DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the intellectual property to the respective author. The original characters and plot are the property of Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter Thirty Three

~Purgatory~

Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.

Time was moving at a turtles pace and I was growing restless. It was late Tuesday afternoon, and I hadn't seen or heard from Bella in two days.

I was way past the point of losing my shit.

How in the fuck was I going to survive three more days?

Granted, the separation was my idea, and I still thought it was for the best, but I was fucking miserable.

I missed her.

It was this agonizing pain that I've never felt before. It was raw and it gnawed at my insides. It made all of the colors lose their brilliancy and I felt like I was stuck in a tragic black and white film.

My life was pretty much pointless.

The worst part about my plan for solitary was that no matter what I did, nothing would take my mind off Bella. She was in my thoughts. The memory of her touch was imprinted on my skin, and her heady scent was saturated in my clothes.

There was no distraction in this entire world that would make me miss her less.

It was just one monotonous minute after another.

When Emmett came home, he found me sitting listlessly on the couch and staring off into the nothings. He stopped at the door, looking unsure as he wondered whether I was really sitting there or some mirage.

I'm sure he assumed that I was there to evict him, but after a few minutes he realized that whatever I was going through was far direr than his rental status.

The bitter truth of the matter was that I didn't have the strength or emotional capacity to kick him out. I was too wrapped up in my own despair to give two-shits about him.

Emmett spent the first couple of hours tiptoeing around the house, trying his best not to disturb my wallowing. After awhile, he got tired of walking on eggshells, and decided to clear the air with me.

He approached me like I was a wild animal at first, slowly and cautiously, but when he saw I wasn't showing any aggression, he relaxed.

Plopping down on the couch like a load of bricks, he nudged me with his shoulder.

"Are you alright, bro? You look like shit...you ain't still mad, are ya?" he asked.

Staring blankly at the TV, I replied dully. "Don't worry about it, Em. It's water under the bridge."

"Cool," he said, and then out of the corner of my eye, I saw the light switch flip on in his head. My tone and mood dawned on him, and he decided it wasn't normal. "Yo, did you and Bella break up?"

I grimaced.

Fuck me! Her name even sounded good on his lips.

I flung myself into the cushions and ran my hands through my hair, sighing heavily. "We're just taking a mini break for awhile."

"What the fuck does that mean?"

I peeked over at him and glared. "It means that we're on a miniature fucking break."

"I know what it means, asshole, alright? Don't be a dick; I'm just trying to help you."

I sat up furiously, shaking my head as a dry, somewhat hysterical, chuckle came out of my mouth.

"Like you we're trying to help me on Christmas?"

"Dude, you said it was water under the bridge."

"Yeah, well, I lied. So, let's talk about this bullshit. It boggles me, Em, it really does. How in the fuck did you ever think that shit was alright?"

"Dude, I don't know why this shit is still bugging you. You act like I've betrayed you or some shit. It's not the first time I came barging in on you and your Christmas dinner for Christ sake."

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Six years ago after my parents' divorce, I came over your house and we watched scrambled porn all night, remember? You didn't get all pissy then."

"What? When the fuck was that?" I asked.

He stared at me like I ripped out his heart. "Are you serious, bro?"

It took me a second as I searched the far ends of my memory banks, but eventually I came across it.

Holy shit!

How could I forget about that night?

It was a pivotal moment in my friendship with Emmett. It was the first time we really hung out without Jazz, and I'd never seen him so low...but how in the fuck could he compare that Christmas to the one on Saturday?

They were different in so many ways.

"We we're fifteen, Em, and I was just happy to see my best friend."

"So what, you're trying to tell me that you weren't happy to see me?"

"Yeah," My voice sharp and astute, "I was not happy to see you."

His face fell even further and he looked down at his hands. "Well, that hurts."

I felt myself getting sympathetic towards him, which was fucking ridiculous. He was the dick, not me.

I shrugged off my guilt and got back to the matter at hand.

