Ch. 29 Confrontation Leads to Revelation
Glancing up from the soap filled sink, Bella stared out the window in front of her. Distracted by the snow falling outside, Bella's mind drifted over the past couple of hours as she cleaned up from the Christmas dinner.
Returning with the tree and setting it up in the living room, everyone had settled around the Blacks' table for a hearty meal. Although the atmosphere had been rather tense between the five women, the time had passed rather smoothly. If anything, it had been almost on a cordial level.
Lost in thought, Bella failed to notice that she was no longer alone until another stack of dishes landed unceremoniously beside her. Jumping slightly, Bella glanced at the other occupant before returning her focus to the task at hand; hoping that if she ignored both the dishes and the Quileute woman, Leah would get the hint and leave. Unfortunately, instead of leaving, the tall native simply turned about and leaned against the counter. Growing uncomfortable by the lingering silence, Bella finally cracked under the woman's insistent stare.
"Is there something on me?" Bella inquired, trying to keep her tone light.
Resisting the urge to look at Leah as the woman remained quiet, Bella silently preyed that the woman would ignore her question and leave. Whether Leah left to fetch more dishes or simply allow her to clean in peace, Bella didn't care, she just wanted the woman to go somewhere else. When she received no verbal response, Bella finally chanced another peek at the woman.
"What?" Bella demanded in a gruff voice upon noticing that Leah was studying her, head tilted slightly to the side as if she was a fascinating specimen.
Again, the woman refrained from speaking.
It wasn't until Leah arched an eyebrow inquisitively in return that Bella huffed and focused on the dishes once more.
"How long have you and Tanya been a couple?" Leah eventually inquired, her voice interrupting the slosh of soapy water and the scrape of bristles against ceramic.
Stuttering at the unexpected question, Bella cleared her throat as she fought the blush that suddenly painted her features bright red. "I- We- She- We're- I have a boyfriend, we're not dating," Bella finally croaked in response.
"Who are you not dating? Tanya or your boyfriend?" Leah pushed as Bella shifted anxiously.
"Tanya!"
Snorting, Leah rolled her eyes at the answer. Crossing her arms, Leah leaned back against the counter in a more relaxed pose as she continued to study the pale woman before her. Suddenly, Leah smirked, drawing Bella's attention to the evil glint sparkling in her amber hues as the woman's mouth opened again. "So that means you're a cheater," Leah surmised, her voice dripping with disgust.
"No!" Bella quickly defended, head snapping up in alarm.
"No?" Leah repeated, her bark like laugh echoing throughout the kitchen. Pivoting suddenly, Leah pinned the brunette against the counter. Leaning in close, Leah growled quietly in Bella's ear. "Perhaps you missed the memo, Bella, but kissing someone who you're not dating, especially when currently spoken for, usually qualifies as cheating."
Bending backwards over the sink as her personal space was invaded, Bella simply stared wide-eyed at the woman. "I'm not a cheater," Bella repeated, her voice rather meek as she struggled to push the unyielding woman off her.
"Oh, of course not. My mistake," Leah apologized sarcastically as she leaned further into Bella's struggling form. "You were simply locking lips with another girl. Since it wasn't a guy, that would never constitute as cheating," Leah sneered. "I must have been mistaken. If it wasn't a kiss, then what was it?"
Stuttering to answer, Bella suddenly locked her jaw. Offended by the obtrusive assumptions, Bella fumed silently as she refrained from speaking. She didn't have to answer the woman; she wasn't dating Leah and Leah wasn't dating Tanya. As far as Bella figured, the nosey woman had no room in which to demand answers from her. Besides, Leah was no saint herself!
Growing frustrated at the native for calling the kettle black, Bella attempted to shove Leah off her, only to wince as her spine was forced to mold further into the counter's edge instead.
"Like you're to talk," Bella lashed back, biting back the urge to vocalize the pain in her lumbar.
"Why. Were. You. Kissing. Her." Leah growled quietly into Bella's ear, ignoring the girl's remark.
"Why does it matter?" Bella hissed back, her voice laced in frustration and pain.
For as much as she wanted to yell at the psychotic woman, Bella knew that drawing attention to the matter wouldn't be wise. She didn't have answers to Leah's persistent questions, and she definitely didn't have answers to some of the questions that would surly arise from those who would come running.
