Chapter 6 (BPOV)
Song(s): "Chandelier" by Sia
A/N: Here we are with another chapter because of that mean cliffy we left you on. We're back with Bella this time. Thank you to everyone reading and reviewing. Thank you to our prereaders and beta. Off we go!
To say that I was surprised to see Edward right in front of me, with Jasper standing next to me no less, was the fucking understatement of the year.
"What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to see you, Isabella. I thought that was clear. Aren't you gonna introduce me to your friend?" He shot Jasper a death glare.
Jasper tapped me on the shoulder, so I turned to look at him. "I'm gonna go inside and get a bagel," he said and darted inside the shop before I could stop him. Fucking pussy.
I sighed and turned back to face Edward. "Okay, first of all, it's Bella. Only my dad and sister call me Isabella. Second, how is who I hang out with any of your business? Did you follow me?" I asked, my temper starting to reign as the strongest emotion right now.
"Define follow. I found out your identity and happened to drive in the same direction as you, and I wanted to say hello. Who the fuck comes all the way to Prospect Heights for a fricking bagel anyway?" Edward deadpanned, smirking with his pussy-licking lips.
I was having a hard time finding the words. I had thought about Edward often since that night in the parking lot, and now he was standing in front of me and I was conflicted about how I should feel toward him. I wanted to kiss him for being so goddamn sexy yet throttle him for being a creepy stalker at the same time. "Why? Why were you looking for me?"
"Call it morbid curiosity, or I guess intuition, which I say was pretty spot-on, seeing as how you didn't even give me your actual name, Bella." He stressed my name, oozing sex.
"Yeah, you were a virtual stranger, and obviously giving you just my middle name didn't stop you from finding me. It wasn't done maliciously. I honestly thought I'd never see you again."
"That's the beauty of one-night stands, but you really shouldn't be doing that shit since you've got that fanuk dogging you." He gestured to the shop where Jasper's traitor ass had fled.
"Not that it's any of your fucking business, but he happens to be my best friend, is straight as an arrow, and has a girlfriend. I've known him since I was six, you dick." My desire to deck him was starting to win, but I had a feeling that going up against him would be a mistake on my part.
"What youse do, take baths together and shit?" He raised his arms. What a drama queen.
"What … I don't even know how to answer that." I shook my head, wondering what this guy's damage was.
"Anyway, you wanna bagel? We can go back to your car after…"
I tuned out what he was saying as I took him in fully. He was wearing a suit in the middle of the day, so maybe he came from work. The way the material hugged his frame reminded me of when I had stripped his clothing off in the back of my car. There was no denying that as irritating as he was acting, he was a tall drink of water, and his insinuation of having another go in the backseat caused a shiver to run up my spine. I shook the thought off and held my hand up to stop this whole conversation.
"You're an asshole. I can't even have this conversation with you right now. I need to get back to my friend."
I huffed and stomped away, making my way into the bagel shop, ready to rip Jasper a new one. He was seated at a table with his bagel and my regular order sitting there too. I took a spot across from him. "What the hell? Why did you leave?"
"It seemed like you two needed some time alone. I gather that was the guy that you slept with in the parking lot?" He gestured with his head toward the window that was facing out onto the street.
"In the flesh," I replied. I was still reeling from the unexpected events of this morning. I wasn't lying when I said I had never expected to see him again, and now I was unsure if I wanted to again. He was kind of a dick. Why did he even look for me in the first place? I didn't owe him shit. I looked out the window to see if he was still there. Both he and his car were gone, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
"What was that all about? Looked like it was getting a little heated."
"He thought you were my boyfriend," I advised him.
"I don't know, topina. I think that you should probably stay away from him. If he was able to find out your name, and that you were here, that means he knows where you live. Your dad would be upset to know you're hanging around a guy like him," Jasper warned.
"Okay, first of all, I don't think I'll be seeing him again. Secondly, if I see him standing outside my house … well, then he might be interested to know I sleep with a nine under my pillow. Lastly, my dad will not find out about him unless you open your big mouth, so keep your trap shut" I said, shoving the rest of his bagel in his face.
