47
By the next morning, both Bella and I were cranky. Carlisle and Esme hadn't said anything else to us as we made our way back to the hotel and up to our rooms. In fact besides giving us a wink as they headed into the room that Esme and Bella were sharing, they ignored us completely. I wasn't sure what exactly had happened with our plan. One minute everything was going smoothly and the next thing we knew, Carlisle and Esme were standing in front of the fucking chapel, holding hands, and sucking each other's faces off as Elvis fucking pronounced them as man and wife. Where in the hell did we go wrong?
Bella groaned as she climbed out of my bed and stumbled into the bathroom. I'll admit to watching her as she walked in there, wearing my t-shirt and a pair of my boxers. She was so beautiful. Her long, dark hair was cascading down over her shoulders and down her back. The purple streaks stood out against the dark strands around her. Great, now I had a hard on, I thought.
I rolled over onto my back and grabbed my iPod off the table and popped my earbuds into my ears. Settling on my Hinder playlist, I closed my eyes and tried to block out all thoughts of Carlisle and Esme out of my head and focus on today's matches. Today was going to be so much harder than yesterday was. Yesterday, we were able to weed out those who never stood a chance in this tournament. Today, my opponents were going stronger and tougher than I had fought before.
The bed shifted as Bella climbed back on. She plucked one of my earbuds out of my ears and laid her head on my chest. I smiled and wrapped my arm around her as we listened to the music. I couldn't help but worry about Bella, too. She had lost so much weight over the last couple of months since her parents returned from the dead. Not only that, but what if her parents were there again today? Would they cause a scene or stay in the background again?
As we laid there holding each other and letting the music wash over us, Bella had her hand on my hip. She was sliding her fingers under my t-shirt and along my hip bone, sending shivers rocketing through my body. Her hands were amazing and I wanted them touching me everywhere. I lifted my hand up and ran it down her arm, feeling the goose bumps that erupted along her arm. Bella turned her face into my chest and I felt her smile, even through the t-shirt I was wearing.
Of course, as it always is, our peaceful moment was ruined when the door to the room was thrown open and Carlisle and Esme came stumbling in, both of them wearing smirks on their faces. They didn't even seemed to be bothered by the fact that Bella was wearing my clothes or that we were in the same bed. Stupid motherfucking siblings.
"Rise and shine," cheered Esme, gripping the bottom of the comforter and pulling it off the bed. Thank god, we really were dressed and not laying in the bed naked. "Time to go kick some ass."
"Bitch," spat Bella, popping the earbud out of her ear as I turned off my iPod. She climbed off the bed and shouldered up to Carlisle. "You just wait until Ed finds out that you married his daughter and didn't let him walk her down the fucking aisle, Car. He's going to own your ass."
Carlisle's smirk fell off his face and I climbed off the bed, laughing. "Oh, yeah, he's going to be so fucking pissed," I smirked as I moved over to Esme. "Just wait until Mom finds out that she can't plan your wedding, Es."
Bella laughed as she looked over at me and winked. "See you in a few, Baby. Thanks again for last night. You were amazing, tiger."
"Baby, fireworks," I smirked, licking my lips.
Carlisle and Esme stood there, slack jawed while Bella headed out of my room and over to hers. I laughed as I grabbed my shorts and t-shirt, and headed into the bathroom to get ready for the day. I heard the door slam as I pulled off my pajamas. They were going to learn not to fuck with us one of these days. I quickly changed into the black and red shorts that matched the ones I had worn yesterday and new Cullen Boxing t-shirt. After I brushed my teeth, I headed back out to my room.
Carlisle was sitting on the edge of the bed, trying his hardest not to look at the bed that Bella and I had slept in last night but he was failing miserably. It was almost like he was looking for some kind of sign that Bella and I had had sex last night. I could imagine that he had looked in the trash bins and not found any condom wrappers and started to think that Bella and I had been reckless. As if we would be so fucking stupid.
"Any tips for today?" I asked, sitting on the edge of the bed and slipping my shoes on. Carlisle snapped his head over to me, like he was just now realizing that I was there.
"Did you have sex with my sister?" he asked.
"Did you have sex with my sister?" I asked, throwing his words at him. He blushed and looked away, confirming that he did in fact sleep with Esme. I grimaced as I tasted the bile rising in my throat. "Man, this is not a conversation that I wanted to have this morning."
"Edward, you know that I love Esme, don't you?" he asked, seriously.
"Carlisle, that's pretty fucking obvious," I chuckled. "You know that I love Bella, too, don't you? I would never do anything to hurt her."
