43

"Edward, get your ass out of bed," yelled Esme, banging on my bedroom door. "You are going to be late for school."

"I'm up," I yelled back, throwing the covers off of me.

I stretched and climbed out of my bed. My body was sore from my training sessions at the gym but it was a good kind of sore. You know, the kind where you know you are doing something good for your body and your body is telling you about it. I quickly showered and got dressed for school, opting to wear a pair of dark jeans and my black t-shirt with a white skull on it. I slipped on my shoes, grabbed my backpack, and slung my bedroom door open. Taped to my door was a box of condoms.

"ESME!" I yelled, ripping them off the door. I could hear her laughing in the kitchen. I stormed in there and slammed them on the table. "It's not fucking funny!"

"Yes, it is," she smirked, pouring her coffee out in the sink. "I'm just making sure you are prepared, little brother."

"I don't need you to buy me condoms, Esme," I hissed.

"Would you rather mom or dad did it?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow at me.

"I am going to make sure you pay for this, Esme," I growled, storming out of our apartment.

I could still hear her laughing as the door shut behind me. She was enjoying my humiliation way too much and I was going to have to make sure that whatever I did to her, made her feel exactly like I was in this moment. Bella was waiting for me in her car. I climbed in and slammed the door behind me.

"Whoa, what the fuck is your problem?" she asked, pulling out into the street.

"My fucking sister taped a box of fucking condoms onto my bedroom door," I muttered. Bella burst out laughing and I glared at her. "It's not funny."

"Oh, it's plenty funny," she snickered. "We need to start plotting to get her and Carlisle back."

"Why Carlisle?" I asked.

Bella pulled her car into a parking space at school and cut the engine. She looked over at me and smiled. "Because he left me pamphlets for various methods of birth control and a picture of you with a target covering you face."

"Wow," I snorted. "We are so going to make them pay for that shit."

Bella laughed again as we climbed out of her car and headed into the school. We stopped by our lockers and grabbed our books for our morning classes. Thankfully, most of the kids in this school had gone back to completely ignoring both me and Bella. There was nothing better than being ignored. Odd, I know, but after being the center of attention for a couple of weeks, both of us was enjoying the feeling of being invisible.

"God, what is that horrible fucking smell?" laughed Lauren as she, Mike, Tyler, Eric, and Jessica walked by me and Bella.

"That would be your body odor, Lauren," quipped Bella, shutting her locker. "They invented something for that, it's called soap."

I laughed loudly as Bella and I left the five of them standing there with their mouths hanging wide open. You would think they would have gotten tired of always being insulted by one of the two of us. I mean, every morning one of them makes some bitchy comment and we tell them just how fucking stupid they are.

Bella and I headed into our English class and took our seats. Mrs. Owens was sitting at her desk, reading what looked like some of the essays that we had had to write last week. Our topic was about finding the real you and putting it down into words. How the hell was I supposed to know who the real me was? I hated the assignment but Bella seemed to really take it to heart. She refused to let me read hers before she turned it in and I wasn't really sure why but she didn't and I respected her privacy.

Once everyone had filed into the room, Mrs. Owens stood up and shut her classroom door. She turned and faced our class, letting her eyes roam around the room. It may have been my imagination but it seemed like her eyes stayed on Bella for a few moments longer than they did on anyone else.

"Before I start today's lesson, I would like to read you something," she said, going back over to her desk. "When I sat down last night to grade your essays from last week, I was a little wary of what I was going to be reading. I know that sometimes it's hard for young people to see who you are but I found one that I would like to share with everyone," said Mrs. Owens, picking up a piece of paper.

"Once upon a time, in a land far way, there lived a young girl who had everything. It wasn't her parents' money that gave her everything that she wanted, but the love of her family. A family that once stood strong and worked together to make sure everyone was taken care of. A family that once laughed together, smiled at each other, loved one another. But just when the young girl thought life couldn't get any better, tragedy struck and the young girl was ripped away from those she loved more than anyone else in the world. Her mother and father were ripped from her and hidden away while she died a little more each day.

However, nobody seemed to see how much the girl was hurting everyday. How hard it was just to breathe in the morning and get out of bed to face the mocking crowd, jeering and jibing at her about things they would never understand. They taunted her and teased her, tearing her wounds open everyday and leaving her bleeding on the cold, tiled floor.

