I don't own twilight. What I own is my character's behavior, personality, background, and the plot of the story.
A huge thank you to my beta Madmooey18 for putting in the effort and helping me make this story what it is.
Author's Note at the end.
He is humming to himself while in bed playing with some words he has had in his head for a while now. Things have been interesting lately. Bella has made his life intriguing. Different. He isn't sure if it is good or bad in the long run, not because Bella is anything except great, but because he isn't sure where things are going.
He likes her, there is no doubt about that. He enjoys spending time with her. Last time he saw her, he was furious with Tim for being interested in her even though she reassured him that Tim was completely above board in his dealings with her. He isn't doubtful of that. He doesn't doubt that she is telling the truth. The problem is that he knows that Bella can tolerate more the average person is okay with.
She comes off as this fiery person who will kill you for looking at her the wrong way, but if you are all that, you don't stick around a father with a colorful fist.
Bella is flirty with him. There is no doubting that. Any person with eyes would know that, but she also told him that she isn't interested in a romantic relationship. What if that is who she is with everyone else? What if she is flirty with Tim? What if Tim thinks that he stands a chance? Wouldn't it stand to reason that he would try to get closer to her in any possible way.
If she is flirty with everyone, doesn't that mean that people think that she is interested?
He has never felt this conflicted about someone before. This is probably why he is up at 4 in the morning writing a song. He rarely does that. He just produces other people's music. He only writes when an artist shows up to his studio with a partly written song they want finished. He isn't a writer. He has never felt like he had enough songs written to strike out on his own as an artist instead.
In the mostly dark room, a light flashes. He looks to his right where his phone is on the nightstand and picks it up to see what his phone is notifying him of.
Reminder, we have an event tonight. No, I am not waking up this early just to message you. This is a prescheduled message. This way you will think of me first thing in the morning. And of the event of course. Have a great work day today and save your party shoes for the event. I expect you to take me on a spin on the dance floor.
He laughs at what she sent him, and then laughs at what he has gotten himself into. Bella is messing with his head. Is she flirting with him? Or is this her way of messaging everyone? He rubs his hand over his face and starts scribbling his thoughts on paper. That's his approach to writing. Correction, that used to be his approach to writing when he used to write. For some time, Edward hasn't had any reason to write. He occasionally writes, but most of the time he is at ease with his life.
In his teens, he struggled with what his family did. It's not like he is okay with it. He will never be okay it, but he has learnt to put it out of his mind. Putting Bella out of his mind isn't something he has figured out. It's something he hopes never happens.
After thirty more minutes of scribbling, he feels himself finally starting to make something clearer. He smiles to himself as he starts to underline the parts he has written that he likes. He is extremely immersed in this process that he doesn't notice the time passing until his alarm rings.
He forces himself to drop his notebook and pen in his drawer and get into the shower but not before he pauses for a moment and he lingers on his notebook. He quickly showers and then goes to his closet to change into a suit right as his coffee machine starts. After he finishes getting ready he goes to drink coffee in the kitchen, but his drinking is interrupted by the bell ringing.
"Thank God! I was worried I wouldn't catch you before you leave," Emmett exclaims as soon as Edward opens the door.
"Five minutes later, and you wouldn't have," Edward replies as he slowly closes the door trying to figure out why Emmett came.
"Why are you here?" Edwards asks him and then at the wounded look on his brother's face he adds, "I don't mean to offend you, but usually you aren't even up this early."
"We have been compromised," Emmett blurts.
"What?" Edward says in shock.
This can't happen. I have a career. I can't have my hard work be dismissed. What will happen to Dad, Emmett, and Jasper?
"Yesterday's shipment got compromised. Someone opened fire on us and we lost a portion of it and two men. This isn't the first time it happened. I think one of our men is working with another family. My money is on the Kings," Emmett explains.
"Thank God," Edward sighs in relief. "I thought you were talking about the police."
Emmett rolls his eyes at Edward. "Nah. Of course not. The police could give us a run for our money when it comes to the despicable shit they do. If they were interested in doing their job, you think our family would exist?"
At the look Emmett gives Edward after he is done speaking, Edward glares at him and tells him, "My bad. I got worried about you going to jail for a second. I apologize for caring."
