I do not own Twilight or its characters. Stephenie Meyer does.
CH: 11
EPOV
While Masen took his nap, Jasper and I escaped from the house for a while, only after Jasper assured me that Alec was still in New York. After all the shit that went down with Emmett, I needed to get out so that I could get my head on straight. We headed to Newton's to get the supplies for Masen's frog and some fishing equipment since I didn't own any.
We parted ways in the store, and I headed to the fishing equipment as Jasper went towards the tanks. I was looking at some smaller rods that looked just right for a kid Masen's age when I heard them.
"Oh. My. Gawd!"
Please let that not be her, I begged.
"Lauren, do you see who I see?" Jessica's shrill voice was loud in the otherwise quiet store.
Not Lauren too. I haven't missed those harpies at all since I left Forks.
"Oh. My. Gawd! It's Edward. Hi, Edward. It's me, Lauren."
I turned to see two girls that liked to make Bella's life a living hell in high school. Which was mostly the reason why I couldn't stand them. I wouldn't put it past the two of them to have started the rumors back then. Their wardrobe was even less then in high school, and back then they were known as the school skanks twins. They were literally known for doing everything together including the football team. Minus three members. Myself, Jasper and Emmett.
"And Jessica. Remember me. I'm a Newton now." She palmed her large belly with her left hand showing that she was very pregnant.
"Soon to be Crowley." Lauren held out her ring that was barely a speck on her finger.
"Congratulations, ladies," I smiled tight lipped. "Jessica, looks like you and Mike have been happy." I looked pointedly at her stomach.
She giggled obnoxiously. "Baby number three, or as big as I am possibly three and four." She giggled again. I nodded politely, but my mind was trying to calculate the timeframe in my head. She had to be pregnant about the same time as Bella with their first.
"Again, congratulations." I nodded politely.
"Aww, you're so sweet." Jessica cooed. "Isn't he sweet, Lauren?"
"He's the sweetest, Jessica." Lauren nodded her blonde head. "It's a shame that Bella was a slut and cheated on you like that. You always were too good for her." She tossed her hair over her shoulder.
My temper flared as soon as they insulted Bella in front of me.
"Bella never cheated on me. And if anyone was too good for anyone then she was too good for me. I was the idiot that dumped her for no good reason. I didn't even know she was pregnant with my son." I hissed at them.
They looked at each other confused.
"The baby was yours?" Jessica rubbed her stomach. "Are you sure?" She sounded out like she was talking to a toddler. "I thought she married the baby's father or something."
"Yes, he's a carbon copy of me."
The girls looked perplexed as if they were trying to solve a difficult math equation or for them simple addition.
"But that's not what the guy said. Right, Lauren?" she looked over at her blonde friend.
"Right, Jessica. The guy said it was his." Lauren nodded her head.
"What guy?" I demanded.
"Oh what was his name… I think it was Alan." Jessica gnawed on her lip, giving me the opposite affect that Bella does when she bit her lip. Jessica looked like she was about to really bite hers off.
"No… I think it was Alvin." Lauren shook her head.
"That's a chipmunk, Lauren." Jessica rolled her eyes.
"Oh yeah,"
I was about to tear my hair out. I swear my I.Q. had dropped about 20 points after being here.
"Would this be him?" Jasper came up to trying to hold his stuff in one arm while the other extend his cell phone. He was showing them a picture of Alec from parking lot when we first saw him.
"That's him." They both squealed in sync causing me to flinch. "Hi, Jasper."
"Ladies," I could see the strain in his eyes as he tried to stay polite. "Do you by chance remember when he told you this?" Jasper asked turning on the charm better than I could with them.
"Umm, it was some point during the summer. Right, Jessica?" Lauren seemed unsure.
"Yeah, you're right, Lauren, it was just after I found out I was pregnant with Mickey. In fact, I was walking out of the doctor's office and saw Bella in the waiting room. Remember, Lauren, you flirted with him in the parking lot, but he said he was waiting for his girlfriend Bella and that she was pregnant with his baby, and he wasn't the kind of guy to fool around her." Jessica nodded.
"Oh yeah. I remember that, Jessica. I was so pissed Bella stole another guy right from underneath us." Lauren scoffed. "That's why we told your mom how Bella had cheated on you and got knocked up."
I opened up my mouth to say something to the hypercritical bitches, but Jasper elbowed me and shook his head. I clamped my mouth shut, even though I wanted to scream at them that they were lied to and Alec was an abusive asshole. How dare they spread the rumors and even approach my mother with them, all because I didn't look at them twice in high school.
"Thank you, ladies, for your help." Jasper dismissed them.
