A/N Ok, so we find out here who the mystery man is that Bella bumped into at the end of the last chapter. There's a lot going on and so this is the longest chapter yet. Thank you to everyone who continues to follow this story. I am shocked every day with the number of hits/alerts/and faves I get as well as reviews! It means so much to me that so many people are enjoying it. Anyway, I'll let you get to it! Enjoy and please review! 3 Thank you!
Chapter 31 – Stranger
Edward had just dropped Bella off at the door to the girl's locker room and was sauntering his way to the other side of the building where the boy's locker room was held when a foreboding feeling overcame him. He couldn't explain it, but he knew something bad was going to happen, something worse than his interaction with Lauren earlier.
Trying to shake it off, he continued into the locker room and changed into his gym clothes. They were working in the weight room and it was usually very calming for him. He thought if he could just get in there and lose himself in the weights, whatever this feeling was would go away.
Faster than most of the other guys in the room, Edward was dressed and headed out to the weight room. His coach, Coach Johnson, was already there and nodded to him that he should go ahead and start stretching out and warming up. He immediately went to the mats and began his stretches. If there was one thing he'd ever learned as part of lifting weights, it was that stretching the muscles beforehand was a necessity if one wanted to avoid pulling something or injuring him or herself.
Over the next five minutes as he stretched out his muscles, his classmates began entering the gym and joining him on the mat. One of the last to enter the gym was a guy he had never seen before, but as soon as he walked in, the foreboding feeling came back full force, almost knocking the wind out of him.
From the moment he saw him, Edward automatically knew that he didn't like the guy. He was so obviously trouble of the worst kind. He didn't know how he knew, he just did. Maybe it was the cocky aura that this guy emanated or maybe it was his bad boy attitude that was obvious in his imitation of a smile.
The guy was taller than most of the others in the class, but didn't quite reach Edward's height, maybe only an inch or so shorter. He was skinny but well built as could be seen in the way he dressed. He wore his shorts low on his hips, which were a prominent feature he was trying to showcase. He was wearing a maroon muscle shirt that proved today wasn't his first day in a weight room. He arm muscles rippled with every step he took as they swung in time with his feet. His stomach muscles strained against the shirt, six-pack abs hidden by the material but subtly revealed by the tightness of it.
He had hair that went well past his shoulders but was held back with a rubber band. Edward scrutinized this guy, not to check him out, but to try to discover what it was that made this guy seem so menacing. He gasped in shock as he realized what it was in that moment. Whoever this person was, his eyes were almost pitch black. Looking at him, a person couldn't tell where the pupil ended and where the iris began. It was completely disconcerting and worried the hell out of him.
Trying to shake off the feelings he was having, he finished his stretching routines and then waited for Coach Johnson to give instructions on the specific things they were to be doing today.
When the coach was finished with whatever he was doing, he blew his whistle and drew the attention of the room to him. "Class, we have a new student joining us today. This is James Ellsworth. James is a transfer student from Las Angeles. I know I can count on each of you to make him feel welcome."
James looked as if everyone in the room was beneath him, including the coach. He half-heartedly waved at the introduction but then turned his back on everyone as if he were too good to be seen with any of them.
When the coach was done with his instructions, Edward went straight to his assigned equipment and started his workout. He usually put in a standard amount of effort in class, but today he went above and beyond. His was perhaps overly vigorous in all his exercises; enough that it drew the attention of the coach.
"Edward, is everything okay?" Coach Johnson asked, looking concerned.
Edward took a deep breath and tried to calm down. He answered after a brief pause," Yeah, Coach. Everything is fine. I've just had one of those days today, you know?"
Coach Johnson laughed and patted him on the back a few times. "Alright, just remember that they equipment didn't do anything to you. Try not to beat it up." Still chuckling to himself, the coach walked away to continue his observations of the other students. Edward drew in a deep breath and tried to concentrate on not being over exuberant in his exercises.
He was so focused that he almost missed the interaction between the coach and the new kid, James. He heard Coach Johnson yelling at James about something regarding the equipment and it appeared that James wasn't listening at all. Out of the corner of his eye, Edward saw the coach grab James' shoulder and spin him around to face him, completely pissed that he was being ignored.
James did not like that one bit and looked like he wanted to take a swing at Coach Johnson. Somehow he checked himself at the last minute though and appeared to look humbled, paying perfect attention to what he was being told. Edward wasn't fooled though; he knew it was an act. What a great way to begin at a new school stupid prick, he thought to himself as he went back to concentrating on his own exercises.
With about ten minutes left of class, they were dismissed to the locker rooms to shower and dress for the last period of the day. Edward went off and quickly showered. Only a few more minutes before he and Bella were together again. He was just coming out of the shower to get dressed when James ran into him.
"Watch where you're going you fucking idiot!" James shouted at him as if it was Edward's fault that he ran into him. Edward just shrugged and walked away. Getting into a confrontation with James was not something he needed and he was still nervous as hell about the feelings he felt whenever he was around him. It was as if his subconscious was telling him that something was going to go terribly wrong.
