Chapter Playlist- Don't Stop Believin' by Glee Cast (omg I'm totally loving that show XD) and When I Look At You by Miley Cyrus
Previously…
Edward pushed Tanya away slightly and opened his eyes. He stared when he saw me stood there. "Bella?"
I shook my head at him, tears already starting to blind my eyes. "Save it, asshole," I spat, and then I turned and ran. I didn't know where I was going, but I sure wasn't going to stick around and have my world torn apart. I wasn't going to stand and watch while the love of my life kissed someone else.
There was an old saying: once a player, always a player. I hadn't believed it until now. I had fallen into Edward's trap. It was like his t-shirt had said: don't hate the player, hate the game. Right now, I hated both. Especially when I looked over my shoulder to see that he didn't care enough to follow and give me an explanation.
The Hard Way To Learn A Lesson
Chapter 54- Friend of a Friend
Edward POV
Tanya was here. Well, wasn't that fan-bloody-tastic. That was one person I really didn't want to see again and, judging by the sadistic kind of smile she had given me before Bella and I had been given the trophy, I probably was going to be seeing her again. Maybe I was being melodramatic. Maybe she wouldn't make trouble. Maybe she had changed. Then again, maybe she hadn't.
I scooped my bag and Bella's cardigan up off of the bench and over my shoulder. I checked the bench to see that we hadn't left anything, only to have a hand come round and cover my eyes. I smiled. "I thought you were with your Dad?"
She didn't say anything.
"Look, I'm really sorry about not telling you about the state finals and stuff. I was just trying to do what I thought was best."
She still didn't speak.
"I'm sorry about earlier, I really am. I love you," I told her earnestly.
Finally she responded. "It's alright," she whispered, and then – with her hand still over my face – she spun me round and pressed her lips to mine.
If her odd-sounding voice hadn't made me realise, then the kiss definitely did; this wasn't Bella. The lack of spark would have told me that any day, not to mention the long manicured nails that trailed down my cheek. I went to push her away, sickened, but a gasp froze me in place. I shoved Tanya away and looked up. Please, please say that wasn't… "Bella?"
Her heartbroken face made my own heart break in two. But not as much as her next words. "Save it, asshole," she spat, her tone laced with venom. Then, she turned and ran.
I started after her, but Tanya grabbed the back of my collar. "Nice to see you again, Edward," she said, her normal tone back again after imitating Bella.
I turned to face her. "Let go of me," I growled, clenching my fists. I had hit this girl before, and I would do it again; but not without cause.
She smiled at me, the curve of her lips taking an evil stance. She opened her mouth to speak, but then another voice stopped her. "Tanya?" a guy called.
She dropped my shirt like it was on fire. "In here, babe."
And then a guy with oily dark blonde hair came in. He grinned at Tanya and then turned his nose up at me. "Cullen, right?"
I nodded and tried to push past him, after Bella, but he stopped me. "You don't look much like your sister."
I frowned. "What's that supposed to mean? You know Alice?"
"You could say that," the guy replied vaguely. He looked at Tanya. "Why're you back here?"
"Edward and I were just catching up," she replied. "This is Edward. The one we were talking about?" She glanced at me and said, "Oh, yes, Edward this is James Witherby." She held out her hand and showed me the glittering ring. "My fiancé."
Alice's words from the night before clicked in my head: friend of a friend. I stared at the guy that towered over me. This was the bastard that had hurt my sister. Fury overpowered me and, though I knew very well that this guy could probably kill me with a flick of his finger, I brought back my fist and let it snap forward, punching him in the face.
James swore loudly, and brought his hand to his nose, which was spewing blood. He looked at the scarlet liquid on his fingers and then at me. "You little shit." He started toward me and I threw another punch.
"Don't mess with my sister," I spat, going for him again, and again until he was on the floor. Then I turned and I ran. I ran to get to Bella, and to get away from this monster, and to run from Tanya. But I didn't get anywhere near that far. I ran into Mr Hudson, who stood in the doorway.
He grabbed me by the scruff of the neck. "That," he said, fuming. "That right there is the last straw, Edward." He pulled me along the corridor, though I fought him all the way- knowing that it was too late to even dream of another chance now. Mr Hudson shoved me roughly inside his office and locked me in there. "I'll be back in a minute with your parents," he told me through the door.
