Chapter Four
Edward Cullen never talks to anyone. At least, this is what I was told.
Mike and Jessica pounced on me the moment I left the classroom. Jessica was pouting in disbelief, demanding to know what we'd talked about and if we'd met before. She saw him looking at me. Saw him smiling. Apparently, Edward Cullen never smiles, either.
Mike sneered and warned me away from the Cullen family, telling me they were stuck-up freaks who looked down on anyone who wasn't as rich as they were. He told me he didn't like the way Edward was looking at me as he walked away, told me that he was obviously just messing with my head and would hurt my feelings. I wondered what Edward had done to Mike personally to make him feel this way. I wondered how harshly Edward had rejected Jessica's advances to make her so jealous of such a small amount of attention.
The rest of the day passed rather quickly. I had only gym to get through, and survived the multiple sets of volleyball with a surprising amount of grace. I managed to duck past Mike as he stood waiting for me to exit the locker room, and made it to my Bug with relative ease before remembering that I had meant to check out my locker in the Arts Building at the end of the day. Frowning, I spun on my heel and trudged across campus, cursing the fact that my locker was not only in a building I would never use, but also in the building farthest from the parking lot.
It took four tries to get my locker open, and another three to get it closed again. I was sweating and cursing by the time I finally got the door to shut and lock, muttering to myself about the supreme unfairness of the universe to curse me with such a useless amenity. It wasn't until I was standing at the end of the hallway with my hand on the door that I heard the familiar ringtone, and it wasn't until I thoroughly searched my pockets that I realized that I had left my entire backpack in the devil locker.
"Bloody hell," I whined, kicking the doorframe and thoroughly stubbing my toe in the process. I limped back to fight with the locker demon once more, tears in my eyes from my throbbing toe, listening to Beethoven as it echoed sharply through the vented metal door that absolutely refused to open. By the time I made it to my destination, the ringing had stopped, but started up again almost immediately. Someone really wanted to talk to me, and my hands were shaking from frustration too much to allow me to properly pry open the door.
"A little help?" a bell-like voice suddenly trilled from my left.
I turned, startled, towards the source of the noise, a petite girl with spiky black hair and a charming smile.
"I can get it," I muttered, trying once more to open it the conventional way before almost immediately deteriorating into beating it with my fists. Apparently, it wasn't enough for me to hurt my poor toe... my hands wanted into the mix, too. The strange girl next to me laughed.
"Come on, Bells, budge over. Leave this to the professionals."
The girl gave me a firm yet gentle shove, effectively protecting the locker from my fists of fury and protecting my knuckles from further injury. With an ease that made me sick, the girl had the door unlocked and open in seconds, offering me a sympathetic smile and nodding towards the still-ringing cell phone lighting up the front pocket of my bag.
"Thanks," I begrudged, fumbling with the zipper of my Jansport and retrieving my cell. "Hello?"
"Finally, Isabella, I've been trying to reach you forever."
I don't know what voice I expected to her, but it wasn't my mother's. I froze for a moment, shocked that she would even call, let alone continue to call until I answered.
"I... I'm sorry. I couldn't get to my phone and-"
"Where is that computer that was in the purple room?" my mother interrupted.
What? The purple room?
Oh.
"You mean my room, mom?"
"Yes, Isabella. Where is the computer?"
"I brought it with me, mom. It was mine."
"That was not yours, Isabella. That was the family's. You thought you could just take it with you? Computers are expensive, you know."
I bit my lip, wishing I was in my treehouse right now, or even in my car... anywhere but in this strange hallways standing next to this strange little girl.
"I paid for half of it, mom, so I assumed it was mine. I apologize. I'll ship it back to you tomorrow... Is... is there any way you could reimburse me for the money I contributed to it? So I can replace it?" I asked hopefully, knowing the answer before I even asked the question.
"We have a baby on the way, Isabella. You think Phil and I are made of money? Don't be so selfish."
"You're right, mom. I apologize. How are you and-"
"Make sure you send that computer straight back to Arizona. I don't know why you would think it's alright to just leave Phil and I without a computer. Honestly, Isabella," my mom huffed. I heard a male voice in the background. Phil.
"I will. I'm sorry, mom. I love-"
"I have to go now. Bye."
I kept the phone to my ear, finishing our conversation for the benefit of the person standing next to me. My mother had never been that rude to me before. Never been that outwardly selfish. Maybe it was Phil's influence. Maybe the distance allowed her true nature to show. But I kept talking, telling her I loved her and promising to call her again soon. Laughing at jokes she wasn't making and worries she wasn't expressing, cringing when the dial tone began to beep loudly in my ear.
