A/N: it was just Bella at the door, y'all ;)
Chapter 28 (for real this time)
I was halfway to the door before she finished her sentence, of course.
I was smitten every single time I saw her. I could not imagine a person more beautiful, and as she shrugged out of her jacket, I took in the way her silky brown hair fell over her shoulders, the way her cheeks were blush from the cold air. I exhaled a breath I didn't realize I was holding when I realized she looked happy.
"Hey, Bella. You okay? What's up?" I asked, taking her jacket from her and throwing it over the side of the couch. Taking her hand, I led her into the living room. Alice rolled her eyes behind her. I scowled.
"Hi, yes! I'm great. I have news, I have to tell you something!" Her words came out fast with her excitement, making me smile.
"I'm gonna go call Jasper." Alice grunted, dramatically trudging up the stairs and shooting a glare at the back of Bella's head. And all because she interrupted this damn movie we've seen a thousand times.
"Okay!" Bella responded, not looking her way. Instead, her big, bright eyes were glued onto mine, and they were bouncing with that aforementioned excitement.
"What, did you break up with your boyfriend?" I asked, and her face fell.
Fuck. I was just kidding.
"No," she huffed, throwing herself down on the couch. I sat next to her.
"Sorry. That wasn't nice. Tell me, please."
"Now I don't know if I want to." She grumbled.
"Bella!"
She laughed, her good mood quick to return. "Okay, okay. Only because I can't hold it in anymore."
"Say it, Bella!" I whined, and she laughed some more.
"I was supposed to go to Arizona to spend Thanksgiving with Jake's family,"
"Native Americans celebrate Thanksgiving?" I interrupted. She shook her head.
"I don't know. Jake's family does. Anyway, it doesn't matter now. I was offered a gig that day. A big one."
"Oh yeah?"
She nodded frantically, and I laughed. "Yes!" She exclaimed. "Like, really big. A fat paycheck big. Hotel on the North Side big."
"That's amazing, Bella," I said, genuinely thrilled for her because she deserved it, of course.
"Yes, thank you, but listen. It's a late night gig, so…they're giving me a room for the night. A suite, actually."
"Badass, Bella. Are you taking Charlie?" I asked, because it made sense, since Jacob would be away. Bella was his only daughter, and it was fucking Thanksgiving, after all. Family Holiday and shit.
Her eyebrow arched. "Uh, no… I wasn't going to."
"Oh," I said, my brows furrowing together as I thought it over. "Oh."
"I know you like to spend the holidays with your sister, but…"
"She'll be fine." I interrupted, the smile growing on my face.
Bella smiled back. "Yeah?"
With one quick glance towards the stairs to confirm Alice had left us alone, I lunged at her, knocking her back on the couch and pinning her between my arms.
I leaned down to place a chaste kiss on her lip. "Fuck yeah, baby." I kissed her again. "Edward Masen is about to have the best Thanksgiving ever."
She was laughing as she squirmed out from underneath me. "You're a loser, but its cute," She said, kissing me once more before standing from the couch. "I have to go home. I just couldn't wait to tell you."
~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~
Halloween season was in full swing on the South Side.
Every other house was lit up with lights and shitty, homemade Halloween decorations. Even Alice and I wandered into the basement to take out the old scarecrow Mom made. Alice bought some of that fake cobweb shit from the dollar store, and I borrowed some string lights from Emmett's now-step-dad.
Jasper and Rosalie were planning a Halloween party. The actual holiday fell on a Tuesday, so they were having it the weekend before.
Bella was sitting on my bed the Sunday prior, cross-legged with my hand in her lap so she could fiddle with my fingers.
"What are you gonna be for Halloween?" She asked me.
I shrugged. "I haven't really thought about it."
"Well, you have to be something." She insisted.
"Do I? I'm twenty-one years old."
"Twenty-one and already fucking boring." She muttered, flipping my hand over and tracing the lines on my palm. It tickled.
"What are you gonna be?" I asked.
"Jake wanted to be Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia,"
I rolled my eyes.
"But I said fuck no." She continued. "I want to be a vampire. So I am."
"And what's he gonna be?"
"A werewolf, I think."
"Corny." I scoffed, yanking my hand from her grasp before she could retaliate.
She managed anyway, reaching over and punching me in the shoulder. "Less corny than being nothing, loser."
"I'm sure Alice already figured it out for me. I guess you'll just have to wait and see."
