Chapter 5 — Bella
This house is big, yet I still hear the music reverberating through the floors, up to my bedroom. I only have a couple of boxes here with me right now, but I decide now is as good a time as any to start unpacking.
My room is across the hall from Alice's, in one long corridor that leads to another door at the end: Ed's room. Alice shared the layout of the house with me, but she failed to mention where the hell I should drop the empty boxes once I was done with them. I pile them up by my door for now while I'm still motivated enough to unbox my belongings.
Never in my life have I had a room as gorgeous as this one. It's fairly big, even though Alice claims this is the smallest bedroom in the house. I have two large windows that overlook the backyard, plush carpet beneath my socks, and my own full bathroom with a glass shower and a tub. It's a dream come true, since I'd spend all day in a bubble bath if I could. As I lift my clothes from the garment box Alice hooked me up with, I snicker at the ridiculous picture in front of me: the big walk-in closet built in along the walls of the corridor that leads from bed to bath and the flimsy Dollar Store hangers that hold all my clothes. Not just seasonals, as Alice calls them. No, everything. It doesn't even fill up half the space—one-third, if I'm being generous. I line up my sneakers underneath the hangers, all seven pairs of them, all in various states of worn-outness, but my wallet won't allow me to replace them. Yet.
It's odd to see my stuff here in this gorgeous room. The entire house is decorated rather darkly, with maroon velvet drapes over black wooden blinds on every window. My bedroom is no different; dark wood with accents of red. It's all done beautifully. I wonder if it's all Ed's taste or if he had an interior design team go ham on his house.
I'm glad the bed was already made because those sheets are softer than even my most expensive T-shirt. I quietly hide my old ones at the bottom of my closet.
By the time I'm done unpacking, it's already noon. And still no Alice. I'm starting to feel a little agitated.
"Settling in okay, cub?" I'm a little startled, entirely forgetting I hadn't closed the door. The way his strong, tall body leans against the ebony door frame makes Ed look like the rock god he is. I stare unapologetically at the way his shirt is stained with oil, at the way the veins in his arms run up and down his skin like tributaries.
"This place is amazing," I breathe. I notice his green eyes dart around the room from my books stacked on the desk by the window to the mussed-up bedding before he enters, his dirty shoes dangling from his hand.
"I forgot how nice this room was, yeah." He smiles.
"Have you heard from Alice?" I ask, biting my lip. It's been hours, and nothing but radio silence. It's unlike her to be this MIA.
"Probably off getting defiled by that limp-dick rich boy."
I can't help but laugh at Ed's words. He arches a brow. "Wow, my dad would never say something like that." I chuckle. "I think he still sees me as a seven-year-old who's repulsed by boys."
"Are you?" he asks playfully. "Repulsed by boys," he specifies.
"Boys? Absolutely. Men? Not so much," I reply, catching Ed stare at my legs again. I don't know why I keep being more flirty and forward than is appropriate, but I can't control it. It's him, his aura, the vibe that clings to him. The air is thick, and I feel tension wrapping around me, choking me until my body tingles from within.
"So, am I gonna be seeing a lot of those men around the house, then? Or one in particular?"
I snort. "Yeah, right. No, not at all," I say.
"Really?" His eyes dance wickedly.
"I have zero interest in getting tied down right now. I don't need a relationship, so there's no need for men to linger once I get what I want." I can't believe those words just came out of my mouth. This zero filter thing must be contagious. It's as if a truth serum is being diffused through the air vent system in this place.
"And what is it that you do want then?" he dares to ask. I feel the blood rush to my cheeks, my face hotter than hell on a Sunday. There's a smirk tugging at Ed's lips. Fucking sadist.
"You know… just something casual. You must be the king of casual fucks." I shrug, acting like this little conversation doesn't affect me, but he licks his lips and cocks his head to the side.
"Read up on my reputation, bestie?"
"No," I start. "But come on… You're in a successful band. You have fans, groupies… you're their fucking god."
"Nah," he says carelessly. "I'm no one's god. And I don't really do that anymore. No more groupies." He folds his arms over his chest, his shirt stretching over his broad shoulders.
"So, you're a monk?" I laugh.
"Yikes, from god to monk. Are you that black and white?"
"Not at all."
"Nice talk, cub." He winks and walks out of the room, humming, his low tenor voice reverberating through my entire body.
"Dad! Daddy, where are you?"
I must have fallen asleep, because next thing I know, fuckface and Ali are standing in the middle of my room.
"Hey, what's up with this? I could've been naked, why is he here?" I don't hide my dislike for Tyler, not even for Alice. He hates me just as much as I hate him.
"Yeah, but you're not," Alice says.
"Besides, no one wants to see that," Tyler mutters.
I'm ready to grab my shoe and toss it at his inbred face. "Shut up," I bite, getting up from the bed. "Why didn't you text me back? Or call, or whatever, Alice?"
