be no better. It's about time someone stood up to him. The whole town has allowed him to dictate here for too long. We're all guilty of letting him get away with it, and it's time to make a stand."
"Thank you, Mrs. Cope, your support means a lot to me. However, after having considered very carefully my position last night, I feel my presence here is no longer tenable. I'm so sorry that it looks like I'm giving in, but the man is not going to stop, and I can't be the cause of so much disruption here at school, especially so near to finals, and the attacks on other innocent people's lives will be no better. My dad doesn't deserve this, the Cullen's don't deserve this, the school doesn't deserve this, and neither do Edward or I."
"Oh, Bella, dear, I hate that that man has gotten his own way yet again."
"Ah, but he hasn't, because Mr. Bartley won't let Shannon back into school, whether I'm here or not. Aro Volturi may have driven me away from my job here, but I'm confident that Mr. Bartley will stand his ground now. That alone makes it worth it and a victory in my book. I also know the Volturi's have a couple of younger daughters coming through in the near future. Maybe Aro Volturi will think twice before he allows them to pull the same kind of nonsense he's allowed with Shannon. "
Others started to arrive, so I quietly made my way to Mr. Bartley's office. When I knocked, it was a few seconds before he called for me to come in. Poor thing, he looked tired, and now I was going to hit him with my resignation.
"Ah, good morning, Miss Swan, how are you this morning?"
"I'm good, Mr. Bartley, thank you. I do have something rather pressing I'd like to talk to you about, if you have a few minutes."
He nodded and indicates for me to take a seat opposite him. I retrieved the envelope with the letter in it from my bag. I handed it over and took a deep breath, before explaining what it was.
"I'm really sorry to do this to you, Mr. Bartley, but after much consideration, I feel it's the best solution to exact the least amount of disruption. I hope you'll consider my request to leave at the end of this week, so that I don't cause any further problems for the school as well as the Cullen family."
"Miss Swan, are you sure? I mean I can just ignore this, and we can stand together and stand firm."
"Thank you, that means a lot, but I won't be subjected to a hate campaign by a known bully, and I certainly don't want the school involved in any scandal because of me. I don't want Edward and his family to suffer from this, either, not to mention my own father, who'll be terribly upset if I'm hurt in any way. It really is for the best. One thing I would ask, though. It's my intention to travel to Europe, and I wondered if I were successful in securing new employment, would you still be willing to give me that reference you mentioned before?"
"Of course, and I do understand your feelings. It's very good of you to consider the school and everyone else in this above yourself. You're a remarkable young woman, Bella Swan, and it'll be a great loss to the school to accept this resignation today. I'm more than happy to let you go on good terms at of this week, if that's what you really want. It's only a few weeks till graduation, so your work here is essentially done. I for one will miss you greatly. It's a sad loss to our school."
"Thank you for understanding, Sir. I just couldn't stand by and allow this to happen. The more I hear about Mr. Volturi and how he operates, the more he scares me, and I don't want anyone hurt. My father holds a very responsible position here in Forks as Police Chief, and I don't want his job threatened or jeopardized, which has already happened. As I mentioned before, the Cullen's don't deserve to have their lives disrupted, either, just because I befriended their daughter and the whole family. I'll tell the classes myself, if that's okay."
"However best you see fit, Miss Swan. We'll all go out for a drink after work on Friday, I'll arrange it."
"Okay, see you later," I said as I walked out of his office and breathed a deep sigh of relief.
The morning went slow, and the classes seemed quieter than usual, when I told them my decision. It appeared they would be sad to see me go, so I guess I must have been doing something right.
When lunchtime arrived, I made my way to the school cafeteria and grabbed myself and Edward a sandwich. I hurried across the school grounds and into the music block. I heard the piano straight away as soon as the door opened, letting me in. He was playing Clair de Lune by Debussy, one of our favourites. My heart lurched, knowing that he was feeling sad, and the music reflected his mood. As I walked along the corridor towards him, I felt a sense of relief for him, too. He would no longer have to worry about me. I would be safe, cocooned away from prying eyes and gossip. He had broad enough shoulders to handle anything thrown at him now. He had grown in stature since he'd received his offers and we had decided upon England. Without me being present, Edward would be well able to take care of whatever was thrown at him.
The doors to the other music rooms were all closed, so I opened Edward's door quickly and slipped in.
"Love, I thought you'd never get here," he said and stopped playing, rushing over to me.
"I've brought you some lunch," I said handing over the ham sandwich, as I sat down with him at my side.
I told him all about my conversation with Mr. Bartley and how he had agreed to accept my letter of resignation and even allow me to leave at the end of the week. Edward had heard some of the other students talking and knew I was telling all my classes.
