AN: Thanks for the reviews!
This chapter was a little difficult for me to write. I was having some serious writer's block but I finally got around that.
I sort of correlated this chapter in with this holiday. Happy 4th of July!
Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns Twilight.
BPOV
The first thing I became aware of when I woke up the next morning was someone pulling back the blinds in my room. The sunlight that filtered in further fueled the headache I had just become aware of. I groaned and buried my head under my pillow. Suddenly the pillow was yanked away and the comforter disappeared.
"Hey!" I bolted up in my bed and then groaned as another wave of vertigo passed over me, dropping back on my bed. Talk about a serious hangover.
"Wake up Bells! I have to tell you about last night!" Leah sounded so excited but I was trying my hardest not to empty the contents of my stomach all over the bed at the moment.
"Leah," I whined, "It's too early for this!" I said, after seeing that it was only 7:00. This was the last day I could sleep in before I had to go back to work for the week.
"I know and I'm sorry!" She said, not sounding the least bit sorry. "But I couldn't wait anymore!"
"Yeah well you weren't the one downing like a dozen shots last night, so let me go back to sleep," I complained.
"I have treats!" Leah sang mysteriously. I let out one more groan and sat up slowly. I watched as Leah reached into a bag I hadn't noticed before and pulled out the one thing that I would get up this early for. My mouth fell open as she held up the container of ice cream. "Is that Chunky Monkey?" I whispered. She nodded with a smile on her face.
"I really shouldn't have that. I mean I probably consumed at least a thousand calories with all the alcohol I had last night," I said slowly, but I couldn't hide the longing in my voice.
"Oh live a little! You can always work it off later. I'm sure Bianca will help you." I couldn't stop the smile that took over my face.
Bianca is my personal trainer. I decided to hire her to keep the tabloids happy. Pathetic, right? I mean, I shouldn't care but I do, sadly. If I were to gain two pounds it's considered obesity, but losing a couple pounds and they would call me anorexic. So far, the tabloids have painted me as "one of Hollywood's perfect bodies" and I wanted to keep it that way. I paid Bianca to keep me looking good, and that is exactly what she did. I was already at a setback after consuming all that alcohol the other night. I would definitely have to work extra hard to work those calories off.
"Alright, so tell me what happened after I left you two alone," I said, while grabbing the container of ice cream and spoon that Leah handed me. She plopped down next to me on my bed and grinned widely. She rattled on for at least an hour…okay maybe I'm exaggerating a little. It was so cute how she described all of the little details, even including facial expressions into her description. She explained to me how once they got over the awkwardness at first, Jake asked her to dance. After that they struck up an easy conversation.
"And then he asked if I wanted to go to dinner with him tonight," Leah finished excitedly.
"Just the two of you?" I asked, happily.
She nodded. "This is great!" I paused and looked at her skeptically.
"You'll have to tell me where you two are going so I can dress and make you up accordingly!" Leah groaned and opened her mouth to protest but snapped it shut at the sight of my glare.
"Don't you even think about fighting me on this. You already know who will win if you do," I stated, sternly. She sighed but nodded reluctantly.
"This is so exciting!" I squealed. "It's your guys' first date! Wait a second!" Leah jumped at my outburst.
"This means I won the bet!" She laughed and rolled her eyes. I plunged the spoon in the container of ice cream. I hummed and closed my eyes in appreciation.
"Mmmm…I swear I just had an orgasm in my mouth!" She laughed and rolled her eyes at me.
"So what did you do when you abandoned me?"
I pointed the spoon at her. "Hey, it worked didn't it?" She nodded with that same smile on her face.
"Anyway, I ran into Jasper at the bar." She gasped.
"Oh no, what did you do to him this time?" I frowned at her.
"Why do you always assume I'm the one who causes the problems when it comes to Jasper?" She gave me a knowing look.
"I only put the laxative in his water bottle once!" I stated, in my defense. "Although that was some funny shit," I snickered. "He couldn't leave the studio's bathroom for three hours! It was a good thing he didn't drink it until after we had finished filming for the day." I laughed to myself at the memory.
She shook her head, amused. "So what happened?" I then recounted the events of the previous night for her.
"Wait wait wait! So, let me get this straight. You actually had a semi civil conversation with Jasper?" She asked incredulously, once I had finished talking.
Leah couldn't seem to comprehend this fact. I nodded and watched as her eyes grew to the size of saucers.
"You were nice?" I nodded. "To Jasper?" She inquired. I nodded again.
"And you danced with him?" She asked disbelievingly.
I shrugged. "Well, there were a few rough patches, but we parted on decent terms I guess."