Even so, she has no right to be so self-righteous, Bella grumbled, her brows furrowing in frustration. The fact that she had been pinned in a similar fashion the other night did nothing to appease her rising temper.
"What does it matter to you?" Bella repeated. "You were at the club, grinding against a woman, making advances at me and my friends, and yet here you are, engaged to my best friend and have the gull to lecture me about being a cheater!" Bella growled in retaliation.
"You shouldn't play with a person's feelings," Leah snapped, ignoring Bella's accusations altogether before quickly breaking the contact between her and the shorter woman.
Startled and confused at suddenly being set free, Bella rose hesitantly to an upright position. Studying the woman before her, Bella noted the slumped shoulders and creases developing in the woman's forehead as Leah glared at the floor. Feeling unwanted concern bellow up inside, Bella's snide remark fell silent before it even reached the tip of her tongue.
Huffing in frustration at the woman and her own silly sympathetic emotions, Bella forced herself to turn around and resume washing the dishes instead of giving into her more nurturing side. Grabbing another dish, Bella ignored the temptation to ease the sharp pain in her spine where her lower back had been slammed into the counter. Instead, she used the discomfort to fuel her fury at the other woman and drown out the concern creeping to the forefront of her mind.
Why should she care about Leah and whatever was eating her? After all, who was the woman to judge? She wasn't the one repeatedly pinning unsuspecting women against counters or groping them on dance floors. But you wanted to, Bella's subconscious piped in, causing thoughts of three specific blondes to override the thoughts of concern. Huffing in annoyance, now directed at her unhelpful brain and its knack of providing inconveniently, unwanted, detailed observations, Bella tried shutting down every thought altogether.
As the silence stretched on, Bella glanced at the woman standing stoically beside her before grumbling as her empathy got the best of her once again. Scrubbing roughly at the pot in her hands, Bella ignored the inner debate between snapping at Leah, wanting to punch the woman for being the cause of discomfort in her lumbar, and her growing curiosity as to why Leah was being so bipolar.
She didn't owe the woman any form of explanations, let alone did Leah have the right to elicit such empathy from her. If anything, Bella had every right to strike out at Leah for manhandling her in such fashions, twice now! However, as Bella studied the woman out of her peripheral, Bella couldn't help the quiet sigh that escaped her lips.
Shoulders drooping, Bella felt her chin tap lightly against her chest before the words tumbled free of her lips as her brain decided to betray her by answering Leah's question.
"It wasn't a kiss," Bella muttered quietly, hoping that her words hadn't been heard over the running water.
"Stuffing your tongue down another person's throat definitely constitutes as a kiss," Leah retorted.
"My tongue wasn't down her throat!" Bella nearly shrieked, only to bite back the volume at the last second. Inhaling, Bella tried to get her emotions under control and try again. "I was just trying to make Tanya feel better- no, wait!" Bella huffed as Leah simply quirked an eyebrow at the girl's words. "Look, she was injured so I was just trying to help remove the pain. You know, when you're young and your mother kisses your boo-boos-" Bella tried to explain only to bite her tongue as Leah simply continued to stare at her. Grumbling, Bella gave up with the polite, sensitive approach.
"You really expect me to believe that?" Leah snorted in disbelief at the brunette's blatant obliviousness to the inner workings of human relationships. How naïve is this girl?
"Look, I don't have to explain myself to you," Bella snipped, her grip tightening on the plate in her hand. Feeling the ceramic groan in her grip, Bella forced herself to relax enough to rinse the dish off and set it in the growing mound to be dried.
"Yet here you stand, defending yourself so vehemently over something that apparently didn't happen," Leah smirked.
Ignoring Leah this time around, Bella focused all of her attention on finishing her task in the hope of avoiding the discomfort of the judgment that had already been passed. Unfortunately, the longer the silence stretched on, the more Bella felt her mind replay the short argument over in her mind.
Am I really a cheater? I have technically kissed both Tanya and Kate, Bella reasoned before mentally wincing. Does that constitute? Wouldn't it not since they're just women? I mean, I can't date women. I mean, women don't date women. I like men. I like Edward. Brows furrowing at arguing with herself inside her head, Bella rinsed the final dish before setting it aside with the rest.
