Author's note: Welcome back! Thank you for all your reviews and thoughts on this story. I hope you all enjoy this chapter as it contains a flashback of how Bella and Edward got started as well as Bella's past.
…
Where they meet
They pause, spending time
Investing time, time
The beauty of the new
Now turn to scene two
Courses collide
Living in lies
For what would be the point
Of a story without a fight
Without two sides of the story to tell
...
"I fucking hate this job!" I shout as I walk into the back kitchen.
It's Saturday night and I'm working at a pub that's off the interstate. We show the biggest games for the locals and truck drivers passing through.
I am irritated already with the new table of two middle aged douches who probably don't know how to tip. They haven't been the first group like this and they definitely won't be the last. However, I can feel myself losing my patience with them quickly.
One of them is flirting obnoxiously while the other laughs. He's already tried to get me to sit in his lap, which is normal on a night like this. He's drunk and only here to sober up but he's giving me the creeps and making me uncomfortable.
So I've been trying to be nice because tips are my income and I want to save up money to take some classes at the community college. I haven't found a second or third job yet so this is all I have. I'm working crazy hours which keeps me busy enough but some nights aren't as good as others.
Thankfully, my other tables have more sense and their happiness about their favorite teams winning makes the night a little better.
I am more intrigued by one of the diners at another table, particularly the one with dark red hair and green eyes I can see for miles. He's not in my section but for some reason I feel drawn to pick it up anyways.
"You should." My Confidence is feeling herself, something that hasn't happened in a while.
He was polite to the hostess and has been laughing since he sat down with the blonde man he's with.
I don't even know what could come out of this other than not having to deal with the other assholes but I choose to find out.
I ask my coworker, Mike, if he will switch tables with me. He thankfully doesn't mind and would probably keep the drunk one in check. I thank him and make my way back to the tables.
I feel nervous as I walk towards their table but when I make it there, I go back into work mode.
"Hi, I'm Bella and I will be taking care of you tonight." I smile as I do my normal introduction. "What can I get you all to drink?"
The redhead smiles back and looks at me. "A coke, please."
Our eyes are locked and I get a feeling I've never had before. It's warm and I feel my body beg for more of this new feeling before I am snapped out of it by the blonde male telling me he would like a lemonade.
I nod, finally breaking our eye contact and tell them I will be right back.
As I make my way back to the kitchen, the man from earlier slides out from the booth and I almost run into him.
"Where are you going?" He says and I can smell the alcohol on his breath.
"To get some drinks, excuse me." I try to be professional and step to the side so I can continue to where I was going.
He steps in the same way and I keep from acting on the urge to push him out of my way. He is tall and stocky but I am strong.
I take a deep breath and repeat myself. "Excuse me."
He finally steps to the side, smiling wildly while his dick of a friend just laughs. As I move past him, he tries to grab the top of my shirt and tug downward.
"Get the fuck off of me!" I yell, swiping his head.
Before I know it, I watch as a fist is connected with his face and then another. He stumbles backwards into the booth as the red head from my other table grabs his collar and pins him down with his knee, hitting him twice more.
The guy's friend tries to get up to help the blonde male stand in front of him, blocking him from intervening.
"I'm going to tell you what is going to happen next." The redhead says.
The entire restaurant is silent and people from the back have come out. We see fights here all the time but not one directly involving an employee so they are more concerned with making sure I'm okay and out of harm's way
"After I let you up, you are both going to leave and not come back." He tells the guy whose nose is bleeding now. Both guys nod and after a few seconds he is let up.
They are guided by my two saviors with hands on their backs pushing them out the door and the rest of the male crew out the door. I watch as they run to the large semi truck and pull off.
Everything is only slightly calmer after they are gone.
"Jasper, can you go start the car?" The redhead asks the blonde before he makes his way back toward where I am standing.
"Are you okay?" He asks me.
My eyebrows furrow in confusion as he is the one who just punched someone for me. "Are your fists okay?" I try to make light of the situation.
"Just a little red, but they're fine," he says, smiling and looking them over. He then reaches into his pocket and pulls out his wallet. "Here, for the drinks and the rest is for you."
He hands me a twenty and I am even more confused because the drinks total are only five dollars.
"Oh no, I can't. Drinks are on me, it's the least I can do..." I try to hand the bill back to him.
"Edward." He finally gives me a name for his face. "And take it as a tip, please. And also…" He reaches in his back pocket again and pulls out a piece of paper. "Take my number."
I can't help but smile even wider. "No I can't." I laugh because I don't know what else to do. He is making me feel all kinds of emotions at the same time.
That same warm feeling from earlier is ignited by a desire to get to know him.
But I just got out of rehab and a relationship is probably not for the best.
Before I was discharged, I made a list of things I should stay clear of until I have a proper recovery program outside of the facility, a relationship being one of them.
I'm nineteen, I have all the time in the world for that plus I've never been in an actual serious relationship and dating can be just as damaging, right?
"I'm going to go make sure those guys are gone." He says before I can try to hand him the money and piece of paper back. "If you call, I can let you know they're out of Forks at least."
"Okay." I agree, knowing I won't sleep tonight if I know they are still in close proximity.
I stand in the middle of the pub, watching as he runs to the car where the blonde he called Jasper is waiting for him. He jumps into the driver side of an all white old school mustang and they drive off.
All of the crew is still trying to make sure okay but I can't get my mind off of Edward. They decide to close early and I call Charlie to come pick me up because I don't want to drive home alone.
After rehab, I chose to move back to Forks with my dad. He's having a wonderful sober journey, he's been clean for nine months now. He had a job at the town police station and kept himself busy with yard work or his car. He was happy and he enjoyed supporting me. He let me into his house like I never left and sometimes we go to group therapies together which has made our relationship better.
