Disclaimer: Must I repeat myself every day? I am not Stephenie Meyer, I do not own Twilight, and if you recognize it it's not mine. I'm getting tired of reminding you of this daily.
Chapter 8—Bella P.o.V.
Bella had enjoyed Phys. Ed. tremendously that day. When Mike had picked her first, she had been surprised and somewhat disappointed that she would not get more time to hang out with Edward, but when she realized that Mike was hesitating over whether to choose Alice (a girl, obviously a disadvantage) or Edward (he was deaf; could he even play soccer?) she quickly made her way over to try and coax him into picking Edward. As she had told Edward earlier, she was not very popular, but Mike was one of the few people who took an interest in her. He was a good friend, she thought, and he would not mind doing this one favor for her.
When Edward was not only picked, but told that he would be in the sidelines along with her, Bella was elated. She enjoyed their conversation; she wanted to learn all there was to be learned about him. For the first time in her life, Bella felt as if Phys. Ed. had finished too early. She wanted to stay behind and chat some more with Edward, but she suddenly remembered Rosalie's date with Emmett.
She said her goodbye quickly and got to the locker room as fast as she could without tripping over her feet. She managed to change quickly, efficiently, and only falling over twice. Her luck seemed to be coming to a close, however, when she tried to multitask on her way out of the locker room. She was not really looking at the ground in front of her, and, since she was tying her hair up, she could not stop her fall when she tripped. She hurt her knee, but it was not anything she had not done to herself before. She was mortified, however, when she realized that the object of her thoughts had seen everything.
Are you OK? Did you get hurt? Bella blushed, taking the hand Edward had extended to help her up.
No, I'm OK. This happens often. I told you I wasn't the most coordinated person out there, didn't I?
Edward chuckled and Bella's smile returned. If her falling over brought a smile to her face, she would make sure to do it more often. On a second thought, she realized, she didn't even have to try, she just had to make sure to be around him more often. She was just about to sign something else when she realized that Rosalie and jasper were completely capable of leaving without her.
She grabbed her bag from Edward's hand with a grateful smile and sped off, getting to the car just on time. Rosalie huffed in disapproval, popped the trunk open, and waited impatiently for Bella to get her bag in it and get in the car. As soon as Bella had closed the door, Rosalie sped off down the road, before the other students had time to even get to their cars.
"So, Bella, am I dropping you off at home, or do you have to go back to your dad's place?"
"Um…I have to grab some things from your place, so just drop me off there. I'm sure Jasper won't mind driving me to James' when I'm done there. Right?" she asked, turning to face Jasper, who was sitting on the back seat.
"That's just fine, Bells."
The rest of the ride was spent in silence. When they got to the Hales', Rosalie ran out of the car and to her room as fast as humanly possible. It was only a matter of minutes before Bella heard the shower of her bathroom start up. She shook her head in amusement as she went into her room. She looked around at the plainly decorated room; she had always been so thankful to the Hales for allowing her to spend so much time with them.
When she was 10 Mr. and Mrs. Hale had surprised her by decorating the guest room and telling her that it was to be for her from that point on. She spent so much time over anyway, they said, that they might as well make it official. That had started the tradition of Bella going over on Friday afternoons and staying until Monday mornings. She was just another member of the family to them. Thinking about these happy memories, Bella began to gather up her textbooks and the clothes she needed to wash. She had clothes at the Hales', courtesy of Mrs. Hale and Rosalie, but she never left her laundry there; she felt she had to do at least that little bit to make the Hales' life easier.
When she was done, Bella descended the stairs carefully with her bag and her backpack and set them by the door. Jasper was playing a videogame, so she decided to give him until the end of the level before she asked for the ride. James would still be at work and so she could afford to be slightly late. She did not really want to leave, either, but when Jasper's character was blown to bits by an invading space ship she cleared her throat to inform him as to her presence.
"You ready?" he asked, throwing her backpack over his shoulder, "ouch. What do you have in here, rocks?"
"No," Bella answered, smirking, "just my Jane Austen collection. I have the feeling I'm going to have lots of time to read this week; the teachers sound as if they are going to give us this week to cool down from the summer."
Jasper rolled his eyes as he put the bag in the trunk. He knew better than to throw Bella's books around, at the risk of being hit hard over the head. Besides, he knew just how much Bella loved her Jane Austen set. He had bought it for her, last Christmas. She had various different editions of the book, all in different levels of wear, but all of them old and ratty. And so, when he had seen that nice boxed, leather bound set…He had bought it on impulse; his family could afford such splurges. Bella had ranted at him for an hour about spending money on her, but she had not been able to turn his gift down.
