The rest of the weekend passed slowly and long. It almost felt like it was never ending. I wallowed in self pity, and avoided the phone and door.
The guys had called, stopped by, and even tried making their way into my house a numerous amounts of time.
I called in sick for the job the first week, claiming I had the flu.
The principal and secretary both understood when I claimed that I didn't want to get my students sick, especially when they had a big project due soon.
So I stayed home. I had enough food and things to keep me occupied and away from starvation.
The only problem was the phone; the calls seemed to die down a bit, but not by much. Every member of the pack called at least once a day, Sam mostly twice. They all left messages saying the same thing.
'I know it's hard, but we should really talk.' Or 'please, let us explain everything. Just call us when you get the message.'
But, I never did. I could never bring myself to. I knew how much they were probably hurting, but the thought of them made me sick; especially Sam.
He was a fake….our relationship was a fake. Every touch…every kiss…the love and passion we had for each other was a total fake.
Sunday night hit and I knew I couldn't call in another week sick.
Not only was I falling to pieces, but my mind was constantly wrapped around Sam.
They were like bittersweet thoughts. At times, I would think about giving him a second chance. I mean, he could help it after all.
But then I thought of how he hurt me. He kept this from me and let me fall for him. He made me think the guys really did want me back. It felt like betrayal.
And everyday, I knew it would get harder. Sam said so.
You can't be away from me too long, just like I can't be without you for long periods of time. The imprint has bound us together. His voice echoed in my head.
I shook the voices away and tried to think of what to do.
I decided I needed to see Bex. That little girl always cleared my head and made everything ok again.
Dialing Lila's number, I was hoping to get away soon.
"Hello?" her voice rang.
"Hey Lila, its Bella." I said with a fake cheery tone.
"Bella!" She said happily. "What can I do for you?"
"Is it ok if I come visit Bex tomorrow?" I asked nervously.
"Oh yea, that would be perfect. I bet she would be ecstatic to see you. Did you want to come around 1ish?"
"Yea, that sounds great." I said relieved.
"Alright, well we will see you then!" she chirped.
We hung up the phone after we said our goodbyes. It was getting late, and if I wanted to be in Nevada by 1, I was going to have to wake up early.
By the next day, I was up and ready to go. I grabbed a cup of coffee on my way out of Forks and was on the road.
I pulled up at Bex's house around 1:15ish; making it in pretty good time.
Their house was a perfect place, almost movie like.
It was red brick, and gave off a homey feel.
I walked up to the dark cherry wood door and waited.
"Belly!" Bex exclaimed and ran into my arms.
"Bex!" I laughed, twirling her as she hung onto my arms.
When I set her down, she immediately reached for my hand and dragged me into the house.
"Come on. Beary and I are playing outside!" she exclaimed.
Feeling lighter already, I let her drag me through the house and out to the backyard.
"Hey Bella!" Lila smiled as we passed the kitchen. Lila was sitting in the open family room, holding a book with the TV on.
"Hey Lila!" I waved back. I didn't get to say much more because Bex was practically pulling me to the back doors.
"Come on!" she whined.
Lila rolled her eyes, but said no more.
When Bex and I made it outside, I found she had set up a white round circular table with her stuffed animals and 2 empty spots.
"We are having a tea party!" she chirped.
I laughed and shook my head in disbelievement. I haven't had a tea party since I was a kid.
"Come on." She commanded.
She had me sit in one of the white chairs and wait for further instructions. A while later, she poured the tea and we all have civilized conversations.
Apparently Beary was getting a hair cut soon.
Bex left her chair and ran into the house.
When she came back, I found she had put on one of those pink feathery dress up scarves and a pair of sunglasses.
"Cute." I commented. She blushed and went back to her seat. When the tea party was over, we played on her play structure.
Soon, we go really silly and started chasing each other around the table and the grass.
We must have been playing for a while because Lila called us in for dinner.
"Lets go!" I smiled and stuck a hand out for her to take.
She skipped over to me and took my hand.
We walked to the house full of laughter and jolliness.
"Daddy!" she exclaimed when she saw him in the kitchen.
"Bex!" he grunted as she ran into his arms.
"Hey Carter." I smiled.
"Hey Bella, long time no see." He said while nodding and smiling back at me.
Eventually, we all sat down to eat and talk.
"So your moving to Forks, I heard." I told Carter.
He nodded and continued to eat.
"Yea, jobs transferring me. It should be interesting. Apparently its cold and rainy a lot?" he asked.
I smiled and nodded sympathetically.
"Yea, well unless you will be in La Push, it's pretty much that."
He nodded and we continued to talk. After dinner was finished and the sun was setting, I decided I needed to get back on the road.
"Belly. Cant you stay?" Bex whined.
"I can't Bex. I have to go home. But I will see you soon ok?"
"Belly…" she cried.
"Bex….Bex." I said softly as she held on to me.
"It's ok. I will see you soon. You're moving out by me remember?" I asked her.
She nodded while the tears fell down her cheeks.
"And I promise you…when you come out to move by me, I will be there to help you unpack ok?" I asked her. Wiping her tears, she nodded.
"Alright, now give me one last hug." I commanded.
She nodded, hugging me tight.
When the hug was over, she went to Carter and he picked her up, cuddling her in his arms.
I left after saying my goodbyes, hitting the road, to be home just after 9.
When I pulled up to the driveway, I parked the car and let out a breath.
Between driving, playing with Bex, and coming back to face reality, I was exhausted.
I pulled my keys out of the ignition and got out of the car.
As I walked up to the front porch, I looked up and sucked in a breath.
He was sitting on the front steps, watching me.
"Bella." He swallowed nervously.
Frozen in shock, I stood there with the keys in my hand just taking him in.
"Bella." He said again slow and softly.
"Sam." I gulped and slowly began walking towards him with some composure.
"Bella, look, we really need to talk. About everything." Sam pleaded with me.
I took a deep breath, hoping my heartbeat would calm down and tried to think about something else.
As my eyes diverted to the steps where he once sat, I pleaded in my head he would just sit back down and leave me alone.
"Bella." He said again, bringing his hand to my shoulder to snap me out of my thoughts.
I immediately backed away out of his touched and swallowed hard.
My heart raced again and I practically ran for the door.
"Look Sam, it's been a really long day and I'm tired. Can we just not do this? Ok? I'm really not in the mood." I said trying my hardest not to sound as harsh as it really was. I kept my eyes trained on the key in the door and waited for a resonse.
I could hear him give a sad sigh and analyze me. His eyes burned a path up and down my body.
"Yea, sure. Sorry to bug you." He said sadly.
I briefly looked at him and dropped my eyes back down to the floor.
"Thanks. Goodnight Sam." I told him and then walked in my house and shut the door.
I leaned back against the door and let out a breath. Sam always made me so jittery and gave me butterflies. I wasn't supposed to feel like this anymore.
It's the stupid imprint! My head told me.
I shook my head with disgust and when I composed myself I pushed off the door, set my keys down, and went upstairs to go to bed.