Twilight and New Moon belong to Stephenie Meyer.
This chapter is much longer than others, so many of you should be very happy. This should explain some things that happened last chapter, that some people seemed to be very angry about... Enjoy!
The day before-
My last night's epiphany had me waking with a smile on my face. My overly loud alarm clock didn't bother me at all. I didn't even slam on the snooze button. I practically skipped to the bathroom to take my shower. When I was done and dressed, I went downstairs and had myself some delicious cheerios. I heaped on sugar with a smile, and even read the back of the box. Yes, it was that kind of wonderful morning.
When my mother came downstairs, she looked a little grumpy. My mother was never a morning person, but today she seemed really out of it. When I greeted her with a pleasant 'good morning' she just grumbled and started poring cereal. I didn't pester her any further.
After I had finished and cleaned my dishes, I grabbed my backpack and headed for the door. The bus came a few minutes to late, so I spent the time humming one of Edward's songs. It felt so good to be able to think his name without a horrible pain starting. Now, when I thought of him, I only remembered the good times, so it didn't hurt.
My good mood was temporarily ruined when I saw who was sitting in my usual seat on the bus. Her bleach blond hair was like a warning sign, cautioning of the evil that lurked within her. Amber sat there, her arms folded across her chest, and the thought 'if looks could kill' was all I could think of when I saw her face.
But this wasn't enough to completely spoil my mood. I walked up at sat in the seat across the aisle.
"Good morning, Amber." I said with a smile. Her glare darkened, if that was possible.
"Don't 'good morning' me. I thought I told you the rules." She spat out at me.
"Actually, you never really gave me any actual rules. You just told me that I couldn't go out with Brendon. And I'm not. So I haven't broken any rules. But of course I couldn't break them since you didn't give me any." I said smiling. She seemed dazed for a second, trying to understand what I said in her small little brain, I suppose. Then she became even angrier.
"Stop being such a smart ass. You know what I mean. I saw you riding on his motorcycle yesterday. He's never let anyone ride with him before."
"Oh really? How interesting. Have you ever asked before? I'm sure he'd let you, he's very nice." I said innocently. She scowled and looked away. "Oh, so you have asked! But if no one's ever ridden with him, you must have been rejected!"
"Shut up!" she yelled, and earned herself a glare from the bus driver. "Just back off, okay? Or you'll be sorry!" and she got up and stormed to the back of the bus with her friends. Score one for team Bella.
At school, we all filed inside, and I saw Amber run over to her friends. She started pointing at me and I think I actually saw a tear. How juvenile.
"What are you looking at?" I heard a velvet voice ask. I turned to see Brendon at my side, smiling down at me.
"Just some of your fan girls gossiping. I was threatened today because of you, you know. You are a horrible influence in my life." I replied. His face became worried.
"Threatened? By who?" he asked, with real concern in his voice. I pointed as we started to walk.
"Amber. Apparently she thinks your reserved…for herself of course." He was surprised for a moment, then chuckled.
"She never did get message that I didn't like her. Perhaps she should develop a new found hatred towards me…" I gaped at him. "What?" he asked.
"You wouldn't really do that, would you? Just change someone's opinion on a whim." He shook his head.
"No, I'm not that cruel. I only use it out of necessity. My family also has strict rules on using it at home."
"Make's sense. Or else you'd probably have every sport car on this side of the globe." He just laughed, then looked at me questioningly for a minute. Eventually, he stated,
"You seem a lot better…from when I left you last night. Are you sure you're okay?"
"Don't worry, I feel a hundred and ten percent better." I retorted grinning. His look was unconvinced. I shrugged, "I had an epiphany last night."
"An epiphany? About what?" he questioned as the bell rang.
"Love, of course!" I replied as I walked into homeroom, leaving him with a look of complete bewilderment.
The rest of the morning passed without a hitch. My classes seemed to whiz as I jotted down notes, answered questions, and doodled little hearts on the side of my papers. When lunch came around, Stacy had already asked me about my 'date' with Brendon, which was apparently the new rumor around school.
