Two days after my date with Sean, he showed up at the library with a single red rosebud. Mrs. Brady flashed me a knowing smile and left me alone at the counter with him.
"I had a really great time on Sunday, Bella. Since I couldn't call, I thought I'd stop by to see you. I hope you don't mind?" His cheeks held a faint pink blush and he kept his eyes on the counter. I couldn't believe he was nervous around me. I wasn't the type of girl that guys even noticed usually.
"I'm glad you stopped by." I murmured, and his clear blue eyes snapped up to mine, searching for something. I assume he found whatever he was looking for, because my favorite dimple made an appearance when he grinned. "Thank you for the rose. It's beautiful."
His hand twitched on the counter and I slid my own across the cool wood until my fingers rested over his. He looked down at our hands and smiled even wider before quickly grasping mine between his two large, warm ones. As he absently traced circles on the back of my hand with his fingers, he looked back up at me. "I wondered if you would like to go see a movie on Sunday?"
"Sure." I replied brightly. "That sounds great." Leaning in closer to him, I spoke in a hushed voice. "You know I've never been to a movie before either." The look of shock on his face should have embarrassed me, but instead I giggled.
"I think you should make me a list of things you've never done, Bella. I would love to be the one with you for all these new experiences." His hold on my hand tightened slightly, and his gaze was intense.
"That could be fun." I smirked. "I'll have to think about it."
"Please do." He replied. "I should really let you get back to work, I don't want you to get into trouble."
"Oh I'm sure Mrs. Brady doesn't mind. She's probably thrilled to see me meeting new people."
He looked over my shoulder where I'm sure Mrs. Brady was eavesdropping. "She is smiling pretty big."
"I'll see you on Sunday then?" I asked him.
"Definitely. I'll stop by Scooter's later this week to set up the details."
"Sounds great. Thanks again for stopping by...and for the rose." My cheeks burned as I blushed thinking about how sweet he was.
"My pleasure." He lifted my hand to his lips and gently pressed a kiss to the back of it. "See you soon."
Like a schoolgirl with a crush, I sighed as I watched him walk out of the library.
"What a romantic!" The sound of Mrs. Brady's voice right behind me made me jump. Her eyes twinkled and I knew she wanted details.
"He is pretty sweet." I admitted. She quirked an eyebrow at me. "We've only gone out on one date really. His friend is dating a girl I work with and we met at the restaurant. I went with them to a club after work one night and we talked. Then he asked me out and I said yes."
"Where did he take you?"
"We went to the boardwalk, rode some rides, talked on the beach...you know...that kind of thing."
"Well he seems very nice. Let me go put this in water for you." She winked and went to the back with my rose. When I went back to my desk later, it was sitting in a glass vase next to the computer and I couldn't help but smile. Maybe things were looking up.
~~**~~
"Bella! What is up with you tonight? If you don't at least fake a smile, you're not going to get shit for tips tonight." Marie had cornered me when I went back to refill some drinks. I'd had a major headache all day. I attributed it to the disgusting smell that had been permeating my hotel room for the past three days. Thankfully, Wednesdays weren't too busy, but the lights and noise were not helping the pain and Tylenol hadn't touched it.
"I've got the worst headache." I told her.
"Did you take anything for it?"
"Of course." I scoffed. "I've been taking Tylenol all day and it hasn't helped at all."
"Let me guess, you feel nauseous, the lights and noise make it worse, and you just want to crawl into a dark cave and sleep until it goes away?"
I nodded.
"Oh sweetie, you have a migraine. Tylenol won't do shit for that. Have you had any caffeine today?"
"No."
"Ok, I'm going to get you a soda and some Excedrin. I'll be right back." She scurried away and I finished with the refills, taking them back out to the waiting couple. After making sure my three tables had everything they needed, I returned to where Marie was waiting for me. She handed me the pills and soda, and I downed them quickly, hoping they would work fast.
"Only two more hours sweetie and you can go sleep it off. I know how bad those things hurt. You should have taken tonight off." Marie patted me on the back gently and returned to the floor. I followed and hoped that the medicine kicked in quickly.
Thirty minutes later and the throbbing had dulled some. The lights in the restaurant were dimmer now that it was later and it helped a bit. Marie had even convinced Dan to turn the music down a little. While I still wasn't Dan's favorite waitress, I had managed to avoid being fired so far. I had been working hard to keep my job and I guess it's true when they say practice makes perfect. The longer I worked here, the more I got the hang of things. I was even less clumsy than usual, especially in the beginning of the week. By Friday I had to work hard not to trip over my own two feet though.