"Em, don't you fucking get it, man? It was never about you. It was about my girlfriend. I was only protecting her. You guys show up out of the blue and demand to be introduced to her. Did you ever stop to think about what you guys were asking? Or at least think about how fucking stressed I must've been? It was the first time she was meeting my family—it was the first fucking time I ever brought a girl home!"

"Listen, Edward, it was a last minute decision, okay? Jasper had texted me, bragging about meeting Bella and shit, and since Rose and I were in the neighborhood, we decided to stop by. That's it."

"Fuck," I hissed. "I totally forgot that your mom lives a few blocks from my parents."

In my head, I had imagined him and Rose trekking across town just to meet Bella. It didn't occur to me that they probably fucking walked to my parents' house.

"Exactly, man. So, you see, there wasn't this big ol' conspiracy to piss you off. We just wanted to meet her, dude. That's all. We didn't think about how it would affect you..." he trailed off and I could see that he finally understood.

Bazinga.

"You get it now?"

"Dude, I had no idea. Jesus Christ! Seriously, Edward, we didn't mean to be such assholes. No wonder you were so pissed off. We were being...Fuck, I'm sorry, man."

"Don't worry about it, Em," I said, patting him on his shoulder. "It's water under the bridge—and this time I mean it."

The moment I said those words, the anger that I'd been feeling was wiped clean. Suddenly, I felt like things between Emmett and me were back to normal. It was this heavy feeling of happiness and serenity.

I was fucking grateful for it.

It was exhausting being angry all the time.

We then sat on the couch for a good ten minutes in silence, watching random shows on the TV. However, that didn't last long, and we were in the middle of American Pickers when Emmett turned towards me.

"Wait a minute; you guys didn't break up because of what happened on Christmas...did you?"

I narrowed my eyes at him, wondering how in the fuck he knew about my breakdown with Bella in the piano room. It took me a second to realize that he wasn't talking about that.

I shook my head and sighed. "No, of course not, Em. It has nothing to do with you guys. Like I said, we didnt break up. We're just taking a min—"

"Miniature break," Emmett interrupted, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, I know. No offense, bro, but what does even mean?"

"Basically, it's a self inflicted purgatory, Em. We're just going to try to live apart until Friday. Things between us were getting a little too intense for me, and I decided it was best if I took a step back for awhile."

He stared at me like I'd given him some complex math problem. The wheels in his brain were turning, but he hadn't quite gotten there yet.

He scooted his ass to the edge of the couch and clasped his hands together. He cocked his head to the side with a questioning look on his face.

"Let me get this straight. You broke up-"

"I didn't break-"

He held up his hand to silence me as he continued. "Yeah, I get it. You took a break from her because your feelings were too intense, am I right?"

"More or less," I replied.

God knows if I didnt, I would've probably busted my stitches open by busting a nut.

So romantic, douche...my inner voice castigated.

"But you love her, right?" he asked.

"Like you wouldn't fucking believe."

"Then what's the problem? Why torture yourself like this? It's pretty fucking obvious that you're having some separation issues. I mean, look at you, dude. You're lying around this house like she died."

"Don't even fucking joke about that."

The mere mention of not having her in my life was like being stabbed in the fucking heart. The pain was unbearable.

"You know what I mean. You're in love, dude. You should be jumping up and down on the couch, grinning from ear to ear, but instead," he gestured towards me, "you look half-fucking dead. Have you even showered?"

Glancing down at my wrinkled grey v-neck undershirt and my Joe-boxers, I looked back over at Em shamefully.

I shook my head.

"Aww, come on now, bro. That shit is disgusting. You gotta get yourself together, man. Stop acting like you broke up with her."

I shrugged weakly. "I miss her."

"Jesus," Emmett said, literally putting his palm on his face and shaking his head. "Ed, man, I don't...I don't even know what to say to you..." his head snapped up with a sudden burst of inspiration. He turned towards me and smirked. "Get your nasty ass off this couch and go take a shower."

