Chapter 2
Fr Anonymous: Tick tock, time is running out…la la la la. Run, Cullen, run.
I slipped into bed quietly, grimacing as the sheets rustled loudly in the quiet room. Bella didn't stir, and her breathing kept that slow, rhythmic rising and falling that reassured me she wasn't going to wake up any time soon.
I lay on my back, staring at the cracks in the ceiling. Going to James had been like breaking my own code of honour. I had vowed to myself not to again after what had happened last time. No one knew about reform school…except for my parents. That's why my mother felt so hostile and cold towards me. In her opinions, whatever James was doing, so was I. This meant that I was forging documents and all that stuff as well. And I wasn't. this goes to show how many parents actually trust you. Maybe my father did, but not my mother.
I sighed and rolled onto my side, wrapping an arm around Bella's waist. She sighed in her sleep and pressed her head against my chest, a small smile playing on her lips.
She had no idea. I was breaking her trust in me and she had no damn idea. I could be ruining her life slowly and she had no idea.
She had no idea she was marrying an idiot…who had more than ten thousand pounds stashed under his bed.
That reminded me. I had to hide it if I wanted to do this quietly and in a non suspicious way. But Bella was bright. I was just scared she would find something out…and not marry me. All my plans would go down the drain if she wouldn't. How was I going to protect her?
Behind the closed curtains, I could see the sun rising slowly, the light entering like liquid gold into our room and bathing us in yellow and orange.
Bella stirred and shielded her eyes with her hands.
"Why is the damn sun so bright?" She grumbled, turning away and hiding her head under the duvet. I laughed and pulled lightly at her hair.
"Morning chirpiness, huh?"
"You should know." Came her muffled reply. I rolled out of the bed and fished my shirt off the floor. Bella peeked out from under the blankets, her eyes wary.
"Why on earth do you wear the same shirt twice?"
"Because I don't really bother to use a different shirt if this one is still clean," With a grin, I left the room.
I had just put the mocha on when Bella stumbled still sleepy into the kitchen. She rubbed her eyes before she collapsed into a chair and her head fell onto her folded arms.
I bought a steaming mug of coffee and sat it quietly just near her head. With creeping fingers, she reached out and grasped it, brining it to her lips hungrily.
"Mmm. Are you going in to the agency today?" She asked, looking up at me with eyes that suggested she was very much awake and had no time with fooling about.
I frowned at the sink. "No. Did I have to go?"
"Not really. Only, Alice…"
"Oh God."
Bella ignored me and continued, "…Wanted to take you to pick out your tux today. I mean, we already have our dresses and you still insist on going to the altar in jeans."
"Well, why not?"
She looked like she was going to throw something at my head. "Because! Because it's the best day of my life and I do not want my fiancé showing up in jeans and T-shirt! That's why! Is it really hard for you to understand?"
Oh. Not really.
"Not really." I pouted at her and looked ashamed of myself but she wouldn't lower her cold attitude towards me.
Alice skipped down the stairs and grinned at Bella's pyjama clad form. "Loving the fashion sense! I thought you and I were going out today?"
I glared at Alice. "Jesus, Al. Don't you realise we're about to get married and we haven't had four minutes alone together yet?"
"Oh, I think you've had more than four minutes together, knowing you Edward." Against my will, a hot blush rose to my cheeks.
I took a step forward. "You are so unbelievably small to be so hugely irritating."
"And you are so unbelievably egoistic to be so hugely adorable!" Alice shot back.
Bella laughed. "Adorable? Ooh, Edward's adorable. Like a puppy?"
"Oh yes. Like a Golden Retriever." Alice said snidely. She crossed her arms and stared at me defiantly.
I sighed and looked away, deciding to play dirty. "Bella, love, would you like to go out with me today? You've done more than enough shopping for a week." Before Bella could open her mouth and reply, Alice said,
"Bella, love, would you like to go out with me today? I've got a few little trips to do…"
"Alice!" I shouted. Why did she have to work me up? Why couldn't she just let me live? Oh yeah. I've wasted my life.
"Edward!"
"Stop!" Bella stood up and put a gentle hand on my chest, restraining me from jumping on my God-knows-how-long friend. I growled and turned away, stomping into the living room.
"Edward." Bella called. I ignored her. My mobile rang and I slumped onto the sofa.
"Talk to me."
"Oh, you're going to be the one who's gonna do the talking." I sat up on the sofa and glanced out into the hallway, where I could hear Bella and Alice chattering quietly.
"Excuse me? Who is this?"
"You'll find out in time. Find out in time." The other line was quiet, empty.
"Hello?" No one answered. There was only the soft click of someone hanging up.
I stared at the phone in my hand.
"Where are you going?" Bella asked as I donned my jacket and threw the phone disgustedly into my pocket.
"Nowhere. I'll be back in five."
--
As I was walking back from the phone shop, where I had my phone number changed, I ran into Jasper.
"Dude." I said.
Jasper smiled uncertainly. "Just going to pick up some food." I nodded.
"Look Jazz, I don't want you to take it personal. What happened last year-" Jasper held up a hand.
"No worries. She's happy, you're happy, Alice's happy, I'm happy. It doesn't matter. Maybe it was wrong between Bells and me all along."
I sighed and grasped his shoulder. "Staying away from us is just hurting Bella. You might want to rethink your plan about not coming to the wedding."
He smiled.
I left.
I didn't go straight home. I needed some time to myself.
The messages should stop now, right? I'd changed the number, and I was going to make sure that no one other than people I trusted was going to have it.
I walked lazily across the hill near my apartment. I remembered dimly the times when Jasper and me would walk out here in the middle of the night and just stare at the sky.
Right now though, I had to think about my plan. Should I tell Bella at the honeymoon? Before or after the wedding? What will her reaction be? And so on and so forth. I couldn't really make my mind up. It was like thinking up a strategy plan over a mine field. One wrong step and the whole place could explode.
The sky above was darkening and I flopped onto my stomach, resting my head in my folded arms. Why was my life so complicated?
I was just sitting up when my phone rang. I glanced down. How was it possible? No one knew my new phone number…
I flipped my phone open and stared at the screen: Fr. Anonymous: Red sun. Blood has been spilt.
So whoever sent me the text knew I had gone to the phone shop and got a new number- and that person knew what number I had been given.
This was all too much to handle. It really was. I was young and already I had someone threatening my life.
It was with a heavy heart that I walked back home. Alice's car was gone, so I was sure that she and Bella had gone out.
I opened the front door and shrugged out of my jacket, letting it fall on the banister of the stairs. Before I headed off to the kitchen, wanting to get some coffee into my system.
Bella was sitting at the table, leafing through some papers, a little frown on her beautiful face.
"Hey. What are you doing home?" I asked.
Bella smiled and stood up, walking over to me.
"I had a little chat with Alice." She murmured, wrapping her arms around my waist.
I arched one eyebrow. "Oh?"
"Yep. You're right. Since we got engaged, we haven't had any time for ourselves," I smirked, knowing the real truth, and Bella slapped my chest lightly, "Not in that way. I meant, we used to talk so much and now we don't."
"So you blew off your shopping trip to talk?" I was playing hard to get. She loved that. I didn't.
Bella laughed. "No. I was thinking about more of this." She stood on her tiptoes and kissed me, a light kiss that barely touched my lips and made my heart race faster than a Ferrari.
Well, you'll never guess what happened next.
Actually, maye you will but I'm not going to say.
Tough.
--
R&R please!