The originals belong to Stephenie.
A million thanks if you are reading, reviewing, or recommending this to someone else to read...I know I do not reply to every review, but I read every single one of them and they all thrill me...just to know that someone is taking the time to show an interest in an author very under the radar in the fandom such as I am is actually quite an honor...so thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Song inspiration for this chapter is Foolish Pride, written and recorded by country artist Travis Tritt. It was the first single off his 1994 album Ten Feet Tall And Bulletproof.
Rated M for mature content and language.
Chapter 7: Shattered
PEACHTREE RD.
Bella was a typical woman preparing to go out for the day. In other words, she needed a good hour or two to get ready. While she did her hair and makeup, Edward inspected the condo and foraged for food. He was pleased with the way the place had been kept up. She spent a small fortune to keep a home available in the swanky area of Buckhead, and he knew the upkeep was expensive. He was relieved that he didn't have to bust anyone's chops for not taking care of her property.
He relaxed on the sofa with his snack while she took forever getting ready in the bathroom. He thought about the past week and how hard it had been without her, how the phone calls to nowhere had nearly driven him mad. He wondered why the phone here in Atlanta was disconnected and decided to check it out. At the desk, he saw that she had pulled the cord from the wall, effectively cutting off all contact to the condo. Shaking his head, he realized she must have been pretty upset and furious to go incommunicado that way. He re-connected the phone and answering machine and returned to the kitchen to scavenge for more food.
Several seconds later, the phone rang. If his hands had not been full with a plate and beverage glass, he might have made an attempt to answer it, but it was just easier to let the machine pick up. The sound of a man's voice stopped him cold.
"Hey baby, it's Jake. I had a blast the other night. Let's do it again soon. Call me". CLICK.
He set his food and drink down on the coffee table and walked to the answering machine and hit the play button, wanting to hear the message just left there. He didn't believe what he'd just heard.
"Hey baby, it's Jake. I had a blast the other night. Let's do it again soon. Call me". CLICK.
His hands began to clench and unclench into fists at his side. He could feel anger and jealousy boiling inside him. She'd better hurry up and come out of the bathroom and tell him who the fuck Jake was or he'd go in there and drag her out. He had been going insane without her for a week, anxious and desperate for contact, any contact at all, and she apparently had been fine down here in Atlanta with some asshole named Jake. He felt like breaking something.
She walked into the living room, refreshed and impeccably dressed for a day of window-shopping downtown. They'd agreed to spend the day together at a leisurely pace, enjoying each other's company, browsing the shops, searching for art and antiques for the condo. She looked lovely and desirable as always. He searched her eyes for clues, signs of deception. The thought made him insane with grief and wounded his pride.
Her arms went around him and her lips kissed him softly. His response was a terse question in the air. "Who the fuck is Jake?"
She stepped back from him, startled as much at his question as with the tone of his voice.
"What are you talking about, Edward?"
"You heard me. I asked you who Jake is", he repeated through clenched teeth.
He walked to the phone and played the message for her and when the call finished he looked at her and asked, "Who the fuck is this guy and why is he calling you? Why is he calling you "baby"? What did you have so much fun doing with him that he wants to do it again, Bella?"
She placed distance between them as she quickly grasped that he was angry and this was a side to him that she had not seen before. It unnerved her that he jumped to conclusions and obviously did not trust her. "I don't like the tone of your voice and the way you're speaking to me, Edward", she said.
"You're not answering my question. WHO THE FUCK IS JAKE?" he yelled.
"Just who in the hell do you think you're yelling at?" she asked him. She stood squarely before him now, her own anger brewing and the fury evident on her face. "You have some nerve questioning me!"
"I asked you a damned question and I expect an answer!" he shouted. "You packed and left me in the middle of the night without any warning and cut off all contact with me, and for the last week you've apparently been down here fucking around with some asshole named Jake".
"You get out", she spat. "Get out of here and go back to Los Angeles and your parties and clubs where you belong".
"So it's true then, you're not even going to try and deny it? What was last night all about, Bella?" he asked.
"I guess last night was nothing special, Edward if you're going to accuse me of unfaithfulness based on a telephone message. I think you'd better go now", she told him.
She struggled to hold herself together, determined that he would not see her break down and fall apart in front of him. How dare him! How dare he abandon her night after night doing God knows what with God knows who in those clubs and she had never questioned him, had never doubted his faithfulness! He had some nerve coming here and listening to an answering machine message and jumping to a conclusion about her character, never giving her an opportunity to explain about Jake. As if Jake Black could ever be anything more to her than just a boy she had grown up with and served drinks to in a bar, and who happened to be there the other night when she returned. They'd had a beer together and played darts and remembered the good old days. She was damned sure not going to let Edward treat her like a piece of trash for having an innocent time with an old friend.
"So that's it then? You're choosing him over me?" he asked incredulously.
Her response was to turn her back to him, giving him the silent treatment. The violent slamming of the door as he exited the condo rattled the crystal in her dining room hutch, splintering a vase on the top shelf, a symbol of the shattered wreckage of their doomed love.
She stayed up all night and cried into her pillow
And fought off the urge to just break down and call
Last night to find the fault seemed so darned easy
But now who's to blame don't matter much at all
She thinks if she calls him it just shows weakness
So the hurt goes on with every tear she's cried
Ain't it sad to see a good love fall to pieces?
Chalk another heartbreak up to foolish pride.
Turn out the lights the competitions over
The stubborn souls are the losers here tonight
And while the bridges burn
Another hard, hard lesson learned
And in the ashes passion slowly dies
And this romance goes down to foolish pride.
He relives every word they spoke in anger
He walks the floor and punches out the wall
To apologize to her to her would be so simple
But instead he cries "I'll be damned if I'll crawl".
If he loses her he's lost his best friend
And more than just a lover can provide
So he wrestles with emotions that defeat him
Chalk another love lost up to foolish pride.
Turn out the lights the competitions over
The stubborn souls are the losers here tonight
And while the bridges burn
Another hard, hard lesson learned
And in the ashes passion slowly dies
And this romance goes down to foolish pride.
Chalk another love lost up to foolish pride.
Author Notes: Um...the making up didn't last very long, did it? Despite amazing make-up sex, they solved nothing. It seems our boy jumps to conclusions and has jealousy and anger issues and Bella's first impulse is to run away or send him away. These two lovers need an intervention...stay with me to see who ends up helping! Remember what I promised: HEA. They just have to work through some things first.