TWENTY-SEVEN
Thursday afternoon
(Two weeks later)
Bella clicks the unlock button on her phone. The lovey-dovey message from Jacob doesn't interest her. She sighs heavily when she doesn't see anything from Edward. She clicks her phone back off.
Looking over at the driver's seat, Jane is reclining and holding a joint in her mouth momentarily, before filling the cab with smoke. The smell makes Bella feel sick and her stomach turns as the smoke hits her nostrils. She breathes deeply when Jane hands her the small roll of paper.
"I feel stupid."
"Why?"
Bella chuckles. "Skipping class. Hotboxing the car. I feel like a schoolboy."
"Yeah, real childish fun. Nothing wrong with letting your hair down every once in a while."
"True, true. I definitely need it."
Bella passes the joint back to Jane.
"You alright, Bells? You've been a bit off for the past couple of weeks."
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"
"Edward hasn't been around much."
"Oh right…Edward. We're not really on talking terms at the moment."
This seems to have spiked Jane's attention as she sits upright in her seat, coughing slightly on the smoke. "Has something happened between you two?"
"Yeah, it was pretty bad actually."
"Well shit, Bells, what was it?"
Bella looks around the car. She doesn't know why. It's not as though anyone else can hear them. "You promise if I tell you, you won't tell anyone else."
Jane holds out her little finger. "Cross my heart and hope to die."
They shake digits.
"Alright. Edward kissed me at my party a couple of weeks ago…and I kissed him back."
"Fuck off! You're lying."
"Not at all. We got into an argument and then he planted one on me."
"That's so weird. Just out of the blue."
"Not overly."
"Bella…?"
"We used to sleep together in sixth form."
"Shut up! It all makes sense now. The way he looks at you."
"Yeah, he was an arse in the end, a real jerk. But we had something, you know. I told him that I needed some space and that was that. Bit shit really."
"Men are trash, truly." Jane takes a long drag, blowing out the smoke in a puff of air. "Does Jacob know?"
"No! God, no. I couldn't tell him that. They're mates. This has nothing to do with Jake – it's just mine and Edward's history. It's a bit messy."
Jane jokingly runs a finger across her lips. "Your secret is safe with me."
Bella nods, turning to stare out of the window.
She still isn't sure whether telling Edward to leave was the best idea.
She knows what her heart wants.
She also knows that it won't be healthy for her head.
Thank you for all of your support, everyone!
Happy reading :D