It's now four days since I met Bella on my office balcony, and I have not been able to stop thinking about her! I have acquired her number, even though she doesn't know that yet. I stole Alice's phone and put my case on it to make it look like my phone when we had our usual Sunday church service and big lunch at the house! I know Alice's password, the date of her first fashion show. My sister is just so predictable. I remember it because she has never stopped talking about it. Hell, she even talks about it to this day. Even though she has been to many shows since then, she claims that the first one is her favorite. It has something to do with meeting a guy named Jimmy Choo, whoever the fuck that is. Plus, it was on her sixteenth birthday, which also helps!
I know from my father that Alice is getting lunch with Rosalie on her day off on Friday. They are even going to the spa afterward. It will be seven whole days since I saw Bella by then, and I want to know if what we experienced was real, more than anything. I need to know that I didn't imagine what happened between us! I don't want to speak to my father and put Bella in any kind of potential danger if it was just a glitch. I need to be one hundred percent certain that the experience was real and my feelings are genuine.
I take a sip of my coffee and go outside to look out over my city. I decide to send Bella a text. I need to do it before I, the Prince of Chicago, chicken out. Why the fuck am I feeling nervous texting a chick? She must be the real deal.
Hey Bella, don't tell Pixie I got your number from her phone! Because she doesn't know, I stole it. I need to see you. I need to know if what we felt and experienced was real and not all in my head.
E.
I hover over the send button for a couple of seconds before hitting it! I can't undo it now. I pocket my phone just as my father enters my office. I stare at him in shock for a few moments.
"Have I got something on my face?" He asks me. I blink and move to sit down on my chair as I say: "No! I just wasn't expecting you or anyone for the rest of the day, to be honest. It's a paperwork kind of afternoon!"
"Good, that means you can help me with Alice. Did you know she left the dorms after she and that Bella-girl got back? I know they don't share a room, so, unfortunately, I can not question her." I feel my eyebrows rise in surprise as I look at Carlisle Cullen.
He's got white hair that used to be blonde, deep blue eyes, and perfect skin. He's slim but muscular, and his suit and shoes are probably more expensive than my own. I know for a fact that he's got a golden gun hidden somewhere that would make James Bond jealous.
"You are joking, right?" I ask him. My phone sounds in my pocket, and I pull it out.
"No, I'm not! You were with them both on Friday. How close do you think they are?" He asks me, moving forwards to sit down on one of the two guest chairs opposite me.
"To be honest, I believe Alice has found her first real friend... but I don't think they are that close yet. Bella spent most of the time with me because Alice kept on floating around as she always does, but I didn't notice anything wrong about her." His eyebrows rise, hearing this.
"You don't like being in the company of strangers, Edward. What makes this Bella-girl an exception?" I mentally slap myself.
"I think she might be the one, you know... that thing first-born males seem to experience in our family," I tell him, not wanting to explain the full details. He knows them better than I do, and I don't think I have ever seen the man look so stunned in all my life.
"She's a cop's daughter, son! No, scratch that, he's a chief of Police! And you're the Prince of the Mafia! How the fuck is that supposed to work?" He yells, shock turning to anger.
"They aren't close. Bella spends hardly any time around her family, it seems. Her ex phoned and let me tell you: she hates his guts. I spend almost a good hour with Bella because Alice 'forgot' to order food." His eyebrows rise as he says with disdain: "So, you think this cops' daughter, this Bella..." I narrow my eyes at him as I say: "The possibility exists that she is my future wife. So watch where you go with that statement." I warn him coldly as I take my phone to read Bella's reply
Hey! I've been wondering the same thing. Oh! One of Alice's friends asked if I saw her today because they haven't heard from her. Thinking about it, I didn't get my usual visit first thing today either! I tried knocking on her door, but there was no answer. She's not replying to my messages either! I was just about to knock on her door to see if she is back. The last time she disappeared, she supposedly went to some fashion show in Texas. I didn't believe her, though! She had a hickey on her neck and smelt of Lynx, you know, the male deodorant. I recognized the smell because my ex used it. I won't tell her about the phone if you don't tell her that.
Bella
I re-read her text a few times as I try to decide if I should show my father the text and say: "I told you, we needed to change Alice's security detail." I show him the text, as it would be easier that way. I get an amused smirk as he reads my text and says: "So that's where Alice's phone disappeared too!" His face changes as he reads Bella's response. I honestly think I've ever seen a man this angry, and that is saying something! He sounds calm as he says: "I want you to call this Bella on speakerphone, and tell her to go to Alice's door, then I will instruct her for any signs her untrained eyes might not have seen." I nod, knowing there's no point in arguing with him. Bella answers my call on the second ring.
