Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
~0~
~~Edward~~
"All publicity will help the film and both your careers, so I really don't think you should be that upset by the whole thing."
"Upset. UPSET?" I shouted down the phone at Carmen, my agent. "I'm not upset, I'm fucking livid! I want you to issue a statement, saying it was all a set-up." I grasped chunks of my hair with my fist, pulling it sharply to distract me from wanting to throw my fucking iPhone at the wall.
"Calm down Edward. That's not going to happen." Her tone was obstinate. "Do you need me to remind you about the terms of your contract? There's nothing I can do. There's no way to prove Royce had anything to do with it, and there's already a bidding war going on. The photographs will be published; you'll just have to deal with it."
I took in a deep breath. It was absolutely pointless arguing with Carmen. I knew she wouldn't take my shit and getting her off side wouldn't help me at all.
"Fine," I grumbled. "I'm not happy. I'll do what's expected of me, but I'm really fucking angry right now, and all I want to do is get back to Vancouver to finish this film."
"I understand," she said curtly. "Now, while I've got you, Liam Berty has sent over a preliminary contract..."
I hung my head. My little rant had fallen on deaf ears.
I recalled the terms of my contract. It stated I was not to openly confirm or deny any romantic or sexual relationship with anyone. That was a strict clause and was enforced up until the movie release. I could be with whomever I liked; I just couldn't publicly declare I was in a relationship. Rosalie was in the same situation, but she knew the media loved to write about us as a couple and she was all for that type of association. Of course the media were going to eat up any pictures of Rosalie and me caught off the film set in a compromising embrace. The pictures would sell for a fortune and every single magazine in the country, no, the world, would print them.
The rage I felt slowly subsided as I thought of Bella. I'll tell her it was publicity stunt, explain everything. She'll believe me. I'll make her believe me.
"...so I think you should go ahead and sign it. The filming schedule in Australia is pretty much locked in and the female lead Berty wants will not sign unless she knows you are one hundred percent committed. The screen test will be just a formality. Berty is positive the chemistry will be there."
"If there's a relationship clause, I want it removed. I don't want this happening all over again," I stated.
"Of course, Edward. I'll let Berty know. This will all blow over in a couple of weeks, you know that. I can get the contract across to your lawyer, and Edward, this will be the highest money earner for you to date. You can thank me when you've seen the amount I've negotiated for you." Carmen was practically purring.
Money, that's what everything always comes down to.
"Sure Carmen, whatever you say."
I disconnected.
Emmett was waiting for me. I was leaving to drive to the airport, to go back to Vancouver. Back to find Bella.
I sat in the limo in silence.
The last forty-eight hours had been hell. I had no idea how I would be able to finishing filming; the thought of being on the same plane as Rosalie made me shake with rage.
How in the hell am I supposed to continue with this film?
~0~
~~Bella~~
I turned on my phone, knowing I maybe had a couple of minutes before the battery would completely die. I quickly clicked open my contacts to see Angela's name. I scribbled her number down on a piece of scrap paper and then scrolled down for Edward's number. The screen flickered and extinguished just as the number flashed up, damn. Well then, I'm not supposed to call him, I reasoned.
I called Angela from Charlie's home phone.
"Hello?"
"Hi Angela, it's Bella."
"Bella – hey! Are you still OK to meet me for lunch?" she asked.
"Um, can we reschedule? I'm in Forks visiting my dad. It was kind of a last minute thing. I'm traveling back to Vancouver today, but I go away to Great Lakes Cabin on Thursday, so maybe we can catch up when I get back?"
"You're in Forks? Edward didn't mention that you were going." she sounded worried. Had Edward called her, looking for me?
"I stupidly left my phone charger at the hotel. I haven't spoken to Edward directly since Wednesday, just left him a couple of voice messages. I managed to grab your number from my phone before it totally died. I didn't want you waiting for me, knowing I wouldn't be back in time."
"No problem, Bella. Maybe you can come over before you go away to the lake we can have dinner again; you, me, Ben and Edward?"
I felt my chest tighten. I can't believe Edward hasn't told Ben and Angela that he's with Rosalie.
"Um, maybe when I get back? I really need some time to bang out some more of my novel. I didn't get much writing done here." There was no way I could imagine ever having a casual dinner with Edward, Ben and Angela again, knowing Edward was keeping his real girlfriend a secret from them.
