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It's Time Chapter 18
BPOV
Once Nonno and Nonna left Orlando, Eleazar, Carmen, Alice, and I returned to Massachusetts.
While Alice and I finished up our sophomore year of school, I made plans for my future.
"Have you decided what you're going to do?" Mike asked as we had brunch one Saturday morning at a local diner.
After pouring a copious amount of syrup on my Belgian Waffles, I sighed. "Yeah, I've decided to leave. I think it's for the best."
"Are you sure? It's been over six months, and we haven't heard a single word from him," he said. "At this point, I think you can trust that he's going to leave you alone."
"Can I really?" I returned with a raised eyebrow. Even though I hadn't heard a peep from or about Edward in months, a part of me would never believe it was truly over; I had a deep-rooted belief our paths would cross again sometime in the future. "Anyway, it's not just about Edward," I began explaining, "It's time for me to try to make it on my own. I'm almost twenty-one years old."
Mike reached into his pocket where he normally kept his pack of cigarettes. He winced when he realized they weren't there. I had convinced him to give up the nasty habit several months prior when he had a minor health scare.
"Do you have your gum with you?" I asked noting his discomfort.
"Yes, but it's not the same," he sighed in frustration.
"Hey, I'm proud of you," I said grabbing his hand.
He blushed and mumbled, "Thanks, Kid."
"Now, are you going to tell me what's got you so worked up that you needed a cigarette during the middle of our meal?"
As he rubbed the back of his neck, I waited patiently for his response, curious as to why he was so upset all of a sudden.
"It's just that …" he cleared his voice before continuing, "I'm going to miss you."
But that meant …
Dropping my head, I felt my eyes fill with tears. Sure, I was ready to break out on my own, but I had assumed Mike would come with me. As much as I loved Carmen, Eleazar, and Alice, Mike was my family. In the short time I had known him, he had shown me more love than my own father had while I was growing up.
Ugh. The thought of my father made me feel even worse. It was months later, and I was still trying to process what Nonno had told me about him.
But, I couldn't dwell on that now. Especially when I was about to lose Mike.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Mike asked gently lifting my chin with his hand.
After wiping away the wetness from my cheeks, I stammered, "I—I had assumed you would go with me. But I understand you can't, truly I do."
Mike started laughing. I looked at him confused.
"What a pair we are!" he said between laughs. "I thought you didn't want me. Of course, I'll go with you, Bella."
His declaration caused me to cry harder. Only this time it was from happiness. Mike just shook his head at me and took a drink of his coffee before asking, "So, where are we headed?"
-IT-
3 years later
EPOV
"Sir, we've found her. She's at Forks' Community Hospital in Washington."
"I—is she okay?" I stammered as I stood from my chair and began pacing the room. Bella had been missing for the past two weeks.
"There's been an accident."
My knees buckled. I had to use the edge of my desk as leverage to keep from falling.
"Have George ready the jet."
"Yes, sir."
-IT-
Thirty minutes later, I was on a plane headed toward Washington If I had thought things through, I would have called Nonno or Aunt Carmen and had one of them go instead. I knew I had no business or right being anywhere near Bella, but as soon as I heard the word 'coma' - all sense of reason had left me.
At the time, all I could think was, 'Not her.'
And there was nothing that could stop me from going there.
It had been over three years since Nonno had essentially banned me from having anything to do with Bella's life. And in all that time, I had kept my promise. I had not seen her or asked any family members about her.
But even though it was wrong of me to do so, I had hired a private investigator to keep track of her location. A weekly report arrived at my office each Monday morning telling me where she was.
Nothing more.
Nothing less.
As much as it killed me, I never asked who she was with or what she was doing. By only checking to see where she was, it somehow justified my actions. I was simply making sure she was safe.
That can't be too wrong, can it?
I had hired the investigator after I had discovered she and Mike had left Massachusetts. My ma had let the news slip out one morning over breakfast.
"So I heard that little ingrate Carmen and Eleazar raised, moved out last week," Ma announced as I was reading the morning paper and having coffee. "According to my source, they're not even sure where she went. Personally, I say 'Good riddance.' First, that whore thinks she's too good for my boy, and now it seems she thinks she's too good for the rest of the family as well."
"Esme! Shut the fuck up!" Carlisle bellowed slamming his fist on the table.
My fork dropped to my plate as I looked at my father who just shook his head at me, dismissing the conversation before it even began.
Later that night, I had suffered my first setback; I ended up at The Langham Hotel with a thousand dollars' worth of cocaine. Thankfully, right before I took my first hit, I had called Demetri who talked me into flushing it down the toilet. He had flown to Chicago the next day and stayed for three weeks. Before leaving, he had set up local therapy services for me with one of his former colleagues who worked at a rehabilitation center in Naperville.
I still see Seth once a week and talk to him daily. Fuck! He's going to shit a brick when he discovers I'm on my way to see Bella, but I'll deal with him later.
Hell, what am I thinking?
Everyone is going to shit a brick …
-IT-
"Here's your coffee, sir."
I took the mug and asked our ETA.
"We're two hours away."
"Thanks, Pam."
"Can I get you anything else?"
"No, that's all."
I sent my private investigator a text and asked if he had an update on Bella. He replied that he would be waiting for me at the airport with a car and the latest news.
The long flight gave me time to wonder and worry about her condition. As hard as I tried not to, my mind dwelled on the worst-case scenario.
What if she died before I got a chance to make things right?
Burying my head in my hands, I groaned. What was I even thinking? I didn't deserve a second chance with Bella.
The sad thing was, I never truly understood how horrible I had been to her until I had been released from rehab and spent three additional months living with my grandparents. Being in the presence of a healthy, loving relationship opened my eyes to what it meant to be a real mate to someone.
While I do believe my parents are soulmates, their relationship is not something I want for myself. Instead of treating each other with respect, they seem to get some weird satisfaction from fighting with each other; it's as if they enjoy constantly struggling for power.
If only I hadn't listened to my father's advice ...
Before I fell into the blame game, I remembered something Seth had told me during our first session together, 'If you do something wrong, own up to what you didn't do right. That's how you learn and earn respect.'
Rubbing a hand through my hair, I reminded myself to own my shit.
Closing my eyes, I repeated that mantra to myself.
I must have dozed off because in what seemed like only moments later, Pam informed me we were about to land.
Thank God.
We had finally arrived.
-IT-
AN:
Thanks as always to my beta, Fran. Your input for this chapter was spot on as always! Much love to K for enduring this journey with me - I seriously couldn't do it without you.
Hugs to Gail for her constant love and support. It's such a comfort knowing you're in my corner, and that I have someone so incredibly talented to get advice from.
And to my readers, thank you so much for sticking with me through this process. I will be celebrating my one-year anniversary of writing fanfiction this coming week. It has been an amazing experience, and that is all because of you.
Updates for this story should be coming at a more regular pace. I just finished my last pressing project, so I will have more time to dedicate to this story.
If you're interested, I've published a few, completed stories since the last chapter.
Harvey Girl - a period piece which takes place in the early 1900's. (id: 12849690)
A Story of Firsts - a crackfic about first love. (id: 12820961)
A Taste of Savannah - a collaboration I worked on with 2Brown-eyes, Gabby1017, Fyrebyrd, Sunshine1220, ceceprincess1217, and Hopesparkles. This story was written in honor of our beta, Fran's birthday. (id: 12861788)
I will also be publishing a new one-shot within the next week and a half.
And finally, I want to recommend a new story written by the wonderful ghostreader24 called M Parfait. It is fabulous. Check it out today, you won't regret it. The id for the story is 12869246.
Until next time,
HE