Chapter 9
Believe me when I say, you stupid fool!
You're scaring me to death, that's not cool!
Why won't you leave me alone?
Just leave me alone!
~Leave me alone- Alexander Rybak
Bella clutched the phone in her hand and steadied herself. The shock of hearing Edward's voice after six years was starting to wear off and she took a seat on her plush couch as she felt this was a conversation worth sitting down for. "I'm married now." she told him, remembering how he had used her maiden name. "I'm Isabella Black now."
Edward chuckled into the phone. "So you've married that lowlife who crashed our wedding? Why am I not surprised."
Bella couldn't tell if Edward was actually annoyed that she had married Jacob, or if he even cared. His voice sounded strange over the phone. "How did you get my number?"
"I have people." Edward scoffed, answering her like she had asked a stupid question. "The previous times that I have called, there was a lot of static interference so I doubt you were able to hear me."
Bella remembered the mystery caller who she could never make out what they were saying. Now that the mystery was solved, she felt somewhat relieved but also confused. Why was he calling her? "What do you want?" she asked, cutting to the chase as Edward was making her feel uneasy.
"I didn't call for any one thing. Only to tell you that I'm out now and this time you won't be able to stop me from getting what is mine." Edward snapped. "I will control my company, so you failed."
Bella sighed into the phone. "Edward, I never wanted to stop you." She paused, remembering when they had been together. "I loved you. It was you who did this to yourself. I didn't take the company away from you."
Edward snickered into the phone. "Shut up Isabella Swan. I know how close you were to my father. You made him change his will before he died so that the only way for me to succeed was to marry you. You're a gold digger. A filthy leech!"
"What?" Bella's jaw fell slack at Edward's words. He'd been locked away for so long that he'd come up with preposterous reasons to hate her. She couldn't believe the words coming out his mouth. "I didn't want your money. I only wanted your love."
"No!" Edward snapped harshly. From his tone, this was the part when he would slap her for doing or saying something he didn't like. Bella was thankful she was nowhere near him. "I know the truth. Don't lie to me!"
Bella grew tired of the conversation. She didn't feel scared, just exhausted from all the emotions he caused her to feel. "Whatever. Don't call here again." she hung up the phone before he could respond and sank into the couch wearily.
A couple days later, Bella found herself alone with Demetri. She had thought that after he had found out she was married, he wouldn't be interested in her anymore. But it seemed that the opposite was quite true. After finding out that Bella had a husband, Demetri often asked her questions about him as though he were trying to get to know Jacob vicariously through her.
"So when is your husband coming back?" Demetri asked, during lunch. Alice happened to be in a meeting with a parent so she was absent, much to Bella's chagrin.
"It's inconclusive at this time." Bella murmured, taking a bite of her sandwich. She was running late that morning and didn't manage to pack herself a lunch. So she was stuck paying for food from the cafeteria. Most of the food the school served reminded her of something from a sci-fi movie. So after a brief scan of the mystery mushy meals and discolored vegetables, she went with the one meal that at least looked like it was made that year. While the sandwich left much to be desired, it would have to do for now. "So how are your classes going?"
Demetri took a bite of his burger. "Same ol', same ol'." he responded. "So does it get lonely at home? Since Jacob isn't there?"
Bella looked down at her half eaten sandwich in front of her sadly. "Sometimes. But he calls..." Even when she tried to divert the conversation, Demetri didn't take the hint and brought up Jacob again.
"Hey I have an idea." Demetri said suddenly. "Let's go bowling tonight."
"Bowling?" Bella asked questioningly. It was such a random suggestion. "Just the two of us?"
"Bowling? I love bowling!" Alice suddenly appeared and sat down on the chair between Bella and Demetri. "Parent teacher conferences are the worse. Parents always think their child is an angel and I'm the devil." Alice went into a rant that consumed the conversation for a while. But eventually it returned to bowling.
Demetri polished off the last of his burger then chugged some root beer. "I was thinking we could go bowling tonight because Bella is lonely."
Alice turned her attention to Bella who was looking like a deer caught in headlights. "Bella, is that true?"
"I suppose." Bella replied hesitantly. "But I'm fine with not going bowling. It is a school night."
Demetri and Alice chuckled at her words. "Right, because we're so concerned about being out late on a 'school night'." Alice nudged her playfully. "I think bowling sounds like a good idea."
"So it's settled then?" Demetri asked hopefully.
Alice nodded enthusiastically and Bella shrugged noncommittally. "What about my daughter, Renesmee? I doubt I'll be able to find a babysitter for her with such late notice."
Demetri made a face at Bella. "We're going bowling, not to the club. Bring her along. It'll be fun."
Bella had no more excuses at her disposal so she reluctantly agreed to go bowling with them.
