A/N: Thanks to those who reviewed/favorited/followed!
Discalimer: I don't own anything. All mistakes are mine.
"I'm a survivor. I'm not gon' give up. I'm not gon' stop, I'm gon' work harder. I'm a survivor, I'm gon' make it. I will survive, keep on surviving." – Destiny's Child – "Survivor"
Chapter Three
Bella's POV
January 2018
Opening Night
You would think that after four years of working in a hospital and having to be on my feet all day and night, that I would know how to walk by now. But of course, these death trap heels that I just had to wear, would cause me to fall not even three seconds after I step out of the limo.
I feel my ankle slip from the side of the heel and I prepare to hit the ground hard, but the pain that I was bracing for never came. I slowly open my eyes to find piercing green ones staring right back at me. "You okay?" he whispers.
"Yeah, I think so. I guess I have you to thank for that," I smile shyly. He carefully pulls me up and sets me on my feet. It's now that I notice his right hand pulling me closer to him, so that we're nearly pressed up against each other. His left hand is gently wiping the hair out of my eyes. "I guess you can say I know how to make an entrance," I giggle out, trying to break the palpable change in the air.
I'm rewarded with a grin. "Best one yet, I'll say."
"And you're not just saying that because I my ankle is on fire right now?" I whine out, pretending to be in pain. I even shift my weight to my good foot for good measure. I can't help but tease him. From what I've seen from the media and what little I know about him from the last season, he always comes across so serious.
He frowns lightly and I immediately want to make his smile reappear. "Did you twist it that hard? Let me see and make sure nothing is broken or fractured. Are you in any pain? Where is the pain at? Can you rate it? Can you describe it?" His tone is rushed, frantic and I kind of regret pretending to be hurt when I'm not, but I do like seeing him like this. It's professional, but also personal, something I am all too familiar with. He's in Dr. Cullen mode.
He's bending down to my feet now and I can feel him lightly lifting my dress up to get a full view of my ankle. "It's a little swollen and red, but I don't think it's broken. If it really hurts, I think you need to go prop your foot up, take the shoes off, and ice it for a little while." He goes to stroke it with his fingers and I unconsciously flinch at his touch, not from the imaginary pain, but from the shock that bolts through me when his skin touches mine. His expression changes for a split second, as if he felt it too, then it goes back to professional. "Do you need to go to the hospital?"
He stares at me for a long minute before I can't take it anymore. He's looks so concerned, it's precious. I can't help the giggle that erupts from me. "I was teasing, Edward. I've broken more than enough bones in my body to last for a lifetime. I didn't break it; it's not even a sprain. No pain whatsoever," I say with a sly grin.
His mouth drops open, finally catching on to my little joke. "You did that on purpose!" he exclaims with huge grin. I giggle some more when I see his eyes go from shock to mischievous. "Well, since we're playing games now…" I barely have a chance to register what he's doing until I'm flipped upside down. I am now face to face with his toned and firm ass.
In the back of my mind, I register that he has his hands on my ass as well, holding me over his shoulder as we make our way to the front door of the mansion that I'll be staying at for the next couple weeks or months, depending on how this goes.
When we get to the door, he bends down and sets me on my feet, his hands holding on to me as I get my balance back. I put my right hand on his chest, so he knows I'm okay. I laugh at his expression when he sees the mess he made of my hair. "You did this, you know," I tease, loving the playfulness between us.
"It was worth it, wasn't it? You didn't have to walk all the way up here in those heels." Hmm, and he's got me there. I playfully punch him in the chest, and he feigns pain. "Breaking my heart already?"
"Never," I whisper. His smile is soft now as his hands move from my waist. Together, we pull the strands of hair out of my face and back into their normal places. He starts smoothing my hair out and I want to moan at the feeling of his hands running through my hair. He lightly cups my cheek, and instinctively lean into his hand while keeping eye contact with him. "Beautiful," he whispers, suddenly getting serious.
My face flames and the hand that was on his chest before, takes its place back. I fist his shirt and relish in the closeness of his body. I feel his other hand cover mine, keeping it there and pressing it firmer into his chest, making me feel how hard his it is. "What's your name?"
"Bella Swan," I whisper. I completely forgot about formalities when I was thrown over his shoulder just a few moments ago.
"Beautiful swan. It suits you."
I blush at the sincerity in his voice. We stay silent for a few moments, our eyes doing all the talking. His eyes convey so much. They really are the eyes to the soul and his soul looks so hurt and lonely, but he also has a little bit of life in there too. I can't imagine what he must be seeing in mine. My eyes flicker down to his lips and when I look back up, he's staring at mine. I dart my tongue out to wet my them and he pulls me closer to him as he leans down. I can feel his breath on my lips and the butterflies in my stomach begin to erupt at the possibility that this is already happening.
