Chapter 17! Wow we're pretty far along.
I meant to post this yesterday, but it wasn't until someone reminded that I knew it didn't work. Here's the chapter! Hope you like it
Special thanks always to my amazing out of this world beta lellabeth.
There's a lot of testing but I will still update once a week.
Thank you so much to everyone who read and thank you to nikitabella for her review! I love to read what you all think!
I do not own twilight AT ALL. Character belong to Stephenie Meyer
Previously on 'You Found Me'
It's not until I hear the door open that I realize the bottles are still there.
Great.
Sighing, I turn towards him. "Brad, I can explai- are you okay?" I ask, rushing to his side. Brad just stands before me, clenching an old red sweater in his hands.
"Baby, what is that?" I ask, trying to be patient.
He smashes the sweater into a ball before stuffing it into his bag. "It's nothing," he says lowering his voice and avoiding eye contact.
Chapter 17: Half way there
JPOV
"Do you mind explaining to me what the heck you're trying to hide?" I ask angrily, slamming the bedroom door open.
"It's nothing," he repeats, motioning with his hands, trying to tell me to go away.
"Nothing? Somehow I know that's bull."
"God Jake! For once can you stop being so damn nosy!" He yells, throwing his hands up.
"I have every right to be suspicious."
"You want to know so badly? Fine!" He chucks an old red sweater and a crumpled note at my chest.
I unfold the note and read: 'If getting this was so easy, imagine what getting your girlfriend would be like. We're not ones to mess with. Pay up soon.'
"What is this?" I ask hesitantly, trying to avoid looking at the note again.
"Clearly you haven't been looking at those pictures our pal sent us." He says, his voice heavy with sarcasm. He turns, digging through the drawers for the manila envelope. Once he finds it, he yanks out the images from the inside examining them closely. He laughs humourlessly to himself muttering 'I was right.' He hands me the picture, his eyes never leaving my face.
So much for being over.
The image was one of the few sent to us that awful night. It showed Bella and I, her arms around me in what was a passionate hug. Everything about that picture was perfect, except why it was taken.
Then I saw it.
I looked at Bella's sweater in the picture, then the one in my hand. Back and forth, I kept shaking my head. No.
It was Bella's sweater.
"Where did you get this?" I growled, throwing everything onto the nearby chair.
"They dropped it off to me at work. They're getting closer Jake."
EPOV
I'm being paranoid again. It's the 30th and while I should be feeling carefree because of vacation all, I'm feeling is anxiety.
Firstly, Alice calls me telling me that she and Jasper are coming back early, the 2nd to be exact. While I love my sister, I fear Bella won't be spending as much time with me when Alice comes along.
Secondly, I've been thinking a lot more about Brad. Ever since that day we saw him, I've been getting the feeling I was being watched. I thought it was just me. But then with Bella's missing sweater she kept worrying about... I mean, I saw it on a chair just yesterday and now it's gone. Neither of us touched it! Bella doesn't seem as freaked out about this as I am, so maybe it's just stress taking over y mind. With the restaurant's expansion in only a month, I've been burying my head in paper work.
Being away from it now could be like withdrawal. Could be. Should be.
Must be.
That's all, just me being crazy. Nothing new.
"Edward, I swear you take longer on your hair than I do." I hear Bella yell through the bathroom door.
I laugh, running my hands through my hair once more before moving towards the door.
She huffs, arms crossed when I finally open the door. She grabs the towel laying on the floor. "Half an hour on that damn hair and it still looks the same as it did when you woke up." She mutters as she pushes past me, shutting the door.
If only she knew.
=0=
"Edward?" Bella calls, nervously walking into the kitchen.
Her waist-long, layered hair hung to one side, still damp from her shower and making a wet mark on the right side of her gray long-sleeved shirt. She was wearing a pair of my plaid boxers which fit her like shorts. Knowing her she probably didn't even know they were my boxers, but it's not like I was going to tell her. I was completely mesmerized by her.