Leah's mouth gaped open. "Wow, I guess miracles do exist," she stated wondrously.
I laughed. "We were both pretty intoxicated though, so maybe that was a contributing factor." She nodded at this.
"Anyway, Paul's birthday is coming up so I ended up following Tanya's advice and booking a presidential suite at the Hotel de Crillon in Paris." That effectively changed the subject. Leah wrinkled her nose at the mention of Paul. I continued on as if I hadn't noticed her blatant distaste for my boyfriend.
"The only thing I have left to do is book the plane tickets. I was also thinking about taking him to the Hollywood Bowl to celebrate the 4th of July. There are supposed to be live singers and then a fireworks show. He could definitely use a break. He's been working too hard."
Leah looked down thoughtfully. "Hmm I didn't give much thought to the 4th of July. Maybe Jake and I could come with you guys?" Leah looked at me in silent question.
"Of course you can come! I'm sure Paul wouldn't mind, but you and Jake need to behave and stop shooting daggers at him every time he's around me." I glared at her as I said that. She put her hands up in a sign of surrender.
"Alright, I guess I can be civil to him for one night."
The following days were a whirlwind. Jasper and I fell back into our easy banter, but it was more teasing than anything. Everyone at the studio seemed surprised that we haven't been at each others' throats as much. He was still an arrogant ass in my opinion, but at least we were getting along somewhat better now.
I had also booked Paul and me two first class tickets for his birthday surprise trip to France. We would arrive in Detroit, Michigan where we would have to hurry on to a connecting flight which would take us the rest of the way to Paris. I wasn't too thrilled about that part, but it was the best I could do on such short notice, considering we would be leaving in about two weeks. Not to mention the cost of the tickets was insane, but it would be so worth it to see his expression when I surprised him with this trip.
I already talked to his boss about this and he readily agreed to give Paul some time off. I think his boss was more astonished to meet me and would have agreed to just about anything when I come to think about it…
Before I knew it, it was finally the 4th of July. I had talked to Paul about going to the Hollywood Bowl and he agreed. He kept trying to back out, saying that he had a lot of work to do, but I wouldn't take no for an answer. He seriously needed to get out and away from his laptop.
Leah had spent the night at my place. We were going to hit the shops to find the perfect outfits for tonight. She had (grudgingly) agreed to let me do her makeup and hair again. We were currently in my room, while I flipped through one of my fashion magazines trying to get a good idea about a hairstyle for tonight.
Leah cleared her throat suddenly, startling me out of my thoughts. I looked up at her to see her staring at me and cocking her head to the side.
"Why are you scratching your coochie?" Leah asked me. I hadn't even been aware that I was doing that until she mentioned it. It was at that point when I noticed how unbearably itchy it was. What was going on?
"I don't know, but it really itches!" I said. This is odd.
She gave me a weird look but I ignored it.
"I should probably get dressed so we can go," I said as I noticed I was still in my boy shorts and tank top I had worn to bed. I grabbed a change of clothes and headed to the bathroom. I decided to take a quick shower before getting ready. I had just got undressed and was about to step in the shower when I looked up into the mirror. What I saw caused me to scream.
Suddenly there was pounding on the door. "Bella are you alright?" Leah asked, sounding worried. I wrapped a towel around me and opened the door.
"I could have sworn I saw something moving down there," I gestured in the direction of my vagina. I felt as if I was on the verge of a panic attack. Maybe I'm going crazy…
"Let me get this straight, your cooch itches and there was movement?" Leah asked, breaking me out of my current level of hysteria. I nodded, not sure where she was going with this.
She paused and bit her lip. "Uh Bells, maybe you should go get checked out at the Gyno."
I looked at her, and then it sunk in. "You think I have crabs?" I asked.
She shrugged. "I don't know for sure but it sounds like you just described it."
"But that's impossible!" I protested. "I haven't had sex with anyone besides Paul!" A look of anger crossed her face for a moment before she quashed it. I wonder what that was about.
"Look, I don't know for sure but just in case, you should go get checked out."
"But, what about our shopping trip?" She had started shaking her head before I had finished asking the question.
"This is more important. Besides, you practically have your very own mall of clothes in your closet that we can choose from."
I nodded. "Okay, I'll go see if I can get my gyno to come into her office now even though it's a holiday."
An hour later, after I had called in a few favors, I found myself sitting on the bed at Karen, my gyno's, office. She was staring at me, waiting for me to say something I assume. I stared at her dumbly. I don't think shocked would be a strong enough word to describe my current state. It had rendered me utterly speechless when Karen confirmed Leah's suspicions about me having crabs. This is just my luck. I normally get Brazilian waxes every month but since I have been pretty busy lately I have been putting it off.
