Chapter 28

It was four in the morning and I was sitting on an uncomfortable airport seat, trying to hold my bag and take a nap at the same time.

My gate was empty except for the janitor that walked by every once in a while, checking garbage cans to see if there was anything worth emptying and sweeping invisible debris off the floor.

My head hurt, from tiredness, grumpiness, and just plain old thinking. For the tenth time, I glanced at the departure screen and was dismayed to find the clock had only gained five minutes since the last time I looked.

I was mad at myself for running. How could I give into the baby baby baby feelings so easily? I was a smart girl. I'd had my heart broken… well, bruised, before. I wasn't immune to the fact that some people were just not nice people.

Shifting my bag to the other side of me, I tried to see it from another angle.

It was entirely possible that Edward was unaware of his aloofness towards me the past several days. Who knows what he was going through, with what might be the possible impending demise of the biggest part of his life.

It was ridiculous of me to assume he was walking around with only me on his mind.

Maybe he didn't have one clue that it was a little insensitive he brought that bimbo into the green room because there was nothing between us.

But I guess that was the point. He didn't think of me at all.

My phone started ringing just as I was dozing. Frowning, I tried to think of who might be calling me at this time of night as I fished it out of my pocket. Could be Carlisle, stuck in the airport and wanting to buy me breakfast.

Unknown number.

If it hadn't been so late, or so early, I would've chalked it up to spam and denied the call.

"Hello?"

"Is this Bella?" Loud. Yelling over music and voices.

My first thought was maybe it was Emmett. Saying goodbye but it didn't sound like him. "Yeah?" I answered, my nose wrinkling and eyes squinting.

"Let me talk to her!" I heard in the background.

Definitely not Emmett.

"Edward?" I yelled into my phone like he might hear me.

The bartender replied. "Yes, it's Edward Cullen, you know, the Edward Cullen?"

My mind was reeling, body on alert. "Yes, yes, I know Edward. What's wrong?"

"My name's Pat, I'm the bartender here at Palmer's over on Cedar. He wants you to come pick him up."

Pick him up? Pick him up?

"What's wrong?" I asked again, thinking of a million things. A bar fight and he lost all his teeth. Severed fingers from a bottle being thrown.

"Nothing, he's fine. We kept the party going for him after closing, but I gotta get up tomorrow. I got kids."

I was so confused. "And?"

"He insists you have to come get him or he won't leave." He laughed.

Insists? "I'm at the airport."

Pat the bartender yelled to Edward. "She can't, she says she's at the airport. We'll just get you a cab."

"Bella, come get me! Give me the phone." Edward's voice was suddenly right there, in my ear. "Please?" he said, low and thick.

I pulled the phone from my ear and rubbed my eyes. Looked at the departure screen. Looked at my luggage. Looked back at the phone. What would Carlisle want me to do? "I don't know…"

"I want to sit in the dark with you."

My whole body shivered.

Stupid stupid stupid.

"Give me the address."

Palmer's bar was another dive, the kind Edward seemed fond of. The door was locked, but I could see him in there, sitting on a stool, talking to the bartender.

I knocked lightly on the window and waved.

"Looks like your ride's here, man," Pat said after he opened the door and let me in.

Edward turned to face me. He didn't look especially wasted, didn't seem to be unfocused or wobbly, about to fall.

"She came," he said, as his face turned into a grin.

I looked around for the girl, but he seemed to be the only one here. "Uh, yeah. Cab's waiting outside, so…" I kind of motioned towards the door, feeling completely awkward and unsure.

"I guess it's time to go, Pat." Edward swung around and did that man-bro-shake thing with the bartender.

"It was a pleasure, man. Truly. Thanks for the autographs and stuff. You are welcome here anytime, my friend."

"Oh, I have a feeling you'll see me again. I'm sure of it," Edward said as he patted his pockets. He pulled out his cigarettes and put one in his mouth. Squinted. Smiled at me.

Even as much of a prick as he was, my heart ached at the sight of him. White t-shirt with a hole at the neck. Old, worn jeans. Favorite ratty sneakers. Hat stuck in his back pocket.

"Ready, love?" he asked me as he flung one arm around my neck and I stiffened.

"Don't call me that." I tried not to let his closeness affect me. I was here on a mission. Cab, bus, airport. I had time to do it and make my flight if he wasn't too difficult.

"What should I call you, baby baby baby? I wrote a song about you." He climbed into the backseat and I stood on the curb, numb.

It was the first time either one of us had mentioned it.

With no idea what to say to that, I gave the driver the location of where the bus was to hole up for three days while Edward lived on it. Some friend of the venue's CEO had a storage lot he said they could use.

"How did the bartender get my number?" It occurred to me to ask as I checked my phone for any flight updates.

He was spread out on the seat, arms crossed. I had to curl up against the door so no part of me touched him. "I stole it out of Carlisle's phone."

My mouth gaped open. "Why?"

"Why not?" He smirked.

He didn't deserve my attention, so I didn't give it, knowing I wasn't going to get anything out of him anyway, not like this. How easily he toyed with me, how effortless it was for him to tease and play his games.

