Hey, readers. This one is kind of short but I wanted to get it up quickly. PLEASE REVIEW XO
After Jasper left, Bella drove Leah and her pie home.
Leah had practically snarled at Seth for showing too much interest in her personal treasure, leaving Bella's sides aching from laughter. By the time she reached the Cullen house, she was sure she'd piss herself. Bella snuck into the house quietly and made a mad dash for the bathroom. As she emerged, Alice was waiting for her patiently outside the door.
"Bella," she said and shook her head. "Come with me." Alice scooped her up in her surprisingly strong but tiny arms and ran up the stairs. She deposited Bella on the corner of her bed and immediately began putting concealer over Bella's bruises.
"Ali, you don't have to …" Bella went silent as she looked up to see Edward walking past the doorway. He stopped to look at her, his eyes darting from her lips to the purple mark on her neck.
"Despicable," he muttered, shaking his head as he walked away.
"Bella," Alice said, gripping Bella's shoulders.
Bella was so mad she hadn't even realized that she had stood to go after him. "Sit," Alice said, guiding her back to the bed.
"Seriously, everyone is overreacting. My iron is low," Bella snapped. She pulled her sleeve up to where Alice had just gripped her, revealing faint lines already beginning to form. "And he has no right to act like that."
"Bella," Alice sighed, "Just let Edward be Edward. He wants to get a rise out of you so that you'll talk to him." Edwards door slammed. Bella flinched.
"I'm done," Alice said, putting her makeup case away.
"Good, thank you," Bella said and stomped out of the room toward Edward's bedroom. She stepped inside, slamming his door behind her. Edward was lying across his couch with headphones on.
"You're an ass, do you know that?" Bella shouted. In a flash, he'd removed the headphones and was standing toe to toe with her. She flinched but pressed on.
"I get that you don't like Jacob, but your comments aren't necessary."
"Is he hurting you?" Edward accused, reaching out to cup her chin, looking over her face. Bella backed away in surprise.
"No," she laughed in disbelief. "You can see inside of his head, Edward. I can't believe you'd even ask that."
"Well, it's hard to tell when you're covered in marks, Bella. You look like you've been assaulted," Edward grumbled as his eyes dropped to where the now expertly covered hickey was. He dropped his hand from her face and walked back to his couch.
Prude-assed sonofabitch.
"My iron is low. It's happened before," Bella argued.
"Well, I'm sure Charlie will be thrilled with it," Edward muttered.
"Yeah, because bringing me home with stitches was so much better. At least Jacob doesn't expect me to apologize for fucking bleeding," Bella snapped and closed her eyes, immediately regretting her words. She gasped as she opened them, finding him again in front of her.
"I may have accidentally hurt you while protecting you, but I would have never allowed myself to mark you up like this," Edward said.
"Stop acting like it was something cruel," Bella huffed. "Edward, I'm only going to say this once because it's going to hurt you, and I don't like doing that. Jacob doesn't do anything to me physically that I don't want him to do. Ever."
"I'm very happy for you and Jacob," he mocked her.
"Ugh," Bella yelled in frustration. "I don't even know why the hell I came in here." She turned to leave the room before remembering Renee's letters. "I do have to ask you something important since I'm here," she said.
"And what would that be, love," he asked bitterly.
"Did you take Renee's letters?" Bella turned back around to look at Edward. He stared out the window silently, his back to her.
"I knew you'd ask me that one day," he said.
"So did you take them?" Bella asked him, ignoring what he'd just said.
Do not let him redirect you, Bella Swan. It doesn't matter if or how he knew. He's trying to distract you.
"What if I did?" he finally asked.
"Then I'd have to ask you why," she said.
He turned around to look at her. Edward was back to being the burning man she'd seen on the mountainside, his pain clearly written on his face.
"When I first found out you hated Renee, and you kept insisting you wanted nothing to do with her, I believed I was doing you a favor. I found ways to re-route her letters to you so that they wouldn't show up," he admitted.
Of course. Large sums of money could help accomplish many things, after all.
"You had no right to do that," Bella said. "Even if I didn't respond to those letters, they were mine to decide what to do with."
Wait a minute.
'"Edward, she started writing me long before you and I started dating," Bella said cautiously. "Were you already interfering before we met?"
"Yes," he admitted softly, leaning against the window with one arm above his head, staring out across the forest.
"So you were manipulating me long before we actually met," she said. "Months, actually."
"Yes," he admitted again.
"You fucking stalked me for four months before you ever said a word to me, Edward," Bella said. "I knew you did after we met. I stupidly believed your fairytale bullshit about how you loved me too much to stay away, too, didn't I?"
Silent, angry tears rolled down her cheeks. It took a moment for her to calm down enough to speak again.
