A/N:
Just because I suck at replying to reviews, I will answer them quickly here :-D
As you can see, Edward is developing feelings for Bella, although they certainly doesn't excuse his behavior or redeem his personality. No this boy has a lot of growing up to do. He might be 21, but that doesn't automatically cause him to act like an adult.
Rebadams7, the poem was awesome. Really cool! Thank you for that.
Now, things are gonna start moving fast now, so prepare yourself for some upcoming time jumps ;-)
Title: The Perfect Partner Program
Author: MarieCarro
Beta: EdwardsFirstKiss
Pre-reader: brwneyedgrl01
Genre: Angst/Hurt&Comfort/Romance
Rating: NC-17
Summary: The summer of 2005 was the summer that changed Bella Swan's life forever. Sent to Ohio by her mother to attend a school for debutante girls not quite up to par, she meets Edward Masen, an apprentice. But is that really all he is? AH
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.
Chapter Word Count: 2, 791
CHAPTER 13 THE BEGINNING OF THE END
I couldn't understand how the summer had gone by so fast and that it was already August. Next week I would start my junior year of high school, and there were only two days until Dad and Renée would arrive for the big charity luncheon that would mark the end of my time at the Academy.
I felt nervous for many reasons, but most of them had to do with Edward meeting my parents. Dad wouldn't be a problem once he got to know Edward's reasons for postponing his college education, but I was terrified Renée would scare him off. I was positive I hadn't prepared him enough for the storm that was the woman who had given birth to me.
"Nothing she can do could possibly scare me away from you, Bella," he reassured me over and over. But the confidence and independence I'd felt over the summer were both slowly draining away as their arrival crept closer by the hour.
I was also nervous because I wanted to talk with Edward about his plans. Was he still set on moving to Seattle? Had he already applied to Udub? Where would he live? But he hadn't talked about that anymore, and I didn't want to nag him. I had hoped that he would reassure me himself, but he never did.
Other than that, he remained his easy-going, charming self, and I could say with certainty that thanks to Edward, this had been one of the best summers of my life.
The last day, we were back in the glade because there were no lessons for the entire day as all the mentors and Mrs. Cullen were busy preparing for all the families' arrival the next day. I had thought it was strange that Edward didn't need to help, but he explained that Mrs. Cullen had hired professional help, rendering him useless. Technically his apprenticeship was finished since he had nothing to do the next day either. But he had promised to help with cleanup after the girls had gone back home.
I wasn't complaining because it meant I had him to myself the entire day.
He had positioned me so that I was between his legs and leaning back against him because when I sat down in the grass next to him, he had said I was too far away. Sometimes, it felt as if he had found what to say in a romance novel because of the cheese that dripped from his words, but he had never given me a reason to believe he was anything but genuine.
"Are you excited to start your junior year?" he asked softly.
"Not really. I don't see how it will be much different from my sophomore year apart from the schoolwork becoming harder."
He chuckled. "You're not wrong."
I shifted so that I could look up at him. "Tell me a good memory you have of high school. You said you were bullied, but it wasn't all hell, was it?"
"I'm sorry, but I can't, baby," he sighed, but a thrill still went through me at hearing the endearment he'd chosen for me. "High school was the worst four years of my life. The happiest memory I have from that time was graduating. And that still sucked because Dad moaned the entire day about how sad it was Mom wasn't there to see it, and how proud she would have been."
I grabbed his hand in mine and started to play with his fingers. "Do you know what amazes me?"
"What?"
"How you ended up such a great person after everything you've been through. I'm sure you could have so easily fallen off the edge, but you didn't," I said, and he became quiet for a moment.
"And what if I did?" he asked quietly with his nose buried in my hair. "What if I wasn't this person? Would you still love me?"
I let out a quiet laugh. "It depends on what you've done," I replied, playing along. "Have you committed murder?"
"No."
"Were you a pimp?"
"No."
"Then, yes, I would still love you," I said certainly and brought our entwined hands around me so that I could feel his wonderful warmth envelope me. "Right now, there's nothing you could do that would make me stop loving you."
{=A=}
I knocked on Leah's open door, and she turned her head to see who it was.
"Oh, hey," she said rather subdued and went back to her packing.
"I see you're ready to go home," I said and studied the very neatly packed suitcase on her bed.
"I am," she agreed and took special care in folding a shirt. "I miss New York." She looked at me with a smile that didn't feel completely right to me.