"But I don't understand!" I said suddenly. "The only guy I have been having sex with is my boyfriend of three years!" The doctor looked at me with her eyebrows raised, wearing a sympathetic expression. That's strange. Why would she be sympathetic? I thought back to the anger I saw on Leah's face when I had discussed this with her earlier. And then I finally understood.
"He's been cheating on me," I whispered to myself, unable to fully believe that he would do that to me. Karen cleared her throat, looking uncomfortable.
She stood up. She then proceeded to explain to me how to treat my little problem. She told me that as long as I follow her instructions properly, the lice should be gone in about two weeks. (AN: I looked that up, so hopefully it's right lol).
I nodded dumbly, not being able to fully comprehend my current situation. I sat there in a haze. Two words kept being played in my head on repeat, "Paul" and "cheat." When Karen had finished going over the treatment procedure I would have to do, I got up and walked out of the doctor's office, heading to the one person I needed answers from.
I slipped the key, that Paul had given me, out of my purse and unlocked his door. I pushed it open and entered his house. I didn't see any sign of him but I knew he was here. His car was parked outside. Maybe he was in his office, working like always.
After I had left the doctor's office, I had calmed down somewhat. I took a few hours to get my head sorted out so that I could think clearly. I came to the conclusion that I probably overreacted. I mean, you don't necessarily have to have sexual contact to get crabs. He might have gotten it at the gym from using a towel that may not have been fully cleaned or something. That thought was pretty gross but it might have happened…
I mean, I have been dating him for three years and he never gave me reason to question him. Now, I felt horrible for even doubting him for a minute. I just needed to talk to him and tell him he should get checked out for crabs also. I would be late to the festival tonight, but hopefully Paul and I could join Leah and Jake for the fireworks show later.
I peeked into his office, but he wasn't there. It was then that I heard a thud from upstairs. Smiling to myself, I made my way up the stairs. I heard some noises coming from his bedroom and reached up my hand to open the door but stopped as if the knob had burnt my hand. There was an unmistakable moan coming from inside the room. That was definitely not his voice, unless he had suddenly relapsed into his prepubescent phase. That voice was too high…
I slowly pushed open the door and gasped as I saw something that made me want to gouge out my own eyes. There on his bed, where I had spent countless nights, was Paul on top of some naked woman. At the sound of my gasp, both of their heads whipped up. Paul's expression was one of horror as the woman looked almost smug.
Paul quickly got off the bed and threw on some pants. He started towards me, but stopped when I held a hand up to him. The woman was slowly getting dressed and was gazing at me with a triumphant smirk. I looked back at Paul, unable to stop the hurt expression from taking over my face. I willed myself not to break down in front of him. I didn't want to give him the satisfaction.
"How long?" I whispered. He looked away from my accusing eyes.
"How long?" I repeated, in a stronger voice. He hesitated.
"I've been seeing Maria for about a month," he answered back.
The fact that he didn't answer my question directly wasn't lost on me.
I shook my head as I fought to keep the tears at bay. "No, how long have you been cheating on me? How many others were there?"
He looked down and avoided my eyes.
"Don't you love me or was that all a lie too?"
His head shot up. "Of course I loved you!"
"Loved?" I whispered, hating that my voice broke on the word. He opened his mouth to reply but stopped as Maria strode up to him after finally putting on some clothes. She smirked at me and flipped her black hair over her shoulder.
"Of course he doesn't love you. He only stayed around so you could get him more well-known with his work. That's all you were good for."
"Maria!" Paul yelled. "Bella it wasn't like that." He stepped forward with his arms outstretched as if he wanted to hug me. I backed away from him wearing a disgusted expression.
"Is this what you did when you had to "work" all the time?" I looked at him when he didn't even try to deny it. "And here I was thinking you needed a break from all the hard work you were so busy with." I gave a short, humorless laugh at this. "I didn't realize what kind of work you were actually doing." I looked at this Maria person and then back to him.
"It's over Paul. I don't want to see or hear from you anymore." Those words caused a lump to build in my throat and I felt as if a part of me had died. I turned and started to walk away from him but stopped.
"I came here to tell you to get checked for crabs. I guess I now understand how I got it." Before he could say anything else, I turned on my heel and ran, finally releasing the multitude of tears I had been repressing.
In the distance, I heard the sound of fireworks going off. Happy fucking 4th of July, I thought to myself as I ran down the street and away from my heart.
AN: Sorry there wasn't any of Jasper in this chapter, but this one was important. I promise he'll be in the next one. Things should also be picking up soon.
Please review!