ConSeQuences Chapter 13, a twilight fanfic

I am immensely grateful for these two WONDERFUL ladies, Mel Cee, my Beta, and SassyNoles, my Pre-reader for stepping in to help me with my story.

I fiddled with the chapter afterwards, so all mistakes are mine.

Chapter 13: Behind the Eight Ball

Edward

I stood there stupefied as the gate slammed in my face. My mouth fell open. She didn't say it back.

Goodbye?

I told her I loved her, but she said 'goodbye.'

I rubbed my forehead until it started to burn, mentally replaying what had just happened. I felt dismissed, disregarded. She put me out like I was yesterday's garbage, stinking up the house. This shit was perplexing as hell.

I replayed the conversation again, trying to understand exactly why I was told to leave but I couldn't figure it out.

I told her I was sorry. What more could you say after you apologized?

It was not like I went out purposely and got an STD.

If Piper kept her legs closed sometimes, maybe this would not have happened.

She fucked so many guys there was no way she'd know who she got it from.

I thought after telling Bella, she would have at least asked me how I was doing, if I was okay.

It was the complete opposite.

I knew hearing that I had chlamydia wasn't going to go over well, but damn, that… that was not my Bella.

She seemed cold, distant.

The beautiful, warm pools of chocolate brown I usually saw in her eyes weren't there.

This Bella looked at me as if she didn't know me, at all.

Then to make matters worse, she hit below the belt. She asked me why I was the way I was. That stung more than anything else she said.

Eleazar has asked me that too many times to count, but I expected that from him, he was always trying to psychoanalyze me.

But for Bella to say that…

I continued to blink at the gate, unable to articulate what or how I felt.

It almost seemed like I was talking to Tanya and not Bella. Maybe Tanya's presence made her act that way toward me.

Yeah, that was it. Knowing her, she was probably talking her usually bullshit about me, adding more fuel to the fire.

I think all the flexing was a show for her friend.

I believed Bella would come around if I gave her more time to cool down.

Maybe I should buy her a gift or something. Or perhaps take her somewhere nice for a weekend, to make up for this.

It was time for me to pull out the big guns because what I'd done in the past wasn't working now.

I'd never had to work this hard for any female. But Bella, wasn't any other female and she wasn't as easy as some of the others either.

Jimmy was good with the wining and dining with Vickey. Maybe I could get some pointers from him.

Even if I had to make a grand gesture of going to her college campus to win her back, I'd do it.

I knew I was having a mild breakdown at the tat shop, but really thinking about it, I was not going to lose Bella.

I knew we were strong enough to get past this.

My phone rang from my back pocket and I didn't even bother to look at the caller ID, I didn't want Bella to know I was still standing outside the gate, so I quickly walked away.

"Hello?"

"Edward, honey, how are you?" Mom asked.

"I'm fine, Mom." I heaved a heavy sigh.

"Did I catch you at a bad time?" Her voice was shaky.

I opened the car door, sitting inside.

"Not really. What's up?"

"Well, we haven't spoken in a while and I miss you."

I felt bad. She called me because she missed me, and I was being short with her.

"I miss you too." I smiled.

"Do you think you and I could have lunch together soon?" Her tone sounded lighter, like she may have been smiling.

"Yeah, we can do that." I smiled too.

"Perfect!" She lightly laughed. "I'm taking some off next week. Just let me know what works for you."

"Classes are winding down, so I'm open any day next week before two."

"Okay, how about next Tuesday at noon?"

"That's good," I replied.

"You pick the place."

"Mom, I'll meet you wherever you want to go." She always picked restaurants with good food.

"Let's meet at The Chicago Diner, Logan Square."

"Cool. I'll see you there."

"Great." She paused, sounding a little nervous. "Oh, um… Edward?"

"Huh?"

"I received an email notification a few days ago about a submitted claim."

"O-kay?" I had no idea where she was going with this.

"Neither Alice, your dad nor I have been to the doctor, so that only leaves..." She trailed off.

