"Are you going to be all right?" Alice asked for the millionth time as Bella moved around her room in their apartment packing her things. Bella replied as she had a million times before, "I'm fine, Alice."
Both of them knew that she really wasn't "fine," but it was also obvious that she didn't want to discuss Edward or their break-up.
"Are you sure you want to take all these clothes?" Alice asked as she looked at the two large suitcases that Bella was packing.
That question actually got a bit of a smile out of Bella. "Mary Alice Cullen, did you actually just suggest that I might be packing too many clothes?"
Alice shrugged a bit as she folded up a pair of pants and placed them in the suitcase that was open on the bed. "It just makes it seem like…more permanent. Like you're leaving for good," Alice said, looking as if she was blinking back tears as she sat on the edge of the bed.
Bella stopped what she was doing and looked at her best friend. "It's not for good, Alice. At least I hope it's not." Sighing she moved to sit down next to her and forced a smile. "Hey, we both knew that I would hardly be here once the campaigning really got into full swing. I'll go work in the California office for a while and then I'm going to be on the road constantly when your dad gets the nomination and before you know it I'll be back here, working on his inaugural speech." At least she hoped that's the way it would be. Right now it felt as if she would never recover from this set back…professionally or personally.
Sniffling, Alice rested her head on Bella's shoulder. "I just don't want you to go."
Bella rested her head on Alice's and sighed, "I don't want to go either." Hearing the tears in Alice's voice made her want to cry, but the truth of the matter was she was tired of crying. She had been crying since she left Edward's apartment the day before and had only stopped when she had fallen into an exhausted sleep.
When she had finally woken up this morning, she had called to make arrangements for her flight and had made sure everything was ready for her in California.
Alice sighed and lifted her head. "I'm sorry; I shouldn't be acting like such a baby. I'll be visiting LA before you know it. Rose said she might even join me."
Bella nodded and gave her a weak smile before she looked around the room. "I think that's pretty much everything."
"You sure you don't want me to drive you to the airport?" Alice asked as Bella moved to close her suitcase.
"No, it's fine. I need the time to think, you know?" Bella responded with a small smile.
Alice nodded, "You'll call me as soon as you arrive in LA?"
Bella just nodded in response. "Yeah, I'll call when I get there…" before she could say anything else Alice had launched herself at Bella, throwing her arms around her in a big hug. Bella just hugged her back tightly, not saying anything for a while. They just stood there like that for a few moments before Bella's cell rang. She ignored the first couple of rings, but then she gently pulled away from Alice and picked up her phone. "That's the taxi." She answered and simply said, "Yes, I'll be right down."
They pulled the bags off the bed and rolled them outside in silence, setting them on the curb for the taxi driver to stick them in the trunk. Giving each other another tight hug as he did, Alice simply said, "Call me."
Bella was afraid she was going to cry again, so she just nodded and got in the taxi, waving to Alice after she closed the door and the driver pulled away.
Bella watched as the city moved past her, lost in her thoughts about how she had grown to love this city, the Capitol, the whole world of politics, even now that she had experienced the really dark side of it. Her life in D.C. had been so fulfilling and it had given her so much, but she felt as if it had all been snatched away in one fell swoop. She was in complete shambles, professionally and personally, and she just needed time to pull it all together again.
As they drove toward the airport, the drone of talk radio penetrated her thoughts.
…the candidates gave speeches at this past Friday's fundraising event. And, while it seems that Senator Carlisle Cullen still maintains the lead in party polls, Senator Aro Volturi's speech seems to have narrowed the margins.
"Will you please change the station," Bella asked the driver, even as the droning voice continued:
Of course with today's announcement coming out of Senator Volturi's office that Chief of Staff Edward Masen…
Before the latest news could be heard the driver had changed it to some easy listening station and Bella simply said, "Thank you," as she closed her eyes and leaned her head back against her seat. She knew she couldn't avoid hearing Volturi and Edward's name forever, but she hoped she could avoid it just long enough to mend at least some of the fractured pieces of her broken heart.
)( )( )( )( )(
Jasper watched as Senator Cullen stood by the large bay window in this living room, looking out onto his neighborhood, hands in his pockets. "You sure about this, Senator? Edward's suggestion would all but clinch the nomination for you."
Carlisle nodded and then simply said, "I'm sure."
Jasper hadn't been in the room the day before when Edward had called Carlisle for a lengthy conversation, but he had been nearby. While they had been talking, Alice had called to let him know that Bella had left. He had been a bit surprised figuring that she would take a few days to plan things before leaving. He was sorry that she had gone without talking to him or Carlisle again, but he understood it as well.
Another surprise had come when earlier in the weekend, the Senator had called him asking for Edward's number. When the Senator had failed to reach Edward that way, they tried to get in touch with him through Emmett McCarty, his deputy. That was how the phone call between Edward and the Senator had come about.
Jasper had been shocked when Carlisle had told him Edward's plans, but he had been even more surprised when the Senator had told him that he had talked Edward out of his plans and then talked him into new ones.
"If he would have gone public with the whole speech debacle, as well as Aro's and his role in it, it would have changed the whole game."
Carlisle nodded and looked down, "Yes, Jasper, but that's not how I want to win this election. I want to win it on my merits not by pointing fingers." He looked back at Jasper with a slightly reproachful look. "You know that."
Jasper nodded. "I know and I just wanted you to consider all your options."
The Senator sighed and went to sit across from Jasper. "I have, and I think that this is the best course of action."
Jasper nodded again. "It'll definitely be a coupe if Masen goes through with it."
"Yes," Carlisle agreed, "but I didn't suggest it because it would benefit me. That part of the plan was his idea."
"So when does he make the announcement? With Bella gone we're going to have to have someone else on the staff come up with a statement. You know that they're going to be asking lots of questions," Jasper responded.
Carlisle smiled. "I believe that the first part of the news has already been leaked. I think he's planning an announcement early next week after he's talked to some of his friends and some of his father's old friends back in Chicago. We're just fortunate that Senator Monroe has been thinking about retirement."
It was Jasper's turn to get up and he went to look out the same window that Carlisle had been looking out of just moments ago. "So it's official then. Edward Masen, Jr. will be endorsing you for the ticket at the same time that he makes his announcement to run for the Senate?"
Carlisle just smiled and nodded in return.
Ok, so just a bit of info, but not everything yet. We'll get back to what Edward's up to and his thoughts in the next chapter. Thank you so much for all your comments! I really enjoy getting all of them.
First, I would like to welcome all the new readers to this story. Thank you for taking the time to read.
Second, I would really like to thank all the readers that have stuck with this story despite the fact that I have been absent for quite a while. I'm going to aim for regular updates from now on!
Third, while I continue to work on this story, I would appreciate it if you could check out my other stories. Some of them are incomplete, but they remain that way because there didn't seem much of an interest. I will finish them all (some day), but I might be more motivated to do so if they gain some new readers.
Finally, I have been nominated for Fic of the Week over at the Lemonade Stand! I have been fortunate enough to receive two previous nominations at this site, but unfortunately, those nominations came during periods when I was having difficulty updating for various reasons. I would sincerely appreciate your votes if you believe I deserve them. (Ok, so I'm not as savvy or eloquent as Senator Cullen when it comes to trying to rake in votes). You can go vote at www. tehlemonadestand p/great-blogs. html (just remove the space after each period )
Please remember the 3 Rs = Read, Review, & Recommend!