Assumptions Chapter 14

Hiding

EPOV:

"What the hell is the matter with you?" Emmett snapped at me. And it wasn't the first time in the last week that he'd confronted me about my so-called attitude. He stopped by on his way home from work tonight to make sure that I was coming to dinner at Mom and Dad's tomorrow. Not likely. Bella was leaving the morning after that and I wasn't in the mood to be there and endure a party for her. "And why haven't you put in an offer for the house? I thought you were going to?"

"I changed my mind. Too many memories that I don't want to relive every day for the rest of my life."

"Don't think that I don't know what is really bugging you, man. I'm your brother; I know how you really feel about her and why you've been acting like an ass to her."

"Leave it alone, Emmett."

"No! You really like her and you're mad and hurt that she's going back to Arizona. But did you ever think that maybe she really doesn't want to go but doesn't know that she has something here to stay for?"

That was bullshit. Maybe I hadn't told Bella that I thought she was beautiful or that I wanted her to stay so that I could take her out on a date. But I would think that the friendship that we had would have been enough of a reason for her to stay. What did she have to go back to? An ex-boyfriend that cheated on her and was now married to the woman he'd left her for? Maybe she could babysit for them so they could have date nights.

I turned and walked out of the room, ignoring my brother. I climbed in the shower and lingered in there, hoping that my brother would get the hint and be gone by the time I got out. I knew that I was being a complete asshole to her and to everyone that had the misfortune of having to come near me. It had been two weeks since Bella listed the house for sale and the only time that I had been around her since was at my parent's house for Sunday dinner. I had been avoiding having any contact with her outside those dinners. She gave up on calling me after a few days of unreturned calls, I just didn't see the need to get more attached to her when she was going to leave and never think of us again, let alone contact us. She was going to go back to Arizona and forget that I existed.

I was really disappointed when I returned to the living room and not only was Emmett still there but he had helped himself to a beer and was watching some horror flick. I grabbed the remote from him. "Hey! Rose won't let me watch them at home anymore unless we're positive Bree is asleep and not going to wander in and see it," he grumbled as I changed the channel.

We sat in silence after I turned on a cooking show because I knew that it would piss him off. "She had someone express interest in the house and she might let it go to them if they make an offer."

That news made my heart stop for a second. I didn't want to know who. I didn't need to know who and I wasn't going to ask. It wasn't any of my business.

"Fine, you're going to be the same stubborn ass you've always been when you don't get your way. But I don't care; I'm going to tell you anyway. It's Lauren and Tyler."

"Oh fuck no. NO! NO! NO!" I stomped out of the room and started banging and slamming things around in the kitchen. "They can't have Charlie's house. That woman will paint every room hot pink. It's the only color that pea-brained idiot wears. Head to toe."

"I know, she always looks like a wad of chewed up bubble gum! But I thought you were pretending that you didn't care. I guess you really do care and are just too much of a stupid pigheaded ass to do anything about it."

"Go home Emmett. I just want to be alone."

"Fine. I'll go because my wife has a hot dinner waiting for me. But let me just say this before I leave…..get your head out of your ass and fix this thing between you and Bella or you WILL lose her forever. She has no reason not to sell to Lauren and Tyler and once she does she really is gone. Forever. And with the way you've treated her she doesn't have any reason to come back. But I've talked to her and I know, Edward I KNOW, that if you told her how you feel she'd stay.

"Go home to your wife and daughter and concentrate on your election and your future." At last he had a wife and a happy home. I was destined to spend the rest of my life alone.

"Speaking of, that is another reason that you have to come to dinner tomorrow. We are going to do some planning for the campaign. All the guys from the station and the fire house donated to my campaign so we need to get to work. Besides, Mom said to tell you that you are to be here and that's a 'direct order'." He was going up against one other guy for Charlie's job. Eric Yorkie. He was a bit older than us but we knew him well. He was a jackass but he had a lot of friends. He had worked for Charlie for a while but quit to join the police force in Port Angeles, "more action" he'd told people. He still lived in Forks so he was eligible to make a run for the job. Still, there was no way that he'd beat Emmett. Emmett had been Charlie's head deputy for over a year and was just as popular in town. People still remembered my brother as a star football player in high school.

Damn it. There was no I could skip it now. When Mom says 'direct order' it really means that if I don't then she'll show up here and lecture me about how rude I've been lately. She only pulls this card for certain people or occasions. The last time was when she threw a cocktail party for the Chief of Staff for Fork's hospital. Dad had decided that he wanted to be chief of his department to be in a position to update the department in the areas of talent and technology, and make it one of the leading Emergency Trauma Centers in the area. At the time, all major traumas were airlifted to Port Angeles. He wanted to be able to treat them here. And with Dr. Snow retiring the position was up for grabs. Tanya had just left me and I wasn't really feeling like going to a party but mom pulled the "direct order" card, saying that it would look bad if one of their sons didn't show. Besides, she said, it might be good for me to come and forget my troubles for one night and try to have a little fun.

