DISCLAIMER: The story doesn't belong to me; the characters are property of S. Meyer, and the plot belongs to Annalau Thank you so much for letting me share your story in English!
Gracias Laura, por darme esta oportunidad!
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Chapter 4
With an immense cold, my raincoat damp, and my spirits at rock bottom, I enter the small apartment. In a matter of seconds, I am dragged by my best friend who pulls my arm with impetus and throws me onto the sofa.
"Tell me everything. Did you get your purse back? Did you see Mr. Cullen again? What did he say? How did he treat you? Will he pay you for the oral?" Jessica is chattering on and on with her own little mannerisms.
I sigh, letting her unburden herself with all her doubts.
"Come on, tell me, I want to know everything!" her blue irises sparkle with curiosity. "Will you have another date with him?"
"Can you lend me sixty dollars?"
She blinks at my request and nods at once. It's embarrassing to keep abusing her friendship.
"I had to ask the doorman to pay for my cab. Since I didn't get my purse back, I don't have any chance of getting money right away," I explain. "Now I have to pay, or my debts are likely to grow some more."
"Don't worry, baby, I'll pay Simon tomorrow."
I grimace as I play with the ends of my long, damp, wavy hair, my fingers tangling through the strands.
"Nothing went right," I confess, looking down at my cold fingers. "I couldn't contact Cullen, I didn't get my purse back, and what's worse... It was never Cullen I gave oral to."
Jess's eyes snap open, she sits back on her legs with her knees anchored to the couch, blinks, and gasps without saying anything.
I hold up my palm asking for time to continue.
"Well, technically it is Cullen, but not Carlisle, but his son."
"I don't understand."
"Neither do I," I rub my face and exhale. "The day I was supposed to meet Carlisle Cullen by some quirk of fate his son came along and usurped him, don't ask me why."
My friend collapses on her back on the couch covering her face with a pillow and now her feet covered by colorful leg warmers are on my lap.
"You must talk to Charlie.
"What am I going to tell him? Look, Dad, there was a little miscalculation at the university and my college loan was canceled. Remember all the money you were sending Renee to save to cover college expenses in the future? Well, what do you think happened? She spent it, but that's not all, if I don't cover the full amount by the end of the month I'm out of college!" I say with mockery. At least I try to laugh so as not to cry with frustration.
"He will understand everything. It's not as if you spent the money."
"Jess, I've been fighting for a place at that university for a long time. I can't lose what I have, I can't," my voice is hoarse, and I have a lump in my throat that won't let me keep talking.
"I've seen you try everything these past six months, Bells. You've looked for work everywhere and in every corner of this city and nothing has worked. It's unbelievable that you're asked for the experience even to serve coffee and wash cars."
There is no doubt that life is a bitch. One day you may get the surprise of your life; you won a half scholarship to the most prestigious private university in Chicago. You have everything to fulfill your dream; you just need to cover a minimum amount. It's okay nothing can go wrong when student loans are available.
Everything was settled in my favor. With my hopes packed in a suitcase, I decided to leave my hometown where I lived with my father and stepmother and my two younger siblings: Seth and Leah. Once you leave everything behind and join the adventure, you know you have to fight to the bitter end, and I was just starting to do just that when out of the blue I hear from the University that my loan was canceled just as I am about to complete my first semester.
Believing that a conference with the financial administrator of the University could solve my case or at least give me an extension, I meet with Aro Vulturi and the only thing I get is to postpone the payment for three more months. Time passed, and now I only have until the end of January to cover my debt, or else I will be out of the University.
"I'm talking to you..." Jess kicks my thigh and I push her legs away. "I asked you what the son was like."
"He's bitter," I clarify. I strip off my trench coat and sweater looking closely, I start to look at my pale arms, I have his fingers marked on my skin. "Look," I show her the bruised marks.
"What happened to you?" she asks, sitting back down. She inspects my bruises curiously, "Don't tell me it was the guy."
"Yes, it was."
