Chapter 16

BPOV

"Please, Alice, we need to start walking."

"That's him, isn't it?" She turned to look, but I took her hand and squeezed it.

"Please, please, let's just keep moving. He's here with someone else; a woman. His letter—I should have known better than to believe a word that came out of his mouth!"

"Okay, okay, just calm down. Take a deep breath and let's walk. It's fine, you're cool."

I took a deep breath as we walked further into the crowd. Even with all the noise surrounding us, I still heard him calling my name. "Oh, Alice, what do I do?" I cried. "He's not going to give up."

She shrugged. "Honestly, I'm not that great with relationship advice, but if the chick he was with meant something, why is he running after you? Maybe it was his sister."

"He doesn't have any siblings."

"Fine. A cousin, a friend, I don't know! Honestly, if I'd known we were going to be running from some guy you slept with—"

I stopped in my tracks, staring at her. "What, Alice? You wouldn't have invited me? You only checked up on me because I wasn't throwing parties, didn't you? That's all you care about. My booze and my weed. I get it. Can't have Bella dulling your high."

"That's not—"

"Oh can it, Alice. Just go, get high, fuck a hundred guys. I don't care anymore. You don't care about me, anyway. I'm gonna find a ride out of here." I headed off on my own as she stood there with her mouth hanging open. Maybe I'd been a bit harsh, but it was obvious she wasn't a great friend. I was tired of surrounding myself with people who didn't care about me, only what I could do for them.

It felt as if it took me days to reach the main road, but in reality, it'd probably only been an hour of just wandering. Regardless, it was hot and humid out, the sun glaring down on me, and I was sticky with sweat. I was certain I didn't smell very good, either. I sighed heavily as I looked out at the vast amount of cars. I was never getting home.

"Bella."

I inhaled sharply, my skin bursting into flames as he put his hand on my shoulder. I thought I'd done enough walking to lose him, but obviously not. Shrugging him off, I turned to face him.

"What, Edward? What could you possibly want? Are you so thick in the head that you can't tell when someone doesn't want to speak to you?" I snapped at him.

"I had to try—"

"Why? The chick you're with isn't good enough?"

He shook his head. "It's not like that. She's just a friend now."

"Now? So there was something? You're unbelievable! You send me this letter pouring your fucking heart out, and for what? You obviously moved on!"

"You read it, then?"

"That's what you took away from everything I just said? God, you're such an asshole!"

"Would you shut the hell up for one second, Bella?"

"How dare you—" He cut me off as he grabbed me by the shoulders, capturing my lips with his. He held me against him as I struggled for a moment, but my body betrayed my mind as I kissed him back, my fingers threading through his hair. Slowly, he pulled away, leaving us both panting.

"Will you listen to me, yet?" he murmured.

"No."

"Please? Just give me five minutes. If you don't like what you hear, you can tell me to fuck off. I'll head back there and deal with the mud and shit and crappy music." He gestured behind us.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "That music is not crappy, it's brilliant."

I noticed a tiny smirk at the corner of his lips. "Fine, it's not all bad, but it's no Sinatra."

I rolled my eyes, hating the warm feelings that erupted inside me. "How old are you again? Fifty? Sixty?"

"Can we talk seriously, Bella?"

"You're talking right now; it doesn't mean I'm listening." I walked away from him.

He followed right behind me, his mouth never stopping. "Everything I wrote in that letter was the truth. I'm in love with you, and I've probably been in love with you since the day I first saw you. Like I said, though, I'm stupid. I should have never treated you the way I did—"

"If it's all true, then why are you here with someone else?" I turned around, glaring at him.

"I told you, she's a friend. We dated in college—"

"So she's the one that turned you into a chauvinistic dick? Why the hell would you come here with her?"

"I've been asking myself the same thing. Yes, she broke my heart, but it was only because she saw a future for herself that didn't include me. I took it personally when I shouldn't have."

"I bet she still wants you. She's back and thinks you can just pick up where you left off. If you loved her so much, maybe you should be with her."

He inhaled before pushing out a deep breath. "No, I don't think so, and even if she did want that, it doesn't matter! I just want you. I love you. God, Bella, I might have been a pig, but when did I ever lie to you? I was always truthful. You knew about Victoria from the beginning, what do I have to gain by lying about Rachel now?"

"I don't know," I whispered. I felt tears stinging the corners of my eyes. The last thing I wanted was for him to see me cry. I was pretty sure I didn't have a choice, though.

"Sweetheart, please don't cry." He moved closer to me, wrapping me in his arms. "I'm sorry, God, I'm so sorry. You twisted and turned my world so many ways, you woke up so much inside me, and I was such a jackass to you. Believe me, though, I'm so in love with you it hurts."

As he held me, rubbing my back to soothe me, I let out all the emotions I'd been bottling up for years.

I cried because all I ever wanted was my father to care about me. I cried over Austin and the love I thought I shared with him, and even for the friendship I'd had with Jake. I cried for all the guys in between, but mostly I cried because I knew he was being honest. He loved me.

I loved him, too.

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