Chapter Twenty Nine

February 2005 Continued

Emmett and Carlisle watched as their wives left them and ran after Lynessa and Bella. "What's going on?" Emmett asked, but Carlisle had already spotted the issue and nudged Emmett. "Wha-…that fucking asshole!" Emmett growled as he spotted Edward.

Carlisle trailed after Emmett as they made their way through the crowd. Emmett didn't even wait, just shoved Edward into the wall. "What the fucking hell, dude?"

Edward blinked. "Em? What are you doing?"

"What are you doing, asswipe? Flirting and shit with these skank 'ho's?"

"Who you calling a 'skank'?" the girl asked.

"Come on, honey, you aren't bagging a celebrity tonight," Rosalie said as she approached with fire in her eyes.

Edward's mouth fell open. "What are you guys talking about? She was taking me to meet her boyfriend! He turned his life around after I quit whoring myself out! He quit because one of his friends made him read my story!"

Emmett's eyes grew wide and he let Edward go, but Rosalie got up in his face. "Yeah? Well try telling that to your girlfriend, Edward. She left here, crying, because you were all over this broad!"

Edward gasped. "No…"

Rosalie nodded. "Yes and she's gone home crying. Esme and Ness are with her but my suggestion to you is you go fix this."

Edward opened his mouth but Rosalie shook her head. "No. No excuses, Edward. You need to get home and get this straightened out, now."

Edward didn't even say good-bye as he ran past everyone and straight to his car.

He drove home at about fifteen over the speed limit, but…somewhere between the hurt that she had ran away and the shock he felt at that, a slow anger began to burn. Why were they doing this? Why was she fighting him? Was she ashamed of him? Was she with him just to pass the time? Was this all for naught?

He stomped into the house, pointedly ignoring both of his sisters, who were talking quietly in the foyer, and up to his and Bella's room where he found her packing her things. "Bella? What the fuck are you doing?"

She stopped and looked at him. "Edward?"

"Yes, Bella. I'm here."

"But, but…you and that girl…"

He sighed. "It was a misunderstanding, Bella. If you had told me, asked me about it, instead of just running away, it wouldn't have been a problem. Why did you run, Bella?"

"You were flirting with that girl, Edward!"

"Yeah? Well, it's not like I can act like I have a girlfriend, Bella. You won't let me!"

"I know!" she screamed. "Maybe…"

"Maybe what?" he asked flatly.

"Maybe I was wrong."

"Ya think?" he said, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"But, Edward, you…I was hurt, and you, well, you don't have the best track record…"

"I don't have the best track record? Fuck, Bella, we've been together for three and a half motherfucking years! You've made me hide us away!"

He stormed over to the chest of drawers and dug around the back of his sock drawer. "I got this for you," he said as he threw the box on the bed. "I was going to give it to you tonight after we got back home. I had the whole fucking evening planned after this stupid ass party."

She picked up the ring box as if it were a viper that was going to bite her. She opened it up and looked inside it. "Oh…Edward."

"You've gotta fucking earn it, Bella. We have to be truthful and honest and come out about it. I will not be your secret boyfriend anymore and I damn sure won't be your secret fiancé."

"Edward, I…"

He shook his head and made his way back to the door. "No. I can't fucking take it, Bella. I'm going out. I need a breath. I'll be back later. Maybe by then you'll figure out what the fuck you want." And with that, he dashed back out the door.

He walked downstairs, once more ignored his sisters, who surely had heard most of the argument, and found Jasper just pulling up on his motorcycle. "Wow, Ed, you look like shit," Jasper commented.

"I feel like it."

"What do you need?" Jasper asked him.

Edward heard Bella calling after him, her feet pounding on the stairs. "Get me the fuck out of here. I can't take any more of her shit tonight."

Jasper just nodded as Edward swung his long leg over the motorcycle behind Jasper, and they raced down the drive.

Jasper didn't ask any questions, just drove them downtown to the liquor store, where they bought the necessities; a bottle of whiskey, tequila and vodka, before he took them to a back alley where he slowed to a stop and turned the bike off.

"Where are we?" Edward asked as he stood and stretched.

Jasper just grinned as he slipped from the bike. He handed Edward one of the bottles. "Drink this, my man, and I'll be right back." He turned and walked down the alley a bit. "Hey, man," he said to a person in the shadows.

"How much?" the man asked.

"Just a dime, dude, we don't need much."

The man nodded and slipped Jasper a bag. Jasper shook his hand and they nodded to one another before Jasper walked back down the alley. "Here," he said as he tossed the bag to Edward.

"What is it?"

"Marijuana," Jasper said simply. "I can't let you have any stronger shit, you couldn't fucking handle it. But I think you need to mellow the fuck out."

"H-how do I…?"

Jasper let out a snort. "Shit, man, you don't know jack, do you? Give it here."

Edward handed it over and Jasper jumped back on the bike. "We need to take this somewhere else, somewhere a little more private."

Edward climbed back on behind him and they traveled down to another alley, this one behind a nightclub. "You wanna go in?" Jasper asked him.

Edward shook his head as he took another swallow of the alcohol.

"Fine. Let's smoke this shit."

Edward watched as Jasper rolled it in some paper and licked the side, sealing it shut. "Here, man. Take it slow and easy."

Edward took a puff and let it fill his lungs. The relaxing sensation was almost immediate and it took Edward no time at all to master the toke Jasper had fashioned for him. "Fuuuuck, Jasper," Edward said as he blew out another breath. "This shit is awesome."

Jasper snorted as he took a small hit and a swig of whiskey. "You ain't seen nothin', bro."

"I want more," Edward said with a small giggle.

Jasper laughed and shook his head. "No can do, my man. Can't let you get too shitfaced. I'd never hear the end of it if I took you home to B like that."

"Fuck her and fuck you too," Edward said bitterly.

Jasper's eyebrow rose as he took another drink. "That bad?"

"I'm sick of her shit, man," Edward told him. "I just want a normal fucking relationship. Is that so much to ask?"

"Nope," Jasper said, blowing out a smoke-ring. "But then, I fuck up every woman I meet, so, yeah…not the right guy to ask."

"You're fucked up," Edward commented.

Jasper shrugged. "Yeah, but then, so are you at the moment." They looked at one another and burst out laughing.

They finished all the weed and were just cracking open their third bottle of booze when suddenly they were surrounded by flashing bulbs. They both should have cared that the paparazzi had found them, but they were too inebriated to care about much of anything. "Hey!" Edward shouted loudly to the three paparazzos. "You guys come over here! I wanna talk to you!"

Jasper let out a giggle/snort sound. "Ed, man, they are over here."

"Oh, yeah. Well, good! I wanna tell you guys about the love of my life, Bella Swan. I love her more than anything in my life! She's the best fucking thing that ever happened to me! But she doesn't love me enough to tell you! We've been dating for over three years and she still wants us to remain a secret! Well, fuck her! I'm ready to shout it to the rooftops! I LOVE BELLA SWAN!"

Jasper giggled. "Yeah, fuck her, man. In fact, fuck all women. They ain't nothin' but trouble!" and then Jasper did something both of them would, when the booze and the weed wore off, and they saw the newspapers the next morning, extremely regret…he laid a big, fat, wet kiss right on Edward's lips.