Author's Note: This one's a short chapter, but I thought you were reaching your limit with being irritated with Edward, so… We'll go easy today, eh? :) Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.
Chapter 27
I fidgeted with the piece of paper that held his phone number on it. I stared down at the name. John Matthews. Could he really be trusted?
"I thought you were going to help Angela," Jasper said, sitting down next to me on the sofa of our living room. "Why don't you call the man?"
I smiled wryly as I turned the paper over in my hand. "Later. I think I'll get to work when you guys are gone. If I start now, I'll get too involved, and I don't think I can entertain you during your stay."
Jasper chuckled. "Alright, then." He looked around the empty living room. "Where's Edward?"
My face hardened. "Upstairs, with Emmett and Alice."
"Why?"
"They're giving him a 'brotherly' talk," I snorted. I told them not to do it, I added silently to myself. They just don't listen.
"Do you think I can go join them?" Jasper asked, half rising.
"NO!"
He looked down at me, surprised. "Why not?"
"Um," I said, thinking quickly. "Well, I think it's best if we leave the Cullen siblings to themselves for a moment. In the meantime, why don't you come help me bake some cookies, Jasper?"
Edward's Point of View
I couldn't believe it. This was about me, yet again.
I stared at a little design on the wallpaper of our bedroom. And I listened to my siblings in exasperation as they droned on and on about Tanya.
Honestly, I was getting really tired of this. So tired to the point where Bella's welfare did not matter to me anymore.
"…told you to break it up," Emmett was saying. "This is getting ridiculous. You're neglecting her. I saw you at breakfast. You barely gave a shit whether she sat next to you or not."
"Is that so wrong?" I asked impatiently. "We're married now. At this point, we don't really need to sit next to each other."
"What are you talking about?" Alice asked. "That kind of thinking is wrong, Edward. You need to end it with that bitch. Now."
"Don't talk about her like that!" I snapped. "She's not a bitch."
"Are you defending her right now?" Alice asked incredulously. "She is a bitch. Anyone who hurts my little sister is a bitch. And you know what, Edward Cullen? You're not doing a very hot job of protecting her right now. That makes you a jerk as well.
"Not to mention that she's pregnant with your child right now. Need I remind you that you are going to be a father? You know how much she cares for this baby. If you hurt the kid, she won't ever forgive you, and you know how unpredictable Bella can be when she throws a tantrum."
"I don't think you want to hurt Bella, Edward," Emmett said quietly. "You're just confused right now. Very confused. Tanya isn't everything. She isn't the center of your world. Bella is. She's your wife, and you chose to marry her. You chose to propose to her, remember? Bella trusted you. That's the reason she married you. She trusted you, and she loved you."
I exhaled sharply, annoyed. "Look, I admire the way you're defending your sister-in-law like this, but don't you think you should take my side as well? I'm your brother. And this isn't permanent or anything. I can break it off anytime I want. It's my choice."
"Doesn't look like it," Emmett shot right back. "You've tried to break it off many times before. If you could break it off anytime you want, then why are you still with that slut?"
"Bella's always going to be there," I snapped. "Alright? She's married to me. She can't go anywhere. Why can't you two understand that?"
"And why can't you understand that she's not always going to be there?" Alice asked, her voice rising with every word. "Don't take her for granted, Edward! When you think that she'll be there for you, there's a good chance that she might not be. Especially when you're betraying her like this!" She rose and stomped out of the bedroom.
I stared at her, stunned. She'd said the exact same thing as Emmett had said at Harvard. Don't take her for granted. What was this, a freak show?
"She's turning you bad," Emmett observed. "She's a bad influence on you, bro. Just remember your changing, bratty behavior when Bella decides to leave you." And on that note, he rose and exited the bedroom himself, shutting the door behind him quietly.
Their words didn't scare me, but I felt sluggish. What had been going on?
I had always gotten along well with my siblings. I'd always felt compelled to listen to them. But what was this? I couldn't feel that way anymore. I felt annoyed that they were trying to control me.
Tanya wasn't a bitch, and she wasn't a slut. She was a perfectly nice girl who kept me company while I was away. Emmett and Alice had been wrong. I could break it off anytime I wanted to. I just didn't choose to.
I was right, and they were wrong. Bella would always be there, one step behind me. She was my wife, and she had no other choice.
What else could she do? What else was she capable of doing to stop me?
Absolutely nothing. There was nothing that could stop me right now.
AN: There's no turning back for him now! Uh-oh… It was short, and I apologize again, but still, you liked it, right? ;) Reviews, please!
