Okay, so Bella could admit to herself that after one new experience she didn't feel entirely whole. She looked online for things to distract herself with locally. Maybe joining a book club would help? She saw a listing for a piano class with a "Mr. Masen" in Port Angeles.
Private lessons usually ran an arm and a leg, especially in Bella's jobless state. Maybe she could pick up a job at the library? Barely a month home, and she was losing it.
She decided to meet Lauren and Ashley for drinks and dinner to talk it over with them and see if they knew any people she could connect with.
Since the accident, Charlie had helped finance to lease a newer car. "Something with better airbags." He muttered when they were at the dealership. It was losing the new car smell already but Bella was too terrified to lose her focus again. She really didn't want to pay anything extra on this lease. She parked a bit further in a parking garage instead of on the street in Port Angeles to protect the car, which meant parking 5 blocks away from the restaurant she was meeting up with them at.
She turned off the car and sat with the doors locked for a moment to gather her things before heading out. The garage was well-lit and mostly empty. The night air was cool on her face when she stepped out of the car.
As she left the garage, she hugged her bag close to her body and zipped her coat up to brave the short walk ahead, unaware of the watchful gaze following her.
The streets were dark as she approached an alleyway. Bella felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up as she approached. Someone was there- maybe more than one man.
She picked up her pace as she saw someone in the corner of her eye round the corner of the unlit brick and cement alleyway. Footsteps kept in pace with hers. She was speed walking now, one adjustment to her stride away from running.
"Hey, miss! I just have a question for you." A man's voice called from right behind her. Oh god, is this it? Am I about to be mugged or raped? Bella couldn't think, she saw the nearest street light down one more block and broke out into a run.
A car pulled up alongside her and her first instincts were to get further away from the car that had suspiciously pulled alongside her and the encroaching men. The passenger window lowered, "Bella! Get in the car." Bella's head snapped as she slowed to look at the car and who called her name.
It was harder to see in the dark but it looked almost like Dr. Cullen. It was!
She stopped running, and the car door opened for her and she hopped in. In her peripheral vision, she saw the men following her slow down and turn around. Bella slammed the door shut behind her and curled away from the door protectively. Then she looked to her left- he was looking straight ahead at the road as he peeled away from the corner and sped off, "seatbelt, please." His instructions sounded measured and monotone.
"Thank you. I was… Sorry, are you okay?" Bella turned to see the expression on Dr. Cullen's face looking tight and hard, eyes dark and focused in the dark sedan.
"I'm fine." His eyes didn't leave the road. Bella watched the stormy melt off of his face instantly.
"O-kay." Weird. Bella felt a little unnerved. She felt safer but a new anxiety kicked in. What had him so worked up?
Carlisle made a show of clearing his throat. Being in the compact car and windows shut with her was getting to him. He cracked his driver side window open to let in some fresh air. It helped him to focus again to let in some fresh air.
"Are you ok? You seemed to be in a tight spot." Carlisle found his voice to thankfully sound calmer than he felt. He feels like his heart should be racing- inside he knows he could have stopped anything that could have happened. But what if he hadn't been there? His mind was flooded with the potential for what could have happened if he wasn't there and each vivid image was worse than the last.
Bella breathed in and out deeply and nodded in agreement at Carlisle's statement. "Yeah, just a little shaken up." She looked down and her hand was grasping her bag tightly and tremoring slightly. She flexed her fingers and made a fist. "Probably more than a little, but not more than what a few drinks can't fix." Bella forced a smile and cringed a little at her own attempt to make light of the situation that had just happened. She wanted to create a lead about where she was headed and that people were waiting for her. The man was pretty, certainly, but Bella wasn't about to continue to sit in a car with someone who was still practically a stranger, doctor or not.
"I'm meeting up with some friends for a few drinks…" She paused debating on inviting him along. It couldn't hurt bringing him along to get to know in a public space? Plus he seemed like someone she wanted to get to know after he was a little loosened up. At the moment it didn't look like he was even breathing, let alone moving. "..If you'd like to tag along? I'm, ah, supposed to be meeting them up at La Caverna."