Even though the hotel was a hovel and the place smelled of rotten eggs, I was glad to get back to my room. I just wanted to burrow myself under the covers in the dark and sleep until this awful headache subsided. Unfortunately, when I pulled up, the creepy guy was standing uncomfortably close to the door to my room. He had been standing out in the parking lot every night since I first noticed him on Sunday, and it was worrisome. He seemed to recognize my truck and he looked up as I killed the engine. The hairs on the back of my neck immediately stood up and I got a chill. Taking several breaths to calm myself, I pulled the pepper spray out of my purse and made sure my finger was on the trigger. In my other hand I held my room key, ready to insert into the lock. In hindsight, I probably should have pulled out and driven around until he left, or maybe found a security guard or manager to assist me. However, my bed was on the other side of that door, and that's all I wanted at the moment. I quickly exited the cab of the truck and kept my head down, but before I could make it past the front fender, he was there. Surprisingly, he looked very clean and well put together. He didn't smell like alcohol or body odor, like any of the other bums I'd run into around here.
He spoke quietly. "Miss, I need to talk to you. Don't be alarmed. I'm not going to hurt you." The, he reached into his coat, and I panicked. Spraying the little canister in the direction of his face, I took off for my door.
"Shit!" He exclaimed, but I didn't hear him trying to follow. A minute later and I had my door shut and locked, with a chair braced in front of it. Then I realized I was shaking uncontrollably. I continued backing away from the door until I found myself in the bathroom, and I locked the door there too. Collapsing on the closed toilet, I tried to catch my breath and calm myself down. There were no phones in the room, so it's not like I could call for help.
I was stuck.
After a good amount of time had passed, I let myself out of the bathroom and listened intently to the noises going on outside my room. I didn't hear anything concerning, so I thought I should try to get some sleep. Making sure I had the pepper spray next to me, and my keys in my hand, I crawled under the covers with my clothes and shoes still on. I must have laid there for hours, straining to hear any hint of a sound that may indicate the guy was outside waiting for me. Miraculously, I finally drifted off to sleep.
The dream started as it usually did, with me searching through the forest. The people who were supposed to be there for me disappeared right before my eyes. Then I found myself inside the house I had shared with my father in Forks. Everything was lit with sunlight filtering in through the windows and I could see every particle of dust floating through the air. It was eerily quiet, and then a loud banging made the walls of the house shake. The pounding didn't stop and I started moving towards the front door, only it was as if I was moving in slow motion and couldn't force myself to go any faster. The next thing I knew, a large noise like an explosion ripped me out of my sleep and I was sailing through the air towards the dresser on the other side of the room. My head smacked into the dresser, and before everything went black, I vaguely recognized the guy from outside laying prone on the floor next to me. Lights were flashing outside of my door, which had been busted in and there was a lot of smoke.
The man took in my surroundings and then scrambled closer to me. "Hold on, Miss. Stay awake." He sat by my side offering me comfort by holding my hand.
I came to in the back of an ambulance, and immediately tried to sit up. When everything tilted and began spinning, I decided I should probably lay back down. It turns out the paramedic next to me thought that was a good idea too.
"I'm fine." I told him. "Just dizzy and my head hurts. I need to go. I have to get my things." I didn't want to think about my belongings sitting in my room exposed for just anyone to take. This wasn't the best part of town and most of my money was in my room.
"You're not going anywhere. Just lay back and try to relax." He continued, asking me questions about my medical history and if I hurt anywhere else. I answered his questions, and insisted that he let me go.
"I have to go to work in the morning, and if I don't get some sleep, I'm not going to be worth anything." I tried to reason.
At that moment, the guy from the parking lot stepped up to the back of the ambulance. He had taken his coat off and I noticed a badge clipped to the pocket of his shirt. I groaned, realizing that I'd sprayed a cop with pepper spray and I was probably about to be arrested.
"Can I talk to her for a minute, please?" He asked the paramedic, who consented and climbed out of the back, making room for the other guy. Once he was sitting next to me, he introduced himself. "I'm sorry we didn't get to meet earlier, I'm Detective Brown."
"Bella Swan." I mumbled.
"Well, Miss Swan, I'm glad that someone has apparently taught you how to take care of yourself." He chuckled. Was he actually laughing at the fact that I inflicted searing pain on him? "I haven't had anyone use pepper spray on me effectively since my days in training."
