24Disclaimer: all the characters are from Stephenie Meyer and the story belongs to Redana Crisp. I only translate with her permission.
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Chapter 3
Flashback
She began to think about what awaited her in Forks. Charlie was so boring, he would do his cop shifts, watch the games on the plasma in the living room and go fishing. That was all he did. What a shitty life.
Her future would consist of staying home alone, looking up recipes for fish and bringing him beers when the Mariners or Seahawks played...that and school included. She hated that. She hated her decision. She hated leaving Arizona. She hated Renee. She hated that woman, hated that woman who, while she had given her life, had also taken it upon herself to slowly ruin it for her.
But it was worth it, wasn't it? That was her only consolation. Anyway, she was betting that her life wouldn't be as miserable as it was in Arizona, it would be miserable...in a different way.
When she arrived in Clarkston, she finally met Jane and Alec and also in Clarkston, she agreed to ride with them...what a piece of shit she had gotten herself into.
She was going to have to spend the next few hours of her life sitting in the back seat of a Buick feeling the stupid tension of some stupid sadomasochistic relationship or something like that. Jane and Alec hated and loved each other at the same time. She had never witnessed anything like that live and in full color.
It was only supposed to take them a five-hour drive to get to Seattle, but they may have been delayed a bit because of the couple's arguments...arriving in Seattle the next day.
Bella looked around and then looked up at the sky. She had made it; she had finally arrived in Seattle. Her eyes filled with tears as she mounted her bike and started pedaling.
When she saw the "Welcome to Forks" sign her heart squeezed and butterflies filled her stomach.
Then she met Alice, later she met Edward. Edward.
End of flashback
Lillian was sitting, looking out the window.
"Ma?" Rosalie called to her. Lillian looked at her.
"Hello, Rosie" she smiled at her and wiped her cheeks.
"I ran into William" Rosalie announced. Lillian pursed her lips and opened her arms. Rose hurried and sat across from her, Lillian pulled her to her chest and stroked her silky blonde hair.
"I'm fine" lied her mother. "Don't worry. He didn't do anything to me" she lied again. She had only gotten a slap but that was nothing compared to that occasion.
"Are you sure?"
"Completely" she assured with a lump in her throat. She stroked her hair again.
"Then why are you crying?" Rosalie pulled away and looked into her face. Lillian gave her a shaky smile.
"Because I am."
Rosalie was used to that. Lillian always cried " because she did". She looked at her intently and sighed. Lillian was so dead, so beautiful but so dead. So kind, so damaged, so broken.
"Ma... why are you letting him do this?"
"It's all right, Rosie. I'm fine...now, where are you going?"
Rosalie was used to that too. Lillian always changed the subject so as not to answer her question, as if it was so easy to forget as if it was just as easy as changing clothes.
"Alice's house. We're having a sleepover."
"Awesome... hurry up, have fun. Go now" she encouraged her and gave her a little push.
"I can stay" Rosalie offered as she stood up.
"Nonsense!" Her mother waved her hands. She stood up and smoothed the nonexistent wrinkles out of her blouse. "Go away, they must be waiting for you."
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.
.
"I was about to come in and get you by the hair" was the first thing Alice said when she saw Rosalie get out. Alice was propping her elbows and had half her body outside the car window.
"Sorry. I didn't know what to use" Rose smiled pretending nothing had happened in there and threw the suitcase into the trunk.
"As usual" Emmett squealed under his breath. Rose gave him a playful shove and climbed into the car.
"We've got a party. We're already late" Jasper rushed her and turned up the music. Alice squealed happily and started singing along to Led Zeppelin.
A couple of minutes after they arrived at Alice's house, Edward arrived.
"What are you doing here?" Jasper asked him quietly as he passed him a beer. "I thought by now you'd be, at last, fucking the chief's daughter."
"Don't even remind me" Edward growled. "It was fine but just as I was about to make my move, she kicked me out of her house."
Jasper threw his head back and laughed.
