Trigger Warning*
Skim the last part if you're sensitive to sexual abuse or death. We spend part of this chapter in Port Angeles *hint hint* and re-visit the death in the hospital.
Hi guys!
Just doing a mid-story check-in. So we've followed Iris long enough to see that she's got it bad for Edward. To those of you who seemed surprised, like these feelings came out of nowhere, I urge you to go back to the beginning and re-read the story through new eyes. Pay attention to everything she says about him. Also, if she says something that you think was a sign that she wasn't interested, think about what she might be feeling at that time. Why would she try to push Edward away? Anyway, lots of good stuff and revelations to come!
Happy Reading!
Ch. 13 Shop Til You Drop
I had been sitting inside my closet for over three hours. Luckily I was smart enough to bring my book bag with me this time, so I could get something done while I hid in here. I wished Mom and Dad would just get their shit together already or get divorced. Yeah, actually, I liked the idea of that better. Divorce would be best. Winners those two were...
"And how was I supposed to look at her? Huh? Was I supposed to just ignore her? Was I supposed to look at the ceiling the whole time she was talking? How? Tell me what I was supposed to do! We work together! You know, work? That place where I go all day to make money to pay our bills? This shit doesn't just appear out of thin air!" I rolled my eyes. Daddy dearest decided to make a pit stop on the way home, and mommy dearest tracked him down. Tsk tsk.
"What the hell is that suppose to mean?" My mother cried.
"Well, your nails are not exactly made to look like that at home, now are they? And your nice glowing skin didn't come from the sun that shines for free outside...And that Fucking Crystal glass you love to fill up with Rosé? IT COSTED MONEY! Money that you haven't had to work your ass off for day in and day out just to come home and not feel appreciated. So forgive me if I just want to go out after a hard day of working and relax! God Damnit, Terri!"
"How dare you! You know I work hard! I've been at home, raising our daughter! That's hard. Harder than anything I've ever done in my life!" Does she even know where I am right now? I hadn't even left my room all day. I'm fourteen, practically an adult. What the fuck was their problem?
God, my family sucks.
•PTaT•
When we arrived back at Charlie's house, which finally felt like my house too, Charlie greeted us in the driveway. Edward and Alice stepped onto the drive looking much too posh to be standing in front of the old house.
"Bella! What took you so long? I thought you were on your way an hour ago?" I hugged Charlie tightly. I thought he was supposed to be this emotionally stunted manly man? Maybe Bella was just so awkward all the time that Charlie couldn't express his true feelings comfortably around her.
"Sorry...I..." I glanced over Charlie's shoulder as Jacob wheeled Billy Black out of the house behind him. He made Jake stop abruptly when he saw who had brought me home. "You should ask Billy why I was late." I changed tactics. I wasn't trying to stir the pot, but this wolf versus vampire crap had to stop if we were all going to survive the insanity that was surely on its way.
"What do you mean?" Charlie pulled out of my embrace to look between his oldest friend and me.
"Billy doesn't like the Cullen's so he sent his lackey to come fight for my honor or something." I explained with a laugh. Your turn, Billy.
"Charlie..." Billy began as he frowned at me.
"Billy? Are you on this again, really?" He turned to look at the two Cullen "children" standing by the Volvo.
"Chief Swan." Edward nodded with his hand out.
"Hi, Chief Swan!" Alice was practically bouncing, most likely excited to get to the part where I wasn't grounded anymore and could go shopping with her.
Charlie shook Edward's hand, flinching a bit at the temperature of his skin, and whispered, "I'm sorry about this kids."
"It's fine. We know the Blacks are not our biggest fans. It's hard to break through old prejudices." Edward spoke calmly. Too calmly. It almost sounded threatening when he said the word 'break.' Charlie narrowed his eyes a bit, but turned back to Billy.
"Leave these kids alone. They aren't harming anyone. I've never had a single problem from any of Dr. Cullen's kids, not even the big one." His eyes slid sheepishly back to the two impeccably dressed vampires'. "Sorry...he just has this look about him, but clearly I was wrong to assume." He explained.
The two Cullens looked like they wanted to laugh. Emmett surely would have lost it at that.
"It's fine. No offense taken, Chief." Alice smiled widely, and it clearly stunned Charlie. He blinked a few times before coughing out something incomprehensible to human ears, but I saw Edward bite back a smile. Yup, she would easily convince Charlie to let her take me shopping. Hell, she could probably get him to agree to me going out of the country with them and make him think it was his idea.
"Uhh, call me Charlie...Alice, right?"
"Yes sir, Charlie." Alice beamed. Putty. He was putty in her hands.
