Outtake 10

Life with Angela

She was always more than just my best friend. She was my sister in every way that counted. She was even before my parents took her in. Her parents' deaths were a tragedy that shook and angered the whole tiny town of Forks. Not only was the town angry that a teenage girl was left an orphan due to the stupidity of the whole Newton family, but the town really loved their chief of police and his wife. They were going to be missed for a very long time.

I will never forget the night they died. Bella was spending the night like she did quite frequently. It was their anniversary, Bella always stayed on their anniversary to give them some privacy. Only this time she never left. Mom and Dad immediately offered to take custody of her, even though just about the whole town was offering the same. Mom and Dad managed all her finances and settled the estate for her. They also agreed to help with the lawsuit against the Newton's. Mom and Dad were never the vindictive types, I mean; Dad is the town pastor and preaches forgiveness all the time. But this time, even he was having a hard time letting go. I think that part of it was that the Newton's just did not care. I remember clearly the day he came home from talking to Mr. and Mrs. Newton about helping out with the funeral expenses and Bella's other expenses. "I don't care what happens to that girl. Her parents should have been more careful and stayed out of our baby's way." That was the first time I ever heard my father swear too.

I was so glad that Bella had stayed late for a meeting at school and was not here to listen to this. Dad was on the phone to the lawyer that had been trying to contact Bella about suing the Newton's since the accident. Dad had just lost hope that there was an ounce decency left in that family and decided to take the path of revenge instead of forgiveness.

Before the accident, Bella and I had planned to go to college in Seattle together and share a dorm. But everything about our lives and our plans changed after her parents died. But so many things were still the same between her and I. We could always talk about anything with each other or say anything to each other and never get offended. We knew that we had the others best interest at heart.

I knew when she was considering having sex for the first time with Jacob. She knew when I was ready to take that step with Ben but he wasn't ready yet. She calmed me down considerably about the way that I was feeling rejected by reminding me that the door of not be pressured to have sex should always swing both ways and if both of us were not ready then it was not the right time.

She did end up sleeping with Jacob before I did with Ben. It may have been unladylike but she told me everything, and I mean everything, because I wanted to know from a first hand account. From then on, sex was a very open topic for the two of us. We even found a way to watch our first porno together. Yes, we compared, but we were never mean about it. Bella's relationship with Jacob ended a couple of months after that but that was because he was a big asshole who cheated on her.

It was nice to have someone to talk to about sex and not be embarrassed. We could never have discussed these things with our mothers and most of the other girls at school believed the stupidest shit. Like the time the guys started telling the girls that you can't pass a STD by having oral.

After the accident, Bella stopped talking about going to college. Even after she won the lawsuit. I knew that there was something bothering her and that bothered me. We could always and did always tell each other everything. If our fathers knew the things that their sweet "innocent" baby girls were discussing they would be appalled! Ok. So we weren't so innocent. We would have been sent off to convents never to be seen again. Even if we weren't Catholic. Bella used to tease me by saying that the pastors little angel was a devil in disguise. Maybe she was right because I still love to sin with my boyfriend quite often. And I do, too.

I have to say though, through all of that I was completely blindsided the night that Bella came to the dinner table the January before graduation and announced that she was not heading off to college in the fall with me but was headed out on her own for some big world tour. I have to admit that I did not take the news well. I ran out of the house and headed straight for Ben's house. He was out with Tyler but his mom let me cry on her shoulder and talk everything out. She managed to get me to see that if this was the path that Bella really felt that she needed to take then it was important as someone who loved her to support her and help her.

Later that night when Marsha drove me home, I sat down with Bella and my parents and discussed Bella's trip. Ever since she lost her parents Bella had felt this pull in her heart that told her that Seattle was not where she was supposed to be. There was something pulling her to the open road to experience life and to experience the world and find her true home. I knew that I was being selfish because I was going to miss my "sister" and best friend. So I let it go. I let her go.

Ben proposed to me at the graduation party that the town through every year. So many of the kids from town would leave after graduation and never look back. I was terrified that Bella was going to be one of them now. I was terrified that I was going to lose my best friend forever.

We all made sure that she had a brand new cell phone with an extra battery and an extra charger just in case. More than being afraid of losing her to a new life we were afraid of losing her in the same way that we lost her parents. She was going to be all alone out there in the world surrounded by strangers. She would be surrounded by dangerous strangers. I also made sure that she had plenty of mace on hand too.

Then, one night, not long after she left, she called from a hotel bar. She started telling me about a guy at the other end of the end of the bar that she said looked he was ready to cry. So I encouraged her to go over to him and talk to him. Ben was furious with me for encouraging her to talk to a strange man at a bar. "He could be a lunatic rapist for all you know Angela. You could have just encouraged her to her death!"

Luckily I was right and he was wrong. When we talked to him and got his whole story, Ben was sorry for having misjudged him. After a few phone calls with him we were happy that she was no longer alone on the road. Then the pictures started coming in and Bella, well she looked happier and healthier than I had seen her since her parents died. When I saw what this Edward looked like, I was stunned, she really hit the jackpot with that guy. She had agreed to send them to me so that I could live vicariously through her and then I would send them onto mom and dad how would show them to the town after the Sunday services.

I knew that Edward was perfect for her when he made sure that her family was there at their wedding. Although all of his issues did concern me quite a bit we bit my tongue and let it go. There was no way that I was going to ruin her wedding day. Besides, he seemed really nice and my father really liked him. And he loved her and she loved him and that was what was important. But I will admit that I was jealous of him. I knew then that she was never coming home, not that she had promised to anyway. Home for her now was wherever Edward was. Just like home for me was with Ben. We were studying business so that one day we could buy the sporting goods store from Bella. Neither Ben nor I were inclined to live anywhere but Forks. Our families were there and we loved it there. Still I cried for a whole two days after she told me that they found a house in Maine.

We still talked openly about her sex life and my sex life and everything in between. So, I wasn't a bit surprised when she whispered in my ear that she wanted some alone time with her husband. I totally got that and truth be told I wanted that with my man in our luxury suite too. So I dragged Ben from their room and down the hall to ours.

I really wanted to find a way to pay Bella back for everything that she has given us since she received that settlement. She's paid for clothes and trips and goodness knows what else she's done. She even threatened to start college funds for any children that Ben and I have. I had to stop her there, though. That would be our responsibility and there was only so much that I could willingly accept from her. There is a difference between accepting gifts and taking advantage and I did not ever want to cross that line.

A/N: Thanks to RandyWriter on Twi whose review to chapter 23 inspired me to write this.