"Anything for you or Edward," Lauren batted her eyes.
"Yes, you two will always the ones that got away." Jessica sighed then patted her belly. "Baby's hungry, I guess it's feeding time again." She giggled as she turned to waddle away. "Coming, Lauren?"
"I wish, Jessica," Lauren winked at us before following Jessica out of the store.
"The nerve of those two…" I started to blow up, but Jasper silence me with a look.
"Not here. Just grab what you need and let's get out of here. Then we will talk." I nodded tightlipped and grabbed a couple of adult rods as well as a tackle box that came with a starter kit inside since I had only a vague idea what to get.
We carried our items to the register to check out, finding Mike behind the cash register.
"Let me pay for the stuff for the frog." Jasper insisted. "Emmett and Alice already got him a bunch of stuff, it's my turn to get something for my nephew."
"You have a son?" Mike gave me a strange look.
"Yes, I do and before you can ask, yes it's with Bella. It was my son she was pregnant with," I snapped coldly.
Mike raised his hands in defense. "Chill. In fact, I'm glad he's yours. It makes more sense that what the rumor mill spewed," Mike said quickly.
"Rumors that were started by Jessica and Lauren." I pointed out in irritation.
"Now hold on. They shouldn't have, but that guy did say he was the father." Mike defended his wife, which I guess was only natural.
"Bella was never that type of girl." Jasper declared before I could.
"Of course not. That's why I was shocked when I heard it. It didn't make sense to me. Bella was head over heels for you. I actually thought…never mind. If you're the father it doesn't matter." He started to scan things in.
"No, I wanted to hear it. What did you think?" I demanded.
Mike turned red and looked around.
"I thought the dude raped or drugged her," He explained in a lower voice. "It made better sense to me than for her to cheat on you. But, if the baby is yours then he didn't harm her." Something in the expressions on our faces almost made him drop the tank he was holding.
"Holy Crap! Are you telling me he hurt her? Fuck, I knew I should've said something to her, Tyler told me I was just jealous," he whispered yelled. "Shit, I knew that guy was too good to be true. He was just too perfect, you know. It was like he was trying to be like you or your father, only better. With his blond hair slicked back with oil and was just too perfect, like some sort of ken doll. Is she okay and the kid?"
I was surprised by Mike's concern. Maybe he wasn't as bad as I thought he was.
"They are both fine, but in case anyone asks you know nothing. It is better for everyone," Jasper warned and he nodded seeming to understand. "That includes Jessica. You don't want to get involved with this guy. In fact, if you see him play dumb and then call Chief Black."
"I'll do that. I'll talk to Jessica too. She wouldn't do anything that could put the kids in danger." Mike nodded in understanding and went back to his task of checking us out.
"Did you say this was for a frog?" he asked looking at Jasper.
"Yeah, we caught one earlier." Jasper nodded.
"You're going to need to feed him. I got some crickets that will work." He bent down and stood up a moment later with a small container of small crickets.
"Do you have worms, too, for fish bait?" I asked thinking it would save time from looking for them in the yard.
"Yup," He bent down again and brought up another container. "You're going to want to keep that in the fridge or somewhere cool." He instructed.
LB
Less than ten minutes later, we were back in the car. Jasper didn't start the car right away.
"Why did you stop me in there? Those two bitches deserved to have their asses handed to them for how they treated Bella." I turned to face him.
He looked at me calmly which upset me even more at first.
"Easy. You start something with them and get them all pissed off and the rumors will resurface and possibly get back to Alec that Bella's in town," he answered stoically.
I rubbed my temple with my fingers. He was right. If we said too much it would be all over town within the matter of an hour.
"This thing with Alec is getting more and more messed up. Have you called the FBI agents yet," he asked.
"Shit, no, we got distracted with Emmett leaving." I frowned.
"I'm pretty sure, to the point that I would wager money on it, that Alec screwed with the other letters," Jasper said.
"Emmett messed with the letters." I growled.
"Emmett admitted to the first letter, not the others. He specifically said the other night. He sent the first letter back thinking if it was important enough she would try again." Jasper reminded me. I thought back to Emmett's exact words last night. I was so pissed off and trying to control myself to not start beating the fuck out of him in front of Bella that I hadn't processed what he said. But Jasper was right. Emmett continuously said 'letter' not 'letters'. He only admitted to interfering with one letter.
"Are you sure, why didn't you mention this earlier when you asked about pressing charges." I leaned back in the seat.
"I wanted to check with him before mentioning it again, since he was drunk during his confession, but he left before I got a chance. I could give him a call, but I'm certain that it was Alec. He had the most to gain." Jasper started to pull out his phone.