Oh shit! I forgot about those damn emails.

She couldn't possibly know what I had, or she probably would've showed up at my apartment or sent Dad. I believe there was some kind of confidential law in place where I'd have to give her permission to know why I went to the doctor.

I briefly closed my eyes, quietly exhaling. "I went in for my annual check-up," I lied.

"Oh." She sounded relieved. "I take it everything went well then?"

"Yes. Of course. I have to wait for the bloodwork Dr. Hobbs ordered but I'm sure everything will be fine."

That part wasn't a complete lie. I was still waiting on the other bloodwork to come back.

"I'm sure it will, sweetheart." I heard someone call her name in the background. "Oh, honey, let me go. My patient just walked in. We'll talk later. Love you."

"Love you, too. Bye." She ended the call.

I hated lying to my own mother but how the hell was I supposed to tell her I had a STD?

It was hard enough admitting it to Bella, but to my mother… nah… there were just some conversations you don't want to have with your mother.

I threw my phone in the console and sat there looking at the porch, remembering the many times Bella and I swung on the porch swing, snuggled up, talking.

I shook my head in denial. This… our relationship couldn't end like this. I couldn't… wouldn't let it.

She was mine.

I'd be her first and only.

I staked my claim a while ago and no other motherfucker would stick, their dick in what was mine.

The alarm from my phone rang, reminding me of one of my repeat client's appointment in thirty-minutes.

I looked at Bella's house one last time before pulling off.

CCCCCCCCC

"How the hell did you expect her to respond?" Jimmy snorted.

After I worked on a sleeve for my client, he left so I hung around to talk to Jimmy. I told him everything that had happened, except when Bella asked me why I treated females the way I did. There was no way in hell I would open that Pandora's box with Jimmy.

Not to mention, I was still feeling a little raw about that question.

"Not like that." I fidgeted with my watch. "She couldn't tell me she loved me back?"

"Why would she?" He scooted to the edge of the chair. "Even if she still does, why should she tell you?"

"Why lie about it?"

"Why tell you the truth? What will it change?"

"It means we should work through this and get back together. This shit has gone on long enough." My voice raised slightly.

"Edward do you realize what you've done?" He arched one eyebrow.

I ignored his question and got back to my original question. "So, are you going to help me out or not?"

He glanced around the room, then leaned in closer. "You know when I take Vickey to these places, it's not to work my way out of the doghouse, right?"

"Since you got with her, you've turned into St. James." I chuckled.

"Ha, ha, asshole." He crossed his arms, leaning back.

The doorbell buzzed, gaining our attention, as we both turned our heads towards the door.

What the hell was he doing here?

I stood up, going to unlock the door.

"Hey, little bro." Emmett smiled, stepping past me.

He's never came to my job. I hope everyone was okay.

"Hi." I smiled back, nervously.

"Long time no see." Jimmy walked up, fisting bumping Emmett.

"Yeah, it's been a minute. How the hell are ya?"

"I'm good." Jimmy nodded. "The family is good, and business is great."

"Good to hear." Emmett turned around looking at the shop. "You've changed it a lot since I was last here."

"Like I said business has been really good, so I did some renovating." Jimmy settled back in a chair.

"After the baby is born, I'll make an appointment to get a tat." He turned around, facing me. "Whatcha say, Edward… you up for it?"

"S—Sure. Just let me know when."

You know that awkward silence when everyone looks at each other waiting to see who will speak first? Jimmy looked at Emmett, and then Emmett looked at me, and I was just trying to figure out why he was here in the first place.

Jimmy pushed himself up from the chair, breaking the silence. "Well, E, unless you need me for something, I'm outta here." He waited for me to confirm, and I shook my head. "Cool." He walked up to Emmett. "Don't be a stranger, okay?" They fist bumped again before Jimmy walked down the hall and out of sight.

That awkward silence was back but I decided it was time for Emmett to tell me why he was really here.

"So…" I drew it out, raising my eyebrows.