"Leah, are you alright?" I asked and looked her over for the first time since I entered her room. She was wearing a pastel-colored dress that wasn't anything like her usual fashion, and her hair was carefully styled. Her makeup wasn't as bold as it used to be, and it made her look naked.
"I am fine," she replied with another gentle smile. "Why do you ask?"
"You don't seem much like yourself, that's all."
She shrugged softly. "This is the new me."
Her tone made me shudder, and I looked around the room to see if something could tell me she was joking. "What do you mean by that?" I asked when I couldn't find anything.
A giggle escaped her. "Well, when you started to spend all of your time with Edward, Jessica, Tanya, and I focused more on the lessons and found out they weren't as bad as we had first thought. We realized we needed to change our perspective, and once we did, we had so much fun."
My jaw dropped when I suddenly realized who Leah reminded me of. Maggie from home. The way she had acted after her summer here. It had never occurred to me that spending time with Edward in-between lessons and at night had helped me stay true to myself. I never thought the lessons would get to Leah, but the girl who was now in front of me had just proved how effective the Academy's brainwashing actually was. I had only been immune to it because my love-riddled brain had already been too full to take in the information.
"Right," I told the shell of my former ally and friend. "Um, I hope everything works out for you."
"Thank you, Bella," she said with another smile. "I hope it does for you, too."
I nodded and went back to my room to change into clothes that fit the dress-code Mrs. Cullen had given us for the day. I wasn't going to protest against the dress-code this time because if I portrayed outwardly a Bella that appeared to have taken in what she had learned, I knew Renée would give me less of a hard time about Edward.
That was what I hoped anyway, and that was why I chose the very dress Renée had sent me for the occasion. A fitted, pale-pink dress with a lace neckline and sleeves. It wasn't me at all. In fact, I hated it, but maybe it could serve its purpose.
When I felt that my appearance couldn't get any 'cuter' and I looked like cotton candy on a stick, I checked the time on my phone to see how long it was until everyone started to arrive. The lunch was set to start in forty-five minutes, and I hoped to see Edward before that so he could help calm my nerves. I sent him a text in case he was in the middle of something.
Are you busy? I could use some of your comforting right about now!
I waited for five minutes with my phone in my hand, but I didn't get a reply which confused me. Edward was never slow to answer my texts.
Disappointed that we might not have the time to meet up, I followed Leah's example and started packing all of my things, but I didn't fold my clothes nearly as neatly as she had. They were more haphazardly thrown into my bag, and when it was time to close it, I had to sit on the lid.
Every five minutes I checked my phone, but my inbox screamed of the absence of any new messages. I was so focused on it that I flinched when I heard the door handle being turned behind me.
I whirled around and hoped with everything in me that it was Edward, but to my surprise, it was Dad and Renée.
The happiest smile I had ever seen stretched across Dad's face when he saw me. "Bella!" he said and strode into the room to envelop me in one of his awesome hugs. I hadn't realized how much I missed him until I was embraced by his arms. "I have missed you so much, Doll!"
"I've missed you, too, Dad!" I said and felt how close I suddenly was to tears.
"Charles, be careful, don't wrinkle her dress," Renée said, and when Dad let me go, I swallowed hard before addressing her.
"Hello Mother," I said, even though it killed me to call her that. I only did it to keep the peace for as long as possible. I didn't want to ruin my reunion with Dad.
"Isabella," she greeted and appraised my look. "I have good taste, don't I? That dress is gorgeous." It didn't go unnoticed by me that she only complimented the dress itself and not my wearing it and I instantly knew nothing between us would change.
"It's a nice dress," I replied and while I tried to keep the coldness out of my voice, it was impossible to erase all of it, and Renée's self-righteous smile stiffened.
She was impressively quick to recover, though. "I have heard so many wonderful things about the luncheons that are arranged here every year. What's this year's charity, Isabella?"
"Feed the Children."
Renée closed her eyes in a mock impression of being upset. "I can't even think of children going hungry in our country. Charles, you brought the checkbook, didn't you? We have to donate."
I absolutely itched to scoff at her because I knew the only purpose of a donation was to advance her own standing. She didn't care about her own child, so why would she care about strange children? What was even more absurd was that it wasn't even her money. It was Dad's.
Of course, it was a great thing that the donations would go to a good cause, but I hated the illusion that was portrayed around it. It was disgusting.
My phone remained silent, and I let out a small sigh as I checked the time. "We should go down to the ballroom. Lunch will be served in fifteen minutes, and Mrs. Cullen is going to give a speech first."
