4
"Okay, the admin building is . . ." Bella trailed off as she looked up from the map in her hands and to the east. "That way. I think, anyway."
"I think it's that way," Edward disagreed, peering over her shoulder at the map and tilting his head toward the west. "See? Here's the library. Then comes the fine arts building. The admin building is to the west of it."
"Are you sure? Because there is the science building, and the admin building isn't too far from it, either," Bella argued, sighing when her cell phone started blaring. "Son of a bitch," she muttered as she thrust the map into Edward's hands and dug her phone out, rolling her eyes when she saw Emmett's name flashing. Sliding her finger over the green talk arrow, she shared a look with Edward, who was trying to keep from laughing at the fact that her brother had called three times in the last three hours. "Hello, Emmett."
"Hey, Butterbean," he said. "Sorry to call again, but you got this thing in the mail. It's an advertisement for watches. Want me to bring it down to you?"
"Dude, are you serious?" Bella laughed. "No. Just throw it out!"
"Oh," he said, and she could hear the disappointment in his voice, but he kept finding the stupidest reasons to call. First, it was to remind her that she had a check-up with Phil next week. And then, it was to ask where the box of granola she'd bought him last week was. After that, he called to tell her he'd found it.
"Aren't you supposed to be at the school?" she asked. "First staff meeting of the year, right?"
"I am," he told her. "We're taking a break."
"You mean you lied about needing to pee and you're calling me from the boys' bathroom."
"No," he scoffed. "I ducked into Banner's classroom."
Bella laughed.
"It was the closest room!" he exclaimed, laughing with her.
"Because that doesn't make it seem any less awkward," she teased, sitting on a small, stone bench. "I'm fine, Em. I promise."
"I know," he whispered. "I just miss you."
"I miss you, too." Biting her lip, she looked at Edward, who was still studying the map. "Maybe you can help us. You graduated from UW. We're looking for the admin building. I think it's closer to the science building, but Edward thinks it's by the Fine Arts building. Who's right?"
Emmett chuckled softly. "Butterbean, listen to your husband. It's by the Fine Arts building. You're looking at the business office."
"Aren't they the same thing?" she asked, huffing.
"Nope," he quipped. "Guess I'd better get back in the meeting. New boss and all."
"Love you, Em."
"Love you, too, Butterbean."
Bella ended the call and stood up, shoving the phone back into her pocket. "You're right. Em said it's by the Fine Arts building."
Edward smiled, but didn't say anything as he folded the map and placed his hand on the small of her back, leading her across campus. There was a long line of students at the admin building. The line stretched across the lobby, through the doors and had started wrapping around the side of the building.
Bella and Edward shared a look before getting in line. They had planned on being there first thing that morning. They'd gotten up early and grabbed a quick breakfast in the cafeteria, but then Emmett called, Lauren and Tyler begged them to stay while they ate, then Emmett called again, and again, and then they got lost. Now, they had to wait in a long line and hope they were able to register for the classes they'd picked.
The line moved slowly, and they waited, a light drizzle turned into a soft rain. Edward pulled an umbrella out of his backpack and held it above them, nestling her close to his body as the cold rain drizzled around them. Bella tried to keep from shivering, but her body shook as the cold sank into her.
"Bella? Edward?" They looked over their shoulders as James walked toward them, bypassing the three dozen people waiting behind them. "What are you doing out here? It's freezing. Come on. We can wait inside."
"But . . ." Bella trailed off as she and Edward followed James past everyone and squeezed into the building, ignoring the complaints about them cutting in. Compared to the cold outside, inside the admin building felt too warm, almost stifling. Edward shook the excess water off the umbrella before closing it and shoving it back into his bag.
"Hang back one second," James said, leading them around everyone and stopping next to the desk of a woman with dark, black hair. He leaned down and whispered something to her, causing her to shift her attention to where Edward and Bella stood and nodding. She stood up and said something to the girl who was seated in front of her before she headed toward the back. James walked back to them. "This way."
"What the hell is going on?" Bella asked as she and Edward followed James, who was heading toward the back of the office after the woman.
He didn't reply, however, as he stopped outside an office and gestured for them to go inside, which they did with apprehension. The woman, who had shiny black hair and large, kind blue eyes, was sitting behind the desk with two folders in front of her.
"Bella, Edward, this is Charlotte Davis. She's the Director of Student Services," James explained. "She'll help you get registered for classes."
"Oh, um, okay," Edward murmured, frowning as he looked from him to Charlotte and back. "But shouldn't we have waited in line? I mean, there were other people ahead of us."
"Nonsense," Charlotte said, drawing their attention to her. "No point in waiting when I'm free to help you now."
"But . . ." Edward shook his head as he and Bella walked over and sat in front of the desk.
"I'll wait in the hallway," James said. "When you're done, I can drive you home."
"We can walk," Bella told him.
"I'm going that way, anyway," he said, waving her off. And before she could argue with him, he was gone.
Bella sighed and turned her attention back to Charlotte. "So, we're getting to skip the line, huh?"
She nodded. "Do you have any idea what classes you're wanting to sign up for?"
"Um, yeah," Edward murmured, sharing a look with her before placing his list of classes on her desk. Bella did the same as the realization of what was going on hit her like a ton of bricks. They were being treated differently because he was the boy with the broken heart and she was the girl with cancer.
