BPOV

"So just like that, I can go back to work this evening?" I ask Garrett once he's done taking my stitches out.

"Yep, the wound healed beautifully," he says with a chuckle. "You might feel some phantom pulling, but that will go away after a few days."

I frown looking down at the pink puckered scar marring my skin.

Gruesome is the word I would use for it.

"Ed's been pretty busy this week," he says casually.

I nod.

Edward said he wanted to be here but a lot had happened in the last four days that needed his attention.

Carlisle was successful in getting Rose into a treatment facility.

Royce was successful in breaking her out.

Well, more so convincing her that she didn't need to be there because she signed herself out against her doctor's recommendations.

She showed up at Hadley's school on Thursday trying to take her out, which resulted in security escorting her off the premises and Edward being called in.

We had a few brief Facetime calls and a text shared here and there, but I hadn't seen him since Monday.

Now with me going back to work, maybe I'd see him more at the restaurant, Esme made sure to schedule me for the whole weekend into Wednesday.

"Thanks for coming all the way out here to remove them," I tell him while he cleans up his supplies.

He laughs like I'm being ridiculous. "You do get how into you, Ed is, right?"

"What does that have to do—"

"I'm a trauma doc, Bella. Not in my job description to do house calls," he says with a grin. "This was a favor."

I bite my lip.

"Don't let all this Rosalie drama get you down either," he tells me.

"She's just out there, roaming the streets," I say bluntly.

"She's at her enablers," he corrects. "She's done this before but back then Hadley was too young to remember or even be aware of how deep Rose was gone."

"Edward hadn't alluded to any of that," I say reluctantly.

He really was a little reserved when discussing the other times Rose went to rehab. I was curious but I also didn't want to push him.

"He probably blocked it all out," Garrett says leaning on the kitchen island.

I frown.

"She has a tendency to want to change but gets panicked once she starts to go through withdrawal. This time it was Royce bailing her out, last time it was Tori, a friend of hers..." he trails off like he realizes he's said too much. "All I'm saying is she has a pattern, which those close to her seem to forget each time she relapses."

"You think Edward overlooks it." I surmise.

"I think he gets wrapped up in his kid and worries about how this will affect her. That's what clouds his remembrance of the past," he explains.

I nod in understanding.

I can see what Garrett means because it's what Edward has been doing for the past few days. We talk but is he really present? Hadley and her feelings are in the forefront of his mind, as they should be, but his ability to shut the rest of the world out is a little concerning.

"Don't let him do it," he tells me. "I heard you keep him in line."

New York had emboldened me, but sometimes I'd just like to hide from the world. I was like that in college.

I wanted to be here for him but I didn't want to be inserting myself if I wasn't needed.

The front door opens and in walks Emmett with his lackey Jacob.

Both eye Garrett but don't greet him, a smirk touches Garrett's lips.

"Garrett, these two nimrods are Emmett and Jake. Emmett lives here but Jake lives in Jersey," I gesture to them briefly.

Emmett shakes Garrett's hand while Jake puffs out his chest and crosses his arms over said chest.

He tried to talk to me about my little lover's quarrel on the stoop, his words, and I told him it wasn't his business. Emmett has been loyal and hasn't said a word about Edward.

"I'm Isabella's ex," Jake informs him like it's supposed to mean something.

"I'm Bella's ER Doc," Garrett tells Jake with a grin.

I wave my hand in Jake's face so he can see that my stitches are gone.

"ER doctors don't make house calls," Jake says suspiciously.

"And I think that's our queue to leave," I say to Garrett. "I need to get to work and Garrett needs to get back to his day off."

I manage to get my coat on but feel the lingering pull of my skin. I ignore it and grab my bag.

Garrett follows me out with an amused grin.

"Ex-boyfriend, huh?"

"That happened a million years ago, like high school—"

"Ah, high school sweethearts."

I pull a face.

He starts laughing.

Once we're outside we separate, I head to the subway station and he goes in the opposite direction. I suspect he's going to Edward's place since Garrett lives closer to the restaurant.

On the train ride, I glance at my phone to see if Edward has texted, but nothing. I'm a little bummed out, thinking he'd at least check in to see how my hand is. Maybe I was right and Garrett is over there before Edward has to start his shift.

I did leave a little early so I can get my check from Carlisle, he claimed that this check wouldn't be able to go through direct deposit. Edward had Hadley to pick up from the bus stop, so I knew he was coming in later.

As I go through the service entrance, I see Mike close his locker door.

"Bella, hey," he says with a genuine smile. "How's the hand?"

"Healed," I tell him, holding it up for him to see.

He cringes a bit.

"Still looks painful."

"It feels weird but the doc told me that's normal," I explain.

He nods.

I open my locker and start putting stuff away.

"So, you and Cullen, huh?" he says it like he's wounded.

His voice was shaky.

