"…no! Absolutely not! Look, my husband and I put every last cent into this trip!" The shrill woman's voice bounced off the high vaulted ceilings and brightly lit walls of the lobby, her shorter husband looking meek and uninterested beside her. "You know what, where's your manager? I refuse to deal with a daft child! How old are you, seventeen?" I was a mere few feet away helping a customer, trying not to pay any extra attention to the scene my co-worker was currently dealing with. Employee Training days were basically dedicated to spectacles like these, but it didn't make it any less harsh for us. Customers often felt entitled to treat us like shit just because they were rooming in an esteemed five star hotel. "Do you realize that you've just ruined our trip? We flew all the way from Minnesota to see the big city, and now- you're ruining it!" Little crocodile tears welled up in the white lady's eyes, and I had to bit down on my tongue in order to keep my thoughts unspoken.
When I worked at the Super 6, I dealt with customers like this almost daily- but the dramatics were a bit more subtle here at Luxury Hotel, wherein customers primarily treated you like dirt in condescending tones and quieter matters. Usually people were just trying to get a free stay out of it, perhaps a complimentary bottle of Cabernet thrown in for good luck?
The new girl was pushed aside while Rosalie, our floor manager for this shift, asserted the couple with cold, insensitive eyes- she was kickass when she needed to be. "Hello, how can I help you two today?"
"I don't want to deal with you idiotic pages anymore! I want a manager-" The unruly guest started again.
"I am the general manager and my name is Rosalie, M'am." Rosalie smiled shortly at the two, both icing them out with a cold smile but reeling them in with a soft tone. "So again, how may I help you?"
The guest scoffed under her breath but leaned against the front desk's edge. "I am not satisfied with your guy's service! I even made sure to check Yelp's reviews before booking, but I still am stuck with the kind of service you expect at McDonald's! Seriously, I cant believe the type of people your hotel hires! That girl," she gestured to Vicky, the new girl, "couldn't tell the difference between a nickel and a dime, let alone find my reservation!"
Rosalie's tight-lipped smile was not faltering, at all. "Well, I am disappointed to hear that you are dissatisfied- how may I help you to make your stay here better?" It angered us to hear anyone talk crap about a fellow co-worker, but sometimes you just had to bite the bullet and take it. The customer is always right, even when they're wrong. I think Rose had that saying tattooed on her ass or something because she repeated all the damn time.
"How do you plan on making me a satisfied customer?" Was her snarky reply. My mouth almost dropped at the audacity of the woman. She might as well have said, "give me a free night or else," and perhaps if it had been me or Angie or Vicky herself, the rude couple would have gotten it. But, unfortunately for them, they were dealing with Rosalie Hale.
I'm telling you, Rose was the real deal. She was a full-time General Manager, part-time mixed martial arts instructor, single mother, and a lesbian. Seriously, this chick had it all going on. She was very pretty to look at, but she was sharp as a knife and knew how to get things done for herself. "I would be glad to give you and your husband a complimentary parking pass for the duration of your stay, seeing as the both of you have been very patient with us." Rosalie smiled simply, one hand on top of the plasma, touch screen computer and the other on top of the marble counter between them. "In fact, here are your room keys." She slid them thru the scanner with practiced ease and handed them over to the couple. "If you have any further questions or concerns, feel free to call the front desk and I can see to them. Have you anymore complaints or," she pointedly threw a subtle look to the woman's husband before looking back at her, "dissatisfactions to speak of?"
I quickly hid the smile that creeped onto my face by turning back to my computer and finishing the transaction I was overseeing. She was the type of person I wanted to be, one day. Badass, independent, giving not one fuck at all and yet staying professional the entire time. The couple eventually stormed off rather melodramatically and waited for the crowded elevator, dipped in chrome like everything else in this lavish place. As Rosalie passed by, I held out my fist and she bumped it accordingly, not even glancing my way- she had that sort of big sister bond with me that I appreciated, but it didn't hold a candle to Angie and my friendship. She and I were inseparable, and not yet at the level of badass that Rosalie seemed to consume so naturally.
The rest of my work day went like that, with both happy and sour guests plaguing my day, but the thought of spending some quality time with Tony the next night sustained me even when I thought I was on the edge of insanity. "What's got you chipper?" Rosalie asked offhandedly, chewing on her microwave'd leftovers heartily.
"What?" I knew it sounded dumb to reply so air-headedly to your boss, but I couldn't help it. My mind wasn't really down here on Earth when on a break or lunch. It was a time of peace and calmness, where I didn't have to worry about smiling or assisting assholes.