"Hello? Edward? I apologize for not answering straight away. I am trying to escape a guy from my class." I feel my eyes narrow as a strong surge of jealousy, laced with anger, flows through me.
"What guy?" I demand.
"Oh, just someone who keeps on asking me for a date but can't take the hint. Alice dislikes him too. His name is Mike, and he's annoying like hell. I put a laxative in his drink a few days ago after he kept showing up at our lunch table for days on end. At least we got a couple of days of silence while his stomach recovered. He's back now, though."
"Isabella, this is Carlisle. I'm Edward and Alice's father. Where are you now?" Silence greets his words.
"Is Alice okay?" Bella asks in a small voice after a couple of minutes of silence. I shoot my father a warning look because I don't want him to freak her out or give anything of our family's secrets away.
"We don't know, and that's why we need you to do us a favor and check Alice's door with my guidance." He says.
"Um, okay, but I don't want to get in any trouble. There's foot patrol around the corridors."
"You won't, trust me."
She responds instantly, and her words make me smirk: "I don't trust you because I don't know you, but for Alice, I will."
I watch the look of surprise on his face after she told him that bluntly and smirk even harder.
"I'm on my way back to my room now. Alice is down the hall from me. I will go up the stairs on her side."
It's quiet for a few seconds, and then we suddenly hear her say: "Fuck off, Mike!" I hiss as I wait for Bella to say something else.
"None of your fucking business, asshole."
My father and I look at each other with raised eyebrows and stare at the phone on my desk. Bella must have put it on speakerphone because we can hear a male voice as well.
"Come on, Issy!! You know you want me, as much as I want you, babe. You're just playing hard to get."
"You make me cringe! My father is a police officer. If you don't stop stalking me, I will get the law involved." She threatens him.
I grab the edge of my desk as I hear him say: "There you go again, playing hard to get. Why are you going this way? You don't normally use these stairs?"
"Congratulations, dumbass... you've just confessed to stalking me." She yells at him!
He laughs at her words and says: "Nobody else is around."
Bella hisses as she says: "Let go of my arm." What the fuck! How dare he touch her. My blood boils, and I lock eyes with my father across my desk.
"Not until you say yes to a date," Mike tells her.
"Aw! Let go, you're hurting me."
"No! Not until you say yes." I am up and out of my seat quicker than a person can blink while I grab my phone from my desk. My father is right behind me. I have a bad feeling about this, and I trust my instincts as I make it down to my Lambo in record time. I turn to my father and say: "I'll handle Mike, depending on what he's done t-" I get interrupted by a scream and a thud. The next thing I hear is a phone that gets smashed. I feel my body go cold and my mind numb.
"He is as good as dead," I say coldly and bluntly.
My father shakes his head as he says: "She really must be it." He says more to himself than to me; that's why I don't react to it. I push my car to its limits while my father calls the University to alert their security. That's good. That way, they won't be far behind.
My father explains everything to whoever he is speaking, and I get us there in record time because I broke quite a few speed limits along the way! But I find I do not care. I never do. A familiar mask washes over me as I prepare myself as I do every time I go into a situation with an unknown outcome. It is the mask of a killer, of a man who's seen and done so much! But it's somehow different now. I've not walked into a situation concerning someone I care about for a very long time! This fucker was a simple guy. He is not even a part of the underground world my family runs in. I swear that if he killed her before she and I even got a chance together, I'll fuck him and his whole family up.
"Stop thinking the worst, Edward. The university security is on the way, and Emerson is staying on the phone until we have news."
I nod. Emerson is one of the many spies we have dotted around the city and a part of the campus security team. Unfortunately, we couldn't place him directly in Alice's block. He's an outdoor foot patrol guy.
"What good is he going to be?" I say angrily as I park my car roughly. I scare some students as my tires squeak to a stop outside of the University campus. I see the head of the University waiting for us along with his security and hear sirens in the background.
"He informed the University that a friend of his girlfriend could be seriously hurt and that they need to access the block where she is staying. When questioned how he knew, he said that you were on the phone with her." I huff as we got out of the car.
"D-Doctor C-Cullen." The stupid man says.
"Shut up, and take us to my sister's and Bella's apartment block! There better not be a hair on her head harmed." I threaten them.
"There's no need to be rude, Edward!" I growl at my father and stalk off in the direction I know Alice's block to be. I move faster than the old fuckers behind me, and when I get to Alice and Bella's block, I am shocked when I see my fucking sister and Tanya Volturi in a romantic kind of way! I pull out my phone and take a picture as proof of what I saw before running to the other entrance. Bella is more important to me right now! I am hoping that they'll still be there in that way for my father to see.
