"How dare you take that tone with me?" Alice screamed from across the table, definitely taking a certain tone with a now crossed-looking Mr. Volturi. I sat there silently, and even as I felt the walls crawling within themselves due to awkwardness, Tony captured my hand under the table and sent me a content smile. How could he possibly be at ease in a situation like this? In the middle of the second course, Alice began yelling like a banshee at her blasé husband from across a long, rectangular table occupied by us innocent bystanders. Edward leaned into my shoulder and got my attention, very quickly.
What type of cologne was he wearing? I was so fully aware of every piece of manly scent that belonged to him, and it wasn't necessarily a good thing. "I apologize for this ridiculousness… I suppose it isn't a party until Alice makes a scene?" Everything he said seemed to be so fucking funny for some reason he was a pro at amateur hour to me.
I let out a short-lived giggle, which unfortunately caught the attention of a raging Alice and a sickly sweet smile of Aro's. A very large, unfiltered part of me wanted to turn to him and snap, "don't smile at me!" but that would most likely (like 90 percent likely) get me fired and kicked out of their beautiful home. "Why are you laughing, Bella?" My throat went dry as she called me out on my random snicker… could I say that I thought the entire Cullen/Volturi clan was nuts and I would rather chew off my right leg before I ever got suckered into coming to one of these functions ever again? No, I couldn't say that.
With so many eyes on me, I laughed nervously. I failed my Public Speaking course back in high school- if I couldn't do it in a classroom, how could I do it in real life? "Well, uh-" I looked towards Edward, whom was the real culprit here, before smiling modestly at my boss. "The soup tasted funny… so, um, I laughed- because it tasted funny." Sure, it was the corniest joke on the face of this damn planet, but the Gods graced me by allowing the handful of people surrounding me to break out in pale laughter at my lame attempt at humor.
Tony was laughing so wildly that his face was turning red and his open palm slapped against the table in short raps. "That is s-s-s-s-so funny! I l-l-love your jokes!" He exclaimed happily.
"Hmm." His grandmother made a small, approving noise before giving me an once-over and looking away. It may not have sounded like much, but it was the most I received since walking through the door on Tony and Edward's arms. They picked me up from my townhouse right on time and engaged me in so-so small talk while Edward worked away on his phone- besides Alice's little blowup, this night was quickly turning into a very boring, dull encounter. Mrs. Cullen said nothing besides "Hello" and now this little "hmm" noise.
I didn't take offense to it; she seemed to be a woman of few words in any sense. "Mama, has Alice told you extensively about Miss Swan?" Edward spoke between bites of mozzarella appetizers and swallows of bourbon. I couldn't help but stare at the way he ate and drank so manly. Had I ever been attracted to the way someone ate before? It started to feel as though every other dude I had dated/encountered ate, smelled, and acted like little bitches… and Edward was soon becoming the center of my inner high school girl's fantasies. His mother shook her head with a sly smile, an over-sized glass of wine in one hand.
"Well… there really isn't much to tell anyway." I spluttered, wiping my sweaty palms against the lap of the loose, blue dress I wore.
"The girl is funny and modest? How endearing." Mrs. Cullen noted idly; it didn't sound quite as sarcastic as it should have, it was almost like she was just offering to state the obvious. He sent a quick wink my way before he turned to his mom and rattled off some facts about my life that could be found on my resume or Facebook page; these people didn't know squat about me or my life.
I just met Tony and Edward a few weeks afore, and Alice barely regarded my existence when she needed something done at work for the last few years. But here I was, sitting down for dinner in over-priced furniture and a brightly-lit dining room with all of them. As per usual, I avoided all creepy looks from Aro and even got to know little Volturi better along the way. "Hmm." Mrs. Cullen smiled politely towards me and went back to making side conversations with her statuesque doctor-for-a-husband; did I pass or fail her test? She was so like her son, they were the hardest people in the world to read!
"This is perhaps just a tad more interesting than the color of the walls…" A man of medium stature and a very long, slightly bent nose spoke from behind a glass of wine. "What exactly is your role in my brother-in-law's life, Miss Swan?"