"Sorry...I thought you were some kind of creep." I couldn't make eye contact. I knew my face was burning with embarrassment.
"No, no. I was undercover, so I guess I should be happy to know I played my part well enough to fool you." He chuckled again. "I just need to ask you a few questions and then they'll take you to the hospital."
I groaned. "I don't want to go to the hospital."
"You've got a nasty bump on your head and you probably need a couple stitches. They'll want to keep you for observation and make sure you're ok. Breathing in those fumes can be dangerous."
"I'm fine. I just really need to get my things from my room."
"Um, there isn't much of a room left, but I promise you that as soon as they give the all clear, I will personally gather up anything salvageable and bring it to you, ok?"
I'm sure the panic was evident on my face. Anything salvageable? What the hell happened? "What the hell happened?" The words slipped out before I could stop them, and I clapped a hand over my mouth in surprise.
"Miss Swan, did you know the people in room next to you?"
"No. I never saw them, even in passing."
"Did you notice anything strange going on next door? Lots of people coming and going? Noises? Smells?"
"Not really. I'm not here a lot, and when I am, I'm usually sleeping. I did notice a horrible smell though. It started on Sunday."
"Do you stay here alone?"
"Yes."
"Where do you work?"
"During the days I work at the library on Portola. In the evenings, I work at Scooter's."
"Do you have a phone number where you can be reached?"
"Um, no. I guess you could call me at work if you needed to. Will you tell me what happened now?"
"We were working on a bust. The people in the room next to you were running a meth lab. That smell you mentioned was from that. I tried to warn you tonight that you should go somewhere else, but..." He chuckled.
"I'm so sorry." I cringed, waiting for him to read me my rights or something.
"Nothing to worry about. I should have tried a different approach. Tonight we were moving in, and I wanted to make sure you were safe. Meth labs can be volatile, as you saw when the place exploded. As soon as the team started to move in, I tried to alert you and get you out of harm's way, but you had that door secured pretty well. I'm sorry I didn't get you out of there sooner."
"Whoa. Wait. So the people next door were making drugs and the place exploded?"
"Yes. I'm sorry I wasn't able to warn you in time. I...I have a daughter your age and I can't imagine her being in a situation like that. I wanted to help, but I couldn't risk blowing the investigation either."
"You were just doing your job." I replied absently. "So my room exploded?"
"Not entirely. The room next to you exploded. Your mattress and bedding protected you from most of the blast. You were very lucky. It could have been much worse."
"All my things are destroyed then?"
"I'm not sure. I won't know until I can get in there and see. Do you have someone I can call for you?"
"My truck! Is my truck ok?"
He eyed me curiously. "Your truck is fine. Is there someone I can call? Your parents maybe?"
I breathed a sigh of relief. As long as my truck was ok, things would work out. "I don't have parents."
His brows knit together in concern. "Oh. I'm sorry. Do you have someplace to go?"
"I'll find someplace." I gave him a tight smile. Why did these things have to happen to me? Just once, couldn't things go my way? My eyelids started feeling heavy and I was suddenly very tired.
"Detective? We really should get her over to the hospital, if you're finished?" The paramedic was back.
"I was just finishing up." He turned back towards me. "Miss Swan, I'll gather anything from your room that might be salvageable and make sure your truck is secure. I'll be by to see you tomorrow. Take care." Detective Brown gave me a warm smile and patted my arm before leaving the ambulance.
I was going to continue to argue that they let me go, but the paramedic insisted I needed stitches, so I gave in and let them take me to the hospital. I hated hospitals.
~~**~~
Beep...Beep...Beep...Oh for goodness sakes!
Other than the nurses waking me up every two hours through the night, I actually slept pretty well. There were no nightmares, whether that was because of pain medication or the fact that I didn't get to stay asleep long enough to start dreaming, I wasn't sure. Whatever they gave me for my headache was a heck of a lot better than Tylenol. It was now just a dull ache, and I really didn't want to open my eyes. However, a soft knock at the door forced me to pry my heavy lids open and greet whichever nurse had come to torture me this time. As the door opened, I was shocked to see a familiar blond doctor entering my room.
"Dr. Cullen?"
He gave me a warm smile. "Bella. It's good to see you again, though I wish it was under better circumstances."
"Yeah. We really should stop meeting this way." His presence unnerved me. "How...Why are you here?"