Rosalie rolled her eyes. "What's got you all smiles and honky dory lately?"
I scoffed at her. "I'm a happy person, so what?"
Rose smirked down at her food before wagging an accusatory fork in my direction. "Getting laid then?" My cheeks flooded red at her crude sense of being. That was one of the downsides of her straightforwardness, sometimes it was a bit brash and she didn't care. "Yeah that's it." She sounded more self-satisfied than before and catcalled loudly, gaining the attention of the random janitors taking their fifteen minute break.
"No." I snapped in frustration, not wanting her to think that of me. "I've told you before, I'm not into meaningless sex."
"Oh Bella." Rosalie rolled her eyes comically. "You've got so much to learn, young one." I folded my arms, leaving my garden salad by itself on the table. I didn't like when my love life was brought up- I didn't have a very exciting or noteworthy one, so it was just better not to talk about it at all. "Andy call lately?" She said his name with disdain, as if he had the nastiest reputation around. She perhaps disliked him more than even Angie, whom hardly ever disliked anyone. But they didn't understand it, or see it the way I did. Firstly, Angie had been with the same man her entire life and deeply in love. Secondly, Rosalie got pregnant in high school and became a lesbian almost immediately after- so neither of them could really speak on my love life, even if they wanted to.
"No." I lied quickly, hoping she'd just drop it already. He had called, about a week ago, and let me know he'd be in Chicago for a conference in a month or so. But if I had divulged that information, I would surely have been lectured and belittled, so I lied instead. "We aren't really talking anymore."
Rosalie smiled. "Good, so now it's time to find someone new. I'm not saying you should go around opening your legs to all of Chicago, I'm just saying go out and live a little." She seemed to consider something for a few seconds or so before speaking. "My girlfriend wants to go out tonight, in fact, if you're interested. Some club in Ryer's District." My throat ran dry at her offer, which was absolutely left field.
She never invited anyone that worked with her out, let alone to meet her infamous girlfriend. I quickly ran over the pros and cons of her offer.
Pro, she's your boss. Con, she's your boss. I winced at my thoughts angrily. Either this could elevate our work relationship to that of an actual friendship, or it could easily make me lose respect in her eyes. What if I got sloppy or her girlfriend didn't like me or the others found out we were meeting up after work and started rumors? But then I thought of not going and that was somehow more morbid. She could get offended or mad or kick my ass for being rude… "Look, if you're busy or something it's cool."
"No!" I answered a little too quick and calmed my frazzled nerves down a notch. "No, I'd love to go. What time?" I was a little breathless, hoping I was making the right decision by accepting her invitation. She smiled naturally and told me she'd text me after work to let me know, and that was pretty much the highlight and downside to my day.
Later-
There wasn't exactly a word for my nerves that night- I was beyond frustrated, beyond irritated, beyond life at that point. My favorite pair of heels broke, I couldn't decide what dress was appropriate enough for the club, and my curling iron didn't seem to want to work at all. In the last two hours, I had considered canceling a dozen times but never actually picked up the phone and did it. Maybe these were signs from the universe to not go out tonight? Hell, what was I even going to do once I arrived? I was a terrible dancer, not even liquor could change that, and I wasn't really all that accommodated to the night life. I spent most of my time working or reading, and sometimes both at the same time, but hardly ever did I "go out". My stomach was churning at the thought that I could potentially blow it with my boss tonight; stupid, stupid, stupid Bella, I kept repeating.
I ceased all nervous ticks and stomach-churning sensations when I heard a horn blare from downstairs, signaling that they had arrived to pick me up. Rosalie was as sober as a gopher these days, and had been proudly so for the last four years of her life, meaning she was sober driver and I didn't have to come out of pocket forty dollars to catch a ride home.
"Bella!" Rosalie called from the tip of the stairwell, a ruinously tight red dress clinging onto every single bone she had- I gulped back a slightly jealous lump in my throat and hurried to lock my door and skip down the concrete steps. My boss was one of those cliché super hot blond lesbians with both power and class, and here I was a bumbling idiot in discount club wear and half done hair.
For a minute, as we both got into her Z, I assumed I would completely out of my element for the evening. But as I slid into the passenger seat, a refreshingly friendly face was smiling over at me from the backseat, where she took up one and a half seats of the sporty, miniature type car. I was stuck for a second or so, not sure if this was the smokin''' hot babe Rosalie was always gushing and obsessing about. She was pretty, sure, but she wasn't the unrealistic, equally hot chick to Rose's standard as I had first imagined. "Bella, this is my girlfriend Karly. Karly, this is the girl I was telling you about from work." Karly eagerly shook my hand, a sweet demeanor about her.
