Twilight and its characters belong to Stephanie Meyer.
On the drive home from school, I cranked up my music so loud the car shook. I sang along with Frank, Etta, and Jackie at the top of my lungs. Etta James was still belting out the possibility of falling in love when I pulled into the driveway. Alice was just getting out of her yellow Porche and raised a single, judgmental eyebrow at the racket.
Once out of my car, I picked up that little pixie and swung her around the driveway.
"You smell terrible," was all she could say about my uncharacteristic enthusiasm, "Like brine and sweat."
I would have to shower before dinner.
I set Alice back down on the driveway. "You wouldn't believe the day I just had."
She couldn't help but smile back, "Did it have anything to do with Isabella Swan?"
Boy, did it ever. And Alice could see that in my face.
We began walking into the house, through the front door so we wouldn't go through the kitchen and disturb the cooking frenzy that Esme claimed to be her "Me Time".
"So, she had a reasonable excuse for ditching and avoiding you?"
There was no reason for me to not go along with Bella's cover story, "She had the stomach flu!"
"The flu!" Alice cheered, "That's wonderf—she's alright, right?"
I waved my hand, "She's fine."
"That's wonderful!"
"She wasn't avoiding me; she wasn't in school at all. She felt terrible about the whole thing and we made up and we..." I let the thought end there. Alice would get this gist.
"See? I wasn't far off. I knew there would be vomit involved."
I rolled my eyes, "Yes, Alice. You're brilliant and psychic and know everything."
She nodded in approval, "Damn right." She poked me in the chest, "Remember that the next time you want to reject my prophecies."
"Write 'em down, and I'll be sure to worship them," I teased, earning a snort from Alice.
When we arrived at the top of the stairs, Alice turned to go into her room.
"I think you should go for it," I blurted out.
She turned on her heels. "What?"
I ran my hand through my hair. I had no idea why I said that, and even less of an idea of where I was going to go with it. "That guy you were telling me about… the one you think you can't be with."
Her shoulders slumped. "Oh, Edward…" she started.
But I interrupted her, "Listen. I might have no idea what I'm talking about," In fact, I knew I had no idea what I was talking about. But, I was still on my Bella-High and I wanted everyone to experience the thrill—especially Alice. "And I don't know what's holding you back—whether is taking a risk or social pressures or whatever. But I don't think you should let it. If something feels right in your gut, you gotta go for it. Any hoops you might have to jump through, any wayward glanced you might receive, they're going to be worth it."
Alice chewed on her lip, considering.
"Just think about it."
Face scrunched up with uncertainty, Alice nodded and turned back to her room.
There was still twenty minutes before dinner, so I had just enough time to hop into the shower to take care of the smell Alice complained about. Bella and I stuck to the shade most of the day; I had a lot more freckles, but no burns, for which I was grateful. Getting sunburnt always made me feel like a child. Back when foster sisters would taunt and laugh about the sun turning me pink. Or when foster brothers would slap the burns, trying to get their handprints to show. Or when foster mothers would muss my hair and talk about being a ginger while they slathered green slime all over my body.
For now, I was simply happy that I wouldn't have to explain how I had gotten a fresh sunburn when I was supposedly sitting in classrooms all day.
Downstairs, the rest of my siblings were already sitting around the table when I arrived. As he often did, Carlisle rushed in through the back door just in time to pull out Esme's chair so she could sit. He kissed her hair and took his own seat. After he took his first bite, he proceeded to complement various aspects of the meal, like he knew exactly what elements Esme wanted praising on.
Something was on Esme's mind. As the rest of us ate, she sat at the head of the table chewing on her lip instead of the food she prepared.
About halfway through the meal, she put her fork down. "Edward Anthony Masen Cullen."
The use of all four of my names couldn't possibly be a good sign.
My shoulders drew up to my ears, "Yes, mom?"
"Care to explain why you weren't at school this afternoon?"
"Uh…"
"The administration called today and told me that my son was missing! My son was missing! Do you have any idea how that might make me feel?" she demanded.
"Um…"
She stood and slapped her hands on the table, "You scared the shit out of me, Edward!"
Carlisle placed a single hand on his wife's elbow. The contact immediately calmed her, and Esme sat back down and tucked her hair behind her ears.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart. It's just… I watched you slump around this house for weeks and when you suddenly disappeared all of these terrible scenarios played in my head..."
