I'm running out of ideas on how to creatively say I'm not SM and don't own and yada, yada, yada…any suggestions?
First and foremost, always, my great thanks to my betas who make my writing look spectacular, even when I use the same, damn, bloody word OVER AND OVER AND OVER again because there is no freakin' synonym for it!
I describe an exchange program in my story. I don't know, nor do I care, if one like this actually exists. It's my story and therefore it does.
Remember, you can still find my on Facebook. The link is on the prior two chapters. Don't be afraid to post and chat with me there!
For those concerned that Bella is lacking Britishisms, I'm going to start adding them in at certain points. Let's pretend I have in the past and when I get a chance, I'll go back and edit to add in.
The random song thing Bella did last chapter…put on foot in front of the other…was a tribute to readergoof who commented on a portion that it reminded her of that song, which is from Santa Claus is Coming To Town using the voice talents of Mickey Rooney and Fred Astaire. I had to add it! Good fun!
And for the record, I may not respond to my reviews, but you can be damn sure I read each and every one of them, sometimes twice! So, don't feel like it's pointless to review.
BPOV
"Paris? As in Paris… Paris, France? You're going to France?" Alice squealed after Edward spilled his news. He'd been planning on telling them last night, but Emmett and Jasper had to run off to work so he hadn't gotten the chance.
"Yes, Alice, Paris in France," Edward answered, rolling his eyes at Alice's exuberance.
"When are we leaving? I'm coming with. You can't leave me behind." Alice started pacing back and forth, ticking off on her fingers what she'd do.
"Alice," Edward grabbed her upper arms, stopping her. "You're not coming with me."
"WHAT!" Alice screamed her jaw dropping.
"This is for school, not recreation. Plus, you have your own classes you need to attend," Edward pointed out, steering her towards Jasper so he could deal with the tears that looked ready to spill from her eyes.
"But-but-but-" Alice stuttered clearly not getting the idea that she was regulated to stay behind.
"How long will you be gone?" Rosalie questioned, disappointment echoing in her words. She obviously wanted to go as well, but knew that after Alice had been turned down there was no way she'd get a yes from Edward.
"I leave the first week of March and will be gone ten weeks."
"Dude, this is fucking exciting! My bro, going to Paris!" Emmett exclaimed, pumping one of his fists in the air.
"Jasper, I want to go to Paris!" Alice whined, turning pleading eyes up at him, and stamping her foot.
"Ali, sweetie, we can go for our honeymoon," Jasper told her, kissing her softly and cuddling her against his chest, where she mumbled, "Well, I guess that would be okay."
"So, how'd you get the trip, Eddie?" Emmett pressed, smirking at Edward's grimace at the nickname.
"The school has an exchange program going on with a couple of different countries. Certain students with high enough GPAs get picked to go. My grades qualified me and I was assigned to France," Edward explained, sitting down on the arm of the chair I was sitting in. I tried not to overanalyze what this meant to us and our relationship. My motto floated through my head. Just feel. Just feel. Just feel. Ugh! I was starting to feel too much. Maybe I should change it to – live for the moment.
"I'm happy for you," I smiled up at him, adding on, "I don't want to go though."
"What? Why?" both Alice and Rosalie looked at me in disbelief.
I laughed mockingly. "Because my memories of England aren't that pleasant. I truly have no bloody desire to be any closer to it than I have to, and France is a lot fucking closer to England than Washington. I like being thousands of miles away from that bloomin hellhole. So, yes, I'll pass," I snarked, the memories of England evoking such an emotional response that I wasn't able to prevent the British slang I tried hard to submerge from coming out.
"Oh. I could see that," Rosalie shrugged, examining her nails. I didn't take any offense. That was just Rose.
"I still wish I could go with," Alice pouted, obviously not willing to let the subject drop.
"Well, I've got homework to do. Congrats again, Edward." I stood and kissed Edward's cheek, or tried to. He turned his head at the last minute and I got his lips instead.
"Are you sleeping in my room again tonight?" he inquired before I moved. I sighed, biting my bottom lip. Remember your motto. Live. The moment. Enjoy.
Turning towards him, I nodded, "Yeah, if you don't mind."
"No, I don't," he answered, smiling back at me as I left the room.
EPOV
"Sleep?"
"Your room?"
Alice and Rose questioned, respectively.
"Yes, sleep, my room," I answered, trying to disguise my grin.
