Nothing interesting happened over the next few days. Charlie didn't pry about my hand or the party. There was a buzz of conversation about the party on the Monday at school, but it quickly died down and life returned to normal. I came home, did my homework, did the laundry, cooked Charlie dinner, hung the laundry, did more homework and went to bed. The cycle repeated. I thought about the weekend- the electricity I'd felt in Edward's presence. It only took a single thought of him for me to feel that low, tingling buzz in my body again. I was going stir crazy. I stopped allowing my thoughts to trace back to those green eyes. Those green, beautiful eyes. I tried my best to shove the stunning image of his immaculate face, chiselled by the gods, to the back of my head. It was difficult- it was like it had been tattooed into my memory, permanent forever.

I woke early Wednesday morning. Charlie's cruiser was already out of the drive. He must have been starting earlier, meaning he'd be back about an hour later than me after school. I yawned and stretched, grabbing my phone quickly for a scroll before getting out of the warm nest. I didn't sleep amazing, but I wasn't too tired. Instagram was littered with posts from Alice's party, dreary Forks weather and Jessica's new family puppy. I gave it a like, to show I am civil, at least.
Before I knew it, I was running late. Distracted by meaningless social media. I quickly pulled myself out from the warm duvet and straight through to our aging bathroom, turning the water on high. I placed my phone on the counter next to the sink, stepped out of my pyjamas and chucked my hair up on top of my head, knowing fine well I had absolutely no time to wash it. The water warmed my body from the outside in and I closed my eyes as I ducked my face under. I scrubbed away remnants of mascara that had collected under my eyes through the night, making me look like a panda. I knew this shower had to be quick. I sighed a big sigh and shut the water off just in time, it was starting to run cold anyway. This is the problem with sharing a bathroom- Charlie had used most of the hot water already in the early hours. You had to be quick in this house. Long showers would ultimately end up with you being freezing cold, your hair half washed. I pulled my towel of the rail and wrapped it around my soaking body, instantly feeling the cool air of the house, snatching at my bare skin. That was another thing about this house- it was never very warm. I found myself wrapped in sweaters and blankets, even in the height of a Forks summer.

I threw on a pair of black jeans and my school shirt, my tie hanging loosely round my neck. My feet found the comfort of my old black biker boots and I slung my fur-lined jacket on, breathing in its fresh scent. Alice normally picked me up on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays- we'd swap about each week. It was a good chance for us to catch up, gossip and for me to sometimes copy her Trig homework if I hadn't had the time to finish. Luckily, there was no problem of that today as all my homework had been completed, and I actually felt confident in handing it in. I'd been working a little bit harder in school recently. We'd sometimes swing by Rose's house, if Emmett wasn't taking her to school.
I found a granola bar sitting, lonely, in the cupboard, and decided it would be the quickest thing to demolish before Alice arrived in her Porsche. Yes, she got funny looks in the school parking lot for the first few weeks. Not many kids around Forks owned a car, let alone an expensive, bright yellow, in-your-face Porsche. Hell, it made my truck look like an old aged pensioner. At least her car's engine didn't roar to life, causing everyone in a one-mile vicinity to look up and stare. The stares towards Alice's car got fewer and fewer, as those in our school realised her father, Carlisle was a doctor, so of course she had a high-class, upmarket vehicle to get her to school. Although, some days we left school after the bell and Alice had to still shoo a couple of seniors away from the back of her car, gawking, like they'd never seen anything like it in their lives.

Alice wasn't usually this late. We always made it on time to grab a bottle of something from the vending machines, or made the five-minute walk to Trig a ten-minute slow amble. Where was she? I could have had a bowl of cereal or even some toast instead of a measly bar. Oh well. I was completely ready, backpack secured, staring out of the bay window in the sitting room. Charlie's mug of coffee sat on the old wooden coffee table from this morning or at last night, I couldn't be sure. I picked it up, worrying about the possible ring it had left on the table. Not that Charlie cared about the appearance of the furnishing in this house. Luckily, there was no ring to be seen. I placed it in the sink, filling the basin with some lukewarm, soapy water and picked up the brush. I remembered getting him this mug for his birthday two years ago. Dark red in colour, decorated with delicate drawings of species of fish found in the Quillayute River. The only one I'd be able to identify is the salmon. Our freezer was normally stocked with Charlie's catches. He fished a lot with old friends. It was little more difficult now Jacob's dad, Billy, was in a wheelchair. I'd never seen my father so happy about a piece of crockery, but that filled me with joy. He always drank his coffee from that mug now. I placed it carefully down on the wire rack to allow it to dry. I'd be doing the dishes later tonight after dinner, so it would return to its cosy home of the cabinet then.