My heart hurt for Esme. I was so wrapped up in my own petty drama, I hadn't stopped once to think how that might have affected her. I never had to think about my moods around my other foster moms, because they simply didn't care. If they didn't want to deal with my attitude, they put up with me until I was inevitably passed on to the next person.
But Esme wasn't my foster mom; she was my mom. She was going to care. And I needed to remember that I should care for her right back.
"I'm sorry, Mom." My apology voice always sounded small and pathetic to me.
"Why weren't you in school?" she repeated, much calmer this time.
I stared at her blankly for a second, wondering if I needed to work Bella and her imaginary flu into the story.
"He was with Isabella Swan," Rosalie announced on my behalf. "I just know it. She was absent today, too."
"You were with a girl?" Anger was brewing in Esme's tone again.
"Yes," I swallowed, "I got to school late by accident, and I saw Bella—,"
"Oh!" Rosalie's eyebrows shot up, "It's Bel-la, everyone."
Emmett hooted and hollered.
"They probably spent the day on the top of the bleachers on the baseball diamond," Jasper grinned.
"Nice, kid," Emmett slapped my shoulder, "I used to spend my lunches up there with Heidi Seear."
"No, you didn't," Alice retorted.
"Kids," Carlisle warned.
"What were you doing ditching school with Isabella Sawn?" Esme asked in a level voice that was somehow scarier than her angry voice.
Rosalie's interruption gave me enough time to think of a decent story. "It—it wasn't like that. Bella and I got to school at the same time. She'd been sick the last couple of days with the stomach flu and thought she was over it. Turned out, she wasn't. She got sick in the parking lot, and I offered to take her home." I kept my eyes locked on Esme's the entire time, hoping that would help make my lie more believable. "I stupidly drove her home in her truck instead of my car, and I was stuck there until someone got to her house and could take me back to the school."
Esme looked at Rose. "Is it true? Had this Isabella been sick?"
"Yes." Rosalie didn't look entirely thrilled to corroborate my story.
"You should have called your mother or me to get you, Edward." Carlisle scolded. "We're here to help you."
"I'm sorry," I said, "Sometimes I forget that."
Carlisle's pitied expression was unsettling—unless that pity got me off the hook for ditching school. Then, it was more than welcome.
Esme turned back to me. "And this girl, is the same one who got you pushed into the pool back in January?"
I was surprised Esme remembered that. But, I guessed those were the kinds of things mothers remembered. "Yes."
Esme's eyes softened ever-so-slightly. She took her first bite of dinner. "It looks like you've fallen for quite the accident magnet there."
My siblings giggled, but I was so grateful so Esme's forgiveness I couldn't feel embarrassed.
"Yes, I believe I have."
oOo
The next morning, the whole world felt like a new place. My workout with Emmett and Jasper was now empowering instead of torturous. The drive to school was now thrilling, for it closed the distance between Bella and me. Morning classes made the time go by faster for when I could get to Bella.
When lunch finally came around, I realized Bella and I hadn't made any concrete plans for our public relationship. I was certain we were going to spend lunch together, but I wasn't sure how or where. Should I have gone to the library? Would she have known I would need to get food first? In the cafeteria, spotted her in the crowd with similar questions on her face.
Even after everything that happened the day before, I couldn't believe that this gorgeous creature was standing there looking for me. "Bella!"
She smiled and the entire room brightened.
"I need to grab some food first, but I was hoping we would have lunch together."
Her face said, duh. I grinned.
"Do you want to wait for me here, or should I meet you in the library?" I asked.
She shook her head and pointed to the spot she used to sit. My girl wanted to make things between us public. And I was all about that. As a sign of support, I lowered my lips to hers.
"I'll meet you over there," I promised with a wink. I had the sweet satisfaction of watching her turn beet red before I turned towards the lunch line.
After I purchased my lunch, I looked for Bella at our predetermined spot, but she wasn't sitting there. Suddenly nervous, I scanned the room for her. When I spotted her in the middle of the courtyard, Lauren was pulling her by the hand towards my old lunch table with Jessica trotting merrily beside her.