"Detective Brown found my number in your truck. He thought you should have someone by your side in case you needed help."
"Oh no. I'm so sorry. I told him there was no one to call. I never expected him to go looking through my things. Honestly, I'll be fine, you can go back home. I'm sorry you got called into this mess."
During my tirade, he had quickly made his way to the side of the hospital bed. "Bella, calm down. It's not a problem. I told you we'll always be here for you and we will. I'm glad they called me."
Tears of embarrassment slid down my cheeks. Traitor tears. If I had to be honest, I was happy to see him. I also wanted to know if anyone else came with him, and I didn't want him to leave. But, darn it, I was supposed to be doing this on my own. I left. Knowing that things continued to spiral down for me, made me feel helpless.
"I'm fine. You don't have to stay." I mumbled.
"Shh, Bella." He wiped away my tears with a tissue. "I know you wanted to go out and do all this on your own, and it looks like things didn't turn out as you had hoped. It's ok to ask for help, Bella. There's nothing wrong at all with leaning on those who care for you."
He looked over some papers in his hands before continuing. "You know you're pretty lucky, considering what happened." Dr. Cullen briefly looked over my injuries and the machines I was hooked up to. "It's a nasty bump and you got four stitches, but you should be fine. They think you might have a slight concussion and would like for you to have someone stay with you for the next couple days. Other than that, just a few scratches and minor lung irritation. You should be fine once your head wound heals. You'll be released this afternoon as long as nothing else changes."
"So I can go to work tonight then?"
His topaz eyes widened. "I'm not sure that's such a good idea, Bella. You need to rest and let your body heal."
"Yeah, well it won't matter how healed I am when I don't have a job any longer." This really couldn't be happening to me. Dan would fire me in a heartbeat if I had to take time off.
Dr. Cullen's lips flattened into a thin line. "We need to talk, but there are a bunch of people in the waiting room who want to see you. Are you feeling up to having visitors?"
Visitors? Who would be out there waiting for me? "Um, I guess?"
Not two seconds later a tiny blur of black and white launched herself into the room. "Oh Bella!" She squealed, hugging me tightly. "I'm so glad to see you again!"
"Alice? What are you doing here?" I couldn't help but smile at my hyper little friend from Forks.
"Well they called Dad, and you know I wasn't going to just sit at home and miss out on a chance to see my best friend!"
Movement behind her caught my eye and I saw Marie and Sean enter the room. I couldn't help the disappointment I felt that Edward hadn't come. Sucking it up, I greeted my other two friends with a warm smile and gestured for them to come closer.
"Alice, this is..."
"Oh, we already met in the waiting room." She cut me off.
Marie leaned over the bed and gave me a quick hug. Sean grabbed my hand and kissed the back of it.
"Oh Bella, we were so worried! I saw the news and I knew that was where you were staying. I wasn't sure which room of course, but when I drove by... I just knew. I'm so glad you're ok!" Marie spoke almost as quickly as Alice. Sean was strangely quiet and just held my hand. "I mean, I knew it was a bad part of town, but who would have guessed they would have a meth lab in the room next to yours. It could have been so much worse..."
"I know Marie. It's ok. I'm fine. Anyone who knows me, knows it's just my luck that I'd have the room next to an exploding meth lab. I'm a danger magnet." I tried to lighten the mood. I wanted to see Sean smile, but his eyes were clouded with concern. "Um, can you guys give me a few minutes alone with Sean?" I rearranged my face into a reassuring smile, keeping my eyes on him.
"Sure." Marie winked.
Dr. Cullen looked back and forth between the two of us, his eyes pausing on our joined hands, before he ushered Alice out of the room. Alice was not entirely happy and let me know she would be back in a few minutes.
"Hey." I called to Sean softly when the door shut behind them. "What's wrong, Sean?"
He let out a shaky breath. "God Bella, I had no idea."
"What do you mean?"
"That you were staying in a place like that. If I had known..."
"What Sean? You would have swept me off my feet and taken me to your castle?" He winced, and I knew my words had hurt him. I didn't want to be mean, but it's not like there was anything he could have done for me.
"No, that's not what I meant. It's just that maybe I could have helped you find someplace else, or you could have stayed with me until you found a new place. That hotel...the things that go on there..." Sean looked like he was about to cry. "It's no place for someone like you, Bella."
"I'm sorry, Sean. I didn't have much choice."
"I know. I'm sorry. I just want to protect you." He still hadn't looked me in the eye. I reached up and gently traced the curve of his cheek with my fingers.
