Back to the Start
Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to SM.
Rescue
The restaurant wasn't as crowded as Bella had hoped-it was the off season in Port Angeles. The host was female. Bella noticed how she welcomed Edward a little more warmly than necessary. She was several inches taller than Bella was, and unnaturally blonde.
"A table for two?" Edward's voice sounded particularly alluring, making Bella wonder if he was aiming for that or not. He seemed intent on captivating those around him with his false charms, making her feel glad that she seemed immune to those same charms.
The host's eyes flickered to Bella and then away, seemingly satisfied by her obvious ordinariness, clearly thinking she was no competition. She led them to a table big enough for four at the center of the most crowded area of the dining floor, much to Bella's relief.
Bella was about to sit down, when Edward shook his head at her.
"Perhaps something more private?" He insisted quietly to the host. To Bella's dismay she saw him smoothly handing the woman a large tip.
"Sure." The host sounded surprised. She walked around a partition to a small ring of booths-all of them empty. "How's this?"
"Perfect." Edward flashed his gleaming smile, dazing her momentarily.
Bella felt sickened, watching the overt display. She remained where she was, deliberately pulling out a seat at the original table. The host glanced at her, confused.
"Um…is there a problem, miss?" She asked, glancing discreetly at Edward, whose smile had become strained. "Your companion thinks the other table is more appropriate."
"Well, he can sit there then." Bella said sharply. "I'm staying here."
"Um"- the host shook her head, blinking – "your server will be right out." She walked away, glancing back often.
The smile was gone from Edward's face. He moved gracefully over to join Bella, slipping into the seat closest to her without making a sound. "You are so stubborn." He complained.
"And you really shouldn't do that to people." Bella snapped. "Its hardly fair."
"Do what?"
"Dazzle them like that – the poor woman is probably hyperventilating in the kitchen right now."
Edward tilted his head to one side, and his eyes were curious. "I dazzle people?"
"Oh, come on." Bella sneered. "You have to know the effect you have on people. Do you think everybody gets their way so easily?"
Edward ignored her questions, his eyes intent on her face. "And yet I don't seem to have the same effect on you? Why is that I wonder?"
"Maybe because I know what a predator looks like." Bella responded forcefully through clenched teeth.
Edward immediately recoiled away from her as she if she had physically slapped him.
And then their server arrived, her face expectant. The hostess had definitely dished behind the scenes, and this new girl didn't look disappointed. She flipped a strand of her short black hair behind one ear and smiled with unnecessary warmth.
"Hello, my name is Amber, and I'll be your server tonight. What can I get you to drink?" She spoke only to Edward, ignoring Bella completely.
Edward had quickly recovered his poise. He looked at Bella icily, waiting for her order.
"I'll have a coke." She said reluctantly.
"Make that two cokes." Edward said to Amber.
"I'll be right back." She assured him with another unnecessary smile. But he didn't see it. He was scrutinizing Bella closely.
"What?" Bella demanded when the server left.
Edward's eyes were fixed on her face. "How are you feeling?"
"How am I feeling?" Bella repeated in a low voice. "I thought that would be obvious."
"Not to me." Edward's face twisted up into that perfect crooked smile, forgetting that it had no affect on Bella. "I find you hard to read."
"Good!"
Right on cue, the waitress appeared with their drinks and a basket of breadsticks. She stood with her back to Bella as she placed them on the table.
"Are you ready to order?" She asked Edward.
"Bella?" Edward prompted. The waitress reluctantly turned toward her.
Bella picked the first thing on the menu. "I'll have the mushroom ravioli."
"And you?" She turned back to Edward with a smile.
"Nothing for me."
"Let me know if you change your mind." Her coy smile remained fixed in place, but he wasn't looking at her, and she left disappointed.
"Drink." Edward ordered.
Bella sipped her soda, and then drank more deeply, surprised at how thirsty she was. She realized she had finished the whole thing when he pushed his own glass toward her. She didn't take it. Who knew what he might have slipped in it when she wasn't looking?
Edward seemed perturbed by her refusal. "You find it very hard to trust people." He surmised. It wasn't a question.
"Not people. Just you." Bella answered as she snapped the head off one of the breadsticks.
"Why?" Edward's eyes narrowed. "I just saved you from a very unfortunate situation. You could show some gratitude."
"I had already saved myself before you showed up." Bella retorted. "For all I know you could have engineered the whole thing in the first place just to trap me here."
Repressed anger flashed in his eyes. He folded his large hands together slowly on the table, before leaning slightly closer to Bella. "You're accusing me of setting up the attack?" He demanded. "That's your theory?"
