It didn't take much to convince the couple not to go and stay at a hotel after they emerged from Jasper's study. Both of them had looked tired and drawn and the red rims around both of their eyes told Mary Alice that they needed family they could trust around them more than ever now.
It was a short speech from her sister that had Bella agreeing to stay and where Bella was Edward would be. It was an easy decision to make.
Bella made sure to tell Jasper that she wasn't angry at him for his part in keeping Edward's inheritance hidden and asked him to please forget all about that part. She made sure he understood that what was important to her now, and to Edward, was what happened from here on in. The past was the past and couldn't be changed.
Mary Alice put a light meal on the table in the dining room and the four of them spent the next few hours talking about not only what Jasper had just told Edward but also about how to handle the next few days.
Nobody wanted to speculate but it was inevitable that they would. They were all waiting for some move to be made by one of the parents, or by Jake, because until that happened nobody could move forward.
One thing was agreed upon though. Charlie might contact Mary Alice or Jasper, but he wouldn't jeopardise his career by attempting to contact either Bella or Edward.
Bella reminded them all that Jake hadn't yet accepted her offer to release a statement and her guess was that they'd hear from him first. She reasoned that Renee would've been warned to keep her distance, and her mouth shut, by her father. Edward reasoned that his mother would've heard by now what had gone on at his father's office and she too would be standing by her man in solidarity.
There was no way to predict what the different factions involved in the original mess were likely to do so that was set aside.
Instead Jasper took it upon himself to break the ice regarding Edward's inheritance.
"What do you think you'd like to do about your inheritance?" he asked as the four of them moved into the living room with coffee.
"I think I'd like to have it, first of all," Edward laughed. He waited until Bella had curled up beside him before he said anything further. "I don't know the legalities of actually getting my hands on the money so I was hoping you'd have a plan."
"I don't think we need a plan exactly," Jasper said carefully. "While it's true that the codicils set down in the original will have been set aside and your parents have borrowed against it they haven't actually touched any of the capital. It's all still there. They've just used it as collateral for cash flow for your fathers firm. Not strictly legal but also not your problem," he chuckled.
"So I can just go to the bank and take the money out then?" Edward asked with wide eyes.
"I think so, yes," was the simple answer. "As long as you have identity documents, yes. I have copies of the original trust, and the will, so I don't think you'll run into too much bother."
"Will you come with me?" he asked Jasper who said of course he would. "What happens to the loans that are against it as collateral though?" Edward asked then.
It was Bella who answered this time. She knew all about this. Her father had borrowed against her inheritance too and she'd had this discussion with Jasper already.
"It depends on the bank and the terms," she began, looking to Jasper for confirmation. At his nod she turned to face Edward more fully. "One bank might insist the loans be paid out in full immediately but another bank may allow the loans or ask for a replacement for the collateral. A piece of property or something like that would do. But you can't know which way they'll go until you disassociate the capital from the loans against it."
Christ she's smart Edward thought to himself as he stared at her. "How do you know all this?" he asked.
"Because I read everything I can get my hands on," she laughed and sat back against his side.
"So I go to the bank tomorrow and ask to have the loans disassociated from the inheritance and then I can use it?" he asked a grinning Jasper.
"That's about it, yes," he confirmed. "Any idea what you're going to actually use it for?"
"I'm going to withdraw one hundred dollars and buy beer and cigarettes," Edward laughed as Bella began to giggle beside him. "And a bottle for you," he said before kissing her hair.
"Wow, big spender," Mary Alice chuckled. "Well, I'm pooped so I'm going to head up to bed. I think tomorrow is going to be a pretty busy day."
Jasper agreed and followed his wife out of the room after they'd both wished Bella and Edward a good night.
Edward waited until he heard the door shut upstairs and then he tightened his arm around Bella's shoulders. "I don't want to waste the money on frivolous things," he said quietly into Bella's hair after once again kissing it softly. "I want to put it together with yours and make a life with it."
"That sounds so good," Bella murmured. "But I'm going to spend some of mine frivolously," she giggled. "As soon as I hear that Jakes accepted my terms Ally and I are going shopping."
Edward had to laugh at that. "I'll have to go myself at some point. I don't think there's much chance my parents will send over my stuff."
"I guess not," Bella huffed. "Is there anything important at their house that you wish you'd be able to keep?"
"No, Bella," he whispered. "Everything important to me is right here."
All four occupants of the house slept fitfully that night.
Both couples had spent an extra hour or so whispering in the dark to their partner about the events and revelations of the day and eventually all four gave in to the peacefulness of sleep.