Feeling silly and superstitious, Edward got dressed and sat on the bench by the lockers for a few minutes before the bell rang. He placed his head in his hand and pinched the bridge of his nose. When the bell rang, he took a deep, cleansing breath and stood up. He exited the locker room about thirty seconds after James. They would have exited at the same time, but he had seen James walking toward the door and held himself back. He wanted to stay as far away from the creep as he could.
When he saw Bella come around the corner and smacked right into James he quickened his pace to make sure she was okay. He watched as she helped pick up the books James had dropped and handed them back to him before walking past, or at least trying to. Edward saw James' hand snake out and grab Bella's wrist, pulling her into him so that their bodies were flush against each other. He was close enough now to hear what James said to Bella and it was all he could do not to tear they guy limb from limb.
"That's okay, sexy. Feel free to run into me any time you want," he told her with an arrogant look on his face like there was no way she could refuse him.
…..
When this guy pulled her body flush into his she started to panic and her eyes darted wildly around looking for help. She felt like she wanted to puke because of the way this guy was looking at her; it seemed as if she were a piece of meat to him and nothing more. His arrogant look told her she needed to get away from him and fast. Luckily Edward was close behind and approaching quickly.
"Get your fucking hands off my girlfriend," Edward growled at the guy she had never seen before. He turned his eyes to Bella, looking at her with so much affection as he held his hand out to her. "Baby, are you okay?" he asked her as she reached for him. Before they even moved completely away, he had pulled her into a tight embrace and kissed the top of her head.
"Whatever dude, she ran into me. I was simply trying to hold her up so she didn't fall," he said winking at Bella.
"You're a goddamn liar! I saw exactly what happened. If you touch her again, you're gonna have to answer to me so watch it, okay?" Edward was in the guys face pushing his chest with his index finger. Bella was so scared it was going to turn into a fight right then and there, but watched as Edward took a deep breath and backed up. He grabbed her hand and pulled her quickly towards their next class.
Just before they reached the room, Edward spun her around and trapped her against the wall of lockers. "Are you okay Bella?" He sounded so worried that she placed her hands on his chest and smiled.
"I am now, thanks you to. Who was that asshole?" she asked him.
"I don't know; some transfer student form LA. At least that's what Coach Johnson told us. I don't like him Bella and I get a horrible feeling any time I'm around him. Promise me you'll stay away from him, please?" Edward pulled her into an embrace and held her tightly.
She felt herself relax in his arms and her breathing returned to normal as she whispered two words to Edward. "I promise."
With that, Edward led them into their last class of the day and they quickly found seats together in the back. She laughed as he scooted his desk as close to hers as he could get before settling in. Their interaction with this James character had left them both shaken and she knew that if he was feeling anything close to what she was, he would need to be in physical contact with her, or at least as close as possible, for the rest of the afternoon.
The class went by in a flourish and sooner than she expected, the bell was ringing, signaling the end of the school day. Edward stood up and grabbed his backpack before reaching for hers as well. "Edward, I'm more than capable of carrying my own backpack," she laughed but didn't argue when he continued to put it on his shoulder.
"I just want to take care of you beautiful. Thank you for letting me," he told her as he kissed her forehead bringing a smile to her lips. "You are so precious to me, Bella. I hope you realize that I would do absolutely anything for you." Still standing in the classroom, he quickly brushed his lips against hers before turning and leading her out.
As they exited the classroom, she saw Alice and Jasper in the hallway. Alice saw her at the same time and came skipping up to her, enveloping her in a tight hug. "Bella! It's so good to see you! I thought that you and Edward were going to join Jasper and me for lunch today but we didn't even see you in the cafeteria. Where'd you go?" Without even giving Bella the chance to come up with an excuse, she continued. "What are your plans this afternoon? Do you want to come hang out and do your homework at our place?"
Bella couldn't help but laugh at Alice's enthusiasm. She actually wanted to take Edward back to her place because she knew Charlie wouldn't be home until dinnertime, but she felt bad saying no to Alice. She looked to Edward to see what he wanted, but when he simply shrugged his shoulders, she agreed to Alice's invitation.
"Yay! Jazz and I have to stop on the way home but we should be there in an hour or so. See you guys then!" Without another word, Alice bounced back over to Jasper and they walked out to the parking lot together, side-by-side but careful not to touch.
As Edward started to lead Bella out of the school, she heard a strange sound. "Edward, are you vibrating?" she asked him laughing.
"What? Oh, my phone is ringing in my backpack," he said before dropping their packs and searching for his phone. When he found it, he checked the caller id before answering it. "It's my mom," he said by way of explanation.
"Hi mom. Yeah, the rest of the day went well. There was in incident between fifth and sixth hours but it didn't involve Lauren. Yeah, we can swing by. We were just planning to go to the house to do our homework and then hang out. No, it's not an issue; we'll be there in fifteen minutes. Okay mom, I love you too! See you soon. Bye!" Edward ended the call and then pulled Bella close to him.
"Mom is done seeing patients today because her last appointment cancelled. She asked if we would both go and talk a little bit about what happened today. Are you okay with that?" Edward smiled at her, unsure of himself for answering for her seconds ago.
