A/N:

Another week has passed and so far, the workload from school doesn't seem to slow down.

More on why that'll affect this story in the bottom AN.

Title: Love is Strange

Author: MarieCarro

Beta: Alice's White Rabbit

Pre-reader: LunaEclipse

Genre: Friendship/Romance/Drama

Rating: NC-17

Summary: Bella Swan and Edward Cullen live in the small town of Ligonier in Pennsylvania. They've been best friends since they were six years old, and not much can keep them apart. Bella wants to leave small-town life behind, while Edward is fine with whatever, but that's not the only complication in their relationship. What happens when they fall in love … with each other?

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

CHAPTER 31

THREATS

It was late when Bella and Edward arrived at the police station in New York, and still, after they'd told the officer behind the bulletproof glass who they were and why they were there, they had to wait a while for the detective in charge to come for them.

Charlie and Esme had demanded to go with them, and while they were unable to fight the logic of their children telling them there was nothing they could do, it wasn't until Alice said she'd stay behind to be the direct link that they accepted. She made both Edward and Bella promise that they'd call when they had updates, no matter how late it was.

"Ms. Swan?" A detective approached them, and while he looked at Bella with sympathy, he eyed Edward with confused suspicion. Bella nodded and they stood up to greet the man who offered his hand to her. "I'm Detective Carmichael, Ms. Swan, and I assure you, I only have a couple of questions for you. There's no need for your lawyer to be present. You're not a suspect," he said without completely taking his eyes off Edward.

"My lawyer?" Bella asked in confusion, and then gave Edward a quick look-over. He was wearing a button-up and slacks and a rather nice coat over that, but she hadn't considered it made him appear to be her legal representation. When she then looked at herself, she realized it was possible her own attire was the reason for the confusion.

Their styles didn't match at all. She was wearing jeans, a T-shirt, and an oversized blazer under her own coat, and while the clothes were of a more expensive quality, she could understand why Detective Carmichael jumped to the wrong conclusion.

Edward chuckled and offered his own hand to the detective. "You have a keen eye, but I'm not going to give you any trouble today," he said with a grin. "I'm Edward Cullen, the boyfriend."

Detective Carmichael chuckled with relief. "My mistake. You can both come with me."

All three of them sat down by a table in a private room and Carmichael placed a folder in front of Bella as he started to summarize the events.

"It was one of your neighbors who called us because they noticed your front door was ajar and the splintered door-frame made them worried."

Bella looked at the photos of the damage done to her door, and it was clear some considerable force had been used to break it. The sight caused chills to go down her spine.

"When we arrived, the apartment was empty, but—"

A sharp gasp left her when she took in the state of her home. Things were broken and scattered over the floor, and it was impossible to see if anything had been stolen. Her eyes filled with tears when she detected her first camera, the one her dad had given her on her sixteenth birthday, was shattered beneath the shelf she kept it on more for sentimental reasons. She rarely used it anymore, but it still meant the world to her.

"From what we could conclude on site, we don't think it was a burglary because there were a lot of valuables left behind that could have easily been sold if taken, especially your photo equipment." He took a deep breath as if to prepare himself for what he was about to say. "The most damage done was isolated to your bedroom and bathroom, which makes us believe this was done in passion. Ms. Swan, do you have any suspicions as to who could have done this?"

She swallowed hard. "Suspicions, yes, but I can't be certain either." She searched out Edward's hand for support as she started to explain. "Almost a month ago, I broke up with my ex"—she looked at the detective with an embarrassed expression—"right after he proposed, and I haven't heard from him directly since then, but there have been messages … gifts."

Carmichael furrowed his brow as he jotted down what she said. "And why do you think they're from him?"

Bella sighed and reached into her purse for her phone where she had stored everything, just as Edward had told her to do. When Carmichael reached the photos of the flowers and card, she elaborated with the info of it being the same kind of bouquet as the night of the failed proposal.

"Hmm. What's your ex's name?"

"George Hale."