I turn with a shrug, not really sure how to answer.

Our coworkers saw us last weekend, which to me felt like a million years ago. We had told Hadley, but I wasn't sure if we were telling co-workers. Edward has a lot going on right now and his brother-in-law is my boss.

I don't want people to think I'm receiving preferential treatment or anything, I want to earn my place here.

"Oh, so it's not exclusive?"

I frown because Edward hasn't discussed specifics with me. "We're dating," I say now feeling a little helpless.

Mike's face brightens like he has hope.

"I'll see you out there," I say, trying to dismiss him so I could get changed.

I didn't feel comfortable when it was just the two of us alone in here.

He looks like he wants to say something but thinks better of it and leaves the lounge.

Thank God.

I quickly get changed into my uniform before I make my way down to Carlisle's office. I see Aro rattling off a prep list to his sous chef and wonder what's for the staff meal.

These past two weeks, if I wasn't at Edward's, I was forced to eat like a frat boy with Em, Pop Tarts, and takeout from the Chinese restaurant down the street.

In front of Carlisle's door, I knock and I hear a faint, 'come in'. I carefully open the door, and he looks up with a smile from whatever he is working on. I can see how tired he is but his façade is a good one when he tells me to take a seat.

He pulls out an envelope with my check in it. I peek in seeing it's two weeks of my normal pay with what I would have made in tips.

My eyes widened slightly.

"I can't accept this," I tell him.

"Bella, those are your Workers Comp wages along with the tips the staff pulled together for you," he explains before I can protest even further.

"I don't need their tips," I argue.

Carlisle leans forward slightly, his face becoming serious and almost pleading.

"It's been a rough two weeks and everyone was able to pick up extra shifts due to the… staff shortage. Everyone that contributed insisted you get a portion of their cut," he tells me sincerely but I hear a sigh slip through.

I can see the toll that this past week has taken on him so I decide not to fight him on this, besides I still need to pass my trails so I can be fully employed here.

"Okay," I tell him.

He looks surprised that I'm dropping it.

"Uh, when will I need to retake my trails?" I ask.

"Does next Friday sound good?"

I nod.

I stand to leave but his voice stops me.

"Bella, thanks for being so understanding," he says.

His gratitude feels loaded, like he means something other than the money, which maybe he does, but I don't want to discuss the elephant in the room when I don't know him. I am in no position to judge him for his part in Rose's mess.

Instead, I give him a tight smile before I leave.

When I head out into the dining room I notice Jasper and Tanya are sitting at a table with Mike. The person I'm surprised to see is Angela. If she's here, that means Edward isn't for the night.

I frown.

Jazz spots me waving me over.

I point at the food letting him know that I'm going to get some dinner before I join them.

I left my phone in my locker, so I have no clue if Edward even texted me to tell me he wasn't working tonight. If he hasn't, it stings not being kept in the loop and makes me a little worried as to why he isn't here.

Maybe Rose showing up at Hadley's school yesterday had him being cautious, but when I spoke with him last night he seemed fine with Alice watching Hadley tonight.

I try to mask my disappointment when I take my seat next to Jazz.

Everyone chats while I eat my salmon and mushroom risotto.

I can't even enjoy it, which bums me out since I was looking forward to this meal all week.

I feel the elbow nudge when I'm almost done with my food.

"Want to talk about it?" Jazz asks.

I shake my head at his loaded question.

"Don't suffer in silence," he tells me with another nudge before he and the rest of the table disperses.

My mood doesn't get much better as I run through the opening procedures with Jazz and Angela.

As soon as Jessica opens the doors a crowd pours into the bar and makes things very busy. I take the high tops and food run while Angela and Jazz man the bar.

An hour into happy hour the girls that are obsessed with Edward come in.

Jazz takes note shaking his head.

I sigh and greet their table.

The brunette that seems particularly fond of Edward looks around, when I get to her order she looks annoyed with me.

I raise an eyebrow.

"And for you?" I ask her.

"Espresso martini," she huffs.

"Would any of you like to start with an appetizer?" I ask the group.

"Two orders of Salmon bites, please," One girl, who doesn't look like she fits in with the group.

She looks how I would if I was working in a nine-to-five office prison. Not all dolled up like these girls, who aspire to be what Vogue thinks office culture looks like.

"Excuse me," the brunette says looking at my badge. "Bella?"

"Yes?"

"Where's Edward tonight, he said he'd be working," she says smugly.

"Not sure, he called off," I answer.

"Aren't you friends with him? You were here last week as a customer, right?" she questions.

I want to roll my eyes but don't because of my possible tip being jeopardized based on my response.

"Bree," One of them admonishes.

"We are, but I haven't talked to him, sorry," I apologize with a wry smile before turning to put their order in.

"Is the fan club president giving you shit?" Jazz asks when I'm aggressively punching in their orders.