"I know," he grumbled, leaning forward and placing is elbows on his knees. "Edward, I've never felt for anyone what I feel for Esme. After I thought my parents died and I found myself suddenly responsible for this angry teenage girl, I thought that I was going to end up alone. I loved Esme and I don't want to lose her."
"You won't," I said, standing up and grabbing my bag off the floor. "But you had seriously hope that my dad doesn't cut your dick off for marrying her without letting him give her away."
"We didn't get married," he muttered. I dropped my iPod into my bag and looked over at him. He was sitting there on the edge of the bed with a sheepish smile on his face. "But I fucking want to marry her."
"You didn't marry my sister last night?" I asked.
"No," he said, shaking his head. "We figured it out after Bella's letter that you and she were being a couple of little shits. Nice, pranks, by the way."
"Thanks," I snorted, turning back to my bag. "So you and Esme decided to pretend to get married to do what exactly? Teach us a lesson?"
"Just to fuck with ya," he said, standing up. "Did it work?"
"Yes," I laughed, looking over at him. "When Bella and I decide to take our relationship to that level, I'm going to protect us. We aren't rushing into anything but when we are ready, it will happen."
"Fine," he sighed. "Just take care of her, ok?"
"I promise," I said, sincerely.
Carlisle didn't say anything else as he headed over to the door. Guess that was my cue that it was time to leave. He threw open the door and stepped out just as the door across the hall opened. Bella came storming out of the room and jumped on Carlisle, taking him down to the ground. I guess Esme told her that they weren't actually married.
"You rotten bastard," seethed Bella, pummeling him in the arm and gut. "How could you let us think that you had actually gotten married?"
"Bell-"
"I was up all fucking night worrying about what Ed was going to do to you, you horses ass," she snapped.
I leaned against the doorway to mine and Carlisle's room and watched as Bella beat on her older brother. I wasn't about to get involved in their fight. Besides, Carlisle deserved it. The doors along the hallway were thrown open and Emmett, Rose, Jasper, Alice, Ed, and Elizabeth came rushing out. Emmett and Jasper came rushing over and pulled Bella off of Carlisle, while Esme stood in the doorway with wide, fearful eyes.
"What the hell is going on, Bell?" asked Emmett, shoving her into Jasper's arms as she tried to lunge for Carlisle. He scrambled to his feet and moved away from her.
"Jesus Christ, Bella," snapped Carlisle. "It was a fucking joke, ok?"
"A joke?" she screeched, snidely, fighting against Jasper. "You could have told us that last night but no, you and Esme let us think that you two had fucking gotten married last night."
"What?" snapped Elizabeth. Esme and Carlisle both paled as they looked from my girl over to my mother, who was glaring the ever living fuck out of both of them. "You got married?"
"No," they said, quickly.
"We only pretended to get married to get back at Edward and Bella for sending us on a wild goose hunt after they let it seem like they were getting married," said Esme, looking over at me. She was clearly explaining that if they were going down, then she was taking me and Bella with them.
"Damn you, Esme," I muttered as everyone looked over at me. I gestured to Esme and Carlisle. "They started it. We were paying them back for butting into our lives."
"What did they do?" asked Emmett, folding his arms in front of his chest. Bella's face turned bright red as she pulled herself out of Jasper's embrace.
"It doesn't matter," she muttered, picking up her bag off the floor. "The point is nobody got married and we can just…let it go now." She turned and looked back at Carlisle and Esme. "Truce?"
"Truce," they muttered, shifting their eyes to the ground.
"Truce, Edward?" whispered Esme.
"Yeah, truce," I murmured, clearing my throat.
"Good, good," said Carlisle, nodding his head like an idiot. "Let's, um, let's get going. Big day today."
I grabbed Bella's hand and pulled her down the hallway after Esme and Carlisle. Everyone else called after us to stop but we ignored them. There was no way in hell I was telling Emmett or Jasper or my dad that the reason Bella and I pulled the prank on Carlisle and Esme was because they had been pushing birth control methods on us. I wasn't fucking suicidal, for fuck sake. The four of us stepped onto the elevator and headed down to the lobby.
"So we agree that the details of the last few days are to be kept private, right?" asked Bella, staring at the doors. "They don't need to know about…everything."
"Deal," muttered Carlisle. "Don't fucking hit me anymore, Bella. It fucking hurts."
"Don't make me hit you anymore," she smirked, looking over at him. "You big fucking baby."
"Bitch," he spat.
