Here we go again, thanks again to Dina my beta, she did wonderful things for this chapter.

Disclaimer:

Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer, I own the plot.

DEUS EX MACHINA

Deus ex Machina

"God out of the machine"; plural: dei ex machina) is a plot device whereby a seemingly inextricable problem is suddenly and abruptly solved with the contrived and unexpected intervention of some new event, character, ability, or object.

She was far and near at the same time; far, because she was so different to me, so active, extroverted and strong. And, near, because in these seven days that have passed, we have seen each other every night, for work. She is patient, but stubborn. Sometimes she gets angry with me for no reason at all—or so I think. She is happy when we make money playing online, but it's still difficult for me understand a lot of things that she expresses in her beautiful face. Sometimes I lay in my bed thinking—no, fantasizing—of how I can tell her how I feel, but I'm a confident liar, who is not romantic, who is not amazing and interesting, that is damaged for good. She is perfect. Well, not perfect, perfect… but she is what I want. I never wanted anybody so much in my life. I have these destructive thoughts about how this is going to end. How she will find out that I'm not me. That I'm this shred of a man who can't express things; or read it in her face when she is sad or angry. I just can't give her enough. And she will leave, or treat me differently and stop seeing me as a genius but instead as an emotionally retarded human being.

I wish that I could wake up one day and say to her that I need her, but it sounds too weird. Even I know that. I try to act professionally with her; try to not stare at her neck or her wrist, or smell her… sometimes I fail and sometimes I can barely contain the urges to touch her. And she is there and she is so far.

I'm waiting on the bench in front of her building. I'm not stalking, I'm stalling. She invited some friends because today is her birthday; and she is making a celebratory dinner in her apartment. She said and I quote, "This is Alice's shit, I don't even remember my birthday any more, but you should come." I think those were her exact words, and that was her invitation. Because that's how Bella is, she is direct and doesn't care. She is raw and open, but at the same time, you can't see the real Bella until she is in this state that I only see when we talk about poker or black jack. And she is different, I don't know how, but she is. Though when she is at the casino, she is cold, cruel and sometimes she is childish and a little bit scary. But I haven't seen her in social circles, not with friends at least; and I'm nervous. Because maybe she can't tell that something is elementally wrong with me but maybe other people can. So that's why I'm stalling.

I bought her a gift that I found it online. It's a deck of cards with the most famous characters of literature of which she had told me a couple of days ago. She loved Kierkegaard, Cioran, Shakespeare and other authors, but she was a "sucker for the Austen and Bronte chicks". So, I bought this deck of cards with the characters of their books and other books. I'm afraid that one of them is called Edward too, what an awful and weird coincidence. I hope she doesn't think that I did it because of it.

I gulp noisily and head to her apartment. I know that there are people there; I've seen them going upstairs while I was… waiting in the bench.

When I'm about to knock, someone open her door.

"Hi, and who are you, hottie? you came for Bella's birthday?"

"I did. Sorry, hi, my name is Edward. Cullen Edward, I mean, Edward Cullen." She laughs and lets me in.

"Don't worry, Edward, you are cute when you ramble." I blush. She is tiny and has short hair. She is wearing a pink dress and my mind is so focused on the drapes of her skirt, I'm counting them, not that I was looking at her legs or something like that. Suddenly, she is taking me by my arm and guiding me to the dinner table. There are people there. I count them… 15. They are too many… too many for this apartment. I can't see Bella.

"Oh! You bought her a gift. Let me get her, so you can give it to her." She is nice, but too hyper for my taste. Well, at least she is looking for Bella, while I wait in here like an idiot.

"Do I know you?" I turn around, and I see a brunette, smiling at me.

"I don't think so." She is petit, like Bella, but her skin is darker and her eyes are green, also she is older.

"So, you are Bella's friend?"

"I guess?"

"You guess? Honey, you know or you don't?"

"I am then." She smiles.