"He's a bastard," her fingertips squeeze my bruises causing pain, I groan, and she shakes her hands. "I can still talk to my parents, Bella, you know they'll cover the amount. It'll be like an interest-free loan."
I shake my head and my hair falls to my shoulders.
"No. I can't ask them for help when they're the ones who have covered my every need for the last six months. It's embarrassing enough that they're paying my cell phone bill."
Jessica shrugs, twisting her lips into a pout. She's upset. I know her well enough to know when she's upset. What can I do? I can't keep abusing her parents' generosity or their affection for me any longer.
I've known the Stanleys for as long as I can remember, they are one of the well-to-do families of Forks. I remember Jess well that first day of preschool, she was a whiny, scared little girl who awakened in me a deep need to care for her. She is like a sister to me.
The bad part was when Renee took me with her in second grade and made me separate from my best friend. And for me, as a good daughter of teenage parents, I got to live on one side and the other until I was fifteen when I decided I needed to live with dad. Not that mom didn't do well, I can't judge her. It's just that she is that woman who is so easily given to love and she's so good, that out of all my siblings each one has their own father. Today Renee finally found the love of her life next to Phil who will also give her a son, my mom is four months pregnant and has never had enough time for me.
"I got it!" exclaims Jess in a shout, pulling me out of my thought loop, "Let's go find the bitter son. You ask him nicely to give you your belongings. If he refuses you can threaten. I don't know, maybe say you'll tell his father he impersonated him."
"No. I won't do anything like that, I won't even go near him. Don't you understand? I gave him oral sex. In his eyes, I saw the mockery of me." I close my eyelids and clearly imagine the guy's face; his mockery is printed on his smile. "I don't want to hear from him again."
"But he has your stuff."
"He threatened to tell Dad everything if I ever go near them again."
"Do you really think he'll do that? They have more to lose than you."
I stand up ready to put this conversation aside, go to my room and start undressing changing my wet clothes for my favorite pajamas of the cookie eater, they are fluffy, soft, and very warm.
There is not much in my small room; a single bed and an old chest of drawers that I bought at a thrift store, not to mention my laptop that sits on top of it. I can well say that my room is what they call minimalist.
Jess walks into my room and throws her cell phone on the bed gesturing a Renée.
"Hi, Mommy!" I greet her excitedly, it's a little strange for my mom to talk to me.
"Little girl, why haven't you spoken? I'm very worried about you. Are you all right?"
"Yes. My mobile broke down," I bite my lip as Jessica rolls her eyes, "Mommy, do you think...?"
"Oh, that's too bad, baby. Are you coming home in the spring?"
"I don't think so, Mom. Do you think...?"
"Why not? I'll need help with your siblings. You're the oldest and it's your responsibility to take care of them when I can't. You know this pregnancy is high risk, I need your help, baby."
I breathe in. With Mom, I always have to be patient.
"I'm sorry, Mom. I won't be able to help you like before. This is college, you understand. I only have time for classes, studying, and work."
"You are so selfish, Isabella Marie. You're my oldest daughter, your siblings need your help and care while I can't. It's your obligation!"
I exhale. I want to throw the cell phone and ignore her.
"Mom, you shouldn't have filled yourself with children if you weren't going to be able to take care of them. For God's sake! You're thirty-six years old and you're about to have your seventh child. You should have been more careful, not all men deserve to be fathers," I bite my tongue. I want to finish my sentence by saying that not all women deserve to be mothers either.
"You're not one to judge me, Isabella Marie! So don't ever stop at my house again unless it's to take care of your siblings, do you understand me?"
I give the cell phone back to my friend before my desire to crash it overcomes me. I lie down on the bed in a ball.
I'm like that little sailboat sailing in murky waters with the intention of reaching a safe harbor. With the difference that there is no port and I have to improvise how to dock anywhere before I sink into the depths of the ocean.
"Maybe if you talk to Charlie it will work." Jess encourages me, rubbing my legs over the fabric of my fuzzy pajamas. "He's always been more understanding." She leaves her cell phone next to my hands and turns and walks out of my room without closing the door.