"I've kept my distance from you out of respect for Jacob because I want so badly for him to trust me. The only reason he doesn't is because of how you make me feel. Because you try to manipulate the way I feel. The truth is, I can't trust you. I never could. I thought that I could, that the things you did when we were together were done out of love. It was never about love, Edward." Bella said and wiped away furious tears. "Not for me. Not for Tanya, or Kate, or Victoria."
Edward turned to glare at her, though he remained silent.
"You want control. I've noticed so many things about you that I was blind to before. The way you get your way with others. Hell, Edward, you do it to your own family. I'm not perfect, either. Far, far from it … but, I never manipulated you. I never lied to you. I never purposely hurt you or fucked with your head. Those are all you have done to me from the moment I stepped foot into this town, aren't they? Even when you left, you were still manipulating me. You were manipulating me five fucking minutes ago with your snide comment."
Edward had stared at her silently throughout her speech. For just a moment, he was the burning man again, looking away from her and out the window. Then, Edward seemed to freeze in place before her. He did not move. Edward did not blink or breathe. He was as still as a statue, cold and hard as stone. Edward had shut down, closing her out completely. He had no answers. No defense. Not even one of his classic sarcastic retorts that he favored when an argument did not go his way. He was everything she had just described and did not even care enough to either admit or deny it.
Bella turned and left the bedroom, slamming the door behind her. Everything on the opposite side could burn, for all she cared. Bella was surprised to see a concerned Jacob standing inside the front door as she reached the landing. She flew at him, sobbing, wrapping her arms around his waist. The rest of the Cullens stood around them silently, all looking entirely uncomfortable. They had obviously heard every word, each of them angry for different reasons.
"Guys," Jacob addressed them calmly, though he was trembling, "I think we will have to finish this conversation another time." Jasper and Emmett both nodded at him. Rose was glaring toward Edward's room.
Probably giving him a mental tongue lashing.
"He did this to himself," Jasper said softly, looking at Bella.
"I know," Bella nodded and looked up at Jacob. "Can we go home, please?"
"Jacob," Carlisle said cautiously. "Perhaps you two better meet me at the hospital. I would like to get some bloodwork to make sure there isn't more going on than low iron."
"What do you mean?" Jacob asked, confused.
Damn. Alice put concealer on my face. Bella lifted her shirt to just under her breasts, letting him see the numerous bruises around her midsection. She dropped her shirt and lifted her sleeve to show him the fresh marks Alice had left.
"That happened ten minutes ago," she said.
Without another word, Jacob scooped Bella up in his arms and carried her out to her truck. She slid to the center of the seat as he climbed in next to her. Jacob leaned over to kiss the top of her head before turning the ignition.
"I love you. That took guts," Jacob said as he grabbed her hand.
"Pretty sure I left half of them back there on the fucking floor," she mumbled. Jacob let go of her hand to put his arm around her shoulders, snuggling her close.
"No offense, honey, but you kind of look like it right now. Are all of those marks from last night?" Jacob's voice was thick with guilt. "I worried I was being too rough."
"You weren't," she said. "I have no complaints, Jake. I've had issues with being anemic before."
"You bruise, honey, but not like this. When Edward mentioned you being marked up, I just thought he meant the hickey. I did at least spot that this morning. Charlie will finally shoot me. This is it, isn't it?" Jacob smirked at her. She gave him a small smile and stared out the window.
"Edward doesn't get to hurt you anymore, honey. Not ever again," Jacob said. His words were loving, holding no bitterness. No jealousy.
"I know," Bella said. So why the hell do I feel like he is not done yet?
"I got home today and caught some leech smell. Figured you would be at the Cullen's," Jacob said carefully. "Was hoping we could talk to Emmett and Rose about your mom for a minute. Sure did not expect to hear you screaming at Edward when I got there."
"Oh, Jake, I'm sorry. I just got so mad at him, and I couldn't fucking stop myself," Bella confessed.
"I walked in the door right after you slammed his bedroom door the first time, Bells," Jacob admitted.
"So, you heard all of it?" she asked.
"I did," he said, dropping his arm to hold her hand again. He lifted her hand to his lips, lightly brushing them across her knuckles.
"So," Jacob asked, "No complaints, huh?" Bella chuckled and leaned into his shoulder.
"Damn. Not gonna tell me, huh?" Jacob teased. "I have one little complaint, I must say."
"What's that?" she asked, peeking up at him.
"Talk dirty more often." Jacob looked down at her, grinning. She giggled as his cheeks turned red, and he laughed.
"We'll eventually figure out all of the right things," Bella said and blushed.
"I kind of like exploring them to find out, thank you very much," Jacob said, and she laughed.
