Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer, who is not me.
WARNING: kidnapping, mentions of child abuse, and antagonistic Carlisle (to an extent)
Edward Masen Jr.
By BriiDream
Chapter Five: Double Date
Bella stirred the pot of pasta very carefully since her mind kept trailing off to thoughts of Edward Cullen and her problem. She opened the refrigerator and pulled out the tomato sauce. She turned the stove off and sat down to wait for the water to stop boiling. Her thoughts sunk back into her boy problems.
She needed to get out of the date somehow. That was her major priority. Everything else would have to wait. The way Edward had reacted to her denial of canceling on him was very suspicious; it was as if he wanted her to say she wouldn't go with him. But why would he want that when he was the one that asked her out first? Why was he reluctant to now carry it out?
"Hey, Bells," Charlie cheerfully greeted her as he stomped into the kitchen. Bella jumped up and glanced at the clock. She then stuck the tomato sauce in the microwave, and dumped the noodles into a drainer in the sink. "Spaghetti for dinner, huh?"
"Yeah," Bella piled noodles onto two plates. She pulled the tomato sauce out carefully and dumped globs of it over the pasta. She then placed the plates on the table and sat down across from Charlie, who was oblivious to her tension.
Bella chickened out of saying anything at the beginning. She silently mimicked Charlie's eating, taking the time to mull over the food. A half hour later, he placed his plate in the sink and headed to the living room. Bella quickly dumped her plate in the sink, too, and followed him into the living room. She waited until he was seated comfortably on the couch, before speaking.
"Hey, um, Dad," Bella began uncomfortably. Charlie looked up at her. "A-A guy asked me out to the movies this weekend, and, um, I just thought I let you know…"
Bella trailed off in mingle discomfort and humiliation. She didn't want Charlie to get the idea that she needed his permission to go out with friends, but she did want to get off on a good note. She wouldn't mind if Charlie forbade her (or at least, she thought she wouldn't).
"A date? With whom," Charlie asked surprised.
"With Edward C-Cullen," Bella stammered, feeling her face going red.
"Edward Cullen," Charlie frowned. "Isn't he a little too old for you?"
"Uh, no," Bella could hear the way her uncertainty almost made her reply sound like a lie. If the online article was correct, Edward would definitely be too old. "We're in the same grade."
"What's the big one's name, then," Charlie asked suspicious.
"Emmett, I think," Bella replied. "Dad, do you really think I would go out with a way older guy?"
Charlie smiled sheepishly, before going into Officer Swan mode. "So what are you guys planning on doing?"
"We're just going to the movies and dinner afterwards.
"I'm not so sure, Bells. I'm not saying that the Cullen kids aren't a decent bunch, but still…boys have been known for going out of their minds whenever a female is present and chaperones aren't."
"You want me to get a chaperone," Bella choked, horrified at the idea. She could just imagine her father sitting in between her and Edward at the movies and on the ride home. "That's-That's so junior high!"
"Alright, alright," Charlie conceded. "But just be careful. Maybe get a group thing together for the first couple dates, okay?"
"Double date," Bella repeated stunned. That was it! If she couldn't find a way out of the date, she just needed to find some people to squeeze into the date. She couldn't believe that she hadn't realized that option before.
"Yeah, whatever you kids call it today," Charlie grinned slipping out of Officer Swan mode.
"Okay," Bella left the room and headed upstairs, deep in thought about the double date plan. It could work if she could find two friends willing to go on the date, and she would have to convince Edward to accept a double date. It shouldn't be too hard-if his reasons were for more than to protect his family.
Bella laid down on her bed and stared up at the ceiling. She still wasn't sure what she was going to do with what she discovered. She knew that kidnapping was serious business; she couldn't afford to make a mistake. The evidence was too controversial. The entire family seemed to take her as a threat, which could confirm that her kidnap theory was fact. But why would the ones supposedly kidnapped also defend whoever their kidnappers where?
Bella stared out the window of the fast moving car. They were on a highway, but an unfamiliar one to her. It was Phoenix or Washington. Bella glanced over at the driver to ask where they were. Edward sat in the driver's side.
"Where are we?"
Edward merely smiled at the road ahead without replying. Bella suddenly remembered her earlier fear of being alone with him. She glanced in the back of the Volvo; they were alone. She glanced sharply at Edward.
"Where are we? Where are you taking me?" Bella felt her chest closing in on the adrenaline pumping her heart. She grabbed her seatbelt and tried to yank it out the lock, but it was jammed.
"Stop fighting, Bella," Edward ordered calmly. His lips curved into a smile, but his green eyes looked dead. "It's just a date."
Bella opened her mouth, but suddenly someone (or something) grabbed her from behind. She thrashed around, but her strangler refused to let go. Edward's resigned, haunted eyes watched. Bella's eyesight started to blur.
Bella woke up, screaming. Charlie burst through the door. He went downstairs to hastily heat up some tea for her, while she attempted to smother her hysterics. She was somewhat calmer when he returned with the steaming cup. Bella held it in her numb hands.
"Some nightmare," Charlie muttered with a yawn. He left her alone to go get ready to leave for the police station.
Bella sighed and sipped the scalding tea. She felt even more exhausted than when she fell asleep. She groaned and crawled out of bed. She placed the cup on her desk and grabbed her bag of toiletries. She planned on taking a nice, reviving shower. As she stood in the shower, she remembered that she was supposed to suggest a double date to Edward today.
Bella dried her hair and got dressed. She grabbed her bookbag and hopped into her truck. As she reversed into the street, her bookbag spilled over into the floor. She groaned, but left it there until she reached Forks High School. The parking lot was empty. She picked the best parking space, and leaned over to pick up the mess that was her homework and notebooks. She picked up a bent piece of paper that looked clean; she opened it to discover the one-line message from yesterday: Looking forward to our date.
Bella glanced up out of her windshield as cars pulled into the parking lot. She spotted the Volvo as it pulled into a space just two cars down from her. Edward stepped out the driver's seat. His older brothers flocked him, and his sisters trailed after them, discussing something very animatedly- a perfect family portrait-a perfectly hidden lie.
I hope this chapter was alright. I will try to have the next chapter up some time this weekend.