A/N:

I needed a serious break from my phonetics finals, so I decided to give this to you!

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 35

ONE-THREE-SIX

"George," she said and fought her first instinct to look around for an escape route. The lethal object in his hand made it impossible for her to let him out of her sight. "How did you get up here?" she asked, uncertain if she did so to keep him occupied and stall him—she had no idea if Carlisle and Riley were behind her or if they were calling for help—or if it was just the first thing that came to mind.

All of her calm and rational thoughts had effectively flown out the window the second she saw him.

George didn't answer her question. He stepped forward, and Bella noticed with a start that he looked terrifyingly collected. He'd basically been a missing person for fourteen weeks, completely out of contact, and she had, for some reason, expected him to appear unkempt and disheveled the next time she saw him. However, he was wearing clean clothes, his hair was freshly washed and styled, and his eyes didn't even have a glimmer of craziness in them.

"I am very disappointed in you, my love," he said, and Bella had to hide her reaction from hearing Edward's term of endearment for her coming out of George's mouth. It wasn't nearly as sweet and much more threatening. "Edward I could understand and even condone because of your history together, but now you've taken my leniency too far."

Bella was clueless as to what he was talking about, but she was too afraid to question him since he had a gun in his hand. So instead, she agreed with him. "I'm sorry, George. I didn't mean to. I—"

"Don't lie to me!" he exclaimed and aimed the gun at her but only for a second before he directed the aim behind her. "I know you invited those two up here. I know everything you've done, Bella, so don't even try to play games with me."

Her stomach dropped when it was confirmed no one was calling for help. She had no idea how they'd be able to get away from George without one of them being shot, and despite Riley being one of her least favorite people at that moment, she wouldn't even consider wishing the life out of him. Simultaneously, she realized that George had no idea who either of the men were.

"I'm not playing ga—"

"Shut up!" George sharply cut her off before inhaling deeply to collect himself, then once again turned eerily calm. He walked toward her, the gun still aimed at the men behind her. "What I can't seem to put together is why you would stray from Edward this way when he was so important to you that you had to walk away from me." His free hand reached up and held on to her chin. "Or are you really just that big of a slut?"

"Don't call her a—" Carlisle tried, but George cut him off too.

"You don't get to speak here. It's enough you and your friend have defiled the woman I love. You don't want to give me another reason to shoot you."

Riley, almost as if he couldn't control it, snorted at the thought of having participated in any sort of defilement of Bella Swan, and George immediately zeroed in on him.

"I can't, for the life of me, understand what you find so funny about that," he stated, his hate-filled eyes glaring into Riley with focused intensity. He stepped forward, and Bella disappeared from his line of vision. "Who are you?"

Bella looked around the office for ideas but didn't move too much in case that would garner George's attention back to her. She met Carlisle's eyes, but he quickly focused back on George and the gun as he approached Riley.

Behind Carlisle, Bella saw the kitchen area, and she finally remembered what Alice had told her. All the desks and the kitchen island were equipped with panic buttons. If she could just reach one of the desks, she would be able to call for help.

"Well, according to you, I'm one of Bella's lovers," Riley replied arrogantly, and Bella wished she could jump him and strangle him. He would get them all killed. George was clearly unstable despite his composed exterior, and there was no way to tell what would push him over the edge.

"Riley!" Carlisle exclaimed in horror at his mentee's lack of self-preservation, but his outburst caused George to redirect the gun at him instead, and he held up his hands to show he surrendered. Without George even asking, Carlisle introduced himself. "My name is Carlisle Cullen. I'm Edward Cullen's father."

George stared at him for a long moment before he started laughing, and the laughter grew until it sounded maniacal. He let the hand holding the gun fall to his side, but no one dared to move anyway. When he stopped to draw air, he turned to Bella, a mirthful expression on his face. "Damn, Bella, you keep surprising me. Not only are you unfaithful to me and your baby daddy, but you're doing it with his father!"

Bella tensed up when George revealed her secret and her eyes immediately moved back to Carlisle, who was now looking at her questioningly and with a newborn terror.

"Is that true?" he asked in a voice barely above a whisper. "Are you pregnant?"

Both helpless desperation and frustration were bubbling up within her. "Carlisle—" She started, but George once again interjected.

"Oh, how cute. He didn't know he was screwing his grandchild's mama."

"Shut up, George!" she exploded as her fuse burned up. "You're wrong and twisted, and seeing you like this in front of me now only confirms I did the right thing when I chose Edward over you!"

As soon as she was done, Bella knew she'd stepped over George's line. His eyes lost their amused light, and he turned his back to Carlisle and Riley to focus solely on her. As he walked closer, he reminded her of a predator stalking its prey, and she was defenseless.