It was the two men who got moving first the next morning. Edward because he was eager to start his new life and Jasper because he was eager to get a head start on Mary Alice who usually made him breakfast. Today he'd like to do it for her while she had a sleep in.
Edward found him at the stove flipping pancakes and wearing an apron that proudly stated his accreditation as the world's best chef. Edward doubted the validity of the claim when he looked at the plate that held a dozen lopsided pancakes but said nothing.
"Coffee's in the pot and the kettles just boiled if you prefer tea," Jasper told him as he moved to the high-backed stools beyond the counter.
"Coffee's fine," Edward told him.
"Sleep well?" Jasper asked as he attempted to flip another misformed pancake.
"Not really, you?"
"Not really," Jasper laughed. "Bella still asleep then?"
"Yeah," Edward told him as he dumped another spoonful of sugar into the way too strong brew. "She tossed and turned a bit. Stress I think."
"Probably," Jasper agreed. Moving away from the stove he stood in front of Edward at the counter and stared at him pointedly. "Can I ask you something personal?" he asked.
"Sure," Edward replied.
"Are you in love with my sister in law?" Jasper asked sternly.
"Yes," Edward answered truthfully.
"Are you sleeping with her?"
"Christ," Edward spat as he put his coffee cup back on the counter. "Jesus. You don't pull any punches do you?"
"No, I don't. Not when it comes to the girls," Jasper said evenly.
"I want to say that it's not any of your business, but I'm glad she's got someone who cares about her enough to ask, so no. I'm not sleeping with her. Well, I mean I am sleeping with her. But we aren't doing...I mean, shit," he rasped through a rapidly thickening throat. "We haven't had sex. That's what I mean. We sleep in the same bed but we aren't having sex."
Jasper grinned at the younger mans embarrassment but was impressed that he'd answered at all. "You're right; it isn't any of my business. You're both adults and you don't need anyone's permission. I only asked to see if you'd answer or tell me to fuck off," he laughed.
"Fuck," Edward muttered. "I should've kept my mouth shut then," he laughed, in keeping with the new tone of the conversation.
"Should I ask what your intentions are? In the absence of a parent who gives a shit?" Jasper chuckled.
"I'm going to marry her and give you a heap of gorgeous little nieces and nephews," Edward said honestly and without reserve because for him that was exactly what his intentions were.
This time it was Jasper who choked. "Holy shit, that's a good answer," he laughed when he'd cleared his throat enough to speak. "If Mary Alice asks you should definitely say that."
"I hope she doesn't ask," Edward mumbled to himself. "I think your pancakes are burning."
"Shit," Jasper cried and rushed back to the stove while Edward leaned back and laughed his head off.
"Can I ask you something personal now?" Edward asked once Jasper had rescued the pancake.
"Sure, shoot."
"The other night, on the drive back from the airport, you talked about Crossroads as though you knew it well," Edward said cautiously.
Grinning Jasper went back to standing on the other side of the counter. "That isn't a question," he smirked.
"I guess it's not," Edward agreed with a chuckle. "Okay then. Did you stay at Crossroads yourself at some point?"
"I did," Jasper confirmed. "It's not a secret," he stressed. "Well, I don't think Isabella ever knew," he trailed off as though he was thinking hard about it. "But Mary Alice has always known. I went there to dry out in the summer between my junior and senior year at college."
"Did you go or were you sent, like Bella and me?" Edward asked.
"I went, of my own accord. I knew I wouldn't get clean if I stayed here among the group I'd been hanging around with. So I gave up my place in the dorms and used the summer to dry out and when I came back I rented an apartment on my own and did my senior year clean and away from the distractions of living on campus," Jasper told him honestly.
"Can I ask what you needed to get clean of?" Edward asked hesitantly.
"Pretty much everything," Jasper laughed. "If it was on offer in the dorms I took it. And apart from the odd stiff drink after a trying day I've been clean ever since. Rosie works wonders."
"Yeah, she does," Edward agreed quickly. "But, it's weird," he mused. "She didn't actually do anything specific for us. I mean, it's not like she sat us down and gave us a good talking to, or sent us to a therapist or anything, but there's just something about that place."
"I know, right?" Jasper laughed as he rescued another pair of pancakes. "The place helps you without actually doing anything. Rosie's the same. She helps but you can't quite put your finger on what she's actually done until you look back. Then you see what it was."
"I hope I see it one day," Edward mumbled. "And I hope we'll go back for a visit one day too. I hope Emmett's there with her when we go too."
