AN: Sorry about not updating sooner,but I've been sick. First an ear infection,followed by a nasty stomach bug...
Chapter 18 - #118- Flaring tempers and crossed wires
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#118
O, beware, my lord, of jealousy!
It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock
The meat it feeds on.*
*William Shakespeare, Othello
This time the envelope and note # 118 was found in the glove box of Edwards car.
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Bella wasn't surprised to find a text message from Edward on her cell phone the following morning. It read 'You owe me icepacks and painkillers…and an apology would be nice too. Breakfast my room, eight sharp, don't be late.'
The written note on the floor by the door did not come as much of a surprise either.
'The longer you stick around the more I'll have to hurt him. Get lost bitch, he's mine!' was scribbled in a rough, but neat handwriting.
It was about as predictable as it was short. The red, blood like substance smeared all over the front door to her apartment, however, was a new touch …
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"Someone is working hard at getting their message across," was Seth Clearwater's comment upon seeing the mess on the door.
"Looks that way," Bella agreed. "I don't think it's real blood, but I want you to take a sample to the lab before you clean it up. Dust for prints and see if you can find anything. Oh, and have Paul check the video footage."
"Will do. We have no camera covering this particular angle but the one by the stairs should be sufficient enough. Did you notice anything unusual at all this morning?"
Bella bit her lower lip and shook her head. "Nope, I didn't fall asleep until two a clock in the morning, but after that I slept like baby."
"Good to hear that at least someone is getting some sleep around here. Our friends upstairs had another one of those slumber parties."
"Have they been up all night?"
"Pretty much. Cullen is in a lot of pain from what I have gathered. He has been up and walking every other hour or so."
"Is he still in his room?"
"Yes, he's the only one still in the apartment. The rest of them have left for work. Yorkie is keeping an eye on the stairs."
"Alright, I'm going to go talk to him. Can you make sure we get some privacy. We have some paperwork we need to go through," Bella said waving with the thick manila folder she had in her hand.
"Yeah sure, I'll be out here for another hour or so before I head back to the office."
"You'll let me know when you're getting ready to leave, right?"
"Sure thing."
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Bella was a little nervous about facing Edward after having left him in a crumpled heap on the bathroom floor the night before. To say she owned him an apology was to put it mildly. Her behavior had been highly unprofessional. Even though the technique she had used to render him immobile was considered relatively painless, she just knew there would be consequences for her actions. If there was one thing she had learned about Edward, it was that he could hold a grudge like nobodies business.
The apartment was dark and silent as she used her spare key to let herself in. Turning on the hall light, she called out his name, but was met with silence. From the hallway she went straight into the kitchen, but found nothing… no breakfast… no Edward…
"Cullen, I'm here to grovel at your feet. You better come out of hiding or you'll miss it!" she tried again. Still no response. Why wasn't he answering? A chill went up and down her spine as all kinds of possibilities ran through her mind.
There could be a perfectly natural explanation. He could be asleep. He could be in the shower. Perhaps he had sneaked out for a smoke, it wouldn't be the first time he managed to get passed Yorkie and Clearwater. Or he could have gotten himself into some serious trouble. After all, they did find blood in the building that very morning.
Gun in hand she checked the living room, all three bathrooms and a few other rooms she passed on her way, but found nothing. There was only one place left to search, the home office that now served as a spare bedroom. Could he really be sound asleep in there, he who never slept more than half an hour at a time?
She knocked on the door announcing her presence just to be on the safe side before she turned the door knob and tiptoed inside. Why she felt like tiptoeing she had no idea. The room appeared to be empty at first glance, but she wasn't sure what to make of the futon-looking-bed. There was definitely a lump of something on it, possibly a human body.
She was about to pull the covers off it when a sound from behind startled her. She spun around only to come face to face with none other than a very rough looking Edward Cullen.
"What do you think you're doing?" he asked abruptly, not bothering with greetings.
"Jesus, loaded gun over here. Its not wise to sneak up on someone… " the rest of the sentence died on her lips when she took in his appearance.
His hair was pointing in all directions, his chin was dark with stubble and his eyes… his eyes were huge, and dilated and dark. Sleep deprived and strung out on painkillers, no doubt.
'This ought be fun…. NOT,' she groaned inwardly as she tucked her gun away. "Sorry for barging in here like that, but you did invite me over and I did knock."
"Sorry for barging in here," Edward mimicked mockingly in a high pitched voice. "Sorry for barging in. Is that all you have to say, Swan?"
"I could throw in a 'good morning', but that seems like a bit of an oxymoron for you."
Edward clearly did not find that amusing in the least. "You'll have to do better than that," he stated with a sneer. "I specifically heard you say you were here to grovel. So get on with it already. I ain't got all day."