I was exhausted, both mentally and physically and just wanted this night to end. Actually looked forward to being cramped in an airline seat for four hours.

His foot tapped against my leg. "You're not talking to me? Bella, Bella, earth to Bella," he said, laughing slightly as his foot repeatedly nudged me.

I looked out the window at the dark streets, trying not to cry. "Why'd you call me, Edward? Out of all the people you could've called, why me?"

"I couldn't think of anyone else."

My head tucked into my shoulder, shaking, trying not to let him see me wipe at my nose. "Gee, thanks."

He cleared his throat and I glanced at him as he shrugged and looked out the window. "I didn't want to call anyone else."

"What happened to your friend?" I regretted it the minute it left my mouth.

"Who?"

I stared at him pointedly, then turned away. "Forget it."

We rode in silence a while, and I checked the map on my phone to see how close we were. Another fifteen minutes. Great.

Edward started to snore softly, and I couldn't help but take the opportunity to look at him. In the interior of the dark car, the glow of streetlights shone down on him as we drove. He had dark circles under his eyes I hadn't noticed before. His mouth was drawn into a tight line, his forehead wrinkled. Even in sleep he looked stressed.

Eventually we got to the parking lot and found the bus parked where Edward said it would be. I asked the driver to wait and followed Edward out.

I stared at the bus, wondering how he was going to live here by himself. "Do you have keys?"

He dug into his pocket and showed me a single fob. "Don't need keys, I won't be driving it." He pressed the button and the door beeped once then opened with a whoosh.

I looked around the dark lot. "Are you going to be okay out here?" Despite my dislike for him at the moment, I was worried for his safety.

"Sure, done this a bunch."

"You've stayed on the bus alone before? Why?"

He shrugged. "I like it. Better than a hotel, all my stuff is here already."

Didn't he have a home? Someone to visit? "Do you… live here?"

He just shrugged.

"What if you have to go somewhere?"

His face darkened, and he didn't answer right away. "I'll call for a car service," he finally said.

"Do you know how?"

He narrowed his eyes at me. "Yes, I know how, thank you very much."

"Okay…" I trailed off, ready to get back in the cab.

My foot was in the door and I was about to sit.

"I didn't do anything with her, just so you know."

My hand froze on the door jamb. I could've played dumb like him, said 'who' and gotten in. Driven away. "Not my business."

"You're mad at me." When I looked over to him, his hands were deep in his pockets and his shoulders were tight up against his body. Like he was holding himself in.

Sighing, I shook my head. "I'm not mad at you. Not for that."

"For not talking to you."

I turned to face him. "Not that, not really." I tried to explain, even though he really didn't deserve it. "Something's going on with you, and you don't need to tell me what it is." I shook my head as I looked up at the overhead light, trying not to let the tears I felt forming out. "I guess I just thought that maybe we'd become friends. We shared a moment. And you couldn't even acknowledge me."

"What can I say? I'm a jerk."

"You can say that all you want, Edward. But at some point, it doesn't make it okay." We locked eyes, stared each other down. He shuffled one foot against the gravel on the asphalt. I started to climb back into the cab.

"I'm uh… I have to go see a doctor."

Tired and ready to leave, I shrugged. "I'm sure you can call a car for that, too."

"No, you don't understand!" he barked, and the force of it startled me.

I waited. He looked down at the ground, looked up, looked down. "I'm going to a doctor here, a specialist." His voice cracked.

Fear crept over me. "What… for?"

"I'm…" he started then rubbed his face. "Fuck. I'm losing my hearing."

My entire body went cold.

Asking the driver to wait one more time, I closed the door and stepped over to Edward.

"What do you mean, you're losing your hearing?"

He inhaled deeply. "I've been seeing a specialist in Rochester at the Mayo clinic. That's why I asked for the extended stop here."

My mind was a jumble "So... what, they can help you out? Give you medicine or something?"

"FUCK!" Edward suddenly shouted and walked away from me, pulling at his hair.

"An operation?" I asked, ready to cry for real.

"NO, Bella, there's no medicine, no operation, there's nothing! They can't fix me, it's over. My career is over. My whole life is over. It's all fucking over."

My mind rushed back to the hotel. The argument I'd heard about him dismantling the band. Maybe I'd heard it wrong. It wasn't because he didn't want to play with them anymore.

It was because he couldn't. Or wouldn't be able to, very soon.

"Oh, Edward," I finally cried, and covered my mouth with my hands.

"Don't say it. Don't say you're sorry for me." He sneered.

"Does Carlisle know?"

He shook his head. "Just my doctors. And now you."

I didn't know what to say, I wanted to say a million things but knew there was nothing so I just stood there in the yellow glow of parking lot lights, staring at him. I could feel the trail of tears running down my cheeks.

Edward walked towards me and we stood there, a foot apart. Staring at each other.

"What can I do?" I asked, lamely.

My breath hitched as his hand moved slowly from his pocket and made its way to land softly on my wet cheek. His thumb wiped at the tears.

"Come live on this bus with me for the next three days."