Hand lingering on the last dish, Bella's brows furrowed even further as a thought crossed her mind. Like Edward? I love Edward, Bella amended to herself. Right? Anyways, I can still appreciate a woman. Just because I find them attractive and get along great with them doesn't mean I like women. Right? After all, I don't like Alice, Angela or Rose like that. Bella concluded as her mind drifted to thoughts of her friends. Like that? Wait, like what? Do I like women in that fashion?
Thinking over the past couple of months with the Denalis, Bella felt the back of her neck begin to heat as she recollected the various activities that she had partaken in with the women, on individual and group occasions, ones that would be considered inappropriate for an individual already in a committed relationship. Which I am in, Bella reminded herself. But it's okay, for they weren't inappropriate, for we are just friends. Bella quickly countered. After all, I don't like the Denalis' like that. Wait, plural? I can't be interested in more than one. But then, what was that with Kate and Tanya?
Feeling her heart skip a beat at the last thought, Bella had to inhale deeply as the pace of her heart rapidly elevated at as her brain began to try comparing what it would be like with one, or all, of the Slovakians. Wait, I don't like the Denalis. I mean, I don't like women, Bella amended.
About to hyperventilate over her current predicament as her thoughts became more frantic, Bella suddenly froze as a voice spoke beside her. Turning her head to the side, Bella simply stared at Leah. Having drifted so far off into her own problems, Bella had completely forgot about the other woman.
"…What?" Bella squeaked out before clearing her throat to try again. "What was that?"
"I said, it's not fair to others."
"What isn't?" Bella asked, her mind struggling to recap on what they were last arguing about since her mind decided to make a major detour on its own accord.
Glaring at Bella, Leah crossed her arms back over her chest. "Seriously?" Leah couldn't help but quip. "Screwing with other peoples' emotions. It isn't fair, either own up to your feelings and be able to commit on them or stop playing and move on."
"Why does it matter to you?" Bella asked. She really wanted to inquire more into what Leah meant about owning up to one's feelings, but Bella was afraid of even dabbling along that train of thought. Although she didn't want to admit it to Leah, or herself for that matter, Bella had a feeling she knew exactly what the native was referring to.
"It just does." Leah snapped before going back to ignoring Bella.
"Ugh!" Tired of dealing with the bipolar woman's unhelpful responses and still flustered by her previous thoughts, Bella fetched a towel and began to move about the kitchen to return the dishes to their rightful place. Although it had been a while since she had last cooked and cleaned in the Blacks' residence, Bella remembered the layout as well as Charlie's place. Forcing her attention into the task, Bella ignored Leah as if she wasn't there. It wasn't until Leah spoke again that Bella actually stopped dancing about the tall woman who blocked the cupboards for half of her dishes.
"What did you say?"
Rolling her eyes, Leah crossed her arms over her chest. "I said, I don't love Jake."
"What?"
Glaring at Bella this time, Leah just huffed and repeated herself a third time.
"No, I caught that – granted the second time. I meant, what do you mean? Aren't you two engaged?" Bella asked bewildered. Why would Leah be engaged, let alone dating, someone she didn't love? Caught off guard by the fact that Leah was suddenly talking to her about something personal, and that she appeared, dare she say, civil, Bella missed part of Leah's response. Still trying to wrap her mind around the sudden change in pace, Bella frantically tried to process what Leah was currently saying. Woman are psychotic, Bella silently concluded while zoning back in on what Leah was saying.
"-we are; it's an arranged marriage," Leah said stiffly.
Shifting restlessly on her feet as she spoke, the Leah used her long legs to suddenly push herself in the air as her fingers curled into the granite behind her. Hoisting her lithe frame, Leah settled onto the counter top, allowing her legs to dangle in the air as she clasped her hands between her legs before explaining.
"Our fathers set our betrothal up after Sam ran off with my cousin."
Sam, why did that name sound familiar?
Racking her brain, Bella tried to quickly connect the gaps in Leah's explanation. After a second, Bella recalled that Jake had been upset a while back about a co-worker – Sam, if she remembered correctly. Apparently Jake didn't condone the man's beliefs and attitudes regarding women; the guy had been dating two women at the same time, and Jake had been furious with the guy after he simply ditched one of the girls as if nothing had even existed between them.