"What? Why?"

"We're going out."

"Don't you have plans to hang out with Rosalie tonight?" I asked, looking for a way out.

"Nope! She's working. So, get your tired ass up."

"Dude," I groaned, "I just want to lay here and—"

"Stew in your own filth," he finished. "Yeah, I see that, but fuck that shit, man! A bro doesn't let another bro sit and wallow, alright? So, tighten up that vagina of yours and go get ready. We're going to get fucked up tonight."

~~~88~~~88~~~88~~~

An hour later, I was freshly showered and locking up the door to my apartment. Emmett stood beside me, bouncing excitedly on the balls of his feet.

He was acting like a fucking kid.

It was quite comical to me how Emmett's idea of therapy always involved getting shit-faced at these new and grungy bars.

The last time I agreed to follow him blindly, we ended up in the seediest part of Chicago at some random rager.

Not to mention it was the same night of the tattoo debacle—which I didn't regret. That drunken idea had led me to Bella…to my Mistress.

God, where would I fucking be right now if it wasn't for that night?

"You ready to get twisted, bro?" Emmett asked as he punched me in my arm.

"Man, believe it or not, but I'm actually looking forward to this. Drink a few beers, down a couple of shots. It sounds decent. Did you call Jazz and tell him that his ass is DD tonight?"

"Nah, he's not coming tonight, bro. So, it looks like you'll be playing DD-unless we get so fucked up that we have to call ourselves a cab," Emmett said.

"Wait, Jazz isn't coming?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"Yeah, he's little busy at the moment."

The tone of his voice told me that there was more to that story.

"What do you mean 'he's busy'? He's always down to go out with us. Did he meet a girl or some shit?" I asked, only half-joking.

He smiled. "Oh, yeah, that dude is a fucking goner."

Coming to an abrupt stop, I shot Emmett a skeptical look. "Wait a sec, are you kidding me? Jazz didn't say shit to me about this. I mean, on Christmas all he was trying to do was hook up with the boys' nanny..." My voice tapered off and Emmett snickered. "Oh shit, he fucking didn't, did he?"

"Oh, he so did, bro." Emmett laughed.

"Alice? He's fucking Alice?" I screeched.

"From my understanding, he's not fucking her. He's...well, let's just say, he's starting to talk funny."

"Funny how?"

"He's talking pretty seriously about her. Like, I don't know, like he's going to marry her."

"What? Marry her? He barely even knows her!"

"I know, dude. That's what I told him, but he's in la-la land."

We were standing outside my car now, and I couldn't believe what Emmett was telling me. Truthfully, I always knew that one day Jasper would fall hard for a girl, but I figured that the level minded side of him wouldn't allow him to get swept into it so quickly.

Obviously, I was wrong...

As I tried to make sense of it all, Emmett said something that summed up the rare happenings of love. He practically pinpointed my feelings for Bella in two fucking sentences.

"You can't control love, man. It controls you."

"Damn, Em, that's pretty impressive. Where did you read that?" I asked, shocked.

He scoffed. "I don't fucking read. That shit comes from the heart—and you can quote me on that."

I chuckled, shaking my head at him. "You're too fucking much tonight."

"Yeah, but you know you love me. Now, come on, dude, are we going to get this party started or what?" Emmett questioned, pounding the top of my car roof.

"Yeah, yeah," I said, unlocking the door. "Stop banging on my car and get your dumbass inside."

Emmett laughed loudly as disappeared into the Mercedes and squeezed his large frame into the bucket seat.

As I went to get in to join him, my phone vibrated in my pocket. I froze, not sure what the fuck I should do. This was the first time I'd received a phone call in days, and even though Bella and I agreed that we wouldn't call or text each other—for reasons that were unknown to me now—I still hoped that it was her.

The very thought of speaking with her was exhilarating. It caused my palms to sweat as I tightly gripped the phone. My mind told me to ignore it because my resolve to stay away would quickly crumble.

But I was like a fucking crack-fiend and my craving to hear her sultry voice was overpowering.

I was weak.

Unfortunately, much to my disappointment, I saw that it wasn't her, but another Swan instead.

This was the distraction I needed.

"Hey, stranger! How the fuck are ya?" I greeted exuberantly.

Emmett quirked his eyebrows at me, giving the classic 'What the fuck' face and I turned my back to him to give myself some privacy.

"Hi, Edward," Angela said, her voice shaky. "Is Bella with you?"

"No, she's not...Hey, what's going on? Are you crying? Did that fucker hurt you?"

She sniffed and I could tell she was crying even harder now.

I was livid.

If that asshole laid even one finger on her..."I'll kill him!"

"No, Edward, don't! Master Aro didn't hurt me, okay? He...he..."

"He what?" I snapped.

"He decollared me," she said as she broke down into a sob.

"What? What the fuck does that mean?"

"He...Edward, can you please just come and get me? I need someone to talk to."

"Yeah, of course. Where are you?"

"I'm at my apartment. It's a block from Bella's dungeon. Do you know where that is?"

"Yeah, I think so, but I'll call you when I get close. Hold tight until then, okay?"

"Yeah, okay. Thanks, Edward."

"Yeah, no problem. I'll see you in a bit," I told her as I hung up the phone.

I glanced over at Emmett and saw that I still had his full attention.

"Hey, do you mind if we go pick up Angela?" I asked, tossing my phone in the center console and starting up the engine.

"Angela? Who's Angela? Is she some girl you be seeing on the side?" Emmett asked as he winked at me.

I snorted. "Hardly. She's Bella's younger sister."

"Seriously? Is she hot?" he asked.

"She's Bella's sister, Em, what do you think?"

"Hot. Definitely hot." He nodded. "Well, what you waiting for, man? Let's go pick her up. She's old enough to drink, right?"

"No, she's only nineteen," I said, pulling out into the main street and heading north.

"What? Are you shitting me? Aww, come on, dude," Emmett whined.

"Hey, look, she's in a jam, and we got to be the responsible adults—for once."

"Man, fuck that noise. I don't want to be responsible. I want to get drunk."

Our conversation went like that for the next twenty fucking minutes. I argued my stance on being a role model to the youngins and he protested, stating that he had the right to get smashed into oblivion.

Needless to say, it was a long fucking drive.