"Yeah, sweets?" I see her cringe at the nickname which only makes me smile more. I know she likes it, even if she won't tell me.
"My mom called, and um... she was wondering if you wanted to eat out with us on New Years?" She rushes out, her eyes big with hopefulness.
"Of course, as much as it might surprise you, I'm quite fond of your parents." I tell her, pecking her cheek and tuning back to the eggs I've been attempting to make.
"It does surprise me alright," she mutters. She smiles widely and pecks me on the lips. "Thank you," she sighs before wrapping her arms around my neck in a warm embrace.
"For what?" I ask, pulling away after giving her a good squeeze.
"Everything," she smiles, looking over my shoulder only to look back at me with a raised eyebrow. "What happened to our deal?"
I smile to myself, smugly placing the eggs on each plate. Well, trying to be smug - you can only so smug while serving eggs onto plates.
"Yeah, I just needed something to distract me." I admit, getting out the forks and passing her one.
"Everything okay?"
"I just can't stop thinking about all this. Maybe it's all connected..."
"Edward, you're being paranoid." She tells me, dropping her fork and grabbing my hand. "I don't know how Brad knew my name. Maybe he knew me before I left? That feeling of being watched? Could be anything at all. It's not always 100% accurate. My sweater... it's probably in the wash. And that man watching me in the bathroom, that could have very well-"
"WHAT MAN?!" I stand up quickly, making the table shake.
"It was nothing, it could have very well been a bird." She says calmly, making me astonished that she really believes that.
"And what if it wasn't?!" I ask, sitting back down and yanking on my hair.
"Edward," she sighs, getting up to stand behind me and rubbing my shoulders. I turn my chair and pull her closer until she's standing between my legs with her hands still on my shoulders.
"I'm sorry sweets, it's just..."
"I know," she whispers, leaning her head to kiss my neck. "Come on," she says, pulling away trying to turn my chair around. "Can't let good food go to waste."
"Promise me something?" I ask as I turn my head towards her.
"Yes?"
"Promise me if anything like that happens again, you'll tell me?"
"Of course."
Somehow I didn't fully believe her.
JPOV
I don't speak to Brad for the rest of the night, and well into the morning. It's not because I'm mad at him - I'm just mad in general. I know if I open my mouth I'll say something I'll regret.
Yet he still doesn't hesitate to tell me what's on his mind.
"I think we should tell Edward," he states, looking up at me from the couch.
"And why should I agree to that?"
"Because he can protect her better. He's always with her, it's better than having her go out by herself like an open target." He explains. His face still looks sad though.
"What do you care about Bella?" I ask, not bothering to hide the venom in my voice. He looks at me questioningly, so I continue. "It's clear that you don't like her. You cringe at just the sound of her name."
"She's a nice woman," he whispers, as though he's trying to convince himself.
"And you've only met her, what, once? And that was at the market."
So maybe I'm taking it a little far. This knowledge isn't stopping me though.
"So what do you think about the idea?" He asks, changing the subject.
"Don't try and change the subject, what do you not like about her?" I shout, wanting to punch something.
"Wow, aren't you acting like an overprotective boyfriend!" He says snidely, trying to move past me. I stop him by grabbing his shoulder.
"Don't try to turn this on me." I tell him, laughing at his weak effort.
"Funny how you practically did same thing. I offered an idea to protect her and now you're accusing me of hating her."
"Don't you?" I raise an eyebrow, making him shake his head with disgust at me.
"She's ruining you and I don't think it's fair. Yes, she's not doing it intentionally, but her presence is sure making our lives hell." He explains, but from the look in his eyes I can tell there's more.
"That's not all, is it?"
"I'd rather not explain this to you right now," he says in a pleading voice.
"I think now is the perfect time."
"How about when your period ends?"
Edward has had a lot on his mind, that's why he hasn't thought about his feelings towards Bella that he expressed last chapter.
It's not bad, it just means he feels he needs to think more about her protection than his mixed feelings.
-B