My stomach dropped. I was so distracted by the euphoria of being with Bella, I had forgotten the two girls who had bullied their friend because they thought I showed interest in her. Who knew what they would do to the quiet stranger I had just kissed. I rushed over to the group, hoping I was wrong and they had the decency to simply be nice to my sweet Bella.
"Do you think she can even understand us?" Lauren was asking Jessica as I approached the girls.
"My—name—is—Jessica," Jessica said loudly with an exaggerated slowness, "we—are—Edward's—friends."
I wrapped my arm around Bella's waist and pulled her towards me, like having her by my side could protect her from their idiocy. "She can understand you just fine."
"What's wrong with her?" Lauren asked me.
"Nothing," I practically growled.
Bella touched her lips and shook her head to explain that she couldn't speak. Lauren and Jessica stared at her blankly. Bella repeated the action.
"Bella can't speak," I said on Bella's behalf since they clearly weren't catching on, "she's mute."
Their jaws dropped simultaneously, like I had just revealed one of life's great secrets. Or told them there was a buy-one, get-one sale.
"Well, we just have to have lunch with your new, mute girlfriend," Lauren chirped. "You've been hiding her for too long now."
"What do you say, Bella?"
Bella looked just as uncertain as I probably did but nodded her head anyway. The two girls cheered and the four of us made our way to my usual lunch spot.
"Why aren't you eating?" Jessica asked, regarding Bella's empty hands, "Are you on a diet? Is that why you're so small?" Before Bella could even respond, Jessica prattled on, "Is it intermittent fasting? I tried that and absolutely loved it. What are your hours? Are you doing twenty-four or sixteen-eight?"
"Jessica," Lauren chastised, "Yes or no questions only. That's all she can handle."
"That's all you can handle," I corrected, irked at Lauren's mocking tone, "Speak her language, and maybe you could keep up with her."
"And what language is that? Morse Code?"
Jessica giggled, "Yeah, she blinks at him." Lauren laughed along with her.
I was losing patience quickly. "Sign language."
Lauren paused for a moment, as two things clicked in her mind. She gave Bella a slimy smile, "Fascinating." She whispered something to Jessica, whose eyes grew in excitement at whatever she had just learned.
Bella looked at me for clarification, but all I could do was shrug, just as helpless.
"Come, Bella," Lauren guided her to the table, "You can take Edward's usual spot between us." She shoved Bella down into a seat at the table and took the seat next to her. I went to take the other seat beside Bella, but Jessica shooed me away, "I'm sitting here." She pointed to an empty chair, "You go over there."
I looked to Bella for guidance, and she gave me a brave nod.
"Good boy," Lauren taunted as I picked up my lunch tray and turned around, "Let us have our girl time."
Walking to the opposite side of the table felt like I was leaving my girlfriend to the sharks.
"Everybody," Lauren announced to the table, "This is Bella, Edward's new girlfriend. She doesn't talk."
"Why not?" Tyler asked her.
"She's mute," Lauren said.
"Do you have a tongue?" Mike asked.
Bella nodded woodenly.
Mike leaned in, "Let's see it."
"Watch it," I warned under my breath.
Jessica playfully slapped her boyfriend on the arm, "Don't be gross, Mike."
"Think Eddie's onto something," Tyler snickered, "Maybe you should try being mute for a few hours, Lauren."
"Please," Lauren flicked a grape at the boy I thought was her boyfriend, "You would be miserable if I couldn't talk."
Bella looked at me from across the table from under her eyelashes, and I gave her what I hoped was an encouraging smile.
"So how did you and Edward meet?" Lauren asked. I tried to answer, but Lauren stopped me, "No, no. I want to hear the story from her. Girls have a keener insight to these kinds of things." She looked down at Bella, "Well, Bella? Let's hear it."
Both Jessica and Lauren stifled their laughter when Bella pulled out her notebook and pen from her bag. When she began writing, and Jessica looked at me.
"You have to read everything she wants to say?"
"Yes."
Jessica popped a grape in her mouth, "Sounds like a lot of work."
I gritted my teeth, "It isn't."
Bella finished writing and offered the notebook to Lauren, who plucked it out of her hands. "You're so lucky Edward is willing to put up with all of this for a pretty face."
Bella's cheeks flushed red and she immediately dropped her gaze onto her lap.
"Lauren," I hissed.
"What?" she looked up at me with false innocence, "I was telling her she was pretty."