Again, Emmett rolls his eyes at Edward dismissively and then tells him over the sound of the coffee machine he just started, "Ehh. Don't get your panties in a twist. I didn't mean to insult you. I just meant to educate you. We aren't the only bad people around. We wouldn't be free if the police weren't worse than us."
Edward runs his fingers through his hair in frustration and then stops to ask, "How can I help you with this?" He knows his brother. Emmett wouldn't show up to his place just to chit chat, not this early anyways.
"Geez, I can't show up to my brother's place with no ulterior motive," Emmett replies as he throws himself on the couch and picks his mug up off the coffee table. Edward just raises an eyebrow in a challenge.
Does this little shit think I am an idiot?
Emmett huffs and then sits straight and tells Edward, "Fine. I will tell you. I have a problem. I don't have that many men I trust. I have started the weeding out process, but I'm not done yet. I was wondering if you could come with us to the docks and help. I know you don't like getting involved, but I am in a difficult position."
Edward looks at Emmett's hopeful expression and his first instinct is to tell him no, but then he remembers that he needs to go to the gala with Bella tonight and he is dreading that. What would he rather do, deal with a confusing Bella, or give his family the kind of help he wishes he never needs to give.
"You know that I wouldn't be much help to you, right?" Edward tells him.
"That's not a no?" Emmett asks him hopefully.
Edward nods his head and tells him, "I will come with you although I am not that sure about how useful I will be."
Emmett claps his hands in excitement and tells him, "Don't worry. I have a feeling tonight's going to be a good night."
"Goodie, another Alice in the family," Edward replies sarcastically.
"You don't sound that happy. You don't have anything important, do you?" Emmett asks him, frowning.
Edward raises an eyebrow and tells him, "Of course I don't want to go, but we both know that Dad would have called me and demanded that I help in case I said no. I am not about to waste my energy dragging my feet in the ground over something I will have to do anyways. I would rather save my energy."
"So you have nothing tonight."
"I actually do. I have an event I need to attend with Bella. It's a gala that Phil's company is throwing. He is like her father. I have no idea what excuse I will give her," Edward tells him, showing his frustration even though he isn't that bothered.
Emmett nods his head in sympathy and then after a moment of silence asks him, "When will the event start?"
"7 o'clock."
"I will have you done by 8," Emmett promises.
"Good," Edward replies, not looking that much happier.
Missing an hour is better than attending the entire thing.
Edward's knees bounce as his driver and bodyguard, Paul, drives him to the docks. He is starting to regret agreeing to this. What does he even know about using guns, and lugging boxes off ships? He knows the bare minimum about guns, and even less about the other one.
"We are nearing the destination," Paul tells him as he drives into the docks area.
Oh really. I didn't notice.
The car slows down until it reaches the gathering point and stops.
Edward tries to open the door but finds it locked, so he looks through the rearview mirror at Paul. "Listen Edward. I know you hate doing this, so I want you to follow my lead and if anything happens, let me protect you. I am better equipped at this than you are and my job is to protect you."
Edward nods his head dismissively over Paul's speech, and Paul with resignation opens the door for him. It's not that Edward doesn't trust Paul or care for what he thinks, it's just that he doesn't believe that anyone would willingly sacrifice himself for another. If push comes to shove, it will be every man for himself.
Edward opens the door and steps out to meet everyone in the dock. There is Emmett, Jasper, their bodyguards; Mario, and Tom, and two other soldiers; Sam, and Martin.
Emmett claps his hands to get everyone's attention and then tells them, "It's simple. The shipment of guns will arrive on the docks in 10 minutes. We will simply load them on the trucks and then the trucks will take them to the storage, but before you load them in the truck, open the boxes and make sure it's the guns we ordered."
Edward rolls his eyes at what he is about to do. He is about to start loading boxes on a truck. This is what he is missing out on the gala to do. What was he thinking saying yes to Emmett's request? If he had stuck to his guns, no pun intended, he may be at a gala with Bella instead of these stupid docks, but no, he had to go and doubt her.
This is a teaching moment. Always choose Bella over whatever bullshit my family is roping me into.
"Let's go," Paul tells him, nudging him in the shoulder to get him out of his daydreaming. He looks around and notices a ship docking. He quickly walks to where Emmett and Jasper are standing and walks up beside them. He isn't going to be seen by any of the family soldiers standing behind his brothers. He doesn't need anymore reasons to be disrespected in this family. He sees his brothers opening the boxes and looking through their contents before carrying them into the trucks and copies them.