I slide my finger across Charlie's name. It rings once... four times.
"Jessica?" I hear the voice of Seth, my brother.
"No. It's Bella. Can you put Dad on?"
"Dad's asleep."
"Seth, dad never sleeps before ten o'clock at night, don't lie. Give him his cell phone and put him through to me."
"Don't be calling my dad. I told you he was asleep. Don't bother him anymore!" he ends the call.
Seth, at fifteen years old, thinks I want to steal Dad's affection. For that reason, he has always made it his business to make my days bitter all the time I lived with them. Between him and Leah with her fourteen years, they made my days a martyrdom, and it seems they still do.
I let out a sigh.
I close my eyes repeating in my mind that I must never have children and if I ever do, I will give them the same father.
I yawn.
Sleep is overcoming me.
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"Lunch is ready!"
I yell to Jessica as I serve a plate of spaghetti and meatballs. She comes running over to take a sip of hot chocolate. It's weird, but she's carrying her purse like she's going out.
"I got a text from Lauren last night" she takes another sip and also bites into the spaghetti. "She wanted to talk to you about you know... I told her you were sleeping and that you weren't interested in selling your virginity anymore."
I purse my lips.
"I should never have listened to her. I shouldn't have believed that everything would be as easy as she made it out to be. I've been so stupid. I'd better go home and work full days at the sporting goods store, and once I get enough cash I'll go to Hawaii with Tyler."
"You're saying you're gonna live with Ty. Really? What about college?"
"I applied for a scholarship at the same college where Tyler is. If I'm lucky I'll go with him. I have no business being here anymore, Jess. I can't pay the rest of my tuition, and if I don't make it by the end of the month I'm out anyway. I don't have a job, and as you'll see with my parents I don't have a space, they have their life and I'm not in their equation. I'll talk to Tyler and ask him for space in his apartment."
Jessica has her hands on her hips and is making an annoying motion with her shoe.
"What about me? I chose this college because you had a scholarship. Now you're just going to leave me. It's not fair.
"I'm sorry."
Jessica's eyes fill with tears, and she takes a step back when I try to hug her.
"We can give it one last try, Bells."
"What else...?"
"What if we create a website? I've heard that GoFundMe is the biggest fundraising site, we can tell your story and..."
"Jess..."
"What if we made a page to sell your jewelry? It's beautiful, Bells."
"It's cheap costume jewelry and pretty simple."
"Don't say that you have a talent for creating, Isabella. Your designs are beautiful, plus in high school, you sold to anyone who ordered from you."
I take a bite of my spaghetti. My mouth is full and somehow I'm pondering what she's saying.
"We can come up with a name for your creations," she begins to imagine because her gaze is already far away from here. "How about, Crystal Swan, jewelry?"
I narrow my eyes and stare at her. The name is quite ridiculous.
"No, no," she continues, "It sounds better Isabella Marie, creations," she raises her palms. "I'll stick with Isabella Marie. I'll do the page in the evening," she turns around and stops in the doorway, she's looking at me. "Why don't you pretend to be me?" there's a funny gleam in her eyes, I know she's coming up with something silly. I know her.
"What are you talking about?"
Jess walks over to me and takes my hands.
"Last night they posted an ad asking for a girl to tutor a boy. I have an interview today. According to the mother, she says he's an unruly teenager and needs help in chemistry," she laughs. "I have the address where the boy lives. According to Charlotte Bonet her son lives with his father. But it occurs to me that you should be the one to go on my name."
"You're the physic mathematician here." I raise my shoulders. "Why are you looking for a job? You don't need to."
Jess rolls her eyes.
"Because I'm bored out of my mind doing nothing. Besides, that's not the point. You'll go to that house and say you're Jessica Stanley. They don't have to realize you're not me."
I think to myself.
"The pay is very good," she gives me a wink.
And that's enough for me to take one more chance. After all, what could go wrong?
Hello! Here I bring you another chapter with a little more about Bella, what do you think? The next chapter will still be from Bella's perspective
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