—WH—
"Okay, I think that's everything," Charlotte said, half an hour later. She turned her chair toward the printer and waited for the two schedules to print. When she turned back to them, she smiled and held them out to them. "You need to talk to the Director of Financial Aid about your work study, but there shouldn't be any problem getting you both somewhere. Maybe the library or the bookstore."
"Oh, right," Bella murmured, looking over her schedule. None of her classes started until nine, and all of them were done by two, and she'd managed to get Friday's free. Edward's schedule was almost identical to hers, only he had a three o'clock class on Tuesday and Thursdays. Neither of them were sure what they wanted to study, so they were focusing on getting their basics out of the way before declaring their major.
"I want you both to know that my door is always open," Charlotte added, tapping her nails on top of our files. "Anytime, okay?"
Bella and Edward both hummed before standing up and picking up their bags. "It was my brother, wasn't it?" Bella asked, shifting her eyes back to Charlotte, who furrowed her brow. "Who called and told you about us. It was my brother, right?"
Charlotte pressed her lips together, but shook her head. "Actually, no. I've never talked to your brother, Bella."
"It was mine?" Edward asked, a furious tone lacing his words. "Carlisle called you?"
"No," Charlotte said, hesitating for a moment before adding, "I actually called him."
"Huh?" Bella asked, while Edward said, "I don't understand."
Charlotte sighed and leaned back in her chair. "My husband is Dr. Peter Davis, Edward."
"Oh," he groused. "So, my cardiothoracic surgeon shared my personal, private health records with the Director of Student Services, huh?"
"No," she insisted, putting her hand up quickly. "He simply mentioned that one of his patients had been accepted here and was planning on living in the dorms. He gave me your brother's number. When I called Carlisle to ask about what type of considerations we needed to make for you, he said there weren't any. That you and your wife were perfectly capable of taking care of yourselves," she explained.
"Then why the special treatment?" Bella asked.
"Because when my husband goes out of his way to even mention one of his patients, I tend to pay attention. Peter isn't the kind of man to share his work with me, so he must have been concerned."
"What exactly did he tell you about me?" Edward asked, his tone softer than it had been moments ago.
Charlotte smiled. "He said you were strong, stronger than anyone he's ever treated. He said you were brave and kind, and that you have a fantastic support system. He said you'd been lucky to find your wife, that she's given you the strength to keep fighting when others like you would have given up. He said you made him work harder to keep you alive, but that you were going to change the world."
"He said all that?" Edward murmured.
Charlotte nodded. "He thinks very highly of you." She shifted her eyes to Bella. "And of you, too."
"Me?" Bella asked, unable to keep the shock and surprise out of her voice.
Charlotte laughed. "Yes, you."
"This is crazy," Bella whispered, shaking her head.
"What is?" Charlotte asked, her forehead furrowing.
"All of this!" she explained, waving her hand in the air. "Look, it's not that we're not appreciative of everything, but we don't want special treatment. There were people who had already been standing in like a lot longer than we were, and yet, they didn't get rushed in here like this. That's not right!"
"I know, but it's raining," she said. "And cold."
"So?" Edward scoffed, but then he nodded. "I see. You think we're too fragile to stand outside in a little rain and cold. That my heart will give out if I get wet, or that Bella will grow another tumor? Is that it?"
"Of course not," she insisted, but Bella knew she was lying. "James was concerned. Since he'd already brought you in, I thought I'd go ahead and help you."
"So James knows about us, too?" Bella asked, her heart sinking. If James knew, so would Victoria and their warm welcome wasn't because they wanted to be their friends, but because they were the freaks in apartment fourteen B.
"It was important that they know," Charlotte said, defending the fact that she shared personal information with their resident advisors. "Just in case."
"Of course they did," she whispered as she turned and walked toward the door. "Wouldn't want the freaks to feel normal, would we?"
Though Bella heard her calling after her, she ignored the woman and rushed out of the office, past James who said, "Hey, all ready?" and out of the building. The rain had picked up and the sky was darker, angrier than when they were rushed inside. Humiliating tears mixed with the raindrops that fell on her face.
Once — just once — she'd wanted to be Bella. Just Bella. Not the girl whose parents fell, or the girl with the tumor and no voice. She wanted to be Bella, the girl who loved her husband, who laughed and smiled and sang in the shower. She wanted to be normal, yet when everyone knew about the cancer that'd made its home inside her throat, the cancer that threatened to steal her life away twice.
A hand came to rest on her shoulder as an umbrella covered her head. Bella turned toward Edward, her chin wobbling. "We should have known better."
"Yeah," he whispered, sliding his hand to the back of her head, nestling her against him.
"You're not the boy with the broken heart to me," she cried. "You know that, don't you?"
"God yes!" he exclaimed, pressing his lips to the top of her head. "And you know that I don't see you as the cancer girl. You're my Bella. My wife, my . . . my everything. You know that, right?"
Bella nodded and sobbed harder. "Take me home."
"Okay," Edward whispered, but they'd barely taken a few steps when they heard James yelling for them to stop. When they looked over their shoulder, they saw him running out of the building with his jacket pulled up over his head.
"My cars over this way," he said, gesturing to the parking lot to the left of the building.
"We're walking," Edward said through clenched teeth.
"Come on, I'm going that way, anyway," James insisted, grabbing Bella's arm.
"We're fucking walking!" she screamed and pushed him away. "We don't want or need your pity, or charity, or anything else. Just stop!"
And leaving him standing in the rain, Bella and Edward turned and made the walk about to their apartment with the realization that they'd never be normal again.
Thank you for all the reviews. Thoughts on this chapter?