AN: I've got to say I'm jealous of all you people who get daylight-savings time, completely random thing to say maybe but the lack of it always throws my careful schedule out of whack. I've just never gotten used to not resetting my clocks, this city is strange….
ANYWAY, here we go another chapter. I appreciate all the comments, all the favorites and all the alerts. Right now over a hundred accounts have this story set to alert. WOW, that's crazy you have no idea how flattering that is! Over two-hundred reviews, thank-you, thank-you! That is completely above and beyond, truly.
Chapter Nine: Meadow (part two)
A lunch tray slammed down beside me as I bit into my granny smith apple. I looked up in surprise. Rosalie gave me a timid smile; calculating. I swallowed loudly, "Err hi; you're not eating with Emmett?" I stumbled out as Jessica looked up from her conversation with Mike across from me. She raised one eyebrow. I shrugged back practically hearing Jessica's questions.
"There was something I needed to check on," she told me vaguely.
"Oh." I didn't know what to say to that. When she didn't explain I turned back to Angela, who I had been previously discussing an English essay with. "So I was thinking about my thesis statement-"
Rosalie cut me off with a loud cough. I turned back to her a little fearfully. It might be pathetic but Rosalie scared and intimidated me.
"I was wondering about you, Bella," she stated. I nodded absently looking down at my hands. "How have you been lately?"
I looked up just as Edward and Alice walked into the cafeteria, they caught my attention more so than the blond in front of me. My lips curved upwards pleasantly and Edward winked at me. Rosalie's hair swung into my vision, turning to see what had distracted me. Thinking fast I responded, "I've been great, good; really good it's Emmett I'm worried about."
The frown on her face was discreet but the look in her eyes was crafty. I scratched my neck distractedly, feeling my nerves collapse around my heart. "Emmett is fine," her voice was cold.
"We haven't spoken lately," I admitted my voice low enough that only the people beside me seemed to hear. Angela squeezed my shoulder in a sign of affection, of caring. She had heard this before.
"I know," Rosalie's tone was more understanding. "He misses you," she added. It hit me like a wave, the sadness of the situation corroded around me. I hadn't really dwelled on Emmett. There was just so much else on my mind, sure it had bothered me, sure it hurt; sure it made me ache…
A tear fell from my eye, falling on the apple I was still clutching in my right hand. "Is this what you wanted to talk about?" I asked casually rubbing the trail of the tear away.
"Not quite," she took a bite of pizza as she stood up. Her face was composed and she swallowed before grabbing her can of pop from the table, "but I really should get back to Emmett."
"Bye?" I watched her as she strutted out of the room unsure about our whole encounter. Her heels clicking loudly as she walked in a hypnotic beat. The door swung shut behind her before my attention again returned to Edward. He looked speculative, almost like Jessica in the way his questions were formed on his unmoving lips.
"She sure didn't stay long," Jessica commented and I turned my head back to the table so quickly I could have gotten whiplash.
"No she didn't." I mumbled.
"What did she want?"
I paused, the same question tossed around my head, "I don't know, she didn't say."
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Rosalie's critical eyes diligently strayed back to me as I ate dinner, never giving me more than a minuet of undocumented feed. Under her gaze I devoured the fried chicken and boiled carrots that I had prepared, analyzing them now with the same concentration she seemed to give me. Charlie and Emmett spoke casually around, background noises to the inhumanly loud sound of my fork hitting my teeth or my knife clashing against the plate.
Rosalie didn't try to add to the dry conversation and for whatever reason this made me feel worse. Today was the first time I'd eaten with Emmett since Saturday and the second time I'd eaten with his girlfriend today.
I swallowed rabidly, barely chewed particles washed down with lukewarm water. It was just as I finished my meal that Rosalie spoke, "How has Jacob been?" The fork I had been just about to set down fell from my right hand loudly crashing onto my plate.
I blushed, "Sorry," when I looked up two sets of startled eyes analyzed me. Rosalie's instead looked almost expectant. "Um, Jacob?" I spoke slowly trying to put together my thoughts, "Jacob is good." I nodded as if to assure myself of this fact.
My mind spun back to the other day, the time I had spent with Jake. The easy way we had shared each others' presence, companionable. It had been so… so normal to sit with him at First Beach, where we always sat and just be. "You haven't been spending as much time with him," Rosalie pointed out. I noticed that Charlie and Emmett both seemed to lean toward me a bit at her words, as if to say we've also noticed this, we're also curious.