Without even meaning to, a red stain enveloped my face to the point of almost looking guilty for something I hadn't even done. "Uh…" I faltered for only a second, not even sparing Edward a second glance. "I care very strongly for Tony, who happens to be his son. Edward and I are friends, perhaps out of necessity." I heard a rough noise escape Edward's mouth, but neither I nor the nosey man made a note about it. Foolishly, I figured that my response would end all inquiry about our situation- Edward took a convenient business call, leaving Tony and myself all alone under the strange man's scrutiny.
"Well that's quite the clandestine story, Miss Swan. It's your classic girl-meets-boy scenario." He rolled his eyes in a fabulous manner and leaned his elbow on the table, wine sloshing dangerously in the glass. "Except in your case, you've acquired a rich single father while working in the fabulous ghetto of Chicago Wall Street along the way. Am I right, or am I right?" A wicked laugh fell from his thin, red lips when his spiel was over.
"That's quite enough, Jordana." Alice bit out, glaring at his overly-zealous attitude. Really, what did the man have against me? Didn't he know that I was for marriage equality, gay adoption, and every man's right to own a pair of six inch stilettos?
"Why, I say!" Jordana smiled like the bitch he was, "Even Alice is defending the new hot ticket!" He cackled, as though I were the funniest thing he'd ever seen; but the laughs were filled with such hate and animosity that I was beginning to feel uncomfortable.
I held the silver fork in my hand very tightly seeing as I was only mere seconds away from letting it fly straight at Jordana's face. "Do you know me from somewhere?" Perhaps I flirted with his boyfriend or owed him money from along time ago, I wasn't too sure. Strangers didn't treat strangers this way! It was just so mean.
Jordana scoffed regally and turned to Aro. "Can you believe that, dear brother? This nobody girl thinks she could possibly know me from someplace!" He shimmied his broad shoulders in a belittling way, and he was so very good at making me as small and insignificant as he wished. In turn, Aro shrugged his shoulders and sipped from his cup without a care in the world. I truly didn't expect much more from a creep like him, but it was disheartening to realize that even though I had worked for many years under him & his wife, I was being talked to and treated like yesterday's garbage.
"If you're going to speak about me, say it to me. Don't turn to others in a quest to seek more attention." I challenged him without a blink of an eye. He wasn't much taller than me, and had a fairly small, bird-like build about him. It was very disconcerting how feminine his build was. "You have absolutely no reason to treat me this way! I have done nothing to you." Sure, it sounded just a little naïve and maybe even pathetic… but I couldn't necessarily jump on him to give the beat down he deserved. I was in my boss' home, he was my boss' brother, and this was a new dress!
"Little girl, I don't need a reason." Jordana sneered at me from across the table. "You've got 'gold digger' written across your forehead and that neckline is so disgusting even the straight men in the room are turning away." I fought my eyes to stay leveled with his, but it was truly one of the hardest feats. Was the sweetheart plunge neckline too daring for a post-Christmas dinner? I hadn't seen much of a problem with it until Jordana brought it up. "The first girl that baby Eddie's brought around for ages happens to be just like the original… a rotten bitch worthy of only one good fuck and then goodbye after that."
Had I been anywhere else, with any other group of people, I would have been arrested for attempted murder with assault and battery. But instead, I was sitting in a million dollar home, surrounded by millionaires- and quite frankly, I wasn't done impressing Mrs. Cullen just yet. She needed to see that I wasn't some random woman off the streets- I wanted to show her just how well I could exercise my patience and respect my self-image. Where I came from, shit talking was the fastest way to get your ass beat; this stupid skunk was no exception, but I couldn't risk ruining the hard resolve I had. I looked to my left and saw Tony wired up and alive. His face was beat red, almost a shade of burgundy as he stared at his uncle. I put a hand on his shoulder and sent him a forced smile. "Calm yourself down, Green Eyes." I don't know how, but I was able to send the kid a playful wink before taking a long sigh and regarding Jordana with a smile.
All I really wanted to do was rip his stupid, beady eye balls out. "Please watch your language around Tony, Mr. Volturi. Wouldn't it be just horrid if he took your coarse language and rude mannerisms to heart? I am not capable of foreseeing the magnitude of my actions if such a thing were to occur." My eyeballs almost fell out of their sockets as Esme Cullen's voice floated through the air, wounding around my seated figure like a soft, satin ribbon. She was harmony and grit put together as one, soft when she wanted and cruel when it was necessary. "You, girly boy, are daft and in need of a crudely taught lesson. Miss Swan is a lady, and so you are lucky to have chosen such a kind woman to relentlessly tease and torture."
