Author's Note: Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.
Chapter 62
Edward's Point of View
Surely, I had heard wrong. There was no possible way that what Bella had told us all could be true.
But there she was, standing in front of me and on her face was an innocent little smile. The smile that I couldn't trust anymore.
Without meaning to, my fists balled up and my face grew stony. She had met Tanya Denali?
"B-Bella," Carlisle stammered. "Are you…serious?"
She turned to him, looking casual still. "Yes, Carlisle. I'm dead serious. Tanya Denali is my patient as of today."
No one knew what to say. How to react. The atmosphere had gotten very tense, and they were all glancing back and forth between Bella and me, wondering how to dilute the electricity sparkling between us.
So this was another blow of her revenge. I couldn't help thinking that this had been the best one yet. The agony in my chest had started again, this time much more painful than the time she'd gone out with Jacob Black. A hundred times more painful than when she had told me that I deserved this.
This was too much. I wanted this to stop. I wanted it all to end. I wanted her to come back to me again so that we could be happy together. If I could go back and change everything, I would.
Bella was watching me carefully. She seemed to feel satisfied that I seemed to be hurting, and yet, at the same time… Was it hurt that had just flickered past her face? Was she regretting this?
She seemed to have realized this because she quickly turned to Alice and said flatly, "Does that answer your question about Black?" Then, she turned and brushed past me roughly before exiting the kitchen, leaving me to tremble slightly in anger and hurt.
Bella's Point of View
Stupid, stupid, stupid!
I hit myself mentally, tears blurring my eyesight as I made my way into the gardens, where the rocking hammock was.
I sat down heavily, burying my face in my hands. What have I done?
There were so many things that I'd done wrong in the past few minutes. First, I'd violated patient confidentiality, even if Tanya hadn't been officially listed as my patient yet. Second, I had shocked everyone with my malicious attempt at revenge. And lastly…I had hurt us both.
I fell backward so that my head was resting on the hammock as well. I covered my eyes to hide my tears and red eyes.
I'd thought that revenge had been the answer. If I carried out my revenge, I'd thought that we could be even, that I could hurt him just as much as he'd hurt me.
And while I'd succeeded in giving him what he deserved, I'd also hurt myself. Because he was in pain. He was hurting. He deserved it, but I didn't like what I was doing to him anymore.
I realized that I had confused satisfaction with pain and remorse. I hadn't felt good every time he looked hurt. A jolt went into my heart every time he was in pain. All this time, I'd been trying to fool myself.
How could I have been thinking that? I was twisting myself up. I was starting to be worse than Tanya had been. I was doing something far worse than what Tanya had done.
I couldn't do this anymore. I would end up going insane, or even worse. I suddenly felt like I couldn't even stay here. I had to get away from this place, get away from him. I needed time to think.
Standing up abruptly, I wiped away the last of my tears and sniffled. I could get out of here. I still had a home that wasn't New York. They would still welcome me back.
I hurried back inside and bumped into Jasper, who grabbed my arms quickly. "Where are you going?" He looked closer and was startled to see my eyes red. "Have you been crying?"
I detected movement behind him, and saw Edward staring at us. He looked fine now, looking like he'd gotten over his shock and pain. But he looked interested to hear what my brother had just said.
Feeling fear at seeing him, I tried to wrestle my arms away. "Move," I hissed, and I succeeded in pushing past him. Where had I left my things?
"Are you leaving already?" Jasper asked, surprised when I came back with my things. "You just got here. I was looking for you because dinner's ready."
"I'm…" I glanced at Edward before quickly looking away again. "I have something I need to do. I just remembered. Tell the Cullens I'm sorry."
I ran outside and had just opened my car door when it shut again. Bewildered, I whirled around to meet his hard, green eyes. Shocked, I stumbled backwards and leaned against my car.
Edward's eyes narrowed. "What's wrong with you? You should be satisfied, shouldn't you? You practically slapped me in the face."
I glared at him. "It's nothing. Go back inside."
"No," he said calmly. "I want to know why you ran out of there. What's this thing you have to do?"
"None of your business."
"Your business is my business." He looked determined. I could tell that he wasn't going to give up. So he was going to fight back this time?
"Work," I lied.
"You didn't get a call from the hospital," Edward countered.
I couldn't meet his eyes. "I have someone I have to meet."
"Who? You don't have a boyfriend anymore."
He looked satisfied when he shut me up. He leaned forward slowly, resting his hands on my car to hold himself up. But still, he was too close to me now.
"Where are you going?" he asked slowly, pronouncing every word.
I wanted nothing more than to get away. He was making me feel dizzy. The dazzling…it was something I hadn't felt in such a long time. He was using his charms against me again.
"I…" My breathing got shorter and quicker.
