Isabella

I paced back and forth in my room like an animal trapped in a cage. Why was I letting what Edward said get to me? I didn't care about him. I didn't care what he thought about me and Demitri. At least that's what I keep telling myself. Maybe I do care. If I didn't then I wouldn't be thinking about him.

I needed something to calm down. I couldn't continue on like this or else I'd be up all night. I'd be thinking about Edward and Demitri and checking the door handle fifteen times and obsessing and crying over things that I can't control.

See, I was already doing it. I was already driving myself insane. Maybe everyone was right, perhaps I should be locked up. I'm a dangerous unstable person who has thought about killing more than once. Only a crazy person would think that. Only a psycho.

I grab my phone and dial Kate's number. She promised that she would help me with whatever I need. She said to ask her anything. I'm not sure if she was being serious or not but I need help. The phone rings and rings and rings and right when I think it's about to go to voicemail, her voice appears.

"Hello?" says Kate in a bored voice.

"K-kate?" I stutter. "It's Bella."

"Hey! What's up?"

I bite my bottom lip, drawing blood. I pause, not sure how I should phrase this.

"Is something the matter?" she sounded concerned.

"I don't want to bother you. You must be busy at college and stuff but remember how you said that you would help me with anything?"

"You're not bothering me," she reassured me. "What can I do for you?"

I suck in a deep breath and say, "I've been really stressed lately and just need something to calm down. I know that you and Bree used to like smoke and stuff and I was just wondering-"

"Do you want weed, Bella?" She cuts me off and laughs. "You can just ask me for some weed. I'll give you the number of the guy I get it from."

My heart was racing against my chest. It felt like I was about to have a panic attack. I'm pretty sure that what we were doing right now, is illegal. Don't you need a license to deal weed? And to buy?

Now, I wasn't only going to be a high school drop out but an actual criminal. I was headed for jail in the future. My father is a cop for fuck's sake! If he catches me than I know that he won't hesitate to put me in jail. The law always comes before everything else… even before your kids; that was his motto.

"I just sent you his number. Anytime you want some just call him. He said that he would meet you at Liberty Park in about thirty minutes. He knows that you're a friend of mine so you don't have to worry about payments, I've got you covered."

"Are you sure?" my voice raises in concern. "I've got some money saved up. You don't have to do this for me-"

"Bella, relax. I've got plenty of money to spare. Just go have fun and be safe." Kate emphasized the last part.

I nod my head, immediately realizing that she can't see me. "Thank you so much. I promise that I'll pay you back."

"Don't worry about it," her voice is empathetic. "Just take it easy, alright? Don't go too crazy with this stuff, it can be pretty strong."

"Thank you." I sigh.

The phone beeps, signaling the end of the call. I immediately text Angela, knowing that she must be out of theater club now. It is seven o'clock and the play rehearsal ended at six o'clock... I think.

She responds right away and I inform her of everything that has just happened. We agree to meet at the park once her parents leave. Angela couldn't lie for her life and her parents would immediately find out.

My parents are both out and Emmett is… well, I don't know where he is and I don't care. I text my dad, telling him that I'm sleeping over at Angela's house. I know that he won't mind. It was a Friday night.

I head out of my room and down the stairs. I make it to the park in under ten minutes. I sit down on the swingset, pumping my legs faster and faster, soaring higher and higher into the sky. The icy wind hit my face causing my hair to blow in the wind. I felt free. It's as if all the pressure has floated away and I can just… breathe.

"Hey!" a voice yells.

I look to where the noise came from and see a boy walking over to me. He gets closer and closer until I can see his spiky blonde hair and baby blue eyes. I recognized this guy. I dig my heels into the ground and jump off the swing. I jog over to him meeting him halfway.

"Bella?" his voice lights up when he sees me. "My name is Mike, remember?"

I nod my head and feel the corners of my lip curve up. He was in a dress shirt and fancy jeans, very different, from the last time, I saw him in sweats and a t-shirt.

"What are you doing here?" asks Mike.

"I'm meeting somebody," is all I say. I don't want him to know that I'm illegally buying drugs. He could be an undercover cop for all I know.

"Wait," he pauses. "Kate Denali didn't send you down here, did she?"

"Y-yeah," I nervously laugh. "She did. A-are you the one... Do- do you have the stuff?" I stutter.

"You mean the weed?" he snorts. Mike sticks his hand in his pocket pulling out a packet of marijuana and cigarettes.

"What if somebody sees?" I hiss and grab the stuff from him, shoving it in my pockets.