"Charlie. These...kids...shouldn't be here. They need to go back to where they belong." Billy looked like he wanted to finish that statement with 'in hell.'
"Dad!" Jacob cried in the perfect teenage boy embarrassed by his out of touch dad way.
Charlie recoiled from his friend. "Billy, I know that you aren't threatening children. Correct?" Uh oh. Cop Charlie has checked into the building.
I needed to stop this. "Billy, just leave them alone. The Cullen's saved me." From their sister..."And they're really good people. Different from the Quileutes, but still good people." I spoke up. Billy's frown deepened. Oops. I definitely said too much this time. Shittity Shit shit.
"Bella, could I speak with you alone?" Billy smiled in a polite way with an undercurrent of stress.
"I'm really tired actually. Thanks again Alice and...Edward." His name rolled off my tongue strangely. What the hell? Just throw yourself at him. Good God, Iris. "Jake, sorry about earlier. Goodnight, Billy. I'll see you inside, Dad." There. That wrapped things up nicely.
AsI turned to leave, I felt a cold hand on my elbow, and turned to see Edward looking at me. "Goodnight, Bella. I'll see you later." There was something about the way he said it that made me shiver. You're crazy, McGee. Slow your roll.
"See you later..." my voice trailed off as I watched them leave.
"Oh, Charlie?" Alice had a sweet innocent face. Here it goes...
"Uhh, yeah?" Charlie was caught off guard by her once again.
"I feel bad that I haven't really welcomed Bella to Forks properly since she's been ill so often. I told her we could go shopping in the morning, if that's alright with you, that is. I'm sure you feel bad that Bella hasn't really made many friends here." She was good. But really? Like thanks a lot for making me sound like a friendless loser incapable of interacting with people in front of Jacob. I really appreciate that. A real peach, a true friend. I had to fight my signature eye roll.
"Well, I guess that would be alright, but not too far or too late."
"Of course not. I'll see you at nine A.M., Bella!" She jumped in the car and they were gone before I could process. Nine? Where were we shopping at nine? The grocery store?
"I'll be inside, Dad." I said as I glanced over at Billy and Jacob. "Thanks again for the concern. Goodnight."
•PTaT•
Shopping with Alice was beyond anything I could have ever expected. She would stand outside a store with her eyes closed for a second and say yes or no depending on how much success she thought she would have there. If it was a yes, she did the same thing in each department until our arms were full of bags. We were on our fifteenth store of the day and it was only noon. Definitely more efficient than any other shopping trip I had been on in my life.
She was so happy, in her element here. Her carefree attitude and joy reminded me that I still needed to tell her about her past. I didn't feel right harboring that information while she bounded around none the wiser. As I had learned this last month, secrets were not the best way to make friends.
"This is amazing, Alice. You're a rockstar. I wish I had you to shop with back in my world."
Alice lit up at my affection for her. "Oh, you definitely needed me if you dressed anything like what you're wearing now." She teased, wrinkling her nose and sticking her tongue out.
"Well, this is what this world gave me to work with. I can't wait until you see where fashion is headed." I giggled.
Alice looked confused. "What do you mean?"
"What do you mean, what do I mean? You like fashion right?" I was laughing harder. To think that Alice didn't enjoy clothes would be some form of blasphemy.
"You said you couldn't wait until I saw where fashion was headed...does that mean that you do know where fashion is headed?"
Oh. Did I not tell them that I was from the future? Oops. This might bother the psychic side of her again. "Where I'm from...its a little ahead of the time here." I said as nonchalantly as possible.
"Oh. How far ahead?"
"About fifteen years..."
"Fifteen years?! That's not just a little ahead, that's the difference between disco and grunge! That's the difference between Nazis and 'Nam!" Only Alice could equate fashion to war. My God...
"Its no big deal, really. I was about this same age give or take a couple of years around this year anyway, so it's kind of like getting a re-do. A dangerous re-do with vampires, but fun all the same." I smiled. Infinitely better than listening to dear old Mummy and Daddy while dodging wine glasses and decanters being thrown at walls, shattering glass everywhere. I was a master at sweeping up glass and putting tape on the bottom of my shoes to collect the smaller shards. It was basically part of my weekly chores growing up.
"Iris." Alice saw my face change during my internal monologue obviously. "What is it?"
"Nothing...it's just nice to be here with you. I really like your family." Even a bunch of dysfunctional vampires were better than my human parents. Good job, Mark and Terri.
"They're your family too." She winked at me. There it was again. What did that mean?
"Umm...thanks." She couldn't mean that in the way that counted. It's ok, I have Charlie, and he's great. And one day maybe I could meet someone outside of the supernatural world. I hadn't been big on dating since my last boyfriend way back in undergrad. But if this was my life now, I should fully embrace it.