"Maybe you paid those guys off, just like you paid off the hostess just now. Maybe you set the whole thing up, just so you could rescue the little damsel in distress and play the big hero. Unfortunately for you, it didn't work out that way-and fortunately for me, I'm not that pathetic."
Edward stared at her, stunned. "You are utterly absurd, Bella." He declared. "You really have me painted as a villain. You need to come up with a better theory than that." His faint smile was mocking, his eyes tight.
Before Bella could respond, the waitress strode back toward them with the food. She set the dish in front of Bella-it smelled delicious- and turned quickly to Edward.
"Did you change your mind?" She asked. "Isn't there anything I can get you?"
Bella snorted with laughter at the waitresses double meaning. "You're welcome to serve yourself up on a platter for free if you like, Amber." She said sarcastically. "Take him. He's all yours."
Edward glared at Bella, affronted. The poor waitress had turned scarlet. "No, thank you, but some more soda would be nice." He said hastily.
"Sure." The waitress removed the empty glasses, nearly dropping them in her haste to get away.
"Why do you continue to be so difficult?" Edward whispered harshly. "There was no need to embarrass the poor girl. Unless I'm detecting a hint of jealousy on your part?" A hopeful gleam lit up his eyes momentarily.
"In your delusional dreams!" Bella scoffed. "I don't know why you have chosen to fixate on me, Edward Cullen. I neither asked for or wanted your attention. But this has got to stop! I don't know how you came to be in Port Angeles at the exact same time as me, but if you did deliberately follow me here, then that's called stalking. Remember, my father is a cop, and I'll go straight to him if this behavior of yours continues. So, this ends now! Are we agreed?"
Edward's expression wavered; he seemed torn by some internal dilemma. His eyes locked with hers, and she guessed he was making a decision whether or not to confess the truth.
"You are so much more observant than I gave you credit for." His voice was almost a whisper. "But I don't think I have a choice anymore."
Bella felt her heart beginning to up its tempo. Something in his face and voice unnerved her.
"I was wrong about you on one other thing, as well." Edward shook his head. "You're a magnet for trouble. If there is anything dangerous within a ten-mile radius, it will invariably find you."
"And you put yourself in that category?" Bella guessed.
Edward's face turned cold, expressionless. "Unequivocally."
"Then stay away from me!"
"I can't do that." Edward admitted, speaking in a rush. "I followed you to Port Angeles. I've never tried to keep a specific person alive before, and its much more troublesome than I believed. But that's probably because it's you. Ordinary people seem to make it through the day without so many catastrophes."
Bella felt a surge of dread overwhelm her. So, she had been right after all.
"The day Tyler's van nearly hit you, I was going to intervene, but the boy got there first. He changed things. Upset the balance. Now its impossible to see the outcome."
Bella felt a spasm of fear at his words. Did he mean that she was supposed to die that day? That Jacob's quick thinking had changed her fate in some way? Could he predict the future? How had he managed to track her so easily? Could he read minds too? She thought about Jacob's stories, about the cold ones, the vampires. Was there some truth in the old legends after all? Was Edward Cullen a –
Bella didn't allow herself to speculate further, lest she go crazy. She was overthinking things as usual. Whatever Edward Cullen was, all she knew was that she wanted to be as far away from him as possible. She pushed her uneaten plate of food away.
Edward's eyes sought hers, full of his own questions. "Are you ready to go home now?" He asked. "We can talk more on the way."
"I am ready to leave." Bella qualified, amazed that her voice sounded so steady. "But not with you."
Impatience crossed his angelic face. "Bella, please stop being so stubborn. How do you think you'll get home if I don't drive you? Do you plan to hitchhike?" He added mockingly.
"Neither. I'm calling my dad." Bella revealed, standing up.
The waitress appeared as if she had been called. Or watching.
"How are you doing?" She asked Edward.
"We're ready for the check, thank you." His voice wasn't quite as serene as before, still reflecting the strain of their conversation. It seemed to muddle her. He looked up, waiting.
"S-sure." The waitress stuttered. "Here you go." She pulled a small leather folder from the front pocket of her black apron and handed it to him.
There was a bill already in Edward's hand. He slipped it into the folder and handed it right back to her.
"No change." Edward smiled. Then he stood, moving quickly to Bella's side.
The waitress smiled invitingly at him again. "You have a nice evening."
Edward didn't look away from Bella as he thanked her.
"I would be careful, Amber." Bella said as she put some space between them. "That's blood money."