Just then, I heard a car beeping outside. Alice, finally. I grabbed my backpack off of the kitchen table, fumbled around in the front pocket for my house key out and paced towards the front door. I put the key in the lock, twisted it until it made the clicking sound and turned around. It took me a moment to realise what was going on. No yellow Porsche was sat in Charlie's parking spot. Instead, a flashy silver Volvo, the engine purring quietly in the near enough empty street. The passenger window rolled down and out popped Alice's spritely face, beaming. She enjoyed the confused expression on my face.

"Hurry up! We're gonna be late!" she called from the car in a melodic voice. I half jogged, half walked to the door, placing bets on who'd be driving. I took a deep breath before pulling the car door open and stepping in.

I knew instantly, without even looking, Edward was driving. The scent- the peppermint, the fresh pine needles. He looked up in the rearview mirror, but his eyes moved quickly to concentrating on the damp roads of Forks. He didn't even give me a chance to smile at him.

"My car's in the repair shop, for who knows how long! Pain in the ass." Alice moaned, while topping up her lip gloss in the mirror.
"That's annoying… I could have driven us, you know." I offered. My heart was doing somersaults in my chest. Why had he looked away so suddenly? Why was there this icy look on his face? I couldn't cope with the tension, the awkwardness, if Edward was going to be this hostile taking us in this week.
"Oh, it's fine. Edward offered, didn't you? Oh, and do you mind picking up Rose? Please? I forgot to ask in the house." She pleaded with him. I watched him roll his eyes and sigh but nod in confirmation. His face still stayed stone cold, like something was bothering him. I couldn't help but think it was the weekend that was on his mind- me in his bedroom. But, when I thought back, I left feeling happy. More than happy. Ecstatic, excited but also slightly apprehensive would be the best way to describe my feelings on that Sunday. He seemed to feel the same if I had to guess. My mind couldn't help but race, overthinking everything I'd said, the way I'd looked at him, the way I'd acted. Had I done something wrong?

Rose gracefully pulled the door open, her platinum blonde hair fluttering in the gentle morning breeze.
"Morning everyone," she smiled deeply at me, taking my hand and giving it a squeeze. She was dressed warmly, a fake fur coat on with her wide legged jeans, and heeled boots. Always a fashion statement. She looked elegant, almost too old to be in high school.
"Hey," I said quietly, giving her a small smile. She still had my hand in hers. Rose loved physical touch. It was her way of showing affection towards us. Don't get me wrong, I'd never want to be on the wrong side of her, but she always looked after us. "No Emmett today?" I asked. It had been a while since she'd ridden with us.
"He's running today- don't ask me. Some kind of new fitness regime. Who would run the three miles before being stuck in the prison for seven hours? He's totally insane!" she exhaled. I chuckled at the thought of the big bear, running through the woods, the streets, turning up to school drenched, like he'd been caught in a rainstorm. I mean, that wasn't unusual in Forks anyway, rainstorms. But today it was just damp. It had rained through the night- kindly stopping for us to make our way to school without the window wipers on.
"Agreed." I laughed and Alice joined in too. My eyes crept up to the rear view. No eye contact. His eyes were fixated on the road. I mean, I guess I should be glad I did want to arrive in one piece.
We chatted about classes we would have today. Well, I listened. Rosalie and Alice did most of the talking. That was usual. I was more of the listener of the group. I nodded and chipped in at the appropriate moments, showing them, I was paying them my full attention. Or almost all. My mind whirred rapidly, my eyes betraying me every couple of minutes to steal a glance in the mirror. Nothing. Total ignorance. It was starting to make me feel less anxious and more annoyed. His hands gripped the steering wheel making the pale skin on the back of his hands taut. I so wish I could get into his head and truly understand what he was thinking. What was with the blatant ignoring? I sighed and stared out of the window of the car, watching the obscure green shapes blur as we sped past. It wasn't a long drive to school. I'd be free in a matter of minutes.