"Alice." She stopped searching the rack to look at me.
"Yeah?" She searched my face in bewilderment.
I hesitated just a second. "I know what happened to you. How you got to be this way, I mean." I gestured generally toward her body.
She gasped.
"I know this is big. So big. I'm really sorry that I didn't say anything before but—"
I realized that Alice's eyes had glazed over. Oh, she wasn't even listening to me.
"Alice?"
"Bella, they're coming. Three days from now. They'll come by the house because the tracker scents us. He'll catch your scent there too if you come back to the house. You have to stay away." You don't have to tell me twice.
"Deal." I said confidently. I would not pull a Bella Swan and make some alternative crazy plans to put everyone in further danger. Let the vamps deal with the other vamps.
Alice pulled out her little silver phone. "Carlisle?" It was a buzz of words after that I couldn't follow. I assumed she was filling everyone in, so we could come up with a plan.
"What were you telling me before? I'm sorry, the vision took over." Alice explained guiltily. I decided this wasn't the time for big revelations now that it was action time.
"Nothing that can't wait until later." I said lightly. "I'm going to run to the restroom." I said as I spotted one. "I'll meet you at that burger joint we passed around the corner. I'm starving! You have to feed the human, Alice!" I laughed.
"Yeah yeah yeah..." she sighed, but nodded, walking around the corner.
A few minutes later, I washed my hands, and pushed the door to leave, but it felt like it was jammed. What the hell? I pushed again, but no dice. It was still stuck. Well shit. I thought about calling out to Alice, surely she would hear me from here, but then I thought about how much she would laugh at me for getting trapped inside a public bathroom, and decided that I was smart enough to figure this out.
Just as I pulled my foot back to kick the door, an unfamiliar male voice said, "Need some help, baby?" Oh shit.
I spun on my heel to see a man, obviously drunk by the way he was swaying slightly and the smell of whiskey on his breath. "Why the fuck are you in the women's bathroom? Get out!"
"Well, I can't do that since the door is locked...and neither can you, sugar." He took a step closer to me smiling. I suddenly felt like bugs were crawling all over my skin. No. No. No. This can't be happening. Fuck fuck!
Damnit! I didn't wander around Port Angeles in the dark like an idiot like Bella did! I just needed to use the bathroom. I had Alice with me. I was smart—wait! Alice! "Alice!" I screamed with everything I had in me. "ALLIIIICCCE!" I tried again. Where was she? Why didn't her damn visions work when I needed them to?
"Is that your friend? Too bad she didn't come in here too. That could have been more fun..." Ugh where the hell do monsters like this come from?
"Yeah it would be fun. ALICE DAMNIT!" I was shaking as I backed against the wall. The sleezy drunk was moving closer, slowly, enjoying watching me scream.
Surely someone else heard me?! It was the middle of the day on a Sunday afternoon in a tourist town. "HELP!"
He took a step closer and I swung my bag at him. "Take my money! I don't need it." It was only a hundred bucks from Charlie, but that had to be better than nothing right?
"Oh, I'm not really in need of money at this moment, baby. The only thing that can soothe this particular need, money won't buy." He licked his lips. Oh God.
I was mentally berating myself for not taking that self-defense class that had been offered at the hospital a few months back. I had meant to, but it was offered on my only off day that week, and I had decided against it. Stupid, Iris. You're going to fucking die now. And this had to be the worst possible way to go.
Maybe he wouldn't kill me though. Maybe he would just finish and leave me. No, I think I'd rather die.
"HELP! ALICE!"
He threw his hot, sweaty hand over my mouth, and I bit him. He tried to grab me to throw me to the ground, but I threw my fists blindly out at his face, I tried to aim my knee for his groin, but he seemed to anticipate me going for that region and dodged it smoothly for a drunk person.
"Ahh—" Everything went black.
•PTaT•
"It's all shit. Don't bother." The man said as he stumbled away.
"That's so sad. My heart breaks for him. Did you see his face when Dr. Powell called it? I almost cried myself. Do you need help, Iris?" Sandy was such a sweet friend, and such a compassionate nurse. The absolute best.
I shook my head to clear it as I stared into the water basin I was still holding. "No I have it. Did you get the lines out already?"
"Yes. She's ready." Sandy placed her hand on my shoulder and sighed in defeat. Death of a patient never got easier to accept, never felt routine no matter how many times you witnessed it happen.
I wiped gently over each skin imperfection, each stain of blood, each open wound where Peripheral and central lines had broken. I wiped around her beautiful blue eyes, closing them for the last time. She was perfect, so at peace. I had never seen a body look so peaceful.
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