"Yes?" Edward prompted softly, his breath fanning my face gently.
"Let me go, Edward," I pleaded quietly, still avoiding his eyes. I was looking at anywhere but at him. "I'm tired."
"Tired?" Edward repeated, sounding amused. He chuckled softly. "I thought it just made your day, slapping me in the face again." He leaned closer to my ear and whispered, "How many times has it been now?"
My face contorted in pain, and I saw the curtains in the window ruffle slightly. Clearly, someone was watching us. And it didn't look like a friendly position, the way we were standing right now, and it didn't look hostile either. People could misunderstand…
Slowly, I raised my right hand, made a fist, and pushed at his hard abdomen to get him away from me. Thankfully, he didn't fight back but stepped back to give me room. He was studying me quizzically, as though he couldn't figure out what had changed me so dramatically. And he knew I wasn't going to tell.
"Tell Esme I'm sorry for running out," I said stiffly, glowering at the curtains. I had a feeling Alice was behind those windows, trying to see if anything juicier was going to happen. "And that I'm sorry for making everything so tense. That was…foolish of me."
Edward didn't respond as I got in my car. The first thing I did was lock the doors before even starting the engine, just in case he changed his mind about letting me go, and drove quickly out of sight, hitting fifty miles per hour before I even turned the corner.
"I'm sorry, ma'am, but there's no way we can get you on that flight," the man on the other line said. "There's simply no room for you."
I was doing two things at once, holding the phone between my shoulder and my ear while stuffing a bunch of clothes inside my suitcase.
"I don't care if it's economy, just get me a flight going to Los Angeles tonight!" I all but shrieked at the man.
I knew that he was innocent and that it wasn't right that I was taking out my anger and frustration at him. But I was so desperate to get out of New York right this minute that I would do anything, pay any amount of money, to get on a flight.
"Any last minute cancellations?" I pleaded. "Anything? I'm even okay with a stop somewhere in between. Just…just Los Angeles."
"I'm sorry, ma'am," he said, sounding so frustratingly calm when I was so desperate. "Everything is booked. The earliest flight I have for you is tomorrow morning at ten o'clock. It's a nonstop flight to Los Angeles, and this flight is almost completely booked. In fact, I have only two open spots left in the first class cabin, and one each in business and economy. Would you be willing to take that?"
"Oh," I sighed, crying and exasperated. I swallowed. "Fine. Give me first class."
"Very well, madam," he said, sounding pleased, and I heard typing in the background. "Your name?"
I proceeded through the booking process, reading him my card number so that he could charge the bill. When I finally hung up, I plopped down on my bed, exhausted.
There was a way out of this. I just had to let everything flow now.
I hurried into the airport, dragging my suitcase behind me. I looked around for the check-in station. Upon finding my flight, I stood in the short line briefly before a woman waved me forward.
"Hello," she said in a pleasant voice. "Passport, please?"
Breathlessly, I handed it to her. I remembered that Edward had temporarily forbidden my record on hold so that I was forbidden to leave the state. I prayed silently that I was free to leave now.
Thankfully, it seemed as though there was nothing wrong with my record anymore, because the woman handed me back my passport with my ticket tucked in it.
"Alright," she said briskly. "Your plane will be leaving at ten o'clock, so make sure you're there about thirty to forty minutes beforehand. Your gate number is one-twenty-three, and just as a verification, you're going from New York to Los Angeles, correct?"
I nodded once, tensely.
"Very good. Place your luggage on the luggage belt, please, Miss Swan."
I heaved the suitcase on the belt, and she weighed it before letting it go through. "Thank you. Have a nice flight."
Breathing a sigh of relief, I walked away to sit somewhere. I had about an hour to kill before I had to head for the gate. I found a seat and pulled out a spare book, though I soon found that I couldn't concentrate. I was on the same page for the entire hour, feeling anxious.
I felt bad, not saying goodbye to my family before leaving, but I knew that they would stop me from going back. I couldn't risk that.
"Coward," I whispered to myself, staring into space. "You're running away again."
I was a coward, and I was running away, but I just wasn't strong enough to face my problems anymore. It was better to just let them remain in New York and live in Los Angeles.
"Flight one-oh-seven is boarding now," the intercom announced just then. "Flight one-oh-seven is boarding now at gate one-twenty-three."
Relieved, I put my book away and rose to my feet. I felt like I was going insane, thinking all the wrong things that had gone wrong while I was here in New York. I began heading for the gate, ready to let go of all my worries as soon as I got on the plane.
I was almost at the gate line when someone grabbed my wrist and turned me around roughly. I gasped in shock when I saw him standing there, looking furious.
AN: Oh, snap! Heh. We're nearing two thousand reviews, guys! Help me get to it, eh?