Edward put the car in park and said nothing as we all stepped out onto the pavement.
"Thanks, Edward!" Rosalie called into the car as she placed her bag over her shoulder. Alice did the same, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving the passenger side. He said nothing. He didn't even give us any of us a look. Alice didn't seem to notice but Rosalie raised her eyebrows at me, looking as confused as I was. We walked together into the school building, running a couple minutes behind schedule. No time for a vending machine trip. We waved goodbye to Rose as she made her way in the opposite direction, towards the English corridors. Alice and I had Trig first thing on a Wednesday. Mr Varner was not the type of teacher you'd want first thing in the morning, but at least I had actually completed my homework. He had no reason to be unpleasant to me today. We were one of the last to enter the classroom and sit down. I threw my bag under the table after removing my textbook, pens and notebooks. Damn, no calculator. Maybe Mr Varner did have a reason to be unpleasant today. Alice could see my discomfort.
"It's fine, just use mine." She whispered. I gave her a small nod back, refusing to get in to trouble in the first five minutes of the lesson. Today we were learning about using bearings to solve, which I didn't feel overly confident about, so listened intently to the teacher going on and on. I concentrated on the words Mr Varner spoke, refusing to let my mind wander back to Edward this morning. I had plenty time for that to consume my life at lunch or after school. My ability to overthink was sufficient. I opened my textbook as instructed and began jotting down the problems, using Alice's calculator to help me. She seemed to be in a daydream. However, she could get away with it. A few lessons ago, Mr Varner was appalled with her staring into space, no work done ethic. However, she smiled a gleaming smile, used her puppy dog eyes and only got a warning from the man.
"Miss Cullen, you must try harder next lesson, otherwise it'll be a phone call to your parents." Mr Varner said sheepishly.
If it were the other way round, Charlie would be in his office having a disciplinary meeting about my progress and lack thereof.
"Alice, remember what he said the last time…" I whispered through gritted teeth. She seemed to snap out of her trance instantly, and began copying down my answers from my notebook into her own. How the tables had turned.
"I just can't concentrate today," she whispered back, tapping her pen on the table. "Jas spoke about going out this Friday and I have no idea what to wear or wear we're going, and he needs to let me know where we're going, because how am I supposed to know what the dress code is? What if I turn up in jeans and it's a black-tie event? How embarrassing would that be?"

I let her ramble on about her weekend plans and copy my answers, like a good friend would. I'd almost finished the textbook page we were supposed to by the end of the lesson, meaning I'd have little homework tonight. That was a positive. More time to overthink Edward's icy demeanour towards everyone this morning. The bell rung a high-pitched screech and I moved from my seat, bending down to grab my backpack.
"Hey Alice," I asked in the most nonchalant manner I could muster, pretending not to be really looking for an answer, although I'd dread not hearing one. "What was with this morning? I mean, Edward… He never said a word the whole car journey." I grabbed my jacket off the back of the chair and folded it over my arm. Alice did the same and pushed the chairs under the desks, stepping around the table to grab my arm. She normally did this, we walked to our next classes, arm in arm.
"Oh, he was just in a mood." she sighed as we walked through the hallway, growing busier by the second. Jessica caught my eye then, walking past us, giving us her usual distasteful look. It was a shame; I'd liked Jessica when were younger. She would come round to my house; we'd make mud pies in the garden. I remembered fond memories of us together when we were seven or eight, dressing up our Barbies and giving them really strange names, and even giving them very strange haircuts over the bath, using my zigzag scissors. Ever since high school we had distanced from each other, Jessica growing more unfriendly by the day. I'd always try and be friendly-ish, offering small smiles if she had caught my eye. But they were never returned, so I never bother now. I feel part of the problem was Rose. I met Rose in the first year of high school. We'd hit it off straight way, although, I would never admit but I was slightly intimidated of her back then. She was very friendly with the boys, more so than females. But we got on instantly, and she introduced me to Emmett.
"Yeah, he seemed it."

I wanted it to be a passing comment but Alice stopped in the hallway and raised her eyebrows at me.
"He's been in a bad mood, actually, ever since you left on Sunday."
That sent my heart over the edge. It was me. I was the problem.
"What has he said?" I pried, feeling like I'd do anything to get the information out of her.
"Oh nothing, he has said nothing. Which, is unusual, I guess. For him," she said, deep in thought. Her skin wrinkled in the middle of her beautifully arched brows. "What happened on Sunday, when Jas and I were watching the movie? I knew you weren't just in my room, Bella. Come on, I'm not stupid."

"He just asked to check my hand again."

I looked down at my hand, no bandage now. It had healed fine; the ache had disappeared a day ago.
"Hmmm… I have no idea then," she sighed, giving up on gaining information from me.
"It's a mystery," I sighed too. "You're going to be late for French, I'm going to be late for Spanish."