"Hey there! It's so nice to meet you! Rosie hardly ever introduces me to anyone." Karly had these soft, blue eyes that were weirdly motherly and comforting unlike the icy blue depths of hell Rosalie seemed to have. Rosie? I wanted to chuckle at the thought that Rosalie allowed anyone to call her to that; she hated people shortening her name! I tried not to stare at her or make any awkward looking facial expressions so I turned back in my seat and stared out the window at the setting sun, wondering what Tony and Edward were doing right about now. Surely he was drawing his sons bath, or reading him the Funnies Section out of the newspaper, like I texted him to do? Not that I was trying to be bossy or anything, I just wanted him to know that Tony actually appreciated personal time with his father.
Rosalie scoffed and slouched back in her seat, steering with one idle hand on the wheel like a cocky guy would. "Babe, we talked about this." My eyes almost bugged out of my head at the tone she was taking with Karly. Where the fuck was this chick coming from? She hadn't ever sounded that nice or sincere or sweet, and I had been around her for years!
"Rosie!" Karly reprimanded her better half, still that sweet look on her caramel skin. "Sorry, Bella, Rosie sometimes forgets her manners. I think she means that some your coworkers… just aren't so understanding." There was almost a wink of doubt in her face, as if the thought of not being liked tore her up. Uh, so she was a lot like me then.
"Who cares, anyway?" I tried to sound blasé about the whole thing. "If they don't get it, then who cares?" I let out a small shrug, even if I didn't get it my damn self. "Homosexuality isn't meant to be understood, you know? The same way heterosexuality isn't meant to be understood." Did that even make sense? I was trying to win points with them both, showing them I couldn't care less if they preferred penis or vagina, but I wasn't sure I had sent my point across.
"She means the fact that she's a black lesbian with a white butch, blonde at that." Rosalie sounded slightly bitter, but I could see why. How terrible life would be if I had to be type-cast.
"Rosalie!" Her girlfriend snapped angrily, even if her voice held no type of venom. "Don't talk like that, it's rude." Rosalie shut her mouth at the command, obviously ready to go in on the subject at the drop of a hat. "I appreciate your openness, Bella, its great to be around people that don't judge."
I nodded in return, not really sure what else to say. My parents were Irish Catholics, and I refused to delve into the 'you're a sinner and going to hell' because that was so overused these days!
Wasn't there some scripture out there that says don't judge unless you're sin free? Well I sure as hell had a book of sins I had committed, so I kept my opinions to myself and let the car ride's conversation go somewhere else. Karly went on and on about her work at the local animal shelter, a beaming grin on her face the entire time. Her happy-go-lucky attitude was kind of contagious and it wasn't long before I adding to the conversation myself, bringing up a long ago family pet that no one had ever cared to know about before.
I almost regretted having to go to the club now- couldn't we just grab coffee some where and talk about the worthless details of our life? She was such a conversationalist and spoke just as much as she listened, which was rare. No wonder Rosalie was so in love! I hadn't ever been on any 'list' at the club and never got in without at least an hours wait, but through some nephew/cousin/god brother connection Karly got us in within minutes with free drink wristbands to boot. That was perhaps the coolest hookup I had ever seen, besides getting back stage to see Steven Tyler when I was sixteen… I shook my head to dispel all of my lame thoughts, reminding myself to not tell the Steven Tyler story when I got drunk.
"Karly's really well-connected here in the city- you should see how good we get treated down on fifty-fourth." Rosalie leaned in to tell me, giving my shoulder a hard jab jokingly. I muffled my howl of pain and pretended I was just one of the guys around her, laughing along with her quip. Fifty-fourth street was over a mile long and it had everything you could ever need- a priority-seating Italian restaurant, a glitzy apartment complex built twenty-two stories high, a gelato shop on the corner, and a "high class" titty bar towards the end. I avoided the spot because it only ever reminded me of all the things I didn't have, but it was nice to drive by once in awhile and soak up the culture. It was a lot like Market Street in San Francisco, or Rodeo Dr in Los Angeles- glitzy, crowded, expensive as hell.