"My name is Angela, I'm Bella's… friend too." She extends her hand and I do the same, introducing myself.

"Edward Cullen."

"So, you are The Edward Cullen." I'm confused, what does she mean with that?

"Umm, do you know me or something?" She laughs.

"Bella is right, you are weird." I feel sick thinking that Bella refers to me as weird. Suddenly, I feel so sick and tired of all this people and the noise. God the noise! what is this music?

"Are you all right? I didn't mean to—"

"Edward! You made it!" Bella is approaching, but I only think of what that lady had told me. I'm weird. I shouldn't feel this way, I know. She knows. God knows. So, let's not have a crisis about this, I try to calm myself. I try to compose my self. Bella is eyeing me strangely.

"Are you…? Angela, what did you do?" Bella is angry I can tell and I'm confused. I don't think that coming here was a good idea—I should just give her the present and leave.

"Nothing! I was just introducing myself."

"Right." Bella takes my arm and we go to the kitchen.

"Listen, she is kind of crass sometimes; and can be really stupid when she opens her mouth. Don't listen to her." I just nod, I don't know what to say or do.

"Edward?" I look at her and she is frowning.

"I have a present for you" I say in barely a whisper.

"Really? No body gave me anything! You think with all these people that I could have one gift, but no." She smiles and I smile too.

"You shouldn't have, Edward, really."

"I wanted to, I… here. Let me give it to you, I hope you like it." She is smiling widely and bouncing. Her eyes are shinning. I put the box on the kitchen table and she takes it.

"What it is?" she asks, while she shakes the box.

"Just something I though you might like. It's nothing really… it's really stupid. I hope that you can use it or I don't know…" I'm rambling. I'm nervous. I know these feelings, they come often these days.

She tears the blue metallic wrap, throws the bow on the floor and then she stops. She sees the cover of the box and opens it slowly, as if were a bomb or something… and then she is really still and I'm scared.

"Do you like it?" I ask because I can't tell if she likes it or not. I get my response when she hugs me really tight and says in my ear, "Yes, yes. Yes. Yes…" I put my arms around her waist; and it's the first time that I've been this close to her. So warm and tiny. She smells like lilies and magnolias. I close my eyes and I hug her too.

"Bella?" A man's voice drifts to us. We detach from one another and I can see that Bella is crying, I don't know why. She smiles at me.

"Thank you, Edward." The man in the kitchen goes forgotten.

"Sure. You're welcome."

"This is so… nice and thoughtful. Where did you find it?"

"Bella?" the man in the kitchen is breaking the moment again; and I want to punch him.

"WHAT, JACOB?" She turns and yells at the man.

"What are you doing here hiding in the kitchen with this… guy?"

"I'm not hiding! I'm here speaking with Edward—my partner—I mean, partner in business, that is." She is blushing.

"Partner, huh?" He is tall and dark. I can't tell what he is to Bella, and suddenly I'm worried that he is her boyfriend.

"I… I should leave, really. I just came to give you this."

"No! No, wait. Just give me a sec." Bella walks towards Jacob and drags him by the jacket and go outside. I sit in the chair at the kitchen table and put my hands on my head. This was not a good idea. She is with somebody. I mean, she was with those old men before; maybe she found a guy that can give her what she wants. I doubt that she was with them for fun, maybe they were her benefactors?

The door opens and I'm relieved that it's Bella.

"Sorry about that. That was Jacob. He's one of the bodyguards. I didn't invited him and he is just worried about the new people. They are not often in here, but Dad is really a pain in the ass." Well, he is not her boyfriend… that's a relief.

"But, I haven't seen him before."

"Well, that's because I told Dad that I couldn't stand security. So, he relented for a while, but this is a special occasion, people are coming to the house and he suspects everybody."

"Why? Something is wrong?" I can't hide my concern. She sits in front of me and smiles.

"No, don't worry. It's just Dad. Nothing to worry about. He is doing it more for the babysitting than anything else. He doesn't want me to gamble again."