"Me too, Jake. Me too."
As it turned out, Bella was dealing with pre-eclampsia from high blood pressure on top of anemia. Her blood platelets were almost low enough to require blood, and Carlisle wanted her monitored overnight. He told her that though it could come on suddenly, pre-eclampsia was common in young mothers. It was less common to develop it so early on. The loss of platelets could indicate a more problematic issue. Stress could play a factor in aggravating pre-eclampsia, and it was a condition that only ended after delivery. Bella could even possibly need transfusions after giving birth. Carlisle had advised her to start being extra cautious with the stress she was under, to keep track of new bruises, and how long they took to heal. If headaches, severe nausea, jaundice, rib, or shoulder pain were noticed, call him immediately. Finally, he adjusted her medications and prenatal vitamins, sending her home to rest. Before she left the hospital, he silently slipped something into her hand. It was the concealer compact Alice had used to cover the bruises on her face and neck the day before. She asked him to thank Alice for her and reapplied it to the best of her ability as Jacob drove her home.
Though the compact came in handy a few times, the bruises took over a week to fade.
Charlie had been mad. He had also started to yell. All it took was one reminder of her condition for Charlie to stomp back to his TV, grumbling about how he and Jacob were going to have a little chat after Bella went to bed.
Renee called the next day, asking to visit with Bella again. Charlie told her that Bella was under strict orders to remain as stress-free as possible for the time being. Bella had almost expected Renee to argue with him. Instead, Renee told him to tell Bella to feel better. She was heading back to Florida and Phil. She promised to come and visit again soon. Bella told Charlie not to hold his breath. Renee had not asked for any details. She had never said a word about the bruises on Bella's face, though everyone else sure had. She apparently had not been concerned. As Bella saw it, Renee had made her apology, gotten Bella to call a truce, and had given the warning she needed to. As usual, she had shown up, created chaos, and left.
Leaving was what Renee did best.
The following weekend approached, along with the final touches at the Garage, including custom signage.
Cold Wolfe Auto Repair was officially ready for business.
Jacob, Embry, and Sam argued over schedules to get the Garage going while also handling patrol. Rose convinced Bella to postpone her courses until she was under less stress, offering to teach her how to handle the business needs for the Garage herself.
The house was coming along more quickly than planned, as a few days of miraculously clear weather had worked in their favor.
Though Bella had made no trips to the Cullens since confronting Edward, the others had all come to visit her. After about a week, Bella was surprised to learn Edward had decided to leave again. His family was angry with him for his manipulations, only increasing his sullen attitude and self-loathing. Where he intended to go, no one seemed to be sure. The truth, although difficult to admit, was that Bella was relieved. Though no one had vocalized it, everyone but Seth seemed to be as well.
Carlisle and Esme were making plans to move closer to Port Angeles eventually. With Bella's pregnancy complications, they wanted to remain close if needed.
Any tension that had remained between Bella and Jacob over Edward seemed to disappear entirely. She still flinched to hear his name, but it appeared that Jacob had finally let the past go. He knew the vampire was no longer a threat to his relationship.
After a few weeks of following orders, a strict diet, and learning some new calming techniques, Bella's blood pressure had returned to normal. Though she would remain closely monitored, she had not had a panic attack since the day Renee had shown up unannounced, nor had there been any more issues with her blood. By the time her nineteenth birthday came in September, she and Jacob moved into their new home. Esme had generously provided them with a couple of couches for company, a rather large table and chairs, and some lamps. Rose had stocked the kitchen with new cookware and utensils. Charlie had shown up with a new washer and dryer set for them, a commodity Bella was embarrassed to admit she had forgotten about. He had been impressed with her new kitchen and ample cooking space, reminding her not to forget her old man when she went back to feeding the wolves.
When Bella had been able to show Jacob the area she'd had created for his woodworking hobby, he'd been thrilled. Before he was even done inspecting his new equipment, he was rambling about plans to build a crib and cradle for Sarah. When Paul and Rachel brought Billy to see the new house, he'd happily laid claim to the room he knew had been added specifically for him.
"Home away from home?" Jacob asked his smiling father.
"Shit," Billy grumbled. "Home away from Paul."
Overall, things seemed to be looking up. Bella could not believe that only a year had passed since her tragic eighteenth birthday when so much had gone wrong so quickly. Despite how crazy and difficult some of it had been, how difficult she knew that things could continue to be, Bella couldn't wait to see what laid ahead. Whatever that may be, she knew she and Jacob would face it together.
Much more to come - but where to go next. I have my ideas. What, if anything, would you like to see happening in this story? Send me your thoughts, criticisms, and concerns, please. You're only helping me improve.
PLEASE REVIEW XO