Chapter 9: Being sick is great
Edward felt a little less stuffed after his third day in bed, but the sore throat and the runny nose were still there. Of course, his mom realized when and why he got the cold and once Bella had left to change her clothes, she made his head hurt with her chiding.
He knew he shouldn't have stayed in just a shirt and not in the breeze, but it was so damn hot in Jake's garage and working on that stupid car was harder than he had anticipated. Every time he opened his mouth to explain what happened, his mom snapped something else and in the end, he allowed her to shout until her throat went dry.
One thing made him happy. He was friends again with Leah and she seemed to understand everything, once she just listened to him without opening her stupid mouth to insult Bella. She had called Edward when she heard he was sick, thinking he was just ditching her in fear of getting food poisoning.
It was Friday and he was going insane. His mother had sent Bella to school since they had both missed too much – like she didn't know all that stuff and more! Edward liked their routine and that day was going to be the worst day. Since Tuesday afternoon when he could stay upright without falling, they made muffins together, watched movies, talked and made out. A lot. He wondered if she'd get in trouble if he sent her text messages in class, but he decided against it. No need for Bella in detention.
By noon, Edward was digging in the fridge for what his mom had left for him. After heating up the pasta and meatballs, he went back to the TV and continued flipping through the channels.
When the doorbell rang, Edward groaned, knowing it couldn't be Bella so early and he wasn't up to other visitors or even one of his parents back early.
He trudged to the door and opened it to see Leah with a casserole in her hands and a smile on her face.
"Do you really want to poison me," he grumbled, opening the door all the way.
"I thought you'd appreciate some company."
"Yeah, come in." He stepped aside. "Lucky for me, I just ate." He grinned and pointed to his empty plate on the coffee table.
"Oh, crap!" She groaned, mockingly. "There goes my plan."
"Shouldn't you be in school?" Edward asked while taking his plate to the sink and putting the food from her, in the fridge.
"They let us out early. I can't say I complain. How do you feel?"
"Like I've been turned inside out."
"No need to be so graphic."
"You wanted an answer," he muttered and slumped back on the couch.
"So…" She trailed off, sitting next to him. "Weren't you getting bored every day?"
He glanced at her, gauging her mood. "Uhh, no. Just today. Mom sent Bella back to school to see what we've missed," he told her.
"She stayed with you?" She sounded surprised.
"Yep. And I guess I got used to that routine." Edward sighed and picked a paper tissue from the table. "Sorry," he muttered and blew him nose. "I wish this would be over!"
"One thing I love about this wolf stuff is-"
"Shut up!" he groaned. "Jake boasted about that enough." He didn't need her to rub it in his face that she couldn't get sick when he was sneezing and blowing his brain out.
"I'm just saying," Leah giggled.
His phone rang and he didn't need to look at the clock to know it was his mom, reminding him to take the pills, which was good cuz he always forgot.
"Hello?"
"Hey, honey. Just reminding you," she said in a singing voice.
"On it, now," he answered.
"Are you bored yet?" She laughed.
"Are you kidding? Leah just dropped by and it was right on time or I'd have gone mad."
"Okay, have fun." She hung up after they said goodbye.
Edward picked up the pills and washed them down with juice. When he heard laughter from his left, he glared at her.
"Oh, you look like some old person, taking so many pills!"
"Why, thank you, Leah!"
She poked her tongue out. "So what do you wanna do? I can stay until your mom comes back if you want."
"Anything you want." He shrugged. Her smile widened and he narrowed his eyes at her. "Don't get ideas."
"I was wondering how good you are at Scrabble."
"Better than you," he announced to her. He'd played the other with Bella and won more times than her.
Edward brought the board and put it on the couch between them. And so it started.
It went well until the very end when they had weird letters and Edward couldn't help but add his last letter 'Y' to the four letters on the board, writing the word 'P-U-S-S-Y'. He wasn't proud of it, but it helped him win.
"I'm sure that's not ethical."
"Oh, and you are the queen of ethics!" He snapped playfully. "But look on the bright side! I won!" He clapped his hands, beaming at her.
"Next game, we're allowed to write any word. Okay?"
Edward shrugged. He still won, no matter how many stupid words they used.
"Admit it, I'm better," he teased her after the fifth game he won.
"No way! I used to beat Seth."
"Seth is younger than me."
She huffed then looked down at the board. "Can you stop writing three lettered words?"
"Why? It's fun to block you!"
"It's not!" She moaned in protest and threw a letter block at him.
"I needed an F, thanks." He grinned playfully, but she seemed to have reached her limit. Before he realized she moved, she was on top of him and the couch toppled over, which sent then on the floor, laughing.