Finally, I closed my cell phone, making a big show of maneuvering it back into the front pocket of my bag. Composing my face so I could turn and face my new shadow without tears in my eyes.
"Thank you again," I said after an age, slinging my bag over my shoulder and forcing the door shut again. "I don't think this locker likes me very much."
"It was no problem," she demurred, smiling again. "I'm Alice."
"Nice to meet you," I replied, working hard to return her smile. I wanted to go home and cry. I wanted to throw my phone against a wall. I wanted... "I'm Isab... wait. How did you know my name before?"
She looked uncomfortable for a moment, her eyes leaving mine, before bouncing on her toes and laughing, shrugging off my confusion.
"It's a small town, Bella. Everyone knows your name."
"But only my father calls me 'Bella.'"
"And he talks about you all the time," she insisted before seeming to search her mind for an appropriate topic change. "Who was on the phone?"
"My mom," I answered, swallowing back the tears which seemed intent to overtake me at any moment.
"She must miss you a lot," Alice ventured. She seemed to be watching my expression carefully. She seemed to be waiting for a reaction.
"Of course she does," I breezed, not meaning it. "She's my mother."
It was coming. I felt the lump in my throat, the heat behind my eyes. I had to get out of here. Had to get somewhere private before I further humiliated myself.
"Anyway, Alice it was really nice meeting you," I offered, inching my way towards the door.
"You, too, Bella. I can tell we're going to be great friends."
She gave me a sad smile and a little wave, and I moved quickly out of the building.
It was pouring outside, like the storm the night before but without the lightning or the wind. The rain came down in sheets, obscuring everything around me, battering the tin awnings that covered the walkways. I made it a few feet from the Arts Building before I dropped my bag, sinking to my knees on the damp concrete and letting my tears finally overtake me.
My mother had been everything to me when I was little. I hadn't understood at first. The men and the constant moving, the broken promises and the gradual distancing... I always thought it meant I needed to try harder. I always thought...
"Good girl, Bella. Let it go."
Cold arms wrapped around me from behind. A tinkling voice was whispering in my ear. My sobs grew louder. I'd been discovered.
"It's alright, Bella. Everything's going to be alright."
She was rocking me, now. Back and forth, back and forth...
"I tried so hard," I finally wailed, clutching at Alice, fisting my hands into her sweater. "She never saw me. Why didn't she see me? I wasn't there. I didn't exist. I don't exist..."
"Yes you do, Bella. You're here and I see you and you exist. And Charlie sees you. Charlie loves you, Bella. You should've heard him go on to Esme. He was so excited when you called him. So excited when he knew you were coming. He loves you so much, Bella. You're loved and you exist."
She was holding me tighter, speaking so quickly I almost missed her words. This girl I'd known for ten minutes was comforting me in a way that nobody ever had. And I wanted to be embarrassed and shy... I wanted to wipe my eyes and run away... but I couldn't.
We sat there like that for an age. I clung to her, resting my head on her shoulder as she rubbed soothing circles on my back and whispered words of affection and encouragement in my ear. I'd calm down for a bit and start up again, another memory drifting to the surface, another regret making itself known.
"I told you we'd be friends," Alice whispered to me when I'd finally calmed down for good.
"God, Alice, I'm so so sorry," I yelped, jerking away from her. The shoulder of her green sweater was damp with tears and misshapen in the places where I'd held onto her.
"I wasn't being sarcastic, Bella. And I meant what I said. We're friends, and friends are there for each other, especially when they're needed."
"I just... it's been so stressful and-"
"Of course it has. You've been in Forks for what? Two days? You're living in a new house, starting a new school, and forging a relationship with a man you haven't seen in years. If anyone's entitled to a cry, Bella, it's you."
She caught my eye and held it, nodding to me in understanding. I wrung my hands in my lap, letting silence stretch between us.
"I think we both know that's not why I was crying, Alice," I finally said, quietly.
"Yes, well..."
"Thank you," I said quickly, before I lost my nerve. "Thank you Alice. You've saved me twice today."
"All part of the job description, Isabella Swan. Super Alice at your service."
She grinned and winked before rising gracefully to her feet, extending her hand to haul me up and handing me my backpack once I'd gotten myself dusted off. Before I knew what was happening, I had been pulled into a bone crushing hug. For such a short girl, she was pretty damn strong.
"Now get your cute ass home, Bella. I'm sure the Chief is worried about you."
A/N: Mixed feelings about this chapter. Lemme know if you think I should kill it.