I quickly explained to Angela and Ben what happened, despite the embarrassment I felt. I needed to tell someone what had happened. For a change, luck was on my side since Jessica had kept the rest of the table preoccupied with some story about a pair of shoes she saw at the mall, no one noticed my delusional breakdown except the two people that I trusted the most at this school.
I escaped the cafeteria drool free, and rushed to my Italian class. Mrs. Cope had contacted me over the summer and told me that I didn't have enough foreign languages to graduate. Phoenix had only required two years while Forks wanted three years. I tried arguing that that wasn't fair since I would have started it when I first got to Forks, but she promptly reminded me that I'd started in the middle of the year. I dreaded the idea of learning Spanish again, especially since with taking a year break from it, I forgot just about everything, so I decided learning basic Italian was good enough. I clamored to my seat without tripping and opened my notebook.
Inadvertently, I started doodling even though I had my eyes closed. With everyone whispering about me and the return of the mysterious Cullen's, I could feel a headache forming behind my eyes.
"Sono piuttosto sorpreso che si stanno prendendo italiano di quest'anno." I heard his cool voice say beside my ear.
I opened my eyes and saw everyone trying not to be seen looking at our interaction. I sucked in some air but I didn't make a move to speak to him.
"I said, I'm surprised to see you taking Italian this year." Edward repeated in English.
"I know what you said. I was deciding if I should talk to you." I replied coldly. There were too many emotions that were flowing through me and I didn't want to add to the confusion. By what? If I just talked to him maybe I could get some answers. But there was always a chance that I wouldn't like the answers. Would ignorance be better?
"And have you decided anything?" Edward's brow furloughed together. He seemed nervous about what I would say, but strangely he also seemed amused.
"Why are you here? Why did you come back?" I was getting exasperated with questions, emotions, and Edward's looks were charging at me. I was also upset that the cool and calm demeanor that I had only a few seconds ago had disintegrated when I caught a glimpse of a smile.
"Perhaps we should talk about this later. We seem to be drawing an audience."
"No, Edward. I'm far past your games." I gathered my things and walked towards the door. I was aware that everyone was staring at me but at this point I didn't even care. "You always back off at the wrong moments, and I'm left scrambling after you, trying to make sense of what just happened. I'm over it."
"Oh, Mi scusi Bella. But class has started and if you and Mr. Cullen are done, we can continue." Mrs. Napolitano said expecting me to return to my seat but I kept going through the door. There was no doubt in my mind that I was going to have detention later this week for this, but it honestly felt good to make a dramatic exit without tripping. I couldn't possibly regret something that made me feel good. I fished through my bag and found the keys to my wonderful and somewhat reliable truck, but I was dismayed when I saw a pixie like figure sitting on the hood. My day just would not end.
"Alice." I simply said when I came up from behind her.
"I told him that he should have let me speak to you first, but he didn't want to listen." Alice hopped from my truck and stood directly in front of me. "He never listens," she was practically pouting.
"Why are you here? Most importantly, why is he here? Are you here for more distractions? Or just for some torture. I hear torture is in these days." I wrenched the door from behind Alice, which only let me know that she allowed me to open the door.
"What are you going on about distractions and torture? Would you just let me talk?" I took two deep breaths and closed my eyes.
"Alright. Talk."
"We came back for you, well most of us. Emmett and Rosalie are on another honeymoon. Can you believe they had a Vegas wedding and didn't invite anyone! I mean honestly, the nerve of them." The stern look I gave Alice told her that she needed to focus. "You're right sorry. The ones that are here are for you, full speed ahead. We came to keep you safe from Victoria and those mangy wolves." Alice said wolves with the utmost disdain I'd ever seen anyone manage.
"Yeah well, those mangy wolves are my friends. Ones I might add, have never deserted me just because they're different from me. So if I were you, I'd show some restraint."
"Okay, you're right. You're right. I'm sorry." She gently grabbed my arm and pulled me to her. "Can you give all of us, minus my idiotic brother a chance to explain ourselves? Esme and Carlisle and Jasper would really love to see you. And I miss you so much Bella."
I looked back at the school and then back to Alice. "Alright, get in."