"Hold on." I stopped him. I was thinking everything out in my head out loud. "Bella said she didn't meet Alec until after the second letter. But according to Jessica and Lauren he was already around and telling people the baby was his." I paused.
"Exactly. I think he was purposely set it up so it would appear that Bella cheated on the town's golden boy so she would become an outcast." Jasper concluded.
"So that she would feel alone and would welcome the attention of someone that appeared to be a good guy that liked her. He purposely made her an outcast." I ran a hand though my hair and tugged.
"How did she miss that he was around at that time?" I pondered out loud.
"He probably used a false name and stay out of her sight. She said she was aware of the rumors that she cheated, she might have not known how they were started." Jasper answered.
"But why her?" Jasper questioned tapping the steering wheel.
"She told me that Alec needed to be married with an heir to take over for his father. Since he was gay, he obviously wasn't going to go the traditional route of finding someone and settle down. He was angry with her when he found out the boy's last name was Cullen and she wanted me to be included in his life. That is why she thought he didn't know about the letters. When he found everything out that is when he started beating her." I paused as I thought about what Mike said. "My father's blond and my mother's hair is browner than mine. He thought Masen would look like either him or Bella. He might not have known about my hair or eye color since I inherited it from my grandmother."
"Which is why he focused on Bella," Jasper nodded his head in agreement.
"It still doesn't explain how he found out she was pregnant or about the letters." I balled my hand and hit my forehead as I tried to think.
"Well who did she tell by that point? Charlie and Alice. Though, I can't see either telling Bella's secret." Jasper thought out loud with me.
"There's Renée, but she pretty much wrote Bella off. She also didn't know about the letters. The only other person would be… Fuck…she wouldn't" My jawed ticked as I thought of the most likely culprit. She was a bitch but she wouldn't gossip behind Bella's back. But then Emmett's actions have caught me off guard.
"Who?" Jasper prompted elbowing me in the ribs.
"Rosalie!" I spat venomously.
"Aw, fuck, she wouldn't, though. Would she?" Jasper blew out a breath.
"Well, it's either her or Renée. Take your pick?" I shrugged then waved my hand.
"Damn, I'm starting to feel like I'm on some twisted soap opera. Every time you think you have something figured out, another curve ball comes." Jasper shook his head.
"Yeah, well, as entertained as you are, can we get back to Masen and the girls?" I was starting to get anxious from being gone for so long."
"Everything is under control. Peter is still keeping an eye for Alec for us. We agreed it would be good for people to see us out and not with Bella or Masen. That it would hopefully throw Alec off that they're not with us." Jasper started the car anyways and pulled out. "Plus, Emmett is on a mission to follow him even more closely."
"I just hope he doesn't do anything stupid." I grumbled irritably.
"Unfortunately, I thinks he's desperately trying to make amends to both of you." Jasper sighed heavily as he turned on to Fork's small stretch of highway.
"Yeah, well maybe he should." I scoffed.
"Maybe, but after learning everything we just found out, Alec could've targeted her even if Emmett didn't send back the first letter. Even if you didn't break up with her there is a good chance he would've targeted her." He pointed out both factors. He was right. I couldn't blame Emmett any more than myself.
"Fucking asshole. If I ever get the chance he's as good as dead." I made a dark promise.
"And I'll be there backing you up to make sure you make it back to your family." Jasper nodded. I brooded the rest of the drive home.
LB
When we arrived back at the house Masen and the girls were waiting outside on the steps. Masen hopped up and started to head to the car before it reached a complete stop. Bella grabbed him by the back of his pants and made him wait until the car stopped. She let him go and he barreled towards us. I opened the door and was barely out before his little force hit me around the legs and his arms wrapped around tightly.
"Daddy, you left without me." He was frowning looking up at me. His eyes looked like he might have been crying.
I felt like crap.
"I'm sorry, little buddy. I thought I would be back before you were up from your nap," I apologized picking him up and giving him a hug.
"I thought you were gone like Uncle Em and weren't coming back. You can't leave without me, okay?" he begged, his big green eyes looked worried.
I could see past him to Bella who was watching me closely with a tight smile.
"I wish I could promise you that, but there may be times I may need to go for a short bit without you. But I promise I'll always come back, okay?" I pressed my forehead to his and he nodded.
"I got you something. Would you like to see it?" Again he nodded then wiggled to get out of my arms. I placed him on his feet then opened the back door. I pulled out the child's size rod. I held it out to him. His eyes grew big and he reached for it.
"Careful with this. No running or swinging it around." I warned him before letting go.
"Look, Mommy, Daddy got me a fishing stick." He held up for it to see.