"Asshat," she growled.
Before he could say anything else, the doors to the elevator opened. Bella pulled on my hand and I followed her out. Carlisle and Esme followed us out and we headed into the Arena for day two of our boxing tournament. The moment we stepped inside, all teasing vanished and we all became serious.
"Let's go," said Carlisle, looking back at me and Bella.
We followed him down the cement steps to get our fighting schedules for today. We were joined a few minutes later by Emmett, Jasper, and Ed. I looked up into the stands and saw Elizabeth sitting with Esme, Rose, and Alice. She smiled and nodded her head, silently telling me that she was with me. It was just too hard for her to stay ring side with me and I understood that.
"Ok, Bella, you're over in ring seven for your first match," said Carlisle, looking through our schedules. He looked up at his sister. "You have six fights today so conserve as much as you can, ok?"
"I'm on it," she said, seriously. She turned to me. "Kick some ass."
"You too," I said, pulling into my arms and kissing her. "I love you."
"I love you, too," she murmured, leaning against my lips again.
She pulled away and followed Jasper and Emmett, who had been pretending not to notice us kissing. Carlisle led me and Ed over to ring two, where my first match of the day was going to be held. I stuck my hands out so that Carlisle could tape them up and get my gloves on. While he was doing that I, looked over that at the boy I was going to be fighting today. We were still just a number today so I didn't know his name.
Number 87 was a tall, thin boy with dark black hair that hung down into his face, and dark beady eyes. He was leaning into his trainer, speaking quickly as they looked over at me. They were forming their plan. I turned my attention back to Carlisle as he shoved the gloves onto my hands. My father placed my head gear on, making sure it was tight but not too tight. He let his hands fall onto my shoulders as he looked down at me.
"You got this, son," he said, quietly. "Keep your feet moving and-"
"My elbows in," I muttered, nodding my head. "I got it."
"Have fun," he smiled, holding my mouth piece up for me.
Once I had my mouth piece in, I climbed into the ring and faced Number 87. We met in the middle and bumped our gloves together, all while he tried to stare me down. Oh, this was going to be another one of those people who tried to intimate me. I moved back into my corner and waited for the referee to start our match, which he did a minute later.
I kept my eyes locked on Number 87 as he started moving around the ring. For a tall guy, he had very shallow steps. He stepped toward me and threw a left hook, which I dodged and threw my right into his side. He groaned but quickly gathered himself up, tightening his arms into his sides. He came back at me and threw a right jab, which I blocked but I wasn't able to stop the left that followed. I threw a left roundhouse, catching him on the side of the head. He spun around and fell back into the ropes.
I wasted no time as I closed in the distance between us and started pummeling my gloves onto his body and head. I couldn't give this guy an inch. After a couple of minutes, the referee pulled me back and pushed me back toward my corner. Number 87 stumbled into his corner and hung on the ropes as his trainer started checking him out. His trainer looked over at the referee and shook his head.
"Winner is number 157," announced the Referee, gesturing to me.
I climbed out of the ring and spit out my mouth piece. "Fuck, he got me good," I grumbled as Carlisle started checking the new bruise forming around my eye. It would just match the one from yesterday. Carlisle pressed down on it and I wince. "What fucking part of that hurts, don't you get?" I snapped.
"Sorry," he said, dryly. I could tell he wasn't sorry but whatever. "It's going to be a nasty bruise that's for sure."
"No shit," I muttered. "When's my next match?"
"Ten minutes, same ring," said Carlisle, wiping the sweat off my face and arms. "You did good, just keep your free arm up a little more."
"Has she fought yet?" I asked.
"Just started but I don't know the results yet," muttered Carlisle, pushing me back onto the small bench behind me. "Rest."
I glared at him but didn't say anything as I sat down on the bench and tried to conserve my energy. There really wasn't any point of arguing with the man. After a few more minutes, I popped my mouth piece back into my mouth and climbed back into the ring to face my next opponent, Number 197. He was a short, stout boy with dark curly hair. He had his eyes trained on the mats as the referee called us to meet in the middle. He looked up at me and his dark eyes hardened. He was in for the kill.
We bumped gloves and headed back to our corners. The referee started the match and Number 197 came rushing at me. I ducked as he threw his left roundhouse at me, catching him in the side with my right jab. He quickly turned and started throwing his fists around. He was like a crazy man, trying to hit anyone, or anything, in his way. I knew the trick to beating him was to wear him out enough that he would slow down just enough that he would tire himself out. Of course, that was easier said than done. Number 197 was a man on a mission and his mission was to take me out.