"When did this come about?" Rose demanded, ready to spring into an interrogation mode.
"Bella feel asleep the other night in my room watching CSI with me. Last night she came up and asked if she could sleep in my room again. I told her yes," I responded, before turning towards Emmett. "What was with you though, man? Barging in like that?"
Emmett had the decency to look sheepish. "I've been picking Bella's lock and checking on her each night. I relock the door so she doesn't know. She was sleeping alone and screaming out at night. I wanted to make sure she was okay."
"That doesn't explain your actions last night," I said, moving to sit where Bella had been sitting.
"I got home and found her door open. I thought maybe something had happened to her or she'd done something to herself. I was going to find out if you knew anything. I… I overreacted," Emmett admitted and I nodded in response.
"That's sweet, Emmett. You've been doing that every night?" Rose cooed to Emmett, smiling up at him. Well, what passed as cooing for her. He returned the grin and nodded.
"Look, I've got my own homework to do, so I'm going to head on up. Goodnight." I stood and left the room, hearing Emmett challenge Jasper to a video game and Rose and Alice start talking about Paris.
I was thrilled to be going. It was an honor to be chosen, but at the same time, I'd be gone for ten weeks and didn't really want to leave Bella for any length of time. Her sleeping in my room the last couple of nights was an enormous stride towards getting together with her. Would I lose that ground if I left? Still, I wasn't going to turn down the opportunity. I was going to have to trust that everything would be okay.
I walked into my room, finding Bella standing in the middle of it, holding a bag. Her expression, as she bit at her bottom lip, was one of trepidation, like she was unsure of her actions.
"What's the bag for?" I asked nodding towards the bag with my chin.
She twisted the handle around in her hands. "I was thinking… Um, that is… I was hoping…"
"Bella," I chuckled, shaking my head as I walked over towards her. "Bella, you can ask me or tell me anything. What is it that you're thinking?"
"Moving into your room. Here, to sleep," she rushed out looking up at me hesitantly.
I leaned down, kissing her forehead, whispering, "I'm good with that. It's fine." Mentally I gave myself a fist pump.
Maybe everything would be okay, I thought, pulling Bella into a hug, forcing her to drop the bag she was holding. Bella was going to be my girl at some point, I just knew it. I just knew it.
BPOV
The next five weeks passed in a blur of activity. Between classes and Edward having to get ready to leave for France, it seemed like everyday flew by in a blur. I kept my new motto running through my head, doing my best to live by it. I wasn't doing too badly since I'd started sleeping in Edward's room with him. The bags that had been present under my eyes for so long had finally disappeared. And, since I was getting a good night's sleep every night, why wouldn't they?
"Bella!" I heard Edward yell out as he came running into his room. "Have you seen my Mariners shirt?"
I looked up from where I was sitting at his desk doing my homework. "Your Mariners shirt? Did you check the laundry?"
He paused, halfway into the room. "No."
I laughed, going back to my English essay as Edward ran down the stairs. He was scheduled to fly out tomorrow morning for France and was running around the house looking for random clothes and gear he'd need to take with him.
"Is he going to let me pack for him?" Alice inquired coming into the room and sitting on the bed.
I shook my head, remembering Edward's explanation. "She'll pack herself into my suitcase. No way I'm letting her near it."
"Damn," Alice muttered, getting up and leaving. I knew she'd been hoping to pack herself.
I scooted away from the desk, twirling around in Edward's chair to look at the open suitcase on his bed. I didn't want him to go. Ten weeks was going to feel like ten years. I was just starting to sleep through an entire night again, and now I was going to have to go back to not getting much sleep. Joy.
Still, the last few weeks had been good. Despite the fact that my siblings had hooked up, no one had forgotten me on Valentine's Day. Sure, the two couples had disappeared for the night, but they hadn't forgotten me. When I'd come down that morning, there had been a card from each of them waiting for me on the kitchen table. Edward had even been sweet enough to get me two pounds of Sees candy.
I quickly glanced towards the closet where I'd stashed the Sees. I was savoring it and didn't want anyone else eating it. Knowing Edward and Emmett, if they saw it, they'd be all over it. Don't touch the Sees and I won't have to kill you. Laughing, I turned back to my essay as Edward came back into the room, the missing shirt hanging from his hand.
"Found it!" He held it up triumphantly before throwing it in his suitcase.
"Good," I answered, searching for a synonym for a word I'd used three times already in my essay.