"She's fine," I mutter.

"You're not," he counters.

"He didn't even tell me he wasn't working tonight. He's going through hell right now, but… You know what, I'm just being sensitive. Don't listen to me—"

"Wait, he didn't check in after you got your stitches out?" he asks, surprised.

"Nope."

He looks around the restaurant.

"Esme wasn't at the staff meal," he says mostly to himself.

"Carlisle called me to come in," Angela muses while shaking a margarita.

"Is that unusual?" I ask

"She's the shift lead and she does our schedules. I only ever get called in by her," she explains pouring the contents of her shaker into the glass in front of her.

"You met with Carlisle before you came in, right?" Jazz asks.

I nod.

"If anything serious happened, he would have said something," he tries to reassure me.

I think of Hadley hoping Rose didn't try and show up again or do something else that would only harm their relationship.

I spend the next few hours jumping through my new enemy, Bree's hoops. She doesn't leave me a tip, shocker, but the quiet office girl, Charlotte, leaves me a thirty percent tip.

Jazz tries to keep me entertained throughout the night making sure I'm not sulking. I think he is also trying to save me from Mike who keeps venturing over to the bar for one thing or another.

"He's been walking around for a week like someone kicked his puppy but now he seems hopeful," Jazz says while wiping the counter down.

"He was interrogating me about my relationship with Edward, he asked if it was exclusive and I shrugged," I explained.

"Why would you do that?"

"We're dating, if it was anything important—"

"You are important to him, Bella," he says frankly. "The guy talks about you non-stop."

I shake my head.

"He didn't— You know, what? Never mind," I mumbled, keeping my hurt about him not checking in out of this conversation.

Carlisle comes out from the kitchen.

He smiles but still looks tired.

He was scarce tonight having Mike be his shift lead for the night.

"Bella, you can head out," he tells me.

I look at Jazz and he shrugs.

I notice I'm not the only one leaving since Tanya passes by us to the kitchen.

I follow behind her quietly and quickly open my locker once we're in the lounge. The only text I have is from Jake asking me questions about Garrett.

It really fucking sucks that Edward hasn't reached out at all tonight.

I could text him, but it's always me being the one who is reaching out.

"You coming out tonight?" Tanya asks while leaning against my locker door.

"I don't think so, my hand still kinda hurts," I half-lie, putting my arms through the sleeves of my flannel.

It has been bothering me, but I've been pushing through.

"Maybe next time," she offers hopefully.

I nod.

I grab my bag when Jazz walks into the lounge.

"Any word?"

I shake my head.

He frowns.

"Ali is at his place watching Hadley, Esme left with him earlier. She said that they didn't tell her they weren't coming in," he tells me.

"Thanks for keeping me in the loop," I sigh.

"Want to share an Uber back to Brooklyn?"

I think about it and know I still need to penny-pinch.

"I was planning to take the train back," I tell him.

"Want a subway buddy?" he asks.

"Okay," I agree.

I sit on the couch in the lounge while Jazz gets changed, fumbling around with my phone I scroll through my Instagram.

I haven't posted much since arriving in New York, but I have taken pictures of little odds and ends I've seen around the city.

I didn't even know Edward well enough to know if he had any social media. He didn't seem like the type to partake, but who knows?

Jazz is hovering looking at my phone.

"What's your handle?" he asks me.

"Oh, I. Be. Swan," I tell him.

He smiles playing around on his phone and I see I have a J. Whitlock following me.

I take one look at his page, seeing instantly that Jazz is a legit photographer with over five hundred thousand followers.

I look up at him slightly stunned.

"It's a hobby," he says with a shrug.

I scoff while I stand.

We bullshit on our way to the subway station.

Emmett texts that they are at a bar about a block over from our apartment. I make the decision that I'm done moping over Edward. My hand is free of stitches and now is the time to celebrate.

"You want to go to Basquiat's Bottle?" I ask Jazz.

"I'm up for a beer," he answers.

The bar is packed when we enter and I see Em and Jake with a gaggle of girls hanging all over them at the end of the bar.

I grab Jazz's hand guiding him back to the stooges.

I shoulder past two girls flanking Em and lay a big kiss on his cheek.

He pulls a face wiping it off while his hunnies glare at me.

I can hear Jazz snickering behind me.

"Aren't you having a sleepover tonight?" Em asks, wiggling his eyebrows.

I punch his meaty arm.

"Hey man," he greets Jazz.

"How many dudes are you entertaining, Bella," Jake grumbles with a leggy raven-haired beauty partially on his lap.

"You keep it up and I'll tell my dad what you're insinuating," I threaten.

That shuts him up.

I order two bourbons, neat and down both within ten minutes.

Em blinks at the path I'm choosing to go down tonight.

I order my third, Jazz suggests I slow down.

It's when Alice is walking toward us with a tired-looking Edward that I become irate.