Chapter 17
BPOV
Jacob was dead.
The news startled and excited me as I heard it, and I didn't know whether to jump up and cheer, or start to cry. I would never have to worry about him hurting any of us ever again. I wanted to find who ever did it, and hug them. I want to thank them for doing this, even if it was horrible, but they needed to be thanked. With them taking his life, they saved many.
That weekend we celebrated. We made up for all those days when we stayed home, afraid of leaving the house, in fear that Jacob would catch us somewhere and do something crazy. So we went out, and we had fun just like we did before the news of his escape broke. For the first time in days I was able to go out and enjoy the company of my loved ones, and I was shocked by how much I missed them.
Sunday night as soon as we got back from the movie theaters, we put our sleeping Lila in her room, shutting the door halfway and we went back to our room, where we made love well into the morning hours. The whole time Jacob was out, Edward and I barely touched. I couldn't get close to him, and even though I knew he understood why I was so distant, I still felt horrible about it.
We went to bed then, only 4 hours before we had to get up to go to work, and we got up as we usually do. Edward got up first, and went to the bathroom to start to get ready. I laid in bed, waiting for him to finish his shower before I got up, and once I heard the shower shut off, I threw the blankets off of me, and started to get up.
Only to fall back down on the bed when my head started spinning.
I laid back, trying to get the dizziness to go away, and that's when I felt it building up inside of me. I jumped up from the bed, and ran right past Edward, who was standing in the doorway, and barely made it to the toilet before I spilled out the contents of my stomach, which was barely anything. I feel Edward's hands rubbing my back softly as I dry heave over the toilet.
"Are you ok? What happened?" he asks, as soon as I pull my head up, and wipe the sweat off my face.
"I don't feel so good" I say, and Edward moves to the sink to grab a washcloth. He runs it under the water in the sink, and seconds later I feel the cool, damp cloth on the back of my neck. Once my head is not spinning as much, Edward bends down and wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me up into his arms and walking me over to the bed.
"I think you should stay home today. I'll take Lila to Alice's so you can rest, Ok?" he says and I nod my head, as he tucks me in, and walks into the closet to get changed. I take deep breaths, trying to keep the urge to vomit at bay, and for the most part, it works. Edward comes out of the closet a couple of minutes after, and kisses me as he walks by and out the door, to wake Lila and get her ready.
I must doze off, because the next thing I know, Lila is standing near my head, and stroking my cheek.
"Hi baby" I tell her, and reach my hand up to push some of her stray hairs from her face.
"You don't feel good, mommy?" she asks, and I shake my head. I tell her I'm going to get better while she stays with her aunt Alice, and that by the time she gets home, I should be better. Edward grabs her and kisses me on the lips, telling me he'll check on me in a bit, and I watch as the walk out of the room. The front door shuts, and I hear the car start and pull down the road.
After a couple of minutes, I grow bored of being in the silent room, so I get up and walk into the living room, grabbing the remote from the top of the entertainment center, and switching it on. My stomach feels like it's about to calm down, so I get up and make myself a bowl of cereal, eating it quickly in the kitchen and then rinsing the bowl off and putting it in the sink. I come back to the sofa, and tuck my legs underneath me, and settle in to watch a little bit of morning television. As I'm watching an episode of 'Saved By The Bell", I start to feel sick again, and as I feel the vomit start to rise, I toss the remote, and run into the bathroom, bending over the toilet just in time to empty the cereal and milk I just ate, as well as some bile. I heave over the toilet, still having the urge to throw up, but knowing that there's nothing left, and when I start to calm down, I reach up and wipe the sweat off of my forehead.
I move over to the sink once I've stopped, and I brush the foul taste out of my mouth. I scrub my tongue furiously, until I'm sure there's not a trace of vomit taste left, and I grab a piece of toilet paper and raise it to my mouth, wiping away the water and walk back into the kitchen. I toss the paper into the trash and turn back to rest my hands on the breakfast bar.
I don't remember coming into contact with anyone sick…. And usually Lila is the first one to get sick in this house, but she's fine. We went out a lot this weekend, and I don't remember seeing anyone looking sick or anything like that. Maybe it was something I ate. I think back to everything I've eaten in the past day that might be affecting me, but I can't think of anything. I remember one time I ate a bad piece of shrimp and I was hurling all day. What made it worse was that I was on my period, and the cramps from that mixed with the cramps from me being sick was horrible….