"A Hale, huh?" Carmichael's eyes widened and he pursed his lips but then wrote down the name with great reluctance. It didn't surprise Bella that the detective was aware of the Hale family. They were well known in New York—not because of Rosalie and George's parents but rather from their familial ties to a brokerage company their grandparents' cousins had founded.

It wouldn't be pleasant to open an investigation on George because of his ties to the socialite branch of the Hale family. It could potentially develop into a media storm, especially if it was revealed he was also the author going by G.T. Haze.

Bella gave the contact info she had on George but also revealed that no one had been able to contact him for a month, not even his immediate family or publisher.

"Why didn't you contact the police after you received the flowers?" Carmichael asked, a hint of suspicion coloring his tone, but Bella had expected the question. After all, she hadn't been raised by a cop for nothing.

"Because I couldn't prove it was him," she replied steadily. "All the evidence I have is circumstantial, and my gut feeling isn't enough for a restraining order." She clenched her jaw in annoyance because she had already understood it was Carmichael's hesitancy toward investigating a Hale that motivated his need to find a loophole.

"I also advised her against going to the police before she had any hard evidence," Edward admitted, and Carmichael zeroed in on him. "If she had made a report, it would have alerted George, and in my experience, an unstable stalker who knows their victim suspects and fears them is more dangerous than one who has been lulled into blissful ignorance. I was afraid he would escalate more quickly if he knew."

"In your experience?" Carmichael asked. "You seem to know a lot about stalking, Mr. Cullen."

Edward locked his eyes onto the detective with steely focus, all traces of politeness gone, as he didn't like what the man was implying. "I may not be licensed to practice law in the state of New York yet, Detective, but I am a lawyer. I have studied countless cases such as this one."

"Besides," Bella jumped back into the conversation. "Edward's alibi is solid. He was in Pennsylvania with me when the break-in occurred. He is not a suspect."

"Just covering all bases, Ms. Swan," Carmichael assured before going back to his notes. "Can you think of anyone else who might potentially hold any resentment toward you?"

"No," she said, but then almost immediately changed her mind. "Or, well … yeah. But I also think the chances are slim." From the corner of her eye, she saw Edward giving her a confused look. She hadn't gotten around to telling him about her encounter with Riley in his parents' backyard. "I wasn't aware of it before yesterday, but there's a man from home, from Ligonier I mean, who was very hateful toward me, but I don't think he knows my address"

Carmichael opened his mouth to speak, but Edward beat him to it.

"Are you talking about Biers?" he asked with barely held back anger. "Did he do something to you at the party?"

She turned to him, acutely aware of Carmichael taking in their exchange with focused attention. "He cornered me in the backyard and started talking nonsense. He blames me for his struggles in life. Claims everything's been going wrong for him since my sweet sixteen."

Edward's posture tensed even further, but Bella could easily see his anger stemmed from concern. "Did he hurt you?"

Bella hesitated but knew she had to be truthful. "He grabbed my arm, but that was it. I told your dad, and he made sure Riley went home."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

She felt guilty, but with everything that had happened that night, it had honestly slipped her mind. "I'm sorry. Once he was gone, I didn't think about it."

Carmichael stepped in. "This Biers, uh … Riley Biers, is he another ex-boyfriend?"

"No. We went to the same school growing up," she explained without going into much detail. "I had a small crush on him for a while, but nothing ever came of it. I hadn't even seen him since high school graduation and that was why his anger confused me so much."

"Okay, we'll look into both of them," Carmichael said, and then gave her a sympathetic look. "For now, though, I'm afraid you can't go back to your apartment. Do you have some place you can stay until we've cleared it?"

"Yes, she does," Edward said before Bella could even open her mouth. "She'll stay with me."

"Good. Then I have everything I need for now." He offered Bella a card with his number on it. "If there's anything else you think I might need to know, you can reach me at this number."

She thanked him before she and Edward left the room and the station. Outside, Bella turned to face Edward. "Are you sure it's a good idea for me to stay with you? After what we agreed to at the hotel this morning?"