~~~88~~~88~~~88~~~

When I picked up Angela, she was already waiting outside her home, and there was a blessed cigarette hanging from her mouth.

Thankfully, she put it out the moment she saw me pull up alongside the curb. She then drenched herself with perfume as she walked towards my car, but even I knew that nothing was going to mask that sweet, sweet smell.

I had watched her curiously as she approached, noting that she looked different to me. It wasn't until she was close did I really see how much she had changed.

Angela looked...well, she looked like shit.

Her black hair was a rat's nest, piled high on top of her head, and her face was pale and sunken. She looked completely drained. The way her clothes hung off her, it was pretty obvious that she had lost a bit of weight.

She spoke as little as possible. She kept her head down the majority of the drive, and only time she perked up was when Emmett started talking to her.

He was being cool at first, just asking her questions about herself, but then he turned. She apologized about ruining our evening and that was when he unloaded—almost like he was just waiting for his cue. For five minutes after that, he whined about not being able to drink. He even painted me as the bad guy. Somehow in his twisted story, I was this reformed party boy who was practically a priest now.

Lord in heaven, I wanted to kill him.

Originally, I'd planned to go to IHop or Denny's, a family establishment of some sort, but both Angela and dipshit opposed that idea. Even though my argument was sound, and I tried to explain to them that we had an underage person with us, I was still rebuffed.

Then Angela proceeded to make things worse for me by pulling out her fake ID. Emmett squealed like a bitch, demanding that we go get wasted…pronto!

