“I don't know what the fuck to do, Ange. I tried to fix it, tried to tell him the truth, but I clammed up.” I drop my spoon in my cup and swirl it around harder than necessary. Angela agreed to have breakfast with me at the diner, and I'm grateful yet again for her friendship.
“Well, it's a start. You haven't even told me, and we talk all the time now.” Her brow arches as she looks at me before digging in to her eggs.
“Is that a not so subtle hint that you want more information about me?” She doesn't respond. “Hi, my name is Isabella Marie Swan, I'm twenty-one and single. I have three years of college under my belt, where I was studying to be a pharmacist. In order to protect those around me, I broke my high school boyfriend’s heart and put his older brother in jail, which has made me the number one enemy in this town."
“You don't have to do this.”
“My mother was murdered three weeks ago, and I know who did it, but I can't prove it or even talk about it, because the killer is dangerous, Angela. Deadly. And now I'm stuck here, waitressing at the Dead End, because irony.”
“Bella.” She reaches across the table, placing her hand over mine. “Honestly, I let it go after the first day. I see what it's doing to you, and I don't want to contribute to your misery.”
“I appreciate that, I do. I want to tell you, I want to tell Edward. Hell,I want to stand in Forks Square and shout to anybody passing by what's really going on. Nobody would believe me, of course.” I snort indelicately and start in on my own breakfast.
Angela leans in. “Are you telling me there's a criminal element here, in Forks?” she asks in an undertone.
I nod my head while keeping eye contact. “It's deep, and it's spread to other cities. I'm somehow in debt to the boss, and I'm stuck doing his dirty work. I'm so sick of it, Ange. I can't go to the police because he owns them, so where does that leave me?”
She shakes her head. “I never knew all this. Speaking of the police, have you spoken to your dad?”
I stay silent for a minute while the waitress comes by and refills our coffee. “I haven't. It’s his fault that I got involved in this four years ago, and his threats that brought me back here and into this mess last month.”
“Do you… do you know what he said about you when you left? I'm starting to wonder if it was a lie, now that I've spent time with you.” I try to read the emotion in her dark eyes, but I'm coming up with nothing.
“I know that it was leaked that I testified, despite it supposedly being a closed hearing. I know that what I did was wrong, but I didn't have a choice. However, to explain all of that I would have to point fingers at the criminals, and that puts us all in danger.”
“Well, he, uh, he said you set Emmett up to take the fall. He said you were only with Edward to get to Emmett.” I gasp loudly, clapping my hand over my mouth. “That you were jealous of Rosalie and wanted to punish them both, putting him in a position to lose her.”
Tears leak from under my closed eyelids, my fingers trembling over my mouth. “My own father,” I croak, grasping blindly for my napkin. "I knew he was a bastard, but to even bother to spread that lie..."
“I'm sorry, Bella. I thought he was telling the truth, all these years. Everyone in town believes it, it explains you breaking up with Edward and ditching town.”
“But how does he explain Emmett still being in jail if I lied and he knows it? Why doesn't he just say it wasn't true and get him out?”
“He said that he tried, but Emmett was caught in the stolen car. He said it was your doing, that you set him up to steal the car for you.”
“That makes no sense, Angela. First, I was never interested in Emmett. I was happy for him when he and Rosalie eloped, even though Edward was worried about her. I-I did turn Emmett in, technically. I called the sheriff”s office and told them I'd seen him driving the car. But not for any of those reasons. For the same reasons I left, and broke Edward, and I'm now doing what I'm doing.”
She lowers her gaze, and I watch a blush creep up her face. “I believed him. He's our police chief, and I thought he was an honest man. I'm understanding now that I was wrong, but you have to tell Edward. You see, he still believes Charlie. He'll never stop hating you if you don't explain.”
“But why should he believe me?” I hiss. “He has no reason to trust me or anything I say.” I throw my napkin on the table and dig money out of my wallet.
“He and Ben are friends,” she blurts. “Let me ask Ben to talk to him first. He can make him see that it's stupid of us to think you'd ever do such things.”