"We can take Edward's car and then he'll drive your truck to the manor." Alice suggested and I knew she was taking a stab at my classic truck.
"In case I need to make a fast getaway, I want to do so in my own vehicle, thank you very much."
"Bella, there is nothing about this truck that suggests it can make a fast getaway. But fine, if you insist." She said while climbing into the cab, and I did insist even though I knew she was right. There was no car that could out drive a vampire's legs and one could probably walk to keep up with the Chevy.
We drove in silence to the manor, I didn't need directions at all, it was as if I'd never truly forgotten how to get there, even in the dense forest that had overgrown the tell-tale signs of the driveway. However, when I pulled up to the manor, it was like the overgrowth knew not to go anywhere near the house. I couldn't believe the shock I'd felt that the house still held a majestic beauty to me.
"Ready?" Alice was bouncing up and down and leading me into the house at the same time. The first person I saw was Jasper, and as soon as I entered the foyer of the house, Alice disappeared, leaving me alone with him.
"Hi Jasper. Umm, how are you?" I stupidly asked, without having any idea what was proper in this type of situation.
"I am in need of your forgiveness, and yours alone. You saw me in my weakest moment and in return caused you a great deal of pain. My actions were inexplicable and I am extremely and truly sorry for what I've done to you." I stood confused for a moment. Because of what happened at my disastrous birthday party, Jasper was still blaming himself. To me, it was a non issue.
"But Jasper, I have no ill-will towards you. I forgave you that night. I knew then that you felt bad for nearly attacking me, and I didn't see any reason to hold it against you. The only thing I have against you is the same I have for everyone else. You all left me."
"Yes, it seems we did leave you in very grave danger." Jasper's southern drawl was mesmerizing and near intoxicating.
"I wasn't talking about the danger. I don't even care about that." I was slightly amused when I'd realized what I had said. Edward always thought I had an ill sense of self preservation and here I was more concerned about the vampire family that left me than the danger of a psychotic vampire that wanted to kill me.
"In that case, we should explain some things before Edward returns home." Carlisle's voice called from practically above me and I saw him and Esme standing at the top of the steps. "Afterall, he stayed in school today." There was some amusement behind his tone.
"Yeah, the idiot almost ruined it for me, I mean us." Alice was sheepish over her slip of the tongue. "I told him if he knew what was good for him he'd stay in class. I told him before she was going to walk out on him. But did he listen? No. I swear that kid has no common sense when it comes to you Bella." I raised my eyebrows at her rant but she continued to shake her head at her brother that wasn't here.
"First off, on behalf of my family, I'd like to apologize on the abrupt departure. Many of the members of this family have uprooted Edward for mistakes we've made, which he reminded us that he did so willingly. And we felt obligated to move because of his insistence, despite all of our objections. It wasn't until after we were settled in New York that he even opened up about how he left things with you." Carlisle had a mouthful for a 'first off.'
"Bella, I'm so sorry. Our son never could think clearly when it came to you and we had no idea he said those awful things to you!" Poor Esme looked as if she was going to cry so I went to her and comforted her with a hug.
"What about Rosalie and Emmett?" I don't even know why I asked. I knew the answer before I even asked the question. Emmett was probably sad because he liked having me around for entertainment, but Rose hated me, she was probably glad that I was out of their lives.
Carlisle answered for everyone in the room again. "Rosalie was glad, but only for the fact that she agreed with Edward, that you would be safer if you remained ignorant of our world. But once she saw how our departure affected the rest of us, she even came around. That's the real reason for her and Emmett's trip. Rose wanted some time to herself to access how she feels. Emmett is with her for support of course."
"So are we good? Can we be friends again? Cause you have no idea how much I've missed you all this time!" Alice was bouncing up and down and even with the months that we spent apart I knew she saw us as friends again. Even if I had reservations, there was no sense in delaying the inevitable. But I didn't have any reservations.
"We're good," I said with a smile and she immediately pulled me into a tight gripped hug. "Aggh, he always manages to spoil my fun." When I looked at her puzzled, Alice explained further. "Edward is barreling down the highway, he'll be here in three minutes."