On pure instinct, she placed her hands protectively over her stomach despite the measly shield they created.

"Oh, Bella." He sighed and shook his head as if he were disappointed. When he was close enough, he grabbed her chin and tilted her face up to his level. "I really wish you hadn't said that."

"What are you gonna do?" she asked, using the residue of her temporary bravery—or stupidity, depending on how you saw it.

"Honestly, as of right now, I'm not sure." He raised the hand with the gun again and placed the muzzle under her jaw. "I could shoot you right now, and then kill myself." He moved the gun to his own temple. "The headlines would be epic. NY Times Bestseller G.T. Haze dead in passionate murder/suicide plot." His mouth stretched into a smile as he grabbed one of her hands and placed the gun in it before directing the muzzle against his own forehead. "Or I could make you blow my brains out. People wouldn't know what to believe. Self-defense or manslaughter? Local photographer in dramatic shootout with NY Times Bestseller G.T. Haze."

Bella had handled guns several times before, but she had never had her fingers so close to the trigger of a loaded weapon aimed at a living human being, and she started to tremble as the shock settled in her body. "George, please ..." she pleaded. "This isn't one of your books," she whispered, hoping she could get through to him.

He narrowed his eyes and aggressively took the gun back from her. "I know damn well this isn't one of my books!"

There was a sound behind him, and he whirled around to see what the men were up to. Bella looked over his shoulder and saw that Carlisle had reached one of the desks. Bella understood that he most likely also knew where the panic buttons were placed, but the problem now was that he'd brought George's fury onto himself and placed himself in lethal danger.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" George asked and stalked toward him, the gun slowly rising to aim right at him.

Carlisle held up his hands to show they were empty. "Nothing, I pr—"

He was cut off as George fired the gun, and Bella screamed as Carlisle fell to the ground. Without a thought for herself, she ran past George toward Carlisle.

"Holy fuck, man! You really are bat-shit crazy," Riley exclaimed with wide eyes and stepped as far away from George as he could without leaving the room.

"Carlisle!" Bella yelled and knelt down next to him. He was alive and awake, but he was bleeding profusely from the wound in his shoulder. Bella wasn't a natural nurse, and she was slowly starting to panic. "Carlisle, tell me what to do! I don't know what to do!"

He groaned and propped himself up on his elbow. "Help me put pressure on the wound."

She leaned over and pressed both her hands against his shoulder. "I'm so sorry," she said, her voice shaking badly. "This is my fault. I antagonized him."

"Don't worry about it," Carlisle reassured her, and then lowered his voice so only she could hear. "I was able to press the button. I don't know how long it will take, but help is coming."

Relief washed over her, but it was quickly eclipsed by her worry for the man who was like a second father to her. She gave him a grateful nod, and then focused back on his wound.

Bella felt George's presence as he stood over them and stared, but she didn't address him.

"Get up," he ordered.

"I will not," she replied tightly.

"I said, get up!"

She turned her head to him, her eyes projecting the fury she felt. "No! What the hell is wrong with you, George? You shot an innocent man because you think I belong to you. You're no longer the awkwardly cute man I met at his sister's wedding four years ago. I have no idea who you are."

A moment of hesitation passed over George's face, and Bella saw it as her chance.

"You're not the man I finally said yes to. You're not the man I've seen you be with your sister. Don't you want the chance to meet your nephew?"

He blinked in confusion, and Bella remembered that he had no idea Rosalie was pregnant because he'd disappeared before she had the chance to tell him.

"She's almost seven months pregnant with a boy," she explained. "She wanted to tell you, but you disappeared. You're going to be an uncle."

"I ..."

"Please," Bella begged him. "Let us go. I'm not the most important person in your life. There are people who love you and miss you—your family. They're worried about you."

George's calm and cold expression had fallen, and he looked crestfallen. He stared at the gun in his hand as if he just realized he was holding it. He mouthed something Bella didn't catch before he started to violently shake and dropped the gun on the floor.

Bella tensed up, uncertain whether it would cause the gun to go off or not, but nothing happened when it hit the floor, and she relaxed again. She looked at George, who was backing away until the back of his legs hit a desk, and he sat down.

"What have I done," he whispered to himself.

"Riley," Bella called softly to not startle George in case his lucidity was only temporary. "Help me get Carlisle off the floor. We need to get him downstairs."

Riley was visibly shocked, but luckily, his medical training kicked in the second Bella asked for his help. When he approached Carlisle and saw his bleeding wound and Bella's red-stained hands, he didn't care that he was supposed to detest her.

"I'll take over," he said, and then nodded behind Bella. "Get the gun … just in case."