He chewed and nodded. "All right. I won't tell you that I think you will definitely be seeing him again. The way he was looking at you? Yeah, he's not going to give up."
"Look, I don't want to talk about him anymore, okay," I said, shaking my head stubbornly.
Jasper put his hands up in surrender, smirking at me, causing me to smile back at him. "Well, I have to go meet Alice. She is pissed at me too for the other night because of the same reason you are mad, but I wanted to make sure we were okay first. Call me later, okay?"
I nodded and watched him walk out of the shop. I grabbed my untouched bagel, wrapping it up, and left as well. I jumped in my car and cranked the ignition. I was supposed to be meeting Rose at the hospital for her lunch break, so I headed there.
When I got to the hospital, I texted Rose to let her know that I was here. I got a reply back telling me to come in and we could go eat in the cafeteria. I found a parking space and then walked through the front entrance. Rose was waiting for me in the lobby. She linked arms with me and pulled me along with her through the maze of the hospital.
Once we made it to the cafeteria, I was amazed to see the stuff that they had on the menu. It looked like they had really good food, and I now understood why she wanted to eat here. We grabbed trays and broke apart to grab our respective items. I was making a giant salad when I saw a huge guy walk up to Rosalie and start talking to her. He was built like a linebacker, and his dark hair was cut short. He had cobalt blue eyes and twin dimples in his cheeks when he smiled at my sister. I had never really seen Rose talk to guys since high school, but she was blushing.
When she saw me looking at her, she gave him a little shove because he was in her path and then she made her way over to me.
"What was that all about?" I asked when she was by my side.
"Oh, nothing," she said, not meeting my eyes.
I smiled and poked her in the side, laughing. "Bullshit, Rose, he was making you blush."
"It's just a guy who works here. We've talked once or twice. I went to high school with him." She shrugged, faking nonchalance.
"Wow, small world. And speaking of, do I have a story to tell you," I explained. We paid for our meals and found somewhere to sit. I ate a bite of my salad, and she stared at me expectantly. "So, I was meeting Jasper for a bagel this morning and guess who just happened to show up?"
"Um." She seemed to be thinking.
"Okay, that was rhetorical because you'll never guess. Edward," I said, my eyes wide.
"Edward?" she asked, sounding confused.
I looked at her with my eyebrow arched. "The guy from the club."
"Oh, the one that you did stuff with." She nodded and took a bite of her food.
I swear, people were just extra annoying today or something. Maybe I was about to start my period. "Did stuff with? What are we in second grade?"
"Bella, we are at my place of work. I think shouting out what really happened would get some attention we don't want," she said through her teeth.
I rolled my eyes and nodded, agreeing with her. "Anyway, so he shows up outside Bergen's before Jasper and I go in, and he tells me he found out my real name."
"Cigno?" she whispered, fear written all over her face.
"No. Isabella. I told him my name was Marie."
"Well then how did he find out your name?"
"Fuck if I know," I said, throwing my arms up in the air, exasperated. So maybe I was a little bit of a drama queen too. "We got into an argument, and I left him standing on the sidewalk."
Rose laughed. "Oh, he has no idea what he's gotten himself into. You're not like most girls."
"Is that a reference to my knife collection and the fact I could shoot an apple off your head?" I gave her a sweet sarcastic smile.
She nodded and tilted her head. "Well, yeah, that and the fact that you're not down to be in a relationship. So, he won't have to deal with you asking what is usually the kiss of death. "Where is this going? What is this to you?'"
I grimaced. "Yeah, I can honestly say I've never asked a guy that."
"Yeah, because you've never been in a serious relationship," she pointed out.
I shook my head, taking another bite of my salad. "No. There was Liam."
"Okay, that was in high school, and Daddy made you break up with him because he was twenty-one and you were sixteen. Plus, he was in the Irish mafia. That's just scandalous," Rose teased, winking at me.
I chuckled, shrugging one shoulder. "Yeah, he thinks I broke up with him."
Rose almost choked on her food, and I had to come over and slap her on the back. "You stayed with him?" she asked once she'd regulated her breathing.