"If you want, you can still sleep in here while I'm gone," Edward tossed out, coming out of his bathroom with some toiletries. I nodded, thinking about my nightmares. They'd been coming less and less while sleeping with Edward. Would they reappear once he left?
"When are you coming back?" I inquired, forgetting about my essay and moving to sit on the bed, hugging my knees to my chest.
"Second week of May. Somewhere around the 16th I believe. After the semester ends," Edward answered glancing up at me. "Bella…will you be okay? I'm sure one of our siblings would be willing to sleep in the same room with you if need be."
"I'll be fine. I promise."
Edward nodded, going back to his packing. Two and a half months. Fuck. Was I going to be able to do this? I felt like I was healing in some ways, but now I was worried that all my progress would come undone.
Watching him pack his suitcase was driving me nuts, so I shoved him aside to do it for him. Men really didn't know how to fold clothes or his wouldn't be so badly folded and taking up far more room than they needed to. He laughed, turning the suitcase towards me and tossing his remaining clothes on the bed.
"At least I don't have to worry you'll try to pack yourself," he joked, sitting down at his desk as I got to work. "Seriously, are you really going to be okay?"
"Yes," I answered, not looking at him. "Rosalie told me if I needed a teddy bear, Emmett was available. Alice offered living room campouts, but said she couldn't volunteer Jasper. I let her know that was fine."
"Good."
"They've also decided to try and go back to Volturi. Apparently, according to our sisters," I looked over at him briefly before continuing, "I need to get out and about more. Especially now that I seem to be doing better. Oh! Mom and Dad also said I should come home any weekend I needed to, also."
"Sounds like you're good to go," Edward mused, moving to stand behind me, his chin on my shoulder.
"Yep," I said, taking a deep breath. "I think you're good on the packing." God, I'm so going to miss him.
"You're a sweetheart, Bella." Edward kissed my temple, reaching around me to shut his suitcase. "For the record, I think a trip to Volturi might do you some good."
I was about to respond when a voice that I knew froze me in place. "Edward?"
What the fuck was she doing here? We'd tossed her out. For that matter of fact, how the fuck did she get in here to start with?
"Tanya?" I breathed, feeling him nod.
"Eddie! There you are!" Tanya exclaimed, walking into the room. She didn't look much different from the last time I'd seen her before Edward booted her outside.
"How did you get in? I can't imagine my siblings letting you step foot in this house," Edward deadpanned, blinking. I could hear the bafflement in his voice. Bafflement that mirrored my own.
"Silly. I borrowed your key one day and made a copy. See?" Tanya held up the key to show Edward and I like it was a trophy. I watched Edward walk over and snatch it from her, as she objected, "That's mine!"
"Tanya…" Edward looked at me for a moment, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and finger before growling, "What…the fucking hell…are you doing here?"
"Why wouldn't I be, Eddie?" Tanya cooed, sauntering, in what I assumed was suppose to be a sexy way, over to Edward and placing a hand on his chest. "After all, my fiancé does live here."
"Fiancé?" Edward snorted, grasping Tanya's hand between thumb and forefinger like it was a piece of garbage, removing it from his person.
"We had a lovers' spat. I figured I'd give you time to cool off, so I went on vacation. I'm back and figured you'd had enough time to cool off. You did ask me to marry you." Tanya licked her bottom lip, looking up at Edward from under her eyelashes. I closed my eyes briefly, tamping down the urge to retch. "Come on, Eddie. It's been over two months. You can't still be mad at me?"
"Tanya. One, quit calling me Eddie. Two, we did not have a lovers' spat. If I wasn't clear enough at the time, I broke off our engagement. What you said to my sisters was unacceptable and intolerable. There is no forgiving that. So yes, I'm still mad at you," Edward hissed, clearly pissed off at Tanya and her stupidity.
"Broke off? Our engagement?" Tanya stuttered, her jaw dropping.
"Yes. If you missed the memo, Rose-" Edward was cut off as Rose walked into the room.
"My wrestling the ring off your finger was him breaking the engagement, Bitch. Now, what the fuck are you doing in our house?" Rose bitched, leaning against the door jam with her arms and ankles crossed. Edward looked at me, his eyes asking how Rose knew Tanya was here. I held up my phone and shook it. I'd sent her and Alice a text letting them know.
"Look, Bitch, I belong here. With Eddie," Tanya cooed, trailing a finger down Edward's chest and looking at him suggestively for a moment before returning her attention to Rosalie. "And, besides, I believe this is his home, not yours. You live next door if I'm not mistaken."