"Are you guys actually dating?" she asked tentatively. I shook my head.
"Nope, it's only a rumor. We're just friends." She nodded.
"I thought so. He seems to really like you though." I gave her a puzzled expression, and she rolled her eyes, "Come on, Bella, you have to see the way he looks at you sometimes." I just kept starring at her as she pushed me toward his table in the cafeteria. He seemed to be waiting for me. I sat down and opened my lemonade.
"How has your day been?" he asked, "Any more epiphanies?" I just laughed.
"No, just a regular day." I answered, "And you?"
"Nothing to important has happened, but I have heard some rather interesting rumors. Apparently there is a rather large scandal that the two of us have created."
"Oh, you heard it too?" I replied. "Sorry, I didn't know this would happen. I was sort of just trying to annoy Amber, but I guess she took it the wrong way. I told her we weren't dating but I guess she-"
"Stop apologizing. I really don't mind." He said with a smile.
Something strange started to worry me than. What Brendon had said last night about thinking I was beautiful. How Stacy had said that he looked at me in a certain way. Just now how he had said that he didn't mind if people thought we were dating. Did Brendon actually have feelings for me? Was that even possible, seeing as we had only met a few days ago?
But I knew it was possible. Hadn't I fallen for Edward after our first meeting? Love at first sight was something I knew all to well. But Brendon knew about my past. He wouldn't try to do anything. Besides, he had said that he only wanted to be friends, right? Apparently I had been thinking for most of the lunch period, because suddenly the bell rang. I glanced back at Brendon.
"Sorry, I really spaced out there." He just laughed.
"Its fine, I don't mind. Do want a ride home today? I doubt you want to get back on the bus with Amber." He asked sincerely.
I doubted for a moment. Perhaps he did have feelings for me, then what did accepting this offer mean. But I quickly erased that reaction. He was right, riding the bus with Amber and her friends was a really bad idea. So I nodded and said, "Sure, sounds good." And his answering smile was dazzling.
After school, I once again donned his helmet, and got onto his motorcycle. I managed not to kick him this time, which I was thankful for. We pulled out and drove home too fast, and I handed him back his helmet and thanked him for the ride.
When I got into my room, I was almost expecting him to be there. He wasn't of course, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I turned on Edward's CD and started my homework. When my mom got home, I finished up the last of my history, and headed downstairs to cook some dinner. She had the same look on that she had this morning, and I decided to question it.
"Hey mom, you look sort of out of it. Are you feeling alright?" she glanced over, seemingly pulled from a distant thought.
"No, it's nothing, honey. I'm fine." But the look didn't leave her face.
"Mom, something is obviously bothering you. What is it?" I asked glaring at her and putting as much authority into my voice as possible. She looked at me, then sighed in defeat.
"It's your dad, I'm worried about him." She told me.
"Who, Phil? What, is he sick?" I inquired. She shook her head.
"No, not Phil, Charlie. I called him last night." I dropped my spatula.
"You called Charlie?! What for?" I practically choked out. My mother and Charlie were not on the best terms. They hardly ever spoke when they didn't need to. The fact that she had called him of her own free will was hard to understand. The idea that she was concerned about him was even more astounding.
"I don't know…I was worried about him. You had been living with him for so long, I guess I figured he might be having a hard time adjusting. He sounded really bad on the phone, and you know how old he's getting. His health isn't the best anymore. I just hope he's going to be okay…" she mused.
I was petrified. Charlie was sick. Because of me, he was sick. That hit me hard. I had never even thought of his feeling when I decided to leave. Now, he was ailing because I had been selfish and left. I felt horrible. My good mood was officially gone.
I thought about that for the rest of the night. Even when I was sleeping, I had horrible dreams about being at his funeral and crying my eyes out. When I woke up, it seemed I had been actually crying in my sleep. I got ready with a little less pep that morning, even though it was a Friday.