Wait a minute.
What's today?
I run into the kitchen, picking up the mini calendar I keep in the drawer by the fridge and start to flip through it until I come up to this month. I look through the days, and count in my head and realize my period is late.
Like 3 days late.
I pull my hand up to my mouth, not wanting to believe that this is happening. Could I be? I mean, I am sick as a dog right now, but I don't have any other symptoms besides being late and vomiting.
But maybe I am.
I walk out of the kitchen, and into my bedroom, grabbing my purse and making sue I have my debit card and then walking out to the kitchen, I throw my bag over my shoulder and grabbing my keys from the wall. I run out the door in the kitchen that leads to the garage, and unlock my car. As soon as I start the car, I press the button to open the garage door, and I pull out quickly, wanting to get answers as fast as I can. As soon as I hit the street, I press the button to close the garage, and I speed down the street, and 5 minutes later, I pull into a CVS.
I practically run into the store, smiling as I pass the woman at the from registers, and make my way to the back in the family planning section. I scan the selection quickly, before finding some Clearblue digitals, grabbing them and making my way back to the front registers. I place the box on the counter, and pull out my wallet as the woman rings up the tests. I pay and then she hands me the bag and the receipt and I go to run out, except I start to feel sick.
"Where are the bathrooms?" I ask her, and she points me to the back of the store, next to the pharmacy. I thank her, and walk quickly to the back of the store, and push through the woman's bathroom door. I hang my purse and the bag on the hook behind the door, and immediately hover over the toilet as I start to heave.
I wet my face with cool water from the sink once the heaves quiet down, and as I stand there in the bathroom, I decide I can't wait to get home to find out if I'm pregnant. I walk over to the door, and grab the bag, pulling out the box of tests. I pull both of them out, ripping off the foil from both tests, and sit down on the toilet.
Once I'm finished, I cap up both tests, and place them on the sink, while I wipe and flush and then tug my pants back up my legs. I pace in the small confines of the bathroom as I wait for the tests to come up, and once I'm sure it's been 3 minutes, I close my eyes, and grab the first test. I take a deep breath and open my eyes and my vision goes cloudy when I see the word I've waited to see.
Pregnant
I grab the second test, and start to cry when I see the same word on the screen.
I'm pregnant.
I think back to the time when this could have happened and I smile when I realize that this happened when we were in New York. My mind wander back to that night in the hot tub, and I can't fight the giggle that slips from my mouth.
I grab the tests, and shove them in my purse and take it off of the hook. After throwing it over my shoulder, I run out of the bathroom, and out of the store, get into my car, and start it. I need to go tell Edward. I would call him, but I want to see his face when I tell him the news, and I don't think I can wait until he comes home later on. I turn my car in the direction of the office, and I speed towards it, only slowing down once I reach the parking garage.
I pull into an empty spot, and grab my purse, smiling the whole way over to the elevators. I press the up button, and wait for the elevator to reach the garage and when the ding sounds off, I step close to the door, ready to get on. The doors slide open and I come face to face with Emmett.
"Hey Bells… what are you doing here? Edward said you were sick." he says, and I have to fight the smile from coming up and outing me.
"Yea. I just came to see if Edward wanted to go to lunch or something." he nods his head and tells me he'll see me later, and I step into the elevator, pressing his floor about 20 times, and bounce in my skin as I wait for it to reach his floor.
The ding signaling that I've reached the 10th floor sounds off, and I move to the doors. The doors are open halfway, and I hurl myself out of the elevator and down the hall to Edward's office. I get to the door and I'm about to knock when I hear a woman's laugh from the other side. I notice the door is open a crack, so I peak in.
And that's when my heart breaks and my world shatters all at the same time.
Lauren is sitting on Edward's desk, legs spread as I watch him turn in his seat and his body is right in between her legs. She reaches forward, grabbing him by the tie and pulling him towards her as she leans down to whisper something.
I don't need to see anymore. I let out a sob, and run down the hall, pressing the button to the elevator, and I'm relieved when the doors open automatically and I jump in and press the down button, taking me back to the garage. I run back to my car, and slip in, putting my keys in the ignition and pulling out of the garage.