I wanted to tell her it was none of her business but the words lay stale in my mouth, "Hmm," her words hadn't been a question and I felt the only way to answer them was a vague acknowledging sound. Her eyes were fierce, questioning, and I wanted nothing more than to escape them. "I've got an essay to write so if you'll excuse me…" I stood up then without even taking my plate to the sink. My words were overly formal in the Swan house but at the moment I didn't care if they raised more questions than they answered.
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Rosalie's eyes seemed magnetized to me as the week passed and she went as far to linger in the parking lot till I was safely in Emmett's care. She didn't ask about Jacob again, she didn't ask me anything actually, but my guard had already been reinforced.
I dropped my books, scattering them around Edward and my table in biology, after the bell rang. While the students hurried out I bent down to pick them up. Edward did the same an inquisitive look on his face. "I'm sorry," I started not exactly sure what I was apologizing for. I couldn't quite get the sight of Edward's blank expression from the other day out of my mind. I didn't want him to get the wrong idea about Jake and me.
I remembered what he had told me about jealously. Although I had dispelled the idea of another romance between me and anyone else, I knew that doubt was like an infection. He didn't reply but looking up at his eyes was enough to convey his message; he understood.
"Rosalie has been watching me." His eyes immediately hardened. His posture fixed and he handed the books he'd recovered for me.
"I guess I won't get another chance to really see you 'till Saturday then." And he didn't. I wasn't sure why Rosalie's strange fascination had sprung up. Was it because of Emmett? Had she seen too much already, seen something she shouldn't have?
I went home that night and tore up Edward's note. I had embarrassingly enough kept it under my pillow even after Emmett had almost seen it.
One thing I knew was that regardless of why she had started observing me I didn't want to give anything about my betrayal away.
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As I swung the truck door shut someone grabbed me. My body clenched involuntarily, not recognizing the small hands that had threaded themselves around me. "Bella!" the high voice yelled jubilantly, squishing me a little tighter before releasing.
I turned to face Alice; my shock already worn off. "Uh, Hi," I laughed at her exuberance.
The smile on her face was so large I couldn't possibly feel uncomfortable. I looked past her into the almost vacated Volvo. Edward raised his hand, almost identical to the way I had from inside Jacob's Rabbit, although this was obviously meant in the opposite way. He looked guilty and unsure from inside his car.
"I'm sorry," he mouthed as Alice grabbed my hand and towed me over to the car. She tore the passenger door open and pushed me in. "She gets like this…" He added as I closed the door.
I gave Edward a reassuring smile before spinning around to face Alice. "He's just upset that he doesn't get to hog you today," she explained. Edward picked up my left hand, making me feel that although we weren't alone we were safe, free. Alice let out a small squeal, "You don't know how badly I've wanted to meet you."
"It's nice to meet you too," I managed.
"You can ignore her, I usually do," Edward muttered but as I turned to look at him I could tell he was enjoying this. He wasn't smiling but I could see one fighting to be released. "And Alice I'm not changing my mind; once we get there you're leaving."
She scoffed, "Alright, alright; so humorous." Edward was rubbing shapes onto the back of my hand while he started the car. As he pulled into reverse I quickly fastened my seatbelt hoping that he wouldn't drive as fast as he had the last time.
"So do I get to know where we're going yet?" I asked.
Alice laughed, obviously already in on the secret, "Not yet," Edward answered; smiling over at me.
"You know you're exactly how I imagined," Alice broke in.
"You have seen her at school before, it's not like you imaged her," Edward threw back.
I could practically hear her eyes roll, "I wasn't talking about physically, geesh," she sighed, "Boys, always so focused on the outside shell," I laughed but Edward's eyes were scowling. "No, your personality," she lingered on the word, taunting Edward.
"Um well that's…" I didn't know if that was supposed to be a compliment or not.
As if knowing what I was thinking she added, "And yes that's a good thing Bella." I chuckled in relief. "I can tell we're going to be friends."
I looked out across the dash instead of answering. Edward let go on my hand to turn up the music which was deep in bass before returning his hand to mine. A firm grip to steady my thoughts because we all knew, all three of us, why Alice and I couldn't be friends, why Edward and I couldn't be together. We all knew that the ideal painting we were imaging's canvass was being punctured; torn apart.
AN: lately I've been writing a couple hundred words a night, very spaced out chucks and it's hard to keep the same running feeling so if this chapter feels choppy… well that is why. I wish I could promise that I would get better at updating but, well, I won't make empty promises. I will say I'll try and I'll hope that's enough.
Last thing I want to say; I hope no one is annoyed at the fact that I didn't show Bella and Jacob at the beach but I've written enough of those scenes and honestly they are tedious for me to write.