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!
PS: Happy new year everybody! I hope you enjoyed your holidays :)
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Chapter 8
"Pat, I need you to go to your room. I have to talk with Esme," I demand.
"But why, Dad?" questions my reluctant teenager, "Now what did I do?"
"Pat," I squeal, and he wrinkles his face in annoyance. "Isabella, you can come with me." I gesture for her to follow me.
She walks after me into the hallway as my son continues to throw his tantrums before entering his room.
"There's my mother," I point, "talk to her."
"Me!? why? I have nothing to talk about. There's is nothing between us."
"You got me into this, and you'll be the one to solve it," I demand.
I'm having fun with her worried face.
"What am I going to tell her? I don't know her, Edward.
I shrug my shoulders.
"What's going on, Edward?" Esme appears, asking for an explanation. "I don't understand why so many secrets and whispers between you. She's not pregnant, is she?"
"No!" Isabella exclaims, "I will never have children, madam."
I am surprised by her answer, she doesn't want children. I guess it's because of her youth, I had Pat at her age, and nothing has been easy since then.
"Why not?" Mom says.
"Esme," with my hands on her shoulders I guide her back to the room, "Why have you come here?"
Her eyes look at me reproachfully. Sometimes I don't usually have the tact to talk, much less with my mother.
"You say that as if my presence bothers you."
"I'm uncomfortable that you're here to satisfy your curiosity," I'm blunt.
"I worry about you," she retorts. "Your father is also very uneasy because we don't even know who you're bringing into your house," her eyes are on Isabella. "We're mortified about who Pat lives with.
I let the air out of my mouth.
"My son is perfect and happy with Isabella," my arm is around her waist, feeling the tension in her body. It's strange this closeness between us, but not uncomfortable. "It's not me you have to worry about, mom."
This time Esme's eyes narrow, sweeping Isabella up and down.
"Since when are you with my son?" she asks scornfully.
"Uh...? Oh, yes, we have little," Isabella stammers nervously. I look closely at her hands that are clutched in my arms and her nails are digging into my skin.
"Are you living together?"
"No."
I groan in pain and pull my arms away from her.
"That's enough, Esme," I walk to the entrance and open the door, "I invite you to leave," I point outside, and she stands up and comes to me.
"I do not tolerate this behavior from you, Edward."
"Then don't disrespect me. Don't treat me like a child," I argue.
"I'm worried about you, about Pat. Your father told me she's a prostitute."
"That's not true!" Isabella shrieks, confronting my mother. "I'm not a prostitute! He doesn't know me, and neither do you."
"Your word doesn't count," Esme argues, "You have no say in this conversation.
That's all I'll tolerate; I grab her elbow and pull her outside with me. Out in the open it begins to snow.
"Edward, don't do this to me," she whines, trying to wiggle out of my grip, and I open her car door.
"Don't come back if you're going to come back with the same attitude, mother."
"You're choosing her, is that it?" she challenges me.
I bend down to her level.
"Don't come beating your chest with me, Esme. You've never been the perfect mother; you didn't even want to try when I was left alone with Pat. You weren't with me for a damn moment because you didn't want to neglect your flaming husband, so stay with him and leave me alone!"
"You'll regret your treatment of me." Her eyes are shining on the verge of tears, she gets into her car and shuts the door as hard as she can.
I stand still as the car drives on, my head still bowed.
"I'm sorry," Isabella whispers, "I'm so sorry I caused a conflict with your mother."
I ignore her, retracing my steps.
"Really, Edward." She stops me, holds my arm and I face her, "We can say that nothing is true. I don't want to get you in trouble because of me."
"You don't want to get me in trouble?" I repeat. "Then tell me what was my father doing with you? I want the truth," I hold her arms.
"What do you want the truth for? I'm the mistress to you anyway!"
"Don't yell at me!"
"You too! Let go of me! You're hurting me."
I set her free.
"And you make me desperate."
"I'd better go," she says, taking her things and throwing them into her backpack. "Say goodbye to Pat for me."
Annoyed with her, I see her leave. I snort, going in search of my son. Pat has a serious look on his face when I walk into his room.
Annoyed with her, I see her leave. I snort, going in search of my son. Pat has a serious look on his face when I walk into his room.
"Are you and Bella a couple?"
I deny.
"Grandma said, and I overheard you two arguing like lovers do. I like her," he confesses with a smile.
"No. We're not dating," I sit on the edge of the bed and my son sits next to me. "Pat, I don't want you to get attached to Isabella. You can just treat her as an acquaintance, nothing more. Don't have any other ties to her."
