There were a lot of fired up reviews in the last chapter. I love it. Hopefully this answers some peoples questions, but there's still Edwards POV outtakes to come that will explain it in more detail.
Returning the Favour
Although I've been let out of my hospital cell … errr … room, I'm still a prisoner in my own home. My parents have banished me to my room where I am to rest all day and all weekend. Monday can't come fast enough.
I manage to curb my boredom with some very exciting science and math homework, and text messages from Angela are my saving grace. We make a plan for her to visit me at home tomorrow. I'd much rather get out of the house – and go where, I don't know – but there's no way that's happening.
My night ends with some repeats of Modern Family and a bowl of cheezles, before I finally shower and get into my pyjamas. I check my phone for new messages from Angela, but see nothing, so I turn my lamp off and roll over. Seconds later my phone vibrates. It's a message from Edward.
U awake?
I reply with 'yes' and my phone rings almost instantly, giving me a fright.
"Hello?" I pick up.
"So I need your help." His voice is gruff and slightly muffled, it sounds like he too is lying in bed.
I roll over and snuggle into my pillow. "Mmmm?"
"You see, I'm making a list …"
"Oh yeah? What kind of list?" I smile into the phone.
"It's called the pros and cons of Edward Cullen," he replies.
"Hmmm, I think I've heard of a list like this before."
"No. No, you can't have, because this is a very unique and one of a kind list," he assures me.
I laugh. "Okay, I'll take your word for it. How can I help you with this list?"
"I was thinking that maybe you could help me fill out the cons. Just to be safe, I have well over a hundred lined pages in front of me."
"Well, that's forward thinking."
"Yes, I thought so, too. I should put that in the pros … forward thinking. Okay, done. Now give me some cons."
I suddenly feel nervous, but don't hold back.
"Selfish."
"Oooh, yeah, good one."
"Arrogant."
"Mmhmm," he agrees.
"Egotistic."
"Oooh."
His sound effects make me smile and I find it hard to really tell him his bad traits, until I remember our first discussion about the baby and his suggestion to make this all go away.
"Asshole."
"Ooooh I'm not sure name calling is allowed," he says rather casually.
"Hateful. Sleazy. Spiteful. Immoral."
"Please, don't hold back," he jokes, but I'm no longer in a light-hearted mood, so I continue on.
"Mean. Annoying –"
"Okay, I get it, I'm an asshole," he interrupts.
I stop and try to suppress my anger. A long silence follows and I wonder if he's hung up, but then I hear him breathing, so I stay on the line.
"What's on your mind?" he finally asks.
"That first day, in the music room …" I falter.
"Shit." He breathes heavily down the line a few times before continuing. "That was really shitty of me. I just need you to understand that I was really freaked out. It was my second time and I got a girl pregnant. And not just any girl, I got you, Isabella Swan, pregnant."
"Right, coz that makes me feel better," I scoff.
He's instantly annoyed.
"You know, you always think the worst of people. Always. You never give them a chance to explain themselves," he almost shouts, before stopping himself and taking a deep breath. "Bella, I meant you as in the girl I admired from afar for years, the sister of my best friend's girlfriend, the girl whose father just happens to own a gun and would probably know how to shoot me and make it look like an accident. I had never been so scared in my entire life." He breathes a sigh of relief, as if he'd been holding that in for a while. "And to be honest, I was a little angry at you for not telling me straight away," he adds.
"Why would I tell you? You were so ashamed of me that you'd already denied sleeping with me."
"No. No, Bella, you have that all wrong. In hindsight, what I said was probably really stupid, but I said that because I didn't want people to think of you as that girl. That kind of girl that goes to parties and sleeps with people. I thought that by telling people that it never happened, that they'd just leave you alone and move onto the next stupid high school drama to come along."
"And then it came out that I am That Girl," I reply.
There's a lull in the conversation, as though he's thinking of the right words to say.
"You know what I've always liked about you?"
"What?" I ask half-heartedly.
"That you don't give a shit. You've never been one to keep up with trends, or discuss other people, or give in to peer pressure. You've always just been this unattainable enigma to me and I'm really fucking ashamed of how I treated you after that night. You know I really wanted to call you, but I was just too chicken shit. Then when everyone started talking about us, I got to thinking that maybe chasing you was a stupid idea. You didn't seem like the kind of girl that dates and I knew you avoided drama like the plague, so I did what I could to keep you out of it, I acted like you didn't exist ... and then when I found out about the baby, but having to hear it through the barbie dolls at school –"
"Brittanys," I interrupt.
"Huh?"
"I call them the Brittanys. Sorry, never mind. You were saying," I blurt.
"When I heard through the … the Brittanys that you might be pregnant, my whole world just turned on its head," he finishes.
"Yeah, it was a pretty scary day for me when I found out, too … listen, I'm sorry you had to find out that way." I never thought of it that way. He was right, I always assume the worst about people. I mentally put it in my cons list.
"I'm sorry for being a selfish, arrogant, egotistic, hateful, sleazy … sleazy? Really? Um, spiteful, immoral, mean and annoying asshole."
"Did you really write all those down?" I ask, laughing.
"Of course I did, didn't you write down yours?"
"Nope." I smile.
"Cheat," he laughs.
"I didn't have any pen and paper! And I still don't, so maybe you could write them down for me and give them to me on Monday?" I ask slyly.
He chuckles down the line. "Feels like you're asking me to do your homework."
"Well … while you're there," I joke.
"Now you're dreaming," he laughs.
It's silent, but for the noises of him moving about and I'm about to ask him more questions, but instead a yawn escapes as soon as I open my mouth.
"I'll let you get some sleep," he murmurs.
"I'm sorry, I get tired so easily lately," I explain.
"Well, you are growing a human being."
"So true," I agree with a smile.
"Goodnight, Bella." The way he says my name makes my heart skip a beat.
"Goodnight, Edward," I reply.
I click the end button and am asleep the moment my eyes close.