"So, yeah." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Is there somewhere we can talk in private here or should we need to go somewhere else?"

I stared at him briefly before answering. "Um, sure." I pointed down the hall. "We can talk in my working area."

"Great." He clapped his hands once then gestured for me to lead the way.

Normally the walk felt like a few steps walking from the front desk to my room but for some reason, it felt longer than usual.

I opened the door, turning the light on. "Take a seat wherever you'd like," I said as I closed the door behind me.

Emmett walked around the room scanning some of the Marvel collectibles I had along with the sports memorabilia. "Nice. This is really nice."

His stalling had caused me to grow impatient. "Okay, Em, I know you didn't come by to talk to Jimmy or look at the shit in here…" I rolled my eyes. "So, why are you here?"

"Tact has never been your strong suit, huh?" He folded his arms across his chest.

"Let's keep it real, Em. You show up to my job out of the blue… no call, no text, nothing. You just show up." I spoke with my hands.

"If you'd answer your damn phone or respond to my text messages, maybe I wouldn't have to pop up like this," he countered.

"I needed my space. Dinner—that last time was fucked."

"How much space do you need, Edward? That was over a month ago."

I didn't have a comeback because he was right.

I had gone overboard with the needing time.

I'd been avoiding them because things were said that I didn't want to have to answer to, which was why Emmett was probably here.

He—my family doesn't know how to let shit go.

They always want to talk everything out.

"Look, Emmett, I appreciate your concern, you dropping by, but I'm—"

He cut me off, mimicking me. "I'm fine." He pinched his lips together. "You're not fine and I wish you'd stop saying it. Are you trying to convince me or yourself of that? Because I can tell you right now, I'm not buying it."

"I'm not trying to convince anyone of anything." My tone was sharp.

Emmett laughed without humor, shaking his head. "Why are you so angry, Edward?" He leaned against the stool. "That's the first thing you do when someone says something you don't like-you lash out." He tilted his head to the side. "Why is that I wonder?"

"Oh, here we go with this bullshit." I blew out a noisy breath. "Now you're going to go all Eleazar on me?" I walked to the door and opened it. "If this is why you're here, let me save you the time…"

He walked to the door and closed it. "Hell no! I'm not going anywhere. All you do is run, like you did at Mom and Dad's house, or don't answer your fuckn phone. We're going to sit down like to adults and have a goddamn conversation." He pointed to the chair across from him.

"Em, I don't have time for this," I rushed out.

"This can happen one of two ways." He snorted. "Either you sit your ass down in that chair and talk to me willingly or we can talk when I'm feeding you Jell-O from a hospital bed." He narrowed his eyes. "You pick."

He cracked his neck from side to side. I gulped down breaths, quietly. He was not playing with me, at all. With my shitty attitude today, I'd pushed him to this.

His appearance could be intimidating because he was 6'3, two-hundred twenty pounds, all muscle, yet he's a peaceful guy until you pushed him, then all bets were off.

He stared at me, hard, unmoving. Then I felt the hair on the back of neck stand up, so I slowly moved to the chair across from him, wordlessly.

His eyes tracked me as I moved. Once I was seated, he began. "First, I want you to know whatever we discuss in this room, stays in this room." He pointed to the floor. "This is a safe space, and I don't care how bad it may seem. I will not judge you. I only want to help you, but I need you to trust me enough to open up."

His features softened, all his previous tension leaving his body.

I leaned back in the chair, taking cleansing breaths before I spoke. "I'm sorry for my pissy attitude I've had lately. Bella broke up with me and I've been in a shitty mood since." I cleared my throat.

"So, is that why she wasn't at dinner that day?" Emmett frowned.

"Yes. I tried to get her to come, but she wouldn't even talk to me."

"What happened?"

I broke eye contact, shrugging. "I don't know," I lied.

Emmett only knew some of how I played the field. To be completely honest, none of my family really knew everything. I'd been successful at keeping my private life private. I was an adult, and I didn't feel the need to explain everything I do to my family. That was one of the main reasons I was busting my ass working and going to school full-time so I could have my own place.