Thinking back on it, Bella wondered if Leah was the same Leah Jake had mentioned in his story. Before Bella could stop herself, the words were out of her mouth, "You're the other woman."
"…yes."
"Oh," Bella murmured before shifting awkwardly where she stood. "I'm, um, I'm sorry to hear that."
"Whatever," Leah shrugged, her voice bitter and calculated in an effort to not think about how her lover ran off with her cousin of all women. Her heart had been broken, but Leah refused to show how much Sam had hurt her.
Hoping to move past the uncomfortable silence that was beginning to return, Bella spoke again. "So, why don't you break things off with Jake if you don't love him?" Granted, it wasn't much of an improvement, but they were talking about her best mate. She didn't want Jake to invest in someone and never be loved in return.
Shrugging, Leah stared at her shoe laces.
Brows furrowing in frustration, Bella suddenly invaded Leah's personal space. "Look here, you just said yourself it wasn't nice messing with another person's feelings. I'm not going to have you stringing Jake along only to hurt him!"
"You really think I would do something like that?" Leah snapped, an eyebrow arching as she glared down at the woman standing mere centimeters in front of her knees.
"Well, yes, no, I'm not sure," Bella admitted. Huffing, Bella crossed her arms in front of her chest, refusing to bend under the woman's piercing stare.
"Look, he doesn't love me either, so neither of us will get our hearts ripped out," Leah sighed, uncertain why she was bothering trying to explain herself to Bella.
"Then why are you two even together!" Bella practically screamed. She really didn't understand peoples' logic at times.
"Not that it's any of your business," Leah remarked, ignoring Bella's outburst, "but our fathers set up the betrothal in order to strengthen the clan. And before you ask why we don't, or suggest that we do, break it off, I can't. I didn't resist when my father set up the arrangement and I'm not going to back down on it now. I don't break my promises."
Especially to the dead, Leah mentally added.
When her father passed away, Leah had felt even more obligated to up hold the proposal instead of breaking off the marriage. Her heart had been broken by Sam, and if nothing else, this was a safe investment to make; her heart would never be played with again. She was raised to do her duty to the father and clan. Besides, Jake was a good man, it could be worse.
"You know, when Jake and I first started talking – serious talking after the arrangements had been settled – I thought he liked you. With how fondly he speaks about you, it almost makes me feel like second best again," Leah murmured, her shoulders slumping in defeat.
"…Why are you telling me this?" Bella inquired, almost hesitant by the woman's consistently shifting mood swings.
"Because," Leah stated, catching Bella's eyes and holding her gaze, "even though I don't care about you, I know how it feels to be two-timed. It's not right and I will speak out against it."
At Bella's confused expression, Leah elaborated.
"I saw you at the club and recognized you by Jake's description, despite having not seen you for years. He had told me that you were dating some guy, so when I saw you making out at the bar with some blonde, I wanted to take my pain and anger caused by Sam out on you. Then tonight, watching you make out with Tanya – and yes, you can call it whatever you want, but you were enjoying kissing her – it just made my blood boil even more. It's not right to cheat, let alone play with other people's emotions."
Uncertain about what to say, Bella remained silent.
"Do they even know about you and your boyfriend? Leah inquired, referring to the three Slovakians.
"Tanya, Kate, and Irina?" Yes…" Bella replied, uncertain as to where Leah was going with the question.
"And they're blatantly courting you?" Leah nearly growled. She didn't care which way it went, cheating was cheating and she would not condone it from either aspect.
"They're not courting me!" Bella defended the women.
"…You really are naïve."
Before Bella could retort, Jake popped his head in through the doorway. "Are you two done? We're waiting to decorate the tree! Come on Bella, Leah!" With that the boy disappeared as quickly as he appeared.
Staring at each other for a moment, Leah silently gestured at the door way.
Realizing their sparse moment of peace had ended, Bella bit back her reply. Tossing her towel onto the counter, Bella stormed past the woman, wanting nothing more than to be alone to sort out her tangled thoughts.
A/N: So, I'm a bit indecisive on which route I want to take the tale for the next chapter. I'm fiddling with two options: Bella attending a holiday party hosted by her high school friends or a more private Christmas eve with the Denalis, Slovakian style. Preferences?