"There is nobody around. Who's going to tell on us, the squirrels?"

"That's not funny," I grumble.

"Don't be angry," he sighs. "Have you ever smoked weed before?"

I shake my head back and forth. "I'm pretty sure my brother does it and he's always fine. Everything's just been so crazy lately and I just need a moment of silence."

I stop what I'm saying and look at Mike. I could never stop running my mouth and one of these days it's going to get me in trouble.

"Or it can make you go even crazier."

I sharply look at him.

"Everybody reacts differently their first time. You really just don't know."

My chest heaves up and down with this new information. I could go even more psycho than I am now. Why didn't Kate tell me this? If my dad found out I would be done for.

"Bella!" a voice yells.

We turn around to see, Angela running towards us. She hops over the fence landing with a soft thud on the woodchipped ground. She's out of breath by the time she gets to Mike and me.

"Hey!" she breathes.

Angela flashes a smile at Mike, instinctively moving closer to me. "Mike this is Angela and Angela this is Mike." I introduce the two of them. "Don't worry, she knows about the stuff."

His smile widens at this and he gives Angela a half-wave. She shyly smiles back and looks at me as if to ask- who is this strange guy?

"We met last year. He goes to Newtown Christian Academy."

"You live on the other side of town?" Angela's eyes gleam in excitement.

She always wanted to live in one of those five-story mansions with the gated fence and outdoor swimming pool.

"Yeah." Mike embarresly admits.

"What grade are you in?" Angela asks, noticing his discomfort.

"I'm a senior. You?"

"So-"

"Junior." Angela says cutting me off. "We're Juniors."

I look at her thinking- what is she doing?

"Really?" Mike sounded skeptical.

"We get that all the time." Angela dramatically sighs. "Everyone thinks that we look younger."

"I can't blame 'em." he mutters under his breath.

I can't blame 'em either. Where was Angela going with this? I stay quiet and follow her lead.

"Do you also go to Forks High?" he asks.

Angela nods her head. "It's a fucking dump. I can't wait to get out of this dead-end town."

"I'm with you on that. There's a reason the population of this town is like ten." Mike laughs showing off his dimples.

I can't help but giggle. He wasn't wrong there.

"Are you guys doing anything right now?" said Mike with curiosity.

"We're just hanging around." Angela says nonchalantly.

"Are you up for a party?"

I'm about to say no, remembering what happened at the last party but Angela beats me to it.

"Totally!" she blurts out. "Bella, you wanna go?"

They look at me, waiting for an answer. "Uhhh…" I don't know how to respond. I didn't want to say yes but at the time, I could see how much Angela wanted to do this.

"Sure!" I fake cheer.

If they notice the falter in my voice then they don't mention it. Angela slyly smiles but I know on the inside, she is freaking out. I couldn't burst her little bubble of happiness.

We follow Mike to his car and I can't help but let out a low whistle. What seventeen year old could afford a Range Rover?

Oh, wait. A rich one.

I slip into the back while Angela sits in the passenger seat. I can't help but admire all of the fancy technology and actual leather seats.

If this is what it was like being rich then sign me up!

"Where are we going?" asks Angela.

"Blueridge Hill." he starts the car and pulls away from the park into the road.

I turn my head at the name. Blueridge Hill? That was only one of the most exclusive fanciest neighborhoods around. The average house up there cost about over a million dollars. It is where all the rich kids partied.

Were we even appropriately dressed? I'm not sure how well a halter top and jeans would go over. The drive seems to go on forever as the nerves well up in my stomach, growing stronger and stronger. After several turns, two stop lights and a long dirt road where humongous houses hid in behind the trees, we finally reached our destination. The pounding sound of rap music vibrated throughout the car and bright lights lit up the several story home.

We get out of the car and follow Mike to the open door. Red solo cups littered the front lawn and every convertible you could possibly imagine was parked in the circular driveway around a fountain. It felt like I had just entered, 90210. I shuffle closer to Angela as we enter the throng of sweaty drunk people. We take a right, entering the living room. Red and blue lights flashed throughout the room and a state of the art stereo system was set high upon a balcony.

Pushing our way through the crowd we make it to the kitchen. On the center Island, the only drinks were beer and fruit punch which was probably spiked. Angela grabs a cup filling it up with beer. She and Mike are laughing about something while I retreat into the corner, obviously forgotten.