Whoever closed those boxes put his heart and soul into closing them.
He curses silently as he struggles with the third box when he hears a strange buzzing sound. "Guys, is anyone hearing what I'm hearing?" he asks nervously, his hackles rising as he looks around.
"Nah, you are just being paranoid," Emmett tells him without pausing.
Edward shakes his head as he tells him, "No, I'm not. I am sure there is a sound. Just listen closely." Edward works with sound. As a producer, Edward has trained his ears to sense the smallest sound, and he knows for a fact that there is a strange buzzing sound.
"I think Edward is onto something Boss," Sam calls down from his position as guard in one of the watching towers.
"Fuck," Emmett causes as he takes his gun out and takes a hiding position.
Edward automatically copies him and searches for Paul. He spots him hiding a couple of feet away behind one of the containers. Paul gestures for him to come his way, but before he can, a bullet pierces through the space between them. He hears Paul curse as even more bullets fly their way. He finally spots a couple of men on a boat surfing in their direction.
Fuck! If they get to the dock we will be sitting ducks. There won't be anywhere for us to go. I need to make sure they never reach the docks.
He fires the first bullet and then more bullets are shot as it seems that everyone gets the same idea he got. While he can't tell if his shot killed anyone, he sees two of the six men on the boat fall in the water.
They continue the shooting but the boat docks before they manage to nail any of the other men and the shooting gets even more aggressive with the close range. The sound of moaning is followed by one of the men falling to the ground. Two more men follow him within minutes leaving two men behind.
Edward looks around to see if anyone on their side is harmed. While looking, he spots one of the two men zeroing on Paul. Before he rationalizes what is happening, he finds himself jumping from his place of hiding and tackling Paul to the ground to get him out of the bullet's way.
He feels a slight pinch in his shoulder, but ignores it and looks over Paul to make sure he is okay. During that commotion, Jasper manages to shoot the guy who was aiming at Paul, and Emmett tackles the last one to the ground.
"Fuck. We need help," Edward calls standing up once he spots the blood on Paul's side.
"Man, it's not mine. Your left shoulder was shot," Paul replies. Edward spots the blood on his shoulder and feels his knees growing weak.
Paul quickly scrambles to his feet and holds him to stop him from falling to the ground which is good as Edward's vision starts swaying then. The last thing he sees before everything turns black is his brothers scrambling toward him.
The first thing that registers in Edward's mind is the sounds around him. He focuses hard to try to make sense of what he is hearing. The first voice he finally understands is his mother's voice. He hears her berating someone for what happened. He can't make out every word, but he understands from the gist of it that his mother is angry.
The other person sounds familiar. He is used to hearing the rise and fall in volume of the voice he is hearing. It's a male voice. Oh yes, it's his father. He doesn't know why his mother is angry. His mother is never angry. He tries to think of anything that would make her angry, but comes up empty.
Also, what are they doing fighting in my bedroom? I am in my bedroom, right?
Edward decides that the only way to understand what is going on is by waking up, so he puts all of his energy into opening them.
"Oh my God. Carlisle I think he is waking up. I just saw his eyelids twitch," his mother exclaims near him. She must have been watching him like a hawk.
He feels fingers rubbing his cheeks as he hears her continue, "Oh sweetie, are you feeling any pain? Do you need me to get you anything? Carlisle, get him water."
Why does mum sound panicked? I hope nothing is wrong. I need to make sure everything is okay.
"I am fine mum. Are you okay?" he asks her hoarsely, finally managing to open his eyes. He's trying to get up but a searing pain in his shoulder stops him.
"What happened?" he asks as his mum helps him sit up and fixes his pillows behind his back.
Coming from behind his mother with a glass of water, Carlisle tells him, "You were shot in the shoulder yesterday, son."
Now everything comes to him; Emmett's request, the shipment, those assholes, and the guy shooting for Paul.
"Paul! Oh my God. Is he okay?" Edward asks, trying to get out of bed. He needs to check on him and make sure he is okay.
"Sit. Paul is just fine. Nothing happened to him," his mother tells him, stopping him from leaving his bed.
"What were you thinking? Getting in front of a bullet," his father reprehends him standing near the foot of the bed.