Apparently, I had no more excuses at my disposal and my plan for us to be responsible adults was officially thrown out the window.

Emmett wanted to go to a fetish bar on east side of Chicago, but both Angela and I were very familiar with that place, and we adamantly refused.

We went around and around about it for a while, but then I got fed up with all of the indecision, and just took matters into my own hands.

At the last minute, I pulled off at the highway, taking some random exit, and just drove them to the nearest sports bar.

Since there was alcohol there for the two lushes, I didnt get much of an argument.

An hour and a half after we arrived, Angela and Emmett were going on their fifth beer and I was still nursing my second.

I'd hoped that Angela would've told me what was going on by now, but she was still staying mum on the subject. The last thing I wanted to do was press her about it, but she had plenty of time to orientate herself, and I was growing incredibly impatient.

"So, are you going to tell me or not?" I asked, setting down my beer and looking at Angela point blankly.

"I don't know if I can, Edward. I think I need a shot of patron," she said.

"That's a great idea, Ang!" Emmett said, waving his hand over his head to get the waitress's attention. "Let's do some shots."

"None for me, guys. I'm driving, remember?" I said.

"That's never stopped you before, dude." Emmett frowned.

"Yeah, well, I was an idiot, okay?"

God, the things I did in a drunken haze were frightening and I wasn't about to repeat them.

It was best to stay sober and clear-headed.

Someone had to be.

"See what I mean?" Emmett questioned Angela, his face distorted with disgust. "He's like a fucking monk now."

I rolled my eyes and scoffed. "Monks don't drink, Em."

"The fact that you knew that, bro, just proves my point. I mean, look at you. I don't even recognize who you are anymore," he said.

I groaned as I pinched the bridge of my nose. "I was wondering when this fucking headache was going to return."

Angela laughed at the buffoon's antics as he went into a childish tirade, and I shot her an intense glare.

"What?" she asked.

"Don't fucking encourage him, Angela. He's only going to get worse. Trust me," I warned.

"Aww, I think he's fun."

"You, my lady, are my new favorite person. You get a double shot," Emmett said, taking her hand and kissing it.

"Goodie." Angela bounced excitedly in her seat.

"Jesus Christ," I chuckled, shaking my head at her. "Is this how it's going to be all night? Not only am I babysitting him, but you too?"

"You don't have to babysit me, Edward. I am more than capable of taking care of myself. I've done it for awhile now," she said.

There was more to what she was saying, and I was smart enough to read between the lines.

I glanced over at Emmett and saw that he was too busy looking for the waitress to pay any attention to what we were saying.

I was in the clear and decided to launch my attack.

"Angela, when are you going to talk to Bella again?"

"God, you just don't give up, do you?" she chuckled.

"Well, she's your sister and you mean a lot to her. I'm just concerned."

"You're concerned about me and Bella?"

I nodded.

"Well, you don't have to worry, Edward. We're sisters. We fight. We make up. It's not something you need to be stressing about. I'm not."

"But you are going to talk to her, her right?"

She groaned. "Yes, I will, dammit! Shit! Will you please get off my fucking back?"

"I'm off." I said, throwing up my hands to show her I was done butting in.

"Thank you," she said.

The waitress suddenly came up behind Angela and smiled down at Emmett. "What can I get for you, handsome?"

"Hello, Amy," he bellowed. "I would like a round of shots of patron silver, and a double shot for the beautiful lady."

"Sounds good. Will that be all?" Amy asked as she looked over at me.

"I'm good," I told her, holding up my beer. "I'm still working on this one."

She nodded firmly, giving me a sly smile, and then took off towards the bar to put in their order.

"Damn, Edward, the waitress has got the hots for you," Angela teased.

I laughed. "You're drunk."

"No, I'm not. I know what I saw and that girl wants your dick," she said.

"The waitress smiled at me, Angela. She was being polite. I think you're seeing into shit that isn't there," I told her, sipping my beer. "Besides, what would it matter if the waitress is into me, huh? I'm dating your sister."