"Shut up, asshole... is it bad to want to fuck her?" Jasper finally calmed down.
"No, it's not bad."
"I just don't know... You know, I haven't had sex in a long, long time."
"You don't even know how to fuck" Jasper scoffed. "How many times did you do it after the first one, two? Don't fuck around."
"I'd still be doing it if that fucking Chelsea hadn't gone to Indiana." Jasper laughed again.
"I'll never get over it. You got stood up big time, the only girl you've fucked since you were born is leaving" he laughed again. "Good luck, man."
Edward rolled his eyes.
"What are you guys laughing about?" Emmett asked.
"About how Chelsea left and abandoned Edward" replied Jasper.
"That was a good one" Rosalie chuckled as she held the straw of her drink with her lips.
"Go fuck yourselves, all of you. You shouldn't be laughing at my heartbreak; you're supposed to be my friends."
"Friends or not, Edward..." he was interrupted by Alice "That was funny. Besides, friends are supposed to laugh at you, in your face."
"Fuck you" he muttered and plopped down on the couch.
.
.
.
Edward had hinted at having sex with her and she was dying to say yes but had to resist because, according to Charlie, he was a womanizing, scandalous guy and she liked him too much to just have sex with him tonight or if luck was on her side, once in a while and have to be away from him. She wouldn't stand for it. Edward was too beautiful and sexy to keep her distance. She wasn't that stupid.
After tossing and turning a couple of times in bed thinking about Edward Fucking Cullen, Bella was able to sleep. She needed energy for her new job she would be starting the next day. Her boss was Riley Biers.
Asshole.
He tossed her a red uniform and urged her to get to work.
She met a nice girl named Angela who showed her how to take orders and use the cash register.
Angela was a good girl. When Riley finally left her office, Bella went to the counter and stood at the cash register practicing when she saw someone approach her.
"Hi, welcome to Paper Towns, can I help you with anything?" she murmured.
"Can you help me with a quickie in the bathroom?" said that voice. Bella looked up and rolled her eyes.
"What are you doing here, Edward?" she asked irritably and drummed her fingers on the counter.
"I came to visit you on your first day of work" Edward waggled his glorious eyebrows. She rolled her eyes again. "Do you have a tic or some shit like that?"
That was exasperating him. Why, in God's name, did she have to be rolling her eyes all the time? Edward didn't like that, not at all. He wanted Bella to roll her eyes when he was kissing her, not now when he wanted to be nice to start his flirting tactic. Bella wasn't giving him a chance.
"No, I don't have a tic" That was bad. Edward would rather she had a tic than be rolling her eyes at him all the time. With a tic, he still had a chance to dream and say that he actually liked her and that she drove him crazy. "Get out of here...you're distracting me."
"Oh, come on Swan! Stop being such a suck-up."
"Idiot."
"I'm looking for something different" Bella frowned. "In this town, all the girls are the same. Only you fit the criteria."
"What criteria?" He shrugged.
"Attractive, seventeen, single..." Bella laughed. She wasn't supposed to laugh. "Well, usually you get something for saying this sort of thing but apparently there's no discount here so...I guess...How about I stop by your place tonight...? Or something like that."
Bella raised her eyebrows and laughed. Edward noticed that Bella had a cute, infectious laugh.
"You're not going to give up, are you?" she asked.
"Do I look like the type to give up?" he asked back.
"No."
"You learn fast, Bella" then, Edward winked at her, and Bella felt like dying.
"Why do you have to be such a pain in the ass, Edward?" Bella rested her elbows on the bar and a little cleavage managed to throw Edward off. God, he was a horny pubescent.
"Oh, believe me! I haven't even started to be one" he muttered. He slowly walked away without taking his eyes off her.
Finally, he turned around and walked towards the door with a determined stride. Bella looked down at her notebook and began scribbling with her pen, a smile plastered on her face. She thought about it for a moment.
"Wait, Edward!" she called him quickly. He stopped and slowly turned around. Bella regretted it again.
"Yes, Bella?"
