37
As I watched Bella storm out of the classroom, I shook my head and stood up. I headed over to the door and pushed it open but stopped and looked back at Mr. Taylor, who was just standing there looking like someone had slapped the stupid out of him.
"She's right, you know," I said. He shook his head and focused his attention on me.
"Excuse me?" he asked, sharply.
"Maybe she shouldn't have gone about saying it in the way she did but she's right. Not a one of you understand a damn thing about what her life has been like. Maybe now you'll open your eyes up to what has been in front of you for two years," I said, using a tone that was just as sharp as his was.
"What is that, Mr. Masen?" asked Mr. Taylor.
"The girl who was dying slowly every fucking day right in front of you while you all would prefer to spread rumors about her or ignoring her rather than to take the time to try to help her," I said.
I shook my head again as I pushed the door open so hard that it slammed against the wall. I headed out into the hall but Bella wasn't anywhere to be seen. The only place I could think of that she would go to was her wall. I started running down the hall toward the cafeteria doors. I threw them open and ran through the large room. Sure enough, there was Bella sitting on her wall with her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms tucked inside, like she was trying to protect herself. The thing was, I knew that was exactly what she was doing.
"Hey," I said, moving over to her.
"Hey," she whispered, looking up at me.
I climbed onto the wall so that I had a leg on each side. I reached out and pulled Bella's legs over mine and pulled her so that she was nestled up into my chest. I wanted her to feel safe and secure. I would do anything to make her feel safe and secure again. Bella sighed as she laid her head on my chest.
"You ok?" I asked.
"I don't know," she muttered. "I didn't mean to go off on him like that. It was just that…I am tired of being told what to say and how to say it. I'm not a kid anymore and I think I've earned the right to say fuck if I want to."
"You do," I said, quietly. "But he was just doing his job, Bella. He has to keep his classroom in order or all hell would break loose."
"I know," whispered Bella, trying to stifle her yawn as much as she could.
"You didn't sleep much last night, did you?" I asked. She shook her head no. "Nightmares?"
"Yeah," whispered Bella. "They were trying to take me away from you, my brothers, everyone. I can't…Carlisle woke me up but I didn't go back to sleep. I was just too scared."
"I will do everything I can to keep them away from you," I murmured.
"I know," said Bella.
"Sleep, love," I said, quietly. "I've got you."
"Promise?" mumbled Bella.
"I promise," I whispered.
I leaned back against the brick post behind me and held her as tight as I could to my chest while she slept. It wasn't the most comfortable place to be but I would suffer through it for Bella. She needed me and I wasn't going to complain about it. I knew I was going to have to do something to help Bella.
She was so full of anger and I had to find a way to help her get rid of it. It was eating away at her. If she didn't find a way to get everything out, she was going to do something that would either get her hurt or arrested. Would they ever see the damage they did to her? Would they ever understand the depths of her pain? I didn't think they would. I just didn't get them at all. They were her parents and they fed her to the sharks. What a couple of assholes.
"Edward, I've been looking for you two everywhere," said Esme, storming out of the cafeteria.
"Shhh," I hissed, softly. "She's sleeping."
"Oh, sorry," whispered Esme. "Mr. Taylor paid me a little visit about your attitudes."
"Look, I'm sorry but that man acts like a know-it-all jackass and both Bella and I were tired of hearing him calling us lazy and uneducated just because he doesn't like our choice of words," I said, softly.
"I understand that, Edward. I really do, but you can't talk to your teacher like that," sighed Esme.
"Don't blame Edward, Esme," whispered Bella. I closed my eyes as I realized that I woke her up. "It was my fault. I just got so mad and…I'm sorry."
"Bella, I am not mad at you," said Esme. "I just don't want to see you and Edward getting into anymore trouble here at school. I know it's hard. It has been hard for me too but we're going to be ok."
"How can you know that?" asked Bella, sitting up as she looked at my sister. "You were there on the island, too. You saw those dead bodies. How is anything ever going to be ok again?"
"Because we have each other, sweetheart," smiled Esme, reaching over and rubbing Bella's arm. "We will do whatever we can to keep you safe. We're a family, Bella."
"Esme," whispered Bella, blinking back the tears that sprang up in her eyes. "I really hope you are right because I don't want to lose anymore of my family."
"You won't," cried Esme, unable to fight her own tears as she pulled Bella into her arms and hugged her. "Just try not to cuss out anymore of your teachers, ok? There is only so much I can do to keep you out of trouble."
"We'll try," whispered Bella. "I'm really sorry for making things difficult for you."
"Don't apologize to me again, Bella," said Esme, pulling back. "I'll see you guys later. Try and eat some lunch. Carlisle's really worried about you not eating."
"I'll try," muttered Bella. Esme looked over at me and raised an eyebrow.
"I'll try too," I grumbled.
"Good," sighed Esme. She turned and headed back into the school. Bella laid her head back down on my chest.
"I can't believe he went whining to the principal," muttered Bella. "What a fucking baby."
"That he is, love," I chuckled as the bell rang for lunch. "You stay here and I'll go grab us a sandwich or something."
"Ok," said Bella.
I grabbed us each a ham and cheese sandwich and a coke. I knew that neither of us were really that hungry but we needed to eat. We sat on the wall, nibbling on our sandwiches while everyone came trickling into the cafeteria. For the most part, they all ignored us. But as usual Lauren, Jessica, Mike, Eric, and Tyler had to come out with smirks on their faces, acting like the fuckers they really are.
