I Do Not Own Twilight
Bella looked better today, Aro noticed when her face appeared on his screen. He took a deep breath. "I see I do not get my trip to America to kiss you silly," he said with mock disappointment.
Shaking her head and rolling her eyes, "I told you to come. The opportunity has passed." She frowned thinking about everything they discussed the day before. She sighed.
"No tears, Cara mia. You have shed enough for one imbecile he doesn't deserve anymore."
"It's just," Bella took a shaky breath, "It was all of them. I feel so lonely now." She wrapped her arms around her torso as if she was holding herself together.
"I know. However, I am here. I will always be here for you. What happened at school today?" Aro tried changing the subject in order for her to focus on something else.
She scowled, "You know how you say your employees gossip on the time because they have been together so long there is nothing to do?" Aro nodded, "Well that's small-town life."
"You were the entertainment today?"
Nodding her head, "Yes, I was! All anyone could talk about was why he left me in the forest and how long it took to find…" Aro cut her off.
"What do you mean he left you in the forest?"
Bella's eyes grew wide when she remembered she hadn't told him this part yet. "Well, you see, it was really my fault…"
"Stop stalling Bella!"
"He took me for a walk in the woods and he said the stuff I told you yesterday. He ran off so I tried to follow him but I got lost. I ended up being alone there for about nine hours. One of the guys from the reservation found me and brought me home."
The mouse in Aro's hand made a crunching sound as he smashed it to pieces, "He left you in the woods? Of course, you got lost in them. It isn't like you are a forest ranger! You do nothing which says to a person this is someone who could navigate the forest alone. I know this and I am not even there."
Bella huffed, "I can go in the woods and not get lost."
Aro smirked at her annoyance, "When you are prepared to do so. He took you in the woods so naturally you assumed the gentleman would make sure you arrived home safely. Even if he was ending your relationship." He paused to push down his anger. He schooled himself into the regal mask he wore in court.
"How do you do that?"
Aro cocked an eyebrow, "Do what, Cara mia?"
Bella looked sheepish, "You were really mad and I watched you decide to not look mad. You intentionally made yourself look indifferent. Except for your eyes but I think most people wouldn't notice that. Everyone can tell what I am thinking and I want to know how you do it."
Aro thought, pleased to give her a mental distraction, "Well it is like choosing who you are going to present yourself as. Like an actor would. In my line of work, I need to catch people off guard. In order to do this, I bounce from my stiff more regal persona to my more insane persona. I try not to show any emotion when I am working other then these two sides until it is absolutely necessary. It does not mean I feel less emotion than anyone else. I only allow those closest to me to see those emotions. It keeps me safer. I am unpredictable." He thought a moment more. "My brothers do the same. Caius is one of the funniest people I know but he never cracks a smile and always scowls. He is the angry one of our trio. Marcus acts bored. He acts like nothing is important so people underestimate him. We have a system worked out."
Bella smiled, "How do I do that? I don't want the girls at school knowing when I'm upset. They will just make it worse."
Aro shook his head, "Teenage girls are the worst friends."
Bella laughed and agreed.
"I would say you should go with indifferent. Do not smile or frown. If they say something mean cock one eyebrow in their direction, turn back to your original position, and ignore them. You have to make sure you sit up straight and tall. You need to always appear to have confidence."
They didn't stay online too much longer but they did agree to meet the next day.
Bella decided to practice "putting on her mask" as Aro called it.
She stood straight and tall, walked downstairs, and started making dinner. Once Charlie came home, he noticed that Bella was more confident. He knew she wasn't happy but she didn't look miserable either. If anything, he thought she had moved on from grief to anger so he was happy.
Bella followed Aro's advice at school the next day and when Lauren Mallory started telling Jessica Stanley why she thought Bella was so brutally dumped on cock of her eyebrow stopped the conversation instantly. You couldn't tease someone who was indifferent to you.
This new ability to change how people perceived her caused Bella to have actual confidence. She was able to laugh and joke with Angela without any mask. As soon as someone started to tease her the mask came back on and she would shut them down. Bella thought maybe this was why Rosalie was the way she was but she wasn't sure.
After Bella got lost in the woods the town thought she would have trouble letting go of Edward. Her new found mask allowed her to grieve in peace with keeping everyone else in their place.
She spoke to Aro everyday after school. On days she worked she would talk to him after work. He was the only one who knew how hurt she was when Edward and his family left. Aro would never break her trust though so she knew she could keep her heartbreak a secret.