"Emmett?" Jasper asked. "That another private guest?"
"Yeah," Edward sighed, thinking about his friend and hoping he was doing okay, wherever he was. "He was my roommate. Great guy. Heaps of fun. A bit of a handful too, though," he laughed. "He and Rose sort of had a thing going there for a while. I think maybe they still do. But he left a couple of days before us to go and sort himself out and Rose was a bit upset by it. I think. I don't know, but I think."
"Well, well, well," Jasper chuckled. "The perennial bachelorette Rosalie Hale's met someone," he whistled. "What's this Emmett guy like then?"
That's how the two sisters found them that morning. Laughing and joking in the kitchen. Edward was retelling the tales of Emmett's money making schemes and how every single one of them went horribly wrong to a doubled over, clutching his stomach laughing so hard his ribs hurt Jasper.
"What's so funny?" Mary Alice asked as she took a seat on a stool beside Edward.
"I was telling Jasper about the guy that was my roommate at camp," Edward said, his ribs aching from laughing too.
"Oh he was great," Bella chimed in as she too climbed up onto a seat. "Nicest guy you'd ever want to meet. And funny," she exclaimed. "He had us in stitches right from day one, didn't he?" she asked a frantically nodding Edward.
"And covered in shit by the end," Edward crowed as Bella ribbed him with her elbow, making him laugh harder.
The four of them sat at the smaller table in the breakfast nook and ate Jasper's pancakes. They were tough and half of them were burnt, but both Bella and Edward could see how happy it made Alice so they ate with smiles on their faces while they regaled the other pair with stories from camp.
Edward confessed how he and Emmett had gotten the fish they'd sold so he could buy Bella the book and Bella managed to be suitably appalled. Almost. Her bark of laughter gave away how funny she found it.
Edward explained Emmett's still making enterprise, even though Bella hadn't had any knowledge of it at the time. Everyone had a good laugh at the porta potty incident but nobody laughed when Bella detailed the damage done to Rosie's beloved car. Even Jasper knew how much she loved that thing.
After they'd polished off the pancakes the two girls sent the two boys off to shower and dress for their trip to the bank while they cleaned up the kitchen. Alice washed, Bella dried, and the whole time they talked and gossiped about her stay at camp.
Alice had just passed her sister a coffee cup to dry when the kitchen phone rang, startling both girls and making Bella drop the cup to the tiled floor. Alice reached for the phone while a desperately sorry Bella got onto her hands and knees to begin picking up the pieces.
"Whitlock residence," Alice trilled in her lovely sing-song voice as she answered. "Oh, right, please hold," she said softly and then covered the handset with her hand. "Izzy, it's Jake," she whispered and held the phone out for her now trembling sister.
Bella took the phone and blew out a breath over her lips before saying hello. Jake wasn't interested in pleasantries so he simply said what he had to say.
"I accept your terms," he muttered darkly. "You announce it," he spat. "You announce it exactly like you said you would, mental illness and all. But I'm warning you from the get go, you better make it believable or the whole deals off. You can take whatever you think you know about bullshit deals and sing it from the rooftops if you screw me on this."
"It's not been a pleasure being engaged to you, Mr Black," Bella said snidely. "Keep an eye on the afternoon news reels." And with that she handed the handset back to her sister and grinned. Once Alice had hung it up she choked out a relieved laugh. "He's accepted," she announced smugly. "Will you go over my statement once more with me before I ring the paper?" she asked.
"I'd love to," Alice sang as she skipped around the counter and slid her arm through her sisters. "I know the guys don't want you to do this, but I know you've made up your mind," she said seriously as they moved from the kitchen into the formal dining room. "I know Jake doesn't deserve it, but I'm proud of you for having the guts to do this."
"He doesn't deserve it," Bella agreed, "but if this is what I have to do to make the engagement go away then I'll do it."
"I know," Alice nodded, "let's have another look then."
The two men came down the stairs in what could only be described as business casual clothing. They both wore jeans – Jasper had foregone his usual tailored business suit pants because Edward didn't have any on hand – but that was the only casual part of their appearance. Both wore collared shirts, Edward's was white; Jasper's pale blue, and both wore leather shoes and belts.
Their expressions weren't casual either. Jasper was concerned at the lack of contact from any of the major players they'd met with the day before, Edward was concerned about going to the bank and pulling the rug out from under his father.
Their moods weren't helped when they were informed that Jake had accepted Bella's terms and that she fully planned to make her statement, as she'd promised she would.