As I fumed, Lauren flipped her hair and glanced down at the notebook. "We met at the library," she scoffed. She tossed the notebook back on the table in front of Bella. "Come on, Bella, that's lame. We want to know the good details."
"What was the first thing Edward said to you?" Jessica asked.
"And what was the first thing you wrote to him?" Lauren teased, and Jessica coughed back a burst of giggles.
Kinder than me in every way, Bella ignored their teasing and began writing what I assumed was an abridged version of our meeting. After a few seconds of waiting for Bella to write, Lauren and Jessica made subtle eye contact and, simultaneously, the two of them turned their backs on Bella silently writing and started separate conversations with their boyfriends.
When Bella finished, she looked to either side of her and saw both girls engaged in other conversations. Unsure of how to catch their attention, she slid the notebook across the table right beside Lauren's elbow.
"Lauren," I said with as little venom as I could manage and looked pointedly at Bella's notebook.
Lauren looked down at the notebook sitting near her elbow. "Oh, thanks," she said with a tight smile and immediately went back to talking with Tyler.
Bella reached to take her notebook back, but Lauren shifted in her seat and placed her elbow right on the notebook—essentially silencing Bella. Something told me it wasn't unintentional. Bella drew her hand back and held it against her chest. I took a deep breath, ready to call Lauren out on her bullshit, but Bella's pleading gaze caught my attention before I could say anything.
"Don't," Bella signed.
I clenched my jaw and signed back, "Why not?"
"Later. Please."
I slumped back into my seat. I didn't know if this was a mermaid or siren thing or whatever, but there had better be a good reason for Bella to just sit there and endure this kind of treatment.
"Ooh," Lauren reached over Bella to grab Jessica's wrist and her attention, "Angela's coming."
Jessica glanced over her shoulder to see Angela purchasing her lunch with Ben following dutifully behind her. Turning back to Bella with a gasp and a grin, she said, "Angela helped Edward study sign language. The whole time, she thought he was doing it to get closer to her. She's going to hate you."
I needed to warn Angela to stop telling things to Jessica and Lauren, unless she wanted her secrets plastered on the nearest billboard. Lauren and Jessica smiled at one another in self-satisfaction for spreading another tidbit of gossip while Bella looked at me with a very real fear in her eyes at the impending ire.
"No one is going to hate you, Bella," I promised.
Her bottom lip tucked between her teeth.
"Hi, Edward," Angela greeted me, pleased to see an empty seat beside me. Ben followed Angela, with no greeting or acknowledgment of my existence at all.
"Hey, Ang," I smiled back, "There's someone I've wanted to introduce you to for a long time now."
"Oh?" she scanned the rest of the table, looking for the new face. She passed right over Bella at first and had to do a double-take. "Oh. Hi."
"This is Bella," I said softly.
"His girlfriend!" Jessica blurted out and immediately burst into a fit of giggles. I shot her a dirty look.
Angela's sweet, welcoming expression wavered for just a second, "Oh."
Lauren waved Bella's notebook in the air and plopped it down in front of her, "And she's mute! Do you know what that means?"
Angela hesitated, unsure of what Lauren her to say. "...that she can't speak."
Lauren's smile grew. She was having the time of her life, taunting her friend. "That she speaks using sign language." And she nodded her head towards me.
Angela caught on immediately, and her gaze shifted back to Bella, who was staring back at her with wide eyes and flushed cheeks. "Oh. I see."
At that point, I had more than enough. "Bella, I still have that book I need to return to the library. Will you come with me?"
After one more nervous peek in Angela's direction, Bella nodded. I met her at her side of the table and waited for her to gather her things into her bag. The second we were out of the courtyard and out of sight, I stopped and pulled her in for a hug.
"Bella. I'm so sorry."
I released her so she could respond. "What are you sorry for?"
Shocked that she had to ask, I gestured broadly towards the courtyard, "That bullshit."
"It's okay. They're your friends."
"Most of them aren't," I frowned, "Even if they were, they wouldn't be after that..." I ran a frustrated hand through my hair, "I can't believe they treated you like that."
She shrugged, "I'm used to it."
I might have hated her casual dismissal of their harassment more than the harassment itself.
"Not anymore," I snapped. "You're not going to be used to it. It's not going to happen anymore!"