"Oh. I wouldn't want to intrude." Carlisle cringed internally at the idea of drinking alcohol or anything for appearances. Better than having to eat, he figured, but still not ideal. The idea of Bella relaxing at a bar and talking to him all night instead of someone else had some merit. He tried to not completely attribute her invitation to allure of his kind. It was likely also some form of gratitude in him having stopped something much worse from happening… He wasn't a fool, he knew that she didn't feel the pull and agony that he was, and by God he would not allow her to see the way he was agonizing even now. Why did he have to keep running into her at these traumatic moments? In the brief moments of silence, Carlisle imagined another life where he bumps into her at a bookstore and gets to know her. A life where he isn't physically aching for her to be closer, where he doesn't worry about his resolve, and self control to protect them both. It's a brief fantasy that plays out in casual conversations, a candlelit dinner and a kiss. Carlisle is always glad for the face of composure, but now more than ever. The car is dark and she can't tell with her human senses that his muscles are all taught at being so close. It isn't purely as erotic as the first few times, something Carlisle has some gratitude for, but his abdomen tightens in reflex anyway at the combined consequence of her request and his fantasy. Something like butterflies in the form of anxiety.
"But I'd be happy to drop you off there. Do you need a ride later? I can get you a cab if needed, just so you can get home safe." His words feel so stiff but he wants to make sure she's ok and he doesn't want to wait around the nearby street corner and follow her home from a safer distance than what currently separates them. Bella immediately shakes her head at his offer.
"Oh I'll be fine! That's really too kind of you but um. Thank you anyway. I drove here and don't plan on leaving my car here overnight." She stumbles a little and her back tightens at the awkwardness of the conversation. "Oh I think we're near the place lemme just.." Bella pulls her phone out of her bag and pulls up the location on her GPS. "Yeah, it's on the right up here."
Carlisle nods and Bella gives a thumbs up and feels a small twinge of regret for the gesture and Carlisle's reluctance.
"I think I have to insist on buying you one drink, unless you have other plans." The words leave Bella's mouth, before she can ponder if she has the confidence to say them. She hopes it sounds as alluring as possible but she's not really certain she's on top of her game after this weird car ride.
"Oh I.." At that moment, Carlisle thinks of a thousand plausible excuses- lying on the spot has not been an issue in his long life of secrecy. There's something twisting in his gut that keeps him from wanting to lie to her. "I just don't drink, really. Dehydration is really bad for keeping your hands steady." Not untrue, but lame on his tongue. Lifetimes ago, he had wine on special occasions, and he does think he misses that human experience as well.
Bella's eyebrows raise slightly at his reply and feels torn between thinking that he just doesn't want to spend time with her and thinks she's an idiot, or maybe he really is just that uptight. Neither bode well for the hot doctor.
Carlisle smoothly pulls over to the curb in a parking spot. Less than two minutes on the road has felt like an eternity. Something like a sweet, searing heat. His throat is a little dry, and realizes that Bella has him flustered. How many people has he met in his lifetime, and never felt this way?
"Alright well. Next time you find me on the side of the road, I'm buying you dinner." Bella feels herself deflecting in her own discomfort about the situation. It's probably for the best though. Her stomach flips at the idea of getting out of the car. She had been looking forward to spending some casual time with her new friends and now felt a little bereft.
If Carlisle sensed her discomfort he didn't let on and just smiled what he hoped was an encouraging smile at her.
"Enjoy your evening." He paused and gestured for her to wait a moment before exiting the car. He grabbed a yellow sticky notepad from his console and wrote his cell number on it with "C. C." below.
"And please text or call if you need something, whenever. If I'm at the hospital, I'm sure Alice or Emmett would be able to come by."
Bella's confusion continued to peak at the variety of mixed signals in front of her. She accepted the phone number with a smirk and thanked him again. As Bella left the car, she rolled her eyes at the feel of the cushy leather under her fingertips. Stupid rich, hot doctors and their nice cars.
As soon as she closed the car door and stepped back, the shiny black sedan peeled away from the curb. Allllright.
She glanced down at the sticky note and stuffed it into her purse. Probably best to not give it too much thought right now. The names he mentioned, especially Alice lingered at the back of her mind. Wife? Girlfriend? What about Emmett? He looked maybe 25, and sharp as a tack. Wealthy, readily available relatives?
Bella walked into the bar and promptly set about forgetting the evening and failed. After the first two drinks, she could feel the oncoming headache if she kept going like this and scowled at the steady-handed doctor's remark about alcohol.
Whatever. Stupid hot doctors.