"OK, Bells," Jasper said as he pulled into the driveway of Bella's house, "if anything happens, just give me a call, alright? No matter the time. And you know you can come by whenever you want. You have your key, right?"
Bella nodded, smiling at Jasper's protectiveness. She was calm now, but she knew that, as soon as Jasper 's car turned the corner of the street, her anxiousness would return. She would not let Jasper see, however, or he would worry too much.
"I'll call you tonight, after dinner. Thanks for the ride, and for having me this weekend. Now, go back to your invading aliens, or whatever they are."
"Thanks, Bella," laughed Jasper, ruffling her hair before she stepped out of the car. As soon as she had both her bags, he drove away. Bella closed her eyes and took a deep breath before turning around to face her house. Her red pickup truck was sitting right where she'd left it, and everything looked exactly the same as it had Friday morning. Bella allowed herself to hope that everything would be alright. She fished the key out from her pocket and opened the door.
The house was dark; all the curtains were closed. She went around, opening them, and gasped at the sight of the many beer cans spread throughout the ground of the house. She would have to spend half the afternoon cleaning again. She made her way into the kitchen and found it in a deplorable state. Of course, she thought. There were take-out boxes spread over the counters and throughout the floor. A box of pizza was on the ground, three slices still in it. The leftovers she had so carefully stored and labeled in the fridge were still in there, untouched.
"Great job, James. I can see how well you can take care of yourself," Bella said, more to herself than to anyone else. She knew better than to speak to James like that.
After cleaning up, Bella made her way up to her room. She was glad to find the door locked, like she had left it. She took the key from the top of the doorframe and opened the room. Everything was just as she'd left it, and she let out a relieved sigh. She would hate for him to go into her room, particularly when she was not there.
Bella dropped her backpack by her desk and set about unpacking her bag. She put the clothes to be washed on a pile to take down to the laundry later and then sat down at her desk to start on her homework. It was all pretty simple, except for the Journal assignment. She had Edward's, and she wondered what she might find in it. Curious, she opened it to the first page. Edward had not written much, and he had not really made any personal revelations. As Bella had guessed, he was probably uncomfortable with written English.
Bella decided to let her thoughts on Edward guide her response, not just his actual writing. She thought about the way he held himself, the smile he had given her during Phys. Ed., and his friendly hand when she had tripped over. With all this in mind, she gathered her materials and began her response.
When the clock struck five, Bella got up, went to wash up (how had those pencil shavings gotten on her hair? And, was that green paint on her forehead?), and made her way back downstairs, to the kitchen. She contemplated warming the leftovers for dinner, but she decided not to risk it. James would not be happy about that. Instead, she took out a cutting board and a knife and began peeling potatoes and carrots. She then chopped them and set them aside. Next she chopped up a green pepper and some garlic. She set all that aside and set a pot with oil on the fire. She cut an onion into eight pieces and dropped them in the pot. She stirred, to make sure the onions did not burn or stick, for five minutes and then added the vegetables. She kept stirring for another two minutes and then added enough water to cover all the vegetables.
She set a timer to warn her when that was ready and then dug some chopped beef from the fridge. She set about making burgers. By the time she was done with the burgers, the timer for the soup went off. She tried it, added some salt, and took it off the fire. Just as she finished setting the table, a loud bang announced James' arrival. Bella quickly took out a beer from the fridge and served it for him, just like he liked it. She brought the food over to the table and served it just as he came in through the kitchen door.
James was not wearing his work clothes, and she wondered where he had been all day, if not at work. She did not dare ask, however. He sat at the table and grabbed the beer glass, downing half of it in one gulp. Bella hurried to sit across from him. James ate the soup and the burgers quickly, without even looking at her. Bella began to harvest the hope that he might leave her alone for the night. When she started clearing the table, James got up to get a second beer and leaned casually against the counter.
"So, I got a new job."
"Oh?" was Bella's only response. She did not know what else to say. Had he lost his last job? Had he quit on his own? What was his new job? How would that affect his schedule? She was already beginning to plan her new schedule when he spoke again.
"Yes, I'm teaching some deaf kid at your school. Of course, it's a hopeless case, but what can I do about it. It pays well, and it's a pretty stable job. Kid can't even complain if I do something he doesn't like, so it's great."
Bella froze. There was no way that James was Edward's teacher. But it made sense. Her family was the only one with any ASL background in Forks. Why had she not thought of that before? A sudden thought struck her; James working at Forks High meant that he would be at her school all day long. He would be able to hear about what she was up to, he would know what she did in her free time, whom she hung out with…he would be able to control yet another aspect of her life.