"Bella, love, are you completely sure I'm worth it?"
Turning to face him, I took hold of his hand and placed it over my cheek. "I'm surer of you, of us, than anything else, ever. I never even dreamed I could feel the way I do about someone, but you, Edward, you've captured my heart, my soul, you're my everything."
He leaned in for a kiss, his eyes glazed over with unshed tears. His kiss was sweet and tender, and I could feel his love pouring into me from it.
Our sandwiches were soon forgotten, as once again, we got carried away in our kiss. Struggling for breath, I pulled away first.
"Edward, we shouldn't here. It's too risky."
"I checked all the rooms and no one is here, we're completely alone. Don't worry. I'm not going to make love to you here, not because I don't want to, because I do so badly, but because I know we still have to be careful here on school premises. It doesn't make me want you any less, though. So can we eat and hold hands maybe? I'll settle for that right now."
Our foreheads met and our eyes never left each other's. The moment was very touching.
"Come on, Cullen, play for me then. I won't be able to hear you here after Friday."
He turned his attention back to the piano, but made me sit next to him on the bench. I could not help but run my fingers up and down his jean-covered leg, squeezing his thigh. I sat and listened to him play while I ate my lunch, feeding him his in between so he didn't have to break off playing. I could listen to him all day, every day.
A quick glance at my watch showed me it was time I should be getting back to my classroom. Fifteen minutes until my next class, and I needed to prepare. We stood together, and he pulled me into his arms and nuzzled closely into my neck and hair.
"I love you, Isabella Swan, and one day I'm going to marry you. I want you to be the mother of my children."
How was I supposed to respond that? My breath caught, and I held him even tighter. I pulled his face to mine and kissed him deeply, running my hands through his wonderful sexy hair.
"Oh, Edward, I love you, too, so, so much. I want to have your children, lots of them. I can't wait to be your wife."
Our kiss this time was full of the love we had both just declared and really much too dangerous for where we were. I dragged myself away and rushed out, knowing that if I stayed, we would end up doing something we really shouldn't out in public.
As I turned towards the outside door, my breath caught again, as I saw it slowly closing on its pressurized hinge. SHIT! That meant someone else had been in the music block. What if they'd seen us? I knew the windows of the music rooms were frosted low down, but a little higher up, they were clear. Damn it, why, when I had handed in my resignation, did something like this have to happen.
There was no one in sight when I walked out into the schoolyard. I slowly made my way across to the English department, looking into every corner, every turn or doorway, to see if anyone or anything looked out of place. Nothing, no one. Hmm, I wondered. Once in my classroom, I sent Edward a quick text, letting him know what I suspected. His reply was calm and brief.
So what, I don't care anymore.
Typical Edward, young, reckless and in love.
His class was my last of the day. When they piled in, all eyes were already on me, the rumour wagon already having done my job for me.
"Okay, settle down, please. So I assume you've all heard I'm leaving. I finish on Friday. We've covered everything we needed to, so between now and exam time, it would've been revision only, anyway."
Tanya Denali put up her hand, and I heard an audible gasp from somewhere near the back of the room. I suspected it was Edward, but I couldn't be sure.
"Miss Swan, I'm sorry if I've contributed to your decision to leave. I can see now that I was led astray by Shannon, and it's only harmed my chances of getting into a good school."
"Don't worry about it, Tanya. What's done is done. My decision is made, and I won't be changing my mind. I do think you owe someone else an apology, though, don't you?"
She nodded her head and turned to look back at Edward. His face was looking down at his books, his pen rolling between his fingers, and when he looked up, I heard a small, "Sorry, Edward." Because I was soft, I actually felt sorry for her. I knew Edward wouldn't have a bar of her. He saw both her and Shannon as being responsible for me resigning, and as why we couldn't see each other during the day any longer.
The rest of the period went by without issue. As the class packed up, getting ready to go home, Coach Clapp walked in and sat down. I guess she'd heard about me resigning and wanted to have her say. Edward, as usual, was the last to leave, and as he approached my desk, Jane Clapp spoke.
"Mr. Cullen, can you stay behind a while? Close the door, please."
Stunned by her tone, I remained seated and looked over to where she was sat. She had never taken that tone with Edward before; she was usually too busy swooning over him or telling me about some sex dream she'd had involving him.
"Coach, is everything okay?" I asked really curious now.
"Depends from which point of view you're coming, I suppose," she answered rather cryptically.
Okay, now I'd had enough of the cryptic rubbish, so I asked her, "Come on, spill then, I can see you're dying to. I just don't know why you'd want Edward to stay."