As I round the corner, Emerson appears out of the blue beside me. I turn to glare at him, and he holds his hands up, knowing what I'm capable of.
"I have permission to enter the building with you in case there's security on the scene," He explains to me and adds: "I didn't know you had a girl."
I roll my eyes as I say: "Why would you?" I hiss as I spot the closed doors and say: "Open the fucking doors." I hear yelling behind us and know that my father has spotted Alice and Tanya. I couldn't care less. Emerson and I rush up the stairs. I find Bella's phone on the third landing strip. I pick it up and look up to find Bella propped up against the wall. Emerson and I get our guns out and move to Bella, who clutches her right arm with her eyes closed.
"Find the bastard that did this."
"With pleasure." I nod as he walks away.
"Edward?" Her soft voice is music to my ears.
"Yeah, I'm here! Are you hurt in any way?" I ask her as she opens her eyes. Green meets chocolate brown for the second time in a week and the same thing happens. It even feels more powerful than before. Can that be because I thought for a split second that I had lost her?
"Fuck!" We both said.
"I thought he killed you, Bella. Are you okay?" I whisper while sitting on the dirty floor and pulling her carefully into my arms.
"I think I broke my hand when I landed... but I'm not sure about anything else. I think my body is numb or in shock. I think that I blacked out for a couple of minutes." Her words are whispers as she moves her head to rest on my shoulder, and her body is leaning against mine
"I thought I lost you," I confess. Oh my god, I can't believe I said that out loud. I take a deep breath as I wrap my arms tight around Bella.
"You've only just met me for the second time." She whispers.
"I know you felt it, like before," I tell her.
"Will that always happen?" She asks. I rest my cheek on her head and close my eyes as I say: "No. It's something unique to the first-born males of our family. I did not truly believe the tales myself until I met you." I tell her quietly, again surprising myself.
"Mmm." She says, and I realize she's gone back to sleep.
I pick my phone out of my pocket with difficulty and dial my father's number. He answers on the second ring. "Is she okay?" is the first thing he asks.
"She was semi-aware of her surroundings when I first got here, but she's passed out now. She told me she thinks that she broke her hand when she fell on the floor. She is not sure about anything else. Did Emerson find him?" I asked.
"Yes, but not before the bastard reached the 'appropriate people'. We can't touch him for now. I'm assuming you saw your bloody sister?"
"I paused long enough to take photographic evidence, in case they were gone before you got there. Alice is in deep shit, isn't she?"
"Jasper is going to be heartbroken." He tells me.
"Fuck! Alice had us all fooled. How did he not know?"
"The ambulance people are on the campus and on their way into the building now. They are accompanied by her head of year. I'm in the car with Alice now, and Tanya is being escorted elsewhere by the security team."
I hear Alice wail in the background.
"Shut up! You've done enough damage! We thought you got kidnapped or worse. You can tell Jasper yourself! And don't deny it, Edward saw you before I did, and has photographic evidence. Your friend got injured because she kindly decided to help us check on you. Your selfishness and foolishness have caused more harm than good." He hisses at her. I hang up when the medics arrive.
"Alice?" I hear Bella's voice. I caress her cheek as I say: "We found her, don't worry. The paramedics are here."
"Hello, Isabella. My name is Lorenzo, and this is my colleague Lucie Frost." The paramedic tells her while completely ignoring me! I glare at the disrespectful asshole and say: "Bella believes that she has a broken hand, and she passed out at least twice! Once before I got here and once since I arrived." He looks at me and says: "You are?"
"He's Mr. Cullen, Dr. Cullen's son. I believe these two have just started a new relationship. Dr. Carlisle and Mr. Cullen were both on the phone with Isabella when she got assaulted by Mike Newton," a new stern voice says.
"Oh. Well, let's get you both up and see if you can walk. If not, we can get the stretcher." I smirk at his changed tone and assume that the person that spoke is the head of year.
It turns out quickly that Bella can't walk, and I smile as she refuses to leave my side. I carry her out while learning that her head of year's name is Mr. Carter. He looks beyond pissed, so I'm hoping Newton gets a proper punishment. If not, I will make sure he does.
We make it to the hospital, only to discover that Bella has a broken hand and foot. It probably happened when she hit the steps on the way down. However, Bella doesn't remember falling or moving into the corner. It had been a reflex to try and hide so that no one would find her in the position she was in. She didn't feel safe going back to campus with a broken hand and foot, and I didn't want her there either. That is how Bella ended up at my place.
I'd love to know what you all think so far? And also, would you like to see Bella's point of view? Or just have this based in Edwards?