"Well, it's Ben's birthday in a couple of weeks, so I was thinking of doing something for him as a surprise, but I'm not sure yet. You have to come to that. Promise?" she pleaded.
"Of course I will," I closed my eyes. Ben's birthday, Edward would be there for sure. I won't be able to avoid him forever.
I needed to change the subject.
"Um, Angela do you remember a guy from your school named Eric Yorkie?"
I heard Angela chuckle. "Of course I do. He was editor of the school paper; we worked really closely together on it. I heard he was a reporter for a paper in Seattle now. Why do you ask?"
"Well, my dad, Charlie, is dating his mom, Elaine."
"No way! Really?"
"Yeah, so I met him and we kinda hung out."
"Did he hit on you?" she asked sternly.
I laughed. "No. My god no! He has a girlfriend, and besides, I'm ninety nine percent sure he'll probably end up being my step-brother. Charlie is smitten with Elaine and well, they make each other happy. So I'll definitely drive down with you and Ben at Thanksgiving, in fact I can't wait, Ange, it will be so much fun!"
"That's awesome for your dad. Yes, I can't wait to get home for Thanksgiving. I'm so glad you can come with us; I can't wait to tell Ben. Bella, I have to go, you know, work and all. Call me when you get back to the hotel, OK?"
"I will. Bye Angela."
I hung up, staring at the wall phone, my heart pounding. How could I continue my friendship with Angela? I should cut myself off from Edward's friends. I can't pretend I don't know he's lying to them by not telling them about Rosalie.
I packed my small bag and took one last look around my room before I left. I wasn't sure what was going to happen to the room once Elaine moved in. Maybe this would be the guest room that Eric and I would use when we visited. I thought about taking my hidden diaries with me, but I couldn't do it. They needed to stay buried under the floor, in their little fabric and wooden encased tomb. The symbolism of that wasn't lost on me.
Saying goodbye to Charlie wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I knew he was happy with Elaine and I knew I'd see him for thanksgiving. The ferry ride back to Vancouver was also pleasant. I actually used the time to write and when I drove my car off the ferry at Tsawwassen, I knew exactly who I wanted to see.
"Bella, what a surprise!" exclaimed Kate as she opened the door to the cute B&B. "Thank god you're here." she sighed.
"What's wrong?"
"Um, I've been having Braxton hicks all day and I don't want to be alone."
"Braxton what?" I asked.
"Hicks. Fake contractions and they hurt like hell."
"You're alone?"
"Garrett is at the hotel working a double shift, and all my guests are off sightseeing. "I feel like I'm falling apart, and I haven't even had a shower today." Kate sobbed and fell into my arms.
"Hey." I soothed, as I gave her an awkward hug. "It's fine, you look fine, in fact you're positively glowing. How about I make us some tea and you can put your feet up. I'm sure your hormones are all over the place. You need to relax."
"God you're a doll," she sniffled. "That would be lovely; I'm just so tired all the time."
Kate lay on the sofa in the sitting room and I went into the kitchen to fix us some tea.
Being at Charlie's and now here in Kate's kitchen I felt useful and content. Plain domesticity, who would have thought it could bring me such pleasure? I kind of winced when I thought about being back at the hotel, the housekeeping maids changing my sheets daily, cleaning my shower and toilet, tidying up after me. The whole experience was foreign, and lonely. Poor Edward, his life was constantly lived from hotels. How does he stay sane?
It's the life he's chosen and he has Rosalie; he has her to be with.
I walked back into the sitting room to hear Kate's soft rhythmic breathing, her face blissfully relaxed in sleep. I sat and drank my tea then got up and went back to the kitchen to unpack the dishwasher and put everything away, put a load of washing on in the laundry, and folded the clothes that were in the dryer.
I said hello to some guests that had popped back in to change before they headed off to dinner. I noticed there was some defrosted chicken in the fridge so I steamed some rice and started making a stir fry when Kate stumbled into the kitchen.
"Oh Bella, I'm so sorry I fell asleep - are you cooking?"
"Kate, you need to take it easy, I don't mind."
We ate and we talked about her pregnancy and her desire to wind down her life to something more manageable. She was stressed. She was basically running the B&B single-handedly while Garrett worked as a chef at the hotel. She explained the renovations to the owner's living quarters off the main house were taking longer than expected and she didn't have the patience or desire to argue with the contractor. Conflict instantly turned her into a 'cry-baby' (her words).