Karly was a bountiful type of woman- curves here, curves there, curves everywhere! She was shorter than me but built with such kindness and happiness and joy that she seemed to stand above the crowded nightclub. Seriously, this chick lit up the dance floor with a martini in one hand, Rosalie's in the other; I stayed back at our table and bobbed my head lightly to the beat of the music, not really knowing what I was suppose to do.
Usually, when my friends dragged me out, we'd all get really wasted before we got in the club and danced in a weird circle until guys bought us more drinks- but Rosalie and Karly just smiled obliviously and danced with each other, making me crack a smile despite my current situation.
Would I ever find love like that? It was a question I asked myself lately, but I had no way to answer it. For a while I thought Andy would be the answer, but it had been how long and he still wasn't 'ready'? There were a few dates here and there but nothing that ever really stuck- well, until Tony and Edward came running into my life. For the first time in my life, Tony had dusted off the useless organ in my chest and brought on all these new loving feelings- and then there was Edward, the fire of my loins as of late. Even his simple text responses and polite hugs at the end of what I deemed my 'visitations' seemed to do something weird to me. I was sort of craving him, even when he irritated the shit out of me, and I wasn't so sure how I felt about that.
He wouldn't go for a girl like me, would he? At least not for more than a roll in the sack and perhaps breakfast? No, I was more of Tony's live-out caretaker with some perks, that was all. And maybe that was for the best? It was simple, carefree, not complex at all. I picked up Tony (or one of the various intimidating drivers would drop him off) we'd spend our quality time, talk about his day, and then he'd go back home the next morning. It was enough for me, it was enough for now. I didn't need to sleep with his dad to stay in his life, and I liked it that way.
"Bella!" Karly was breathy and already sweating, but in a weird way it just made the two of them that more attractive. God damn it, why were some people so blessed with beauty genes while the rest of us got all red in the face and smiled like a boys locker-room? "Come dance with us!" Her smile was toothy and stretched form ear to ear, her slicked back shoulder length hair immaculate as she sipped on her drink. "C'mon!"
I shook my head at first, not ready to let them in on how lame I actually was. If I sat here all prissy and proper, the worst I could do was give off a bad vibe. But out there, in the middle of the dance floor, I could look like an absolute idiot and get laughed at for the rest of the evening! Or worse, Rosalie could get such a good laugh that she'd go back to our workplace and talk about it and maybe even have a video… I swallowed my second margarita down in one gulp, letting the icy rush travel down my throat and into my belly. Broke Girl Tip #1, always go to a club with expensive drinks on an empty stomach, you get drunk way faster.
The high-tempo song switched off and another song played, something more funky and outdated that I doubted anyone really enjoyed besides me. I assumed we would walk off the dance floor with the other milling people, but Karly squealed happily and began swishing her body back and forth, the flowy dress she was wearing barely containing the skin she was covering. Rosalie smiled dotingly down at her, a lot like I had hoped and prayed someone would look at like one day. When Karly looked expectantly over at me, I moved my feet side to side at first, not really knowing what was appropriate to do in front of near strangers.
A part of me, the lamest part alive, wanted to start doing the robot or the Macarena, but I contained myself and stuck to staying pretty still.
Rosalie stepped out to grab drinks for us, a surprising thing to me. Was she okay around all of this temptation? I wasn't an alcoholic by any stretch, but I wasn't so sure I would be able to resist a drink or two in this atmosphere. "She's okay, you know." Karly yelled over the sound system, but I barely heard her. It was as if she had read my mind, which made me very nervous all of a sudden. "Rosie's strong; I don't think she'd ever take another sip if it killed her." Karly smiled proudly when she said that, as though Rosalie staying sober made her truly happy.
I just nodded in return, not feeling qualified to speak on Rosalie. We all had our own problems, maybe not addictions per se, but I wasn't at all seasoned enough to have any sort of opinion on my boss when I didn't know the whole story. Rosalie sometimes mentioned her sobriety and never gave specifics, but I didn't bug her for them either. Before we knew it, she was back with two shots of Cuervo and mixed drinks, of which we slammed before I had the chance to mention I was a cheap drunk. After that, the music seemed to be much more appealing and the changing colors of the dance floor seemed more enticing as I moved along, drink in my head and my head swaying. I would take a sip every now and then, but the more I drank the more I moved and I knew that was a dangerous thing.
It was no time at all, and I regret remembering this, wherein Karly and I were dancing face to face, our bodies doing a horrible job of mirroring each other's moves. It left us laughing our asses off, but we tried every awkward dance move in the book from the running man to the electric slide. We even went for an entire song having a weird little arm-move dance off, gaining the attention of a few people nearby.
