Extreme fear can neither fight nor fly - William Shakespeare
Stephenie Meyer own everything Twilight related
Chapter 7
Bella tapped her pen on her binder, attempting to keep herself awake through Ms. Brutley's lifeless lecture; U.S history was not a subject Bella was particularly interested in. Thank goodness it's Friday Bella thought looking out the window, desperately wanting to venture outside for some fresh air. Time crept slowly, taunting the room full of students. Bella heard her cell phone vibrate in her backpack, she carefully, without creating a disruption, slipped it out of her bag and looked at the message.
I spoke with your father, you can go but be careful and text us when you get there her mother had responded to her last text.
Bella's mood instantly lightened up and the bell signaling the end of the day couldn't come soon enough. Last night after dinner, Bella saw one of her new favorite authors was having a book signing at Mother Foucault's Bookshop. She begged her parents if she could go after school, but they had been on the fence about letting her go alone. After some persuasive texts, her parents finally caved. Bella doesn't get opportunities like this, and definitely was going to take advantage of it.
The bell rang and Bella headed straight to the library, she had promised to help Angela with pre-calc. She was already stressed and it was only the first week of school. Bella was convinced she could help her pass if they studied together. "I think I'm hopeless" Angela said putting her head in her hands, after about an hour of studying, Bella thought Angela was going to cry.
"You are not hopeless, this takes time" Bella said helping her with her last question, "You will pass this class if its the last thing I do on this earth" she added patting her hand
"Thanks, Bella"
"Thank me when you pass" Bella said with confidence, her phone then vibrated and it was a text from Edward telling her to have fun at the book signing. The Cullens didn't come to school today due to the forecast being sunny and clear, she got a text from Edward this morning letting her know they were hunting. The sun exposes their kind by causing their skin to sparkle, they have to stay away from humans during sun filled days. Bella doesn't have that problem, her skin has a soft luminous glow that tends to go unnoticed to humans.
"Well I have to head over to the bookstore" Bella said putting her books away, "same time on Monday? She asked
"Yes please" Angela said
"Have a good weekend, relax a bit" Bella said and headed to the parking lot
Bella called her mom and she picked up on the first ring "Hi, I just wanted to let you know I'm heading over to the bookstore. Angela and I just got finished studying" she added
"Okay, sweetheart send a text when you get there" she said, "I love you"
"I love you too" she hung up the phone, turned her car on and headed over to the bookstore. It wasn't far from her school but due to traffic it made the drive feel long.
Once Bella got there, she had to park a few blocks away from the bookstore due to the area being so crowded. She had never been to this area of Portland before and was afraid she was going to get lost, but eventually she found the right building. She looked up and saw a four story yellow building with green accents. The bookstore was on the first floor and it looked like apartments were above it, the name was splayed out in the front on a bright red sign. The store was rather small with rows and rows of books lining the walls.
It was very cozy and inviting, the signing hadn't started yet so Bella took some time to walkaround and look at their selection of books. She ended up picking up two novels, one of which was written by the author who was signing and another one by a debut author whom she had never heard of before. Once the signing started, it was very crowded and the author greeted everyone and then read an excerpt from his book.
Bella held her books to her chest and stood in the corner of the room, looking at everyone who had come out for this author. Once he was done reading, he answered some questions. After that the employees helped form a line, and Bella ended up at the end somehow. As she waited for her turn, she took the opportunity to start reading the first chapter.
"A lot of people showed up" A older man said from behind her
Bella turned her head and saw him looking down at her with beady eyes, "yea, I'm sure he's delighted" Bella said referring to the author.
"It's always enjoyable when a community shows their support to a new author," he added, stepping a little closer to her, close enough for her to feel his breath on the back of her neck.
"I agree" Bella said but this time not turning to look at him, she stepped foreward to try and create some distance. She couldn't help but to have a weird feeling about the old man behind her, but thankfully he didn't say anything else to her. When it was finally Bella's turn, the author asked her if she had read the book yet. "Not yet but I just finished your first novel. I thoroughly enjoyed it, your writing style is lush and immersive" She said
"Why thank you, I greatly appreciate that. I hope you enjoy this novel as much as you enjoyed the first one" he said, handing her back the book he signed. As Bella was leaving the bookstore, she felt someone put their hand on her shoulder "Miss" she recongized that voice. "I believe this is yours," the older man said, holding the other book she had purchased.
"Oh thank you" she said taking it from him
"You left it on the table" he said
"Well thank you" she said, turning around and stepping out into the cold dark night, the sun was long gone.
