Again a HUGE thanks goes to to my wonderful Beta, MadeleineJade.
Also thank you to everyone who has reviewed and added this story to their alerts/favorites, I can't wait to go on this journey with you and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it.
All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.
The way I saw it this could go two ways:
Dear Isabella Swan,
We regret to inform you..
or the least likely option
Dear Isabella Swan,
It is our pleasure to inform you...
I let out the breath of air I was holding as I read the words.
Dear Isabella Swan,
It is our pleasure to
I didn't bother to finish reading the rest as I squealed and jumped out of my seat which caused me to knock over a stack of cups in my excitement.
"Whoa, did you just win the lotto?" a voice asked from the counter.
I stood up after gathering the cups from the floor and tossed them into the garbage. "Oh hello! Sorry about that. I just got some good news that's all" I stated, as I looked at the man in front of me. I couldn't help but stare a little. He was tall and extremely muscular, the kind of guy who could have easily taken any of the guys down at the res. Despite his rugged features his face was friendly, the dimples on his cheeks made him seem harmless. He was also extremely good looking in an action movie star kind of way. He also seemed kind of familiar, but I just couldn't place him.
Move over Jason Stathom.
"Well if you're done lolly gagging, I'd like to place my order now," he said with an irritated tone.
"I'm so sorry about that, sir. I'm Bella, is there anything I can get you?" I replied trying to reign in my anger.
"Well, Bella, I'll have a small coffee and an iced latte and you better not use any of those cups that were on the floor. I'll be watching." Ugh! He was infuriating! Like I would do that! I had already thrown them away.
"Of course not sir, I threw those all away," I said with a smile plastered on my face. My cheeks were beginning to hurt.
I turned my back to him to make his order when I heard an all too familiar voice greet him.
"Emmett, what the hell is taking you so long?" she asked.
"What's the matter? I leave you alone for two seconds and you're already unbearably missing me?" he joked.
I turned around as she rolled her eyes at him "Holy shit!" I screamed as I recognized her face "Rosalie Hale! What the hell are you doing here?!"
"Bella!" she replied as she ran around the counter and jumped on me causing us both to collapse onto the ground.
"Ladies, Ladies! There's no need to fight for me. There is enough of me to go around," Emmett said as he leaned over the counter to assess the situation, eyeballing two women on the floor on top of each other.
"Shut up, Emmett Cullen!" Rosalie yelled as she stood up and held a hand out to me. I took her hand and pulled myself up.
"What are you doing here, Rose?" I asked while grabbing the coffee and latte, handing them to Emmett and Rose.
"Well I decided it was time to visit my favorite cousin and of course Emmett couldn't pass on the chance to visit The Daily Grind. I told him you were handling everything perfectly but he had to check on things himself...Oh, I almost forgot. Emmett, this is my cousin, Bella, and Bella this is my husband Emmett."
That was it. Now I recognized him from the wedding pictures. He looked much different dressed in street clothes. I immediately felt guilty for having missed her wedding. She had asked me to be her maid of honor but a week before the wedding I stupidly asked Jake to give me riding lessons and effectively fell off the motorcycle and broke my right leg, left arm, and I got a pretty nasty gash on my forehead.
I remembered the earlier exchange with Emmett and how I was close to flipping my lid, cursing out the owner wouldn't have ended well for my bank account. "Well Emmett here was just testing my customer service skills," I replied smirking. Good get him in trouble with my cousin.
"Emmett," Rosalie said while glaring at him questioningly. "What did you do?"
"Nothing, Rosie. I was just secret shopping Bella. Gotta make sure her customer service skills are up to par," he said with a sly smile.
She responded by smacking him upside the head. "Leave the poor girl alone, Emmett! Bella's customer service skills are fine; she doesn't need you poking your head around here."
"Sorry, Bella," he said with a frown before leaning down and placing a quick kiss on the top of Rosalie's head. He was so sweet with Rose despite his hulkish appearance. I could see the love in his eyes; that boy definitely was whipped.
"As long as his intentions were good..." I offered with a smile. "So if Emmett is here, is Alice too?" Alice Cullen was Emmett's sister and Rosalie's best friend whom had taken over my maid of honor duties when I was out of commission.
"Alice is in New York spending time with her boyfriend, Jasper. They're busy playing house," Emmett cut in before Rosalie could respond. He had a sour look on his face.
"They just got an apartment together..." she explained.
"Well why don't you have a seat and enjoy your drinks while I clean up this mess and then I can head out because I have a lot to tell you."