"Hmm," She hummed, flopping backwards on the bed so she was looking at the ceiling. I joined her.
She turned to look at me, our noses now brushing. I leaned in and kissed her.
"Hmmm," She hummed again, a small smile on her lips
What are you thinking?" I asked.
"I was just…wishing things were different, I guess. I wish you would be the werewolf to my vampire, ya know?"
"I would never be a werewolf, Bella."
She scoffed, and I went on. "But things could be different, you know."
Her eyes tightened, and I knew why. We've had this conversation numerous times over the past month. I promised her patience, and I would keep that promise, but I never agreed to keeping my mouth shut about it.
"I'm just saying. If you wish it so much, you can make it happen."
"Jesus, Edward. I don't want to do this again." She groaned.
"You don't have to do anything. Just like to don't have to stay with Jacob just because-"
"Please stop!" She exclaimed, sitting up and looking down at me with a frown.
I said nothing, simply gazed back at her and tried to keep my face neutral.
"This is so wrong," She muttered, looking away to stare at a spot on the wall.
My chest tightened. "Bella…"
"No, it is! You can't tell me its not fucking wrong. I'm hurting you and I'm hurting him, even if he doesn't know it."
She looked back down at me, and her expression smoothed out. "It's not gonna change anything, though. You can get that look off your face."
I tried to smooth my expression, too.
She placed her little hand on my chest, right where my heart was beating, scared and out of rhythm . "I won't leave you, Edward. Not until you get sick of this shit and tell me to go."
"Not gonna happen." I grumbled.
She leaned all the way down to kiss me. "Good," She said against my lips before deepening the kiss.
And even though it hurt, everyday and always, I meant it. I would never let her go, not even over my dead body.
Alice did have a costume for me, of course. She dressed me as a pirate, which was fine, in loose fitting clothes and boots she must have got from the thrift store. She tried to get me to wear an eyepatch, too, but I politely declined, to her chagrin.
I was in the living room, using my reflection in the TV to put on the clip-on hoop earrings my sister gave me- a must have to complete the outfit, she said.
I winced as the earring snapped shut on my lobe when the front door kicked open.
"What, are you fucking gay now?"
As if hearing his voice wasn't torture enough, my body spun around on its own accord to face my father.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" My voice was cold and hostile, but it still didn't properly portray the fucking hate I was feeling in that moment.
"I live here, asshole." Dad spat back.
"I thought you were locked up."
"Yeah, I was, thanks to you. What, you thought they'd never let me out? Newsflash, kid; you don't go to prison for throwing a few punches."
"You beat the shit out of me." I growled.
"Yeah, well, you probably fucking deserved it."
"What, you don't remember?" I asked, my body starting to convulse with rage. How could he not remember trying to kill his son over his wife's fucking grave?
"I remember you being a little pussy, just laying there and taking it."
"You son of a bitch," my hands clenched into fists as I stepped towards him. "You fucking piece of shit!" I yelled, lifting my hand up, ready to take a swing at his ugly face that looked so much like mine.
"Whoa, hey!" Jasper's voice rang out as he darted down the stairs with Alice in tow. "C'mon, now! We're just about to leave. Let's just go."
My sister and her boyfriend were dressed as a mermaid and merman, appropriately keeping the theme of my pirate costume. Alice had done some elaborate makeup all over her face, but as her eyes welled up with tears, I worried she would have to do it all over again.
It was, for some reason, that thought that calmed me down.
"Yeah, fuck, whatever." I mumbled, my hands grabbing at my hair and tugging. "Let's just fucking go."
Dad said nothing as he left, not even as Alice begged him with her eyes to do something, to apologize and be a real fucking father for once in his life.
I could read her so well, but my father had no idea what his daughter was trying to convey. He smirked and waved at her, and she looked away, her steps fast as she headed out the door.
The Hale house was packed when we got there.
"Hey-o!" Emmett boomed, finding us at the keg with Rosalie wrapped around him. She was a playboy bunny, and he was Hugh Hefner. "Welcome to my party, dudes!"
"Shut the fuck up, bro." Jazz answered, filling up his solo cup from the tap. "I set this whole thing up. The only thing you did was bring the keg."
"The most important part of a party." Em nodded, making Rose laugh.
"You gotta give him that." I told Jazz, getting a beer of my own.
"Yeah, whatever. I'm gonna go greet my guests. C'mon, Alice."