Then one day, a boy came into her life and, suddenly, she could see the sun that had been hiding behind the clouds that covered her heart. While she was scared to allow herself the chance to love again, she knew that this boy, her angel, had been sent to save her from drowning in a sea of tears and pain. He alone held the power to set the girl free from the chains that bound her. He alone had the power to set the girl free from the fire that consumed her soul and he helped her find out just who she really was. For she wasn't the girl who had lost everything but the girl who had finally found her everything. She found her everything in the love a boy."

Mrs. Owens placed the paper on her desk and looked around at all of us. I looked over at Bella and noticed that she was staring out the window. That's when it clicked for me; that was Bella's essay and she was trying to open up. I slipped my arm behind her and rubbed her back. Bella looked over at me and smiled, letting a single tear slip down her face and fall from her chin onto her desk.

"Today, we will be discussing the struggles of the…."

I tuned Mrs. Owens out as she started her discussion on The Grapes of Wrath and kept my eyes locked on Bella's. There was a sadness in her eyes that I knew had everything to do with her parents. Despite everything they had done to her, she missed them. She loved them and she was hurting but I didn't know what to do to help her.

As soon as the bell rang, Bella stood up and started gathering her stuff. We were almost out of the room when Mrs. Owens stopped us. "Bella, I truly enjoyed your essay. You expressed yourself very well."

"Thanks," muttered Bella. Mrs. Owens stood up and crossed the room so that she was standing in front of us.

"I know that you've struggled…a lot since you moved to Forks, Bella." She smiled and shook her head. "None of us have made it any easier, that's for sure, but you have made huge strides over the last couple of months. I don't know if it will make a difference to you or not, but I am proud of you."

"Oh, well, um…thanks," said Bella, ducking her head. "We should get to class."

"Ok, good luck with your tournament this weekend," murmured Mrs. Owens.

"Thank you," I said, pulling Bella from the classroom. Bella tucked herself into my side as we walked down the hallway. "That was…"

"Weird as fucking hell," muttered Bella.

"Exactly," I snickered. "But your essay was really good."

"I didn't think she would read it out to everyone," said Bella, dropping her voice. "Do you think anyone else figured out that it was me?"

"I doubt it," I whispered. "They aren't very smart."

Bella laughed quietly as we walked into Marcus' classroom. He smiled at the two of us and we took our seats. The rest of the morning flew by in a haze. Marcus lectured us over some war. I honestly wasn't paying much attention. Mrs. Goff had us do several worksheets on verbs and Mr. Varner spent the hour going over the test that nearly everyone in our class failed. Everyone but me and Bella, of course.

Once the bell rang for lunch, Bella and I scurried out of our classroom and down to our lockers. We shoved our books in and headed down to the cafeteria. We grabbed our lunches, tossed a handful of insults at the stepford bitches, and headed down to Marcus' classroom so we could eat our delicious lunch. He was sitting behind his desk with his feet propped up and his eyes closed.

"Are we interrupting?" asked Bella. Marcus smiled and opened his eyes.

"No, I was just thinking," he said, quietly. Bella and I sat down at the two desks in front of his desk and started eating. "Are you ready for your big tournament?"

"Guess so," said Bella, shrugging her shoulders. "It's going to be a tough one."

"How so?" asked Marcus, pulling his feet down and leaning up to his desk.

"Well, for one thing we won't be fighting just people from the area like we did in Seattle," explained Bella. "This tournament is one of the biggest in the country and people will be coming from all over the place to complete. Plus, we will have to fight more. Last time Carlisle checked, there were twice as many fighters registered for this meet. If they all show up, then we could find ourselves fighting twice as many people which just makes it harder on our bodies."

"And our minds," I added. Bella and Marcus looked over at me. "You have to be in the right mindset or you will get your ass kicked."

"Are you concerned about not being mentally prepared?" he asked.

"No, but my parents are going with us," I muttered. "It'll be the first time that they've seen me compete and…I don't want to let them down."

"You won't," murmured Bella, covering my hand with hers.

"Bella's right, Edward," smiled Marcus. "Your parents are going to be proud of you no matter how you do."

"I'm sure you're right," I said, quietly.

Perhaps it was a bit irrational to be concerned with how my parents are going to feel about my fighting. My father had been active in my training since he and my mother moved to Forks. I wasn't sure if it was the fact that he was really into my training or if he was just bored. He had gone from being a military man to suddenly having a lot of free time on his hands. It wasn't always a good combination. Elizabeth, on the other hand, had taken to Forks with gusto and finesse. She had started a small bakery that featured her cakes and cookies. My mother was an amazing cook but hadn't ever been able to really start her business because we moved so much. Finally, she had the chance to do something for herself. I knew that Ed and Esme were just as proud of her as I was.