"Cullen!"
We're broken out of the trance and both turn towards the interruption. "What Black?" Edward yells, not yet moving away from me. The man that yelled nods his head towards the front of the limo that is now entering the gate and I take that as my cue to head inside. I go to move, but Edward doesn't let go of me yet. "Take off your shoes at least, please?"
When I start to argue, he puts his index finger on my lips to shush me. "Do it for my sanity? Your ankles was a little swollen, fake the pain or not. The last thing I want is for you to really hurt yourself when I'm not around to catch you."
I smile at his gentle words and feel my heart constrict at them. I lightly kiss his finger that still is on my lips. To my surprise, his lips part and his eyes get a little bit darker. "I'll take them off when I get inside."
He reaches down to kiss my cheek, leaving a fire in its place as he says, "I'll see you soon, Ms. Swan." He lets go of me and I immediately miss his touch.
I cautiously make my way up the final steps to the mansion and turn around to see Edward once more. He's staring right back at me, making sure I get inside without any trouble.
I nod to the guy standing at the door and walk inside. I'm immediately assaulted with the smell of alcohol and perfume. I take a few more steps before leaning on the wall to take my shoes off. I hold them in my hand and walk into the living room where all the other girls are at. Upon seeing me, they cheer and welcome me into their conversation, pointing it towards me.
"What's your name?"
"What did you think of Edward?"
"Did he seem to like you?"
"Do you like him already?"
"Was there an instant connection?"
"Why are your shoes off?"
"What took you so long to get in here?"
I don't even know where to begin to answer all the questions, but luckily another new girl walks in and gets their attention. I can't help but sigh in relief. I make my way to one of the unoccupied couches and plop down. I lean my head back and smile as I relive my first encounter with Edward.
"Now that is something you don't see every day on this show."
I open my eyes and look at the gorgeous blonde that is now sitting next to me. I have no idea what she's talking about, so I ask her what she means.
"It took you nearly fifteen minutes to come inside after the last girl came in. That's unheard of. Everything here is on such a strict time schedule that even if one little thing goes wrong, the whole night is going to be messed up! He's allotted only a certain amount of time for each girl and he obviously took more time with you, so that means one of us is cheated out of our time with him. And all of that for you?" she scoffs. "What a waste."
I feel disheartened upon hearing her cruel, but true words and am also starting to regret the joke I pulled. I never meant for it to mess up everyone else's night. I just wanted to tease him for going all doctor on me after my fall.
"I think you're being a bit overdramatic, Tanya. Just because you tried to seduce Edward within the first two minutes of meeting him and it failed, doesn't mean that you have to shit on everyone else's time with him." The blonde woman, Tanya I guess, who had scolded me just moments before looked petulant at the other blonde's words. The blonde woman who came to my rescue shoos Tanya off and takes her seat beside me. "Don't listen to her kid, she watches this TV show way too much. The only thing she probably does more of is pissing people off."
"Or getting plastic surgery…" I didn't mean to say it as loud as I apparently did, but the blonde woman next to me burst into laughter.
"Maybe you do have some fire in you after all. What's your name, kid?"
"Bella Swan. Yours?"
"Rosalie Hale, but to my friends I'm Rose. At this point, you're the only girl in this place who I'm allowing to call me that without getting bitch slapped, so don't piss me off." The self-assurance of this girl is amazing, I can't help but be in awe of her.
I smile back at her and say that I'll try not to. I look around the room at the beautiful women around me. How am I supposed to compete with all of these women? Half of them could pass for models and the other half at least seem to be able to walk in high heels without falling over.
"Don't let them intimidate you, Bella. That's what they want. This is all a game to them, with Edward Cullen as the prize. Don't give them the satisfaction of making you cower down," Rose whispers encouragingly beside me.
"Why are you being so nice to me? Don't you want 'the prize' too?" I'm not trying to be mean, I'm simply interested. We are all after one guy after all.
"Because from the moment you walked in you wanted to be alone. I could see by the look on your face. You're not here to start drama or take advantage of having the next three months of our lives recorded. You, unlike the rest of the wolves here," she gestures to the rest of the women in the room, "seem like you actually came here to find love." Rose takes a deep breath before going on. "Which is exactly why I'm here. Thirty-two isn't exactly known for the age of having single men throw themselves at you, wanting to get married and have kids."
"But you're so gorgeous!" I can't believe that she doesn't have men at her beck and call all the time.
She smirks at me. "I know, but like I said, I'm not wanting a one-night stand or a fuck buddy, I'm here for a husband to have for the rest of my life. I want someone who will love me unconditionally no matter what. I want someone who can forget about each other's pasts and focus on making a future together."
The way her eyes glass over makes me think there's a little more to the her meaning than what she's saying. I let it go for now but keep it in the back of my mind for later. If we're going to be friends, I want to make sure that she knows she can talk to me about anything.