He grimaces.
"What were you arguing about?"
"It's a little complicated to tell."
"I see, it's grown-up stuff."
I smile at him. My son understands that I'm not going to talk about Isabella. I even think it's best to keep some distance from her, I'm not interested in involving my time around a teenager.
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Aro's jaw is still tense, he clears his throat and nervously shuffles the piles of papers scattered on the desk.
"It's just that I can't do this, Edward. I can't show you anything about the student body. Not even if she is your girlfriend."
"All right, then just cover the shortfall for this year."
"I don't think it's going to be possible either" he avoids looking at me. "She's the only one who can access her account and make the payment. I'm sorry."
Standing upright and without patience, I lean on the desk, my hands in fists on the wooden table. Aro's anguished face is a real poem, a very bad one indeed.
"Don't treat me like one of the student body, Vulturi. I want you to open Isabella Marie Swan's account and make the outstanding payment for this year, do it right now or I'll call my lawyers and have them handle the strange case of why one student's college loan was cancelled when it had already been approved."
He blinks and with trembling fingers types on his computer.
"I don't understand your anger, Edward. Protocols are followed here, and demands are made of everyone no matter who they are. The student sent her information late and unfortunately it could not be processed, we had to cancel her loan."
I keep looking at him with all my anger. Aro is treating me like I'm stupid.
"But right now I ask someone from the comptroller's office to make the payment," he picks up his phone and presses a button. Without thinking I put my hand so hard on his, his eyes look at me scared.
"I want you to make the payment, you. I don't want you to say later that they forgot. Do it now." I demand, extending a check, almost throwing it over his hands, "Write down the amount it is."
He swallows saliva, the back of his throat constricts several times, and his large forehead begins to sweat. He continues typing and concentrates in silence, five long minutes pass and he lifts his face.
"It's done," he murmurs.
"That's good. I hope this won't bother the girl again," I keep the checkbook inside my raincoat, smiling grimly at him. "I'll leave you, so you can tell Carlisle the gossip, try to tell him all the details."
I'm barely out of the office and Jessica comes to meet me, walking beside me.
"Were you able to do it?"
"Yes, I did."
"Thank you. I promise my parents will pay you back for what you spent. I thought I'd talk to them and tell them everything that's going on with Bella."
"Why did you come to me?"
"Because you were the only one who could help me. Today is the end of the month and the deadline is today and... if I didn't ask for your help, my friend was going to lose her year at the University. That's not fair. At least I want her to be able to save her credits so it will be easier to transfer to another one, she applied for a scholarship at the University of Hawaii. Maybe we'll go together."
"Isabella is going after her boyfriend, isn't she?"
"Yes, they will live together, and I think I will live with them," she laughs.
Her laughter makes me uncomfortable. I don't really know what bothers me, I just know I'm not in the mood to talk. Jessica talks and talks she never seems to get tired.
"Mmm..."
"Listen, she told me that you haven't talked to each other for two weeks. She even leaves your house many days and you haven't arrived, why?"
"Jessica I really have to go; I need to pick up my son from school."
"Ah, ok. Then when I talk to my parents I will look for you. I'll also tell Bella everything, I hope she takes it well, do you think she'll be too mad at us?"
I turn to look at her; her hands are still waving in the air.
I rub my beard. It's desperate the way she talks all the time, I laugh at the memory of today...
"Edward," says Angela, "Miss Stanley wants to speak to you urgently.
"Who is she?" I ask without taking my eyes off the computer.
"I'm Isabella's best friend."
The soft familiar voice makes me look up, I signal my secretary and she leaves us alone, closing the door.
"What can I do for you?"
"I'm Jessica Stanley," she clasps my hand in hers.
"Of course. You're Isabella's grumpy friend, aren't you?"
"That's another matter. I'm here because I need your help. I don't intend to take much of your time, in fact, I'll try to be direct," her eyes roam around the place. "I like the combination of colors, the view is the best, "she stands in front of the window and sighs. "I'd be very comfortable working this way, the view is spectacular."
I clear my throat.
"Ah, yes, I need you to go with me to the University. It's about Isabella."
"Did something happen to her?" I stand up.
"It will happen if you do not accompany me. Come on, I'll explain on the way."
I raise my eyebrows without doing what she asks. The girl snorts.
"Bella has until today to pay for the rest of the classes, if she doesn't, she'll be left out and lose her year. We have until 15, so it won't be long now," she warns.
"And what do I have to do with this?"
"A lot. You are the only one who can help us, please, I can explain on the way."