"You're going to milk this for all it's worth, aren't you?," Bella sighed.
His only response was a shrug, but his crossed arms and grimly set jaw were answer enough.
"I'm still waiting," he reminded her, taking a pointed step in her direction.
"Alright," she sighed in defeat. "Why don't we go sit down in the kitchen. This may take a while and besides you look like you could use some coffee."
For a moment, it looked like he was going to object, but then he simply nodded and gestured for Bella to lead the way. "I did promise you breakfast, didn't I? And unlike some people, I always keep my promises."
Bella refrained from rolling her eyes at him and heldback the snarky reply that she had instinctively lined up.
She knew better than to agitate him further. She even accepted his hand on the small of her back as she walked passed him.
Big mistake! She should have known better than to lower her guard. While his right hand rested on the small of her back, his left one gripped into the side of her hip steering her, in a not so gentle manner, towards the door. No scratch that, steering her towards the nearest vertical surface. Her reflexes were fast, but not fast enough. Not this time. Before she had a chance to react, Edward had pressed her up against the doorframe and claimed her lips in a brutal kiss.
Clearly she had underestimated his need to revenge his injured male pride. He knew exactly what spots to stab her at. He knew how to get to her and how to provoke her. He hadn't lost his touch. He knew all too well where to lick and tease to make her melt.
Her body wanted nothing more than to embrace him tightly, but her mind kept screaming at her to deck him… properly this time. She could have, it would have been easy; a knee to the groin or a side kick to his knee. She did neither of those things… Instead she willed herself to remain impassive, using all her will-power not to cling to him as his tongue probed the depths of her mouth in raw open-mouthed kiss.
Wait, an open-mouthed kiss? When did that happen? Damnit!
She clamped down her teeth on his tongue. Not hard enough to draw blood, but hard enough to make him to pull back.
She had to clutch the doorknob to steady her wobbly legs.
"By the Gods, Edward! Was that really necessary?" she exclaimed, angrily.
"What?" he asked, feigning innocence "I thought you came here with the intent to kiss and make up. Did I misread the situation?"
"I'm only here because I felt I owed you an apology, but you know what, screw that. Touch me again, again and you'll have some broken bones to add to that burned chest of yours.
"I don't think you really mean that." Daringly he trailed his fingertips down the side of her cheek as he spoke. "Besides, I'm a sucker for pain, haven't you heard?"
"Oh, is that so?" Snatching his hand away, Bella grabbed a hold on his wrist and twisted it into an unnatural angle. "Is that why you have been popping painkillers like M&M's the last twelve hours?"
His eyes widened, but he stood his ground, meeting her gaze, not even flinching for a second.
She stared him down, waiting, one eyebrow quirked in a challenge. She increased the amount of pressure on his arm until he finally, after what seemed like an eternity, looked away and raised his other hand in defeat.
"Okay, you win. I've had enough, but only because an arm cast would severely cramp my style, not to mention mess with my work schedule."
"Do we have an agreement then?" she asked stern voice, not releasing her grip until Edward nodded in resignation. "We stay professional from here on out. No touching, no kissing, no nothing," she clarified.
"If that's what you really want," he replied, flexing his wrist cautiously a couple of times, making sure it was uninjured.
"Yes, that's what I really want. Anything else would be unethical and difficult to explain to my superiors."
"Okay. I'll respect your wishes…. but only if you tell me this one thing."
"Cullen, you're in no position to-…"
"Let me finish. I'll drop this whole thing and keep my distance if you answer one question," he paused to make eye contact. "Why Jacob? What did he have that I didn't?"
"Seriously? That's what you want to know?"
"I've thought about this all night and I still do not get why you would pick him of all people to confide in?"
"Well, for starters, he was there when you weren't. He was loyal when you weren't. Don't think I don't know all bout that skank you went out with mere days after…" she hesitated, uncomfortably searching for the right word. "..after our final tryst."
"Vera? You've got to be kidding me, Rosalie's minion, Vera? You're still mad about that? I thought I explained this years ago. It wasn't a 'date' date. It was her senior prom and her stupid college boyfriend stood her up because of some rock concert or something. "
"So you stepped in to fill his shoes. How very noble of you. I bet she thanked you for it in her own skanky way."
"I didn't do it for her, I did it as a favor to my brother. If Vera didn't go to the f*ing prom neither would Rosalie." Edward said, racking his hand through his disheveled hair. "I didn't touch her, I swear."
