Ch 3.
The waitress brusquely shoved menus in our direction and spat out the list of specials before running off to fill our drink orders. I don't think I even looked in her direction once, my eyes were naturally drawn to the forelorn girl in front of me.
"So Bella," she looked up at me finally while still playing with the napkin in front of her. "What now? You planning on heading back to the cliff after you finish your Coke?"
"I guess, I mean I really don't feel like I have much of a choice. I may have gotten away from that bastard but it's like he kept the best part of me with him and now I'm just stuck drifting. He planned everything, controlled my every move and now that I'm out I'm pretty much useless. And the pain..." She shook her head like she realized she'd said something she hadn't intended to share.
"You mean the emotional pain you're going through is difficult?" I softened my voice, hoping like hell she wouldn't think I was trying to belittle her struggle. What surprised me was her answer.
"No, I mean real pain. If anything I should be grateful for it, I suppose. It's the reason I was able to get out finally but now I'm stuck with it and that makes it hard to even think straight sometimes."
This was new. I'm fairly certain she didn't mention having some physical ailment earlier and she looks alright, other than being a bit too slender. Of course that doesn't mean much. Man I can see why I found her on that ledge. She really needs to catch a break and I can only hope that I'm it.
"Bella, do you have a pain condition? What's wrong?"
"Lupus."
Oh crap. My mind is sifting through every medical journal and textbook I've read to recall any bit of information available on Lupus. I know it's a chronic inflammatory condition where the body basically attacks itself. I know the outlook is bleak and the symptoms are painful and include depression. I wanted to ask what form of Lupus but was afraid to get all 'doctor-y' on her. She still doesn't know what I do for a living and I'd like to put off that conversation for as long as possible.
"I was diagnosed back when I was with James. At first I just thought I had a virus or something and that it would pass. You can only imagine it didn't go over well when I tried telling him I was too sick to go out to parties. After the diagnosis came he let me off the hook for a while but pretty soon he got frustrated that I wasn't getting better."
"You said you should be grateful for getting sick because it helped you get out? How so?"
She looked away for a moment and stared out the window silently. I was fairly certain she just wasn't going to respond until I heard her soft voice return. "Because of the meds I was on, I couldn't imbibe at parties like I had before. I started sobering up and realized just how bad my situation with James had become. It was like this fog lifted and I could finally see clearly." So that's it, alcohol and probably drug use. That's what kept her with him for so long. My guess would be he was using drugs as one more way to control her.
"Once I figured out I needed to leave I did some research on the best way to leave an abusive partner. I packed up as much as I could under the guise of 'organizing the closet' and one day when he was at work I had movers come and voila. I left a note telling him we're through and not to try finding me. Of course he tried anyway but I changed my phone number shortly thereafter and didn't tell anyone where I was going. He doesn't even know Emmett lives in Richmond. He'd never let me visit so for some reason I never got around to telling James when he moved from Winston-Salem up here. I guess somewhere in my mind I knew I'd need an escape plan one day. Garrett's the only person I stayed in contact with and he only knows I'm in Virginia somewhere.
"I've been back to NYC a few times but made sure to only go out when I knew James would be busy elsewhere. As for the Lupus, the symptoms come and go but lately, well, it's been coming more than going. It's why I haven't been able to work full time and why I have to depend on Emmett which I hate. So now you know the whole story. I don't really want to go back to that cliff but if I stay I'd have to go with Emmett and his family back to New York where I just know James would find me and make my life hell again."
"Have you thought of an alternative plan?" She looked at me with a confused expression so I continued. "I mean, even if Emmett were to take the position, you could still stay here in the area."
"But I told you already, I'm not making enough right now for my own place. Plus, even if I could swing it, the whole reason I moved back down here was to be close to my family. What reason would I have to stay?"
Me.
God, don't say that out loud.
"Well, you grew up near here, right?"
"Yeah, in Forks, about an hour and a half drive west of here." Hmm, so that would mean the spot where we met is very close to her hometown.
"Do you still have friends there?" I know it sucks but at least she'd be relatively close by. I can't help but hope her answer is no and that really is confusing me right now.
"I guess, but we're not exactly close. After I moved to New York, James pretty much forced me to write off all my old friends so now most of them wouldn't talk to me if I physically ran into them on the street, let alone invite me into their homes. Plus, I'm sick of having to depend on someone all the time." She looked down again. No, this is making her more depressed. Gotta bring out the big guns.
"You could look into finding a roommate situation here in Richmond. I know you said you've had a hard time relating to new people, maybe this could be a blessing in disguise – a chance to branch out and make new friends. Even if all you did was stay at home you'd be forced to interact with at least one new person."
"I guess you have a point but I wouldn't even know where to start. I mean, there is craigslist but what if I end up with some knife-wielding psychopath as a flat mate?"
"Funny you should mention that." I smirked at her, and secretly crossed my fingers under the table. "Well, the flat mate part, not the knife wielding. It just so happens that I know a guy with a great big house all to himself and he just might be looking for a housemate at the moment." Okay a partial truth. I wasn't looking for someone but now that I've found Bella I'm not letting her go.
"Edward, you're not suggesting I move in with you are you?"
"Looks that way." Anxiously I watched her facial expressions for some kind of indication that she liked the idea. I was not pleased to see her sudden scowl.
"What is this some kind of charity crap you're trying to pull? Find a suicidal girl and put her up to make up for past wrongs or something? Why would I stay with you? You could be a serial killer for all I know."
"Bella, if I was a serial killer, why would I take you away from a secluded spot and invite you to my home? And no, this is not some karma payback either. I like you and I think you'd made a good housemate, that's it. Besides, haven't you ever searched for a roommate on craiglist or something? It's basically the same concept. This just saves us both the trouble of posting ads.
"So you were looking to rent out a room already?" Lie
"Sure, I have a 2 bedroom house and I'm used to living with my sister so it would be lonely coming home to an empty place every night." I hoped that she was catching on to the not so subtle fact that I'm single. "This new job will keep me pretty busy so you probably will hardly see me around. Plus, I'm new to the area and you're still relatively new as well. We can explore the city together" Okay, back off bucko, was that you just asking her out?
Thankfully she ignored that last comment. "I don't know, Edward."
"Think of it this way, it's better than going back to New York and certainly a step up from hurling yourself off a cliff. Why don't we head over to my new place and you can check it out." She looked hesitant so I continued. "And I promise to be a gentleman at all times. I can even have my sister Alice give you a reference if you'd like." Please say yes
"Okay, I suppose it wouldn't hurt just to see your house. It's not like I had any more plans for today."
My smile must have grown a mile wide.