Edward immediately wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly to his chest. "Bella, please, don't see this as something that can potentially harm our relationship. This is an extraordinary situation, and I want you to be safe."

"Yes, but are you sure?" she asked again. "Maybe I could stay with Rosalie and Emmett again."

He shook his head. "I have nothing against your friends and I know you love them and trust them, but if this is George, which I'm very much inclined to believe it is, Rosalie is still his sister. Can you guarantee he wouldn't take advantage of that if he finds out you're staying there?"

She couldn't argue with that because if George had broken into her apartment, she really had no idea what he was capable of. And yet, she couldn't push away her worry that staying with Edward would result in them moving too fast.

"Please, Bella, I know there are a lot of thoughts swirling in your head right now, but I promise we will work out all of the logistics and details tomorrow. It's late, so let's just go to my place tonight, okay?"

After another short moment, she nodded and they headed toward the car. While Edward drove, she called Alice and gave her the rundown of what she knew, which wasn't a lot.

When Alice asked if they believed it was George, Bella told her the truth—that she didn't know. She also passed on the info that the police would look into Riley's alibi, but Carlisle, who apparently had been right next to Alice, vouched for him.

"He was at the hospital with me today," Bella heard him say in the background.

Bella let out a deep sigh when she could no longer walk around the truth. "It must have been George then," she whispered and let her head fall back against the headrest. "Alice, we'll talk more when you get back to the city, okay?"

They hung up and Bella closed her eyes, hoping to soften the onslaught of memories she had of George, wondering how she hadn't noticed any warning signs. Because there had to have been warning signs. She refused to believe a healthy person could just snap without a moment's notice.

"As much as I dislike Riley, I have to say I'm relieved I won't have to worry about two psycho stalkers going after you," Edward said, and Bella cracked her eyes open to look at him. "My nerves wouldn't have been able to take it."

She furrowed her brows as a previous thought pushed to the front of her mind. "About that. Why exactly do you dislike him so much?"

"I thought that was obvious."

"I don't mean what he did to me. There must be another reason."

Edward grimaced. "Must there be?"

"Well, yeah." She nodded to herself. "You're not the kind of person to hold any resentment unless you have a really good reason to."

He pulled into the parking space he paid for in the garage closest to his house. They would still have to walk a small distance, something Edward didn't like the thought of now that George wasn't just a mental threat anymore.

Without consciously thinking about it, Edward reached for Bella's hand. Maybe it was a way for him to reassure himself that she was walking there next to him, but he wasn't certain. What he did know was that it calmed him down to feel her fingers braided with his as they steered toward his home.

"Riley Biers has never been a good person," he started. "But I'll admit before you told me, just now, what he did to you at the party, I didn't know if he'd changed. It was just something about looking into his eyes that made a lot of unpleasant memories surface."

"What kind of memories?" Bella asked softly.

He shrugged uncomfortably. "You hear about guys in high school and their stupid locker room talk, but Riley was always one of those who took things too far. The way he spoke about the girls at our school … the way he spoke about you ..."

"Me? He spoke about me?"

Edward nodded as a look of disgust crossed his face. "He told his friends once that he could easily take you from me if he wanted. That all he needed to do was slip something in your drink at the next party."

Bella blanched and stopped walking. "What?" she asked in complete shock. "He said he'd drug me?"

"Yeah, but he didn't know the guys and I were still there. Jay had already gotten the first punch in before I even rounded the corner."

With a sensation of rising nausea, Bella tried to remember a time when she'd noticed unexplained bruises on Edward and their friends, but nothing came to mind. "When was this?"

"I think it was in the spring of junior year." Edward wasn't looking at her, and she could see that he was embarrassed, but she didn't care about that because she suddenly remembered something.

"He was suspended."

"Yes," Edward confirmed. "It turned out he wasn't actually in possession of any illegal substances. It had just been his regular bullshit talk, but the principal felt his insinuation was enough. He was suspended for ten days and the guys and I got off with a warning against fighting at school again."

