*~I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT....I OWN 'La Pomme D'Armor'~*
*Bella*
I awoke to the sound of the birds singing outside of Edward's bedroom balcony...The scent of him from the sheets had made my fall into slumber much easier last night...Being in the new strange house was not something that I would have welcomed back in England because my bed was the only bed I could ever sleep in but seeing as now my life was changing entirely too much and my family no longer wanted me...I had to adapt!
I sat up in the bed slowly letting my transition from sleep to awake take full hold on my system before letting out a yawn and stretching out my arms above my head...As much as France is still daunting to me, the sound of the birdsong was beautiful even more so than the birdsong in England.
I swung my legs off of the side of the bed and climbed into my slippers which I had placed specifically where my feet would leave the confines of the warmness of the duvet so that the coldness shouldn't be an issue.
There was no noise coming from down the stairs, even though my door was slightly ajar...I walked out of the room and closed the door and then started to walk down the stairs slowly – I had no idea about what the time was...It was best then to be quiet just in case there were people still sleeping...Before walking into the kitchen I peered my head around the living room door finding it empty...Edward had told me that he was going to be sleeping down here on the sofa but looking at it gave me the instant indication that no one had slept in it at all. Ignoring the confusion, I stepped into the kitchen finding Paul and Jacob sitting on two chairs of the very large dining table.
"Hello there, Bella" Jacob greeted me in a put-on British accent...I wanted in that moment to be mad but the accent was actually really good.
"Morning" I mumbled leaning against the countertops feeling a little awkward in a kitchen where I did not know where anything was kept or how to hunt for my own food.
"How are you?"
"I am okay"
"Sleep well?"
"Yes, thank you...Can any of you tell me where Edward is?"
"Ah we were wondering how long it would take you to eventually get bored of us...He had to work a late shift last night and an early one this morning – the things that guy does to pay the rent for this place"
Oh God....Was Edward working harder shifts because I was now staying here....I couldn't have him pay for my half of the deal...How is that fair? There was no point in confronting him about it because he would only insist that I don't pay!
"Earth calling Bella?!" I snapped back hearing my name from Paul's mouth as both the men in the kitchen gazed at me questioningly "What's up?"
"Sorry...Um...Do you have any idea when he is going to be back?"
"Nope but we have strict orders to take you out to lunch to 'Cafe Rouge'"
"This is his way of protecting me...Giving me two baby-sitters?"
"Hey...We could be very cool baby-sitters and believe me, sweetheart...You are far from a baby as anyone hopes to get"
"Guys as appreciative as I am about the lunch thing....I have no money and I would really like to spend the day trying to find a job of my own"
"Already?"
"Why not?"
"At least get settled, first honey....Paul and I have been looking forward to this – Edward gave us his credit card...Do you have any idea how long we have wanted to have this thing?!"
"Um...I'm guessing a long time?"
"Too long – we have you to thank you for the fact that we are going to completely dent that baby today...Edward cannot turn around and say that we have not filled out the duties"
"So he did ask you to baby-sit me?"
"Would you rather Sebastian does it?"
"I don't really know him"
"Trust us...He is all about the French tradition and sure he was born here but...We have the edge"
"The edge?"
"The 'Hakuna Matata' if you like"
"Wow...There was me thinking that France was a completely different world but Disney does exist here!"
"It exists in children and gays so love it or lump it, beauty...Now...You are in the company of two great cooks...What would mademoiselle Bella like for her breakfast?"
"Something that I can hunt for myself"
"See, now that is where you fail in your guest duties"
"Guest duties?"
"Yes to let everyone else do things for you until the time runs out"
"How long do I have?"
"Another couple of days, although knowing Edward...It will be even longer"
"He has already done so much for me...I want to pay him back, somehow"
"I am sure you will find a way, Bella...For now come and sit down"
Paul finished the conversation gesturing to the seat next to him...I sighed in defeat knowing that I was never going to win in a fight set with Edward or either of his roommates...I guess the paying back will have to be done in my own time and of my own means.
I sat down and watched Jacob stand up and gather some things from the fridge humming to himself as he did so...Paul continued to chat with me.
"So...This is the perfect time to tell us more about you, Miss Bella!"
"I am sure Edward has given you the lowdown on me"
"Oh no...Only the basics, we can never get anything else out of him...He stated that it was not his place to tell us anything about you and so the choice would be in your own hands"
"Oh...Well what do you want to know?"