"But, you are doing it constantly. You go to the Casino 3 or 4 times at month."

"Wow, you do watch me, huh?" I blush, embarrassed by my admittance.

"Sometimes." She laughs.

"I'm kidding, Edward, but you do?"

"Well, I did notice you when you first came to the Casino."

"Is it because I'm the only person under 40 that goes there?" She laughs.

"Maybe…" Or maybe because you are the most amazing thing in the world. God, this is so difficult and stupid. I know that she is evading my original question and I don't want to push.

"I should go."

"Why!"

"I don't know, I don't want you to stay here all night with me."

"Of course not, you and me are going to go there and have some fun." She takes my hand and takes me to the living room where all the people is laughing, dancing or talking. The music is loud and she mingles with people; but I'm still attached to her like a dog. I follow, she leads. Of course, until I stumble to Angela.

"Hey, sorry about that," she says, while Bella is talking with a bunch of people and laughing.

"That's ok. You did nothing wrong." I'm not looking at her, I'm looking at Bella. And surprisingly enough, she is looking at me.

"What?" I know Angela told me something.

"I said, how long have you known Bella?"

"Oh, a couple of weeks… more or less, really."

"So, you are the genius, huh? She told me a little bit about you the other day."

"I'm not a genius, I just count cards." Angela frowns and takes a sip of her beverage.

"I see. So, you and Bella play cards together?"

"No. She doesn't play, I do."

"And, you bet?" I feel weird answering all these questions. I look at Bella and she is frowning too. She walks towards me.

"Angela, harassing my guest, again?" Bella says with a weird tone.

"Not at all, I was just talking to Edward about your extra curricular activities." Bella looks at me and I think I did something wrong.

"What did you tell her, Edward?"

"I… I…"

"He said that he plays cards and you don't." Bella relaxes a little bit.

"Oh yeah, I'm teaching him. It's like I'm his tutor or something. It's really innocent." I don't call what we do—betting—innocent. And I think she is hiding something from Angela, obviously, and it's more than I think.

"Sorry, Bella, I just thought…"

"Don't worry, Edward. Angela, excuse us." Bella takes my hand. And I stare at our hands, they feel perfect and just right.

We are in a hall, going into a room of which she opens the door. It's Bella's room. It's purple and tidy. There's a TV and a white closet. It's really calming and I like this room.

Bella sits on the bed and pats the space on her side; and I sit there.

"Listen, Edward, I have something to tell you. I didn't want to say anything because this is nothing to do with what we do, but you should know." She takes a deep breath and looks at me.

"I met Angela a few years ago. She is my lawyer and my friend. She… I'm on parole, ok? I was in jail for a while." I'm surprised and I don't know what to do. So, I stay quiet until she says more.

"When I was 20, I met this guy who had loaned me money. I had this really good strike of luck; and I needed it to enter into a game. It was a good game, I did really well."

"You lost it?"

"Kind of… I won. I mean, I won the damned thing! But, something happened. One of the… people who had organized the game, found out that Dad was a Fed; and they thought that I was a spy or something… that the game was illegal, so they'd thrown me out without the money…"

"And the person who loaned you the money, put you in jail."

"Not exactly. The loan wasn't legal either," she says, cringing.

"So, what happened? I mean, you don't have to tell me, I think..."

"No, no, I need to. You should know. You will know eventually, if we are going to Atlanta, everybody in the circle knows about me. That's why I can't gamble anymore." I nod, trying to understand.

"He told me that I could pay my debt playing for him in another game, but this game was shady. The people in the game where really bad people; drug dealers, corrupt politicians… you name it. I didn't want to, at least the other game was illegal but I knew my opponents. They were only rich people with a lot of money. This game is dangerous and I know it, but… he threatened me."

"To kill you?"

"Yes." She looks away and touches her hair. She takes a pillow and hugs it.

