20
"Oh, my God!"
Bella and Edward turned, finding Carlisle and Coach Clapp standing behind them. Carlisle's eyes shifted from the car to Edward, softening. Bella knew it had to be difficult for him to have to pretend Edward wasn't his world, that he wasn't in love with the man. While Bella saw how pure and unique their love for each other was, other people wouldn't be as understanding about the age gap, or the fact that Edward was his student.
"Who did this?" Coach Clapp asked, causing Carlisle to turn away from her and Edward.
"I don't know," Edward muttered, dragging his hand over his face and through his hair. "It was . . . it was like this when we came out."
"Have you called the police?" Coach Clapp asked, digging his phone out of his pocket.
"I will," Bella said, glancing from Edward to Carlisle before she took several steps away.
Her fingers were shaking as she found Sam's number. Once again, she found herself calling him for help. The phone barely rang before he answered with a hurried, "Bella, are you okay?"
"Um, yes? I mean, no. I need you to get to the school. The parking lot behind the football field."
"Why?" he asked, though she could hear him moving around.
"Someone destroyed Edward's car."
"Edward Masen's?"
"Yeah," she murmured, glancing behind her as she walked further away. "They broke out all the windows, the headlights, taillights. They . . . Sam, they carved the word faggot into the hood."
Sam inhaled a sharp breath. "I see."
"Yeah."
"Any idea who?" he asked, but then she heard him say, "Emily, I gotta run, babe."
"Is Bella okay?" she heard Emily asked. "I can come with you."
"She doesn't need to do that," Bella quickly said. "And no . . . I mean, I have an idea, but he's supposed to still be sitting in a jail cell."
"Charlie didn't do this, Bella. They brought him back from Seattle this afternoon. I personally placed him back inside his cell."
She nodded, bringing her fingers to her mouth and chewing on her thumbnail. "Was he okay?"
"He was agitated, but considering he was put through a lot of tests, I'm not too surprised. Should have results in a couple days."
Bella wasn't sure what to say. A part of her hoped that her father had a brain injury, or a mass. But the other part worried that he didn't, that Charlie Swan just couldn't accept that she was a lesbian. Either way, she had lost the father she had grown up with.
"I'm calling Jared. We should be there soon."
"Thanks, Sam."
"Sure thing, kiddo. See you in a bit."
Taking a deep breath, Bella shoved her phone back into her pocket before turning back around. Edward was still standing in the same spot, his eyes locked on his car. She shared a look with Carlisle before she walked over, sliding her hand into Edward's, drawing his attention to her. The pain and anguish in his eyes matched hers, she knew. Edward was one of the good guys. He didn't deserve to be treated like scum.
"Sam and Jared are on their way."
He nodded, causing a tear to slide down his face. He was quick to wipe it away. "You know how long I had to save to buy this car? I worked three jobs every summer since I was twelve and still barely made enough to afford it. Hauling trash, mowing yards, fucking bagging groceries. I had to hide every penny I made so he didn't take and it spend it on booze."
"I'm sorry, Edward. I'm so sorry."
"Not your fault," he said, releasing her hand, but wrapping his arm around her. "Fucking Newton."
"You think Mike did this?" Carlisle asked, causing them to turn and look at him.
"I don't know who else."
"Well, we should know soon enough," Coach Clapp said, joining them. "Mr. Greene is on his way. There are security cameras facing almost every angle of the parking lot. Should be able to pull up video and find out exactly who did this. If it was Mr. Newton, well, that young man will be in a lot of trouble."
"Until his rich daddy gets him out of trouble," Edward grumbled, pulling away from Bella and walking away. Carlisle moved to follow, but she put her hand up, her eyes shifting to Coach Clapp, before she followed Edward.
Maybe it would be better if all of them just left town.