Going back to Jacksonville with Renee was something I wasn't ready for or really wanted to do. There was no point as we had only talked once during my entire stay and she was angry, annoyed and downright ignorant.
She blamed Charlie and his family's genetics. To her, there's no way she had any part in this. It turned into a yelling match and my counselor gave me the option to leave her out of my recovery period. I chose to and we haven't spoken since.
I've told myself it's better that way.
Mike offers to stay with me as I wait for Charlie to arrive.
I almost tell him he can but I decline after I notice the same white mustang sitting outside and a hint of red hair in the driver seat.
I am probably an idiot after tonight but I tell Mike no and head outside to where Edward is parked.
Edward gets out of the car and meets me halfway in the parking lot.
"Everything okay?" I ask, crossing my arms across me since it is cold out.
"Yeah, they left." He doesn't look as happy as he did earlier. He looks more intense making him look older than he did. "I just needed to make sure you were okay."
The warm feeling comes again.
We don't know each other but he kicked a guy's ass for me and came back to make sure I was okay all in the same night.
"I am, thank you."
I watch his body sway as he watches me intently as if he isn't sure he should believe me but I try to give him a smile to let him know I am.
"I'll see you around?" I ask as I watch Charlie turn his truck into the restaurant parking lot.
"Would you want to go to dinner sometime?"
I am taken by surprise but more at how nervous he looks asking me on a date. The intense look from moments ago is gone and his hands are in his pockets. He barely looks at me and I can't believe this is the same person who saved me from harassment earlier.
But I can't help but want to get to know this softer side of Edward too.
I hear Charlie honk his horn at me and before he can unconsciously embarrass me, I pull a pen out and take Edward's hand to write my number on it.
"Save this and meet me here at seven tomorrow?" I tell him, excited but hoping I am not making it too obvious.
He's grinning when I look back up at him. "Yeah."
"See you tomorrow then." I let go of his hand that I am unknowingly still holding. I give him one last smile before running to my dad's car like a teenage girl to tell him about my shift and date with Edward tomorrow.
...
Edward rode away in the back of a black SUV only an hour ago.
I have been pacing since he left and my fingers itch to dial his number.
Would he even answer? Could he even answer?
The underground matches are usually in some rich person's home to make it look more natural. We used it as a night to get dressed up like a date night. We were surrounded by gang and mafia leaders but also people who were good at their addiction, like Edward.
For years I fed off his addiction and here I am doing it again.
I feel so stupid for agreeing to let him do this and I am pissed I let him convince me he wasn't saying goodbye.
My devil spits an earload of pessimistic what ifs.
"What the fuck am I doing?" I say out loud, running my hands through my hair. I tug in frustration because I don't know what to do.
Should I run? Should I go save him?
The apartment suddenly feels like it's closing in on me and even though I don't know where I could go, I have to get out.
I grab my keys and take the stairs, feeding off of the adrenaline my anxiety has created. Before I know it I am outside and feel like I can breathe a little better.
I begin walking as fast as I was pacing and naturally end up in front of Edward's tattoo shop. It's after hours but there's still a light on and two cars sitting in the front.
A yellow Porsche and an all black BMW I notice as Jasper's car.
Thankfully, Edward gave me a spare key to the shop and I am able to get inside without having to knock.
Jasper comes out of the back on high alert but relaxes when he sees it's just me.
I notice he is not alone as a girl with short pitch black hair follows him out. She looks out of place with her Chanel bag and all red bottoms. She wears a red scarf around her neck and an all black peacoat with jeans. She's very pretty, almost angelic as she strides beside Jasper.
"I'm Alice," she says without me asking.
"What are you doing here?" He asks me without any introduction.
"Where the fuck is he?" It comes out angrier than it should but his initial words and our previous encounters kindle my response.
I know my anger is really towards Edward and myself, not Jasper. I also know that if there's anyone who knows where Edward is, it's Jasper.
"He doesn't want you involved." He tells me as expected.
I already knew Edward didn't want me to know where he was going. He doesn't want me to be around these people or bring me back into that part of his world. This is supposed to be his fight and his ending to his own madness he created.
"I don't care." I am stern.
I care more about where Edward is and knowing he is okay than he wants me to stay out of this.
Jasper and I stare at each other, waiting for the other to back down.
"Jasper." Alice says. Her voice is smooth and he immediately stands down. She puts her hand on his shoulder and he almost melts into her touch.
He sighs, running his hand down his face. "He's in Seattle. Aro has a private jet and flew him there, he just arrived." He hands me his phone which shows the messages from Edward saying exactly that.
"And then what?" I hand him his phone back, looking at Alice and silently thanking her.
Jasper shrugs. "We wait."
I am okay with the little information he has given me but I am frustrated in his answer that we wait. Who knows how long we will wait to hear from Edward? Who knows if he even will? Seattle is so big and there's many mansions scattered and hidden throughout the city.
"He's going to send me his location and we will go from there."
I feel like I am wasting time just waiting.
I need to get to Seattle to get to Edward. "I'm going."
Jasper groans in frustration. "And do what? Get yourself killed? Or get him killed?"
Jasper is right.
Even if I know the exact house Edward is in, bursting through there would not be a good idea. It's usually invite only and the security is maxed. If they found out Edward told someone where he was, they would think he was trying to set everyone up. They would feel double crossed and kill him without any thought.
But they could decide to hurt him regardless and he shouldn't be alone for that.
"I can't just wait." I shake my head and turn, running out the door.
…
Author's note: I hope you enjoyed a little snippet of Alice! I honestly wish I had included her sooner but I think I have found an amazing spot for her in this story. What do you think Bella should do? Save Edward or let him get out of this on his own? Let me know in the reviews! See you next chapter!