"What renovations? Why are you doing all this Kate? You should have your feet up, not working like a pack horse 24/7."
"There's another house just behind the rose garden on the other side of the pool. The owners arranged for the kitchen and bathrooms to be remodeled while they're on their holiday. They're running way behind. I was hoping Garrett and I could move in there temporarily when the baby arrives. I don't want to disturb the guests by having a crying baby up at all hours. That wouldn't be fair to them. Garrett has been working double shifts, because the money's too good to pass up– I just, I feel like I'm not coping! I can't bear to lean on him. He's doing his best and I don't want him to think that I'm a whinger."
"Why don't you show me this house Kate? Maybe we can work something out."
Kate smiled and led me into the back garden passed the pool to the rows of gorgeous rose bushes that had the most beautiful scent. There was door, almost concealed, and inside was a little path, and a small cottage that looked like it was built in the 1960's.
Kate unlocked the door, switched on the lights and gave me a tour.
The kitchen was a mess, the cupboards were installed without the doors, and the stove, microwave and dishwasher were still in their packaging up against the dining room wall. One of the two bathrooms was finished in beautiful electric blue glass mosaic tiles with a modern ceramic bath, but the other was a shambles of old cracked tiles and grout and piles of debris sitting next to unopened stacks of the new tiles.
"See," she lamented, guiding me back to the kitchen. "There's no way it will be finished before the baby comes. They were contracted to finish up two weeks ago. I wasn't really concerned until I started getting these contraction thingies...what if the baby comes early? We'll have no guests in the main house, and Garrett won't be working at the hotel. It's going to be a disaster," she wailed, sitting heavily on one of the plastic covered dining chairs.
"Kate, you don't have to worry. I'll help you sort it out. You need to relax, OK? We'll work out an action plan in the morning," I assured her.
"The morning? You'll stay tonight? Please?"
"Of course I will," I smiled.
"Garrett won't be home until after midnight, and I'd feel so much better knowing you were here."
I stayed in the yellow room. Once again I was reminded of my Grandma Swan and how patient and kind she had been. I was thankful that I wasn't back at the hotel, where I knew I'd have to speak to Edward face to face. The thought made my heart rate spike and my stomach drop. I knew I wasn't ready to be able to stand in front of him and be happy that he was with her.
Jealously, it was jealously plain and simple, and it was stupid, because after all we were just friends. I'd promised myself when I was in Forks that I'd be happy for Edward. I reminded myself I should be thankful that I even got to meet him and that he wanted to use my lyrics. I shouldn't be in love with the unobtainable Hollywood actor.
But it didn't stop me from dreaming about him again.
~0~
I stayed with Kate until Thursday morning. I spoke to the foreman about the delay and asked what the hold up was. He apologized and told me they had a clear schedule to get it finished within two weeks. Kate was instantly calmer. The tension seemed to leave her body.
"Call me, OK?" I wrote down my number. "I'll be away at Great Lakes, but if you have any more trouble with the contractor, if you need someone to talk to, anything. Promise me? I don't want you getting all stressed out. You have to look after yourself and the little bub in there." I said as I gently touched her prominent baby bump. "Promise?"
"I will. Thanks Bella. I'll see you when you get back?"
"Of course."
I returned Kate's cooler bag and she gave me a small tin of Milo and a packet of Tim Tams as a thank you. How could I say no?
I drove back to the hotel and into the basement car park. I knew Edward would be back from his publicity tour and back on set. I prayed I could duck in and out with no fuss, grab some additional clothes and my phone charger and head straight back out. The cabin was what I desperately needed; time to be alone and decide what I wanted to do, about everything.
Walking into my hotel room was surreal. Everything looked the same. The hotel was the same. I don't know why I thought being away for a week would have changed anything, but everything for me had changed. I held no desire to be here.
I hastily packed my bag, found my phone charger and was about to leave when I noticed the message light on the hotel phone. I dialed in to hear the messages.
They were from last week, the night I left; five messages, all from Edward. The last one was the most difficult to listen to. He sounded so frustrated and angry with me.
"Bella, please, you need to call me back. I need to speak to you, in person."
I dialed his hotel extension, nervous, but determined to sound happy. I didn't want Edward knowing I was an emotional wreck. I'd rather he believed I was happy for him, happy for them both.
