AN: Steph Meyer owns every character, I just play with them.
Chapter Two
She blinked up at me and opened her mouth to talk, but nothing came out. I was going to allow her to respond, and even thought about repeating the question, but it was getting late, and my patience was running thin.
I stood. "Scoot over."
She gulped, frozen in her seat and clutching her pathetic excuse for a weapon—a fucking screwdriver.
Leaning into her, I said one word, "Move."
She inhaled sharp and nodded.
Watching her scramble to get her tiny body over the center console was the funniest shit I'd ever seen. Being able to maintain a stern face was hard. I ended up having to help by grabbing her legs and tossing them to the passenger's side. When I was inside the car, bombarded with her flowery scent, I wondered how the fuck I got to this point. Two minutes ago, I was going to kill her, but now what? I had no fucking idea.
"Let's see what you have done." Inspecting the damage, I almost laughed.
She yanked the wires out of the ignition and stripped them from their sheathing. In a way, I could see where she was going with this shit, and some idiot on YouTube might have taught her this poor-man's technique, but it was unbelievable how much she fucked up the job. The kid wasn't even remotely close to starting the damn car. She would've had better luck pushing it back to the rez.
"Fucking amateur."
"I'm not a car thief," she said with disdain.
If I looked at her, I wouldn't be able to keep it together, so I dedicated my energy to the mundane task of putting my baby back together.
"Yeah. I can tell."
"I saw it done that way in a movie once."
I laughed.
A fucking movie? Was she shitting me? That's all I thought. It took everything I had to not engage with her. No, my mind zeroed in on the steering wheel column and focused on that.
"Why don't you have an alarm system on your car?" she asked.
I did, in the form of a text message. The people in this complex were my eyes and ears. They sounded the alarm when something sketchy came my way, and most of all, they weren't stupid enough to fucking cross me.
That's what I told her.
"Why do you even bother locking it then? You could have saved me a shit load of trouble."
That was 'what the fuck' for me. The kid refused to shake my hand and feared me so much that she wouldn't drop the goddamn screwdriver, but had the fucking balls to give me shit about locking my car? I made her stealing from me difficult.
It pissed me off.
"Jesus!" I roared in frustration. "What are you even doing here? You should be at home, scrapbooking or, I don't know, what do kids your age do?"
"I'm not a kid!" she said as a challenge.
Glancing up, I allowed myself to look at Bella and considered her. Sitting there in my car, she made herself grown up by pushing out her chest. This beautiful girl wanted me to want her, and a part of me did, but the rational, less dickish part of me, wanted to be an ally to someone who had so few in life.
"Yeah, kid. You are." Then I put my eyes back on something that was mine.
Wedging the wires back into the steering wheel column, I felt a cold breeze on my right arm. It struck me as odd, and as I turned to the girl, I couldn't believe my eyes. She was getting out of my car. It panicked me, and in my haste to keep her there with me, I put my hands on her.
She gasped as my fingers squeezed around her arm.
"What are you doing?" I demanded.
"I…I..." she stuttered; stunned by my sudden force. "I was leaving."
The fuck she was. "Leaving? Why?"
"Because I can?"
"No, you can't."
It didn't matter to me how it sounded.
"What?" Her eyes narrowed, and that uncertainty lifted, showcasing that fire within her. That attitude, the one that'll bring me to my knees, was on full display. "Of course, I can. You can't keep me here against my will."
"You're right." I released her as my actions became too extreme. "I can't keep you here, but what are you going to do? You can't go back to Jake."
"Why not?"
I had a list of reasons, but I decided to give her the basics. "Because I'm not giving you my car and you can't go back to him empty-handed. He'll fucking kill you."
The last part would never happen, but she needed to understand the world we lived in wasn't her friend.
"And what is it to you? Why do you care whether I live or die?"
Jesus, she drove me mad with how stubborn she was.
"Because you're just a kid. You shouldn't be out here like this. It's too dangerous. You should be at home with your family wrapped up in a goddamn Snuggie!"
She scoffed. "Yeah. Right." And I assumed it was a natural response to my lame suggestion until she followed it up with this, "I don't have a family."