"Look, you quim, it's actually my house." I stood up, walking around to Edward to stand next to him. The look on Tanya's face was one of complete shock.
"What do you mean your house?" she asked skeptically, looking me up and down. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a light bulb go off over Edward's head. He was seeing what I'd seen the first day. That Tanya had evaluated and dismissed me as unimportant.
"I can get the bloody deeds if you'd like, but I own this entire house. Both townhouses, in fact," I smiled, shrugging my shoulders, holding them up for a moment before letting them drop.
"You can't… There's no way… You don't possibly-" Tanya started, contempt in her voice as she tried to voice her doubts.
"Have enough money?" Edward finished Tanya's thoughts. "She does. Quite a bit. In fact, more than I'd ever have for you."
Tanya's jaw dropped. "This little…ragamuffin is rich? I find that hard to believe."
"It's true," I answered, glad to get the upper hand on her for once.
"Look, Tanya, was my message not clear enough? I'm through with you!" Edward told her, going and leaning against the closest bed post.
"Eddie, you can't mean that. You know we belong to one another," Tanya bit her bottom lip, fluttering her eyelashes. She ran her hand up Edward's chest again. "I love you, Edward. Nothing will change that."
"She'd be perfect for James," Rose mused. "The Bitch and the Bastard. Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?"
"I like that one, Rose," I chuckled as Alice walked into the room.
"I got your message, Bella. What-" Alice stopped before going any further, catching sight of Tanya. "Oh. What the hell is she doing here? Didn't we already kick her to the curb? She's obviously too dumb to understand getting tossed to the curb…" Alice huffed, shaking her head.
"…like yesterday's stinking trash," Rose added as Emmett and Jasper entered the room.
"Hey, Eddie… Oh! Uh, we came to talk to Edward," Emmett stated as they paused, seeing Tanya.
I looked at Tanya, picturing in my mind what I wanted to do to her. To really get even at her for how she'd treated Rose, Alice, and me.
"So, how do we want do this?" Rose asked, as she, Alice, and I circled Tanya.
"If you don't mind, I'd like first dibs," I stated, looking at each of my sisters.
"Be my guest," Rose bowed to me, swinging her arm out in Tanya's direction.
"This is for being the chav you are. For making a copy of my house key. For standing up for James. And, my personal favorite, for bloody, fucking bothering my family!" I took my palm, shoving it into Tanya's nose in an upward direction.
"My nose!" Tanya screamed, covering it as Alice grabbed Tanya's hair and started dragging her out of the room.
"Don't want to get blood on the carpet!" she chirped just before Emmett made her job easier, swinging Tanya over his shoulder and jogging her downstairs and outback, since we had a nice high wall around the backyard. Not that it mattered, since we weren't exactly surrounded by neighbors, but still, best not to air our dirty laundry in public.
I smiled as Rose took a shot at Tanya's stomach, grinning, and knocking the wind out of her. I followed behind, carrying a pair of scissors. While Tanya was still trying to catch her breath, I grabbed her hair, cutting off a chunk. She thought she was soooo pretty. Well, not any longer. What I cut was noticeable enough that she'd have to go get her hair fixed. More like chop everything off.
"My hair! What the fu-" Alice kicked the back of Tanya's legs, sending her sprawling onto the grand.
"No need to listen to her," Alice shrugged. We continued to alternate taking shots at Tanya. I made sure at least one rib was broken. The entire time, Tanya kept crying out for Edward to help her. I just slammed my foot into her knee.
At one point, Rose turned towards the guys, inquiring, "How does she look compared to James?"
"Just perfect!" Emmett exclaimed.
"Bella! BELLA!" I snapped back to Edward's room, my thoughts scattering. Edward was looking at me oddly.
"Sorry, spaced," I informed him, shrugging with one shoulder. He gave me one last look before returning his attention to Tanya. We needed to deal with her.
Rose pushed away from the door, walking over to Tanya. "Alright, here's the story, Cinderella wannabe. You get off our property and stay away from it and Edward. What the hell, stay away from all of us! You will treat us with respect and look down on none of us, since we're a whole lot better than you, Ho."
"If you violate this in anyway or so much as touch any of us with any body part, or step foot on our property…" I started, Rose finishing before I could.
"We'll call the cops. So, now, it's time to take the trash out for one last time."