She held my gaze defiantly for a moment before turning to get something out of her backpack. When her eyes met mine once more, they were pleading—asking me to understand. She had taken out her notebook and a pen and quickly flipped to an open page.
It's fine. It's better to just ignore it and move on.
"Give me one good reason."
If I say anything to get them to stop, they'll hate me.
"Then, I'm going say something. I have no problem with them hating me. In fact, I would love it if they hated me."
Bella clenched her jaw and huffed, showing more annoyance here with me now than she did at the table. Please. Try to understand. My own kind already doesn't like me. This is my only chance. I need humans to like me.
"The right humans will," I promised, pulling her in for another hug so I could kiss her temple. The notebook and pen dug into my back as she hugged me tighter. "You don't need humans like them to like you; they're not worth it. Good humans will like you and show you the respect you deserve."
I drew her closer to me, to remind her how much this human liked her, just as she was. I twisted her ponytail around my hand a few times and gently pulled, tilting her face up and opening her mouth for me. How anyone could be cruel to something this sweet was beyond me. The notebook and pen fell to the floor as she wrapped one arm around my neck and ran her other hand into my hair.
Just as her delicious, little tongue entered my mouth, she abruptly snapped her mouth shut and shoved me away. I managed to let go of her hair just in time to I didn't yank on her head, but I did ruin her ponytail. Before I could ask what happened, a teacher came out of the door next to us, gave us a stern look, and continued down the hall.
I licked my lips, savoring the taste of her. "Super siren hearing?" I guessed.
She grimaced apologetically.
While I picked up the things she carelessly abandoned for the kiss and put them back in her backpack, Bella fixed herself up. She smoothed down the front of her dress that was just pressed against me, and pulled her loosened ponytail tight, making it look messier by adding little bumps of hair across her head.
Even with a rumpled dress and a ruined ponytail, she was still stunningly beautiful. "You're lovely," I reminded her and was rewarded with a smile.
The bell rang, and as students filtered out of the courtyard, Bella reached up for my chin and guided my face down for a goodbye kiss. I only got the briefest brush of her lips before she released my face and took a large step back. Looking behind me, she raised a tentative hand in the air.
I glanced behind my shoulder to where Bella had been staring and saw Angela, with her hand up in the same awkward, apprehensive greeting. When I turned back around to Bella, she was already halfway down the hall.
"Goodbye," I said after her, uselessly.
I offered Angela a smile and we began a silent walk to Physics. Class was a lecture instead of a lab, saving Angela from having to work with me. Because of Lauren and Jessica, she was embarrassed and uncomfortable around me now, which put a wrench in my gut. I hoped she didn't endure any more cruelty after I left with Bella; I should have included her in my escape plan. I used the entire lecture to come up with a plan to salvage our friendship.
But all my scheming was for nothing, because to my surprise and utter delight, Angela addressed me as I was getting ready to leave.
"So... the sign language..." she started.
"...was for Bella," I finished.
She blew out a breath, "And all this time I pictured a grandpa or an elderly aunt."
"I'm sorry, Angela. I should have told—,"
She shook her head, "No. It was your business. I also could have asked."
"I really, really appreciate your help." I also really, really wanted to keep our friendship intact.
"I'm sure you do," she snorted, "Bella is... bellissima."
I raised an eyebrow, "Italian, too? Impressive."
Angela grinned back, "Settle down there, Romeo. We can't get into Italian until you're done with sign language."
"Fair enough."
"Will you be at the coffee shop today?" Angela asked, standing up from her seat, "I'm sure Bella would want you to know the difference between dumb bitch and I don't remember."
I grinned, remembering the coffee that shot out of Angela's mouth when I made that mistake. "Yeah, I'll be there."
"Bella should come, too."
I perked up, "Really?"
"Yeah, she seems sweet," Angela shrugged, then looked down at her shoes and muttered, "Our little group could sure use more sweetness."
"Yes!" I agreed eagerly, "She's so sweet. The absolute sweetest." I may have laid it on a little thick, but I didn't care. I was elated that Angela was willing to accept Bella so quickly. "Thank you, Ang." I hoped she realized that my gratefulness extended out past sign language.
"Of course. Ben and I will see you later." She turned and went towards her class in the opposite direction.
At least one good human around.