I knew by looking at her faded sweatshirt and dirt-covered jeans that Bella was a runaway, but the realization that this kid, barely five feet tall and a hundred and ten pounds soaking wet, having nowhere to go in this fucked-up city put me in an awkward position. It was crazy even to offer, and Emmett was going to make it out to be more than it was, but I was stuck.
"Okay, I'll tell you what I'm going to do." I snapped the steering column back into its place. "If you won't go home, then I have no choice but to take you home."
My other business partner, Jasper, would laugh at me, and say we all had a choice.
I knew my answer, and with no apologies, I turned over the key. My car was the only faithful lady in my life, and despite the damage Bella caused her, she purred like a kitten. The power of the 327 engine that vibrated the seats always gave me a fucking hard-on.
I reached down to shift the stick into first, but the kid had other ideas. She was jerking at the door handle, crying, and going on about how she would run away again. Half the shit she said made no sense, and I couldn't understand her.
"Jesus Christ. Will you please just fucking relax?" I put my hand on her cheek to calm her down some, and surprisingly, it worked. "Look, we're going to get you something to eat." Her stomach growled, and she blushed. I smiled. "Then I'm taking you home."
Bella's muscle seized up, and she was shaking her head. "No. No. I can't!" Then she went for that fucking door again.
She was going to put me into an early grave, but her freak out afforded me another reason to touch her. After pulling her back into my car, explaining that the only home I'd planned to take her to was mine, the kid relaxed.
The ups and downs with her were exhausting.
How was I going to do this shit every day?
Simple answer: I wasn't going to.
In the morning, I'd planned to call around Phoenix and get Bella into a shelter, or a halfway home.
Anything beyond one night with this young, chaotic girl would be a mistake.
After the kid ate half of the items on the menu, she clammed up. I would ask questions to ease the tension, but her distrust for me was growing, and that made shit even more awkward. I knew she would be looking for her escape as soon as we got back to the apartments.
She didn't disappoint.
I was only a few steps ahead when her scent faded. Bella stood frozen at the side of my car, glancing around, and searching for the best route to flee.
I was impressed.
"Don't you think it's a little late to be rethinking your decisions, kid?" I asked, but she kept her eyes on Thomas road. If she was dead-set on leaving, the least I could do was hook her up with some cash. "Whatever. Suit yourself." When I approached her, I noticed two things: she was fucking tiny and still scared of me. I sighed. "Take this."
I gave her all the money in my pocket.
She looked down at it and then at me; puzzled by my generosity.
"It should get you a motel room for a couple of nights and some food," I explained.
"Um…" She forced me to force the damn money into her hands. "Thanks?"
I kept telling myself she wasn't my problem. I've given her enough food and cash to sustain herself for a week. It was more than most people like me would give a girl like her. She's fucking lucky I didn't shoot her. I was damn close.
But I felt like shit anyway.
"Keep yourself safe out there."
"Okay," she whispered.
"And lay off the car thieving business. You suck at it." The thought of her going out there with her screwdriver made me smile. How fucking ridiculous. "Go work at McDonald's or some shit."
She laughed and looked down at her feet. "For sure."
"All right," I said and nudged her towards the road. "Now get out of here before I change my mind."
She shuffled a bit, but I couldn't watch her anymore.
My controlling ass already planned on asking around town to see if the kid bought any drugs with the money I'd just given her. She didn't look like an addict, but she could be a newbie. Why else would she be fucking around with a prick like Jake? He didn't even sell quality shit. Most of his clientele came to me and complained about how the cheap fucker would lace shit with gasoline. I would hear through the circles about his customers overdosing on his poorly cut heroin. It was a damn shame. I hoped the kid didn't fall victim.
I was halfway home when she yelled out. "Edward! Wait up!"
Turning around, I'm amused, yet confused by Bella, using all her strength and muster to hightail her ass after me.
"Did you forget something?"
She was out of breath and had her hand outstretched to give back the cash. "Here."
What the fuck was she doing?
"No. I gave that money to you. It's yours. Take it. You need it."
"I don't need it." She was jabbing the money into my gut. "I changed my mind."
