Chapter Twenty-Seven

Stupid store. Stupid small town. Stupid rain. Stupid me.

I gathered up the last few items on my mental checklist, postponing the moment of purchase as long as possible. The splatters of maraschino cherry juice were still evident across my pants. I couldn't keep the blush off of my face as I pushed the cart up to the checkout—I was a fool. It would be so much easier to pretend that it had never happened, that I hadn't been born with a severe balance deficit and a knack for getting into trouble. The aged cashier eyed my flushed face with a confused expression: I felt even more blood rush to my cheeks. Holy crow, sometimes trying to be a good person just didn't feel worth it.

"I-uh-I…"

I was an idiot. A stammering, blundering idiot.

"Umm, I broke a jar of cherries earlier… and um, I'm really sorry. I uh, I want to pay for the one I broke too, and um, I'm really very sorry," I finally managed to say, embarrassment coloring my cheeks. Oh, if Edward could see me now. I don't think he's ever seen me play the part of an imbecile quite so thoroughly.

The lady continued to stare at me as I held the small jar of maraschino cherries out. She plucked it out of my hand and scanned it twice, cracking her gum in her mouth. I quickly unloaded the rest of the cart, fumbling items in my haste. Her eyes caught mine—thankfully, she didn't look too annoyed. Just bored—the same as everyone else in this small town. As soon as she read off the total, I pulled the cash from my pockets, smoothed out the crumpled bills, and handed them over. She popped her gum again and a swell of irritation rose through me. Her habits were more suited to a teenage school-girl and I couldn't help but pity the poor children who had to call her "Grandma."

I shoved my purchases into the bags myself, not content to wait upon the bag-boy who just happened to be missing in action. Just as a precaution, I doubled the layers—the last thing that I needed was for my groceries to burst through the bags and go rolling all across the parking lot. As it was, I was extremely clumsy in grabbing them from off of the bagging table. I rushed out the door, fumbling in my pockets for my keys—they had to be there somewhere. By the time that I reached my truck, they still hadn't shown up; I saw why when I glanced at the driver's seat of my truck. There they lay, mocking me with their bright shine on this gloomy day. The rain coursed down my face, inviting tears to join the droplets. I leaned forward, closing my eyes against the impulse to cry and resting my head against the glass. This was a horrible day.

I pulled the door handle—no such luck. For once, I had actually locked the doors. I pushed on the window, hoping that I could get it down just enough to stick my arm through and pull the lock. That didn't work either. I stared at the monstrous vehicle, dismayed. The rain was pouring down and I was thoroughly soaked and beginning to shiver. There was only one thing left to do. I had to go back in there and call Charlie because there was no way that I could fix this by myself.

I drug myself and my purchases back into the store, cheeks flushed again with embarrassment. Luckily, a payphone was located not far from where I stood. I dug in my pockets again: I sighed in relief as I found a stray quarter and dropped it in the slot. I dialed my phone number quickly, thankful that Charlie had not gone fishing today of all days. The ringing ceased—"Hello?" It was Charlie, but he didn't sound like himself. He almost sounded…mad.

"Dad?"

"Yeah, Bells. What's the matter?"

"I, uh, locked myself out of the truck."

"Do you know where the extra set of keys is?" I could hear a slight murmur in the background, and a muffled response from Charlie—was someone there?

"There, um, isn't one."

"We'll have to fix that then," he said, "but I can still get you back into your car. You're still at the grocery store, right?"

"Yes, Dad," I responded, rolling my eyes to myself. I was expressly grounded from going many other places.

"Alright, Bells. I'll be there in a bit. And Edward says he's coming too." Edward—he must have been the source of the background noise. No wonder Charlie hadn't sounded like himself at first: things were a bit tense between the two and I was sure that neither of them appreciated being alone with the other.

"Okay Dad. I'll wait inside. See you when you get here."

"Bye. Love you."

"Love you too Dad." The words still felt strange on my tongue, but I said them anyway, as I knew how they made him feel. I hung up the phone and took a seat on a nearby bench with my head hanging between my hands—this day ranked right down there with all the days that I'd been nearly killed by vampires.

A/N: I actually did just this over Christmas (locking the keys in the car)--even after having a little discussion with myself about how stupid it would be to lock the only set of keys inside the car before I went in to my hair appointment...and I had to call the cops to unlock my car. So I now know all about how they do it.

Consider this as my offering of good will and an apology for not having updated sooner--2 chapters in under a week.

Disclaimer: Yeah, you know the drill.