It was this part of the plan that everyone in the group hated.
Bella taking the blame, where no blame should be laid at all, for the broken engagement. If Jake was just a man and had no political aspirations she could've just refused to marry him and walked away. But he did have political aspirations and none of the group considered him a man at all.
They'd all, in their own ways, begged her to reconsider this part in the days prior but none of them had managed to persuade her that any of their other ideas would work.
Up until this point nobody had really expected Jake to insist she make a public fool of herself on his behalf. Everyone had hoped that he'd agree to the breaking of the engagement and it would end there. Now their opinion of him had dropped to beyond low.
Edward took Bella aside and begged her once again to reconsider but she'd given her word and would not be swayed. This was the price she was willing to pay for her freedom and it was time to pay up.
Edward hated the whole idea. He hated that she was going to admit to being ill when she wasn't. He hated that Jake was the bad guy and Bella was going to take the blame onto herself and most of all he hated that she was going to do this as much for him as she was for herself.
He kissed the top of her head and told her how proud he was of her and left for the bank before his resolve broke. He considered asking Jasper to take him to Jake's office so he could smash him in his face but eventually thought better of it and sat quietly in the passenger seat, staring out the window as they made their way to the bank.
"We could just go there and slot him," Jasper suggested as though he'd plucked the idea directly from Edward's brain.
"Would you represent me in court?" Edward asked, half serious and half joking.
"Shit yeah," Jasper chuckled as he parked the car out front of the bank. "I'd do it pro bono too, even though you'll be good for my fee in a minute."
Bella tapped her pen on the page of neatly typed script while she waited on hold for Tyler to answer. At least if she had to do this, she thought, she was going to do it with a friend who would be sympathetic and who wouldn't distort the story for his own end.
"Bella!" Tyler crowed as he answered his cell. "So glad to hear you got home okay."
"Thanks Tyler," Bella replied with a smile. "The flight was long but I'm okay."
"And Ed? He okay too?" Tyler asked with a grin at his end.
"He's fine. On his way to the bank to get at his inheritance," Bella told him proudly.
They spent a few minutes going back and forth while Bella filled her friend in on all that had happened since she'd left Australia. Tyler was as stunned to learn about Edward's family money as she'd been, but he was also very pleased that the couple would have a good start on their future.
Bella asked after Rose and asked if he'd heard from Emmett and then the business at hand couldn't be ignored any longer.
"So," Tyler began carefully. "I'm guessing you're calling because Jake agreed?"
"He did," Bella sighed, not unhappily. "Do you have your copy of my statement handy?" she asked and while he asked her to wait a second while he retrieved it from his satchel she stared down at her copy and at the big, red cross outs on it. When Tyler said he was ready she took a deep breath before speaking. "I need to make a change to the third paragraph. You got a pen?"
"Got one, I'm good to go. Shoot," Tyler replied.
"Okay. Can you take out the first two sentences please?" she asked.
"Done," Tyler agreed.
"And at the end of the next line can you take out my parent's altogether, please?"
Bella could hear his pen scratching away on his copy and then he asked if there was anything else.
"Yeah, just one more thing," Bella replied carefully. "Can you take Crossroads out of the whole thing? I don't think I want to name it specifically after all. I know Rose said she didn't mind, and that the publicity wouldn't reflect badly on the camp, but I really don't think I want to name it specifically."
"I can just call it a retreat, does that work for you?" Tyler asked.
"That's perfect. Thank you so much for doing this for me," Bella said honestly.
"You're totally welcome," Tyler said. "Sorry it came to this. I wish there was something I could do to avoid you having to do this, but I'm kinda glad Jake went for it all the same. It still makes sense to me even if Ed wasn't onboard."
"He's still not. Not really. But I gave my word and here we are," Bella said softly. "So, will you be able to get this out today then?"
"Yeah," Tyler said. "My editor is waiting for the copy and he's reserved some time to get it out to the major papers before the evening news bulletins in your area go to air. Don't worry, Bella. I've got this all mapped out. I won't let you down."
"I know you won't, and thanks again Tyler," Bella told her friend before hanging up the call.
With Jasper's quiet confidence and his legal background at his side Edward felt a little less nervous as they sat opposite the bank managers huge desk.
"My client wishes to disassociate his account from the loans that are currently using it as collateral," Jasper explained calmly, as though he did this every day of the year.
The bank manager, Mr Wolfe according to his nameplate at the edge of the desk, was nodding as Jasper spoke but his head was buried in the huge file that had Edward's name on its cover.