Edward stiffened, his lips thinning. "I hope you can forgive Bella for her tasteless joke." He told the confused waitress. "She always did like to provoke."
"Oh, right." The waitress backed away, the smile slipping from her face.
Edward walked close beside Bella as he escorted her to the door. Bella stopped there, refusing to move another inch. He looked at her curiously.
"I already told you; I am going nowhere with you." She reminded him firmly. "I'm calling Charlie to come and pick me up. If you don't want to draw any attention to yourself, I suggest you leave now, otherwise I'll go back into the restaurant and tell your fan club in there to dial 911."
Edward glared at her, seemingly infuriated that she had managed to thwart him once again. "As you wish." He finally said in defeat. "But promise me something?"
"What?"
"Stay inside until your father arrives and wear this."
To Bella's surprise Edward shrugged out of his light beige leather jacket. He draped it over her shoulders, pulling it around her so that it covered her upper half. "To ward off the cold." He said, a hint of dark amusement touching his lips. He pulled the door open then, as he made ready to leave, before turning back to face her one last time. "Oh, and Bella, I don't say this lightly. I know you think of him as your friend, but be wary of Jacob Black. He is not what you think. Goodnight."
Breathless with anger, Bella watched him leave. It thrummed through her veins and quickened her blood.
How dare he warn her against Jacob! He had no right!
It was jealousy, plain and simple, he just couldn't accept that she preferred Jacob's company to his. He was probably miffed that Jacob had been the one to save her life and not him on the day of the accident, that's why he was so bothered about their friendship. He was just another rich entitled fool who thought good looks and money could buy anything. Well, he couldn't buy her, she wasn't for sale.
With shaking fingers, Bella remained in the foyer of the restaurant and pulled up Charlie's number on her cell.
Bella was inclined to ditch Edward Cullen's jacket, but it was cold, and she thought it would be just be cutting off her nose to spite her face if she froze to death waiting for Charlie to pick her up. She was going to be waiting for some time. She slid her arms into the too long sleeves and shoved them back to free her hands. She shivered. It had an odd smell, she inhaled, trying to identify the scent. It didn't smell like any cologne she recognized.
After enduring a host of curious looks from the staff inside the restaurant, Bella decided to wait outside. The night sky was aglow with bright street lights and the pale crescent moon shone like a silvery claw above. Bella relaxed, feeling the wind blow her hair into a tousled mane.
That's when it began to rain.
Eventually blue and red lights, little more than smudgy illuminations in the slanting rain appeared out of the gloom. Beneath their glow was the white bodywork of a police cruiser. With a sigh of relief, Bella ran toward It's yellow-white headlights, calling out to her father as she did so.
"I'm here, Dad. I'm here."
"Bells?" Came Charlie's gruff response.
It was only when Bella drew closer that she saw her father wasn't alone. The passenger door flew open and Jacob climbed out. His longer strides beat Charlie's in his effort to reach her first.
"Bella!"
"Jake!"
Bella was so relieved to see his friendly face that she threw her arms around him instinctively, wrapping them around his waist and pressing her face against his chest. He was so big (had he grown again?) that she felt like she was a child hugging a grown up.
"Oh, Jake. I'm so glad you're here."
Jacob was frozen for a second, surprised at her reaction upon seeing him. He hesitated for a for a few seconds, throwing a wary glance in Charlie's direction, before wrapping his arms carefully around her. "Its okay, Bells." He said, his voice huskier than usual.
Forgetting all about Charlie, Jacob breathed her in, his nose wrinkling at the strange perfume that was coming from her. The smell made him uncomfortable and burned his nostrils, forcing him to let go and take a step back. It was only then he noticed the too-large beige leather jacket she was wearing.
"Where did you get that?" He asked, frowning.
Bella glanced down at herself, completely forgetting she was wearing Edward Cullen's jacket. She hadn't told Charlie about him, preferring to wait until she was safely home.
"Hey, Bells." Charlie said as he reached her. He gave her a quick hug, before stepping back and taking a good look at her face. "You alright, kiddo?"
"I am now." Bella promised.
Charlie frowned. "I'm going to be having a word with the Stanley's about their daughter leaving you stranded here alone." He said darkly.
Bella sighed. "It wasn't all Jessica's fault, Dad."
"Then who's fault was it?" Charlie demanded.
"Do you mind if that story waits until we get home? I'm so tired right now." Bella pleaded.
"Alright." Charlie agreed. "But when you've rested, I want a full explanation."
"Okay." Bella promised wearily as Charlie put his arm around her and led her to the cruiser, with Jacob following thoughtfully behind.
A/N-thanks for reading!