"Thank you very much, Edward Cullen," her voice brings me out of my thoughts again. She shakes my hand goodbye. "You are very different from Carlisle."
At the mention of my father, my doubts resurface.
"How did your friend meet my father?"
"It all happened since his loan was paid off. Out of the blue a colleague approached her and asked her to join a website where she could offer her services for one night. In bad timing my friend accepted and since then she has been living a nightmare. Carlisle Cullen was the first man to dispute the night."
I pressed my lips together when I heard that Isabella always told the truth.
"Can you give me the name of the student who got Isabella into all this?"
"Look, it's her..." She lifts her chin in my direction, I turn around. She's a blonde girl who walks like she's on a runway, she doesn't look as young as the other students, it must be because of the layers of makeup she's wearing. "She is Lauren Mallory."
The girl notices my gaze on her and her swagger in her hips becomes more exaggerated, she smiles flirtatiously at me as she passes in front of me.
"Look at her, she's a creep."
I squeeze the bridge of my nose.
My intention is not to meddle in college entanglements and I'm getting more and more involved. I need to get to the bottom of whoever is running that absurd page and if I have to investigate this damn campus one by one to do it, I'll do it.
"I need the name of the page Isabella used."
"I have no idea. Bella just gave Lauren the data and she did the rest."
Jessica's lively blue eyes tell me she's not lying.
I inhale.
"Any new developments…" I hand her one of my cards, "here's my number."
The girl nods smiling.
"I must go, my son is waiting for me."
Once I pick Pat up from school he is silent all the way home, just playing with a bracelet until we get home. He runs downstairs and looks around the room, realizing that Isabella is not there, he goes in search of Carmen.
"Bella said she would be late," she explains, "but she said you had notes to finish and that when she arrives she will check them."
"Why would she be late?" Pat asks as she pecks at the food in the pots. In the two weeks she's been coming she's never been late.
"Stop doing that, Patrick," Carmen chides him with a gentle slap. "I don't know, I think she's got a visitor or something to do. Do I start serving the food, Edward?" she turns to me.
"Okay."
Pat gets a little restless as we share the table, even his glances in the doorway become impatient and hopeful.
"Is something wrong?"
"Bella agreed to teach me how to make bracelets. I asked her to make a bracelet for you and she said no because you're a grouch, I don't think she likes you. So, we'll make one for my best friend."
"And why doesn't she like me" I pretend I'm not paying attention; however I'm more interested to know the reason why. I put the plate aside and look at him.
"I don't know," his shoulders rise. "She says you're a sack of arrogance."
Pat's cheeks have turned a deep vermilion, he tries to hide his laughter and starts to cough. He beats his chest becoming serious.
"I know her boyfriend too, I watched him on video call," he reveals in a whisper, "he's not very nice to her. They were arguing and he made her cry."
Without realizing it my hands have turned into fists, what do I care about her life?´
"Why, what did he say to her?" I keep asking.
"He doesn't like her being here. I didn't hear right, he mentioned that tutoring me is not a job. And every time he talks he always asks who is at home. I know it because Bella mentions Carmen and me very softly."
"Pat, I asked you not to make friends with her."
"What's wrong with it, Dad? I'm being studious and chatty too. I can combine the two very well."
The doorbell rings and we both know it's Isabella. My son stands up ready to run, I stop him.
Without expecting it, a gale of a woman advances into the dining room. It is Isabella with her face contained by fury.
"Why did you pay?" she demands, "who gave you the authority to do so?"
Pat watches us as I reluctantly throw the napkin on the plate.
"Answer me," she demands.
Without holding back my bad mood I stand up. She's so small it's impossible not to laugh at her temper. I didn't remember that when she wants to, she's quite a tough woman.
"I did you a favor, didn't I? Now you can study for the rest of the year without worrying.
"That's it... you want me to pay you back for the favor. You're a thousand times worse than your father," she mutters coldly, trying my patience.
I exhale noisily.
"That's the impression you have of me," I hold up his face, leaning in close, "Well, do it. Pay me the favor once and for all. Where do you prefer?"
She tries to pull out of my grip when I grab her arm and pull her into my room.
Hello! It seems Bella misunderstood Edward's selfless help and made him angry. They both forgot that there is a minor in the middle of their discussion. As you read, Bella has one less worry even though she doesn't see it that way. Edward tries to put distance and he did, but nothing works because it's barely about Bella and there it is. By the way, what did you think of Esme? And how about Aro? He's pretty scary the man. I look forward to reading your opinions again. Thank you so much for your support.
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