"Your father, Mr Carlisle Cullen, used the money held in trust in this account as collateral without your express permission?" he asked an already nodding Edward. "Can that be proven?" he asked Jasper.
"It can," Jasper replied firmly and withdrew a file from his briefcase and pushed it across the table towards the banker. "Those are certified copies of the original trust document and the will, including the codicils expressly forbidding Carlisle Cullen from using the trust fund as capital for any purpose attached to Cullen Enterprises. My client," he nodded towards an impressed Edward, "never gave written or verbal permission for his father to use his trust as leverage for development loans and as such my client requests those loans be disassociated immediately."
Getting at his money hadn't exactly been as easy as he'd hoped, Edward thought grimly. But, as he listened to Jasper's clear authorative voice argue his rights Edward began to relax just a little.
"I don't see how I can do that," Mr Wolfe replied carefully as he read over the documents placed before him. "The bank was unaware that this account was tied up to a trust, let alone that there were codicils placed on it. We guaranteed the loans in good faith. Without the collateral the loans have nothing to guarantee them, especially as they are development loans."
Edward, with his heart in his throat, turned to Jasper to ask what that meant but Jasper was already answering him. "Your father used your trust to borrow money to pay for all the start up procedures for this latest development. Permits, insurance, retainers for architects and legal fees, things like that. There isn't anything concrete that could be called an asset this early on in the development that could be sold to realise cash to pay back the loans should the development fall through."
"Didn't you say that isn't my problem?" Edward asked cautiously.
Jasper began to smile smugly then. "Exactly," he said to Edward then returned his attention back to Mr Wolfe who now looked less confident and really rather concerned Edward thought. "Further to that, if you don't agree to disassociate the trust from the loans I'll be forced to instigate a full enquiry into how this was allowed to happen without the prior written consent of my client. Mr Carlisle Cullen had no authority to use this trust as he has and I for one would like to know how such a prestigious and usually highly reputable bank such as this one allowed such a gross oversight to occur."
Edward might not understand lawyer speak, or half of what was being said around him, but he understood threats just fine. And Jasper was threatening.
Mr Wolfe must have thought so too because he asked if he could make copies of the trust documents and once he'd given them to his assistant he called for a Mr Jenks to come to his office.
"Jenks will handle the disassociation and I'll handle Carlisle Cullen myself," he told an amused Jasper.
"I do have a question, before you pass us over to Mr Jenks," Jasper said as they all stood to take their leave.
"Of course," Mr Wolfe replied warily.
"Mrs Esme Cullen, Edward's mother and Carlisle's wife, does her signature appear on any of the loan issuing documents you have in your possession?" Jasper asked calmly while Edward began to sweat.
Mr Wolfe didn't have to think on it for long. "I'll have to check in one or two other departments, but from the documents I've seen personally no, Mrs Cullen's signature isn't on the loan documents that I know of."
Jasper clapped Edward on the back as they left that office and were shown into the next, "Nearly there, Ed, hang on just a little longer. You're nearly there," he said quietly to a trembling Edward.
Jasper recognised the terror on the guys face as he'd waited for Wolfe's answer. The guy deserved at least one parent who wasn't trying to screw him and Jasper had had the hunch that Esme wasn't involved all along. He was dying to prove it. Wolfe's vague answer was a start, but Jasper was a proof kind of guy.
Of course asking Esme outright would be easier but Jasper didn't think Edward was ready to face his mother just yet. He would be, but not yet. The meeting with his father had knocked the wind out of him badly enough.
Jenks was as professionally aloof as Wolfe had been but he was subordinate to Wolfe so Jasper had no issues as he walked Edward through all the paperwork to free up his money. Jenks wasn't happy about having to make that happen, but Jasper didn't care. It was the banks fuck up in the first place, allowing the loans, what they did about that now that the collateral was removed from the equation was their problem, just like he'd told Edward the night before.
Once the papers were signed they were shown into yet another office and introduced to yet another banker. This one was a woman and thankfully – because Edward was about ready to lose his shit – she was an older, kindly woman by the name of Mrs Sandy Cope who took one look at the distress on Edward's face and decided then and there that he needed looking after.
Jasper excused himself for this part and said he'd wait in the foyer.
Mrs Cope walked Edward through the forms to issue a credit card that would be attached to his account. She advised him about the types of access he could have on the account and then walked him through the paperwork for an access card to use at ATM's and to order a check book. It took just a few minutes to reroute the statements to Jasper's home address, because he didn't have one of his own yet, and then she took him out into the bank proper and showed him how to withdraw funds over the counter while he waited for his cards to arrive in the mail in a few days time.