Bella gasped and Edward finally turned to her to see she was angry. "You said you fought one of Alice's ex-boyfriends." She remembered it now. She'd entered the cafeteria only to realize none of the guys were there. When they finally showed up, Edward had admitted they'd been at the principal's office for fighting.

She had kissed his bruised knuckles and said she liked that he was protective of those he loved. At the time, she had thought it had been about Alice.

Now, she retracted her hand from his grip. "Why didn't you tell me the truth?"

He looked helpless for a moment as he tried to answer, but then he met her gaze steadily. "Because I was young and stupid, and I didn't want to scare you. You said it yourself; I was very protective of those I love. Still am. Maybe even overprotective." He took a step toward her, wanting to touch her, but he didn't. He couldn't be certain she wanted his touch at that moment. "If it had happened now, I would have immediately gone to the police, and then I would have told you. I don't want it to be an excuse, but I was seventeen, Bella. I didn't understand how serious threats of drugging someone actually were."

Bella crossed her arms in front of her, but she could also feel how the momentary anger she'd felt toward Edward drained away. It didn't matter now, twelve years later, but she couldn't shake her discomfort either.

She had been polite toward Riley, blissfully ignorant of what he'd said about her when they were teens, and now their entire exchange suddenly had a whole new meaning.

Was that another thing he unjustly blamed her for? Had his suspension haunted him when he applied for colleges? But he'd gotten into medical school, so it couldn't have been all bad.

"I'm sorry," Edward said quietly, and Bella forced herself out of her thoughts. It was clear to her he was remorseful, and she couldn't really ask for more anyway. It wasn't like he could go back in time and correct his mistake.

To the best of her abilities, Bella pushed the now unpleasant memories away so she could focus on the present instead. Riley wasn't the threat now, George was.

Craning her neck and slightly lifting up on her toes, she placed a light kiss on Edward's lips. "It's okay," she said. "I forgive you."

Edward hesitantly entwined his fingers back with hers. He hated that he'd given her a reason to mistrust him despite it being an over a decade old reason. He was terrified it would fester if he allowed it.

Once his front door was safely locked, he grabbed the bag in Bella's hand and threw it on the floor to get it out of the way. Then he stepped into her personal space and cupped her face gently in his hands. So gently she could have been a fragile flower even though he knew she was the furthest thing from fragile.

"Bella, I really am sorry. I know I should have told you. It was something that concerned you, and you had the right to know. I promise you, with everything that I am, I will never, ever, keep something like that from you again."

She nodded and placed her hands on his forearms. "I know, Edward," she reassured, hoping her expression was soft and trusting and not filled with the disgust she couldn't get rid of. "I'm not blaming you. I'd never put something like that on you. It's just disconcerting, you know? A little jarring to imagine what would have happened if he'd actually had those drugs. If you hadn't overheard what he'd said."

"No, please, don't think like that." He pressed his forehead against hers, using the smallest amount of pressure, but still wishing his words would come across to her. "There are no 'what ifs.' It didn't happen. You, me, and this moment are what's real. Not the scenarios in your head." He let his hands fall from her cheeks and instead moved them until he was hugging her to him, and they remained in that position for a long time.

"Edward?" Bella finally whispered.

"Yes?"

"What if George finds a way to drug me and take me from you?" she asked, and it clicked with Edward what the core of Bella's fear was. She wasn't scared of the ghosts from their past. She had just unfortunately put that past scenario into their present problem.

Edward tightened his hold and kissed the top of her head. "He'd have to go through me first."

A/N:

Lots to process after that chapter, huh?

Aaaaanyway, as I said up top, I've now passed my second week at school and it's hectic. I have assignments every day, and a bunch of weekly projects as well as a lot (A LOT) of reading to do.

I'm simply not equipped to write right now, and as much as that sucks because I hate putting projects on hiatus, I feel I need to focus on school now without the added stress of writing and getting the updates published.

I have 1 more finished chapter for you, but that's not the end of this story. I wish I could give you better news, but this is my situation now. I hope you'll understand.

Love you all and until next time,

Stay Awesome!