By the time school was over, I was tired and had a headache from thinking so much. I tossed my books into my locker and headed out to the parking lot with Bella, thankful for the long weekend. Bella and I climbed into her car and we took off to the gym. Carlisle and Ed were waiting for us inside, tape in both of their hands and gloves at their feet.

"Hey," said Bella, dropping her backpack next to the door. I did the same as I followed her inside. "What are we doing today?"

"We are going to work on your roundhouses," said Carlisle. "They are still on the fat side."

"Are you calling me fat?" asked Bella, raising an eyebrow at her brother."Yes," he said, nonchalantly.

"Jerk," muttered Bella, punching him in the arm.

"Fuck, Bella," whined Carlisle, rubbing his arm. "I was kidding."

"Carlisle, you never call a woman fat," laughed Ed, shaking his head. "It's a sure fire way to get your ass kicked."

"But I wasn't talking to a woman," muttered Carlisle, still rubbing his arm. "I was talking to my sister."

"I am a woman, dickhead," growled Bella, punching him on the other arm.

"Damn it, Bell, stop hitting me," snapped Carlisle.

"Then stop being a jerk," sneered Bella, heading to the dressing room. "You are such a fucking baby, Car."

My father laughed as I headed over to the locker rooms to change. Carlisle was muttering under his breath but seriously, the man just didn't think things through sometimes. I quickly changed into my black shorts and tank top. Carlisle was taping Bella's hands when I got out to the floor. My father pulled my hands to him and started taping mine. Once we were both ready, we moved over to the punching bags.

"Ok, so the problem that you both are having with the roundhouse is that you are swinging your arm out from the shoulder too much," said Carlisle. "It looks like you are trying to bitch slap someone instead of punching them. Keep your shoulder pulled back and keep your elbows in. That should keep your swing from looking wide."

Bella and I spent the next hour working on our roundhouses. I will admit that my arm didn't get nearly as tired when I was doing it his way. The only problem was when you are in the middle of a fight, it's hard to remember every little thing. Sometimes, you just have to swing and let your strength take care of the rest for you.

Seeing as we were leaving bright and early for our drive to Vegas, Carlisle cut our training short tonight. Bella and I headed back into the locker rooms and changed out of our workout clothes and back into our school clothes. I walked her up to her room and pulled her into my arms, kissing her softly.

"I'll see you in the morning, ok?" I murmured, against her lips.

"Ok," she whispered. "If you can't sleep, call me."

"Same for you," I sighed, kissing her again. "I love you."

"I love you, too," she smiled.

I headed back downstairs and climbed into my father's car. He had a smile sitting on his lips as he drive me through town and back to mine and Esme's apartment. He shifted the car into park but grabbed my arm before I could climb out. I looked back at him, confused about what was going on in that mind of his. He was staring out the window, still smiling.

"You know," he started. "When I was a kid, my father taught me how to box."

"I know," I said, turning in my seat. "You told me about Grandpa when I was little. That's why you started teaching me."

"It was partly why," smiled Ed, looking over at me. "But it was mostly because I was afraid that if I didn't find something that you and I could do together, that you would end up hating me because we moved so much."

"Dad-"

"No, just listen to me," he said, holding a hand up. "After Esme was born and the doctors told us that Mom couldn't have anymore kids, I was devastated, Edward. Now, I love Esme but I wanted a son. When Elizabeth told me that she was pregnant again, I prayed that God would give me you, Edward. I know that is selfish. I would have been happy with another daughter but I wanted a son, someone who would look up to me. When you were little, I saw how much it hurt you to move and I hated it but it was my job and I had to do it. Then I saw you looking through my trunk and you were holding my old gloves in your hands. I thought, maybe it could something for us, you know?"

"I do," I muttered. I had never heard my father talk like this.

"Edward," he sighed, shaking his head. "I am so proud of you. You're a good kid and you take such good care of Bella."

"Thanks," I mumbled, feeling my ear heat up. "I love her, Dad. I love her like you love Mom."

"I know you do." My father chuckled and looked over at me. "Get some sleep tonight. We have a long drive tomorrow."

"I will, Dad." I smiled and pushed open the door. "Thanks."

I climbed out of the car and headed upstairs to mine and Esme's apartment. She was just pulling some baked chicken out of the oven. I tossed my stuff into my room and joined my sister at the table. We enjoyed a nice dinner and just talked about everything and nothing. After dinner, I washed the dishes and headed into my room. I stripped my clothes off and climbed into my bed. As always when I drifted off to sleep, my thoughts turned to Bella.