Jordana's mouth was left hung open, so wide that a colony of flies could have flown in and made a home for themselves. I wanted to scream "you got told!" in his face, but she just got done calling me a lady! I couldn't ruin that for myself. It made me smile to think that she now thought better of me- Jesus, it only took being picked on by a gay brat to achieve her blessing! "Though you are more than welcome to take a poorly-aimed shot at me, but let this be a fair warning- I am not as virtuous as Miss Swan, Jordan."
I covered my mouth with a hand; Alice made it very clear to me as soon as I walked in that I was not to call Aro's girly brother by his male name. Jordana was the only acceptable form of name; else there would be hell to pay. If he did in fact take a shot at Mrs. Cullen, then he was the sorriest loser on the face of the planet. Not only would we have to pry Mr. Cullen's hands from his neck, but just by the way I heard Edward speak of his mother, I knew that wouldn't be pretty either. "I would never disrespect you in such a manner, Mrs. Cullen." Jordana fumbled around for an excuse regarding his actions, but Mrs. Cullen's face became impassive once more. It was as if Jordana just wiped himself from existence in that very moment.
"You disrespected my mother?" Edward's coarse voice was heard from the open dining room door. My eyes flew to his very tense presence, his poor cell phone crushed inside of his reddening fist. As much as I would have enjoyed watching Ed beat the pathetic jerk, I knew this wasn't the place or time for such a thing. That was the beauty about Chicago, though- there's always a next time on the streets. Esme Cullen looked right at Aro's brother, as if waiting for his redemption speech.
I grabbed Tony's hand and stood up, making sure to push down the back of my billowy satin dress like the 'lady' I was acclaimed to be. "I believe it's time we get going- don't want Tony to stay up too far past his bedtime." My plain brown eyes begged Edward to go along with me, even though this was his sister's party and it was the night before Christmas Eve. I was sure he wanted to spend every second with his close-knit family, no matter how ridiculous they could be.
To my surprise, Edward gave me a rather eager nod. "Yes, of course."
"Oh, no, please!" Alice stood up abruptly and briskly met us at the door. "No, just stay a little while longer? We haven't even exchanged gifts yet- Eddie! No! This is the eve of Christmas Eve, don't you understand that? Aro and Marcus will be flying to Maryland tomorrow morning; I will be left all alone." I cringed at the desperate tone she was using, but I understood her reasons. Alice Cullen-Volturi was a desperately lonely woman with too much money and not enough audience and it was absolutely disheartening to watch her in action at parties and gatherings alike- she needed people to surround her and feel off of her spoils.
I was willing to sit back down but Edward signaled for one of his men to get the car ready, which was his way of silencing his little sister. "Really, Alice, the presents can wait until Marcus and your husband return. I'm sure you are capable of understanding." He is perhaps the only person allowed to talk to her that way, I summed up in my mind.
"Sure." Alice sent him a dark look, but it transformed into a loving embrace when she turned to her nephew. "Goodnight and Merry Christmas, you." She kissed his cheek and leaned into me, as if for a hug. "I'll need you in on Christmas Day after all." My entire body tensed up at her words; she was calling me in for work, after she already gave me the OK to take these next two days off? What kind of bullshit was that? But I only smiled and gave her a fake little squeeze back before heading to the door with Edward and Tony in his arms.
For some odd and insanely sad reason, I felt my eyes begin to water and my throat constrict slowly. Why was I so depressed by it? I worked plenty on holidays for the extra hours, so why was I suddenly so bummed out? I promised Tony I would spend the day with him with no side distractions, but he would understand, wouldn't he? I mean, Edward canceled on him more than my high school boyfriend stood me up! "Are you feeling well?" Edward's sudden appearance beside me made my skin break out in goose bumps, but I recovered rather quickly.
"Yes, I'm just fine." I sent him a reassuring smile and patted Tony's head in a loving gesture. Did Edward realize just how beautiful his young son was? Women were surely going to be a problem once he got older, and the thought almost made me jealous. No girl was going to be good enough for little Green Eyes, he deserved more than anything anyone could give him. That twisted the knife Alice stabbed me with- I was going to majorly disappoint him when he found out I was backing out of our plans.
For the first time in my life, I felt just like Charles Swan… here I was, waiting to disappoint the one little human that truly believed in me.