Taking hold of her shoulders, I tried to slow her down. She was rattling on too fast, and it was too fucking late for this shit. "What are you talking about?"
"I…" She bit her lip and stared up at me.
"You what?"
The girl was beautiful, and she didn't know it. Bella wore no makeup and hid behind oversized clothes. That was what appealed me to her.
"I want to stay with you," she said.
The thought of keeping her close would save me a lot of work. I could make sure she stayed clean and off Jake's drugs. I laughed at what she's already turned me into, a goddamn sucker.
"Come on, then."
The kid tried to give back the money, but I stayed stern with her. If she decided to take off on her own, I'd feel better knowing she had enough cash to take care of herself.
When we got up to my apartment, I gritted down on my teeth until my jaw ached. Emmett had the stereo pounding to the point it shook the living room window, and he'd smoke so much damn weed, a hazy gray cloud poured outside as soon as I opened the door.
The idiot was higher than the Empire State Building.
"Yo, Eddie!"
Bella gripped the back of my shirt for a split second, but quickly let go and stood close behind me. I ignored how her body against mine made my fucking pulse pick up.
"Turn that shit off, Em! Do you want our neighbors to call the cops again?"
"Fuck the police. Let the pigs come!" He blubbered on about nothing and flipped off imaginary people.
"Yeah. You say that shit now." I flicked off the stereo, and the room went silent.
The quietness of life was something I avoided, and I often had too many racing thoughts that would drive me mad, but that night, I couldn't bear the noise of 'Pantera.'
It distracted me from her.
Joining Emmett on the couch, I set my eyes on Bella. She stood frozen at the door and watched me watch her. Em passed over the joint, and I took it. The weed helped calm my nerves. They were still sketchy over her fingers, gripping my shirt.
I liked her wanting me to protect her.
"So, you've been gone a while. Did you kill the person who was stealing your car?" Emmett snorted. "Did you chop them up and bury the pieces in the desert?"
That happened only once, but that asshole liked to bring it up any chance he could. Emmett and Jasper called me ruthless. I thought it was smart business.
Bella's fate would be slightly less tragic.
"Nope," I smirked. "I decided to bring her home instead."
"Her?" His eyes popped out as he finally saw what's been keeping me busy. "What's that?"
"That's Bella."
"What's a Bella?"
I sucked on my lip ring to distract my growing thoughts on how she's already managed to invade my life. "Bella is a shitty car thief."
"What the hell is she doing here?"
"She needs a place to crash," I said, waving off his concerns.
Emmett was easy to win over, and he grinned. "Oh. Cool. Hey there, little Bella. Do you smoke?"
Bella's eyes went wide as he offered up a puff, and she fidgeted. "Um…"
I didn't like the idea of this sweet, innocent kid tainted by my world.
"Don't give her that shit." I snatched the joint away from him. "She's a good girl. You shouldn't be trying to corrupt her."
What I got in return was an attitude. Bella flipped from the meek girl at the door into a stubborn, confident brat who had a point to prove.
"Would a good girl try to steal your car?" She charged me like a bull and grabbed the joint out of my mouth.
I watched her inhale way too deep and take way too many hits. To this fucking day, Bella claims it was only one hit, but I saw that shit with my own eyes, and she took four puffs.
It sidelined her fast.
The kid hacked and coughed and flailed.
I laughed at her and grabbed back the joint. "Sit down before you hurt yourself, kid."
She fell back into the lazy boy and closed her eyes. I watched her breathing as it got shallow. It didn't take her long to fall asleep. Emmett bullshitted about the Suns and how much they sucked that season. I was content with enjoying my relaxed high and not getting into the reasons why Bella was there.
Then he brought it up.
"What do you plan to do with her?"
I watched her for a second, but she didn't move or flinch.
"She needs someone to look after her."
"Bullshit!" he scoffed. "You want to bang her."
He knew me well enough to know that shit was my standard MO, but Bella wasn't some skank junkie off the street.
"Come on, man. Don't be an asshole. She's seventeen."
"So?"
"I'm twenty-eight. That's…"
Against the law. Immoral. Wrong. Taboo. I could go on.