"I—uh…" she stutters.
"We were busy," Tyler says. "Talking about important things."
"Like what? Which wine to order with your lamb tonight?"
"No, about Alice and my future."
My eyes widen, and I grab Ali by the arm.
She rolls her eyes. "No. Don't even say it, because I'm not pregnant."
"Thank fuck," I reply.
"I'll say…" Behind Tyler, I see Ed. His hair is pushed back, and he's wearing black on black with a fucking Gucci belt. Alice points at it and nods enthusiastically.
"Good job, Daddy!" she says.
"Vic got it for my last birthday. Might be rude not to wear it," he explains. The golden, interlocked double G's stand out against the black ripped denim and cotton hoodie.
Who's Vic?
"Yeah, she'd throw a bitch fit like only she can." Alice giggles.
"Stop changing the subject. Why did Bella think you were pregnant?" Ed asks. There's no more exuberance, no smile. He looks downright dangerous with that look on his face.
"I came here to as—"
"You're gonna listen to me, buddy," he whispers menacingly into Tyler's face.
"Dad, come on, don't embarrass me like this," Alice whines. She doesn't even dare to look at me.
"Alice," he says in that same tone, voice dripping venom as he looks over at his only daughter.
"You're not marrying her, don't even fucking think about it, because you won't get my blessing," Ed bites.
I feel like I shouldn't be here, the anger radiating through the entire room, my eyes wide. But they are in my bedroom after all. There's nowhere else for me to go. I shuffle backward as if sitting on my bed might somehow help me.
"Alice is moving in with me," Tyler states. There's a smug, slimy grin on his face.
"What?" I shriek. I look at Alice, who looks guilty, biting her lip and hiding behind her black, glossy bob. "You're doing what now?" I can't believe this.
"It's just that his new place is so beautiful, Bella, and we've been going out for a year now, and yeah…" It seems like she's already running out of reasons to abandon me.
"You're gonna fucking leave me alone after your entire speech about us spending time together? About us having the best fucking year, saving money, and just being together before real life takes off?" I'm seething, my hands closed into shaking fists.
"Bell…" She sighs. "I really don't want to fight with you right now. We have to celebrate!"
I narrow my eyes at her upbeat tone.
"We brought your boxes, ungrateful bitch," Tyler snaps at me. "Come, Alice. Let's go." He tugs at her hand.
"There will be none of those fucking words aimed at her, okay?" Ed has a vice grip on Tyler's button-down, his knuckles white as he pushes the fucker to the wall of my bedroom, a tremor in his voice before he swallows. "You're in my fucking house, talking to my guest who happens to be your girlfriend's best friend. My daughter's best friend."
"Surprised you even call her your daughter. You know, since sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll seemed to be more important back in the day. You're hardly a father, look at you." Tyler is full-on disrespecting the father of his girl. Who is standing right in front of him. Who he is tilting his head back to look at. Ed looks like he'll bash Tyler's head in. Fuck. I think I'd help him bury the body for fuck's sake.
"Get. Out." Ed's voice is so low I barely hear him, but the stern tone can be heard from outer space. Even I have goosebumps, and he's not even talking to me.
"You're staying here," he says to Alice.
"Dad, you can't just tell me what to do. I'm not a minor, I'm a full-grown woman. I'll do whatever the fuck I want."
Her eyes dart back and forth; from Tyler to Ed, from Ed to me and back to Tyler. If I say any more right now, I'll ruin the bond between us. I'll ruin everything, and probably end up living in that shoebox after all. We would do this together. That was the plan. I don't even get to ask what changed for her, because Tyler grabs her by her upper arm, his fingers digging into the neon green sleeves of her Fendi dress.
"What the actual fuck," I mutter. My eyes burn, but I won't be caught dead crying for what she did. It's not that I'm sad. I'm fucking angry. No, that doesn't even cover it. I'm furious. I feel betrayed.
Ed stays in the room with me, his fist colliding with the doorpost. It startles me, and he lets out a loud grunt when his knuckles meet the wood. That's gotta fucking hurt.
"I can't believe she did that," I say to no one in particular.
"Yeah. What the fuck? That Tyler needs to fucking leave my daughter alone," he spits.
I don't want to admit it to myself, but I feel his possessive tone all through my body. Seeing him lose it on Tyler's behalf was… hot. It was like the testosterone in the room tripled.
"I'm sorry. Luckily, I kept all my boxes," I say. Ed arches a brow at me, but lets me continue. "I'll be out of here as soon as I can find something else."
"What are you talking about?"
"Since Alice isn't moving in, I figured you wouldn't want me here. I really don't want to inconvenience you by being here alone. We barely know each other. Isn't it… weird?"