Later that night, Alice showed Bella her dark red romper. "So what do you think?" Alice struck a pose in her outfit. "Isn't it cute?"
Bella nodded in agreement. "It's nice, but don't you think it's a little weird for Forks weather? They're shorts."
Alice placed a hand on her hip and looked at her painted nails airly. "Bella, fashion has no temperature."
Bella rolled her eyes and watched Renesmee almost pick up an unidentified object lying around Alice's apartment. "No sweetie, don't touch that. It could be infected." Renesmee shrieked and ran back to her mother.
"It's not!" Alice peered at what Renesmee was about to touch and smirked. "It's just sticky."
"Okay, time to go." Bella stood from her seat and took her daughter's hand. "C'mon Alice. Let's go. We told Demetri we would meet him there at 6."
Alice spruced up her hair and checked her makeup. "Alright, let's go."
It didn't take the women long to reach the bowling alley. When they stepped inside, they rented their shoes and found the lane Demetri was saving for them. Unfortunately for Alice, Demetri wasn't alone. Corin was also settled beside him wearing the exact same romper.
"Hey!" Demetri greeted. "Oh wow, you must be twins." He motioned to both Alice and Corin's outfits.
Alice stood next to Corin and smirked. "But I wear it better." she muttered under her breath.
"Not even in your dreams." Corin growled.
While the two women bashed each other quietly, Demetri squatted so that he was eye level with Renesmee. "Hi Renesmee, I'm Demetri."
Renesmee, being a shy child, half hid behind her mother.
Bella smiled down at her daughter then looked at Demetri. "She's just nervous."
Demetri smiled then stood up. "That's alright. I'm sure she'll warm up to me." He winked at the small child then walked over to the bowling machine and punched in everyone's name.
"I love bowling. This will be so fun." Corin grinned when Demetri put her name first. As she walked by Alice to grab her bowling ball, she smirked. "Watch and learn." Corin picked a bright orange ball for herself and rolled it down the lane. She only missed one and during her second try she got a spare.
"Wow! Good job Corin!" Demetri cheered.
Alice leaned over and whispered in Bella's ear. "Why is she even here." Since it was Alice's turn next, she grabbed a purple ball and rolled it down the lane. Alice received a strike and jumped in the air with joy.
Everyone clapped, minus Corin and sent Alice compliments. She looked very proud of herself and made sure to squeeze her body in between Demetri and Corin, separating the two. "Well, I was on the bowling team in high school." she batted her eyes at Demetri and he gave her a funny look. Suddenly her phone vibrated and she looked down to see she had received a text. "Well Max isn't going to be able to make it." She alerted the group. "He's grading papers."
"That sucks." Demetri grumbled.
When it was Renesmee's turn, Bella found her the lightest ball and assisted the small child. "I don't know what to do." she told her mom timidly.
Bella got down on her knees so she was the same height as her daughter. "Well, all you have to do is roll it down the lane. Bella showed her how then kissed her cheek. "Go ahead. If you hit the pins, you get points."
"What if I don't hit the pins?"
Bella shrugged but smiled. "Then you get another chance. But don't worry ok? It's just for fun."
Renesmee leaned down and pushed the ball with two hands so that it slowly rolled down the lane. Everyone watched expectantly as the ball continued down the lane before falling into the gutter.
"Aw mommy it didn't make it."
Bella patted her daughter on the back. "That's okay. You get one more chance." She grabbed the ball when it returned to them and handed it to Renesmee. "Go ahead."
Renesmee rolled the ball again but ended up with the same results. The small child pouted and crossed her arms. "I didn't hit the pins!"
"It's alright. Maybe you'll get it next time." Bella took her small hand and led her back to the seats.
Everyone took their turn in rapid succession and halfway through the game, Demetri ordered a pepperoni pizza and some lemonade for everyone to share. Corin turned out to be a vegetarian so he amended the order and allowed for half the pizza to just be cheese.
"Demetri, it's very nice of you to order food for us." Bella thanked him while passing Renesmee a slice of the food.
"It's no problem." Demetri took a bit of his food and chewed ravenously. "I did invite you all out here. It's only fair."
Alice took a slice of pizza but the cheese slid off almost immediately and landed on her romper. She cursed loudly and Bella threw up her hands in exasperation, pointing at her daughter who looked frightened by Alice's outburst. "Sorry." Alice stood up from her seat. "I'm going to go try to clean myself up in the bathroom."
Before she had gone, Corin set down her food and gave Alice a pitying look. "I have a spare outfit in my car if you want to borrow it." she offered.
Alice didn't have much of a choice. The large stain in her romper was starting to seep through so she agreed quickly and told Corin to meet her in the bathroom.
Once the women had gone, only Bella, Demetri and Renesmee remained. "Poor Alice." Bella murmured. She noticed Renesmee had pizza sauce on the side of her face and grabbed a napkin to wipe it off of her.