By the end of the second round, he had managed to hit me in the nose, left side of my jaw, and my right rib cage. However, I had managed to get in several rib shots, two hits to the jaw, and several onto the side of his head. The third round started and I noticed that he was moving much slower than he had at the beginning. I stepped up and pushed him into the ropes, throwing my right jab, followed by my left. Number 197 groaned as I hit the already sore spots on his ribs. He tried to hit me with a left but I blocked it with my right and countered with my left, clipping him in the jaw and sending him to the mats.
I moved back to my corner as the referee assessed his condition. "Winner, Number 157," called the referee, holding my arm up.
I climbed out of the ring and pit out my mouth piece, wincing as my jaw ached. "When's my next match?" I asked, rolling my neck.
"You have half an hour," said Carlisle, pulling off my head gear. "Better?"
"Yeah," I muttered. "How's Bella doing?"
"Kicking some ass," smiled Carlisle. "Won her first and on her way to winning her second one right now."
"Good," I whispered as Ed pulled off my gloves and handed me a bottle of water. "Thanks, Dad."
"You're welcome," he said, quietly.
I took another swig of water as I followed Ed and Carlisle over to my next ring. Ed pulled the nearly empty bottle out of my hand so that Carlisle could refit my gloves. My arms and shoulders were already sore and I wasn't even half way done for the day. As Carlisle taped my gloves, Ed put my head gear back on. I could see the worry in my father's eyes, and even if he wouldn't say anything, this was much harder than he was letting on. I brought one of my gloved hands up and laid it on his shoulder, trying to silently tell him that I understood and it was ok.
"You can do it," he muttered, clearing his throat.
Once I had my mouth piece back in, I turned and climbed into the ring. My third opponent of the day was Number 213. He was thick necked boy, who kind of reminded me of a smaller, less scary version of Emmett. The only difference was that the boy in front of me had a head full of snow white hair on top of his head. We met in the middle, nodding at each other as we bumped out gloves, and headed back to our corners. The referee stepped in the middle of us, looked at the two of us and blew his whistle, starting my third match of the day.
Number 213 came out of his corner but didn't come right at me. He started moving around the ring, slowly watching my feet and hands. I decided that with his guy, I was going to need to go on the offensive so I stepped up before he had a chance to do anything and threw a right jab followed by a left uppercut. He stumbled back but quickly managed to get his feet back under him. However, that did little to help him as I closed the gap and continues my strike upon him. He brought his hands up, trying to block my hits but I was able to vary the blows well enough that after a few more jabs to his body, he was down.
The referee pushed me toward my corner while he checked on Number 213. A moment later, he came over and grabbed my arm, lifting it in the air and declared me the winner. I thanked him and climbed out of the ring, spitting my mouth piece out again.
"Number 157." I turned to see Number 213, standing behind me with one arm around his trainer. "Good luck. You did good."
"Thanks," I said, nodding at him. "You were good, too."
"Not good enough," he snorted. "At least for today. I'm sure I'll see you around."
"Maybe," I muttered. He and his trainer left and I turned back to Carlisle and Edward. "That was weird."
"Yep," said Carlisle. "Ok, you have an hour and a half before you next match, so let's go check in on Bella."
Once we had my gloves and headgear stowed away inside my bag again, I followed Carlisle and Ed over to where Bella was fighting. I settled on the bench, next to Emmett and Jasper as Bella fought against the girl in the ring with her. Number 21 was a beast of a girl, standing several inches over Bella. Normally, that would concern me but seeing as Bella had the girl pinned in the corner, pummeling the shit out of her, I wasn't too concerned.
A moment later, the referee, a short butch woman, broke them apart and sent Bella back to her corner. She looked right down at me and smiled around her mouth piece. The referee declared Bella the winner and she climbed out of her ring, let Emmett and Jasper pull off her gloves and headgear before she came over and jumped into my arms, pressing her lips down onto mine.
"How are you doing?" she asked.
"Good, won so far but, fuck, it's been a bitch," I muttered, setting her on her feet. "Three matches down, three to go. How about you?"
"Two down, four more to go," she sighed. "But I've won so far, so that's good."
"Excuse me, Miss Cullen, Mr. Masen?" asked a deep, male voice. Bella and I looked over to see a tall man with dark black hair and eyes standing a couple of feet away from us. He smiled as he looked between the two of us. "I'm Phil Dwyer. I'd like to talk to you both about a scholarship to UCLA."