"It called a rod," I chuckled as I ruffled his hair.
"It's a rod." He beamed.
Bella smiled and her eyes sparkled with some amusement.
"I can see that. It was very nice of your daddy to get that for you. What should you say?" She stood up and stretched slightly.
"Thank you, Daddy. Can we fish now? Please." He added on the please after a moment.
"We can go after breakfast tomorrow. A smart man once told me early morning is the best time to fish."
Bella's smile faltered slightly when I referred to Charlie.
"Okay," Masen, looked slightly disappointed.
"Why don't you see what Uncle Jasper bought. I think you will like that too." I suggested.
Masen hurried around to the other side of the car.
Jasper was leaning against the car and when Masen reached his side he opened the backdoor. He pulled out the tank that was loaded with supplies.
"This is all for you to help you keep E.J.. This will be his new home." Jasper bent down so Masen could see it better.
"Cool, thank you." Masen examined the items.
"You're welcome." Jasper held his hand for a fist bump and Masen bumped it.
"Can I carry it?" Masen tried to take it out of his hands, in the process dropped his rod.
"Why don't you let me carry it in. But you can carry this for me." Jasper handed him the container of crickets.
"What is it?" He tried to look in.
"Those are crickets to feed your frog," Jasper explained.
"My frogs is going to eat them?"
I was worried for a minute he might get upset. "Awesome." His face broke out into a huge grin. "Can I watch?"
Jasper laughed and nodded, glanced at Bella to make sure it was okay. She just shook her head and rolled her eyes looking amused. While Alice wrinkled her nose looking mildly disgusted.
"Let's go. I bet he's hungry." Masen started for the house.
"Masen, you can't leave your rod there," Bella called out.
"Oh, I forgot," he bent down to pick it up. He awkwardly tried to hold on to both.
"Here, I'll take the rod and put it in the garage for tomorrow." I took it from him.
"Thank you." He ran up to his mom and Alice. "Look," he exclaimed excitedly thrusting the container to them.
Alice jumped back making Jasper laugh. She shot him a glare, I'm sure if Masen wasn't there he would've gotten a rude gesture as well.
"I see them. Make sure you keep the lid on until one of us helps you feed E.J., okay." Bella grinned not seemingly disturbed at all by the insects.
"Okay, come on, Uncle Japer." He started up the steps.
"I'm coming," Jasper grinned shifting the weight of everything else before following him.
"Hey, Alice, can you take this and put it in the fridge for me?" I held out the other container towards her, hiding my grin.
"What is it?" she asked suspiciously, holding it very cautiously. "What are night crawlers?" she read the label.
"Worms," Bella answered with a smirk.
"Eww, gross," she almost dropped the container, but Bella caught it.
"I'll take care of it." Bella promised snickering.
Alice wiped her hand repeatedly on her jeans.
"I need to go wash my hands." Alice hurried into the house.
"You did that on purpose." Bella scolded me, trying to hide her smile.
"Possibly." I shrugged. "I'm sorry that Masen got so upset that I left. I thought we would be back before he woke up," I apologized.
"It's fine, Edward." She stopped my apology. She started up the steps then stopped; she turned and bit her bottom lip as she seemed to be thinking about something. "I was think of contacting the therapist that Carmen mentioned when she was here. I was also thinking it might be a good idea for Masen to talk to someone as well." She looked for my input.
"I think that will be a good idea," I agreed. I was glad she was seeking help on her own. Also for Masen, who I suspected was bottling up his own emotions, so he didn't upset Bella. I didn't have the heart to tell her that Masen saw Alec abuse her.
"Good. We should call the FBI too. We got distracted earlier." She started to turn again.
"Bella?" I called out then paused as I got distracted as a memory surfaced from high school.
I arrived home after a week away at football camp, tired and sore. I also missed Bella like crazy. It was the longest I have gone without seeing or talking to her. While I was gone she had gone to her mother's in Florida. I was curious to see what she would look like with a tan. Perhaps she brought back some bikinis she could model for me.
I grinned as my mother parked the car because I saw Bella sitting on the steps waiting. She stood up when she saw us and started to wave with a huge smile on her face. Her hair was loose around her shoulders in waves and since it was actually sunny you could see all the red. I felt my own smile nearly break my face since it was so big. I was out of the car before my mother had the keys out of the ignition. I took quick strides over to her.
"Welcome home. I made you some brownies," She said shyly, holding out the plate to me.
"Thank you, baby." I took the plate with one hand and pulled in for a kiss. It was a small chaste one since my mother was there. "I missed you." I told her as I kissed her nose before pulling back.