"Bella, Edward, I saw you two at lunchtime. I'd been told about your resignation, Bella, and I wanted to talk to you about it. Someone said they'd seen you heading over toward the music block, so I went to look for you. You can imagine my surprise when I find you playing tonsil hockey, hands all over each other, declaring yourselves to one another." She looked a mixture of mad and disappointed.
"I trusted you, Bella, I told you all my fantasies about him, and now I find out you've been with him all along. Aro Volturi was right, however sick he is, but maybe you're even sicker."
Edward jumped up and got right in her face, defending me as usual. There was no point in me shutting him up.
"Coach, with all due respect, there's nothing sick about falling in love. That's the only thing we're guilty of here. Bella fought it from the start; she was worried and knew what people would think. I pursued her, relentlessly I might add. I love her, this is not about sex, this is about two people who've fallen deeply in love with each other and want to spend the rest of their lives together."
"Edward, please, I'm as guilty as you are. Yes, I fought it at first, but not nearly as much as I maybe should've done."
He looked crestfallen at my words. I didn't want to hurt him in any way, but Jane needed to realise I accepted my part in any wrongdoing.
"The fact is, Coach, Bella is everything to me. We may be in a difficult position here, but either of us would give up anything and everything to stay together," Edward pleaded, and I nodded in agreement. "We really do love each other and have a future planned together."
"Well, I can see now how you two feel about each other. I feel rather silly that I didn't see it before. I was going to try and talk you out of resigning, but I guess you've done so for a good reason. I don't agree with what you two are doing, but I do believe in love. God, Bella, you fucking lucky bitch. I hope you're going to spill all the dirt on your incredibly sexy young man here. I'll consider all the juicy stuff as compensation for my pain and suffering."
Edward rolled his eyes and made his way to the door. "I'll see you at home soon, love. Don't give away too many of my secrets, will you."
Jane laughed as he left and closed the door behind him.
"You really need to be more careful, Bella. It could've been anyone today."
"I know, it's just hard, you know. We were talking, had our lunch, then it was time for me to go and boom, I can't seem to resist him."
"Hey, I don't blame you. Fuck, how you don't rip his clothes off at every opportunity, I don't know."
"Well, I save that for once we're home," I said half laughing.
"So, how long have you been screwing the best looking guy in school? I mean screwing as in seeing, of course, but you could always enlighten me on everything."
"Well, from our first class, it was evident there was something there. I ignored it and treated him like all the other students. I know his brother, Emmett, loud, brash, and a bit of an asshole when he was at school here. Everyone told me Edward wasn't like that, and when he handed in a piece of work, I knew he was different. We really did try to ignore what was happening, and we didn't sleep together straightaway. I love him, Jane, so much. I've never felt like this before. He's only a little over three years my junior, and once we're away from Forks, no will be any the wiser. Our families support us, and I've been living with Edward at his place for a few weeks now. It's wonderful."
"Wait, so his parents let you live together as a couple under their roof? Amazing!"
"Yeah, I know."
"Wow, you're brave, and you actually do the dirty with them in the house?"
"They're very open about sex in the Cullen household. I nearly died the first time that topic of conversation arose. His mum actually said it might help their sex life having horny teenagers around. I very nearly fell out. They pretty much leave us to our own devices, and we live on the third floor, all on our own."
"What about your dad? Is he okay with this?"
"Not really. He knows my mind is made up and knows I love Edward, even if he doesn't like it. Edward and I are going to England in the fall, so he can study music."
"Is he good in bed? I won't ask more than that, but please, put me out of my misery. Tell me he's so dire, and then I can stop fantasizing about him."
"Sorry, Jane, I can't lie to you. He's fantastic, considerate, passionate, insatiable, and I love it."
It was Jane's turn to roll her eyes as I laughed.
"Just my luck," she said as we both made our way out of the building.
"See you tomorrow, Jane. You'll come for a leaving drink after work on Friday, won't you?"
"Try stopping me."
Back at home, Edward was eagerly awaiting my arrival.
Pulling me into his arms the moment I stepped through the door, he said, "So have you given all my secrets as a lover away, Bella?"
"Not all of them. I just told her the truth, how considerate a lover you are, how passionate you are, and how insatiable you are. I told her I loved it."
"Do you want to go and practice my prowess a little before dinner?"
"I thought you'd never ask." He swept me up into his arms bridal style and made his way slowly up the stairs, kissing me passionately as he went.
This chapter is a little shorter than usual, but it seemed the right place to pause. Reviews are love, leave me some!