"Oops."
"I think you broke something," he moaned, rubbing the back of his head.
"Sorry, but I couldn't take it anymore. We can continue playing."
"After you sent the letters all over the floor?" he asked skeptically.
"We'll put them back, but you have to promise not to do it again."
"Do what?" he asked innocently, moving to the couch and trying to right it. He didn't have enough strength. "Will you help me?"
"Here I thought you were the guy!" She laughed.
"I'm allowed not being strong since I'm sick and after all, I'm only human," he said mockingly.
She gasped in mock shock and he tackled her down. When she froze under him, Edward thought he had seriously hurt her, but then he heard Bella's voice. He hadn't heard the front door.
"Edward? Oh …"
He got up and turned around, scowling at Leah who looked tense.
"Hey," Edward whispered to Bella, scratching the back of his head. "Umm, we were playing Scrabble." That was lame and stupid, but he felt like explaining what was going on.
Bella looked at him confused then at the couch and finally, behind him, at Leah. "I can come back later," she whispered softly.
"No, stay!" He was next to her in three long strides, grasping her hands. "Leah was…"
"Leah was just leaving," Leah answered from behind him in a bleak tone. "It was nice while it lasted."
He looked after her, wondering for the umpteenth time if it would ever be possible for her to be around Bella without losing it. He wanted to go after her, but he knew he'd worsen the situation with Bella.
"Do you need help with the couch?" Bella asked, once they were alone.
So they were going to dance around the subject. Perfect.
"Yeah…"
"I don't care what happened here. And I don't want to know. It's for the best," she told him after righting the couch.
"Nothing happened, Bella. We were playing Scrabble then…she jumped on me because I kep-"
"I don't care, Edward!" She insisted, not turning to face him.
"What do you think happened?" He wondered, taking a step closer.
"I don't have to be a genius to know what I walked in to. I'm sorry."
"Are you insane?" Edward yelled and grabbed her shoulder, trying to turn her around. That was a difficult task since she wouldn't budge. "Bella, we were just playing."
"You were just playing, Edward. Do you really think she gave up," she murmured. Her voice was trembling and he wondered if she could cry.
"Are you…crying?"
She turned around and looked him in the eye. Her now red eyes were bright and full of unshed tears or venom or whatever was happening to her. "I can't cry."
Her arms wrapped around his neck and her face pressed in his chest, her shoulders shaking as she sobbed dryly. Edward put his arms around her, unsure what he should say or do.
After a few moments, Bella let out a small giggle and took a step back. "You really stink."
"Jeez!" He rolled his eyes at her.
They looked at each other for a few seconds then burst in laughter. He extended his arm to hug her again, but she put her hands up.
"Enough is enough! Can you shower?"
"Only if you wash my back." Edward felt his eyes widen, having no idea where that came from.
"I thought you'd never ask!" Bella took his hand, walking him to the bathroom.
Edward thought she was joking, but when she told him to lift his arms so she could take his shirt off, he knew she was serious. He didn't know if he should be happy or afraid of this. He was in a daze.
"It's okay if you don't want me to do it," she whispered when she saw he wasn't cooperating.
"I'm just shocked," he admitted.
"You can undress alone while I fill the tub." She turned her back to him and he still couldn't believe he was going to do this. There was no reason for him to be embarrassed, she had seen him naked before.
"Edward, have you mastered a way to wash with your clothes on?"
"What? Uhh, no," he murmured, turning red and fumbling with the hem of his shirt.
Bella came to help, unbuckling his belt and accidentally touching his stomach. Edward was too warm or she was too cold, he didn't know whichever was, but he sucked in a breath making her take her hands away, quickly.
"Oh, sorry."
"It's okay," he mumbled and threw the shirt in the hamper, working on his jeans. He took them off, his socks followed and only his boxers were covering him. People bathe in underwear, right?
"Aren't you forgetting something?" She asked amused when he approached the bathtub.
"Are you serious?" He asked in a voice that sounded like a five-year girl's voice. It wasn't his finest moment.
"Edward, sweetie, I saw you without them before. Several times. So…lose them." She smiled encouragingly and he couldn't help but grin back. His boxers joined the other clothes in the hamper.
"How is the water?" Bella asked softly, once he was inside the tub.
"Perfect. You're an amazing nurse."
"Tonight, you can tell your dad that I did my duty very well. Thoroughly." She winked and picked the soap and a sponge.
Edward felt himself hardening at her words and he knew this wasn't going to be just a bath. Bella started like a professional nurse until she got her hands under water. Her eyes widened comically and a hand went to her mouth almost theatrically.