"One, I do want you here. There's no way in hell that's gonna last between those two. Ali would've told me if she had legit plans to move in with him. Two, I'm not inconvenienced, there's plenty of room here, and I will not throw you out on the street. You'll live here for free like we agreed on. Yes"—he rolls his eyes—"you can do whatever chores you feel you need to do for me in return. And third, we will get to know each other. It's not weird; or do you really think it is?"
"I mean, this bedroom is so big it's like an apartment anyway. So, no, as long as I don't hear you pounding into some groupie through my wall, it's not weird."
Ed laughs. "That's not happening in this house," he tells me. "Besides, our rooms are too far apart to enjoy the show." He winks.
I let out a really unattractive noise, but cough to cover it up. "Wow, look at us bonding already," I say jokingly.
"Yeah, I might steal you from Alice and become your BFF," he jokes back.
"I'd like to see you try." I laugh.
"Tell me why your folks cut you off, bestie." His question is one many people have asked me before, yet there's this layer to his words. As if underneath, under all this casual shit, he actually cares. I can tell it's not just to pry.
"They don't care for my aspiration to be a photographer."
"Photographers are the artists of the new age, how could they not want their kid to be creative, to put her vision out there for the world to see? And fucking getting paid for it, too."
I admire how Ed is always poetic like this. Like every word that comes out of his mouth is beautiful and connects to the others perfectly. I get where he's coming from, being him, having the creative mind that he has.
"My parents are nothing like you," I tell him. "They're old and frozen in time with their mindset."
"They're old?" He laughs but lifts a brow, as if I'm calling him old.
"My dad is sixty-six, mom just turned sixty-two. They had me late in life, deciding just a career wasn't good enough," I explain. Ed's eyes widen. "Apparently, they wanted a kid after all."
"Fuck, that's… that has to be difficult, being a parent that late, yeah." He seems to be thinking, his eyes miles away. "How do they keep up?"
"They don't. They force their ideas on me and expect me to be this perfect, suburban bitch with a briefcase."
"If I had to do it all again and have to pick? I'd pick teen-dad over geriatric-dad anytime," he says.
"Wasn't it hard being as young as you guys were when you had Alice?" I wonder.
"Sure was, even though my mom helped us a lot. But once we were out of high school and I got a mechanic job, I thought we actually stood a chance. Apparently, that was all in my head since Jean ran off with her fucking boyfriend every chance she got."
"She cheated on you?" I can't believe what you'd search for in another man if you have this one at your disposal.
"Why do you think we went our separate ways? Married her anyway, right when we turned eighteen because I thought that was the right thing to do, you know, for our daughter. Six months later she told me she loved him more, so she stepped out on me."
"Wow, Alice never told me."
"Alice doesn't tell you a lot of things, probably."
"Like what?" I frown.
"She told me she'd like it if you lived here because you wouldn't notice her running to be with Tyler so much. That you wouldn't, and I quote, bitch about it."
My eyes widen. "Really?"
"Yeah, she told me you don't like him and that it creates tension between you two. And she values your friendship too much to let, quoting again, a hot dude drive you two apart."
I snort. "So you already knew I hated him. You could've told me. So considerate of her," I mumble. "Especially now that she's run off to be with the fucker full-time."
Ed nods and sinks down into the chair by the desk. He looks out the window, a frown between his eyebrows. "Tell me," Ed starts, changing the subject. "If you're not allowed to be a photographer, what do Mommy and Daddy want you to do with your life, then? And why is it in suburbia with a briefcase?" He leans his forearms on his knees, green gaze glued to me.
I roll my eyes and groan. "My parents own a real estate company… Dad wants to retire soon, and he wants me to run it while he and Mom go venture the world on a fucking cruise ship."
Ed starts laughing, and I just take a minute to look at him, his face, the way he smiles. It's beautiful.
"Somehow, I don't see you showing off houses in a prissy pantsuit. Those Vans look so much better on you than a pair of heels ever would."
I bite my lip at his compliment, unsure of how to respond to it. So I resort to sarcasm; my armor.
"Yeah, well, sneakers won't help me marry a preppy, third-generation rich guy."
"You don't need a preppy rich guy," he says, eyes burning.
"Just a rich guy, then?" I smirk, enjoying how Ed can be this laid-back with me. This human and warm, appreciative of me. It really is like we're friends.
"Don't settle for less." Ed smirks before he stares at my legs in these scandalous shorts, and the crew socks sticking out of my high-tops. "Never settle for less, cub."
He gets up and walks out of my room with another one of those glances I can't quite decipher. I only know that I like it very much that Ed's looking at me like that. And I think I might have to wear a dress to the party tomorrow, to show off some more of these legs he stares at so much.
Sorry it's taking me so long to update! I'm back to working fulltime and I only get one day a week with Mr. Fox and the baby. I like to spend that day with them :)