"I didn't know what to do. I should have gone to Dad, but I couldn't disappoint him like this, I had a track record in school for organizing illegal games. Stupid stuff, nothing mayor. But he knew I had this problem… gambling. He thought that I was over that shit, but I couldn't. I can't…" She looks at me with tears in her eyes. I don't know what to do. I am just there stunned, staring at her beautiful eyes.

"I tried, Edward, I try so hard!" She cries harder and I don't know what to fucking do! So, I just put my hand on her shoulder. And then she was hugging at me and crying against my shirt. I hug her back. I was so scared and I didn't know why. I feel so many things, but above it all, I want Bella to stop crying. She's breaking me.

"Sorry for ruining your shirt. It's a pretty shirt," she says in a muffled voice, still with her head resting on my shoulder.

"That's all right, it's an old shirt, don't worry about it." She laughs and pulls away.

"I... there is more, Edward…"

"Okay."

"I went to the game, but you know those kind of games are illegal. So, at the middle of the game, the Feds busted in and everybody was arrested. Everybody suspected me after that, never mind that I was in prison for 4 months and I know that it was thanks to Dad that I got released early. And to Angela of course."

"And, the loan?"

"I don't know. The man disappeared. I told Dad everything, and he told me that everything was covered. So… yeah, that's everything. After that the judge made me go to this Anonymous shit for gambles like AA? Yeah, it didn't work, I still need it, but fortunately for Dad, nobody in the high places wants to play with me or let me in, even if it is legal. I'm marked." She laughs.

"So, that's why you go to Crown (the Casino)? They can't refuse you there. What about Vegas?" She shakes her head.

"Vegas is a big no-no for me, I can't go there, Dad has contacts there, the minute I cross the border to Nevada, he will know. And he will tell everybody in the casinos to not let me play. This is the only place where he doesn't have knowledge of a casino, or if he does, he thinks it's innocent. Crown is nothing compared to what's in Vegas."

"Your Dad seems to have a lot of power." She looks ahead again and mumbles something into the pillow.

"What?"

"He is the Chief of National Security." I try to process what she is telling me, but I can't, I just…

"What?" I stand up.

"Sorry, I didn't want to tell you. I know it's kind of scary and imposing, but really he is harmless."

"Bella, your Dad is the Chief of National Security! He is like… he talks with the president and stuff!" Really eloquent, Edward.

"I know but what he is, is NOT who I am, ok?" She is looking at me in that way that tears my heart apart. I sit trying to get a grip of everything she just told me so far. It's funny that her being in jail is nothing compared with who her father is.

"So, how is this going to work, Bella? Me and Atlanta?" Not that I cared really, I just need to know if her father is going to murder me and make me disappear.

"Edward, I know what you're thinking. Dad is harmless really. He won't do anything to you. He can't forbid you from playing in a legal game, or of what we are doing. What are we are going to do is legal 100%. He can't do a thing. I won't play, I will coach you!"

"I don't know, Bella, this is dangerous; and your Dad is a powerful man."

"Well, he is not stupid. He knows that I'm doing something, but he is letting me be. He doesn't care about me much. He just doesn't want that his name is stained with his daughter in jail… again. In fact, the first time he just let me go to jail. He could have done something—erased my records, or whatever—I could have had never put a foot in that jail. But I did. He told me… he told me that is was because I was learning a "lesson". When the truth was that he was so disappointed in me that I'm a gambler. I'm an addict. So here I am asking you to please consider this… this is the closest I can be to a deck of cards and to play in a big game without being thrown in jail or be rejected. With you and with your help..." She was standing now. And she was so close to me. She takes my hand in hers and looks like she is going to break.

"Ok."

"Thank you." She smiles.

"So, Jacob the bodyguard?"

"He is here to make sure I behave."

"Right."

"And Angela really… she is my friend and all, but she is still in a lawyer-mode. She will not understand, Edward."

"All right, Bella, I will gamble for you."

You see, Gamblers don't care.

AN:

Until next time, remember reviews are nice.