Shit. What had I done? I should have left James for another time; now Bella would only get further and further away. I hammered on the door, hoping for a passer-by. "Let me out!" I shouted. "This is illegal!" I didn't know that, but there was no harm in trying. "Help!"
"Edward?" an all-too familiar voice asked from the other side of the door. "Edward, what's going on?"
"Alice," I breathed, suddenly realising that she was in close proximity of the man that hurt her. "Alice, get out of here!"
"Why?" she called through the door. "Edward, what happened? Where's Bella?"
"I don't know," I replied. "It's a long story, but James is here, Alice. With Tanya. Stay right there; Mr Hudson's coming back with Mum and Dad in a minute. Don't let him find you, Al."
"What?!" Alice gasped.
"Bella's run off, and I don't know where. James is here. I might have… beat him up. So now I'm gonna be expelled. Pretty much guaranteed for a supposedly unprovoked attack on a stranger." Suddenly something came to me. "Alice!" I cried. "Stay there! You can tell them what James did! Then he'll be arrested and I won't be expelled!"
Alice was silent for so long that I thought she had gone. Then she said, "Edward… I can't do that."
"What? Why not?"
"Have you not considered the fact that we have no proof? That it would be our word against his in court, Edward? We'd lose, and we'd be arrested for lying in court."
I hesitated before asking, "But how do you know we would lose? We're the ones telling the truth. His lies wouldn't stand up in court; what would he say? What's his excuse for beating you black and blue?"
"Edward, we would lose because he has proof. He has medical records that he filched from the school nurse when I got sent there for a check-up as blackmail for me not to tell anyone. Records that say that the bruises are because of accidents I made up. They're lies but they're proof, nonetheless." Alice sighed in defeat. "And… and I let him do it."
"What?" I demanded. "Why?"
"Because… because I deserved it," Alice whispered so quietly that I barely heard her.
I was stunned into silence for a moment. Then I said, "Alice, that's absolute bull. It's the most untrue thing I've heard in my whole…"
"Ssh!" Alice suddenly hissed. "They're coming."
I heard footsteps, and then I heard Mum's voice. "… due respect Mr Hudson, I don't understand why you can't tell us what he's done to deserve… Alice? What are you doing here?"
"I… I was coming to find Edward," she said. It could have been a lie, it could have been the truth. Either way, it was just as well that she never got as far as backstage.
I moved silently across the room and sat on one of the plastic chairs just before the locked clicked and the door opened. Mr Hudson glared stonily at me and led my parents and my sister in, gesturing to a chair for each of them to take. Then, he sat in his swivel chair and looked me in the eye. How many times had I been here? The answer: too many to count. How many of those times had I wanted to get out as badly as I did now? The answer: none.
"You will be pleased to hear that Mr Witherby is going to be fine," Mr Hudson told me. "He will have minor bruising on his face, but that is all."
"I can change that," I muttered.
Unfortunately, Mr Hudson heard it. His fists clenched and he gritted his teeth. He turned to my parents. "Mr and Mrs Cullen, I am sorry to inform you that your son attacked a guest to the school without cause. He has been on a last warning for a few weeks, and I am left with no choice but to expel him from this school."
Esme looked at me. "Edward?" she whispered. She started to shake her head. "Please give him another chance!" she begged Mr Hudson. "He was getting better!"
"Esme," Carlisle mumbled, putting his hand on her knee in an attempt to calm her.
"But he's been expelled from every school within a thirty mile radius of our house! We'll have to move!" She stared at me, her face absolutely dejected. "Why, Edward?"
I looked at the floor guiltily. Why? Because he tried to rape your daughter. Because he made her feel worthless. Because he scarred her for life. Because he made me feel like everything was my fault. Because everything was my fault. Because, put quite simply, he deserved it.
Mr Hudson looked over his glasses at me. "Yes, Edward. Why did you attack him?"
I set my jaw and looked at him stubbornly. "I did not attack him. I simply hit him."
He returned my glare. "Why?"
I didn't say anything. I could feel Alice's desperate eyes on me. I could tell him what James had done, but Alice was right. We had no proof and, if he did, we would just be entering a legal downward spiral that we couldn't afford to start.
Mr Hudson pursed his lips, taking my silence as a confirmative that the 'attack' was completely unprovoked. "Edward Cullen. You are hereby expelled from Forks High school, and forbidden to come within the grounds indefinitely."