Standing there, staring at the only friend I have right now, I'm completely overwhelmed and confused. Should I drag her husband into this mess, as one more person to add to the list of potential casualties? She stands and hugs me, speaking low in my ear. “Let me do this for you, Bella. As a way to make up for believing the worst of you.”
As she pulls away, I nod. Maybe I can get the whole story out, and maybe he'll believe me. I leave the diner with mixed emotions.
It's several days later that I’m shocked by Angela telling me that Ben has talked with Edward, and he would like to meet with me. I told her to have him come over to the apartment, hoping that with the privacy, I can explain things truthfully to him without interruptions.
There's a knock on my door as I’m straightening up the room, and I feel the nervousness build as I think about Edward being in my apartment. Smoothing my sweaty palms over my jeans, I quickly make my way to the door and pull it open. Only it isn't Edward standing on the other side, it's Jacob and my father. I could hear crickets if I tried hard enough, that's how much silence greets their arrival. Glancing at the clock, I wonder if Edward is actually coming, and if he'll run into them if he does. I don't want these worlds to ever mix.
“Isabella,” Charlie inclines his head as he acknowledges my presence. How fortunate I am to have such a loving, demonstrative father.
Jacob is not so subtle, pushing his way by me as I stand frozen in shock. “I was so disappointed in you when I heard you hadn't contacted your father since returning to Forks.” He runs his fingers along my belongings, and a feeling of revulsion washes over me. His very presence makes me nauseated.
“I've been busy,” I force out around my fear.
Charlie accompanies Jacob into my home, circling around and looking at everything. “Why didn't you simply come back to the house? There was no reason to pay for a place.”
“Are- are you serious? After all the things you've done, you think I'd move back in with you?” I spit out, stepping away from the door without thinking to close it.
I don't see Jacob as he comes up behind me, yanking my head back by my hair. I cry out in terror more than pain, knowing from experience exactly what he's capable of. “That's not how you talk to either of us,” he growls in my face. “You need to step up your game at Dead End, or I'll call in that favor Charlie owes me.”
“Don't know why you didn't just agree, anyway. He's got money, power, he ain't ugly,” Charlie laughs.
“Because he's a monster!” I scream up into Jacob's face. He jerks me roughly, and I see stars at the way my scalp stings as he pulls a few strands out. “Let me go!” I spit in his face, watching in sick satisfaction as it lands wetly on his cheek. He shoves me and I fall to the floor, skittering into my dresser. He wipes his face with his sleeve before advancing on me, his height more intimidating than ever as he looms. My heart pounds unevenly in my chest, and I hear his boots like gunfire as they clunk across the hardwood. Charlie just stands there, looking like he wants to join in. He always did enjoy throwing Mom around.
“What the fuck is going on here?” the impassive voice comes from the doorway, and I've never been more thankful to hear it. Both Jacob and Charlie straighten up, though neither looks particularly worried.
“She fell, and I was helping her up,” Jacob grits out between teeth clamped hard together.
“That's not what it sounded like from the stairs. You should know I've already contacted the authorities,” he says, looking pointedly at Charlie.
Charlie laughs, unfazed. “Maybe you've forgotten, boy. I am the law in this town.”
Edward bares his teeth, and if I didn't know him better, I'd be afraid. “I didn't say the local authorities. I called the sheriff, Chief Swan.”
Both men suddenly look worried, and they move toward the door to leave. Jacob can't resist as he stops with his hand on the frame. “Work, Isabella. Tomorrow night.”
With that, they leave, and Edward slams and locks the door behind him. I'm completely alone with him for the first time in years, only I can't tell what he's thinking as he looks down at me with fury painted on his features.
Oh man! I have to wait one week for Edward and Bella to hopefully have the talk and explain everything. I have a feeling Edward heard a lot more and it seems like he has figure it out.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to next update. Thank you Lara. :)
Thank you for commenting on the blog! He's got a big chunk of it figured out, but he's still not sure what roll Jake plays.
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