As he'd said he would the night before Edward withdrew one hundred dollars and thanked Mrs Cope profusely for helping him. He met a smiling Jasper in the foyer and thanked him profusely for all his help too.
"Don't mention it, Ed," Jasper crowed as they made their way back to his waiting car. "So, you still want beer and cigarettes?" he asked as he started the vehicle.
"And popcorn," Edward chuckled. "And a nice bottle of red for Bella, she likes red."
"Good plan," Jasper mused as he swung the car around and headed for the mall closest to home.
"So it's done then?" Edward asked the instant he walked through the front door and spotted the look on Bella's face.
Nodding slowly Bella confirmed that it was. "Tyler said within the hour the first paper will have my statement."
Spying the carry bag in Edward's hand Alice asked the next obvious question. "You got your money?"
"It was a bit harder than we thought it was going to be, but yeah," Edward smiled crookedly. "Jasper was brilliant."
"He always is," Alice trilled and kissed her husband sweetly on his cheek. "Bella and I are going to head out to the mall to grab a few things; do you two want to come?"
Jasper shook his head, "No, I can't. I can't put off calling Harvey any longer," he told an understanding Mary Alice and a confused Edward and Bella. "I've resigned from my job," he told the gaping couple after a brief nod of encouragement from his wife. "It wasn't right that I stayed there, not after this. I left a letter of resignation for my boss, but I need to call him still."
"Oh Jazz," Bella sighed as she went to his side. She hugged him tight, kissed his cheek and then stepped away a little. "I'm so sorry about all of this."
"Don't sweat it, Izz-a-bee," he chuckled as he watched her eyes light up at the use of her childhood name from her hero. "Any firm who could condone what I did to Edward without blinking wasn't the right place for me anyway."
"You didn't do squat," Edward protested.
"I did enough," Jasper sighed. "So I'll go make my call while you girls shop."
"Edward?" Alice asked.
"I think I'm going to stay behind," he said quietly. "I think I should call my mom."
Bella was by his side in an instant, her hand cupping his cheek, her heart beating rapidly in her chest in hope. "Was I right?" she asked.
"Yeah," he sighed against her palm. "She didn't sign anything. I think I need to talk to her now that I know that bit for sure."
Mary Alice had no idea what any of the conversation meant but Bella promised to fill her in on the drive to the mall so she left happily after she'd made sure the two guys were aware of the lunch she'd put in the kitchen for them.
As the two girls left the house Jasper offered Edward the use of the house phone, telling the once again nervous man that he'd use his cell in his office for his own call. "Bella's theories about your mom sound pretty spot on," Jasper said evenly. "But don't let yourself get caught up in the emotion of that until you're sure, at least until you hear her side of it," he warned. "Be honest with her and ask pointed questions, like we practised, and remember that you aren't alone anymore. If she's complicit we're still here for you."
"Thanks," was all Edward could manage as he watched Jasper move away towards his study. He took the handset from the wall above the kitchen counter and dialled his parent's house. He took a long, deep breath after asking his mothers housekeeper to please put her on the line and then when she answered all he could say was her name.
"Edward?" his mother asked, emotion in her voice for the first time that Edward could ever remember. "Is it really you?" she asked softly.
"Yeah, it's really me," he answered just as quietly. "I need to talk to you, mom. I need to ask you some stuff."
"Oh Edward," she sighed. "I really need to talk to you too. But I'm on my way out the door right this second," she said as Edward's gut clenched, "can I call you back in a little while?"
"Jesus mom," he hissed, his patience at its end. "I've been away for months, I've chucked in my job with dads company, I've learned about his lies and you can't spare me half an hour out of your busy day?"
"Edward," his mother replied more firmly, "I know you have a lot of questions and I promise that I'll answer whatever you ask, but I can't right this very minute. I have to go but I'll call you in a couple of hours."
When he heard the telltale beeps announcing that his mother had disconnected the call Edward slammed the handset back into its cradle on the wall and ran a hand through his hair. Nothing had changed since he'd gone to Australia he thought acidly. His mother was still the same self absorbed, cold and unfeeling monster he'd always thought her to be.
With an hour, at the least if she was off shopping, to kill until she called him back he twisted off the top of one of the beers he'd bought and went outside to read the papers. "She doesn't even have the number here," he hissed as he took a seat. He pulled his cell from his jeans pocket and laid it face up on the table and settled in to wait.