Again, I remained silent. I looked up and met Alice's eyes and, even though I knew that Mum was close to tears, I knew that I had made the right choice. That didn't mean that James Witherby would get away with what he did, oh no; it just meant that Alice wouldn't be involved.
***
"Where are you going?" Dad demanded when I walked ahead of them out of the school gates.
I started to tell him. "I have to-"
"You have to do nothing," he growled. "Edward, you're grounded for the rest of the weekend."
Just the weekend? That sounded too good to be true. Of course, it was.
"Alice will be taking your car; you're banned from that as well. We'll be selling it to someone who can use it," he continued.
I gaped at him. "You can't sell my car!"
"I can and I will," Carlisle told me. "Your mother and I have put up with this for far too long. We're not uprooting our family for you. When we got the letter from your head teacher telling us that you had one more warning, I looked into new places for you, and I found one that will take students at very short notice; less than twenty-four hours."
That was why I was only grounded for the rest of today. Because, on Monday, I'd be catching a train to some school miles away. That figured.
Carlisle hesitated before breaking the news. "So tomorrow, Edward, I'm taking you to a school in Seattle."
"Seattle?!" I stared at him. "But that's hours away!"
He stared me down. "It's the closest school that takes boarders that have been expelled from four schools in five years."
I didn't have a response to that.
"Give your keys to Alice," he commanded.
I dug around in my pocket and pulled out the keys. Before handing them to Alice, I glanced at the key ring that hung off of them and, after less than a second's thought, pulled the key off of the key chain. It was a photo of Bella and I, the same one that I had given her two nights previously. It had been a package that Alice had found; a key ring and a framed version of the photo you sent in. Then, I reluctantly handed over my keys. I could see in Alice's eyes the regret that this had to happen. Why had I gone to get my stupid bag then? Why hadn't I stayed behind and celebrated with Bella? Then nothing would have happened, and I could still be in that hall with Bella at my side, a smile on her beautiful face.
I got in Carlisle's Mercedes, and Esme went with Alice in my Volvo. I didn't know whether they talked about me in there, but Dad and I remained silent for the whole journey.
***
I stripped my bed. I tipped out my drawers. I cleared my desk. I looked under my bed. Where the hell was it?!
"Looking for something?" Alice asked, and I looked up to see her stood in the doorway to my bedroom, my mobile phone in her hand.
I breathed a sigh of relief, and took it from her.
She came in and shut the door behind her. "You're lucky I brought it up to you," she said. "Mum and Dad are talking about a lifetime ban from it."
I stared at her. "They can't do that. I have to speak to Bella."
She raised her eyebrows.
I opened my contact list, but then I hesitated. Bella had waited this far; she could wait a minute more. I put my phone down on my bed and looked up at my sister. "Alice…"
Her eyes were guarded, like she knew where this was going. "Yes?"
"When you said earlier… that you let James hurt you…" I paused and then whispered, "Was that true?"
She was silent for a long moment and then she nodded.
"Why? Why Alice?"
"Because of what you said," she whispered. "Before I left."
I searched through my mind for something that I said that would have made Alice feel that way; that she deserved to be hurt. It took a moment, but it came to me.
Flashback
"I swear I didn't do it!" Alice insisted when I refused to believe that she hadn't wrecked our CD.
I shook her by the shoulders, hard. "Well, then who else did?!"
Alice whimpered, and quivered under my hands, not wanting to give the same answer after the reaction it had already gotten from me.
Emmett interceded then, gently easing Alice from my tight grasp. "Edward. Dude, calm down. It doesn't matter."
I glared at him. "But we have nothing; nothing! Because of her. It's her fault. Everything was her fault. It was her fault Mum lost the baby in the first place."
"Edward," Emmett growled.
"Well it's true!" I said. "If she hadn't left that box at the top of the stairs, Mum never would have tripped and everything would be fine!" My rose got louder as I got angrier.
Alice covered her ears. "Stop it, stop it!" she shrieked. "It was an accident!"
My fists clenched. "Mum tried to kill herself because of you!"
"No!" Alice screamed, tears running down her cheeks. "She didn't trip over my box! It was her feet! Stop it, please!"
I shook my head at her. "It was you, Alice…"
Then, something hit my face. Blood ran from my nose, and then I realised that Emmett had hit me. I stared at him, for a long moment, both of us breathing heavily, and then I stormed out of the house.
