Chapter Eighteen

No Win Situations

Bella POV

I didn't feel like running, so Connor agreed that we would take a plane, then drive to Forks in a rental car. I had called Sue while we were in the airport to let her know when we would be there. I called Rene, who of course was crying so hard that she could barely hold an actual conversation. I had to repeatedly assure that it would be okay, and give her the same old cliche' that you hear all the time. Dad was an amazing man, and it would only make sense that God would want him with him. Dad was going to a better place. Blah blah blah. It was true, yet it was stuff that somehow seemed not enough for Charlie.

I didn't plan on staying long, so my carry on bag was the only bag I had brought. A few change of clothes was all I needed. Connor had the same thought, as he had only brought a small duffle bag with him. As we stood in line to get tickets, I had to remind myself to move around. As wound up as I was, I didn't want to start fidgeting too much. With my luck, I'd get tackled by a bunch of security thinking I was up to something. The line went quickly, and soon enough we were at the counter.

"Hello. What can I do for you two today?"

"We need two tickets to Port Angelas, Washington. Please." I tried to give a heart warmingly smile, but I knew I wasn't pulling it off well.

"Okay then, let me see what we have available..." The lady trailed off as she typed away on her keyboard. "Well, we have some seats available, but it's in first class."

"Ugh, is there anything else at all? I can't afford that, and we have to get to Washington as soon as possible." I pleaded with her.

"I'm sorry ma'am, there's nothing else."

Connor gently guided me aside, so that he could be at the counter. His lips parted away from his brilliant white teeth, and I could see the woman's eyes twinkle at his sight.

"Hi, I'm sorry, what's your name?" He sounded so gentle, and...seductive.

"Uh, Tiffany."

"Well, Tiffany, that's a great name by the way." He winked at her, and she may as well passed out with the way her breathing had gotten. "My friend here actually just experienced a family tragedy, and we are trying to make it back to Washington so that we can start with arrangements. Now I'm sure that you can understand that this wasn't something that she planned, otherwise she would have gotten the tickets in advance. Now, I have a feeling that you are a unbelievably smart woman, and I know that you can make some magic happen at the keyboard miss. Can you help me out? Please?"

Her breathing had gotten rough and she was obviously dazzled by him. Couldn't blame the poor girl, he was an amazing sight. That was something I, for some reason, couldn't pull off. I couldn't dazzle humans. I didn't know if it was because I simply felt stupid or silly anytime I tried, or if I just simply couldn't do it. Didn't matter anyways, I always got what I needed, when I needed it with no problems, so dazzling anyone wasn't really necessary.

"Ah, okay, well, how about this? I can give you a discount on your tickets, where you will be flying in first class at the coach price. Will that work for you...?

"Connor", he chimed.

"Right. Connor. That's a great name." She was starting to sound like a giggly school girl, and now I felt bad for her. Poor girl had no idea, yet her heartbeat and breathing indicated that she was deep in lust, even though it would go no where.

I reached into my bag and pulled out my bilfold, handing Tiffany, in all her dazed glory, the money for the tickets. She handed us two first class tickets and wished us a happy and safe trip. As we made our way through the airport to our designated gate, I couldn't help but start laughing.

"What's so funny?" He asked me.

"I can't believe you did that." I was shaking my head as I said it.

"Hey, I did what I had to do to get the tickets. I'm sorry I'm so damn irresistable." He rubbed his hands over his chest, sticking his tongue out in his mock cockiness.

"Yeah yeah, save it for the mirror."

"Well, we're gonna have a bit of a wait, I'm gonna go sit down."

"Yeah, I'm actually going to go make some phone calls real quick, I'll be right back."

"Okay." I pulled my phone out of my pocket and started to walk away. "Hey Bella?"

I turned around and Connor had moved to where he was right in front of me. I looked at him, waiting for what he had to say. Suddenly his lips crashed against mine and his arms wrapped around me holding me tight against him. When he finally pulled away, I had to get myself under control again.

"What was that for?" I laughed lightly.

"It's just...well, I know where we're going. And I know that even though we're going there for your father, there will be other people there too."

I knew where he was going with this. He knew that my past life was in Forks. Edward was in Forks. "Connor-"

"Bella, I know. I'm not going to maul all over you while we're there. I respect what will be there waiting for you. I just want you to know before we get there that...I love you. A lot."