"What do we have here, Mr. Masen?"
He seemed to harden further as her fingers skimmed over his abdomen.
"Someone's naughty, Mr. Masen."
"It's you who is naughty, my nurse," he played along.
"Me?" She gasped in mock shock.
"Look at the little skirt and this wet, white blouse," he told her, narrowing his eyes. Had this been her plan all along?
"I can't believe you, Mr. Masen!" Her hand, which had warmed considerably, wrapped around his erection making him forget about any witty comeback.
"Bella," Edward moaned, raising his hips.
She leaned closer and kissed him. Somehow, he brought her in the water with him and he started dry – or wet, considering they were in the water – humping her. She allowed him to act like a horny teenager, enjoying it.
"Do you think…we could…ever?" He asked brokenly, gasping for air.
"We can try if you want." She kissed down his neck and his stomach muscles tightened further at her words.
"Really? You want to be with me?"
"Of course, I do, Edward," she breathed in his ear. She rubbed against him exactly how he wanted, how he needed, and all too soon he exploded.
When Edward opened his eyes, Bella was out of the tub, dripping on the tile, a torn towel in her hands as she watched him with wild red eyes.
"Bella?" he whispered, worried. A part of him knew what could have happened or probably happened. His shaky hand went to his throat, expecting to feel the sticky blood there. There was nothing.
She was shaking her head and suddenly, she moved closer, kneeling down and hugging him tightly. He couldn't understand her.
"What happened?" he asked in a shaky voice.
She cupped his cheeks in her hands and looked at him seriously. "I nearly bit you." Her voice was muted and if he hadn't looked at her lips, he would have missed the words.
"Didn't you say that you used to do this?"
"Edward…oh God! What if I had hurt you?" She cried out and kissed his cheeks.
"You didn't answer me," he said between his pouted lips since she was squeezing his cheeks.
"It was different. I either bit them or…was already drinking. Don't make me talk about that," Bella said in a disgusted tone. "Please. I want to forget about that or, put the memories back because I can't forget anything."
"Can't you…" He swallowed. "We can try when you…feed," he whispered so low, he barely heard himself. He was positive his face resembled a tomato.
Bella didn't answer, but helped him up and used the shower head to rinse him then wrapped him in a towel.
"I'll bring you clean clothes."
She was out of the room before he could tell her he could get himself clothes. Was this bothering her? Didn't she want more?
When she returned, he tried to arrange his thoughts so he could ask her about this matter.
"I heard the front door. It must be your mother," she whispered and turned to get out of the bathroom.
"Hold on." He grasped her hand. "We need to talk about this."
"And we will. Not here. Not now."
As they descended the stairs, Edward realized Bella was wearing a pair of his sweatpants and one of his shirts. "You changed?"
"My clothes were wet." She winked and led him to the living room.
Of course, neither of them took into account their wet hair. Elizabeth didn't miss it and that resulted in a long talk he wished he'd never had to hear, especially with Bella around.
"…very important and I'm not ready to be a grandma-"
"We're taking Sex Ed," he blurted out, feeling like his face would explode.
Bella hadn't uttered a word since his mom started her speech and it was worrying him.
"They're giving you ideas! I always was against those classes," she started all over again. Edward had hoped that would shut her up.
"Uhh, Elizabeth, it was my idea to take the class," Bella whispered, not meeting her eyes.
His mom's answer took Edward by surprise. "You want to corrupt him!"
"MOM!" He protested loudly. "Please! We didn't do anything."
She didn't look convinced, but left the room after glaring at Bella.
"I guess we're not friends anymore," Bella said with a sad sigh.
"Don't worry about her. She'd come around."
"I don't think so."
"You sound sure."
"I think she met with one of them, she smells like them. I hope they aren't giving her ideas," she murmured. "But let's not worry about that. You should eat something, take your pills and I'll tell you what happened at school in our absence." She beamed.
As Edward ate, Bella talked and she seemed unstoppable. She told him that Angela had filled her in about their classmates, about what she and Ben had done on the small break. Then she told Edward how classes were: that they already had a paper to write in English, that the much awaited Sex Ed class was boring as hell and she was sorry for dragging him into that. There were rumors that new students would arrive in the fall. She was like a little tabloid.
"Did you breathe?" Edward mocked her when she was done.
"I don't need to breathe. I have more news if you want to hear." She smiled innocently.
"No, please, no more. My ears would bleed and fall off."
"Food! Yummy!" Bella grinned and rubbed her hands making him choke on his bite. "What? I thought it was funny," she added when he got his cough under control.
"Very funny and mature," he grumbled.