"It means a lot to me that you care." I told him earnestly. "I'm not used to that."
"You have a room full of people out there that care for you, Bella. You don't have to be alone." His eyes finally met mine. "They want to be your family. You should let them." He whispered.
"What are you talking about?"
"You have no one, Bella. You work constantly with hardly any time to sleep, let alone do anything else. You're wasting away and you deserve so much better. You should go back to Washington with them. They really care for you."
"Sean...it's...it's complicated. They don't want me."
"They rushed down here the second they heard you were in the hospital. How can you say they don't want you?"
"If I go back, I won't be staying with them. I'll have to live with another family. Strangers. I'd rather be on my own."
"Why would you have to live with another family? I don't understand, Bella."
After a deep breath, I decided to come clean. "Sean, I'm only seventeen." He dropped my hand. "When my father died, I found some information about my mother. I thought she had died when I was fifteen, but it turns out that she signed away all her rights to me in exchange for a divorce from my father. The Cullens took care of me for a little while and helped me find my mother. Because I was only seventeen, I would have been placed in foster care. The Cullens already have five teenagers, they didn't want another one. I would have had to go live with strangers. Well, I knew the daughter, but I'd never met the family, and I was scared." I lowered my voice to barely a whisper. "My father abused me, Sean."
Sean grabbed my hand again. "Oh, Bella..." I shook my head. I didn't want to talk about that aspect of my past any more than I had to.
"So, once I knew where my mother was, I left to go find her before they could place me in that other home. Only, my mother didn't want me. She was happily married and pretending I didn't exist. I couldn't go back to the Cullens, because I'd be forced into a foster home. So I picked a town and tried to make it on my own."
We were quiet for a while. I realized I didn't know what Dr. Cullen's intentions were. Would I have to go back to Forks now, or would he let me stay on my own? Where they simply here to make sure I was ok, or was there a deeper motivation?
"I think you should go back, Bella. If the family they place you with is no good, all you have to do is tell someone. Dr. Cullen wouldn't let any harm come to you."
"Sheesh, what did you guys talk about out there?" I joked.
"All I know is that they care a lot about you. Out here on your own is no life for someone with as much potential as you. You deserve a chance at a good life, and I just know you could have that if you went back. Even if you aren't living with the Cullens, they'll still be there for you."
"Thank you, Sean."
He looked surprised. "For what?"
"For being there for me. For looking our for my best interests. You're a wonderful guy, you know that?"
"I am?" He finally gave me a smile.
"Yeah, you are."
"You deserve better, Bella. Let them take care of you." He pleaded once more, and we were interrupted by a nurse. "Well I'd better go and give some other visitors a chance." He leaned over and gently brushed his lips against my cheek. "Feel better soon." With one last quick squeeze of my hand, he let go and left the room.
By the time the nurse finished, my eyelids were heavy again and I drifted off to sleep once more.
At first, when I woke again, I assumed my room was empty. Then I saw him. Edward.
I blinked rapidly, wondering if I was hallucinating.
There he stood, in all his glorious beauty, leaning casually against the wall near the corner in the shadows. His bronze hair perfectly messy, and his alabaster skin smooth and pale. He was more magnificent than I remembered. Instinctively, I inhaled, hoping to catch a hint of his delicious, comforting scent. He stood perfectly still, yet his eyes were locked on me and I could not make out his expression.
"Bella." He murmured, almost reverently. Hearing his velvet voice speak my name caused my heart to jump, and the embarrassment from hearing the machine picking that up caused me to blush furiously.
"Edward." His name came out barely a whisper, but he heard me. With leonine grace, he pushed off the wall and stalked across the floor to my bed. His eyes flashed with some unreadable emotion as he seemed to drink in the sight of me. As our eyes met, we said everything and nothing at all. The ache of loneliness that had haunted me these past months was soothed. I felt whole. His hands twitched as he held the metal bar on the side of the bed, and I wished he would touch me. I'd missed him.
"Come home?" The subtle pleading tone in his voice made my whole body tingle. Home. I didn't have a home, really. Hearing him refer to Forks as home for both of us simply felt right. I was incapable of coherent thought, so I nodded. Slowly, the tension melted from his stance and he tentatively reached out to cup my cheek with his cool hand. I leaned into his palm and felt the familiar tingle of electricity that hummed between us. Brushing my nose gently across the inside of his wrist, I breathed in the very essence of him.
Home.