A/N: Hi guys, this is quite a short chapter, but I wanted to keep this moving now Bella is finally getting somewhere. You'll be pleased to hear I've given her a big kick up the butt and some of you will be happy to see the return of one of our favourite Calendar Guys!
I've been nominated for Fic of the Week again at The Lemonade Stand (thanks Evil Nat!) so if you would like to vote, head on over to www. tehlemonadestand. blogspot. com!
Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight
Chapter 27
Bella let herself into her apartment and collapsed on the couch. She looked at her watch. It was only ten o'clock – still too early to go to bed. She knew she wouldn't sleep tonight anyway; there was too much whirling round her mind. She felt like she was trapped in a dense, black cloud, lost and disorientated. She needed to get her thoughts and feelings in order before she made even more of a mess of things.
Her laptop was lying on the sofa where she'd left it the previous day. She flipped it open and logged on to her photo blog. She felt an overwhelming desire to read Edward's comments again, to imagine his voice as it once was, happy and kind, before she'd sucked all the joy out of it with her stupid, stupid mistake. Tears silently rolled down her face as she scrolled through picture after picture. Edward had left a message on almost all of them.
Bella considered trying to contact him via the blog. She knew he would receive an email alert if she replied to one of his comments. She quickly discarded the idea. The blog was a public forum; she didn't want just anyone to be able to read her message. And besides, if Edward was ignoring her phone calls, why would he bother responding to an email? There had to be another way.
Her eyes scanned one of ECullen's posts, his heartfelt words blurring into one another through the kaleidoscope of her tears. "This is my favourite photo of yours, Bella," he'd written. "I feel that no matter how bad my day has been, I could look at this and the world would be right again."
Bella read the comment again and again. She sat up straighter on the couch and wiped away her tears. Yes, that could work, she thought, as an idea shone in her troubled mind like a guiding light in a storm. It has to be worth a shot.
oOoOo
As she'd feared, Bella didn't sleep a wink that night. But it wasn't due to the reason she'd thought. Instead of tossing and turning with worry and regret, she'd been up all night planning her message to Edward. She'd painstakingly reviewed each and every one of his comments until she was able to pick out his favourite photos from the blog, and noted them down on a piece of paper. She'd dug out some coloured cardboard and a black Sharpie pen from an old art project she'd been working on and carefully wrote out the words. As soon as the inky canvas of the morning twilight was washed away by the sharp autumn sunlight, she'd grabbed her camera and ventured outside, not caring about the dark, puffy circles under her tear-stained eyes. She had a plan.
It had taken all day, but she'd managed to get everything done before the early darkness crept in. She was exhausted, but pleased with what she'd achieved. She'd tried to call Edward once or twice, hoping perhaps his cold front had thawed overnight, but he still wouldn't answer. Today his silence didn't hurt so much. She knew she was taking steps to do the right thing, to undo the hurt she had caused.
Alice had texted a couple of times, to see how her date with Jacob had gone. Bella didn't reply. There'd be plenty of time to tell her friend everything once she'd fixed things with Edward. She could almost picture the look of delight on Alice's face once she told her she'd fallen for Edward Cullen; the vision was so real she could almost touch it. But she didn't dare. She didn't want to jinx anything.
Now back in the warmth of her apartment, all she needed to do was to put in a quick phone call while she printed off the photos. She couldn't stop her hand from shaking as she dialled the number.
"Hello, Carlisle speaking." Bella felt her heart leap as she heard his voice, warm and deep on the other end of the line.
"Hi Carlisle, it's Bella. Bella Swan." She twisted the telephone cord anxiously, hoping he'd remember her. I don't think he'll forget you in a hurry after what happened, said her sub-conscious.
"Bella, hi! This is a nice surprise. How are you?" Bella could almost hear his sexy smile over the phone and blushed at the memory of their heated encounter.
"I'm okay, thanks. How's, er, things with you?" Despite Rosalie's reassurance at the time, she'd been really worried about the red chillies causing permanent damage to his manhood. She didn't want to ask him outright, but she needed to know everything was all right down there.
"Everything's great, Bella. Thanks for asking. Things have, um, cooled down now." He laughed awkwardly. "So are you just checking in on the health of my penis or is there something else I can help you with?"
Bella grinned, despite her nerves. "Well, as glad as I am that your penis is all better, there is actually a favour I have to ask of you, Carlisle." Her heart was racing as she got closer to the point of the call. "You're friends with Edward, right?"
"Eddie Cullen? Yeah, I think I mentioned last time we met – we started at med school together. But now I mainly see him when we play tennis. We're due to play a match tomorrow, actually. What does this favour have to do with Edward?"
"Well…" How was she going to put this? "We've kind of… fallen out. I need to apologise to him but he's not answering my phone calls. So I was wondering if you could pass on a message for me?"
Carlisle sounded puzzled. "Okaaay. But can't you just send him a text message or something? And surely you'll be seeing him at work?"
"It's not that kind of message, Carlisle. It's a book. Of photos. I was hoping you'd be able to give it to him. To be honest, I'm not even sure Edward will be coming back to finish his internship. It was a pretty bad falling out."
"Well, sure, I can give it to him. But why don't you swing by the club tomorrow and give it to him yourself?"
"I'd rather not. He'll probably just throw it back in my face."
"Okay, I get it. No problem. Meet me at the club tomorrow before I'm due to meet Edward." Bella scribbled down the time and address as a sense of hope washed over her. Everything was falling into place. "I don't suppose you're going to tell me what you two fell out over?"
Bella hesitated. She felt like she owed Carlisle an explanation, but she was worried how he'd react. After all, it wasn't that long ago that he'd been naked in this very apartment. Her silence seemed to be all the explanation he needed. "Wait a minute, is this some kind of lovers' tiff?" He laughed loudly before Bella had a chance to answer. "Oh my god, so you're the girl Cullen's been mooning over for the past few weeks. That's hilarious! Thank god I didn't tell him that we…"
"So you don't mind?" Bella was confused.
"Mind? Why should I mind? It's not like it was anything serious between us, Bella. I mean, don't get me wrong, I think you're really hot – no pun intended – but Edward is, like, crazy about you. Besides, I'm kind of seeing someone else right now. To be honest, I was actually relieved when I realised you weren't calling me to ask me on a date." He laughed again and Bella breathed a sigh of relief. "Look, if I can help you patch things up with Edward, I'll do whatever I can. I think you guys would be great together. I mean, I take it you like the guy, right?"
"Yes," said Bella firmly, realising the truth became stronger each time she said this out loud. "Yes Carlisle, I really like him."
"Then let's do this, Bella. Operation Winback Edward starts now!"
A/N: Thanks for reading, keep the reviews coming & don't forget to vote for Calendar Guys at www. tehlemonadestand. blogspot. com. Thanks & love, Poppy x