"I love you too Connor. I do. And I'm fully aware of what all I'm going to be dealing with while we're there. But like I told you, my past is just that. The past. Now go sit down you freak."

"More like freak-y." He laughed as he walked over the the waiting area at the gate. I stood there for a moment. Watching Ed-Connor. Shit. Did I really just do that? Dammit. This was going to be a mistake, I know it.

I walked around the corner and flipped open my phone. Searching quickly through the contacts, I found Carlisle's name and hit the little green send button. After a couple rings, he answered.

"Bella?"

"Hi Carlisle."

"How are you my dear? I've been worried about you. I'm sure you have heard about Charlie."

"Yes, I was calling to actually let you know that we're coming into town. We'll be there in a few hours. I don't want things to be weird. In fact I don't want anything to be anything."

"I understand Bella. Might I ask how you've been?"

"We'll have time to talk about all that when we get there. The plane's going to be boarding soon."

"You say 'we', is there someone else coming?"

"Oh, um, yeah. My friend Connor came with me for support."

"I see. Well I can honestly say that I wished it were different circumstances that brought you back, but in any case, I've missed you and I'm glad your coming to visit."

"Thank you Carlisle, I've missed you too. I'll see you soon."

I shut the phone quickly. That went better than I could have hoped. I knew I didn't have to tell them that I was coming, because Alice would have told them already. I was also sure that she had mentioned that someone would be coming with me, but I felt better just getting it out there. I wanted to make Connor sound like he wasn't a big deal. I wasn't sure if I was trying to tell myself that though.

As soon as the call for the passengers to start boarding, thanks to our first class tickets, Connor and I got to board earlier than some of the others. We waddled our way down the isle, even though it was completely unnecessary. We had to keep up appearances though.

"Want the window seat?" Connor asked me amused.

I laughed, "No, you go right ahead."

"What do you think they would do if we just lit up and started smoking? Think they would try to kick us off the plane?"

"Um, I don't know. Can we even smoke? Is that even possible for us?" I mused.

Connor was started to get ansy. I knew it. I felt bad for him. As nervous as I was to be going back, and even more nervous to be going back bringing Connor with me. I could only imagine what Connor was going through. He knew full and well what would be waiting when we got there. He also knew what he was up against. To him, he was the complete outsider. It was nothing like Jasper and Alice. They came to the Cullens together. And granted he was showing up with me, he was still by himself. I was still married to Edward. I was still attached to someone. But little did the Cullens know was that not only was I attached to Edward, but I was indeed, attached to Connor. It was a no win situation and I had no clue how to make either of us feel better about this. Not to mention the fact that I would be attending my own father's funeral. Bringing Connor had brought drama where drama was certainly not needed. And really, what was I expecting? Why in the hell did I even think it would be remotely okay for me to bring him?

All I was doing was hurting Edward by him seeing that I was with someone else. I couldn't lie to him about sleeping with Connor, because Edward would be able to hear his thoughts. And I was hurting Connor, because he would be in a place where no one knew him. He would just be the guy that is coming between 'Bella and Edward'. And in any case, even if Edward didn't read Connor's mind, Alice would have told him that I had made the 'decision' to sleep with someone else. Either way, I was screwed, and both of them would be hurt. I suppose I could take comfort that showing up with Connor wouldn't be a surprise to Edward.

Over the time that I had been alone, I was left to think about every detail leading up to that day in the meadow. I had come to my own conclusion that Jasper and Emmett had definitely not known about any of it. Alice knew, which when it had first occured to me, hurt almost as much as the day in the meadow. Carlisle and Esme knew of course. Rosalie had gone with Alice to Milan that day, so I was pretty sure that she knew. It was an odd feeling to know that things were kept from you. That Alice had taken the side of Edward over telling Jasper anything. Rosalie and me had gotten closer, but I was pretty sure that if she had known about this before she left with Alice, she would have jumped at the chance to tell me.

"Come on Bella."

"Okay. Let's go." Connor had broken me out of my enternal conversation with myself as I grabbed my bag and led the way off the plane.

AN: Who all is there?!? Wanna know? Leave a review! xoxo hdawn