"You can hear that far down the highway?" I suddenly got worried. There was still so much I wanted to know, but I didn't want Edward to know.
"No, I just had a vision. But if you were listening for it, you'd be able to hear his car." Alice and Jasper crooked their heads in the general direction of the one-oh-one as if listening to Edward's engine. I looked at her as if she really expected me to be able to hear what she heard.
"Alice do you see me and Edward back together? I'm so confused as to what I should do about him, and I could use a little help." I implored of her before I ran out of the house in a panic.
"I do, but you should make him squirm a little bit. He loves you very much and what he did to you was really wrong. On so many levels. I'll help you out, there are some things that my dear brother needs to learn about the opposite sex, and it'll be good to remind him." She ushered me into my truck and I started the ignition. "Bella, when you see him in the driveway don't look at him. Just keep staring straight ahead and look like you're mad."
"But Alice, I'm not mad. I couldn't pull it off. You guys always said I was a terrible actress." I protested. Alice was practically hanging on the door to my truck as it kept swinging open.
"Yes you are because I'll be at your house in twenty minutes to do some shopping. We have a total of four hours until the mall closes, and that's not nearly enough time to get everything you're gonna need.
Alice slammed my door and ran back in the house, leaving me staring after dumbfounded. She wanted me mad, and she definitely accomplished that.
I turned the truck and headed down the long and windy driveway, and like Alice said to, I stared at the road ahead of me and scowled at the thought of shopping with Alice. I ended up holding my breath because I couldn't believe what was in front of me.
When Alice said I'd be passing Edward on the long driveway, I assumed he'd be driving his car and I'd be in mine. We were supposed to be in cars! What I did not expect was Edward waiting for me at the turnoff outside of his car with a bouquet of flowers. Even from a distance I could see the colors and I knew that they came from the meadow. Our meadow.
It was an unfair move on his part because he knew at the corner, I'd have to come to a complete stop or risk going off of the road. I wasn't confident enough to take on the turn at any miles per hour without stopping, so I eased the brakes into action and stopped. Edward looked into my eyes, pleading and I started to take my left hand off of the steering wheel to open the window, when I felt my phone vibrating.
"Keep Going!" The text message from Alice said and so I went back to my task of heading home. Even though every second my foot was on the accelerator brought me closer to a shopping experience that I'd rather forget.
As soon as I walked through the front door, I knew something was up with Charlie, he was cooking.
"Dad, what's burning?"
Charlie was standing over the counter with an onion in hand and a paring knife in the other. My eyes quickly shifted to the microwave where sparks were flying. I had no idea what the microwave contained, but I knew it didn't deserve the treatment that Charlie was putting it through.
"Ow! Jeez, dad. You can't put an aluminum can in the microwave!" I said as I opened the door. In the center of a bowl, there was a can of chili that looked like it was about to topple over in the microwave. I grabbed an oven mitt and emptied the contents of the can into the bowl and restarted the microwave.
"Oh. I'm making hotdogs and I figured some chili would do nicely." I smiled at his face since he was crying from the fumes from the onion. How did my father ever survive in the kitchen before I came?
"Well, you're using the wrong knife." I took the knife from him, threw it in the sink and then retrieved a better knife to use to chop up the onion. "So to what do I owe the pleasure for you attempting dinner?" I shook my head as Charlie laughed at my comment.
"Well, I thought we should talk, seeing as you had such a bad day." Charlie's eyes narrowed as he looked at me from his side.
"What are you talking about? My day was fine."
"Well, I figured since you left school pretty early without permission, I might add, that I know you had a pretty bad day. A bad day that resulted in the return of the Cullen's?"
I blew out a lot of air in a sigh, "You heard. I really hate small towns. Everyone talks too much." I grumbled as I sat down at the table.
"You want to tell me about it?" Charlie further pushed the issue, glaring at me as he sat down.
"Not really. But I guess it'll be a relief to tell someone now that all of this is over." I looked at Charlie and before my brain could catch up, I was already speaking again. "Emmett witnessed a murder several years ago, and the Cullen's were placed in protective custody. Cullen isn't their real name, it's Mason. Anyway, when they left, they really needed to be relocated for the trial. But now that the trial has ended, Dr. Cullen managed to convince the marshalls that they were okay in Forks, and they'd like to remain here. So here they are." I had no idea if anything I said was possible but there was no stopping my mouth once it got going.