"I get that. I mean, isn't that what we're all here for? If not to find love, then what?"
"Publicity, Bella. Everyone wants their fifteen minutes of fame. Some people don't care how they get it or who they end up hurting in the process."
I scoff and shake my head. I look around the room at the women around me and ask, "Anyone in here like that?"
She smiles devilishly and rubs her hands together like she's about to tell me her evil plan. "Now, we're talking, kid. Okay, do you see the blonde with the bad eyebrows and the brown haired one beside her?" I nod. "The blonde one's name is Lauren Mallory and the other one is Jessica Stanley. They're apparently best friends and wanted to do the show together. From what I've seen, they're looking for fame, not love. I mean who wants to compete with their best friend to win over the same guy? Idiots, that's who."
I giggle. "That's insane! Why would anyone do that?"
"I have no idea, but I doubt they'll make it too long." Rose gestures to the four girls in the corner of the room. By the way they're swaying in their heels, they've definitely had too much to drink already. "Bree Tanner, Rachel Bell, Leah Artea, and Samantha Brower. I can't tell you what name belongs to which girl, but they all need a fashion consult. The attire called for formal wear, not hooker wear. I've worn t-shirts longer than their dresses and I'm not a big fan of seeing their underwear every time they bend down just a little, they flash everyone. Not to mention, they can't walk in those stripper heels."
I smile at the distaste in Rose's voice. I would never have the courage to talk about someone like that, but Rose does it like she's reading the newspaper.
"The two women on the couch are Senna Hernandez and Zafrina Lopez. They're both Latina and both very vocal about what they would do if they ever get the chance to take our bachelor's virginity.
"And of course, you've already met Tanya Denali. She's the queen bitch around here so far. She's surrounded by Irina Williams and Kate Brown. Irina has followed Tanya around like a lost dog since she walked in, but Kate doesn't seem the type to be around them. When she walked in, she was by herself for a while until Tanya came up to her. I guess she didn't care who she made friends with as long as she wasn't alone."
"No one deserves to be alone and without friends," I whisper. Even I can hear the pain in my words. Rose notices too and slings her arm around me.
"That's what you got me here for, kid."
I smile so wide and I can't help but throw my arms around her. An hour in, and I already have a friend. I've only had a handful of people I can call friends in my entire life, and to make one this easy and this soon makes me absolutely ecstatic.
Before I can change my mind, I quickly ask her, "Are you seriously thirty-two?" I can't help my curiosity. She looks so young.
She laughs whole-heartedly. "Yes, I'm really thirty-two."
"Well, at least that explains why you're calling me kid. I'm only twenty-seven."
"Damn girl, you're making me feel like a cougar."
Before I can answer, another new woman joins us in the living area. Her hair is a vibrant red and she is wearing a cheetah print cocktail dress.
My eyes go wide in amusement and I whisper to Rose, "You're not a cougar. She is."
Rose looks at me suspiciously, her eyes wide in amusement. "How can you tell?"
"Her body – her hips are rounder indicating she's well past birthing age, her breasts are starting to droop, her eyes have dark circles around them, thus making her eyes smaller – they're subtle signs of aging, but they're still there…" I stop there, realizing I'm starting to ramble.
Rose looks at me, mouth gaping and eyes wide in amusement. "How the hell do you know all that? How the hell did you know about Tanya's plastic surgery, assuming you're right about both of them."
My smile gets wide and I can't help the enthusiasm in my voice. I absolutely love what I do. "Oh! I'm a doctor. One of my rotations in medical school was surgery and so I've become very accustomed to noticing scars and any abnormalities on people's skin. Hence why I can tell about Tanya's surgery and the other girl's age."
"No, shit, really?" Rose asks excitedly. "How do you know they were from plastic surgery? Now that you said something, I can see the cougar showing her age."
"The shape of the scar and how small and nearly undetectable it is to the untrained eye. Her surgeon must have been awesome, but if you look right beside the crevice of her cheek and her nose, there is a tiny ridge of skin that is slightly higher than the rest of her skin. It could be the scar from a nose job or a face lift. Now which one it is, I can't tell you. You can also see the same type of scar right where her dress ends under her armpit." I bring my hand up on my side to show her exactly where I mean. "That one is definitely from a breast implant and although I've only seen one side, I bet you anything there is an identical one on her other side."
"Well, I'll be damned. Who knew they only decent chick in this room would also be the smartest?" I blush at her words. "What kind of doctor are you, anyway?"
"I'm a pediatrician and technically I'm trained in child psychology as well, not certified, but still trained. I've been told I'm an excellent listener," I lightly hint at, remembering her slightly cryptic words from earlier.
