Chapter 39
There was commotion and voices. I heard banging and the crinkling of glass.
I woke up to an empty bed. Edward's side was still warm, and I looked towards the open bathroom door in my sleepy confusion.
Voices again. Shouting.
I sprang up just as the door to Edward's bedroom burst open.
Carlisle was standing there, fury on his face and anger in his eyes. Disappointment written all over him.
We were busted.
"Bella, get dressed."
I pulled the sheet further up my naked body. "What's going on? Why are you here?"
"Get. Dressed." He closed the door with a whoosh and my heart thundered. Carlisle was here? He wasn't due back until… oh my god. We'd lost track. Lost track of reality and timelines as we lived in our little dark cave.
Doing as he said, I thought of all the things I could say. I'm nineteen. Edward and I needed each other this weekend. We did nothing wrong. We weren't doing anything wrong.
I looked at my bags on the floor and left them there, certain that's where they belonged.
When I opened the door, my eyes searched for Edward. He was sitting on his bench, back to me, and I could see the whiskey was already out in front of him.
Carlisle was standing in the hallway, hands on hips. His foot lurched suddenly and caught the wreckage of the guitar. Sent it flying. His eyes landed on my cheek, still tender and pulsing.
He grabbed my face and twisted it, peering at my cheek. "Did he do this to you?" he asked me through clenched teeth.
I touched my cheek, caked with dried blood. "It was an accident."
"Let's go." He grabbed my arm and pulled.
I dug my feet in. "No!"
"Bella," he warned.
"No! I'm not going anywhere."
He rubbed his face. Walked towards Edward. Stood over him. "Just what the fuck happened here. What did you do?" He leaned down towards him, his voice rising. "What the fuck did you do?"
Edward sat silent so I stepped over the debris quickly to come to his defense. "He didn't do anything."
Carlisle lost it. "Didn't do anything? I come back to my bus to find it demolished, and my niece naked in his bed! Dried blood on her face! Don't tell me he didn't do anything!"
"He needed me, he asked me to stay and I wanted to. I wanted to. Me, I made that decision. Don't you blame him."
"You." He pointed right at me. "Are going home."
"I will not! I am nineteen years old, and you can't tell me what to do! You are not my father!"
I looked to Edward, still facing away from me, saying nothing. "Edward?" I pleaded to him. Make this right.
The bus door whooshed open and the driver stepped up the stairs. "What the fuck?" he asked, looking at the broken windshield then surveying the wreckage-strewn bus.
"Edward?" I begged now, tried to grab his shoulder but Carlisle stopped me. "Edward, tell him. Tell him that you want me here, that you asked me to be here."
Edward took a giant slug out of the bottle and stood. Didn't look at me.
"Edward!" I demanded in fear, ice cold water running through my veins.
Edward motioned towards the door. A wave of his hand like an afterthought.
And told me to leave.
He was giving in to Carlisle's angry demands because he didn't want to piss him off, make it worse. Figured it was better to let the dust settle but I disagreed.
"I'm not going to leave you here to deal with this by yourself. I'll clean it all up, we'll fix it."
He shook his head. "Just go, Bella."
"This isn't a big deal. We'll face this together. Don't worry about my uncle."
He growled. "Bella, I don't want you here! I don't want you! This weekend was fun, a good distraction, but that's all it was. That's all it was ever going to be. Get the fuck out." He spat at me, the dragon wrapped around him and guided him like a tornado. He shrugged. "You don't mean anything to me."
Hot tears threatened to expose me as I moved to stand in front of him. "You don't mean that. I know you don't." Please don't mean it.
I watched with shaky breath as he raised his finger to the tender cut under my eye. He traced it gently and I wanted to rest my cheek in his palm. My heart skipped, waiting for an apology or agreement.
But his words were pure, poisonous venom. "You are nothing. Just one of many." He turned to Carlilse. "Call Bridget for me, will ya? I need to get laid properly."
I stared at him, skinned. Skinned from the inside out. Pained and tormented. I could feel every bite mark, every kiss, every fuck and every beautiful moment draining out of me to run sickly black across the carpet. Utter despair escaped my mouth as he walked past me without another word, without a touch. Sank back into his pathetic bench like the coward he was.
My feet were glued to the debris-ridden floor for a beat too long, but finally, they moved. With my head held high, I walked towards him, stopped. Leaned in, lowered my face to his.
And spoke as loud as I could in his good ear.
"I want to make sure you hear me when I say this, you prick." My voice was even and firm, despite the tremble wracking my body. "You deserve everything coming to you and more. I can't wait for everyone to find out. Can't wait to see the fans and critics circle like sharks, can't wait to hear them talking about the downfall of the once great Edward Cullen." I rose above him. "Too bad you won't hear them."
The spell was broken.
And so was I.
I grabbed my wallet and phone off the floor, and exited that bus for the last time.