"Babe, your mom is my therapist. Of course I don't mind going to talk to her about something traumatic that happened today. I'm glad you're going with me though; after everything that had happened, I don't want to let you out of my sight," she told him laughingly. "I am worried though. What will Alice say when we're not there when she gets home?"
…..
Edward led Bella out to his car and opened the door for her. Once she was seated, he leaned in the door and grabbed her seat belt, buckling it for her before kissing her lips. He lingered there for a moment, lightly tracing her bottom lip with his tongue. When he felt her respond by opening her mouth to him, he deepened the kiss. He would never grow tired of kissing Bella; the moment when his lips left hers he felt a loss, like something was missing.
After breaking the kiss he moved his lips to her ear to whisper, "I could kiss you all day long Bella, but we should probably get going. I told mom we'd be there in fifteen minutes." He chuckled when her bottom lip jutted out in a pout.
Reaching his finger up, he traced her lip lightly, pushing it back into her mouth. He brought his lips to her ear again and whispered, "You are adorable when you pout. It makes me want to take you right now." When he finished saying that, he pulled her earlobe into his mouth and sucked on it, giving her the chills.
"Tease," she called to him as he pulled back and walked around the car to get in.
Once he was in, he looked at her seriously. He knew she could see the desire in his eyes but he still wanted to be clear. "Not if I follow through," he told her with a wink. He watched as the blush rose up her neck to her forehead and he couldn't resist placing a hand gently on her cheek. "You are so beautiful when you blush Bella," he told her before putting taking his hand back and putting the key in the ignition and starting the car.
They drove to his mother's office in a comfortable silence while holding hands. When they got there, Esme welcomed them both into her office with a warm hug. When they were all seated, Esme asked them to explain the day to her again.
Edward told her all about third period and what Lauren was saying to Jessica. He could feel his anger rising again just thinking about it and knew he needed to calm down. He could see that Esme was appalled by the look on her face, but she sat there and let him finish his story.
When he was done, Esme looked at them both kindly. "What happened after that?" she asked.
He went on to explain that they decided to go home for lunch so they could cool off after what had happened, glossing over certain parts. Esme gave him a knowing look, but allowed him to continue. He said they got back to school and didn't have any more issues with Lauren, but when he felt Bella stir beside him, he stopped and looked at her.
"Bella, did something else happen during fifth hour that you didn't tell me about?" He looked directly in her eyes and could see the conflict and sadness there within them. Slowly, she nodded but seemed afraid to speak as she dropped her chin to her chest. "It's okay, sweetheart. Please tell me what happened so we can resolve the situation." He lifted her chin so that he could look into her eyes again. "I love you, Bella. Please talk to me; to us." He glanced at his mom, remembering that she was there too.
Bella took a deep breath and sighed heavily before speaking, her head hung down again. "She said you're too good for me; that she couldn't understand what a hunk like you would see in a mouse like me but that you would dump me soon."
Edward saw her eyes well up and spill over, so he leaned in quickly and kissed away her tears. "She's wrong, Bella. You know that, right? I could never dump you nor would I ever want to. I love you too much," he promised her fervently before bringing his lips to meet hers.
Bella wrapped her arms around his waist and whispered, "I know that Edward but it still stung to hear her say it."
Esme, who had been quiet and contemplative pretty much the whole time, finally spoke. "What did you say to her Bella?"
Bella bristled a little at Esme's question but took another deep breath and answered it. "Well, I um sort of… um… called her a jealous bitch and told her she was more wrong then she could know. Then I showed her the ring Edward gave me and told her he loved me and there was nothing she could do about it before I calmly walked away." When she was done talking, she buried her head in Edward's shoulder and he tightened his arm around her.
"Bella, I'm proud of you for standing up for yourself. Maybe if Lauren sees that she cannot intimidate you, she'll stop trying. We're going to have to just play it be ear for now," Esme explained. "Did anything else happen today that I should know about?" she asked.
"Yeah mom, there was one more thing." He looked at Bella and nodded encouragingly for her to go ahead. She took a deep breath and explained to Esme what had happened with James. Edward also told her about the foreboding feeling he got any time he was near James. When he was finished, Esme sat silently, apparently lost in thought.
"Okay, you two, here's what I want you to do. Try to avoid any sort of confrontation with Lauren. If she talks to you, ignore her. Your reactions seem to be what's motivating her behavior. As far as this James character is concerned I want you both to stay as far from him as possible. I don't like the image of him that you've painted; he sounds like he's trouble and it would be best to stay away from that."
When they both agreed to her suggestions, she seemed satisfied. She rose from her chair and gave them each hugs as they got ready to leave. "Oh, Bella dear, I invited Charlie over for dinner tonight when I called him earlier today about what happened. He'll be over around six and said he would just see you there," she told Bella before winking at her.
She may not have come right out and said anything, but Edward suspected she knew what was going on physically between them. While she wasn't opposing it, she wasn't necessarily going to make it easy for them to be together either. Bella just smiled at her and thanked her before they walked back to his car.
When they were both buckled in with the car running, Bella looked at Edward and smiled. "I know your sister is probably going to be pissed, but we're making a detour to my house," she told him. "My empty house."