"Wonderful!" Renée exclaimed. "I can't wait to hear what she has to say. I have heard Mrs. Cullen is a lovely woman."
She turned on her heels and walked out while Dad and I took it a bit slower. We could never talk like we wanted when she was around, and as soon as she was out of sight, we took the opportunity to hug again.
"I really have missed you, kiddo," he said, and there was something in his eyes that I couldn't read completely. "Home isn't the same without you."
"I can't wait to go home, although, things haven't been too bad around here," I admitted, and he smiled happily.
"Yeah? You made some friends?"
I nodded. "I did, and I'm going to introduce you after lunch," I said, not revealing what kind of friend Edward was. Dad didn't need to know that right now.
"I look forward to it." He kissed the top of my head and then gestured for us to go as well. "Best not let her wait too long."
The ballroom was set up similarly to the first day and many girls were already sitting with their families. It was a sea of fancy-dressed people, and I noticed Dad shift uncomfortably at the sight. He hated these things even more than I did.
Renée waved us over to a table, and to my horror, it was the table at which Bree and her family were sitting. "Isabella, you didn't tell us about the lovely friends you have gained here. Bree is an absolute delight!"
I faked a smile. "She is, isn't she?"
Bree smiled back. It was freakishly good and had I not known what kind of person she was, I would have been fooled. "Isabella, these are my parents, Theresa and Mark Tanner, and my older sister, Chelsea."
"It's a pleasure to meet you;" I said politely and introduced my parents in return. "This is my dad, Commissioner Swan, and you've already met my mother, Renée."
Dad shook the Tanners' hands, and he and Mr. Tanner started up a conversation almost immediately. Apparently, Mr. Tanner worked in security; he owned a company that rented out guards to both private companies and several Hollywood Celebrities.
"Excuse me, could I have everyone's attention, please?" Mrs. Cullen said into a microphone. "Perfect. I want to begin by welcoming all of the family members to the Academy.. It's incredible how fast the summer has gone by, but we have all learned many new things, and..."
I stopped listening and Mrs. Cullen's voice faded into the background. I was looking around, searching for Edward, but I couldn't see him anywhere. Where was he? Even Francis the gardener was here, but Edward was just gone. Had something happened? Why hadn't he answered my text?
I did my best to stay in the present and focus on what was in front of me. I ate the food and politely conversed with the Tanners'. Chelsea excused herself before dessert, but I barely registered it. Mrs. Cullen gave another speech, this time about the charity and how much she hoped for generous donations. It was for the children, after all.
I avoided the constant checking of my phone since I had it on vibrate and I would feel if Edward replied to my message, but it stayed worryingly silent.
My nerves must have been visible on my face because suddenly, Dad looked at me worriedly. "Bella, are you okay?"
I turned to him to reassure him that I was fine when I realized I had an excellent opportunity to get some air. I would be able to call Edward. He had to answer if I called. "Actually, I think I need some air. Excuse me; I will be back in a moment."
Everyone around the table nodded and smiled at me as I rose from my seat and made my way out of the ballroom without attracting attention.
I pushed the big entrance door open and walked outside. The air traveled gratefully down to my lungs and I took several more breaths before I fished my phone out of my purse. I really needed Edward. He would be able to ground me and help me endure the disgusting shallowness of the people inside.
Suddenly, I heard female moans just around the corner, and I rolled my eyes and silently chuckled at the people who had decided to get it on during the luncheon, but then a male groan echoed the female's, and it was a sound I knew all too well.
With my phone clutched in both of my hands, I slowly walked around the corner and was met with a sight that made me freeze.
Chelsea pushed up against the wall by Edward while he hungrily devoured her mouth. His hand was under her blouse and her hand was rubbing his crotch. My heart stopped in my chest and my eyes welled with tears, and although I made no sound to announce my presence, they must have felt my stare because Chelsea opened her eyes and turned her head my way.
"Oh my god, haven't you heard that it's rude to stare?" she asked and started to button up her blouse as soon as Edward had removed his hand.
I didn't care about her, though. All my focus was on Edward, and he didn't even appear remorseful that he had been caught. He just ran his hand through his hair and straightened out his rumpled clothes.
"Edward, what is going on here?" I asked in a trembling voice.
A/N:
Oh, shit! Yeah, I went there! You can hate me if you want, but we all knew Edward would do something drastic to crush Bella. Next chapter will be her confrontation.
Rage and vent your anger as much as you want
Until Wednesday
Stay Awesome