The girls heard the first mutterings about her broken engagement on the car radio as they drove home from the mall. It was just a small snippet, a mere mention really, but the ominous 'more details in our full coverage in the news at six pm' made them both grimace.
"That's that then," Bella mumbled.
"You're free," Mary Alice said more to herself than her sister.
"I'm free," Bella said out loud, then whistled. "Oh my god Ally, I'm fucking free!" she crowed when it finally sank in.
Mary Alice, shocked by her sisters language, but impressed by it too, whooped loudly herself before remembering that she was in charge of a very large SUV. "And you've got jeans," she giggled when Bella turned to look out the window again.
"Yeah, I do," Bella giggled. "Ally, what do you ..." she trailed off. "Um, is it okay that Edward and I are staying at your house?"
"Of course it is, why wouldn't it be?" Alice asked simply.
"It's a bit like living in sin, isn't it? I mean, we weren't bought up this way, to behave like this, and I don't want any more damage done to you or Jasper."
"Damage?" Alice scoffed. "For a start you haven't done any damage. Jasper feels relieved to be out of that job. Relived, Izzy. I didn't know about any of this until a few weeks ago, and I can't say that I noticed he was uneasy about anything he did at work before then, but once he told me about it all I noticed then. He hated what he'd done. He hated that the firm he's worked for all these years could do that to a totally innocent guy."
Mary Alice pulled the car into the driveway of her home but rather than get out she turned in her seat to face her sister. "And while we're on the subject of our upbringing," she said through a scowl, "Forget absolutely everything mother taught you. Well, not everything," she sighed, "just the stuff about reputation and social standing. Oh, and the shitty pearls and sweaters lessons, those were crap," she laughed. "But the other stuff, all that bull about being a dutiful wife and how what others think of you is all that matters, forget all that shit, Izzy."
"Mother isn't going to be happy that I'm staying with you though," Bella said, eyes cast down.
"I don't really give a fat, flying fuck what mother thinks," Alice giggled, enjoying the curse words immensely. "You two can stay with us for as long as you like. We love you. That's all that matters."
"You've got a bit of a potty mouth," Bella giggled as she reached for her shopping bags from the backseat. "Does your husband know you talk like that?"
Alice was still giggling as she got her own bags from the car and went to the front door, key in hand, to let them in. She turned and whispered over her shoulder at her sister. "Oh, he knows. Despite what mother says there's nothing wrong with being a bit vulgar, or a bit slutty, in the bedroom," she laughed at her now furiously blushing sister. "But I don't recommend it in company."
"I'll try to keep that in mind," Bella chuckled as they went inside to find the boys.
Jasper was still in his study so Alice excused herself and took her purchases upstairs to her bedroom, leaving Bella to seek out Edward. He was still on the terrace, the paper stretched out before him, but he had his head in his hands, his cell phone wedged under his ear as he whispered furiously.
"What do you mean?" he asked fiercely. "How can that be?" he hissed. "What the fuck does that mean, mom?" he ranted as Bella neared.
She put her purse onto the seat beside his and he startled just a little. She mouthed 'sorry' and sat in another chair, one further down. She mouthed 'are you okay' to him and at the shake of his head she sighed.
"Listen, mom, none of that changes anything, not really. I have to go," he mumbled and rolled his eyes. "No, mom. Just no. I don't want that. I can't tell you where I'm staying because it's none of your damn business. Goodbye mom," he said and stabbed at the button to end the call. "Jesus," he sighed, raking a hand through his hair.
"Have you been talking to her this whole time we were out?" Bella asked tentatively.
"No," he sighed, reaching for her hand and then kissing her palm. "I called her right after you left but she was rushing out the door at the time. She said she'd call back but she has no idea where I am, so I called her back, about twenty minutes ago. Her housekeeper said she wasn't in, so I tried her cell only to get voicemail. She eventually called my cell back," he said, shaking his head at the complicated mess.
"Alright," Bella said. She wanted to ask how it had gone, not needing to hear how the two of them had actually connected in the end. She wanted to know every word that passed between them. But if it was as bad as the end of their conversation had sounded she didn't think she really wanted to know all that much.
Edward had no such qualms about the conversation though. He needed to share it. "I was mad, when I talked to her the first time today. I was angry because I haven't talked to her for months, the whole time I was away, and she ditched me without batting an eyelash.
"But when she called back she explained. Christ, Bella. Do you remember that first week at camp, when we were sitting outside under the awning of my cabin? Emmett had gone to town and we were talking about why we'd been sent there?"