She was regretful for calling him back, but that didn't stop her mouth from opening and saying:
"My dad has night shift" Edward's eyes sparkled, full of confidence, victory, and mockery.
"I'll be there, Bella" he assured convinced in a soft, slow voice. Before turning around, he gave her another wink.
«What did I do?»
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.
.
Edward spent the night at Alice's house, as did the rest of them, and when they woke up, after noon, he went home. After taking a shower and staying in his pajamas, he picked up his guitar and sat down on the floor.
He cleared his throat and strummed the strings. A beautiful melody filled the atmosphere, then he closed his eyes and without taking his fingers off the strings, he thought of his father and opened his mouth with a lump in his throat.
You have a way to get to me easily
And when you take, you take the best of me.
So I start a fight 'cause I need to feel something.
And you do what you want because I'm not what you wanted.
You never cared one bit, but I cried... I cried for you.
And I know you wouldn't have told anyone if I died
If I died for you...
A dull knock on the door interrupted him.
"Come in" Edward answered, and the door slowly opened.
"Good song, Edward" Esme smiled at him. "Your father and I are waiting for you in the dining room. Come" she nodded her head. Edward cleared his throat.
"Carlisle is here? And he wants to eat? He wants to eat with me?"
"Don't be like that" Esme smiled. "Your dad hasn't done anything bad to you.." she started as usual and as always, Edward thought, «Just ruin my life». "Go on, come eat" and with that, she said goodbye and closed the door.
Then, Edward put the guitar aside and with a huff walked out of his room.
Carlisle and Esme decided to have a quality family meal. They spent it talking to each other while Edward sat next to them stirring the food. Now that he could see it, he was dying of sleep and even had a bit of a hangover. Carlisle was putting him to sleep with his talk.
"...But Dr Gerandy helped me at the last minute and came with the gynecologist and pediatrician..."
Blah, blah, blah. He opened and closed his jaw making his head hurt more.
"And Edward?" he looked up when Esme called him. At what point had Carlisle stopped talking? "Are you ready to start classes?"
What?
"I'm always ready" he rolled his eyes. "Plus it's still too far away."
"No, it's 11 days away...You start on the 24th, remember." Carlisle said as he drank from his wine.
No shit. Way to engage him in conversation.
"Oh, right" he shook his head. "I almost forgot," he said sarcastically, but his parents didn't understand sarcasm, so Carlisle smiled at him. A smile that made Edward's stomach turn.
Was that the only talk they could have with him? Apparently yes because they didn't even know the damn things he liked. They only talked to him when they decided to spend quality time with their perfect family, like now; when Carlisle played daddy, on holidays, and when they were yelling at him because he was late and drunk coming home.
Really?
That started happening from the first time he came home drunk at fifteen and after yelling at him and rubbing it in his face that he was an unwanted child.
Duh, he already knew that.
And blaming him for wrecking Esme's uterus or something.
Thanks.
That day, Edward rolled his eyes at them and locked himself in his room.
And deep inside he had been hurt by that. He was still waiting for the apologies that had never come, and what pissed him off the most was that three days later they acted as if they hadn't said that shit to him. Motherfuckers.
That wasn't what parents were supposed to do.
Edward got up from his chair and left without saying anything.
He wanted to kick his own ass for remembering that day like he gave a shit about what happened.
«You do care, and it hurts!», welcome inner voice.
He slammed his bedroom door, hit play on his music, turned up the volume, closed his eyes and concentrated on the melodies. Then, he fell asleep.
After two hours, he woke up in a better mood, saw his cell phone and had a message from Jessica.
Hi, Ed. My parents won't be at my house tonight. Would you like to come over?
Ugh, God. He didn't answer her, besides, he had better sex work to do.
He changed out of his pajamas, which Carlisle had criticized him for still wearing at 3:00 in the afternoon, into black pants, a white T-shirt, and his leather jacket, put on his old black Converse and was ready to go. He wanted Bike Girl to see what she was missing.