When I headed out the door to catch the bus, I found a shiny blue corvette waiting for me. Leaning against the passenger side was Brendon. When he saw me he smiled.
"Thought you might like a ride to school today," he said opening the passenger door. I gave him a weak smile and got in. I was too depressed to think what implications this might have. As we drove to school at a speed I knew was over the speed limit, but was too miserable to look, Brendon asked,
"Are you alright? You don't seem so good." I sighed and looked out the window.
"It's my dad, Charlie. I never told you about him, did I?" He shook his head.
"You mentioned him at some point, I think. But you never really went into detail."
"He's my father, him and my mom divorced when I was a kid. He lives in Washington, where I used to live with him." I said, still distant. We were sitting in the school parking lot now.
"Is he alright?" Brendon asked with concern. I shook my head, and I could feel tears coming.
"He's really sick. My mom called him, and ever since I left…I don't now, I guess he got lonely, and I never thought that my leaving would harm him so much, but it seems like he was hurt by it, and now he's sick, and it's all my fault…" my words had involuntarily sped up, and the tears were streaming down my face now.
"Don't cry," I heard Brendon say as he began to stroke my hair. I looked up at him and he wiped a tear off my face. "He'll be okay. We'll figure something out. Don't worry." Then he smiled at me, and I couldn't help but smile back.
"Thanks Brendon…you're a good friend." I said to him after drying my face. For a second it looked like he was disappointed by what I said, but it was a fleeting expression as he gave me a warm gaze and said, "Anytime."
The rumor of our 'relationship' was still floating around, so we received many a strange glance as we got out of his car and walked into the school. The fact that my eyes were red from crying was certainly not helping the situation.
After my first few periods, I felt a little better. Brendon's words helped me to hope that there was a way I could fix this. I just had to think of how.
I sat with Brendon again at lunch, much to the wary gazes of people passing by and a few interesting looks from my friends. When I sat down, Brendon had a bright look in his eyes.
"I found a way that you might be able to make your dad feel better."
"What?" I asked enthusiastically. Anything that could fix this had to be a good idea.
"Go visit him in Washington." Well, anything but that idea.
"I'm not sure if you noticed, Brendon, but I'm a jobless high school student with no income. How are you expecting me to buy a plane ticket? We're not all rich megalomaniacs." He rolled his eyes and sighed.
"I would buy the tickets, Bella. I'm not going to make you pay for it. What kind of friend do you think I am?" I was stunned for a moment.
"So, then…you'd be…coming with me?" He sighed again.
"Do you take me for a complete savage? Of course I'd go with you, I'm not letting you fly cross country alone. I mean, really Bella."
"That's okay with you? Just visiting Forks on a whim like that?" I asked. He just shrugged,
"It is the weekend." He argued. I was taken aback for a second, then shook my head.
"Did you even think this out? I mean, problem one, I'm never going to get my mother to agree to this. Problem two, I'm not letting you pay for a plane ticket and fly across the country just to see if my dad's alright. And problem three…"
"Problem three?" he asked when I stopped.
"I'm not sure if I'm ready to go back yet." I whispered, gazing at the ground. I knew that I loved Edward, and nothing was going to change that. Despite the fact he didn't care about me anymore, I could still love him all I wanted. Instead of trying to deny and forget, I accepted and loved. This thought had gotten me by and stopped the pain. But was I so confident in my epiphany that I was ready to return to the place that held all the memories of him, all the memories behind me?
I felt Brendon's hand on my shoulder, and I looked up. "It's okay Bella," he said, "Your one of the most courageous people I know. I know you would be strong enough."
"But what about problems one and two?" I questioned. He leaned back and smiled.
"Problem two, I'm not going to let you worry about. What's the use of having money if you're not going to use it to help others? And as for problem one...well, I am a rather convincing person." That brought me back to reality.
"No way! Uh-uh, forget it! There is no way you are brainwashing my mom! Nope, that's out of the question." I denied him, "And I thought you said you only use that out of necessity?"