—S&S—
By the time Mr. Greene, Sam, and Jared arrived, word had gotten out about Edward's car and several of their classmates had shown up to gawk and stare. Emmett, Rosalie, Alice, Jasper, Ben, and Angela included. They tried to speak to Bella and Edward, but neither were feeling particularly chatty given everything that had just happened.
Lauren, Tyler, James, Victoria, and Tanya had also joined the many people who were waiting and watching to see what would happen. It didn't escape Bella, though, that neither Mike Newton nor Jessica Stanley were among them. Guilty conscience, perhaps?
"Edward."
Bella turned and saw Edward's mother walking up behind them. Even with the dim lighting, she could see the bruising around her neck, the purple and yellow around her vibrate green eyes, and the handprints on her upper arm. She wrapped her arms around her torso, her eyes flickering from Bella to Edward to his car and back.
Bella cleared her throat, before turning to Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper, Alice, Ben, and Angela. "Can you give us a minute alone, please?"
"Yeah, sure," Emmett said.
"We'll just be over there," Alice said, gesturing toward their right.
Rosalie, Jasper, Ben, and Angela nodded before following them away. They huddled together but kept looking over at them. Bella wanted to scream at them to just leave, to stop pretending they give a shit about them. They hadn't before she and Edward pretended to date. They didn't need them now, either.
"What are you doing here, Mom?" Edward asked.
"What do you think I'm doing here?" she asked, reaching for him, but he stepped away from her. "Edward."
"Is he here, too?"
Elizabeth sighed. "No. To be honest, I . . . I don't know where he is."
"What do you mean?"
She glanced at Bella. "He left two days ago. Said he was going back to the factory. Was going to talk them into giving him his job back, but he never came home. His boss said they refused to bring him back on because this wasn't the first, or second time he had come to work after drinking. Said he got angry, and left. I . . . I don't know where he is."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't want to bother you," she mumbled, looking at the ground. "I told him I want a divorce."
"You did?" he asked, and she nodded. "Why?"
"Why?" she whimpered, her lips trembling. "Because I don't want to lose my son."
"Mom," Edward murmured.
"I wish . . . Well, I wish a lot of things, Edward, but I don't want to lose you just because your father is a monster."
"I don't want to lose you, either, but I can't stand by and wait until he kills you."
"I know. I just . . ." Elizabeth shook her head. "I've been with him since I was fifteen. He wasn't always like that, you know? Life hasn't been easy for him, and I guess, I don't know, I guess I thought I deserved it."
"Nobody deserves to be hurt by someone who is supposed to love them, Mrs. Masen," Bella said, wrapping her hand around Edward's arm and leaning her head against his shoulder. "Maybe it's not my place to say anything, but you have an amazing son."
"I know I do." Elizabeth inhaled a sharp breath and looked around before she said, "You don't have to pretend to love my son, Bella. I know the truth."
"I'm not pretending," she said, shrugging. "Maybe I don't love him the way straight girls love straight guys, but Edward's important to me. Very important to me."
"I'm glad to hear it, because he needs you."
They turned as Sam, Jared, Coach Clapp, and Carlisle walked out of the high school with Mr. Greene. When they arrived, they appraised the damage to Edward's car before heading into the building to see if they could catch who had done the damage. She and Edward shared a look before they started across the parking lot, meeting them in the middle.
Mr. Greene frowned. "I'm sorry about this, Edward."
Edward nodded. "Who did it?"
He shared a look with Sam before saying, "We have video confirmation that . . . that your father is responsible for what happened to your car."
Edward inhaled a sharp breath. "Are you sure? You saw my father on camera?"
"Yes, I . . . I'm sorry, son. I'm sorry," Mr. Greene said, frowning.
"I've sent officers to pick him up," Sam added.
"He's not there." Edward frowned. "My mom said he hasn't been home in a couple days."
Sam and Jared shared a look before they walked over to Elizabeth Masen. She automatically took several steps backward, her eyes flickering to Edward and Bella before she began speaking to Sam and Jared.