"Anything...Everything....That does not include nothing, though"
"Um...I am British"
"We gathered as much...What are you doing in France?"
"It's a long, complicated story"
"Yeah well Jake takes forever to make pancakes so we have time"
I saw Jacob shoot his partner a look before returning to the pan with his back to us pouring some oil into it and stirring some creamy liquid with a whisk in a large mixing bowl.
"I got kicked out...My parents are very successful workers and so...By sending me here they hope that I can learn the tricks of the trade"
"They are not here?"
"No...They are in England"
"Wow that's good parenting right there" Paul replied sarcastically.
"I can't complain...I have a decent life...There are people with much bigger problems to deal with every day"
"Forget other people...Did you want to come here...Honestly?"
"No"
"How about now?"
"Now...I suppose I have to adapt – I am surrounded by men, which is a new thing in itself"
"I bet you were beating them away with a stick back home!"
"Of course not....I am not that type of person"
"The type that sleeps with people just because the opportunity is there?"
"Yes...I suppose"
"That's good...It means that you have morals...Every individual has to go through some bad fishes before finding the real reason for living"
"Hmm..."
"You don't believe that?"
"Not really"
"You will...Love will creep up on you when you least expect it"
"I'll believe it when I see it"
The frying pan started to sizzle...Paul and I as a result had to turn up the volume of our voices ever so slightly to hear each other above the sizzling and crackling noises.
"All I can say is...If you end up job searching do NOT end up in Carlisle's place again...That man is a creep in any country"
"I needed the money...I realise it was a stupid thing to do but...When you need the money-"
"Money is immaterial when your morals and pride go down the toilet...You are so much better than those girls in there, Bell!"
"How do you know that?"
"From the way that Edward has spoken about you and the way that you are with us, now...Too wise and too intelligent to give pleasure to old men"
"Unless I can find a job somewhere else then I have no choice...Besides, Edward does not run my life"
"He just cares about you, Bella"
"I am starting to get the feeling that maybe he cares more for me – that care going beyond the nature of friendship"
"Would that matter?"
"Yes...Because, I only see him as a friend...A great friend who has done so much for me...That's all"
"Then that's cool"
"Okay"
"Pancakes up!" Jacob sang passing me a plate and giving me a much needed escape from the conversation about 'Edward' it seemed like every second word that came out of his roommates mouths was his name...What was up with that?!
"Thank you" I took the plate and picked up the knife and fork on top of it and dug into my food...Jacob placed a glass of red juice in front of me before sitting down the two men in silence as they watched me eat...I'll admit it was a little distracting but I figured the faster I ate the quicker I could have access to a shower and allow the running water to wash away my emotions.
As I ate I let my mind wander to the possibility that...I did not have to go back home if I didn't want to...If I could find a job that I loved then there was no reason for me to tell my parents to stuff it – they had been the ones to send me out here in the first place so why give them the satisfaction of knowing that I had an awful time by returning to them..I was old enough to make my own decisions and honestly – they had treated me like a child for so long and now having the roommate's molly-coddle me was not something that I was going to welcome whole-heartedly...Why did Edward care so much anyway? If I make my own mistakes then surely it must be mine to make the hard way or not.
"I am going to hop in the shower" I said breaking the long, torturous silence and standing up with the plate and knife on fork on it in one of my hands.
"Ah...Ah, give me that" Jacob said taking the plate from me...I nodded and walked out of the room as fast as I possibly could.
As much as I appreciated them being so nice to me...They almost seemed to be too nice. Or was I just crazy?
I took my hair products and body wash out of my wash bag and stepped into the bathroom locking the door behind me and turning on the fan...Not being able to sleep last night gave me the opportunity to get more used to the house that I was staying in and where the simple gadgets were which didn't need to have a window open to get the job done. Turning on the water and taking off all of my clothes, I put down my products in their usual space on the shelving in the shower and basked myself under the welcome hot water.
Taking the plan to wash my thoughts away..I put my whole focus entirely on all the muscles being loosened in my body and tilting my head back to have the warmness seep onto my hair.
Smelling the products...I took extra time lathering up my hair with the shampoo and massaging my scalp with the conditioner before adding the body wash and washing all the suds away down the drain.
I wrapped the towel around myself and splashed some cold water on my face from the sink also taking the time to wrap my hair in the small towel as usual before walking back into Edward's room.