"Surprised you there, huh? Too much for one little brain to grasp? I was going to surprise you at school today, but there was some stupid teachers' meeting."
Bella was shocked, but she knew better than to stop cleaning up. She went through the motions without considering them, however. Her mind was too busy making contingency plans. She could not let anybody find out the truth about her. She just couldn't. Even Jasper didn't know the whole truth, and James could let it out of the bag so easily…No! She could not think like that. James did not want the truth to be known either. He would remain quiet. For now, at least.
"Are you ignoring me, you little slut? Look at me when I talk to you."
Bella set down the plate she was washing and turned to face him. He was glaring at her and she shuddered. He took a step closer to her and moved her bangs out of the way with his hand. She closed her eyes, backing away lightly. She tried to disguise the way her breath hitched with fear as he got closer to her.
"Isabella, you are…" he took a breath, a small smile overtaking his face, "a slut. A worthless little slut. You are aware of that, right? As a good father, I don't want you to get disappointed in life when nobody wants you, you see. So I am telling you the truth straight out, without disguising it. You are a stupid, little, worthless, ugly, slut, just like your mother." He moved his hand, letting her bangs fall back over her face, and stepped back, away from her. His expression turned to one of disgust. "Get out of my sight. Now. Just, get out!"
When he started screaming, Bella jumped and ran up the stairs to her room as quickly as she could. She never tripped when she was running from him; she supposed the fight or flight instinct overrode her clumsiness at times like those. Once in her room, Bella threw herself on her bed, crying. She wanted to believe what James said was not true, she really did, but sometimes his words dug deep. He had never hit her, but he did not need to to make her cry in pain. His words felt like a fork, and he kept jabbing her.
After she had had a good cry, Bella forced herself to pull herself together. She walked over to her bookcase and pulled out a photo album from the lowest shelf. She carried it over to her bed and opened it. It was her parents' wedding album. Her mother looked beautiful in all the photos. There was a small bump on her stomach, where Bella was growing.
Renée and James had married quickly, fresh out of high school, because of Renée's pregnancy. Due to this, their marriage had not been very happy. They had not had time to really get to know each other, and during their marriage they had found out that they had less in common than they'd ever thought. And so, three years after their marriage, shortly before Bella's third birthday, Renée had decided to leave James. She was not the sort of person for paperwork and official things, so she had just packed her bags one day and left with Bella on tow, not even telling James.
When James had gotten home that day, he had found Renée's drawers and closet empty, and her car gone. He had instantly realized what had happened. As always, it was raining and dark in Forks. Renée had been driving fast, trying to get out of Forks as fast as possible. When she realized James was following her, she had gotten nervous. She had lost control of the car, and they had propelled directly into a tree. Renée had died upon the impact. Bella had survived, barely a scratch on her.
Bella had told herself that James felt guilty about what had happened. That's what she always told others, even what she told Jasper. That would explain his drinking and the consecutive violence. Only three people knew the truth: James, Bella, and James' mother, Victoria. James and Victoria had told the tale to Bella often, to try and ruin her image of her mother, the only thing she had left. They enjoyed telling her about Renée's adultery, her teen pregnancy, and the fact that Bella was not truly James' child. Bella would never share this story; she herself was in denial. She would never allow anything to ruin her image of her mother.
With these memories, Bella allowed herself to drift to sleep. She forgot entirely about calling Jasper, and did not wake up when her cell phone (again, courtesy of the Hales; as if James would ever spend any money on her!) began to ring. She slept through the night, and, in fact, woke up late the next day.
James was already gone when Bella dragged herself out of bed. She looked at the clock and groaned; it was halfway through fourth period by this point. She went to the shower and had a quick breakfast. She grabbed her bag and ran to her truck. She drove to school as fast as the motor allowed her, which was not very much.
Before going into the school building she checked her phone for missed calls or messages. When she saw the ten missed calls from Jasper she realized she was in trouble. When she heard his worried messages, she realized what he must have thought when she did not pick up. She quickened her step, hurrying to art class. Luckily, Jasper was in that class, so she could clear things up with him.
AUTHOR'S NOTE—OK, guys, I've been kind of spoiling you, giving you 3000 words per day…But tomorrow I go back to school, and so I don't know with what frequency I'll be able to write. I will post at least a chapter every three days, though, unless I have previously announced some other time frame. Please, don't hate me for it, but life gets in the way of writing. That shall all stop when I'm a published author, thought. MWAHAHAHAHA!!!
Also, if you want the recipe for the soup, just ask me! I'll be glad to share.
Thanks to:
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xXRawkin-ZwinkeyXx—I must say, getting a review from an iPhone is pretty amazing. =] You put a smile on my face!