I sat down at the usual lunch table, Emmett and Jasper already there. I could see Rose's blonde and Alice's mahogany brown hair in the lunch queue. I picked up the apple I'd grabbed, turning it in my hands.
"So, how was the run?" I raised my eyebrows at Emmett, who had since dried off, chowing down on a meal that only consisted of protein.
"Oh Bells, you should try it some time. I felt like I could keep going. Maybe next time, I'll start earlier and do a couple laps round the school grounds- get my miles up." He grinned as he scooped another forkful of food to his mouth.
"I think I'll leave the running to you!" I laughed, finally taking a bite of my apple. I wasn't overly hungry.
"You're coming next time, Jas, aren't you?" he asked, giving Jasper a hard fist to his shoulder. Jasper was much slighter than Emmett, who was built like a brick house. But not thin, just normal. He went to the gym but I couldn't imagine him a runner.
"Yeah, yeah. We'll see." Jasper rolled his eyes and laughed.
The boys talked about their gym schedule for this weekend, Jasper brought up taking Alice to a new Italian restaurant near Port Angeles. I made a mental note that it was not a black-tie event and she would be OK in her jeans or a nice dress. She'd be happy to know, but also happy not to ruin Jasper's surprise.
"I saw Cullen in the supermarket speaking with Jake last night."
My ears instantly pricked up, like a dog on high alert. Emmett would never address Alice in that way. It could only be one other person.
"Wait, who did you see?" I asked, placing my apple down on the table. My appetite had disappeared. A lump raised in my throat. Edward didn't know who Jake was, I don't think. He'd assumed he was an old boyfriend of mine but I nipped that in the bud quickly.
"I was grabbing more chicken – you know, for the gains- and saw him speaking to Jake. Things looked a bit heated." Emmett shrugged his wide shoulders, not thinking much of it. The lump in my throat turned larger. What on earth were they talking about?
"Does Cullen even know who Jake is?" Jasper asked, playing with the bottle lid of his lemonade.
"He will now. He knows Jake tried to kiss me on Saturday." I mutter through gritted teeth.
"Oh shit, he tried to kiss you? Bella you should have said something! He wouldn't have lived if I had…" Emmett trailed off, looking angry, his face pulled into a scowl.
"No, it was fine, I handled it." I spoke quickly, wanting the conversation to end. I didn't want to have to relive the minutes before Edward helped me.
The girls finally joined our table, Emmett and Jas inviting their other half to sit next to them.
"What have we missed?" asked Rose, bewildered by Emmett's stony expression.
'Don't worry. Nothing." I painted the best fake smile on my face. My eyes made their way to Jasper and Emmett's faces. Hopefully they could read the expression on mine which meant 'do not mention this or I will not be held liable for my actions'.

The rest of the day passed slowly. In Biology, I worked with Angela looking at root cells through the microscope. Angela was quiet. She is similar to me. I asked if she'd enjoyed Saturday, and she said yes. That was about the extent of our back and forth about Saturday. She had come with Eric, her boyfriend. He was nice enough. Quiet like her. I guess they suited each other.
I wanted to skip gym. I'd stupidly removed the bandage from my wrist too early. There was no way I was getting out of basketball today. I changed into my gym uniform and stood awkwardly at the back of the courts, praying no one would throw the ball in my direction. Luckily, gym passed quickly and no one was injured by my lousy aim. I didn't bother getting changed as gym was the last class of the day. The bell made her final screech of the day. I picked up my backpack from the changing rooms and made my way out of the school building, pulling on my jacket. The weather had changed. Light raindrops falling from the sky, slowly getting heavier. They left dark grey splotches on the pavement below my shoes.
I then remembered. My truck wasn't in the parking lot. Alice's eccentric yellow Porsche also was not in the parking lot. I pulled my phone out quickly ducking back under the shelter near the main entrance, doing my best not to get trampled on by teens with hoods up, trying to avoid the constant cover of rainfall.
"Alice, where are you?" I spoke above the noise of high school chat and footfall.