She doesn't get a chance to respond before the room goes quiet. I turn to see Edward walking into the room, his eyes searching. When they find mine, he stops and smiles. I can't help the blush that creeps up my face.
"Looks like he already has a favorite," Rose teases. I look up to her worriedly, hoping she's not mad and it's like she can read my thoughts. "Don't worry, Bella. I'm not the jealous type. Besides, I know you're genuine in being here and that's all I care about. I'm not expecting to come in here and be Edward's 'love at first sight' without him noticing the other girls here too. I liked him on last season, so I thought I would give this a try, but I'm not going to get mad at you for doing the same. Now, those fake bitches over there," she gestures to Jessica and Lauren, "I plan on taking down. No one should be here for anything less than trying to find love."
I can't but sigh in relief. I nod at her right as Edward starts talking. "Good evening ladies. I believe all of you are here now, and I don't know about all of you, but I'm ready to continue getting to know all of you," a sexy smirk spreads across his face with his words. A round of cheers fill the room. Once again, his eyes meet mine and I see him take a step in my general direction, but he stops when Tanya reaches forward and grabs his arm.
"They say the early bird gets the worm, Edward and I intend on getting and keeping you," she says loud enough for the rest of us to hear, wanting us to know that she's claiming him already and with that she tugs him into the opposite direction.
I feel my face form a from. "Don't worry, kid. You'll get your chance to talk to him. I think he wants to talk to you more than he wants to talk to anyone else at this point."
I smile at her comforting words. We launch into a conversation about mindless thing. Rose talks about her job as a mechanic, which, of course, shocks me. Someone who is gorgeous enough to be a model, chooses to be a mechanic. Fascinating.
I just begin talking about my residency and now job at Johns Hopkins when Rose tells me she needs a drink if she's going to have to sit here and listen to all the girls try to brag about their talk with Edward. I sit back in my seat and listen to the chatter around the room while I wait for her to come back.
From what I can tell, everyone but Rose and I have already had their turn with Edward. Seems like Rose and I have been off in our own little world for longer than we thought. The main thing the girls are conversing about is the fact that Edward has yet to kiss anyone yet.
My eyes go wide as I remember our almost kiss outside, just moments after meeting. Maybe I really did make an impression…
"I leaned in and I got nothing! Not even a peck on the cheek!" Irina exclaims.
He kissed me on the cheek already! My heart starts pounding thunderously when I realize that he's only kissed me, out of this whole group of stunning women, this entire night.
"I don't know why you're surprised honey. I wouldn't want to kiss you either. Honestly, I don't think a monkey would kiss you if it had the chance." I cover my mouth to stifle my snicker at one of the Latina girl's, Senna, I think, words.
Irina huffs and plops down on the couch. Tanya perks up to speak this time. "I can understand him not wanting to kiss the rest of you but look at me. I'm perfect and I still didn't get any action and believe me I tried."
Senna speaks up again, clearly done with those girls. "I don't know how many drinks you've had tonight to make you think you're perfect, but I can tell you one thing: you are coming on way too strong, chicka. Nearly groping him in front of the cameras, only one minute after you got out of that limo? Who does that? If that doesn't say desperate, I don't know what does," she shrugs and smirks like she didn't just inadvertently call Tanya a whore in front of everyone.
Tanya doesn't respond, but a girl I haven't seen yet speaks up. "Maybe he's waiting for the right girl, you know? From what I've gathered, he's very old school and seems to really respect women. I don't think he's the type to go around kissing all of us just because we bat our eyes and lick our lips for him. And I don't know about the rest of you, but I appreciate that."
I'm in awe of the girl's words and I hope she's right. I'd rather not being kissing a guy that's kissed every other girl in this house just moments before.
"I'm sorry, but who are you?" Lauren sneers. The small girl cowers down and retreats into the corner. "Nobody, that's what I thought." Part of me wants to stand up and defend the shy girl, but the shy part of me tells me that I don't want to get involved in the drama. I've never been in a situation like this before, and I certainly don't want to do anything to make enemies. Instead, I shoot the girl a reassuring smile, hoping she gets that not everyone is like Lauren.
I look around the room, noticing that Rose still isn't back. It's been over ten minutes since she left for her drink, so I'm assuming she's talking to Edward right now. I'm about to go introduce myself to the girl in the corner but stop mid-step when I see Edward and Rose walking towards me, laughing as they come.
Rose and I make eye contact and she winks at me before turning to Edward. "I think the one you're looking for is over there," she gestures to me and smiles. Edward leans to whisper something in her ear before turning to me. He walks the rest of the way over to me and holds out his hand.
"Bella? Would you care to join me out on the patio?" The smile on his face is so genuine, I can't help but beam back at him.
"I would love to."
A/N: So what did you think? Thoughts on Rosalie? Tanya? Any idea who the girl Lauren shot down is? Let me know in a review!