I rode in my truck while Rose and Emmett followed me on his motorcycle. Seeing Rosalie on a motorcycle was definitely something I doubt I would get used to. She wasn't as clumsy as I was, considering it came from the Swan side, but she never was the ride on the back of a bad boy's motorcycle type of girl.
I guess Emmett wasn't really a bad boy at heart anyway. When we reached my house I had Emmett park his motorcycle around the block. If Charlie found out about it, he would flip a shit and end up giving Emmett the third degree about putting his baby niece in danger on that death trap.
After dinner Rose and I headed up to my room to catch up on everything while Emmett watched baseball with Charlie. I had heard Charlie mumble something about "not under my roof" at dinner, so I placed my bets that Emmett would end up sleeping on couch and Charlie would have his gun close by tonight. I could understand his reasoning, but Emmett and Rosalie were married, he could've backed off a little bit.
"So Bells, SPILL!" Rose ordered as she sat down on my bed.
"Well, I decided to apply to NYU for fun, figuring that if by some minuscule chance I got in that I could maybe get a place with you and work at The Daily Grind in New York..." I didn't realize how fast I was talking or how nervous I was until I finished my sentence and let out a huge breath of air.
"And? Come on Bella, I saw you holding a letter from NYU. Did you get in?" She asked with a hopeful look in her eyes. I couldn't trust myself to speak so I just nodded and smiled.
"HOLY CRAP, BELLA!" she yelled as she tackled me and hugged me tightly.
"Ohh...continue, ladies. Don't let me interrupt," Emmett said from the doorway. We quickly separated and glared at him.
"Just so you know Em, Uncle Charlie is the chief of police and owns a shot gun. I'd play nice if I wanted to keep all my body parts intact," Rose informed him. Emmett seemed to get the point and shut the door. We didn't speak until we heard his footsteps going down the stairs.
"Okay well Emmett and I live together now but I still have my old apartment. Mom left it to me when she moved to Jersey to take care of Nana, but I couldn't bear to part with it, it's a great apartment and dirt cheap! Plus, Alice said she always had a feeling you'd move to New York. It's rent controlled too so rent should be about $400 plus utlities. Bella, this is like my dream come true, I've always wanted us to live in the same city!"
"Whoa, whoa, Rose, I haven't even figured out if this is a possibility yet. What about Charlie and Jake?" I interrupted before she could make any more plans in her head.
"Look Bella, Charlie is a grown man. It's about time he learned to take care of himself and as for Jacob... well maybe it's time for you to just let him go. The last few times I've spoken to you you've sounded pretty miserable about your relationship." Just the thought of Charlie attempting to make his own meals made me cringe though.
"I guess you're right about Charlie. I could teach him how to properly use the microwave and leave easy recipes for him just to make sure he didn't burn down the house. And as for Jake...well that comes with the territory of being in a long term relationship. Two years is a long time, and it can't always be sunshine and rainbows, Rose. Plus, I still have to talk to Emmett about transferring stores, and I'd have to ask Grammy Dwyer if I could access my inheritance a little early..." As I spoke though, the idea of New York seemed to become more real to me though. I could really do this!
"NYU, Bella...geez! I'm really proud of you. I knew you were smart enough, but I never thought you'd have the guts to put it to use."
"Gee thanks, Rosalie," I said as I rolled my eyes.
"No problema, Isabella," she shrugged. We stared at each other for a half second before bursting out into laughter.
"Don't worry, Bells, I'm sure this will all work out," she said with a smile.
"So...that Emmett Cullen sure is something. Where the hell did you guys meet again?" I asked hoping to lighten the mood.
"Well I was on my way back from visiting you and my flight got delayed. Alice mentioned that she was visiting her parents in Washington and it just so happened that we were on the same flight since they put me onto hers. I ended up having to sit next to the big buffoon, and the rest you know. Too bad you couldn't be in the wedding. You would have met the whole family. You should see Edward..." she said.
"Who's Edward is he a Cullen too?"
"Holy mother of crap 'Who's Edward?' Yes he is a Cullen, Bella he's only like the biggest indie musician in New York City. I guess you wouldn't know him here, but he plays in lot of bars and stuff in Brooklyn and the city. He's insanely gorgeous, but he's kind of a dick. Alice says he doesn't date and he has this crazy ideal of the perfect woman which once she told me I didn't think was all that crazy. She pretty much described you...oh man, I should set you guys up on a date when you move in! Although I would hate for him to treat you like he does other girls, I would have to kick his ass." I laughed at her and wondered what this Edward Cullen dude looked like because one thing Rosalie possessed was amazing taste in men. Emmett was perfect evidence of that. I wouldn't mind going on a date with this Edward guy...
