LL Chapter 53

Letters

With January came a month of extreme cold that Bella was not prepared for. Every day when I'd pick her up for school she would come downstairs dressed for an arctic expedition. You would think that she had to walk a couple of miles to school through the woods with the get up she was wearing.

Leah was slowly getting over Sam's betrayal. She was happy when school started again so she would have that for a distraction. Jacob showed up at the door one afternoon wanting to talk to Leah but Bella told him to go to hell and slammed the door in his face. She didn't like him nor did she trust him, for good reason, and she was not going to let him near Leah in her vulnerable state. At least Leah didn't have to put up with either of them at school since they had graduated last year.

I just didn't understand how Sam could be so callous toward Leah after dating her for several years. He never once called or tried to see her to explain himself to her. Everyone on the reservation knew what he had done and no one was happy with him hurting the daughter of one of their elders. No one from the reservation would go to Sam to fix their cars anymore. Seth told us that everyone was using the same excuse with Sam, "I don't trust you and I'm afraid you'll cheat me." His business was over before he really started it.

I thought that was hilarious and I am pretty sure that Seth and Sue were behind it. They are the only ones that spend enough time on the reservation and know enough people to pull that off. Emmett said that I should consider it a warning never to hurt Bella or her family would destroy me too.

Speaking of people that hurt Bella, a week after we returned to school we were at her house studying. Bella had just taken Tanya upstairs to change her diaper when the phone rang. I answered it thinking that it might be Sue or her dad but it was a nervous sounding girl on the line.

"Is…uh…is Bella Swan there?"

"She's busy at the moment. Can I tell her who's calling?"

"Are you the brother…umm…Scott…no…dang, I should remember this. Is it Shawn?"

"Her brother's name is Seth and I am most definitely not her brother. But the big question is do you know your name?"

"Can you tell her Cassie is on the phone?"

"Cassie? As in the Cassie that was supposed to be her friend but abandoned her when her when she need a friend the most?"

"Oh ..uh...you…uh…you know?"

"Of course I know!

"Can I talk to her?"

"She's busy changing the baby right now. How about I tell her you called and if she wants to talk to you she'll call you back."

"I understand that you hate me. I hate myself for what I did."

"You should." Bella came down the stairs with Tanya and looked at me quizzically. I held the phone out to her with a sigh, "its Cassie." Bella visually paled but handed Tanya to me as she took the phone out of my hand. I set the baby down on her blanket and turned to return to Bella's side. I found that she had moved to the couch so I sat down beside her and started playing with her in an attempt to comfort and calm her.

I didn't know what this Cassie was saying to her but Bella was keeping her answers very short and clipped so I wrapped my arms around Bella and pulled her close to me.

"So you're sorry now? Am I supposed to grateful and consider you my best friend again? If that is what you want you're too late I have new friends. Friends that are loyal, protect me, and stand behind me no matter what."

"Not that it is any of your business, but that was Edward, he's not only my best friend, he's my boyfriend."

I got up and took off after the baby who was about to roll off the blanket. When I got back, she was off the phone. She was just sitting there staring into space. When I sat down next to her, she leaned into me and sighed.

"What did she want?"

"She misses me and wants to be my friend again. I don't think I can."

"That is your decision, hon, I will support you whatever you decide. But right now I have an idea, why don't you go take a nice, long hot bubble bath and relax for awhile. Tanya and I can handle watching the casserole you have in the oven."

Bella was in the tub so long that I ended up feeding Tanya her supper. Unfortunately, she has started this thing where she tries to grab at the spoon so she ended up wearing just as much food and she ate. She was so filthy that I didn't think that a sponge bath was going to take of the mess. I sighed and looked down at Tanya who was grinning, "You know what you need and now I have to go disturb you mother's bath."

With a sigh I walked up the stairs and over to the bathroom door. I had been trying my hardest not to think about Bella being up here in the tub. Naked. But this little girl needed a bath right now and Bella was in the only tub in the house.

I knocked lightly on the door and listened intently to hear her response. Listening intently, I could hear music playing softly, so I knocked louder. I heard the water splash and Bella squeak out, "Edward?"

"Yeah, I just fed her dinner and she really needs a bath." I knew that I was going to hell for this but, as I stood there holding her daughter the only thing I could think was she was naked on the other side of this door.

I heard more splashing and then I heard her padding across the bathroom floor. I convinced myself that if I kept my eyes trained on the floor I would get through this without embarrassing myself. That was until I caught a glimpse of her feet and then my eyes drifted up her legs, her sexy, naked legs with these little patches of bubbles on them. Then I took in the full sight of her wrapped in that little purple towel with her hair pulled up in a messy knot on her head. She was so gorgeous and sexy. With this vision of her in my head, I was going to have a hard time keeping my resolve to wait to further a physical relationship with her. As she shut the door to the bathroom behind her, I started banging my head on the wall. I was so fucked right now.