He grabbed his cell phone and the keys to the Volvo, Carlisle had given it back to him because he was a softy, and went downstairs.
Esme was sitting in the living room reading a magazine and Carlisle was nowhere to be seen. He laughed inwardly. Family time was over.
He didn't say goodbye to Esme and walked past her toward the garage. He got into the Volvo and drove toward Paper Towns.
He needed to see Bella.
Bella hadn't been making it easy on him and he really wanted her in her bed. Well, in her bed because no one was ever going to be in Edward Fucking Cullen's bed. Edward Fucking Cullen wasn't like that.
Edward walked out of Paper Towns with a renewed confidence and joy was allying his pores. Bella Good Ass Swan would forget her name tonight.
His cell phone vibrated in his pocket; it was a message from Jessica.
Ed, are you coming or not?
He texted back.
No.
Just like that. If she started asking him why he wasn't there he was going to block her.
Unfortunately, there was no one to hang out with for the rest of the afternoon, so he went home and finished writing that song.
.
.
.
He parked his car outside Bella's house and hurried to ring the doorbell.
Bella opened the door; her hair was wet, and her breathing was labored. She was wearing tight yoga pants and a Seahawks T-shirt. Sweeeeet. He made a mental note to comment on that later.
He greeted her and walked in uninvited.
Bella walked into the living room and Edward slowly followed her. Watching everything around her and ogling her svelte ass sheathed in those light, supple pants.
He was fine with that.
He tried to make small talk to her with shit like "How are you?" and shit and put a hand on her knee.
That's when the shitty situation started.
.
.
.
Bella spent the entire time in Paper Towns thinking about what she had said to Edward. She had screwed up. It seemed like she was willing to sleep with him, but she wasn't...well yes she had been.
When he said that, she thought about it and came to consider it. She wanted to try a little adrenaline in this town but now that she thought about it...she had already regretted it...again.
She liked Edward enough to keep him around but apparently, his words of the afternoon had changed that a bit.
So she would tell him no and hope he would stay long enough to talk about stupid things and trap him more so he would stay close to her.
It was selfish, but Edward was too much and dangerously sexy.
When she got home she took a shower and a couple of minutes later, Edward arrived. The boy was impatient. Bella's legs trembled.
"Hello," she greeted him with bated breath.
"Hello," he smiled at her and came in.
"So... Bella how are you?" he asked and put a hand on her knee.
"I really don't think you care" she answered him, and Edward laughed.
"I really don't" he brought his hand up slowly and Bella swatted him away.
"Listen, Edward… Maybe this afternoon my words were confusing but...actually I won't sleep with you. I only said that so you would come and talk and wait for either of us to say something smart."
"Oh, shit" Edward mused. "But...we're already here, aren't we?"
"Yeah but...I don't even know you well enough and...well..." Bella stopped her verbal vomit when he opened his mouth.
"Hhmm… Well, Edward Cullen, 17, Gemini, I'm on the football team. Spartan at heart, no siblings, my dad's a doctor and my mom's a lawyer and...ehh...I love the Seahawks." Edward brought a hand to his shirt and shook it. Bella smiled, "and I like music, quite a bit."
Bella giggled.
"I didn't mean that but...thanks for that. I forgot that Forks High was Home of the Spartans.
"Come on, Bella, I don't know you well enough" he scoffed. This was the second time Edward was going out of his way to get to know someone, the first being Chelsea.
You could say Chelsea had been his first girlfriend...although not too formal.
"Ehh...Bella Swan, 17, Virgo. I don't have any siblings; my mom is kind of…" she frowned. "She works at a daycare, but I don't know what she does, she was never with me, so I came to Forks, and I like music and reading and...that's it."
"Interesting" he feigned enthusiasm.
"You're an idiot, Edward."
"Yeah, I get that a lot." Edward scratched his chin trying to find another question. "What music do you like? Besides Swift Girl...I already know that" he leaned back against the backrest and swung his feet up onto the coffee table.