"I'm held up. I'm with Rose. I need to ask Mr Mason a question about my English paper." she spoke loudly, but I could hear the distant noise of other students. She must still be inside.
"I'll come find you!" I said, beginning to turn towards the entrance to fight my way back into the hell hole.
"No! Don't be silly. We won't be long. Plus, Edward is in the parking lot. You'll see his car. Keep out of the rain!"
"No Alice, I'll-"
She'd hung up. Now, I had to decide whether I'd be awkward and go and find Alice and Rosalie, who were either in Mr Mason's classroom – at the other side of the school- or near the staff room trying to find the man; or I could go and confront Edward and learn what the fuck had happened in the store last night with him and Jake. I stood, hood up, under the emptying shelter for what seemed like an age, debating my choices. Could I be alone with him again? Was I brave enough to ask these questions? What if I didn't want to learn the answer? I shifted my weight from one foot to the other, considering the pros and cons of my choices. It would give me a chance to speak to Edward alone, without Alice or Rose's noses being in the mix. Not that I minded that normally, but this time I needed to find out his side of the story in private. There was no harm in Rosalie and Alice not knowing. Just then, I heard a faint crack of thunder. I looked up at the darkening skies, the rain suddenly a lot heavier than it was before. That made up my mind for me.

I marched towards the parking lot, holding my hood with my hands so it didn't fly off my head. I didn't need to look like a drowned rat in front of him. I spotted the Volvo sitting next to two older Toyotas, looking very out of place. His eyes were fixated on a book. He did not look up once, until my hand was on the door handle, yanking it open.
"You're not Alice." He muttered, tearing his eyes from mine and back to his book. Frankenstein, the copy I'd touched, open on his bedside table.
"And you're not in a good mood today." I snapped back in a low tone.
He put his book down on top of the dashboard and gave me a hard glare. I crossed my arms over my chest, instantly feeling intimidated and small. I wished he'd look away and give me a chance to catch my breath.
"Well, you're not wrong there." He almost whispered, a confused expression crossing his face. We sat in silence for a moment, his eyes not leaving mine for what seemed like an age. I blinked hard, my eyes wet from the wind and rain. Another of crack of thunder sounded. It was definitely closer now.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked, the confused look turning to a look of sadness. I then made a confused look, totally bewildered by what he meant.
"Edward, I have no idea what you're talking about," I said, looking down at my hands, breaking our stare.
"You should have told me he'd tried that before. I laughed it off, him trying to kiss you. I told you things can change." He continued to stare into my soul. I could see him from the corner of my eyes.
Brilliant. So that's what him and Jacob spoke about in the store last night. Me. That's why he had not spoken to me this morning. That's why he barely looked my way.
"I… I didn't think it mattered. I can handle Jake." I whispered. And then I wondered. Can I handle Jake? He has not once taken my no as an answer. He always oversteps the line, apologises, and the cycle repeats.
"You shouldn't have to handle that." He spat the words, as if they were venom in his mouth. He was right. I shouldn't. It has just become the norm over the past year or so. Trying to let Jake down easy at the start, to now assaulting him with my fists. But now I thought about it, I shouldn't put up with someone trying to lay their fingers on me for their own satisfaction.
I breathed in a deep breath and exhaled it loudly, trying to rid myself of the tension that was pent up in this car. I wondered how long Alice and Rose would be.
"Bella," he said in a husky voice. I enjoyed hearing my name be spoken in such a way by such a person. "You deserve better than that. You deserved better than the way I handled that. If I knew that then, he would not have lived to see…"

His voice trailed off. I listened to his breath over the torrential rain for a moment. Finally, I moved my eyes from my lap to look at him. He looked pained; his expression strained. His beautiful eyes were closed, his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly again, like this morning.
"It's… It's fine. I don't know why you're apologising when you literally helped me," I said in a louder voice, trying to make him understand that I felt no anger towards him. "You helped me." I repeated.
"Just please, promise me. God, forbid he tries anything again," his knuckled turned white as gripped the wheel even tighter. "You come and you let me know."
I instinctively nodded my head. Why he had this level of protection over me, I had no idea.
"Good."
Edward's grip loosened off the steering wheel. He took a deep breath in and exhaled it through his mouth. I smelled that delicious pine scent. It nearly made me melt. I watched him as his eyes slowly opened and adjusted to the dim light in the car. The rain continued to batter off of the windows. He picked up his book, folded the corner of the page he was on and chucked it onto the back seat. Edward was very similar to me in that way, not precious about his books. I never used a bookmark. I'd do the same, folding down the corner slightly. I though it showed how well loved a book was, the wear and tear of it.
I felt his eyes on my face, scanning to figure out my mood now. I looked at him straight-faced, unsure exactly what he was feeling at that exact moment too. The corners of his mouth curved slightly. Not into a proper gleaming smile, but a friendlier expression than he'd had previously. I relaxed slightly, not realising how tense my body had been throughout our conversation.
"So, how was school?"