They were laughing and rooting us on, whether for real or for more laughs, and it got us into a frenzy that seemed never-ending. If it had been up to Karly and I, we would have stayed raving/Motown-ing/disco dancing for the rest of our lives, but midnight rang all too soon and Rosalie started to wane us off of our high.
We felt like the belles of the ball when other dancers called after us to stay, and maybe that had happened to Karly and Rosalie before, but it had never happened to me. I fit in, maybe a little too well, and so I never stood out to anyone.
We were cracking up at the trance we had just been in as we collected our coats and shoes, making our merry way through the club, when a commotion started right in front of us. Now, maybe things are different in other places of the world, but here in Chicago there was an unwritten rule- mind ya business.
And so we did.
We walked around the gathering crowd, or at least tried to, and almost made it out of the throng of sweaty bodies when that dreaded sound rang out- I heard it a few instances before, once in my apartment complex and once at a Greyhound bus stop when I made a trip home. But never had it been so close, so near that I could smell the emission of gunpowder from the weapon. It seemed like everyone in the club had screamed all at once, running in every direction, not sure what or who or how in the dim lighting of the establishment. Karly and I cowered away behind a bar chair, but Rosalie had gotten lost in the mass of fellow club goers, and she clung to me for dear life. "Rosie!" Karly cried out, tears falling from her face, and it took all I had not to break down like her.
The best thing for you to do in an emergency is remain calm. Panicking is what you girls like to do but it doesn't help any. My father's voice rang through my ears, as though he were standing right there beside me. Find somewhere covered and low to hide and don't make a peep. I mean it, no sniveling or bawling. Unless you're dealing with a maniac, your guy will probably just be trying to get away.
"Shh." I coaxed Karly, trying to keep her grounded down to Earth and not going bat shit crazy like the rest of the club. There were screams of agony, of terror, and of pain so I wasn't sure exactly what was happening. Maybe they were just drunk and spooked and didn't know how to react? But then two more gun shots rang out, the hip hop music still bumping in the back ground like a morbid death march. I shushed Karly's cries with a hand over her mouth, which was probably seriously rude but I couldn't take the chance of someone overhearing us. Sounds seemed much more muffled with the music getting louder and louder, probably because there was no longer a DJ manning it, but that made it difficult to hear what was going on around us.
I could hear much less screaming but I wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing.
Never second guess yourself- kid, are you listening? I could remember my dad listing off things to do and not do in particular emergencies, but at twelve years old I hadn't really ever thought they'd come in handy. The only thing you got over your assailant is you- whether you're a wild card or quick as lightening or methodical and knowledgeable, no one can tell that at first glance. So use it.
I wasn't any of those things. I wasn't quick or super smart or savvy or even crazy- I had nothing going for me but being quiet and fading in. So I used that to be best ability, gesturing to Karly to ditch the shoes and we moved out, gliding along the marbled floors and just praying to any God out there that we made it to the front door. I hadn't even remembered where that was exactly, and seeing as there wasn't really any lighting, we were blind and oblivious to anything going on above us. Were on all fours, crawling like babies, and we made it a good distance before Karly and I were able to see the entrance dimly lighten up.
It was enough for us to guide ourselves to and at the time, seemed like a godsend, but as we moved against the stretched bar counter, Karly let out a blood curdling scream that could have woken up an entire block of sleeping Chicagoans. I snapped my head in her direction and saw what she saw, which was a lifeless body, blood pooling from the back of the head at our very feet.
Ever since I was a child, I hadn't been very good with blood; it made me squeamish and sick and just plainly disgusted me, but I sucked it up for the moment and brought my hand against Karly's mouth. But it was too late, we had attracted the very same attention that I had hoped and prayed we wouldn't.
"Hey! Who's there?" A gruff voice called out, slightly slurring in dictation. I begged Karly to just shut up and not say a word. It could have been a cop or the owner or the bad guy- I wasn't sure what the odds were, but I could bet they weren't in our favor. "Come out or I'll start shootin'." I let a painful look out, scaring Karly but she kept it under wraps for now. We were stuck in a fucked up situation, I realized that, and I really didn't want to die. I meant it- I had more to live for now than I ever did before. I had the start of a real career, I had Angie's twins, I had friends, I had some family, and most of all I had Tony and Edward and their endless mysteries to figure out.