End Flashback
The argument I had told Bella was about "something stupid". The argument I had pushed to the back of my mind and never, ever revisited.
"Oh, God," I groaned. "Alice, you know I never meant that."
Her eyes flashed. "Didn't you? You might not mean it now, but I think you did then." She sighed, and sat down on my bed. "I self-harmed, and James caught me. We made friends and when he started to hurt me, I just… I knew what he was doing was wrong, but it made me feel better. So I let him. Until it started to go too far…"
I sat down beside her. "I wish you hadn't. Gone, I mean."
She shrugged. "So do I. But it's over now, and I want to forget about it." She stood up again, and headed for the door. "See you."
"Thanks for bringing my phone," I said, but she had already gone. I sighed, and reached for my phone again, flicking through my contacts and finding Bella's number, pressing call. It occurred to me that she might not answer for a long time, but I would keep calling all night if I had to; she needed to know the truth.
That was why I was surprised when it was picked up almost instantly. "Bella?" I asked.
"What do you want?" he asked, and my heart sank.
"Mason? Why have you got Bella's phone?" But I knew the answer. The gypsy lady had told me everything I needed to know. "Look, can I just talk to her?"
"No," Mason replied sharply. "She's asleep. Butt out, Edward. You hurt her; she doesn't want to talk to you. She told me to tell you if you came around that it's over- if you hadn't already figured that out."
"But…" I started.
"Whatever, Edward. I thought you were nice, really I did. But it turns out you're just the player everyone else thinks you are." Then the line went dead.
I swore and dialled again, but her phone was off. I changed tactic, and called Mason's instead, but I got sent to voicemail. I didn't bother to leave one, knowing that he'd just delete it. So he got the girl and I got to board in Seattle. Of course that was how it was gonna play out. After all, since when had I been any good at loving someone?
I threw my phone at the wall in annoyance, but it just bounced off without breaking. That didn't seem to be enough for me, so I picked it up, opened the window and flung it across the street. I heard the dull crack as it hit the concrete, and I turned to the wall beside the window. Then, I started to hit the wall with my right fist, punching it hard, until blood speckled my knuckles, and then I sank to my knees and let the feeling of despair take over.
~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~
:'( Poor Eddie, poor Bellie :(
Okay, I have a few things to say regarding the story and what is yet to come. Firstly, you're all very split over the drama. I realise that not everyone's gonna like it, and I really, really wish that I could write something that everyone would write, but since that is down to opinion it's virtually impossible XD
Also, a lot of people have commented on Bella's running away from Edward kissing Tanya and I know that it's not the strong kind of persona that would be better but things have to happen for Bella to grow into her strength, if I'm making sense? You'll know what I mean as the drama develops ;)
Third, no, Bella does not make out with Mason to get Edward back. You'll have to wait and see for the Mason/ Bella thing. Btw I totally love how some of you (naming no names XD) want Bella to ditch Edward in favour of Mason XD I 3 Mason, bless him :P But, he is going to be in this story a lot more in the next few chapters, now that Edward is off the scene at least… ;)
I'm hoping to keep the twists coming, and the plan I have is fairly twisty ;) I think I can safely say that there will definitely be less than 70 chapters. That's actually so many chapters when it doesn't feel like this has been going very long at all. I'm so very sorry to those of you who must have taken days reading this, if they just picked it up XD
And (last thing, promise XD) I'd also like to thank all of the people that are coming and reading and reviewing even though they don't speak English all that well. I'm so glad that my story has appeal to people in other countries too :D
OMC. This story is so close to the big 10,000! :O I am absolutely amazed. I really hope we can get there before the end :D Thank you so much for the continuous number of reviews and things. I wish so badly that I had time to reply to all of your reviews, but I can't :( When I'm famous though I will reply to all of your messages on facebook ;)
Actually, someone did suggest that I make a facebook page but I'm not sure. Would many of you be interested in a facebook page where you could send me messages? Because I already have one (but that's for friends only- the photos on there are far too cringy XD) but I'm barely ever on it. I'm not sure what I'd put on it, but I can set one up if there would be interest and you can suggest things for me to post. So let me know if you're interested ;)
Oh and for those of you that asked what happened to the other two chapters, no chapters have actually been taken down, just the ANs I posted a while ago regarding the plagiarism XD
Sorry for another long AN :S
PLEASE REVIEW!!!
Thanks :D
Steph