She blushed, but seemed pleased to hear it. "I've missed you too. How was camp?" she asked.
"Long without being able to talk or see you. Though I think I run faster than I did before. I had to since Emmett was put on the opposite for scrimmages. It was either run faster or be crushed by that mother fucker when he tackled you." I grimaced rubbing my shoulder for affect, maybe I could get a massage from her later. What I got was a smack to the back of the head.
"Language, Edward." My mother scolded, Bella hid a smirk.
"Sorry," I grumbled, rubbing the back of my head now.
Bella let out a small giggle.
"Bella, dear, it's good to see you. How was your time with your mother?" My mother gave her a small hug. Bella hugged her back as her smile faltered.
"I didn't go. She cancelled on me. She decided to go on a trip with her new boyfriend. No kids allowed." Bella looked a bit awkward standing there as she started to wring her hands together.
I grabbed one hand with my free hand and gave it a squeeze. It pissed me the fuck off that her mother would treat her so badly. It was like Bella was an obligation rather than someone she loved. My mother didn't look pleased either.
"That's a shame, dear. If I had known we could've done something together this past week. I had free time on my hands without having to worry about that one and with Carlisle working extra shifts." My mother gave her a gentle smile. "Would you like to stay for dinner tonight? I'm making a lasagna with homemade garlic bread?" she offered.
"I don't know. I told my dad I would cook tonight." She bit her lip.
"Well, I'll call and invite him too. What do you say?" my mother insisted.
"That's sounds great. Can I do anything to help?" Bella offered.
"It looks like you already made dessert." My mother took the plate from my hands.
"Hey, those are mine," I pouted.
Mom grabbed one off the top and bit into it moaning.
"They're good too. I'll just bring these into the kitchen for you. You, bring your bag out back and leave it on the deck until I get it in the wash." she wrinkled her nose.
"It doesn't smell that bad," I huffed, my ears burned slightly at the insinuation that I smelt bad. I didn't want Bella to think it either.
"Uh-huh," Mom rolled her eyes and entered the house.
Bella giggled and I pulled her to me and hugged her close.
"Do I smell bad?" I asked burying my nose in her sweet smelling hair.
She jokingly pushed me away. "Only like a wet dog," she wrinkled her nose then pinched it waving her hand in front of her. The way her brown eyes sparkled I could tell she was teasing me.
"Bella?" I gave her what she called my crooked grin.
"Mmmm," she smirked back at me.
"Run," I warned her.
Her eyes went huge as she spun to take off. I caught her in a few steps and tackled her as soft as I could to the ground. Once I had her trapped I started to tickle her unmercifully until she begged me to stop.
"Edward?" Bella was now in front of me waving a hand.
I blinked and looked at her.
"Did you need something?" She looked worried. She was still pale and had rings under her eyes from lack of sleep. The bruise on her face was faded but you could still see faint signs of it.
I started to second guess telling her what Jasper and I concluded earlier. It would only upset her. She did deserve to know, but I wasn't sure how much more she could take at the moment.
"Maybe after Masen goes to bed, we can all watch a movie or something. I think we all need a break from what's been going on." I suggested. She thought it over and nodded.
"I think a movie sounds nice. As long as it doesn't have any violence or angst. I don't think I can take much more at the moment," she agreed.
"Great, it's a date." She started to frown. "Hypothetically speaking, of course. I expect Alice and Jasper to join us."
Luckily, I was saved by Masen who wanted to show Bella his new tank all set up. She entered the house and I went to take care of the fishing gear.
A/N:
No nothing is going happen since the boys went to the store. Alec is in NY and they aren't being followed or spotted by the wrong people.
However, the boys were able to figure some things out. Many asked about the letter vs. letters and now you know that Jasper picked up on it. The other two were a little too angry to pick that up right away. So now they're pretty sure Alec was targeting Bella from the very beginning. Bella knew of rumors but not how they were started. Not many knew she was pregnant either so the list of suspects is short, Charlie, Alice, Renée and Rosalie. Edward is thinking Rose, anyone else?
Don't blame Edward for not telling Bella right away. He trying not overwhelm her, but he will tell her.
Thank You For Your Reviews!
LB
LB
LB
Preview Alert
LB
LB
LB
Preview:
(EMPOV)
I reached the headstone I was looking for and I crouched down. I placed the small bouquet of wild daises in front of the stone.
"Hi, Grandma. I brought you some flowers. Sorry they're not much. Forks still doesn't have a florist." I greeted my grandmother, the woman that raised me since I was about five. She passed away two years ago, I was granted a very short leave to come home and bury her. Luckily, most of the arrangements had been made in advanced.