She did as he told her, and together they worked to support Carlisle as they got him upright. Once he was standing on his feet again, Riley was enough support, and Bella focused on George.

"We're taking him downstairs," she stated. She wasn't going to ask for permission. "Help is on the way."

George didn't answer. He just continued to stare at his shaking hands.

Carlisle and Riley walked first with Bella behind them, going backward so as to not take her eyes off George until the elevator doors closed. She turned to the other two.

"How are you doing?" she asked Carlisle.

"As well as someone being shot in the shoulder can be expected," he said and grimaced.

Bella raised her free hand to her face in relief, but the strong scent of Carlisle's blood on her made her nauseated, and she had to swallow several times to keep herself from throwing up.

Her head was throbbing in time with her hammering heart, and she was sweating so much the hair at her neck was drenched. A wave of dizziness washed over her, and she swayed against the metal wall.

"Are you okay?" Riley asked her.

She pulled in a sharp breath through her nose and clenched her eyes shut. "I just got really dizzy really fast," she said.

"Once we get off the elevator, you should sit down," he instructed her. "I haven't specialized in obstetrics, but stress isn't good for early pregnancies."

They finally reached the bottom floor and stepped off the elevator. Riley helped Carlisle outside and told Bella to sit down next to him and to take deep breaths.

Barely a minute had passed when a police vehicle stopped just outside the building. The officer who stepped out took one look at Carlisle and Bella next to him.

He turned to Riley. "Is the perpetrator still up there?"

"Yes, sir," Riley said, and then pointed at the gun on the ground next to Bella. "We were able to take that from him, but we don't know if he's got more weapons on him."

The officer looked at his partner. "Radio for an ambulance. We have an injured civilian. I'm heading upstairs." He disappeared inside, and once the other officer had done as told, he followed his partner.

"Bella? Dad?"

Edward came sprinting down the street, Alice on his heels, both of them sporting terrified expressions. When they reached the trio, Edward fell on his knees and cupped Bella's cheeks while Alice checked on Carlisle.

"How are you here?" Bella asked, her voice sounding far away in her own ears as vertigo hit her hard.

"Alice got a call from her security company about the panic alarm being activated. She called me. What's going on? Why is Dad bleeding?"

"George shot him," she replied in a mumble.

"Bella, love, look at me," Edward said.

"I am looking at you," she said, but she wasn't sure if that was actually true. She was very disoriented, and her head felt as heavy as lead.

"I'm right here. You're safe now."

"She's going into shock," Riley told him and started giving him instructions while still focusing on keeping pressure on Carlisle's shoulder. "Lay her down on her back and keep her legs elevated. Also, cover her with your jacket to keep her warm. The ambulance should be here soon."

Everything was growing blurry around Bella, but Edward entwined their fingers, and she used that to anchor herself. At some point, she zoned out and didn't become aware again until she was in the back of the ambulance.

Carlisle was also there, but he was sitting up and appeared to be doing fine. Edward was by her side, still holding her hand, and talking to his father.

"I have to say I didn't expect I'd have to get shot in order to hear I'm gonna be a grandfather," Carlisle said with a hint of bitterness seeping into his disappointed tone. "Your mother will—"

"Dad, don't," Edward said tiredly. "Bella and I had our reasons to keep it to ourselves. She's already high-risk, so who knows if we'll get to keep this one after this."

"If you'd told me, I wouldn't have suggested this meeting with Riley in the first place. I would never put this pregnancy at risk after what you've already gone through."

"Dad, please," Edward begged. "What's done is done. Can we just focus on right now?"

Bella blinked and squeezed Edward's hand weakly. "Edward?" He immediately focused on her. "What happened?"

He gave her a quick rundown of what had happened, and her memory slowly trickled back into her consciousness.

"They arrested him. Just before we left in the ambulance, I saw the officers put him in the back of their car. It's over, baby. You don't have to worry about him anymore."

The feeling was bittersweet. Naturally, she was relieved she wouldn't have to look over her shoulder in fear anymore, but she was also sad everything had culminated to that point. All she could hope for was that George would receive the psychological help he obviously needed and that he'd still have the chance at a normal life somewhere down the road.

But she tried to push all of that out of her mind for now. Her most pressing issue at that moment was the health of her baby, and she placed her hand on her stomach.

Edward placed his own over hers, and they silently shared a look. No words were necessary for them to communicate their combined concern.

A/N:

Most of you thought Riley and George were in cahoots with each other and that if they weren't, it would be too much of a coincidence if both these dudes are around Bella at the same time. Well, maybe, but it was seeing two unknown guys entering the building where Bella was that caused George to snap and go up there so …

Anyway, what are your thoughts?

Until next time,

Stay Awesome!