"Sam and Jared have arranged to have your car towed to a shop in Port Angeles," Mr. Greene said, drawing their attention back to him.
"I can't afford a tow."
"Don't worry about that right now, Masen. I'm sure we can figure something out," Coach Clappe told them, but when Mike Newton and Jessica pulled into the parking lot, he sighed and headed in their direction with Mr. Greene right behind him. Of course it could have been the fact that Jessica climbed out of his car while buttoning up her shirt, or that he still had his pants unbuttoned.
"You okay, Edward?" Carlisle asked, speaking just loud enough for him and Bella to hear him.
"No," he answered. "My Dad, Carlisle. My fucking dad knows that I'm gay."
"You think so?"
Edward snorted and gestured toward his car. "The message is pretty fucking loud, don't you think?"
Carlisle frowned, but nodded. "Yeah."
"She asked for a divorce because I refused to come home, and he did this. God, he's such an asshole."
"Edward." They turned when Sam and Jared walked up behind them with his mother next to them. "The tow truck should be here soon. The department will cover the cost of the tow. The repairs, though, won't be cheap. I know a couple of guys who can give you a discount. Just let me know."
"I will. Thanks, Sam."
He nodded, his eyes shifting to Bella before he and Jared joined Mr. Greene and Coach Clappe.
"Are you coming home?" Elizabeth asked.
"Mom," Edward sighed, his eyes closing. "I . . . I can't. I'm sorry."
"Yeah, I know." She brought her hand up to her chest. "I'm, um, I think I am going to go stay with Aunt Bree for a while. But you'll call, or at least text me, right?"
Edward nodded before he reached out and pulled his mother into his arms. Her muffled sobs echoed around them, drawing attention from those surrounding them.
—S&S—
It was almost one in the morning by the time Bella, Edward, and Carlisle made it home. Carlisle had driven them to Bella's house, where she then grabbed the keys to her truck, and followed them out to the house. Esme was sitting on the couch when they walked in, her eyes red and she immediately scrambled to her feet. But instead of throwing herself into Bella's arms, she hugged Edward.
He hadn't been ready for it, though, and finally allowed himself to really cry. Bella stood back and watched as her best friend grieved the loss of his father. Like he said before, they really drew the short straw when it came to fathers.
"Oh, Edward, I am . . . I am so sorry," Esme whispered, bringing her hands up to his face and wiping away his tears.
"Thanks," he whimpered, sniffing before he took a step backward. "Can't say I was prepared for any of this to happen."
"Us either." Carlisle wrapped his arms around him, leaning his forehead against his. "I wanted to hold you so bad."
"Me too," Edward whispered. "Take me upstairs. Please, just . . . just take me upstairs."
Carlisle nodded before the two walked upstairs, leaving just Bella and Esme. A moment later, they heard their bedroom door close.
"Are you okay?" Esme asked.
Bella shook her head. "I'm so far from being okay. Things . . . Before Edward and I started our fake relationship, nobody cared what I did. I was just . . . I just Bella, the quiet girl who was good enough to talk to at school, but nobody really gave a shit about, you know? And I was okay with that, because I don't really like attention. Then, suddenly, people watch me, and . . . I don't know, love, I just . . . When is it going to stop? When . . . when is enough going to be enough?"
"Soon, I hope." Esme gripped her hips. "For the record, I always watched you."
"But you're in love with me."
"I am," she laughed, sliding her hands around to her back. "Have you heard from Peter? About your dad, I mean?"
Bella shook her head. "Sam said he was agitated when they brought him back."
"The tests can be . . . exhausting."
"Yeah," she whispered. "Esme?"
"Hmm?"
"Take me to bed. I . . . I need to feel loved tonight."
"You're loved every night, sweetheart. But I'll love you extra tonight."
And as they trickled upstairs and into their bedroom, stripping off their clothes, and falling into bed with their arms and lips against each other's, Bella wondered how long they really could stay wrapped in their little bubble.