"Hey stranger, it's me, Bella. I'm back from Forks, but off for one of my side trips. I really need the writing time. I'm sure you understand it has nothing to do with your..." Fuck! I was gong to say girlfriend. I'm fucking this up. I coughed. "...our song. I think the paperwork is ready to sign; I'm just waiting on my friend to let me know when she's set up a time. Your lawyer will probably do that too I suppose? Um, OK, gotta go, got a long drive to the Lake. I'll probably see you on Wednesday. Bye."
I hung up the phone, but it was as if my hand was stuck to the receiver.
I need to get out of here.
I rushed to the door, flung it open and found Mike standing there.
"Hey Miss...Bella," he smiled.
"Hi Mike. Um, I wanted to thank you for arranging for my ferry trip and the B&B. Kate and Garrett are just, awesome. I loved it there."
"I thought you might," he smiled back. I notice he was holding a familiar looking Australia Post branded parcel.
"Oh, this came for you while you were away. Are you going somewhere else?" He motioned to my large bag.
"Yes, I've rented a cabin by a lake. I'm driving there now, coming back on Tuesday." I shifted my weight from foot to foot. Holding open the heavily weighted door was becoming a bit awkward.
"Let me carry that," said Mike, automatically taking my bag and handing me the much lighter parcel. "I'll bring this to your car."
"Thanks heaps," I said as we walked to the lift. I turned the parcel over. It was from Jessica. Those letters she said that came for me, maybe?
Mike asked me about where the cabin was as we descended to the car park. He loaded my bag in the boot and I threw the parcel in as well. I was suddenly extremely excited about going. I had the map ready.
"Have a safe trip Bella. I'll see you on Tuesday then?"
"Yep, thanks Mike."
I jumped in the car and took a deep breath. I just need to get away again.
~~Edward~~
I sat at our booth, in the hotel's VIP bar; a bottle of Bella's favorite wine chilling in the ice bucket. By eleven o'clock I knew she wasn't coming. I'd spent the night monotonously dialing her cell, praying I wouldn't get the same recorded message that her phone was switched off.
I drank the wine. I couldn't even attempt to play the piano. Instead, I wallowed.
James looked concerned. I didn't speak to him. I didn't want to speak to anyone, not after I'd spoken to Mike before I'd come up to the bar. He hadn't seen her since she left for Forks. She hadn't come back.
I looked again at my phone, 11:15pm. My mom would kill me if I called Chief Swan's number this late, but what did I care? I needed to hear Bella's voice.
Fuck it.
I called.
I could feel my pulse pounding in my ears and my fingers were trembling. The phone rang three times, four, five. No answer. I hung up and left the bar.
Wednesday night was the same. She never showed.
I was a mess on Thursday as well. Rosalie and I were barely interacting. The tension on set was almost unbearable. She'd gone back to being cool and bitchy. Heidi had called me to say she had made an anonymous bid for the pictures. Her six figure offer was outbid.
I fumed, knowing that the photos could appear online or in a magazine any day, and if they did before I got a chance to speak to Bella it would be next to impossible to convince her that they were a set up.
There was still no answer at Charlie Swan's house. Was he never home? I thought twice about calling the Forks Police Station. Chief Swan had always seemed intimidating. I was too much of a fucking chicken to call him to ask where Bella was.
A small yet frustrating slice of comfort came when I got back from sitting in the bar until midnight. There was a message on my hotel line.
"Hey stranger, it's me, Bella. I'm back from Forks, but off for one of my side trips. I really need the writing time. I'm sure you understand it has nothing to do with your..."
She paused then cleared her throat.
"...our song. I think the paperwork is ready to sign; I'm just waiting on my friend to let me know when she's set up a time. Your lawyer will probably do that too I suppose? Um, OK, gotta go, got a long drive to the Lake. I'll probably see you on Wednesday. Bye."
I listened to the message over and over. She's going to a lake? Fuck! Maybe she told Angela where? It was way too late to call anyone. I kept listening to Bella's message until I couldn't stay awake any longer.
The first person I called in the morning was Ben.
"Edward?"
"Hi, how are you?"
"I'm OK, what's up?'
"Has Angela heard from Bella at all this week?"
"Yeah, Bella cancelled their lunch date on Tuesday. Why? You sound upset."
"Rosalie pulled a bit of a stunt while we were in New York. Paparazzi set up. It's going to look really bad."
"How bad?"