"You two look so similar." Demetri commented, motioning to Renesmee. "How old is she?"
Bella smiled and looked at Renesmee. "Do you want to tell him your age?"
Renesmee looked at her mother apprehensively, before turning her attention to Demetri. She placed the half eaten pizza back on her plate and held up four fingers.
"Wow, you look so grown up for four." Demetri complemented.
His words elicited a tiny smile from the child and she finally spoke to him for the first time. "I'll be 5 soon."
Demetri clasped his hands together in excitement. "How nice! Are you going to have a party?"
Renesmee shrugged and poked her mother. "Can I have a party?"
"I have to talk with your dad about that, but we'll see." Bella poured her daughter some more lemonade and passed her the cup.
"Have you spoken with your husband recently?" Demetri asked.
Bella sighed dolefully. Unfortunately for her, Jacob had not called in days. She'd received a few text messages that informed her of how swamped with work Jacob had become. "Not really. But I'm sure he's just so busy from work that he's too tired to call."
Demetri leaned over and placed a hand on the side of her face. "You don't deserve that."
Alice and Corin returned, much to the relief of Bella, and Demetri removed his hand from her face. Alice was carrying her soiled romper and had a disgruntled look on her face. It wasn't hard to figure out why. The outfit Corin had loaned her was quite a sight to see. A long tie-dye T-shirt accompanied zebra hammer pants. Bella had to keep from snickering as Alice looked like she was in agonizing pain. Neither article of clothing was something the woman would wear normally and Bella had a feeling Corin gave her that outfit on purpose.
Alice took a seat between Bella and Demetri and sighed dramatically. "She is really trying to kill my chances with Demetri." Alice whispered to her friend.
Bella nudged her playfully. "Don't worry, I'm sure he thinks you look cute." Bella bit her tongue so she wouldn't laugh, then turned serious. "Besides, I don't think it's Corin who is killing your chances."
Alice sent her an inquisitive look, but Bella didn't get to explain as Demetri passed Alice her bowling ball. "It's your turn Alice!"
The rest of the night there were no more food incidents. Their conversation remained light, but mainly Corin and Alice fought over attention from Demetri. Bella couldn't tell if Demetri noticed, but if he did, he didn't show.
Finally it was the last round. Corin received a strike which put her score a couple higher than Alice, much to the art teacher's chagrin.
When it was Renesmee's last bowl, Bella passed her the ball and wished her luck. Throughout the entire time, Renesmee had not been able to hit a single pin, although she had gotten close quite a few times. When she rolled it, the ball went into the gutter and she frowned. "I don't like this game."
Bella chuckled then passed her the ball when it came back. "Well this is your last roll so it's almost over."
Renesmee leaned down and pushed the ball roughly. It skidded down the lane and ended up knocking over the last pin in the back row. "Mommy! I hit a pin!" A grin spread across her face and she jumped up and down with glee.
"Good job Renesmee!" Bella scooped up her daughter in and sat her on her hip. "See! I knew you could do it."
"Renesmee, you're going to be a pro!" Alice complimented.
"That was amazing." Demetri ruffled her hair and she giggled in response. "Well I see someone has warmed up to me." Demetri winked at Bella whose smile was starting to slip.
Bella put her daughter back on the ground and after the commotion had settled down, everyone compared scores. Demetri came in first, Corin in second with Alice on her heels placing third. Excluding Renesmee who had a score of 1, Bella placed last amongst her colleagues. While she wasn't the worst bowller, her co workers seemed to be exceptionally good. "You all should start a team." she joked after they had cleared the scoreboard.
"That would be fun." Corin commented, looking to Demetri for approval.
"We could call ourselves something funny like the Forked Educators." he snickered at the name then grabbed his jacket, passing Bella and Renesmee there's. "We definitely need to do this again."
"Sounds good to me." Alice responded.
After everyone was situated, they all headed out to the parking lot and parted ways. On the drive home, Renesmee fell asleep in the backseat and Alice chatted about Corin sabotaging her outfit. When Alice took a pause to catch her breath, Bella decided to tell Alice something that had been weighing on her mind.
"I think Demetri likes me." Bella blurted, startling Alice.
The art teacher looked at Bella strangely. "Are you joking?"
Bella shook her head. "He's different around me when nobody's around."
"Why would he like you?" Alice scoffed. Bella took mild offense to this and Alice could tell immediately. "No, Bella you're beautiful. But you're married. He knows that."
"I know. Trust me, I'm not interested in him."
Alice grew quiet and didn't speak for the rest of the trip home. When Bella had parked, Alice exited the car and headed inside the apartment without a word. Bella began to regret telling Alice, but it was too late to take back what she had said at that point. Life was not going in the direction Bella wanted it to. When did everything become so complicated?