I can't believe Edward would do this to me. I'm his wife, and he is supposed to love me, and I have his daughter. I come by to tell him the exciting news that we're going to have another baby and he's busy taking advantage of my absence to fuck his secretary.
I drive home, tears streaming down my face, not able to see the road, but somehow I make it home safe. I pull into the garage, and walk in through the kitchen, throwing my purse on the counter and walking into the living room. The sobs are coming out louder and harder now and I have to fight to keep my whole body from shaking as each tremor rolls through my body. The pain in my heart is unbearable, and I don't know who to turn to, or what to do about it.
EPOV
As I drive to work, I can't believe Bella is sick. We had such a great weekend after finding out what happened to Jacob, and now she's at home, sick, and I couldn't stay home with her because I had an important meeting today before lunch.
I park my car in the garage, and get out and walk over to the elevators, and step on. The ride to my floor is quick, and once inside, I walk down the hall to my office and get to work on some things I have to take care of.
About two hours after I got there, I hear a knock at my door and yell come in. Lauren walks in, wearing one of her tight skirts, and a see through violet blouse with a matching bra.
"Hi Mr. Masen." she says, walking over to my desk, and running her finger along the edge.
"Is there something you need, Lauren?" I ask, and she smiles. I roll my eyes, and turn my chair around and reach down to grab some papers from my brief case on the floor behind me. I get back up and turn my chair back around to face me desk, and that's when I see Lauren sitting on my desk, legs spread and skirt hiked up. Since I just turned around in my chair, my body is settled right in between her legs, and I know that if someone were to walk in right now, this would look really bad.
I try and shake off the shock, and say something to her, but she leans forward, grabbing my by my tie, and pulling me close to her. She brings her lips to my ear, and whispers.
"I'm not wearing any panties for you, Mr. Masen" she says, and I look up at her in shock as she raises her skirt up more and reaches down for my hand and tries to place it on her bare sex. I push back, sending the chair flying back to the wall and I stand up, clearing my throat and tell her she needs to leave. She smiles up at me and hops off the desk, keeping her skirt up, practically at her belly button and walking towards me.
"I see how you look at me Mr. Masen. You look at me like you haven't gotten a good fuck in years. And after seeing your wife, I think I know why, she looks so boring." she says as she finally stops in front of me. She brings her hand up and runs it down my chest.
"I'm not asking for love, Mr. Masen. I just want to give you what I know you want." her hands trail lower, and she's about to reach my groin, so I bring my hands out and grab her wrist, pushing her back. She stumbles back to the desk, and looks up at me with a look of shock on her face. He face changes, and she puts on an evil smirk as she tugs her skirt down.
"Wow Edward. I always thought your wife carried your fucking balls around in her purse, but this proves it. How about I go to the store and pick you up a new pair" she says coldly, and turns to walk out the door.
"Lauren…" I say, and she turns back around, smiling, probably thinking I've changed my mind. I walk closer to her. "How about when you're there, you pick yourself up an application" I say, and her look turns puzzled.
"You're Fired" I say, and she huffs and walks out, slamming the door behind her. I walk back to my desk, thankful that I finally got rid of her skank ass, and I'm about to continue working on some papers when Carlisle calls me and tells me it's time for the meeting. I grab my things and make my way to the conference room, getting there last and once I take my seat next to Emmett, the meeting starts.
An hour later, the meeting is wrapping up and Emmett leans over and asks me when Bella left. I look over at him confused.
"What do you mean?" I ask and he shakes his head.
"When I left to go get a snack, I saw Bella waiting for the elevator to come up." I furrow my brow, thinking about why I didn't see her.
"What time was this at?" I asked, and he looked deep in though for a second, before he tells me it was a little after 10. I try and remember what was going on at that time, and that's when I remember. Bella must have seen Lauren on my desk…. She must have thought….
Oh no
I stand up from my chair, and begin apologizing to everyone, but I tell them I have to go. I walk back into my office, where I grab all of my things, as well as my car keys, and that's when I see the light blinking on my phone, telling me I have a message. I pick up the receiver, and go into my voicemail.
"Hey Edward. It's Garrett. I found out a lot of things about James, and I emailed it to you. If I were you, I'd stay far away from him…." his message ends there, and as much as I want to get on the computer and check everything, I don't have time. I need to get to Bella….
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