I wanted to avoid those embarrassing moments with my parents, trying to sneak in the house all times of the night or early the next morning.

And, of course, a curfew was out of the question.

Alice had to deal with that shit, but I got it—she was girl. She shouldn't be out all night.

But me… hell no.

"So, she broke up with you and you don't know why?" His eyebrows knitted together.

I glanced to the side, unable to meet his gaze.

"Edward?"

I clenched and unclenched my arms on the chair.

He got tired of waiting for me to respond. "Edward, I may not know Bella as well as you do, but she didn't seem like the unhinged type. She seemed to be pretty level-headed to me."

"She is." I smiled. "She's very smart."

"So, what gives then, little bro?"

"Um… I cheated." I tugged on my left earlobe.

"Excuse me?" He leaned in closer. "I didn't hear you."

I cleared my throat, trying to buy myself a little time. "I cheated."

He slightly jerked back. "You cheated?"

I squirmed under his gaze, nodding.

"Why?"

It didn't matter what I said- he was not going to understand. He had always been a one-woman man, even before Rosalie came along. Emmett had never understood being with more than one female at a time.

"What do you mean, why?" I smirked.

"I don't have to ask if you and Bella were having sex because I already know the answer to that. But what I want to know is why you had to screw someone else?"

"They were offering." I shrugged one shoulder.

"Th—they were offering?" He stood up.

"Look, Em, you're not going to understand." I sighed dejectedly. "You've always been 'Mr. Goody Two-Shoes'…" I air quoted. "…when it comes to females. You've never stepped out on any of the females you dated. So, there's no possible way you could understand me."

This was exactly why I had my own place, so I could avoid conversations like this with my family.

Things had been going great since the fall out at my parents. I steered clear of going over there, but I'd talk to Mom on the phone.

But no, Emmett had to bring his beefy ass up to my job, of all places, starting shit, wanting to have deep conversations, that I refused to have.

"Okay, so let me get this straight." He stepped closer to me. "You were bouncing from one female to the next, while you were supposedly dating Bella?"

I didn't respond but my noncommunication answered his question.

"Just so I'm being fair… did Bella cheat on you?"

"Bella cheat on me?" I cackled. "She'd never." She was committed to me.

"What's so funny? You can cheat on her, but she can't cheat on you?" Emmett cocked his head to the side.

"It's not that she can't." I smiled hard. "She won't." I wouldn't allow it.

"You're fucked up, Edward." He shook his head in disbelief. "You've walked around treating your family like shit all summer because Bella broke up with you because you cheated." He scoffed. "Un-fuckin-believable. You're a selfish little fuck, do you know that?"

All amusement left when Emmett tried to diminish what I was going through.

"Selfish?" My lips curled.

"For some reason, you think the world revolves around you." He pointed his index finger at me. "You think you can treat your family, the people that love you, like chickenshit, and it's okay. Then you fuck whoever you want, whenever you want, because they were offering." He paused blinking at me. "And you wonder why she broke up with you. What girl in their right mind wouldn't break up with you? Good for Bella."

My movement to get up from the chair was jerky, as I couldn't get up fast enough. In a few short steps, I was in his personal space. "You-" I poked his chest with my finger- "come to my job with all this family bullshit I don't have time for—"

He cut me off, knocking my hand away. "That's the problem. You never have time for your family. And why is that? You're too busy fuckin half of Chicago?" His expression was tight.

"Fuck you!"

"No, fuck you! You're the one walking around here like an entitled little bitch." He moved forward so our noses touched.

"Bitch?" I flinched back.

We'd argued before, but never like this.

"Here we are genuinely concerned about you and you're ghosting your own damn family because you fucked up with Bella."

"I don't want to be around you all because you ask too many questions."

"Do you hear how stupid you sound?" He made sweeping gestures with his arms.

"It's not stupid. You all are too damn inquisitive for me."

"We're inquisitive because we're worried about you?"

"There's nothing for you to be worried about." I jutted my chin.