I grabbed a beer and flipped through the channels until I found a Tom Cruise movie on where he was hanging from the side of a glass skyscraper. Normally I'd be rooting for him to lose his grip and fall to his death, but even that couldn't keep my interest on the TV tonight. I stood up and wandered to the window and looked out. Down on the sidewalk stood Bella. Well, more like she was pacing back and forth in front of the door that led straight up to my apartment. I turned and ran down the stairs but by the time I got there she was gone. I wondered what she had wanted and why she was there. Could Emmett be right and all I had to do was tell her what I felt? But what if I did and it didn't change anything? What if I told her and she left anyway? I didn't know if I could handle that kind of direct rejection again.

BPOV:

I could claim that I didn't understand why Edward had been treating me like I didn't exist, but I knew why he was behaving this way. It hurt me a lot. I moved through the house after mopping the kitchen and made my way to the bathroom. I was going home soon and I wanted the house to be perfect before I left. So far I'd had a one couple come see the house and they were interested, but I really detested the couple. The wife looked like a bottle of Pepto-Bismol threw up all over her. I had never seen anyone wear hot pink from head to toe before. I snapped a picture of her with my Ipod when she wasn't looking and sent it to Vicky. We laughed at the woman's horrifying sense of what she must have considered fashion for over an hour. Mrs. Cope had scheduled an open house for next weekend, after I was gone. And I was glad that I wouldn't be there for it. I was starting to get these little anxiety attacks every time that I thought about the idea that someone that didn't know and love Charlie was going to buy it and live here. I didn't want anyone messing with his home and screwing it up.

We also talked about me returning to Arizona, but the more I thought of it the more I felt like it wasn't where I was supposed to be anymore. I was thinking about selling my apartment and starting over somewhere new. Maybe New York or Los Angeles, or maybe just some small unknown cow town that no one had ever heard of before. I was really going to miss the peace and quiet that a town like Forks excelled at.

I loved that there was the sense that everyone knew everyone in a town like this. I was walking down Main Street the other day, doing some shopping, and several people said hello to me, calling me by name, even a group of boys that rode past on their bikes. I smiled at the memory. I don't remember ever feeling that contented or at peace in my life. I had briefly considered staying here, but now, I didn't think that I was welcome or wanted here, at least by Edward. And I wanted Edward to want me to stay. I didn't realize that until I'd lost him.

Esme and Rose kept crying over the idea that I was leaving, saying that they were going to miss me but they understood that I had a life to get back to. I was going to miss them too. A lot. Rose was still coming over every morning with Bree. I was really going to miss Bree. She was an amazing little girl, funny, sweet, and smart. Esme was having a going home dinner for me tomorrow night and I was nervous at the idea of going. I was afraid of running into Edward. As soon as I listed the house he dropped out of my life completely. It broke my heart because I thought that we'd at least continue to be friends. I'd had visions of coming back and visiting Edward and his whole family, maybe even scheduling book signings at his store when my new books came out. But he cut me out of his life like I meant nothing to him.

I was restless and couldn't sit still so I decided to go for a walk. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going but wasn't surprised when I ended up in front of Edward's store. I saw Emmett pulling away from the curb, probably on his way home as I walked around the corner. There was a bench on the curb just outside his store. I sat there thinking about every day and every evening that Edward and I had spent together. The fun and laughs we'd had. The tears that we'd both shed over Charlie.

I stood up and started pacing around the sidewalk. I wanted to knock on his door and demand that he tell my why he was acting like I didn't exist. I wanted to demand to know if I'd be welcome here if I decided to stay. Emmett had asked me to stay, he all but begged me to stay in Forks, that everyone, including Edward, wanted me to stay. But he was the wrong Cullen brother to ask me that. I wanted Edward to want me to stay. I wanted Edward to want me enough to ask me to stay.

I was shocked at myself when I realized that. It should have been obvious from that dream that I'd had about him. I'd never had a sex dream about Jamie before and he was the only man that I'd ever been with. The only man that I had ever wanted to be with. But that dream had stuck with me big time. I couldn't stop thinking about it, or him, or recalling every moment of it in my head. I was very attracted to him. He was a great guy, when he wasn't acting like an asshole.

I had just about gotten up the courage to knock but chickened out at the last minute. What if Emmett was wrong and Edward really didn't want me to stay here. He really got pissed off when I insisted that he take Charlie's boat. I thought that he'd like that and appreciate the gesture but I was completely wrong. I did have a similar argument with Emmett over Charlie's large flat screen TV. I panicked and turned and ran off back home, thankful that he didn't know that I had been there at all. Thankful that he didn't know how pathetic I was.

I made it home in record time and threw myself on the couch. I only got up to get one of the bottles of wine that I had left in the fridge and drank it straight from the bottle. I was full out bawling by the time I got up to get the second bottle a half hour later. I started to down that bottle too, then everything started to get really fuzzy and I was having a hard time keeping my eyes open. I must have fallen asleep at one point because I opened my eyes to see Edward sitting on the coffee table just watching me, and there was no way that he could actually be here. I decided that I must have been dreaming about him again.

A/N:

Happy Saturday! I wanted to remind you that I am doing NaNo and with the fact that I need to write the next updates for On Our Own I won't post for this story for two weeks. I just can't do it with my sons schedule too. I'm sorry. Thank you to Sweetpea123 for betaing this for me. Welcome to all the new people that are reading, reviewing, and putting this story on alert. Every one of you are important to me and I smile every time I see a review or alert. Reviews will get teasers.