"I didn't get in front of a bullet. I just wanted to make sure Paul doesn't get shot," Edward replies irritated with his father's line of questioning. He just wanted to make sure that nothing would happen to Paul, so that he would be able to drive him to the gala once they were done.
Fuck! The gala.
"Oh my God. What time is it? I need to get to the gala. Bella will kill me for being this late," he mutters quickly standing up and walking to his closet before his parents could stop him, but he pauses before he reaches the closet when he walks by the window and realizes it's the morning.
"Fuck! What will I tell her?" he mutters to himself as he looks around for his mobile phone.
"What are you searching for?" His mother asks him.
"My mobile phone. I need to call Bella. I should have gone to a gala with her yesterday. I told her that I will be an hour late. What will I tell her now mum?" Edward pauses and runs his hand across his face.
His mum places her hands on his shoulders and looks him in the eye to tell him, "You will tell her what happened. If she is the right person for you, she will let you off the hook. If she doesn't, she will be doing you a favor."
You don't understand. We aren't even dating. That was the one thing she asked me to do for her and I failed at it.
Not for the first time, Edward feels the urge to bang his head against the wall. What was he thinking getting cold feet?
"There you go, son," Carlisle tells him, placing his phone in his hand. Both of his parents nod their head at him and then silently leave the room to give him privacy. He slowly walks to his bed and then sits down on it, not sure what to do. He doesn't know how to explain things to her and so he just stares at it for a couple of minutes, and as if she could hear his inner dialogue she calls him then.
He takes a deep breath before he answers, "Hello."
"I have been calling you since yesterday. Couldn't you send me a message telling me that you couldn't come. I called you so many times and you wouldn't answer. I got worried sick about you. And now that you answer, I am so angry at you. Do you know that there are multiple articles claiming that you stood me up yesterday? God, Edward. You say that we are friends, but friends don't stand each other up and then not have the decency to even call," she states in one breath, and then before he can stop her she hangs up.
Calm down, Edward. That was expected. She doesn't know that you have been dead to the world for the last 18 hours.
Mastering all of the courage he has, he dials her phone number and waits for her to answer before quickly telling her, "You might be angry at the fuss being made about me not coming, but you are lucky. The fuss being made by the gossip magazines isn't even half as bad as the one they would have made if I showed up yesterday with a bullet in my shoulder."
Silence greets him. He removes the phone from his ear and looks at the screen to make sure she didn't hang up on him or that his phone died. He starts worrying that it's too much for her. She didn't want anything to happen to her. Maybe now she understands that as far as the public is concerned, she is dating the son of "The Mafia" man of New York.
"Are you okay?" Bella finally asks in a neutral tone.
"Yeah," he tells her not sure of her reaction. Isn't she supposed to be still angry at him?
"Are you at your place?" she asks in that same tone.
"Yeah," he replies still unsure of what is going on.
"I'm coming over," she tells him with finality.
"To end the agreement?" he asks, worried. This entire thing is weird. Why is she underreacting?
She scoffs before telling him, "Give me some credit. I wouldn't break up with you right after you got shot."
"No, you can do that. I don't mind, I would rather you be honest with me. I would rather have that happen on the phone instead of in person," he tells her in a calm voice. Where did that calmness come from? He doesn't have a clue. He is anything but calm. He is freaking out. His mind is scrambling to find a reason to continue their agreement. He doesn't want her to end their agreement.
"Edward, stop speaking like a martyr. I am not coming to do that. I am coming to check on you," she tells him and he hears the rustling of fabric in the background.
"But why? Don't you have kids to care of? Why would you do that?" he asks her in surprise still trying to make sense of everything.
"Seth can take care of the kids. I would like to check on you," she tells him patiently and he hears the sound of wood hitting something. Probably a drawer or a closet.
"Don't you have more important things to do?" he asks her.
"Don't be ridiculous. Nothing will ever take precedence over checking on my friend who just got shot. Nothing at the moment is more important than you."
Hello lovely people,
I was going throuh some writers block with this story, so I apologize for the late update.
One you guys commented that it seems that Bella is a Scorpio. I don't know if she is a Scorpio, but I that I was channeling my Mars in Scorpio when I wrote her interaction with Julia.
Please leave a comment in the review section. It could be your favorite part, thoughts, feeling, or even criticism. Any and every comment you leave is read and taken into consideration. Your comments motivate me to update faster, and help me grow as a writer.
Until my next update,
Stay Safe