People enter and exit through the kitchen heading to the living room and outside to the patio. I look out the little window above the sink to see people cannonballing into the pool howling like they are Tarzan swinging through the jungle and others are relaxing in the water on rubber floaties. On the patio, an intense game of Beer Pong and Flip Cup are being played. A crowd has gathered around the participants and they shout, "Chug chug chug!"

I look away, feeling nauseous just at the sight of them. I turn around from the window to go find a quieter place to sit when I ram into someone hard.

"Fuck!" the stranger exclaims.

Beer is spilt all over the floor and is covering my new shirt. My hands clench in fists and I struggle not to curse the person into oblivion. I rub my shirt with my hands as hard as I can but it does nothing to clean the stain.

"You're just ruining your shirt." he grumbles as he gets paper towels.

I grab them from him without looking up, just wanting to get the stench of beer off of me. I dab at my soaked shirt praying for a miracle.

"Why isn't this working?" I mutter to myself.

"Well maybe, if you didn't rub so hard it would be easier to get off."

I stare at him, glaring daggers into his face. He was tan and had black hair combed to the side, brown eyes and a lean body. He wore a black t-shirt, shorts, and sneakers.

Ok good. I wasn't underdressed.

"Chill out girl," he laughs. "No need to get all feisty."

"This shirt was fifty dollars!" I hiss.

"Well these shoes were five hundred but you don't see me complaining." he smirked.

I look down to see his shoes covered in alcohol. I'm silent, knowing that I just lost the argument.

"I'm Embry," he says.

"Isabella." I cross my arms over my chest.

"I haven't seen you around Newtown Christian before."

"I go to a different school."

He pauses before saying, "So… what are you doing here?"

"A friend invited me." I say. Although I'm not sure, a friend was the right word to use. An acquaintance was more like it.

"Who's your friend?" his voice is friendlier now.

"Mike."

"Mike Newton? Blonde haired kid? Always smiling?" he guesses

"Y-yeah."

"He's a cool dude," Embry grins. "Any friend of Mike's is a friend of mine!"

"Thanks?" I say it as more of a question.

"So are you enjoying the party? I tried to get a DJ but my parents wouldn't give me the money."

"W-wait. This is your house? You live here?" unable to hide my surprise, my mouth drops open in shock. "And your parents know that you are throwing this… party?"

Rager was the better word to use.

"While they are vacationing in Cabo, I'm apparently having a small intimate gathering with a few friends." Embry smirks.

"This doesn't look small and intimate to me."

He runs his hand through his hair, flexing his muscles. He smiles and says, "It's just getting started."

"Do you even know everyone here?" I say incredulously.

"No," he shrugs his shoulders. "Does it matter?"

"Does it matter?" I repeat. "Anyone here could be criminals! They could be murderers! They could try to steal that damn fountain in your driveway!"

He raises an eyebrow.

"What is that fountain even supposed to be?"

"A nakad woman." he simply says.

"Why is she spitting water out of her mouth?"

"I dunno, ask the artist." all Embry does is laugh. "You know, you're cute when you're mad."

"Arghhh! Don't call me cute!" I throw my hands up in the air.

"What should I call you then?" Embry leans closer to me.

I push him away, not liking where this is heading. I ignore what he said and say, "I just need to find my friend and get out of here!"

"I thought that we were really hitting it off-"

I give him a look, silencing him. My eyes scream: don't start this with me.

He pouts and stuffs his hands in his pocket. "Maybe… maybe I can help you find her."

"What are you getting out of this?"

"Nothing, I swear!" he holds his hands up. "Is it so wrong of me to want to lend a helping hand?"

"Fine." I groan. "Lead the way. Your house is a maze."

He smiles, triumphantly and I follow him through a different door we came in. "What's your friend's name?"

"Angela Webber." I say.

Catching me off guard, he spins around with his mouth wide open. "I know her!"

"What?" I sputter. How did he know Angela? I knew everyone that she knew and she had never mentioned Embry in her life.

"She's dating Ben Cheney, right?"

"Yeah…"

"We were on the same rowing team and he always used to talk about her."

"Oh." I don't know what else to say.

"Well do you know what she looks like? Did you happen to see her?"

"Long black hair? She's wearing a black shirt and red jeans?"

I nod my head, anxiously. "Yeah! Where did she go?"

"The last time I saw her, she went upstairs with Mike. They both seemed pretty drunk." he pursed his lips.

"Damnit," I growl to myself. "Mike was our ride!"

Damn Angela. Damn Mike. Damn myself for letting me go along with her plan. Neither of us could drive and I for sure wasn't getting in the car with a drunk Mike. I was stuck here unless I wanted to call my brother or parents… which was not going to happen.