"I was just making an observation, Edward. Damn. Chill the fuck out. Goodness, aren't you a bit uptight," she said.

I sighed. "Are we going to talk about why you called me?"

Angela's body stiffened and she crossed arms over chest. "I told you, Edward, I need a fucking shot first, okay?"

"Fine," I said.

"Hey, Angela," Emmett said, wrapping his arm around her neck and leaned into her all conspiratorially, "maybe you can help me. You know Edward, right?"

"I would say so...maybe even better than you do." She smirked.

I laughed loudly, turning away from Emmett's glare.

"Well...well, that's just not impossible, little girl," he said, waving her off. "But for arguments sake, let's just say you do. Now, as someone who knows him, can you explain to me why a child prodigy would be so stupid, that he would break up with the most amazing woman he has ever known?"

Angela slammed down her beer and gawked at me. "Shut the fuck up, you broke up with my sister? Are you fucking kidding me?"

"I didn't break up with her, Ang," I explained. "We're just taking some time apart."

Her forehead crinkled up with confusion, and she had the same dumbfounded expression that Emmett wore so well.

It finally made sense of why I liked her so much.

"What? That's fucking retarded-and Bella actually agreed to this?" she asked.

"Yeah, of course she did. Why wouldn't she?"

"Because she's your fucking Domme, Edward," Angela nearly shouted. "Domme's don't let their subs come and go as they please. It doesn't work that way. She collared you, right?"

"Hold up," Emmett interrupted. "Bella is Edward's Dominatrix?"

Angela's eyes widened, and she quickly shot me an apologetic look as she cupped her hands over her big fat mouth.

I sighed, slightly irritated with all the theatrics. "Relax, Ang, okay? Emmett already knows about Bella being a Domme. And yes, I'm collared."

My candor was surprising, but I didn't have the strength to keep up with the charade.

I was no longer disillusioned by my role in Bella's life.

"Yeah, I knew she was a Domme, man, but I didnt know she was your Domme," he said awestruck, almost like he had stumbled across something new.

"Really, Em? You couldn't put two and two together?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at him.

"You know how bad I am at math, asshole," he said.

"Jesus, man. Why must you insist on making it so easy for me to bash you?" I muttered.

Completely ignoring my dig at him, he was more interested in my sex life with a Dominatrix. I could see the wild fascination in his eyes.

"So, tell me, dude...does she tie you up?" he asked. "You know, like with latex-wait, she wears latex, right? Damn, that's hot," he rambled.

Angela rolled her eyes as she put her hand up to his face, blocking him out of her peripheral view. She leaned over the table towards me. "What happened, Edward? Why did you guys break up? I thought you were into my sister. I mean, why even go through all those tests and shit, if you were just going to walk away?"

It killed me that she and Emmett assumed that they knew what was going on between me and Bella. It was starting to piss me off that I had to repeatedly explain myself. It wasn't any of their business in the first place, but people rarely knew how to keep their nose out of shit.

It was human nature...and I was just as guilty of it.

"Alright, both of you shut the hell up and listen to me for a second, okay? I am only going to say this once," I paused, making sure their full attention was on me. It was. "Bella and I did not break up. It was both of our decision to take a hiatus from our relationship. The reason behind that decision is our business and not yours. Are we clear?"

"Yeah," Angela said.

"Sure. Whatever," Emmett echoed.

"Thank you," I said gratefully as I took a sip if my beer. "Now, Angela, would you like to tell me why you called me?"

She squirmed in her seat as she bit her lip and shook her head. "Um, no...I need that shot."

"Fuck the shot, Ang. You either tell me or you fucking don't. Quit stalling," I spat.

"Fine," she huffed, throwing up her arms. "He decollared me, alright! Happy?"

"Decollared...what does-"

"In layman's terms, he fucking broke up with me," she said.

"He did?" I asked, trying hard to hide the fact that this was good fucking news to me.