"That's not what I heard, but whatever… It has no relevance to the point I'm trying to make. What I'm trying to say is that you weren't around when I needed you that summer. You weren't around when they cut off our electricity because no one had paid the bills or even opened mail for nearly three months. You weren't around when the fire department had to evacuate the entire neighborhood because Charlie nearly burned down the house trying to make pancakes at two o'clock in the morning. You weren't there when I needed you. You weren't there, because all this happened while you where off galloping around Europe."
It was a lot to take in at once, but it was that last sentence that really got to him. "Galloping? You think Austria was my idea? You think going away was my idea? I had no say in the matter, none at all. If your punishment was house arrest mine was music boot camp."
"Fine, I still think you could have found a way to tell me you were leaving instead of just disappearing like that, though."
"Like you told me about your father and everything that was going on with that, you mean? You weren't exactly innocent in all the drama that went down either..."
"I never said I was," she protested, indignation flashing across her eyes. "But at least I tried to make things right again. I did try to talk to you that first day you were back, but thanks to Riley Biers, the freaking leech, you had already heard all sorts of rumors about Jake and me and wasn't really receptive to anything I had to say."
"Can you blame me. You knew how I felt about that douche, yet you continued to spend time with him just to spite me."
"That douche was my friend and one of very few people Charlie allowed to set foot inside our house."
She raised her hand in a sharp gesture when Edward opened his mouth to protest. "Jacob sold his beloved car lend me money so that I could catch up on the bills that Charlie had neglected to pay. There was no way Renee would have let me stay in Forks if she had known there were unpaid bills and no electricity."
"Great, another proof that the sunliterally rose and set right on top of Jacob Black's head."
"At the time it felt like he was my only ally when everyone else was against me. You have no idea what I had to go through to convince my parents to let me stay in Forks one more year. Jake was offering his help, I knew I could trust him. I thought me going out on a few dates with him was a small price to pay in the grand scheme of things."
"Did I hear this right? He offered you money so you dated him?"
"Don't be rude! It was nothing like that. Yes, I did date him while you were away, mostly because he was good company and because it was a convenient way to get out of the house and away from Charlie's watchful eyes for a few hours. And When I say 'dated' I use the term in the loosest way. He was nice to me. We went to the movies a few times that's about it."
"Aww, he was nice to you, how very nice of him," he rolled his eyes, the sarcasm thick in his voice. "And you only went to the movies, I guess that makes it alright then."
"What did you expect? That I would sit around at home rolling my thumbs all summer? You where gone for weeks without making any attempts to keep in touch and then when you finally returned, you took Riley's words over mine."
"Firstly," Edward said, holding up one finger. "I DID try to contact you before I left, but you wouldn't answer your phone or come to the door when I came by your house."
"Charlie…."
"I know, you were looked up in your room, courtesy of chief Swan. I wasn't finished." He motioned for her to quiet down saying, "Secondly, it wasn't just Riley who was saying stuff. You and biker boy were the talk of the town. Not to speak ill of the dead or anything, but Jake never did anything just to be nice. He told everyone who would listen about his escapades with the police chiefs daughter." Edward didn't bother to hide the irritation in his voice. "He spoke about you like you were a piece of meat."
"I'm sure that's what it sounded like to you. He was obviously trying to get a rise and you took the bait as always."
"I caught him making out with some blond bitch behind the bleachers of the football field."
Sighing, Bella crossed her arms over her chest. "I know that."
"You knew, yet you still picked him over me."
"Gee Cullen, I wonder why? Your temper scared the hell out of me that day. I saw you beat him senseless. It wasn't just a few punches, you were pounding on him over and over again. I saw the look in your eyes, it was almost like you were enjoying it."
He answered without hesitation. "I did get a certain degree of satisfaction out of it, I'm not denying that. And I'm not going to apologise for it either."
"Fine, you don't have to. It doesn't change anything. We're not in high school anymore! I'm here to do a job, not reconnect with an old boyfriend."
"But if you weren't working you'd be all for it, is that what your saying?"
"Don't put words in my mouth," she said warningly.
"My bad," he said with raised hands. "But you can't tell me you don't feel the attraction between us. It's still there, if anything, stronger than ever."
"Here we go again. You can't possibly know what I feel or don't feel!"
"Can't I? Oh, I don't know, I thought the way you trembled in my arms when I kissed you pretty much said it all."
"Ugh… You promised you'd drop it. I can't get involved with you even if I wanted to. There is too much at stake. I could lose my job and you or someone in your surrounding could end up getting hurt or worse. I just can't afford to loose focus right now."
Edward took a step back and gestured to the door. "Okay fine…. Here I thought we were finally making progress, finally getting everything out in the open, but I guess I was wrong."
"Edward-"
"Go on, go do your job. Keep my family safe, that IS more important than anything else, I agree..."
Bella stared at him silently for a minute then she nodded and left the room.