I don't own Twilight or its characters. Stephenie Meyer does.
Cheryl, Noles, and Gabby, thank you for pre-reading, and April, thank you for editing. Any mistakes left are my own.
Ch 19
On my way home, I stopped by my father's office. I knew he'd be there today, since he had a new court case starting tomorrow. He was in with his client, going over last minute strategy, so I had to wait a few minutes. About fifteen minutes later, a couple left and his secretary, Jane, waved me in.
"Son, I'm surprised to see you. I was just finishing up and was going to head home soon," he said to me.
"I was hoping to talk to you alone first." I took a seat across from him.
"You're not in legal trouble, are you?" he joked.
"No. This is about my decision about where to go to college," I told him, taking a deep breath. My nerves were building about his response. But I had to stop acting like a coward and do this now, it was the first step to making things right.
"I thought you had decided on Harvard." He looked perplexed.
"I've decided on U-Dub. I sent in the acceptance forms last week." I gave him the first bit of news.
His face wrinkled in disgust. "Edward, U-Dub is near the bottom of the barrel for law. I know everyone is supposed to have a safety school, but they don't accept it if they get into better schools."
"That brings me to my second part. I know this is going to disappoint you, but I want to study medicine, more specifically, laboratory. I want to be part of studying diseases and trying to cure them," I told him.
Father sat back in his chair and steepled his fingers in front of him. He was silent for a few moments. "Why did you think I'd be disappointed?"
"Well, I know you've always expected me to join the firm one day, and this changes your plans," I stated.
"My plans?" His eyebrows rose.
He turned his chair and looked out the window. We sat in awkward silence for a few minutes before he swiveled back to face me.
"I've always presumed they were also your plans too. When did that change?" he asked stoically.
I shrugged. "I always felt like I was following a plan set for me. Recently, after helping at the center, I realized I want to do more to help others. At first, I was just considering oncology. However, I job shadowed Dr. Cullen and one of his colleagues, and it still wasn't the right fit. I spoke with Dr. Denali at the community center and took an aptitude assessment. The more I thought about it, the more I was thinking of how much I've always enjoyed labs in science class and then it clicked. I hope to work at hospitals like St. Jude, one day, and make a real difference."
"I see." He rubbed his chin. "Well, U-Dub's medical department is highly rated."
"So, you're not upset?" I questioned.
"Disappointed? Yes, a little. Upset with your decision. No, son, what you want to do is admirable, and you seem to have really thought it out," he said, surprising me.
"There's more," I said.
Dad raised an eyebrow. "Go on."
"I've been dating Bella Swan for about a month now," I admitted.
"I suspected something was going on at your meet. I thought your mother and I asked you to stay away from her," he said firmly.
"The two of you have judged her without knowing her. All you care about is her social status and her parents' bank account." I jumped out of my seat and started to pace. "If you knew her, you'd know how wonderful she is. She's working two jobs to put herself through college. While taking as many AP classes as me—actually she's taking one more. She's the most amazing artist, you should see her painting of the Olympic Mountain range—it's breathtaking. What little free time she has, she spends at the community center in Port Angeles. She has opened my eyes to how privileged and blessed I've been," I raved.
"You seemed to really like her," he said stoically.
"Like her? That's an understatement. I'm in love with her. She makes me feel like a better person," I declared.
Dad was silent for a while. He absentmindedly drew circles on his desk as he stared at me. "Bring her to family dinner tonight, so we can meet her."
"That's going to be a problem," I said as I sank back in my chair.
"Maybe you're right and it would be best to wait until after we tell your mother about the school plan changes. So, the next one," he instructed.
I shook my head. "That's not the issue."
"I'll speak to your mother. I'm sure I can convince her to have an open mind about Miss Swan." He surprised me.
"I think it's too late." I pinched the bridge of my nose. "She's really angry with me. I was trying to protect her from you and Mom, so I was keeping us a secret. Only at my meet it got all screwed up. She thinks I treated her like a dirty secret and now isn't talking to me. Which is why I knew I had to man up and speak to you about what I want."
"You feel as if you needed to man up to speak to me? We've been that hard on you? I always thought we were on the same wavelength...at least up until recently." Dad's eyebrows furrowed.
"I know what I want to do will never make me rich, and I know that was important to the two of you. You've made your opinions clear about Bella, without knowing her. I wanted to be happy, and I knew I couldn't be with your disapproval," I confessed.
He punched his fist into his hand a few times then pinched the bridge of his nose. I didn't realize I picked up the habit from him. He dropped his hand and sighed heavily. "I hate that you feel like you couldn't talk to me. But I understand, I'm largely at fault. Edward, I haven't talked much about my past, but that's mostly because I'm ashamed of it. My mother died when I was a boy, and then my father was a drunk, who barely could keep a job, and took it out on me. There were times, I've went months with a diet of peanut butter sandwiches and ramen noodles. He died in a drunk driving accident when I was seventeen; I dropped out of high school and worked several jobs to keep a roof over my head."
"You never finished high school?" I was shocked and confused.
"No. I was working for a lawn care business when I met your mother. I used to take care of her parents' lawn. Your mother wouldn't give me the time of day at first. Not until I saved her cat out of a tree. Not long after that we fell in love. She convinced your grandfather, William, to give me a job in his office. When he saw I was a quick learner, he encouraged me to get my GED then into college, and finally law. He offered to pay so I always felt indebted to him. I also got a taste of how the other side lived, and I vowed never to be poor again."
"Then, if anything, you should be more understanding to why Bella is working so hard," I pointed out.
"I never said I didn't. What I am realizing is that my fear of reverting back to my former life has made me narrow minded. And I've become a snob about my former life. I meant to shield you and Mary Alice, I never wanted either of you to be afraid to come to me—I wanted to be different than my father. I wanted better for you. But perhaps I have taken it too far. I want you to be happy, not miserable," he said.
"I don't know what to say." I felt overwhelmed.
"You don't have to say anything. I hope if Bella feels for you the way you obviously do for her, it will all work out," he said honestly.
"Mom will still be a problem," I pointed out.
He sighed. "I meant what I said earlier. I will speak to her. Your mother has always lived a privileged life and has never wanted for anything. But she does love you, and she did fall in love with a poor boy herself. What do you say we get the ball rolling by telling her about college tonight?"
"Okay," I agreed, feeling like he had my back.
NA
On Monday, I drove into school feeling as if some of the weight on my shoulders had been lifted. Things went better than I thought they would have with my mother. However, she was now expecting me to cure cancer or make some other huge medical breakthrough.
I couldn't wait to tell Bella how I finally told them everything. The only problem was, she still wasn't talking to me.
"Maybe I should have gotten her a necklace or a bracelet to apologize with," I spoke aloud.
"Stupid." Alice didn't even look up from her phone.
"That's what Dad does when he's in the doghouse," I pointed out.
"Mom loves jewelry. Have you ever seen Bella wear jewelry?" she questioned.
"Uh…no. Maybe flowers. What was the purple one in her corsage?" I asked.
"It was a lily." Alice put her phone on her lap. "But again, does Bella like flowers?"
"She liked the ones in her corsage." I shrugged.
"Then maybe, but seriously I think you're going about this wrong. Bella is straightforward and blunt. You probably have better luck just apologizing to her, without sucking up with gifts," Alice stated.
"You're right. I just really want this to go well." I pulled into the school parking lot.
I spotted her truck right away in its usual spot. I said a short prayer that I would be able to get her to listen to me.
A/N: I know a small cliffy. At least, Edward is taking small steps in the right direction. And if you wondering about the timeframe, it's hasn't even been 48hrs since their argument.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me.