And that was how the friendship with Edward Cullen began. With trivia questions, football team t-shirts, zodiac signs and with a couple of songs Edward played on his phone.
.
.
.
Bella had gotten his hopes up and then dropped him...hard. He was upset with her for the hard time she had given him but then he thought a little about what she had told him. That was actually okay, wasn't it? He meant that Bella was hot enough to frequent her often and it would be much better if he tried to get to know her.
So he let it go...a little. Edward just wanted to make out with Bella Swan, and she hadn't budged. He hoped to take her before school started at the latest, but the bitch didn't hint at anything and when he did she'd say, "very soon". He was sure he was already dreaming of her pretty words.
«Very soon»
In girl language what the fuck does "very soon" mean! An hour, a day, a week, a year, five years, a lifetime?!
He was desperate.
He ran his hands through his hair, frustrated, and picked up his phone. He searched his contact list but there was no one interesting, then remembered that Rosalie was available. Going to talk and watch movies was fine, it was kind of fun, plus he hoped Rose would be good company this time.
Arriving at the blonde's house, he parked and knew that Rosalie's parents weren't there, without another thought, he entered through the back door of the huge house and went straight to Rose's room.
The whole house was silent, and he walked slowly until he met the door. He opened it slowly and looked inside. The large window was covered by the curtain, soft and slow music was playing, and Rosalie was among the blankets.
"Hale?" he called out to her in a whisper, and she quickly turned around.
"What are you doing here?" she asked in a nasal voice. Edward closed the door behind him and walked over.
"Are you crying?"
"No" she lied and wiped her cheeks.
"What happened?"
Rosalie stepped aside and Edward entered the bed, under the covers.
"My life sucks" she wailed and clung to him.
Jesus.
Edward was completely disoriented; it had been so long since he had seen someone cry like that, and he didn't know what to do. He wasn't good with emotions though he always tried to help and heal broken hearts even if he had one.
"Tell me what's wrong."
"It's all true...the rumors about mom and dad...he's a fucking alcoholic I hate, and she keeps allowing it.
Edward felt like he was being kicked in the stomach and Rosalie was falling apart.
"D-did he do something to her?" he asked shakily.
"Not this time but that's still sad."
"What can I do to help you?"
"Nothing...even I can't do it" Rosalie wiped away her tears and tried to calm herself. Edward looked at her. Rosalie was still beautiful even with tears in her eyes, but she shouldn't have them. Why couldn't he bear all the suffering of his friends?
"It's going to be okay" he repeated what he had been telling himself for years. "Stop worrying about things you can't change; you'll be miserable if you keep doing it. They don't really want to screw you."
"But they do."
Edward pursed his lips.
"That's true."
"Just like they screw you too."
"Ehh... don't get in there" she let out a soft chuckle.
"I'm sorry, very sorry you saw this" She propped herself up on one elbow and looked at him. Edward half smiled wistfully.
"Don't worry about it...I've seen worse things."
"Like what?" she arched an eyebrow. Edward chuckled softly. «Like my reflection in the mirror.»
"Some out there" he snipped.
"Well, then I guess I feel less shitty."
"Me too" he smiled at her and Rosalie moved closer. She rested her forehead against his in a playful act.
"Thank you, Cullen. Thanks for always being here."
"Yeah, I guess that's how cool I am." Rose laughed again and pulled away a little.
"I love you," her breath hit his face. Edward squeezed her even tighter. Hell, he loved her too.
"And I love you too" he answered her in a low voice.
And then it happened.
Slowly they shortened the closeness between their faces even more and pressed their lips together.
First slowly, softly, hesitantly. Then fast, determined. Edward pulled her even closer to him and Rosalie tugged his hair. Edward buried his tongue in her mouth and placed a hand on the back of her neck to draw her even closer. A faint moan escaped their mouths, then they pulled away with bated breaths.
They didn't love each other that way but if they closed their eyes and did it again it seemed as if nothing had changed at all, as if the kiss hadn't happened. So they did it again, for the rest of the night.