Glancing once at the window – I decided not to open the curtains yet to prevent the light straining my eyes which had been used to the dark....In as much speed as possible, I put on some of my usual not so very special casual clothes and socks to heat up my chilled feet and then grabbing the hairdryer from my drawer and plugging it in.
Blocking out all the sounds in the house below and around me was so much more easier with the blaring noise of my dryer putting in all the effort to de-wave my usual curls on the underneath layer of my hair.
I had been lucky in the sense that I had inherited good hair, the kind that was naturally shiny and a mix of different colours which others in my life had find endearing...The only issue I had was the length of time it took to get my hair completely dry...It was the longest time I spent in my mornings, most girls spent all their time on their makeup but for me it was my hair...I was a makeup virgin...I had never had the temptation to wear it but if given the opportunity to have some one day was not off of my cards. It might have been curious to see what I looked like with it on.
Turning off the hairdryer...I ran my hair band along the top of my head to keep the right side fringe away from my eye which had trained itself automatically to do without my say-so and then put the hairdryer back in the drawer....I took the towels from the bed and hung them back in the bathroom and returned to the bedroom.
I started to make the bed, pulling the duvet cover back over the pillows.
"Good morning, Bella" I gasped at the sound of Edward's voice as I glanced over to the door and found him standing there looking at what I was doing with a smile on his face. "How are you...Did you sleep okay?"
"Fine" I replied simply...Finishing the bed and sitting down on it...Taking out my usual daily pill for my skin out of the sachets on the bedside table and swallowing it down.
"What's that?"
"Just a pill for my skin"
"Um..Bella, have I done something to upset you?"
"Well...Do you want the truth or do you want a lie?"
"What kind of question is that?"
"I can lie and say that everything is fine or tell the truth"
"What is wrong, Bella?"
"I may be new to this country and this way of living, Edward but I would really appreciate it if you didn't ask your roommates to molly-coddle me"
"What?"
"I don't want to be protected whenever you are not around...Hell, even when you are around"
"I worry about you, Bella"
"Why....There's no need to...Fair enough, I made a mistake with the whole Carlisle thing but I do not need to be reminded of it every day from now on?"
"Excuse me for trying to help you!"
"I never said that I wasn't grateful but Edward, I need to breathe and I need to be free to make my own mistakes in life that is the only way that I will learn"
"Why are you so afraid of letting people help you?!"
"I have been taking care of myself for a long time, Edward...I am not a child"
"I do NOT treat you like a child!"
"Having your roommates watch my every move and indulge in conversation with me that I probably don't even believe that they want to hear IS treating me like a child!"
"Fine...Forget I ever did anything...You go out there and have that freak of a man eye you up and down from a distance for all I care...You're right I don't know why I give a shit...Next time, I won't bother!"
"WELL MAYBE IT'S BEST IF I GO THEN!"
"FINE!"
I stormed past Edward at the threatening tears that were going to inhabit my eyes and stormed down the stairs...Paul and Jacob were standing by the front door looking awkward...I said nothing as I took my coat off of the hook and followed them out of the door.
The day was peaceful...Nothing like my morning had been...I kept close between Jacob and Paul as they shielded me from the other unknown people in the streets living out the next day of their lives the way that they usually did.
"It won't take long to walk there, Bella" Paul assured me...I smiled and nodded in response not wanting to talk until the shock of having the first argument with Edward out of my system.
It took us about fifteen minutes until I was being led into a cute little restaurant in a place where I had never been before but still looked so similar to the other places I had seen in terms of the design of street...This place just looked like it had the same streets and shops but with different names on every new one...How strange, the only thing that seemed remotely and significantly different to me, a foreigner was the houses that were being lived in.
"Hello, welcome to 'Cafe Rouge' a table for three?" A young woman with a very heavy French accent greeted us as we stepped through the door.
"Yes please...A booth is possible" Jacob answered.
"I shall see what I can do...Please follow me"
I took off my coat as I followed Jacob and Paul into the restaurant hanging it over my arm letting the delicious smell of food and the sound of French music take me under in my new world.
I sat down on the leather booth chair opposite Jake and Paul as the young woman handed me a menu and took out a small notebook and pen from her pocket. "Can I get you any drinks?"
"Lemonade please?" Jake said
"I'll have a Fanta, please?" Paul added...I swallowed the dryness in my throat before answering.