"That's bullshit and you know it." He slowly backed up. "Look, Edward." He took a deep breath. "I didn't come here to argue with you. I came by because the only one you've been talking to is Mom. Why is that okay with you? So, you only talk to Mom on the phone and fuck the rest of us, huh?"

I felt a headache coming on and I was ready for him to leave.

I rubbed the middle of my forehead, briefly closing my eyes. "Emmett, it's not personal. I just need my space, and that's all I'm asking for."

He ignored that. "Do you even care how much this is hurting Mom and Dad?"

He was trying to make me feel guilty.

"Me not coming to dinner every week or calling every day is hurting them?" I smiled condescendingly. "Now, you're being dramatic. I expect shit like this from Alice, but not you, Em."

He chuckled, shaking his head. "Edward, you may not believe it but I—we love you. We're not trying to crowd you. We only want to help you. In spite of how you continue to keep us at arm's length, we still keep trying."

I waved him off. "I never asked you all to keep trying."

"You don't get it, little brother- you don't have to ask." He smiled nervously. "That's what people do when they love each other." He took a hesitant step forward. "I'm not giving up on you, Edward, no matter how much you try to push me away." He tentatively placed his hand on my shoulder.

Being at a loss for words, I took a cleansing breath. My body felt as if I'd been in a fight. This conversation was exhausting. I didn't have the energy to continue.

The creak of my door opening caused Emmett and I to turn around.

"Edward?" Her tone was cold.

I guess my day was full of surprises. I hadn't seen her in about three weeks. I really had no reason to see or talk to her.

Emmett's hand dropped off my shoulder, as I turned around to meet her acrimonious gaze. "Yes, Bria?"

"We need to talk, now." She stepped completely into the room.

"Okay, give me a minute." I held up my index finger.

"No" she spat. "Had you not been avoiding my calls for several days, I would've been accommodating." She stepped closer, looking up at me, poking her finger in my chest. "You gave me chlamydia and I know it was you because you're the only one I've been with in months."

Emmett gasped, blinking rapidly, waiting for me to respond.

Talk about fucked up timing.

I'd never wished so hard that a black hole would have appeared, at that moment, and swallowed me up.

How was I supposed to handle this?

The only way I knew how.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. Maybe you need to check with your other partners," I mocked.

"Other part—there was no one else, Edward. I'm not a whore, I don't sleep around. It was you, and we both know it was you."

"It's my word against yours. You have no way of proving I have anything," I barked.

"Really?" She snorted with disgust.

I nodded curtly.

"Does the name Pi-per ring a bell?"

My jaw went slack, and the color drained from my face.

"You just never know who knows who, do ya Edward?" Bria sang. She sucked her teeth, satisfied that I was speechless. "Tell you what, Casanova… I'm going to spread this shit like wildfire on Facebook since you and I have some mutual friends." A knowing grin spread across her face. "Between Piper and me no girl will come within hundred miles of your burning dick!"

"Please," I faintly said but I knew she didn't hear me because she was too busy laughing.

My shoulders fell, as my chest caved in.

I shook my head in denial, with a wandering gaze, refusing to look at Emmett who probably had disappointment written all over his face.

Her laugh was almost unnatural, demonic, as she slammed the door behind her, still laughing as she made her way down the hallway.

Obviously, this was shit on Edward Cullen day.

A/N: A huge THANK YOU… to all the lovely readers for following, favoriting and reviewing. I appreciate each and every one of you taking this wild E & B ride with me! Yes, I know things are looking a bit grim, but put on your seatbelts and take this journey with me.

How do you all think Bella took the news?

What do you all think of Emmett and how he handled Edward?

And our dear Bria?

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

REC: Maybe a Dance, by Anton M. Edward is in need of a fiancée for Christmas. Professor/student, best friend's older brother, fake relationship. UST, Lemons, OOC, AH Completed. This is definitely one to snuggle up with. I've just started reading it and love it! Let's support Anton M by reading and reviewing!