Alice smiled at him, happy and excited once again, as if the Dad thing didn't just happen a few minutes ago.
I wished I was more like her; the event was playing in my mind on repeat. That fucking asshole…
The more I had to drink, the further back into my mind that prick went.
Bella and Jake showed up about an hour after us, dressed as a vampire and werewolf, like she'd said. I laughed when I saw her; I'd imagined her in a slutty costume like the rest of th chicks here, not the full-blown vampire garb she'd chosen.
Jake fucked off to hang with Newton for a while, who brought Jess with him again, as they were apparently dating now. Bella came into Jazz's shed with me, Jazz and Alice to smoke some pot, then came back out with me again to do some blow with Emmett.
I asked her if Jake knew about her nefarious activities, and she just rolled her eyes. Of course not. It made me happy that she was so open with me, and not at all with her boyfriend.
The party was fun, and went late. In fact, it was nothing but fun until almost four am, when the fight happened.
"Don't you dare touch me!" I heard Bella yell. I shoved my way through the remaining crowd that gathered in the kitchen until I saw her, right there in the middle, screaming at Laurent.
Laurent was James' best friend and, in a backwards way, part of the reason I was with Bella to begin with. If it wasn't for him trying to spread the rumor that Bella was gay, she wouldn't have hit James at Emmett's party years ago, and I never would have followed her outside.
Luckily for me (and him,) James moved out of Chicago right after High School. Laurent seemed to be taking his place as the resident asshole of the neighborhood.
"Hey, baby, chill!" Laurent towered over Bella with his hands up, showing Bella he meant her no harm. "You were coming onto me!"
Bella laughed, hard and mean. "In your fucking dreams, you ugly sack of shit."
"C'mon, girl," Laurent crooned, stepping closer to her as if he was going to take her into his arms.
Big mistake. I couldn't fathom why these assholes hadn't learned their lesson already; Don't fuck with Bella Swan.
Oh, well. It only made for an entertaining show for the rest of us.
Bella's tiny fist collided with Lauren't nose with a splash of blood. At the same moment, Jake pushed his way through the crowd to bear witness to his girl kicking fucking ass.
He did not take it well.
"Whoa!" He yelled, stalking over to Laurent and yanking him away. "What the fuck is going on?"
"She's a crazy bitch, that's what!" Laurent cried, pointing at Bella. "You're fucking crazy!"
"You're damn right I'm crazy!" Bella screamed back, lunging towards him again. Jacob grabbed her by the arms, stopping her in place.
"Bella! What the hell is this?!"
"I'm gonna fucking kill him, that's what!" She yelled, trying to look around Jake's broad body to see Laurent. "Move, Jake!"
"Uh, no. Absolutely not. We're going outside, Bells. C'mon." He took her by the wrist, tugging. She resisted, holding her ground, til he yanked much harder, making her lose her footing.
Her mouth dropped open as she glared at him, now following him out of the house. As she scanned the crowd that watched her departure, her eyes landed on me. They narrowed, telling me to stay the fuck where I was and leave it alone.
Yeah, right.
I pushed through the scattered remaining party attendees to the back door, pushing it open and searching the yard. There they were, in the back corner, still dressed as a vampire and a wolf and looking ridiculous as they yelled at each other.
I took my time approaching.
"I just don't understand, Bella! You could have gotten hurt? Why wouldn't you come find me?"
"She doesn't need any help." I said as I approached. They both spun to look at me, Jake surprised by my arrival and Bella pissed.
"This is none of your fucking business, Masen." She spat.
"What do you mean, dude?" Jake asked.
"You saw her. She can obviously handle herself."
Jake's eyes darted between me and his girlfriend. "Yeah, I guess, but…"
"Jacob, please can we just drop this?" Bella pleaded.
"How can I drop this? I just watched you…" he trailed off, looking manic. "You must have broke your hand!"
"I didn't, Jake."
"She knows how to throw a punch." I added.
"Edward, get the fuck out of here!" Bella screamed at me.
"Or what? He's next?" Jake asked, incredulous.
"Yes!" She yelled. I laughed, and she glared at me.
Between laughter, I said, "Okay, okay. I've taken a Bella punch before, I don't want to do it again."
"What?!" Jake yelled, and I turned on my heels, sufficiently pleased with the turn their conversation took. I was drunk and tired, so instead of going back inside, I just walked through the front yard to the street and took myself home.