"A coke, please?" I added.
"No problem...Bon Appétit!" The young woman walked away and I put my arms on the table and looked down at the menu. The majority of the food being French delicacies but there were a few pasta dishes that only a mere English person would choose....I immediately picked to have a spaghetti bolognaise so as not to be annoying and be one of those people who spend forever to order food.
"Dare we ask what you and Edward were shouting about?"
"We weren't shouting"
"Please, people on the Eiffel tower could hear you" Paul remarked.
"It's nothing...Friends are allowed to argue sometimes"
"Of course they can, but I have rarely seen Edward so angry...It was strange that's all"
"That's what happens when you meet someone from a different walk of life...They can bring out the best or the worst in you...I may be bringing out the worst in Edward"
"Bella...He is our friend and as much as we don't want to sound like we are defending him...We did offer to take you out today, ourselves...He was going to call in sick and spend the day with you"
Shit....Of course, I had been a bitch!! Edward was not a bad person...I was!
"Well...Why didn't he tell me that?"
"Probably...Maybe, he wanted to but couldn't"
"If he had then I wouldn't have gone on at him like a heartless bitch...I have never been looked after before and I don't know how to respond to that"
"It's alright, Bella...he probably understands"
"Well...Thank you for taking me out, today"
"Any friend of Ed's is a friend of ours"
Lunch was packed full of conversation that was only put-on to stop me blurting out my real feelings and emotions...As we walked home, Jacob and Paul passed the fountain and I was taken back into my memory of my first night in France and the real day that Edward and I had spent together in each other's company.
He had been so nice and attentive to a new strange British girl he had just met...One with a lot of emotional baggage for a story and parents who had sent her out here for all the wrong reasons. How can I enjoy myself when I was always thinking this way....Always thinking that people were doing things they weren't...I had never had help in life, such a poor excuse as it was I had always coped on my own and I guess when you spend years in that mind-set it becomes a horrible habit to shift.
"Bella you okay?"
I hadn't realised that I had come to a stand-still in front of the fountain. "Sorry, I just really like this fountain"
"Do you want to make a wish?"
Couldn't hurt!
"Thank you" I said taking the French coin from Paul's hand and closing my eyes, I wish Edward could find it in his heart to forgive me I threw it into the water and stepped away from it, closing on Paul and Jacob's heels as we made a slow walk back to the house.
*(Evening)*
I had stayed in Edward's bedroom for the rest of the day, splitting up times from lying on the bed with my thoughts and standing on the balcony and looking out onto the view with my thoughts...Jacob and Paul went out a good two hours ago and Sebastian had not returned from work...I had heard the front door open an hour ago...Assuming that it was Edward, I blocked it out and put on my pyjamas.
Then, however I was getting lonely and our argument this morning proved that I had been more in the wrong than him and so like any girl growing up with manners I decided to go and apologise.
I crept down the stairs and tiptoed into the living room...Edward was on his stomach the sofa pulled out into a bed and the sheet covering his half naked body which I fought to ignore and carry out the plan at hand....I knelt down on the floor beside his head so as not to fight the temptation of having to look at his bare torso.
"Edward?" I whispered placing my hands together in my leg and putting my weight back so my bottom was resting on my heels...Edward sighed and fluttered his eyes open.
"Bella...Are you okay?"
"I didn't mean to wake you"
"That's okay...What's the matter?" There was genuine concern in Edward's voice that made my heart melt somewhat at the idea that I had made him so angry this morning, without hearing him out first.
"I am really sorry about this morning"
"I am sorry, too" he whispered lifting his body up and resting his weight on his arms as he shifted closer to the end of the bed.
"I have never really been looked after before, I don't know how to handle it...And judging by how upset I made you this morning....I know I didn't handle it right"
"I was tired, I shouldn't have snapped"
"I put the blame on myself – You have done nothing but help me since I came here and shouting at you is not a way to say thank you....Can we start again?"
"Of course we can, Bella...I care about you because I want to care...I want to make sure that you are safe and having you baby-sat was not a good thing...I promise I will back off from now on"
"Not entirely, though...I still want us to be friends"
"We will always be friends"
"Good...Well, goodnight...Edward" I finished standing up.
"Goodnight Bella" he answered giving me another small smile before I closed the living room door on him and made my way back up the stairs.
I had someone there for me and honestly it felt great!
Thanks for Reading!
*Samantha*