I laughed. "Of course I did. He was hot, and he was who I lost my virginity to. He wasn't scared of who Daddy was, and he knew what my life was like. Plus, that accent. Damn! It only lasted six months, so it's not a big deal."
She chuckled, looking at me in shock. "Bella, you seem to have a death wish."
"No, I don't. Like I told you the other night, I don't want this life. I never asked to lead a double life. It's exhausting and I just want to live my life, without Daddy interfering or me always having to hide shit."
"I'm gonna tell you something that Mom told me before she passed. Living in this life is not easy, but the people that you meet are some of the most loyal and trustworthy. This isn't the life for everyone, but we don't have a choice. You can either accept it or reject it and be miserable."
"I completely reject it, and I'm not miserable. Mom died, Rose. Someone fucking shot her, so these trustworthy and loyal people sure weren't watching out for her. Everyone in this life is in it for themselves. We call ourselves a family and talk about loyalty and the code, but at the end of the day, it's all bullshit. Face it, you and I are just pawns in Daddy's game."
Rose sighed and looked really sad. "Daddy loves us, Isabella, and it's pretty shitty of you to think he doesn't after everything he's done for us."
I scoffed and got up from the table. "He did it because he was forced to. Mom wasn't there for him to pawn us off to anymore." I dumped my tray and walked out of the cafeteria, ignoring Rose calling my name. I walked to my car, trying to hold onto the anger, not the sadness that came whenever my mom was mentioned. I got in my car and rested my head on the steering wheel.
"Don't cry, Bella. Don't be a little bitch. Push it down. Don't cry. Don't cry." I chanted to myself. I refused to let Rose's words affect me. I couldn't believe that she had brought up Mom and said that she passed. Like she went peacefully after some long illness. She was shot point blank, left to bleed out and die in an alley, alone.
I collected myself, taking deep breaths. I turned the ignition and drove out of the hospital parking lot. I didn't want to go home because it would just be more of the same shit, different day. I decided what I needed was to get some of this tension out.
I stopped by the house to grab my gym bag and called Jazz. He didn't answer, so I went to the gym closest to my house. I needed to hit something and then swim a few laps in the pool. Maybe tonight I will hit another club or go to a bar. I should have taken Edward up on his offer to go again in my car.
While I was swimming laps, I had an epiphany. It seemed like I was just waiting to live my life. Going from one distraction to the next. I needed to have a plan. Daddy had given me a job, and I would save every penny from it. Then when I had enough money saved, I would disappear. That was the only way to get out of this life. It would hurt Rose and Daddy, but they would be fine eventually. It was the only solution that I saw to get out from under my dad's thumb and be who I wanted to be.
To keep my dad from suspecting anything, I would need to play my part. I was about to put on the performance of my lifetime.
When I got home, no one else was there. Rose would be at work until after dinner, and Dad had left the house like his ass was on fire this morning, so I imagined he'd be late too. I trudged up the stairs to my room and undressed, throwing my clothes in the hamper. I hopped in the shower, not wanting the chlorine to sit in my hair.
I started washing my body, and the thought of Edward was bad timing but I was still keyed up and needed that release. I ran my hands over my stomach and sides, imagining warm calloused hands touching me. When I rolled my nipples in between my fingers and plucked them, the jolt of pleasure traveled straight to my clit.
The great thing about having a newly renovated bathroom was I had a removable showerhead with different settings. I switched it to the massage setting and guided it between my legs. I gasped and almost fell over from the shock of the pulsing jet. This thing was strong as hell. I didn't even have to touch myself anywhere else, just aimed it at my clit and my breathing sped up. When my legs started to shake, I knew I was close, and because I knew I was alone, I let the moans spill from my lips.
"Fuck. Oh my god. Yes," I whimpered, and then as soon as my orgasm hit me, I fell to my knees in the shower and flung the showerhead from my hand. I reached up and turned the water off as I sat and shook from the aftershocks of my climax. It wasn't the same as a live warm body, but it would do in a pinch. The feel-good hormones started flooding my system, and all I could do was sit there and laugh at the absurdity of the fact that I had to resort to this. Fuck my life.
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