Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or the song Take a Chance on me.
A/N: I do not have a Beta and I'm too lazy to read over my work, so sorry in advance for what I'm sure will be numerous grammar mistakes and probably some missing words.
If you change your mind, I'm the first in line
Honey I'm still free
Take a chance on me
If you need me, let me know, gonna be around
If you've got no place to go, if you're feeling down
If you're all alone when the pretty birds have flown
Honey I'm still free
Take a chance on me
Gonna do my very best and it ain't no lie
If you put me to the test, if you let me try
The tow company was ordered to bring my truck back to the Cullen's, for Rosalie to fix, without a problem. I was able to make sure Charlie didn't panic about me not going home as expected and I easily assured him I was fine, thanks to Tanya. He really wasn't all that worried since I was already in a hotel and what was done was done. He did make sure though, that I promised to have the tire fixed on my truck as soon as possible as well as the spare tire so I wouldn't be without a spare again.
Spending the night at the hotel was nice. Tanya sat on the couch the whole night and left me to have the bed all to myself. I was almost tempted to ask her to join me, but only because I was so used to having Edward lay next to me; it was almost impossible to fall asleep without him. I might have actually asked her if it wasn't for the fact I didn't think Edward would have appreciated me asking Tanya to sleep with me. I wouldn't have liked it if he had done that to me.
By the time we got back to the Cullen's I felt very comfortable with Tanya. I actually felt a lot more comfortable with her then I did with either Alice or even Edward. I would have just chalked it up to the fact Tanya did save me from the flat tire; but the Cullen's had saved me from James. I would think the Cullen's win on who had a bigger save. So, I really had no idea why I felt like I'd known Tanya my whole life; yet, at the same time, I felt I didn't know nearly enough about her.
Also, by the time we got back to the Cullen's, I had finally realized something. Throughout the whole night I kept my phone on. I made sure, twice even, that the sound was loud enough to wake me up in case someone called or texted me. I usually do that every night, but last night I did that for a reason. I followed Tanya's advice. I expected Edward to call me, or to at least text me. I even thought that maybe Alice would text me saying she had a vision of what happened and that she had let Edward know. I expected some sort of acknowledgment from Edward that I wasn't going to be home like he thought I was going to be; especially since he had always been so worried about knowing where I was all the time.
My phone was silent… all night.
I didn't know if I was annoyed, mad or both, at him. What I did know, was that I wasn't really all too bothered about it. For some reason, just knowing Tanya was with me and that she knew I was safe, not necessarily where I was, like Edward liked to keep tabs on all the time, but just safe, made me feel better. That was enough for me; so when we pulled up to the Cullen's, thanks to Tanya renting a vehicle that she swore wasn't a problem in doing, I was a little surprised to see Edward standing out front looking very upset. I couldn't tell who he was glaring at though, me or Tanya.
"Where were you Bella?" Edward asked from his spot, not moving an inch.
I just barely felt Tanya move slightly closer to me and I swore the action caused Edward to growl. I saw his whole body tense up as he fisted his hands. Something really pissed him off.
"I was with Tanya." I answered with the obvious answer. I couldn't help but keep the slightly annoyed tone out of my voice. He was only now just asking where I was. Why hadn't he tried calling me or even texting me last night like he usually did? I could have been in trouble for all he knew and I could have needed his help. I realized that it made me sound a bit clingy because I wanted him to check on me; but the one time something actually happened, he didn't check. It just annoyed me.
"I know that Bella; but where with Tanya were you?" Edward asked through clenched teeth. His eyes were darting between mine and Tanya's which led me to believe Tanya was talking to him in her head because normally his full attention was on me when we were together and especially when we were talking. Whatever it was he was hearing, it was not helping to calm him down.
"She was sleeping with me Edward. I hope that's okay." Tanya answered for me, the last part sounding more like an after-thought.
My whole face went bright red from what Tanya said and what her words implied. I knew nothing happened and I would like to think Edward had better faith in me to know I wouldn't do anything like that to him. From his utter defeated look though, it didn't seem that way.
"How could you do that to us Bella?" Edward asked me in an almost whiny tone.
"How could you think I would?" I asked Edward; crushed he would think I did what Tanya insinuated. He didn't even seem to have thought for a second I hadn't. He just automatically assumed I did cheat on him. It hurt.
"I think someone has trust issues. If you would have listened to what I said, I said she was sleeping with me, not that she slept with me. We shared a hotel room, she had the bed and I had the couch. Why do you have trust issues with someone who supposedly completes you?" Tanya asked in a thoughtful tone.