"Uhhh huhh. What was the case?" Charlie wasn't convinced at all. Cripes.
"They couldn't tell me. Or at least wouldn't, they said it was for my own safety. That's also why there couldn't be any communication. It was pretty dangerous."
"And they told you this today?"
"No. Edward swore me to secrecy and told me just before they left." I was proud that I wasn't biting my lower lip which probably would have been a dead giveaway for Charlie that I was lying. I just had to keep reminding myself of that.
"And how does that constitute your behavior when you walked out of class? I heard you were yelling at Edward."
"Okay, Charlie, if you're going to listen to small town gossip, you should learn to realize when the story was being embellished. I left because I was having an emergency, and I was hardly yelling at Edward. I love him, I wouldn't yell at him the first time I saw him." Which was only partly true. The first time I saw him, I stayed silent and drooled at the idea of the two of us together again.
"What kind of emergency? Are you okay? What's wrong?"
"Dad, it's not the kind of emergency that you could help me out with. Unless you were running out to the store to buy me tampons." I knew Charlie was like any other dad in the universe and would cringe about his daughter having a period.
"Okay, okay. That's enough. How about we eat before the hotdogs get cold ehh?" I scarfed down a hot dog quickly before giving Charlie an excuse about my homework and going to bed early.
That's one of the things I like about Charlie, he's okay with what he wants to hear, and doesn't press any further. Of course, I'd have to remember to tell the Cullen's about their stint in the witness relocation program now.
"Taken care of." The text message from Alice said. I sat down with s simple relief and sighed as I shrugged out of my shoes and socks. I willed myself into action and decided to take a shower to calm my nerves before starting my homework. It was only a quick shower, but I felt so much more relaxed by the time I got dressed in my sweats.
Crossing the hall from the bathroom back to my bedroom, I could hear whatever game Charlie was watching and I hurried because the floorboards were cold on my bare feet.
Without looking, I threw my clothes in the hamper and turned on the light so I could fish out my books. As soon as the light switch went 'click,' my heart was in my throat.
"You know, Jasper is not as experienced in hiding his thoughts from me as Alice is. Which is quite surprising since she is his husband afterall." Edward's velvet voice was smooth and practically music to my ears. I took several deep breaths to ease my voice since I knew it was going to be high in pitch. I'd probably end up taking another shower.
"What are you talking about? Why are you here?" I asked and I was surprised that my voice was even when I spoke. I hoped the confidence that my voice exuded would flow through the rest of my body as I plopped on my bed and settled with my math homework. I internally groaned at my least favorite subject but anything was better than focusing on Edward's face.
"I'm talking about the part where you and Alice came up with the idea that I should suffer and learn a lesson for leaving you. I can assure you, I have learned that lesson."
"Well, Alice came up with that plan. Not me, I wanted nothing to do with it. You know how Alice is." I opened my notebook, refusing to even look at him.
"So explain why you stormed out of class today?"
"Explain why you didn't answer my second question." I replied back just as quick.
"Why am I here?" I could see from the corner of my eye that Edward was smiling his crooked smile. "I'm here for an explanation of your behavior today."
"Well I am fresh out of explanations considering you left me first."
"Bella, are we really going to play this question in a circle game?" Edward's expression changed, the smile was now gone and he now looked pained since he was pinching his nose together.
"Yes, as long as you're being unreasonable and cocky. Edward, I walked out of class today, you walked out of my life. In what world could you even imagine that I owe you an explanation of anything?" I was grinding my teeth and I could feel the muscles in my jaw flexing with each heartbeat. My eyes stared at him as he seemed to be struggling inwardly with something, for several seconds. I was about to write him off by shaking my head when he finally spoke.
"You're right. I do owe you an explanation."
A/N: Sorry I'm a couple of days late with this update guys, I hope you enjoy it! Good news, I think I've found a beta, which I'm really excited for. Hopefully everything will be up and running for the next update! Don't forget to read and review guys 3.