"Do you need help? A pretty girl like you shouldn't be walking alone" he said
Bella gulped and shook her head, "No thank you, my parents are waiting for me actually" she said before walking swiftly down the street. As Bella was trying to find her mothers car, she heard footsteps trailing behind her.
She turned her head and saw the man from the bookstore but this time he wasn't alone, there were two other guys with him. Bella's heart started to race, I can fight them off if I need to Bella thought, what do you mean you've never fought anyone a day in your life? She replied to herself. I'm stronger than they are" Bella repeated to herself over and over.
Once she reached her mothers car, she practically threw herself in and locked the doors. She turned and looked out the back window but no longer saw the old men that were following her. Bella took a deep breath, see you're being dramatic, everything is fine she thought to herself. Once Bella caught her breath she placed the keys in the ignition and was met with a clicking sound. What the hell Bella thought as she tried turning the key again but still the same outcome.
"Oh you have got to be kidding me" she said out loud to herself, she reached over and pulled her phone out of her purse only to find her phone was dead. "Seriously" she shouted, throwing her phone into the passenger seat. She looked up and down the street and saw a payphone at the farthest end of the road, she grabbed her purse and stepped out of her car.
As she was walking toward the payphone, she heard footsteps again. She turned around and saw the three men were back, "Hey pretty lady" they shouted at her, "You need some help don't you"
Bella didn't respond and tried to ignore them trying to get to the payphone. "Oh come on, we can help you" they said making their way closer to her
"Leave me alone" Bella shouted, and the next thing she knew they were running after her. Just as she was getting ready to take off, a silver Volvo swung around the corner, the tires let out a deafening screech as they slid across the pavement. The car stopped abruptly beside Bella, almost hitting the three men.
"Get in" Edward said and Bella yanked open the passenger door and flung herself in. Edward revved his engine and the men that had been running at Bella were now running away like pathetic little boys. "Bella, are you okay?" Edward said as he sped off.
"Yea I'm fine" she replied, slightly shaking, "wait, pull over I need to call my parents" she demanded
"I'm not stopping" he said with both hands squeezing the wheel, "my phone is in the center console, where is your phone?" he demanded.
"It died" she replied and dialed her mothers number
"Hello?" her mother asked confused
"Mom it's me"
"Bella, why aren't you calling me off your phone, whose phone is this?" She asked firing questions
"My phone died, this is Edwards phone" she answered
"Edward is with you" she asked even more confused
"Your car wouldn't start" Bella said
"Your Uncle and your father are headed there now" her mother said, "Are you okay? you sound scared"
"I'm okay, there was some guys bothering me when I left the bookstore" she said, "Edward helped me"
"Oh my god, I knew this was a bad idea" her mom said
"Mom, I'm okay, everything is fine" Bella replied trying to calm her mother down
"Why was Edward there?" her mom asked
"I'm not sure" she said and looked over at Edward who was gripping the steering wheel and looked frightening. He took the phone from Bella and started talking to her mom, "We are heading back now, your car is on the corner of Morrison and 8th Avenue" he told my mother
"Okay, drive safely" her mother said ending the call
"Where you following me" Bella asked
"I was trying to keep my distance, I knew how much you wanted to do this by yourself" he said, his voice low.
"The whole time?" Bella asked
"No, you never told me the name of the bookstore, but you did say it was near Belmont street. I was driving in the area, when I passed the bookstore you were already gone. I kept driving and then I heard you shout at them, giving away where you were" He said not taking his eyes off the road.
"Well thank you" Bella said looking down at her hands
"What would have you done, if I hadn't showed up" He asked his voice low
"I was going to run, I'm not as fast as you but I'm faster than humans" Bella responded
"It looked like you froze" he said
Bella didn't know how to respond, a deafening silence filled the car. "I guess I did, I got scared" she finally admitted in a low voice, staring at her shaky hands.
Edward noticed this and reached over to grab her hand, "It's okay you're safe now" he said, rubbing circles on her hand. Bella leaned her head back and took deep breaths trying to stop herself from shaking. You froze, the words replayed over and over again in her head, she knows she is stronger than humans and she knows she could have fought them off but like a normal human she panicked. Neither one of them said a word the rest of the drive home, her adrenaline rush was beginning to subside and she was starting to feel drowsy.
When they got home, her mother was outside waiting for them. Once he parked in the driveway her mother practically ripped his passenger door open to get to Bella.