No matter what, I wasn't gonna die crouched down on a nightclub's wet floor. So I found my balls to stand up, ever so slowly, with my hands outstretched. "Loo-look, we didn't see nothi''," I started off shakily, still not able to see his face, "I p-promise." I was biting back sobs, trying to keep it together for the trembling caramel-colored girl behind me.
"Is that right?" His voice was mocking and clearly agitated, and it sounded as if it were coming closer and closer.
"Y-yes." I stammered out. Statistically, if a person is going to murder you they do so on impulse and don't wait around playing with their dinner. If this person was going to mindlessly kill, he would have done it already. Hoping my logic was right, I swallowed noisily and backed up every so slightly. "We'll just, um, we'll leave. Because we didn't see anything." I reiterated the fact so that maybe it'd convince him I would stick to my word. And if it meant ever seeing the people I loved again, I sure as hell would.
He was strolling through the dark, basically, but I knew he could see us fully in the neon lighting of the entrance. We were a mere twenty feet away from the door, so close, yet now so far. "Your name, kid?" It was an oddly asked question, even for me, but I would say just about anything to get out of this mess.
"Karly Woods." Karly rattled out quickly, not waiting for me to speak. Rosalie had said Karly had all of these connections, but I wasn't sure just what sort of connections she had on this side of town. When the man didn't say anything else, I assumed he was waiting for me.
"Bella Swan." I spat out the name, not knowing why he wanted to know in the first place. At this point in time, I was almost expecting the ringing shot to be heard- either kill us or let us go but don't make me die of a heart attack while waiting for you to decide! He visibly tipped his head in my direction, causing a state of panic to take over me. Oh shit did he run into some sort of trouble wherein my dad put him in jail or something? Surely no one would instantly connect infamous Chief Swan with some lowly girl like me?
"You know a Cullen?" My heart sank and soared through the sky when the name left his lips. If I admitted that yes I did, would he take that as incentive to kill me or what? Myabe, just maybe, this was my way out.
"Yes!" I shot out. Whether or not it was my saving grace was of no consequence now. There was no way in hell was gonna let me just walk right on through without a fight, and seeing as he had a gun and I had nothing but a tight dress and a purse on my shoulder, that was out of the question. "Edward." I supplied the name, to which he chuckled murderously. I was sure Karly thought we were dead as doornails, but she stood by me anyway, probably trying to ready herself to die alongside a near stranger. I knew Edward was an important man with lots of acquaintances and lots of enemies, but just what kind of clout did he have out here on the streets?
"Oh yeah?" His tone was a little lighter, as though we were catching up on old times rather than facing off.
"Yes." I bit back, trying to think of an intelligent thing to say. Should I go with, 'I watch his kid' or 'I work for his sister'? Neither really seemed too personal and I needed him to know I knew-knew him. "I'm Edward's girlfriend." It was weird and abnormal to say that sentence, but it was my last trick.
Seconds ticked by, and each one grew heavier on my conscience; why in the world did that leave my lips? I hadn't ever spent the night in his home let alone spent alone time with him! It was a stupid, stupid idiotically ridiculous lie to say but all I could come up with was that. Karly and I stood still the entire time, waiting and praying and waiting some more. The man moved around uneasily, obviously a bit thrown by the change of the tide. He almost seemed as though he'd just found out I had a gun on me! "Go." He said roughly, and I was so hyped up that I didn't move in case he was dicking me around or something. "I said get a fuckin' move on, go!" We didn't need to hear another word; Karly sprinted her way out of the door and down the paved street, not stopping until she made it inside the car. I was running as fast as I could, but it was no match for her Olympic type speed- she called wildly for me to get in, even though there were sirens and people's cries still being heard around the parking lot, and screamed at Rosalie to get us out of there.
I was aware of Rosalie and Karly yelling back and forth at each other, regarding the fact that Rosalie hadn't left us- I could understand where Karly was coming from, though. I wouldn't ever want my loved ones risking their life to wait to see if I made it or not! But Rosalie was stating her case the way she did at work, aggressive and slightly volatile. I merely faded into the seat of the car, titling my head to the side and escaping within myself to a place where things were calm and stuff made sense. I stayed there, even after Rosalie dropped me off and begged me to stay with her and Karly, as though I would be kept safe, but I refused and simply climbed the stone steps up to my third story apartment.
No one could keep me safe, because this was a big city full of crime and danger, but I didn't really care for safety anymore. Because security guards and "safe" establishments and the greater good no longer meant anything to me. One word kept me safe that night, not even a presence, just a word.
Edward.
