AN: Thank you, thank you, thank you to my reviewers; Guest, Wolf Born Woman, Mandy, teamjacob0729, Grumpy DelSan13, Anony, Rose, Guest, CaliNative76, and Karma! I love hearing from you all!
Guest (The second Guest to review) It is Jacob and Bella, but some of the Twilight storyline is going to be kept for the sake of how I want the story to go, but it should soon return to them.
Hopefully I've got some more free time to write more chapters, so here's your next one!
Read and Review Please!
Song Suggestion: Phascination Phase, Carter Burwell.
Chapter Twenty One: Slowly Sinking.
Edward didn't visit the shop until a week later, and Mike had informed he that he hadn't appeared at school either in that time. I logically reasoned that he must have gone camping; after all, he had been looking for supplies. But, irrationally, I couldn't shake the small voice in my mind telling me his departure was linked to how rude and strange he'd behaved in the shop that day. It was self-centred and utterly ridiculous to draw such a conclusion, but the gnawing in my gut told me otherwise, and Sam always stated that your gut was your instincts, that were to be trusted always.
As I slid into the door of Newtons' Olympic Outfitters, I noticed we already had a customer. Trying not to fall on my uncoordinated legs, I attempted to regain my dignity and walked in. From the corner of my eye, I watched the customer keep a distance from me as I moved towards the counter, despite being on the other aisle.
"Hey Bella." Mike smiled and I nodded back in return, concentrating on not slipping in my ice slick shoes, "How was the bus today?"
"Horrendous." I rolled my eyes, "There needs to be better speed control, especially in this weather." If my dad was still here, he would have made sure everyone drove with a semblance of intelligence, instead of like idiots. I couldn't help but think.
"Yeah." He shrugged and eyed the boots rack, "Do you want to buy better boots, you know, so you don't fall again?" I recognised the withheld laughter in his tone and knew he'd seen me nearly fall through the door earlier.
"Thanks, but I'm fine." There was nothing wrong with the shoes I wore, and Sam and I didn't need to be spending on unnecessary items.
"Okay." As I tugged on my uniform, I glanced down the aisle at our customer and felt my gaze widen. It was him, once again browsing the food section. Trying not to stare, I began tidying the counter top, while Mike went to fetch the mop and bucket.
"Hello. My name is Edward Cullen." A smooth voice introduced him and my head shot up from my determined concentration on not allowing my attention to divert my gaze repeatedly to him as I straightened a pile of leaflets.
"I'm Bella Swan." Shocked by his forwardness and formality, I greeted him hesitantly in return. As my eyes unconsciously flickered over his person, I noted he looked to have slept better since I had last seen the dark circles under his eyes, and his eyes were a strange gold tone. Questioning my memory, I was sure they were near black the last time I had seen him, but I brushed off my observation as he continued to speak.
"I haven't seen you around Forks before, have you recently moved here?" He politely inquired.
"N-no." I blushed as my stammer revealed my shyness, "I live in La Push with my brother." Automatically, Sam and I referred to one another as such for ease with strangers, as many in our small town already knew of our circumstances, and we were not ones to be retelling our private tale to anyone. Though, on the occasion when strangers met us together and we named one another as siblings, we were met with disbelief and suspicion, as neither of us bore any resemblance to the other.
"La Push?" He raised his brows slightly and I noticed his mouth tightened too.
"Yes. I used to live with my dad in Forks, but I moved to La Push a few years ago." The strange urge to explain to this stranger was odd, and I had to rein in my tongue from divulging anything else personal.
"What happened to your father, if you do not mind me asking?"
"He died when I was young." Trying to shrug off the saddest in my heart, I continued, "I have lived with Sam, my brother, since."
"I'm sincerely sorry to hear that." Edward placed a hand on mine in comfort and I jumped, both from the little flickers of electricity he ignited, and the fact his hands were freezing to even my numb hands.
"Bella?" Mike interrupted us and his hand moved away from me, but my blush illuminated knowingly. Trying to appear normal, which was the opposite to how I felt in that moment, with my flushed features and stomach of butterflies, I turned to Mike expectantly. He appeared ruffled by mine and Edward's conversation, but still smiled at me, "Tyler's got his truck stuck in a ditch, so I'm going to go help him out. Can you lock up and drop the keys at mine later?"
"Sure." Nodding, I took the offered keys and the comparison of temperature between Edward and Mike was startling, "See you tomorrow, Mike."
"See you later Bella, Edward." Mike walked out, glancing back at us in puzzlement as he left. The slam of the entrance door drew me back to my job and I finally noticed the basket of merchandise before me of Edward's.
"Sorry, I'll ring you up now." Feeling embarrassed by my life's tale distracting from Edward's intention to pay and leave, I began hurriedly working the cash register.
"Thank you." He smiled at me and I found myself lost in it. His smile was endearingly crooked and I blushed. Sometimes I could curse at my easily heating skin, its purpose only to further embarrass me, "So, what about your mother?"
"She left when I was young." Surprised by his interested, I answered honestly, "I've not heard from her in years now, my dad always raised me alone when I was younger, she was too hare brained to handle being a mother, or so my dad used to say."
"So you live with your brother, Sam? How old is he?" Despite the fact I had finished packing his things and he paid me with a large tip, we remained talking, thoroughly engrossed in one another's company as the minutes ticked into hours. As the time increased, so did my interest in him.