"Let's just focus on finding your friend, alright?" He stares at me worriedly as I start to freak out.

"Y-yeah, you're right. We've got to find her first."

With shaky legs, I follow him up a set of stairs in the back of the house. We make it to the third floor when I suddenly hear a burst of laughter from down the hallway. It sounded like Angela.

I take a left, getting closer and closer to the giggling until we stop at a closed door. I open it up and I'm immediately greeted by Angela and Mike... naked.

Mike screams, scrambling away from Angela. He slips on his jeans and takes off, barreling past Embry and me.

"Angela!" I gasp. "Wha-what are you doing? With Mike?" my face screws up in disgust.

Her cheeks blush a bright pink as she holds the blanket up to her chest. "I-I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize to me." I hiss. "Apologize to your boyfriend!"

Tears well up in her eyes. She grabs her shirt and pulls it over her and gets on her skirt under the covers. She scrambles off of the bed and over to me. She's a shaken drunk mess. "Ple-please don't tell him. I made a mistake. I- I love B-ben!"

I sigh, not wanting to get into this argument with her right now. "We'll talk about this another time. I just want to get out of here."

Angela pauses and guiltily looks at me. "I… I actually met some girl and she invited me to her house after the party."

"Ang…" I don't know what to say. "Yo-you can't just go off with a stranger. Do you even know her name?"

"Kebi," she smiles brightly. "Kebi Amini. Her parents own that Egyptian restaurant we always go to!"

"That doesn't mean that you can trust her!" I grab her hand. "Just come with me and we can find a way home."

She shakes her head, pulling away from me. "No. I'm sorry but I wanna go with her and the other girls. I can take care of myself, Bella."

"It's Isabella! For fuck's sake, how many times do I have to tell you!" I cry.

Angela rolls her and scoffs. "You are going to have to accept that our lives are changing. You can certainly come with me if you want, but I'm not going to follow you every time you call for me."

"Angela…" tears ran down my cheeks at an alarming rate.

"Can I also…" she sighs. "Can I also have that weed?"

"What?" anger ignites in my belly.

"Are you really going to use it? Because I promised the girls that I could get some for them. I'll pay you back for it I promise!"

"You've got to be kidding me right now!" I narrow my eyes at her. "You're a fucking bitch!"

"Can I just have it?" she persists and holds her hand out.

I scoff out loud, not wanting to deal another minute with her crap. I shove my hand in my pocket and throw the packet and rolls at her. "There. Go have fun getting wasted. Just don't call me in the morning when you're sober and sane. I never want to see your face again!"

I drag Embry by the shirt out of the room and down the hallway. We stop at an empty bedroom that he leads me into.

"Are you ok?" he whispers.

I'm hunched over on the ground with angry tears rolling down my face. I was so angry. I was so so angry that I wanted to hit something. I wanted someone to tell me that it was going to be alright. I wanted somebody to love me.

"I… I j-just want to go ho-home." I sob.

He squats down to my level and awkwardly pats my shoulder. "There there. It'll be alright." he awkwardly says. "I'd drive you home but… it probably wouldn't be a good idea."

He's drunk. So what?

I shrug my shoulders, honestly not caring about what happened to me at this point. I lean my head back against the wall and close my eyes. I just wanted to hear the quiet. I just wanted to feel numb. Why couldn't I fucking feel numb!

"Give me your phone," he softly says. "I can call someone for you. Who do you want me to call?"

"I don't care." I emotionlessly say. "You can just leave me here to rot."

"I'm not going to do that." he firmly states.

My phone is sticking out of my front pocket. Embry takes it while I let myself further relax, zoning out everything around me. I don't hear him dial the number. I don't hear him speak. All I know is that I'm falling asleep and I don't want to wake up. Angela has left me. My one true friend has left me. But I still have Demitri. That counts for something right?

Author's Note:

Hey everyone! Thanks so much for reading! I'm sorry that I think it took me longer to upload this chapter, I've just had a really busy week. So many things were going through my mind when I was writing this chapter. I really am mad at Angela. She was supposed to be Bella's best friend and with her through everything but she gets drunk, cheats on her boyfriend, and literally abandoned Bella at the worst possible time. I don't know about y'all but I'd drop her as a friend in a heartbeat. What do you think about Embry? He's like the stereotypical guy but at least he's trying to make an effort with Bella... and Mike. I don't even want to talk about him.

I should upload again by next week or sooner. Thanks, y'all for your support and I hope you review!