"This is a necessity, your father's sick." He said, with actual concern. That got me thinking. But I just shook my head.
"Nope, still don't like the idea." And I crossed my arms and closed my eyes. This was final. He sighed,
"Maybe you could just ask her, she might say yes. Or, just give her the excuse that you're staying over someone's house for the weekend. She wouldn't know any better."
"Oh, so instead of brainwashing her, now you want me to lie to her?" I came back with.
"Yep, that's the general idea." He said very offhand.
"That actually might…no, what am I saying?! I'm not doing that. And even if I did, I'm a horrible liar, it would never work."
"Think it over," he said as the bell rang, "The options always open to you."
I mused over it for the rest of the day. Much to Brendon's dismay, I decided to go home on the bus. I didn't want him giving me any more good logic that favored his idea. Throughout the day it had been sounding better and better. I knew I had to do something to help Charlie, and this was the best possible way. If he saw me happy, then he would be alright, I was sure of it.
So that night, after I had finished my homework, I packed my clothes, and called Brendon.
"Hello, Bella," Brendon answered.
"How did you know it was me?" I asked, momentarily stunned.
"There was this marvelous invention called caller id that revolutionized-"
"Okay, I get the point."
"So what can I do for you?" he asked after he finished laughing.
"I've been thinking, and…I'll agree to let you take me to Forks."
"Great, I knew you'd say yes. What are you telling your mom?"
"Brendon, did you know that you have a sister?"
"No, I wasn't aware of that."
"Well you do. And she and I are the bestest of friends. I just received an email from her. She wants me to stay the weekend with her at the beach. You have a beach house, you know."
"How convenient, we actually do."
"I should have known. Anyway, it's just going to be the two of us, and since it's so close she doesn't have to worry about me at all. The people in there before us didn't lock up, so we're leaving right now. So hurry up and get over here before I change my mind."
"Won't your mom notice that I'm not a girl?"
"You don't have to actually come into the house. I'll just run out and meet you. My mom's not usually worried about details."
"Okay, I'll just have to get some things together. I'll see you in a few."
"Bye." And I hung up.
My clothes were packed, so I sat down at my desk. I needed to compose myself before trying to lie to my mother. A blank piece of paper was lying there, so I picked up a pencil. I wrote down-
'I'm going to Forks. Perhaps you'll be there Edward, in every memory I find.'
I folded it, and placed it in the album, next to my first letter. It felt good to write my feelings out, and to get this off my chest. It felt like placing this next to his picture was actually telling him, like the picture and the person were connected somehow. The part I didn't add was how I wasn't sure if those memories would rip me to shreds or only fill me with more false hope. I took a deep breath, and headed out to tell my mom.
She believed me of course. I supposed I was a better liar than I had thought, or that my mother was just so exhausted from her days work, and so excited that I had made a friend that she really didn't care. Brendon pulled up as soon as I was done talking, so she couldn't ask any questions. I ran out of the house after a quick hug and I threw a wave as I ran out the door.
He had brought the blue corvette again, and I threw my bag into the trunk and jumped into the passenger side quickly. We pulled out and merged into the traffic. Brendon suddenly hit his head with his hand.
"Damn, I forgot my wallet! How dumb can I get?!" He cried. He quickly pulled onto a side road, and down a few streets. He parked the car and said "Stay here, I'm going to go back and grab my wallet. I won't be long."
I waited for a few minutes, and felt the drowsiness start to take over. I knew I probably wouldn't stay awake through the flight, much less this car ride. Brendon returned, and after a quick apology which I didn't really hear, he pulled out and sped toward the airport.
Well, my job of torturing you is done. Just kidding, of course, I would never do it on purpose (or would I?) I recieved some wonderful, as in violent, reviews about Brendon, so I'm sure you all love him so much more now!
PLEASE review!!! I have stated before that I don't like people who need a certain number of reviews to continue, but the more reviews I get, the more incentive I have to write faster. And with school starting soon I'm not sure when I'll have time to write. REVIEW!