2brown-eyes is the bestest!


No song so…

Whatta Man—Salt-N-Pepa (with En Vogue)

I pull the truck into Newton's and circle around to the back. The lot is mostly empty with only a car or two parked near the door. I recognize Mr. Banner's truck in the handicap spot and smile to myself. There must be another fishing trip with his son in the near future.

After clocking in, I roll a cart of lures out front and head to the correct section of the store. I almost always spend the first few hours of my shift making sure the shelves are full and neatly arranged while Mrs. Newton works the register.

I like it.

It's busy work.

Keeps my mind focused on the task at hand.

"Miss Swan," Mr. Banner says, coming up the aisle. "I've been waiting for you to get out here." He points to a tag where an empty rod juts forth. "Do you have any of these among the stock this fine morning?"

I check the tag, noting that a 4-pack of Berkley lures should be hanging there. I grab the clipboard and skim over the list before finding the product number to the lures.

"Looks like I have a batch in one of these boxes," I say, comparing the lot numbers. "Should be in here."

I shift the top box to the side and pull out the targeted box, while Mr. Banner waits patiently. Once I open the box, it's easy to find the packages he's looking for, so I hand him one and hang the rest of them in their proper spot.

"Thank you, Bella," he says, offering me a kind smile. "Blake specifically asked for these."

"You're welcome, Mr. Banner. I hope you have fun on your trip."

"I plan on it." He tips his hat and is off to the register with a smile, while I get to work unpacking the rest of the boxes.

Sometime later, a throat clears behind me, so I put on my best store associate smile and turn to the needy patron. My face falls when I realize it's Bree standing there, but I catch it and replaster on a fake smile.

"Can I help you?" I say to her, acting like I've never laid eyes on her before.

"I think I need help with something on the back shelf?" she says quietly.

I look around to make sure Mrs. Newton isn't watching. "What are you doing here, Bree?"

"I need to get a gift for Carlisle, and I was hoping you'd help me," she responds softly, and I don't buy it for a second. Anyone who knows Carlisle would know not to shop here for him. "I saw something in the back."

I plaster on my work smile and nod. "Okay. Show me what you were thinking."

I'm not sure what she really wants, but she's leading me back to the far corner of the store. I remind myself that I screwed her over, well, her boyfriend, so whatever it is, I deserve it. I need to give her space to get it all off her chest.

She stops, spinning to face me.

I brace for her wrath.

But her eyes are big and watery instead.

"Are you going to take him from me?" she asks, and her voice quivers.

I'm surprised and rush to reassure her. "Edward? No. He's with you. He chose you."

"Did he really?" she asks, fingering a wooden boat oar. "Because sometimes it feels like you turned him down and so he stuck with me to keep from being alone."

"I didn't turn him down," I say, looking anywhere but at her face. "He never asked me to be anything other than a quickie in my truck."

She winces, and so do I.

How can I not?

It fucking kills me to say it as much as it hurts her to hear it. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

"No." She takes a deep breath and blows it out slowly. "At least now I know that he told me the truth."

"You doubted him?"

Now it's her turn to drop her eyes. "I try to be positive and understanding, but when your boyfriend tells you he screwed another girl, it does something to you, ya know?"

"I don't know." It's a strangled whisper, and I feel like I'm going to puke. "But Edward is nothing if he isn't honest, and I believed him when he told me he was choosing you."

"So he did tell you?" She stares at me.

Hard.

"Yes." I don't cower under the scrutiny, even though I want to. One shift of my eyes and she'll know there are other things I'm keeping from her. "At the funeral."

"And you sent him a birthday card after." Her brow is raised, telling me that it was a bitch move.

My cheeks heat. "Point taken."

She releases a breath, her shoulders slumping. "I love Edward, but I refuse to compete with a ghost from his past. I need to know that you are done toying with him."

My chest tightens. "Edward and I have agreed that we can't even be friends."

"That's not what I asked."

My eyes fall closed. "I've tried to let that boy go for years, and I'm so sorry about …" I trail off, moving my hand in a "you know" manner. "But I'm done. I swear it."

She grips the handle of her purse, nodding once. "I promise to take good care of him, Bella."


Poor Bree. And it bodes the question… is it better to not have the sun at all or bask in the glow of the few rays that shine your way?

This final part of the trilogy should land around 40ish chpts give or take a couple one way or the other.

I'd like to remind people that Bella hasn't asked or told Edward that she wants him. Sure, they fucked, and she's mentioned it in narration, but she's not made any play to advance that idea with Edward. It's almost entirely because he's with Bree and she feels responsible for that.

See ya tmr :)