"Of course," Bella replied.
"I remember telling you that I was glad to be there because I didn't want to take my place at dad's firm. I remember thinking if I could just get out of that, if I could just do another job, any other job, everything else would be okay. I could get a place of my own, I wouldn't have to report my every move to my mother and I could date someone if I wanted to. That's what I remember thinking about those first few weeks."
"I remember," Bella whispered. "I remember being jealous that your situation seemed much easier than mine. Walk away from your job and start fresh."
"Yeah," he sighed and then pulled her palm to his mouth for another kiss. "It did seem easier back then..." he trailed off. "It's not so simple now."
"It isn't?" she asked, wondering what had complicated his situation further. "You've told your dad you aren't returning to that job and you've found out about and accessed your inheritance. What else, Edward, what else is making it complicated?"
When he turned his eyes to hers her heart lurched. The pain that had finally been erased from them when she'd left to go shopping just a few hours earlier was back. But it was more, too.
"Because my mother has just informed me that my whole life, all of it, the posturing, the ridiculous rules, the pressure, it was all a lie, Bella. All of it," he let that sink in for her for a just a moment and then he continued. "The reason she's ridden me this hard my whole life is because my father insisted on it. The reason my mother's signature isn't on any of the loan documents is because she didn't know about them. The bank contacted my dad about twenty seconds after I left there this morning. They've called in his loans. They aren't willing to give him any time to stump up some other form of collateral.
"Oh god Bella, he went right home from his office. He screamed at her, insisted she tell him how I know about the inheritance. He wasn't even interested in knowing where I was staying, or whether we'd ever have a relationship now, since I gave up the job there. She told him truthfully that she didn't know how I'd found out about the money and how she was pleased that I finally did, but she says he went off. Lost it. Totally fucking lost it. He struck her, Bella. He hit her. Slapped her, she says," he whimpered, hanging his head down low to hide his guilty eyes.
"Oh darling," Bella murmured as she kicked her purse off the chair between them and sat in it, taking him into her arms.
"I've all but bankrupted my father, Bella. And he's taken it out on my mother. She's left him, Bella. That's where she was going when I called earlier. She was leaving him. She says she's never going back. She says she never loved him. She said ...god she said so many things...I can't think..." he trailed off.
"Shhh," she cooed, stroking his hair. "None of that is your fault," she whispered as his shoulders began to shake.
"It's his fault," Edward hissed.
"It is," Bella agreed quietly, wishing she had all the information at hand so she could offer him some sort of advice that wasn't just a cliché. She had no insight to share, though, because she knew nothing about his parents other than what he'd already shared with her, so her opinion of his mother wasn't unbiased. She had hope that the woman was redeemable, but nothing solid to base that hope on.
"She said she loves me, Bella. She's never, ever said it before that I can remember. She says she's sorry, that she never had the courage to go against him and she let him dictate my whole life, through her. How do I deal with that? What do I do now?" he gushed, desperate for someone to just take all the pain away.
Bella thought about that for a moment before answering. She knew he wanted someone to ease what he was feeling, because if it was her she'd want that too. She might not want anything to do with either of her parents now but she knew how desperate Edward had been to know whether his mother had been complicit, and how excited he was to learn she wasn't.
"You do one of two things, Edward," she began quietly. "You walk away, leave it all behind you and move forward without either of them in your life. Or you can talk to her, listen to what she's got to say and then make a decision based on all the facts."
It was good advice he thought as he listened. "I have choices," he mumbled as he wiped his nose on his sleeve.
"Yeah, you do," Bella agreed.
The doorbell prevented either of them from saying anything more or making any decisions. Alice looked stricken when she came out onto the terrace to find them. She could clearly see from their expressions that whatever they were discussing was serious, but so was her mission right then.
"I'm sorry to interrupt," she said gently as she came to the table where they were sitting. "Izzy, mother's here and she wants to speak with you."
Doing her best to hide her shock Bella squeezed Edward's hand just once before getting to her feet. "Where is she?" she asked her sister.
"In the living room," Alice whispered so as not to be overheard. "She's livid, Izzy. Do you want me to get Jaz, just in case?"
"No," Bella replied confidently. "I'm not afraid of her anymore," she said firmly. "Edward?" she asked, looking down into his beautiful jade eyes and pleading with him to help her, yet again.
"Always," he said, knowing instinctively what she needed from him. "Lead the way," he told her.
A/N: Thank you for reading.
Cue the dramatic music, dun dun dun...LOL
Please review.