"Yeah, he told me that he couldn't pretend with me anymore. That he has his eyes set on someone else. He said the last thing he wanted to do was hurt me. Can fucking you believe that? I asked him-no, I begged him not to cast me off to the side and to just keep me. I told him that I could be better for him. That if he told me exactly what he desired that I would bend over backwards to do it for him. He said that it wasn't about that. He said he'd been pleased with me and that I was truly one of the best submissives he's ever had, but I couldn't fill that void because I just..." her voice cracked, "...I just wasn't her."

Angela was balling her eyes out now, and I saw how much she truly loved that asshole. It was hard for me to understand because I saw him as a parasite, but to her, he was the love of her life.

Both Emmett and I got up from our seats to comfort her.

We looked at each other, not knowing what to say to make her feel better...so, we just wrapped our arms around her.

But, man, was this shit uncomfortable.

There was just something about a woman crying that made guys uneasy.

We literally didnt know how to respond...well, except with violence.

"He's a fucking douche," Emmett spat. "Do you want us to go beat his ass?"

"No," she chuckled.

"Are you sure?" I asked. "It won't take long. I got muscles with me."

Emmett smiled widely, knowing that I was talking about him.

Fucking ego-manic.

She wiped her tears away and sighed. "No, he's...I still love him."

"He's an idiot, babe," Emmett told her. "Any douche that lets a hottie like you go has to be a fucking moron."

"He's a really smart guy," she defended. "He just loves someone else."

All the fighting between Angela and Bella could've been avoided if this fucker realized the love of his life sooner. Instead, he creates tension with the sisters and leads Angela on.

"Do you know who the submissive is?" I asked.

"No. I asked him if I knew her, but he wouldn't tell me."

"So, you don't know if he just starting seeing her or if he's been seeing her for awhile?"

"No...But, I think he has been seeing her for awhile. He's been acting different towards me for a week now. Ever since that thing with..." she slowly tapered off as her eyes went blank.

"Since what, Ang?" I asked, gently shaking her.

"Shots!" the waitress hollered over the music as she squeezed by Emmett and started lining the glasses on the table.

Angela snapped out of her daze and reached across the table, grabbing her double and downing it in one gulp.

"Damn, that shit feels good going down," she said, snatching up one of the single shots now. "I fucking needed this."

"You might want to slow down," I warned.

She was doing everything she could to avoid me and my question. This told me that she knew something that she wasn't telling me...perhaps something that she didnt think I could handle.

"Angela, you know who the submissive is, don't you?" I asked.

She slammed down the glass on the table and slid off her chair.

"Right now, I'm going to go outside and have a God damn cigarette," she looked up at me, "Would you care to join me for a smoke, Edward?"

She was shutting down on me, and I knew I wasn't going to get anything else out of her...well, not tonight, anyway.

I shook my head. "I quit."

"No shit, dude?" Emmett asked, surprised. "That's fucking awesome. Proud of you, bro."

"Thanks, man," I said, pounding fists with him.

Angela smiled at me knowingly. "You quit last week because of what I said about Bella not liking smokers, huh?"

"Of course I did," I said.

"It's amazing," she muttered, mostly to herself.

"What is?"

"That you love my sister that much."

I scoffed. "You're actually surprised?"

"No...Just jealous," she said, smiling weakly as she grabbed her purse off the chair and headed outside.

As Emmett and I watched her squeeze through the crowd, this troublesome feeling came over me. It was the same foreboding doom I'd felt on Saturday, but it was stronger now. It was crisp and more defined.

It shook me to my core, and I prayed that I was wrong...

And then my phone vibrated.

A/N: So, this semester is nearly over. I'm hoping updates will be more often.

I'll be posting The Mark soon. Thanks for reading, guys!

Special thanks to a dear friend and pre-reader, Brina. She is going through something really difficult right now and I hope she stays strong against all of the odds. She's a fighter! Love you, girl!