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Dramione12—don't feel bad, I've done that before. Just so you know, as a rule, I post a chapter per day. That might change once the school year starts up again.
adri :)
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Questions & Comments:
Spun Trumak—well, welcome, and hello, Becca! Thank you for reading my story and for sharing your sign name with me. Please, if you find anything that you think does not match the Deaf world, don't hesitate to tell me!
SRK1012010—I have contemplated the idea. It might happen, but not for a while yet. There's a lot of story to go, still!
SweetSouthernGal—actually, you weren't missing anything. I'm making it ambiguous on purpose...I want you guys to really be able to connect with Edward and Alice's budding friendship with Bella, and that includes being kept out of her secret! It's just...a very laaaaaaarge cliff hanger.
JK5959—at the end of chapter 6, Edward asks Bella how she learned ASL. She tells him that her grandmother is deaf, but that she does not get to practice ASL with her anymore. Edward assumes that Bella's grandmother moved away, since she speaks in the first person but talks about their time together in the past. But, about your deaf Edward story...PLEASE, go ahead and write it! I'd like to think that my writing encouraged you, rather than discouraged. I'd love to read it, too! Please? I'd be disappointed otherwise.
LoveFashionPeace—yay, ASL-aware reviewer! You guys make me happy. To answer your questions, Lauren gives Edward her phone number because she is stupid and does not realize that he cannot call her if he is deaf. As to the "Eddie" thing…wow, I hadn't even realized that. Huh. I suppose she could spell "Eddie" out, although that is farfetched. Hm. I'll have to come up with a good sign nickname. Thanks for pointing that out! As for your sign name fact; I don't really know much, just the stuff I've researched, but a lot of my sources said that you can take a defining characteristic and make a name sign out of that. Was I wrong?
CullenistFanpire—I'm glad you enjoy my replies! I actually have been on FFN for years now (maybe 6?), and at first EVERYBODY answered to their reviewers. Like you said, I loved seeing what others thougt
..Attic—I don't know why! I always type it back again on the Document Manager, and it keeps doing the same thing!
Cabtwilighter—everything shall be revealed in the end! BTW, you are my 100th reviewer. =]
5tarRach6330—to tell you the truth, I realize that the drama level is low. I'm hoping to start getting the more exciting stuff in soon. This chapter was more exposition that anything. Thanks for pointing it out, though!
HONVampyreChick—thanks so much! All my reviewers have me blushing today...as for your comments about Mike...I'll probably explain this further later, but the reason he let Edward join his team is because he wanted to please Bella, and he does not see Edward as competition. He thinks that, because he's Deaf, Bella can't be interested romantically. It's really nice that you notice that kind of thing! When I see reviews in which I can see that the people have actually thought about what they are saying, I see that all my work (3000 words per day!) actually does pay off. Thanks!!!!!
Special thanks to:
Hannajamesnivek—please, "hog" as much reviewing space as you want! I love getting thorough reviews, particularly when, like this one, they take time to remark on helpful things. I think the art class idea is actually pretty damn good. I'll start working on building up to it. As for Bella—thank you so much! I was actually having trouble deciding where exactly to take her as I built her "new" character, but as you (and some other reviewers) reviewed, I started getting a clearer and clearer idea. Thanks so much!
Attackoftheemo—There is a gigantic smile on my face right now, all thanks to you. Wow. Thank you so much. When people from the Deaf community review it really brightens up my day. And I love that you want to tell me your story, so don't apologize at all. I am only just beginning to learn ASL and about the Deaf Community right now, but everything I have learned I am loving. I really want to sign up for ASL classes at the community college nearby...Anyway, back to your review. Again, thank you so incredibly much for your compliments. I am glad that you like my story and that you feel it is accurate to the real world. So, please, I beg you, if you find anything that you feel is not accurate, might be offensive, or is not realistic, TELL ME. I will love learning more about your world! As to your other comments, about Bella's backbone and Edward's confidence, I'm glad that other people also realize what is lacking. I will do my best to make my characters better-rounded as I go on. As long as I have reviewers like you I'm sure I will be able to do my best. Thanks so much for reading, reviewing, and telling me about you!!!
BroadwayBound96—I'm glad I made YOU smile for once. =] And I'm glad you are back and not exhausted. Yay for my #1 reviewer!!
DAE MRS CULLEN—oh, wow, now I feel like you must think I was fishing for compliments...You have so much good stuff to say! I'm blushing almost as severely as Bella, now. Thanks so much! I'm really flattered.
With this chapter I got my REVIEWER NUMBER 100!!!!!! Wow, I never expected to get so many reviews. Thank you all so much for your support!!!!!