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My 'take action' plan hadn't been working out to my advantage.
After my empowerment move of kissing Edward as he walked out the door, I moved with confidence and semi-grace, but no signs of regret. That was until Lauren's bout of surprise turned into that of some mental betrayal approach.
"So you don't know him?" she hissed when I was behind the counter. "I know you're used to kissing up on random guys but come on, have some class—"
"That's my boyfriend, genius," I snapped. I had every right to snap or lash out, and why not take my temporary confidence and use to it to aid me?
When I turned to hand her some stupid burger concoction that the chef nearly spat at me for handing him the order, she was glaring at me incredulously. A thousand things were being screamed in her expression.
"That's your boyfriend?" she scoffed. "How much are you paying him?"
"Ha ha," I grabbed a tray of salads and bussed them to a table full of smiling adults who were laughing and toasting their glasses of beer.
It was five thirty and Lauren was still firmly rooted in her seat. By six the diner started to empty and with less and less distractions I was stuck behind the counter waiting for truckers to come in and order coffee or pie.
"Why didn't you tell me he was your boyfriend?" Lauren asked.
"It didn't matter."
"Why?"
"It didn't make a difference."
"What do you mean?"
"Edward would never go for someone like you," I blurted before I could stop myself.
My eyes closed briefly and I stopped moving the rag around the countertop for second. Lauren didn't move but I could feel her intense stare aimed at my back.
"Oh really?" she laughed. Her hand grabbed a salt container and she pulled the lid off before splaying it all over the counter. "You missed a spot, Ugly Duckling."
Don't punch her face in… whatever you do don't punch her face in…
I grabbed the rag and started to move it over the grains of salt, pushing them into a small pile and then wiping them into the garbage pale under the counter. Lauren's hard glare never eased the entire time. She grabbed her half eaten burger and took the bread from the top and then smashed the ketchup covered meat patty on the counter.
My mouth popped open in shock. Was she six?
Lauren bristled, her eyes dead cold and hateful and I knew she couldn't be this upset over something so stupid. I retracted that back in my mind; I'd seen her act out at less compelling events than this.
"Clean it up, bitch," she upturned her whole plate spilling all kinds of condiments onto the counter and sending her cut up of lettuce and fries all over the floor.
"What's going on out there?" the chef behind me looked out through the window and he frowned. "You better clean that up before Sam sees it."
"Yeah, get to it," Lauren laughed a little but it was marred by her downturned mouth.
I stood for a moment, debating whether or not to bend down at her feet and pick up the mess or just leave it and go home early for the night. Confident Bella dropped down on her knees and began to sweep up the mess of the fries and lettuce with the mini-broom.
"Bitch…" I whispered to myself.
"I'm sure you've been there before—on your knees."
"Thanks for the clarification," I muttered.
That set her off and she kicked her chair back before kneeling down in front of me. I made sure all of the fries were in the dustpan when I looked up into her scornful, hate-filled eyes.
"I don't know who you think you are," she whispered menacingly. "But I've had it with you Isabella Swan. You're the fakest, ugliest and most disgusting bitch I've ever known."
"What… what the hell are you talking about?" I stuttered.
Okay, confident confrontational time over. Get the fuck away from her now!
I stood up and dumped the fries, trying to look like I wasn't freaking shaking and wondering what the hell her problem was. This went beyond bullying; this was something that had to do with hating someone and tormenting someone to the point of hurting that person.
She muttered something under her breath, threw the exact change for her meal on the counter and walked out, not even bothering with me. I heard her tires squeal as she left the parking lot but even though I felt safer with her gone I just stood there, completely unmoving and breathing deeply to try and shrug off the flutter in my stomach.
Oh yeah, things will get way better now.
"Shut the fuck up," I whispered.
--
"You're anxious," Edward said as he crawled into bed that night. His arms wrapped around me until my back touched his chest and his lips were at the nape of my neck.
"I am not," I sighed.
"How did things go after I left?" his fingers played with my ponytail.
All hell broke loose. "Nothing of consequence."
"Uh-huh, what else?"
"Nothing, Edward!" I turned to my left. His arms disentangled themselves from around me and he sat up in bed, flicking on the light in the process.
"Bella, what the hell's going on? No—don't give me that look, just fucking tell me already." He moved to sit with his legs crossed.
Irrational anger swelled up in my chest and I threw the covers off of me. "Why do you care?"
"Are—are you kidding me, Bella?" he laughed a little hysterically. "You really can't figure that out?"
"I'm sleeping on the couch," I grabbed my pillow and the flimsy cotton blanket at the end of the bed and walked out of our room.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Edward was right behind me with his hands on my shoulders. He tugged me backwards into his chest and grabbed the pillow and blanket from my hands. "No, you're not sleeping on the couch, there's no way in hell you're sleeping on the couch."
"Why not? I don't feel like arguing and I don't feel like talking." I sighed and crossed my arms over my chest.
"Bella… what's gotten into you?" his voice was desperate… pleading. I swallowed hard and bit my lip to stop the tears from coming.
"I—I don't know. I'm tired and stressed—God, I don't know." My hands went to my forehead and I ran them through my hair and tugged my ponytail ends. His eyes showed me he understood it all, that he'd been at this breaking point for a while.
"Let's just, just go back bed, Bella." He coaxed me with a gentle hand on the small of my back.
I nodded, feeling a migraine coming on and hoping that maybe sleep could deter its path.
After Edward fell asleep with a frown on his lips, I propped myself up on an elbow and just watched him. I watched the gentle rise and fall of his chest and his full pink lips.
I started to cry after a while, just soft streaming tears with choked, muted sobs coming once in a while. I wondered how long love could keep us together and what the hell we would do once I was out of high school, I finally allowed myself to think about all of these things that I never wanted to acknowledge.
And my dad… I promised him I would come and talk to him sometime soon after I moved out….
I wormed my way onto his arm and it instinctually wrapped around my waist. I welcomed the heavy warmth and allowed myself to think about all the bad stuff for the first time.
A/N: Chapters are short, I know, but this is a short story. It's actually my first attempt at a short story that actually worked. Sometimes I just get too attached to let 'em go.
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