"Perfect!" Em nudged me with a wink.
I did a quick scan of her sleeping form and thought how perfect she would fit with me.
"It's illegal," I said out loud to remind myself.
"What? Fuck that! Our whole operation is illegal." He waved his hand over the table full of weed, coke, and acid tabs. "That gun in your pants is illegal."
I sighed. "I don't care. It's not right to take advantage of the situation like that. She's a kid."
He rolled his eyes. "Fine. Whatever. But know that I'm not babysitting for you."
"Fuck off!" I punched him in the arm, and he hit me back. It hurt, but the situation I'd gotten myself into was ten times more fucking painful. Groaning, I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Look, she's my problem, all right? I'll take care of it."
Emmett shook his head and gave me a warning. "You're going to get burned with that one."
"Yeah, don't I fucking know it?" I laughed and tried to shrug it off as a joke, but what scared me was the fact that he was right.
This shit wasn't going to end well.
What the fuck was I thinking of bringing her there into my corrupt world of crime and poverty?
It was no place for someone like Bella.
Aside from being the 'noble' criminal, I was greedy. I wanted her in ways I couldn't have her, but instead of letting her be, I brought her home.
And to do what?
The reason I gave for not trying to get into Bella's pants was bullshit. Age wasn't the issue. She was seventeen, and a tad young, sure, but that never stopped me in the past. It wasn't a deal-breaker, and that's why Emmett referred to her as my fire. I put this girl above my wants, and to a man like me with no moral compass, I would burn for that decision.
My friend recognized the danger.
I just knew better.
The last thing Bella needed or wanted, was some older guy trying to stick his dick in her. No, she deserved so much more than a piece of shit like me could ever hope to offer her.
"Yo, Ed." Emmett elbowed my shoulder.
"What the fuck do you want?"
I was heading into a downward spiral with my thoughts, and it put me on edge.
He pointed to a passed-out Bella falling out of the chair. "You can't let her sleep like that."
I couldn't even take care of her properly. While I was pissing and moaning about my needs and frustrations, it was Emmett who looked out for her best interest.
"Fuck!" Standing up from the couch, I went over to her, and in one quick motion, she was in my arms.
Bella hung like a limp corpse as I carried her to my room. She didn't weigh much, and that concerned me. I knew she was homeless and the food was scarce, I'd seen that from the very beginning, but I didn't realize how bad it was.
That was a problem I could fix.
Laying her down on my bed, I took off her shoes. The comforter was shit and smelled like Jacey's cheap perfume. It was not suitable for Bella.
Walking out of my room, I went into the room Emmett shared with his girlfriend, Rosalie, and yanked the comforter off the mattress. They wouldn't miss it, and if they gave me shit about it, I would fucking remind them of who kept their life afloat.
Me.
That's fucking who.
I placed the blanket over the kid and tucked her in. She didn't stir, still passed out cold, and I had a nagging suspicion that it wasn't from the weed. I don't care how much of a fucking lightweight someone was, and grass won't put people in a comatose state.
No, there was more to her story.
I sat by her side for a bit longer than intended, just watching her sleep, and thinking about how big of an idiot I was. Taking her in and giving her a place to stay was stupid. When the offer left my mouth, I cringed. I wasn't that guy. I didn't give a shit about people. I could barely handle putting up with the friends I had.
That's why this arrangement was a bad idea.
But there I was, trying to be a fucking hero.
"Mmm," she hummed and flipped over on her back.
Moving a few pieces of hair away from her face, I stared at her lips. They parted as she exhaled, and fucking begging me to kiss them. I leaned in close and got another wave of her scent.
She smelled good.
Too fucking good.
This shit was a problem.
It was wrong for thinking of her in that way, but to fucking kiss the girl was indefensible.
My mind screamed at me not to do it, but I never fucking listen, and it was too late. I'd already pressed my lips to hers. It was brief, and I made it a point not to linger. Just enough to get a taste. I could afford myself this one sin before I go full priest.
"Goodnight, kid," I whispered.
She sighed and rolled away from me.
When I left the room, I vowed that I would never cross the line with her again.
No matter what.
One kiss was all I was going to get.