"Thank you, Edward" She said
"Of course" he said simply
"Your father and Uncle are on their way back, they want to know what happened" her mother said, wiping the tears from Bella's face, "Come on, both of you inside" her mother demanded. They sat down in the kitchen and Renee made her daughter a strong cup of tea to help her calm down. The first thing her father did when he came in through the front door was pull Bella into a hug. "Dad, I'm okay," she said but he still wouldn't let go
"Thank you Edward" her father said
Edward nodded his head, "I'm just glad she's okay" he responded
They all moved to the living room as Bella recounted the nights events
"Did you get a good description of these men?" Her Uncle asked
"Yes" Bella said with confidence, she was able to tap into her memory and describe the men perfectly, what they were wearing and what they looked like.
"Good" her Uncle said as he got up and made his way out the front door, Bella made a move to follow him but her father pulled her back down and gave her a kiss on the temple. Bella knew where her Uncle was going and what he was going to do .
"Well It's been an eventful night and it's getting late" her mother said looking at her watch, "Bella needs to rest" she added. Bella couldn't deny that she was dead on her feet. Her parents said goodnight to Edward and went into the kitchen, to give them some privacy.
"I'll see you at school on Monday?" Bella asked
"Yes" He answered, "Alice" they both said at the same time and laughed
"Does the weather still look the same for the baseball game next Saturday?" she asked
"So far, so good" he said with a smile on his face
"Have a good weekend, Bella" Edward said as they walked to the front entrance
"You as well" Bella opened the door and watched as he got into his Volvo and took off down the street. Bella shut the door and went into the kitchen, "he really fancies you" her mother said
Bella looked up at here and smiled "he's very sweet and always a gentleman"
"And that's good sweetheart but you are too young" her father said bursting her bubble, "I'm not saying no forever, just no for right now" he added
"Well when can I start dating" Bella asked pressing her father
"Come one, Charlie let her live a little" her mother said with a smile on her face
"You have a birthday coming up, right?" Her father asked
"Not for another 4 months" Bella responded
"We will rediscuss then" he said, "until then just friends who cannot be alone together" he added
"Can I still go next Saturday?" She asked
"She'll be with his family, so yes you can" her mother chimed in
Bella smiled, a win is a win
The weekend went by in a blink of an eye, Bella spent her time helping her mother in the greenhouse and doing school work. Bella and Edward texted a couple of times, keeping tabs on each other throughout the weekend. Bella and her mother were planning on trying to break down her father on the whole dating aspect. Bella felt so much joy when she thought about Edward, she has never felt like this before. She wished she could be around him more to get to know him better, but her mother said that'll happen with time.
So they spent the next week getting to know each other more, they spent time in between classes asking each other any question that popped into their heads. They would spend their lunch times together and they even had a special spot underneath a tree when it wasn't raining. Bella learned Edward loves cars, especially fast cars. He's a collector who owns not only the Volvo but also an Aston Martin.
"Have you ever dated someone before" she asked him one day
Edward smiled "No"
"You're 104 and have never dated anyone" she asked with disbelief
"No one has ever caught my attention, until now" he said looking into Bella's eyes
Bella blushed and looked down at her feet, she felt Edward cup her cheek and bring her face to look at his, "I love that blush" he whispered
Bella lost herself in his gaze, until she heard her name from the entrance of the cafeteria, "Bella" Angela yelled, "are we still on for after school today?" she asked
Bella broke her gaze with Edward and gave her a thumbs up, Angela smiled and walked into the cafeteria.
"What about you?" she heard Edward say
"What" Bella asked confused
"Have you ever dated anyone" he asked
"I think you know the answer to that" Bella laughed, "No" she said
"What's something that you remember from your human years?" Bella asked, knowing that his memory would be fuzzy but she wanted to know as much as possible about him, even before his change.
"I wanted to enlist in WWI" He said, "I remember my mother not wanting me to, but we got sick before I could do it" he added
"How many degrees do you have?" Bella asked
"Two medical degrees and graduate degrees in literature, mathematics, law, engineering, several languages, and art history" he replied
"Wow, well if I ever need a tutor I know who to call" she said dumbfounded
"I've had a lot of time on my hands to dedicate to academics" he said with a smile
"Do you remember what your eye color was" Bella asked looking into his golden orbs
"Green" he said automatically, "Carlisle remembers what I looked like before my change" he said
Bella smiled, because her favorite color is green.
My deepest apologies for not sticking to schedule! The holidays threw me for a loop
I will get back to my writing schedule
Please give me some feedback! I love reading your comments
Much Love!