I sighed. "Rosalie's dress halfway up her thigh, desperate kissing, her hair out of place. Fuck! I haven't seen the pictures, I don't know, but the look on the asshole photographer's face gave it away. The fucker is going to be a very wealthy man."
"Just tell Bella now Edward, clear up the misunderstanding," Ben said sympathetically.
"I would, but she's left the hotel; I thought maybe she mentioned to Angela where she was going? She said something about a Lake."
"Hang on Edward." I heard Ben call out to Angela. I could hear their conversation, it sounded like Angela was in the shower.
"Babe, what lake is Bella going to? Edward forgot to write it down," sly bastard, I grinned.
"Um, somewhere with a cabin; Great Lakes Cabin maybe? I'm sorry; I can't be one hundred percent sure," Angela called back.
"Great Lakes Cabin," stated Ben to me. "You're going to go after her?"
"Yeah, if I can convince Emmett to let me have a weekend to myself."
Ben scoffed, "Yeah right, as if he'll let you drive to some cabin by yourself. Fat chance Edward."
"Well, can you come with me? I need a car, it's not like I can just go and rent one, they'd probably GPS track it and I'll have a fucking circus of photographers follow me." I shuddered at the thought.
"I can't, got rehearsals and some studio time at The Factory, It's costing us a fortune. I was going to ask if you wanted to come in, lend us a hand?"
I thought about being in a real recording studio, and a rush of excitement flowed through me. But then I thought of not speaking to Bella and it was no competition. "I'd love to, but I need to speak to Bella. That's all I can focus on right now."
"You going to tell her about Alice's dream then," he sounded hopeful.
"I don't know. Don't you think Bella should actually meet Alice first? I mean, she could completely discount it all as a bit, you know, well, it's pretty unbelievable wouldn't you say, if you hadn't met Alice?"
"I suppose, but lying to her, or keeping it from her and then she finds out, what will she think then? I really think you should be upfront with her about it."
I tugged at my hair. How was I going to tell Bella my sister can 'dream the future' and that she dreamed of Bella when we were sixteen?
Jasper's advice was coming from his side, being the recipient of the knowledge that Alice had dreamt about him, knew they were meant to be together since she was fourteen. He believed her, but it still freaked him out to the point where he rejected her for four months.
"Seriously Ben, if you didn't know Alice and I told you that story, you'd laugh in my face."
"Yeah, probably. Just don't do what I did with Ange, OK?"
I was kind of surprised. It had taken Ben three years to get enough courage to ask Angela on a date, and only after I'd prodded him, repeatedly.
I thought Ben would question me on whether I'd talked myself into my feelings for Bella based on Alice's prediction, rather than just letting it happen naturally.
"Don't worry; I'm going to tell her exactly how I feel and what I want. I just have to find her first."
The second person I called was Emmett.
~0~
A/N: OK, I'm sooooo very sorry this update has been a long time coming. I could ramble on about real life, blah blah…but well, I won't bore you. I was kind of distracted with writing an entry for the Pick a Pic challenge - it's on my fanfiction profile called Billionaire (so just click on my icon top left hand corner of the page.
Be warned it's fluffy with a lemon and very tongue-in-cheek… but apart from that, I was also beta for CandyTwi's Fairytale (Candy1 on Twilighted)
w w w. fanfiction. net/s/6513097/1/Fairytale
and MPG's Letters to You
w w w. fanfiction. net/s/6332932/1/Letters_to_You
– both fantastic and very different fic's, tell them I sent you.
It was trying to get into Episode Bella's rather annoyingly neurotic head-space that caused the delay. Am I forgiven? Next chapter – their reunion. Finally, I can hear you sigh…(and yes you can YELL at me in a review!)
Thanks so much to those that PM'd me to tell me they were missing my character's…you know who you are! Thanks to CandyTwi for her editing and daily encouragement and to my W C gals… what would I do without you all (gchat fails be damned)?
P.S. Some very fantastic Aussie's have put together Fandoms Fight The Floods w w w. fandomsfightthefloods. blogspot. com/ to help our friends in Queensland rebuild. I am writing a one-shot, and so many fab authors are contributing, so please donate to the official Queensland Government appeal
w w w. qld. gov. au/floods/donate. html and email in your receipt to the fab gals so you get–what will no doubt be deliciously HOT– a one-shot compilation from several Fandoms (not just Twilight). Hassle your favourite author to sign up as well!
Luv BBxx