"Well, well, well, look who's back," smirked Lauren.
Even though most of the bruising was gone, there was still a little bit of greenish/yellow tint under her eyes from the black eyes she received when Bella broke her nose. I looked around at all of them. They were still showing the bruising. Bella clamped her jaw shut and clenched her fists. Would this bitch ever learn to leave her alone?
"Lauren, get the fuck out of here," I snapped.
"Why should I, Eddie?" she asked, glaring at me while the people behind her laughed. "Is poor Bella going to kick my ass again?"
"Yep," muttered Bella, lunging for her but I pulled her behind me.
"Leave her the fuck alone," I growled. "Neither one of us are in the mood for this shit today."
"I don't give a fucking shit," snapped Lauren. "That little bitch caused my daddy to take my car away from me."
"What did you expect her to do when you are in her face every fucking day?" I yelled, slamming my fists down on the table in front of us. Lauren and her gang of assholes jumped back two steps. "Do any of you ever think of anyone other than yourselves? All you've done in the two months since I have been here is get in her face. Why can't you just leave her alone?"
"Because she's a freak," snapped Lauren. "She came into this school with a chip on her shoulder and an attitude."
"I'm so fucking sorry, Lauren, that I was too busy dealing with my fucked up life to worry about how it made you feel," yelled Bella. By now everyone had gathered in front of the doors to the cafeteria, enjoying the show. "I never asked for your attention. I didn't want it. Nobody cares about what I want. Not you, not them," snapped Bella, gesturing to everyone. "You're all pissed cause daddy took your car away. If that's the biggest problem you have in life, then good. You wouldn't be able to handle half the shit I have."
"Like killing your parents," muttered Jessica. Bella snapped her head over to Jessica.
"You know what, Jessica," said Bella, shaking her head. "You don't know shit about me or my fucking parents. You can straight to hell."
Bella slipped her hand into mine and pulled me past the five of them and over to the door that led back into the school. Everyone stepped out of the way as we walked by. I pulled my hand out of hers and slipped my arm around her waist while we left them all behind us, letting them think what they wanted. Bella and I made our way down to Mr. Taylor's classroom to grab our bags.
He was standing in front of one of his windows with his back to the door. He looked back at the two of us when we stepped into his classroom. I felt Bella tense up as she pulled out of my arms and go over and pick up both our bags and bringing them back over to us.
"Bella." She stopped in her tracks but didn't look back at him as he spoke to her. "I grew up in foster care. My parents were deadbeats who neglected me in their quest to get high. I was removed from their care when I was five and placed in the system. The longest I ever stayed in one home was six months. When I aged out of the system and went to college, I studied my ass off because I refused to be like them."
"Yeah?" she asked, looking back at him. Her voice shook with each word she spoke. "Do you hate them?"
"Yes," said Mr. Taylor, clearing his throat.
"Did you ever see them again?" she asked.
"A couple times," he muttered. Bella nodded her head softly.
"I guess neither of us knew anything about each other, did we?" she asked.
"No," he said, quietly. "Maybe if I had paid more attention, I could have helped you before now."
"I, um, I probably would have told you to fuck off," cried Bella. I stepped up and wrapped my arms around her. "I'm really sorry about this morning. I'm just so…tired of it all."
"I'm here if you need someone to talk to," he said, clearing his throat. "Anytime."
"Thank you, Mr. Taylor," said Bella. "We'll remember that."
"And, um, when we aren't in class, you can call me Marcus," he muttered.
"Ok," I mumbled.
Marcus turned back to the window as Bella and I left his classroom. I wasn't sure what exactly had happened but it would seem that Bella and I had gained a friend in our history teacher. How messed up was that? Maybe it would be good for Bella to talk with someone who knows what it feels like to hate your parents. It couldn't hurt, right?
Bella and I somehow managed to make it through our afternoon classes without any other problems. Biology went painfully slow but that was mostly due to the movie we were watching and the fact that everyone kept looking back at us. Gym wasn't much better but at least we had something to do. Bella and I ran laps around the gym while everyone else was placing badminton.
Once Coach Clapp dismissed us and we changed out of our gym clothes, we headed down to Esme's car to wait for her. She came out a few minutes later, looking worn out. I immediately felt bad for causing her more trouble today. Esme just smiled at us as we climbed into the car. She drove us down to the gym and pulled up in front. The three of us headed inside, where we found my parents, Carlisle, Emmett, Jasper, Rose, and Alice.
"Hey, how was your first days back?" asked Elizabeth.
"Pretty rough," I said, honestly. "But it'll get easier, right?"
"I hope so," she murmured. "Well, we have good news."
"What?" asked Bella, looking around at everyone.
"Ed and I are not being sent back to Italy," said my mother, smiling. "They've granted his request for retirement so we are here to stay."
"Really?" asked Bella, tearing up.
"Yes," whispered Elizabeth, pulling Bella into her arms. "We are not leaving you, sweetheart."
I smiled as I watched my mother holding the love of my life in her arms. With my parents here, her brothers, and my sister, Bella and I just might be able to deal with all of this and finally be happy. If anyone deserved to have their happily ever after, it was Bella.