"I don't have any trust issues." Edward snarled out to Tanya who just smirked at him.
I was going to defend Edward from Tanya, since he was my boyfriend… er, soul mate, but I didn't really feel like it. How could he deny something that he just showed not minutes ago? I was much too hurt from his lack of trust to try and defend him.
"Edward, you just asked how I could do that to us, insinuating that I cheated on you, when I actually didn't do anything. That right there shows trust issues." I said in a firm voice. I was used to always doing what Edward told me do and never really going against him since I thought he always knew what was best. Now though, I was starting to regret ever thinking that way. There was no way I was backing down from this argument; I wanted him to understand how wrong he was in thinking that way.
"Bella, what else could I think? You said you slept with her." Edward said in a voice someone would use when they're scolding a young child.
"You're talking to an adult Edward." Tanya said, not liking his tone any more than I had; her voice showed she was annoyed with him. I saw Edward open his mouth to say something back to her, but I beat him to it.
"I didn't say that Edward. Tanya said something similar to that. She didn't give you all the details and you assumed the worst case scenario right away. That shows you don't have any trust in me. I trust you to not go off on one of your hunting trips and spend the night with some random girl; why can't you trust me like that?" I asked Edward. I wanted to understand what he was thinking. I didn't understand why he couldn't trust me after all we've been through. There were plenty of times I could have gone out with Jake or even Mike, but I didn't. Even when Edward left me, I never once went out with someone else because I had thought we were still meant to be. I hated to even think it, but I was starting to doubt that now. Shouldn't soul mates not have to worry about trust issues?
"Of course you can trust me Bella, I'm a vampire –" Edward started but Tanya cut him off before he could finish.
"So that means that you can't trust Bella because she's a human? That's a load of crap Edward. Why don't you try giving her a real reason?" Tanya said as she crossed her arms over her trust and gave Edward a smirk.
"That is a real reason; but if that won't work for you Bella, then how about that I never once put our relationship at risk –" Edward started to explain but was once again cut off by Tanya. Each time Edward opened his mouth and said something, he made me more and more upset. This couldn't be the same Edward I fell in love with, I couldn't have been that stupid.
"You're wrong again Edward. You left Bella. You literally left her. You told her you didn't want to see her anymore and broke up with her. I would say that more than qualifies as putting your relationship at risk. So again, why don't you give her the real reason you can't trust her. I know why you can't trust her and you know you can't trust her. So why don't you enlighten Bella and just make this a lot easier for all of us?" Tanya said, demanding Edward to do what she said.
It unnerved me to think that the reason Edward didn't trust me was something Tanya knew. I wasn't sure how to feel about a practical stranger know more about my relationship than I did. But, my main focus at the moment, was Edward and what he was telling me. He seemed to have had a silent conversation in his mind that made him go from angry to just plain defeated. He looked as if he just lost the most precious thing to him and it hurt me to see him that way. I didn't want him to be hurt.
"What is she talking about Edward?" I asked, almost taking a step forward towards him. When I made the motion to take that step, Tanya took a step first, closer to me. I had felt the need to comfort him, but with Tanya next to me, I knew this sounded harsh, but I felt someone else should comfort him; not me. I felt like I shouldn't be the one to do it, like it wasn't my job.
"There's something I have to tell you Bella and I'm so, so sorry." Edward reluctantly said after a sigh, as he took a small step forward towards me. He quickly backed up though when Tanya let out a warning growl; which confused me. I had no idea why she would have growled at him, but I was sure I was about to find out.
"I love you, you know that, or I wouldn't have done everything I did for us, for you." Edward said and I found myself nodding in agreement with him, but only because I couldn't find my voice. The scene reminded me so much of when he had left me. This time though, it seemed almost right. Like this was supposed to happen. "I truly believed we were really meant to be. My family all listened to me because I didn't want to be alone anymore and they liked you." I almost scoffed out loud at that because even though I knew most of them liked me, Rosalie would probably always hate me. Almost as if reading my mind, which I was really glad he couldn't with the recent thoughts going through my mind, Edward addressed my unspoken and unheard thoughts. "Rosalie never hated you. She was just really against what the family had agreed to and was, in her own way, trying to warn you and get you out. You see Bella, we aren't really mates. You and, um, Tanya are." Edward said, sounding very hesitant and unsure, but still confident enough to make my world flip upside down.
A/N: Updated 08/29/2014. Minor changes were made to allow for the new pairing in the story.