"Rosalie! What about Jake?" It was so easy to get caught up in my New York fantasy world and forget about the reality of my life.
"Eh, fuck him," she responded with a shrug of her shoulders.
"Rosalie Hale...Cullen! We've been together for almost two years," I replied incredulously
"A year and a half too long if you ask me. You're always going on about how you guys fight all the time and how he always says things to put you down. Just because he says he loves you doesn't mean that he means it, and what you guys have isn't even love." I just sat there with a pained expression on my face. My best friend, my sister, for all intents and purposes, just told me my boyfriend of two years didn't love me.
"Fuck you, Rose." I stood up and didn't even bother to hear her reply as I ran down the stairs. Charlie must have gone to bed already because Emmett was on the couch watching Girls Gone Wild commercials as I ran out the front door. I knew I was overreacting and being a bit irrational but maybe a part of me was a little bit scared that Rose was right.
I arrived at Jake's about fifteen minutes later and let myself in with my own set of keys that he had given me since I pretty much lived there. The stereo was on in the living room and I could hear all types of moaning. "I guess Embry has a girl over," I mumbled to myself as I opened the door to Jake's and my bedroom. He was sitting down at his computer desk with his head thrown back and a smile on his lips. I was about to laugh and call him an idiot before I noticed that his pants were at his ankles and there was black silky hair strewn across his legs.
"What the fuck!" I yelled causing Jake to jump slightly and push the girl off of him. As she wiped her mouth and stood up, I immediately felt sick.
"When I told you to fuck Leah Clearwater, I wasn't being literal, Jacob Black!" I yelled as I began to gather my clothing from around the room.
"You should go, Leah," Jake suggested.
"Thank you, Captain Fucking Obvious!" she replied as she made her way to the door. Before she left she turned to me with a guilty look on her face apologizing, "I'm sorry, Bella."
"I swear that if you don't leave in the next five seconds, I will make a new hole in the wall using your face," I replied stiffly as I stuffed my things into an empty duffel bag.
When she was finally gone, Jake made his way towards me and rested his hand on my shoulder. "I'm so sorry Bells. I love you so much. I got drunk with the guys down at the res and next thing I know Leah was giving me a blow job. I didn't mean for it to happen. It's just that you never like doing it, and I couldn't help myself."
I zipped up my duffle bag and turned to him. I looked up at him and smiled weakly before I wrapped my arms around his waist and rested my head on his chest. "I'm sorry, Jake," I mumbled.
"I forgive you. Maybe you could try giving me a blow job once in a while," he responded. I hugged him a bit harder.
"That's not what I'm apologizing for, Jake," I said as I pulled away from him.
"Then what..." Before he could get out his next word I kneed him in the crotch as hard as I could.
"WHAT THE FUCK, BELLA!" he yelled as he crouched down and cupped himself. His crouching brought him to my level, and the next thing I knew I was cocking my arm back and punching him right in the eye.
I didn't stick around long enough to see what his reaction would be. I grabbed my duffel bag and ran to my truck as fast as my feet would allow me, shaking the hand that I punched him with.
I tripped in a few puddles on the way and once I finally got into the car. I was sure I had broken my wrist or my hand, between punching Jake and falling so many times. I was certain I had at least fractured it. My hands were slightly wet and were a little bloody. I knew I couldn't drive in my physical and emotional condition so I pulled out my phone and dialed the familiar number.
"Hello."
"Rosalie..." I breathed out a sigh of relief.
"Oh Bella! I'm sorry what I said about Jake, I didn't mean it," she apologized with a similar tone of relief.
"I'm so sorry for not believing you, Rose. You were right about Jake. I walked in on him getting a blow job." To a certain extent I always knew Rose was right, but I never thought he would cheat on me. I was more hurt that my trust was betrayed more than I was hurt over the end of my relationship.
"Fucking hell, Bella, you need to stay where you are. Emmett and I are coming to get you." I faintly heard her mumble something to Em about "kicking his mother fucking ass" before the call was ended.
I didn't know if I subconsciously made my decision when I read the letter, talked to Rosalie or walked in on Jake, but what I did know was that my decision was made. I, Isabella Swan, was moving to New York City.
As I previously stated, the more reviews I get the faster the chapters will be put out. I already have 5 written! Edward will make his grand entrance in chapter 4, Bella still has a few loose ends to tie before she departs for the big apple.