Wednesday
Picture 2
KekahJ's Choice: Picture 2
Title:
“Bella,” Jane called. “I’m leaving. Are you coming?”
Bella sighed and closed her eyes, pulling the covers over her head.
“Bella!” Jane’s voice was impatient now. Bella heard her footsteps drawing near. “What the hell? What are you doing?” Jane rounded the corner and stood in Bella’s room. Bella could hear the toe of her high heeled shoe tapping impatiently.
“Sorry, Jane,” Bella murmured from under the blanket.
Suddenly the blanket was yanked from Bella’s grasp, light flooding her vision, making her blink.
“Why aren’t you ready?” Jane demanded.
Bella sighed and pushed herself up into a sitting position. “I’m not going. I don’t feel good.”
“Bullshit,” Jane barked. “It’s him again, isn’t it?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “Dammit, Bella, this is ridiculous. You need to work. Forget about him.”
Bella sighed again and flopped back down on her pillow. “I know. I can’t. I’m sorry, Jane, I just need some time. Please.” Her voice was a whisper and she felt tears pricking the corners of her eyes. She hated herself for crying over him.
Jane’s expression turned sympathetic. “Okay, honey.” She leaned over and stroked Bella’s hair. “Just stay home and rest tonight. It’ll be fine. You’ll feel better soon.”
Bella nodded but didn’t say anything. Jane leaned in and kissed her forehead and Bella smiled. Without another word, Jane stood and left. Bella heard the door close and she was alone again. She tried to take a deep breath, but didn’t seem to be able to fill her lungs with enough air to feel comfortable. For two days it had felt as if there was a crushing weight on her chest. It was over. It was really over. She knew now that she had to face that fact. The past few weeks had been like a fairy tale, but now the dream was over and she needed to come back to reality.
She thought back to two nights ago when she’d decided to show up at his place uninvited. He always told her that one of the things he loved about her was her spontaneity. But when he’d opened the door to find her standing on his doorstep, his face grew hard and she’d known right away she’d made a mistake.
“Bella,” he said, his voice barely a whisper as he tried to close the door as much as possible to keep her from seeing inside, but it was too late.
“Edward?” A woman’s voice called from inside.
Bella’s face fell and she felt her cheeks growing red. “I’m sorry, I just, I--” she stammered almost incoherently.
“Bella wait--” he called.
She was already racing down the stairs to the lobby, wishing she’d never come, wishing she’d never met Edward Cullen. The next day he called her, but she avoided his calls. She didn’t want to hear what he had to say, she already knew what he had to say. It wasn’t like she had any room to be angry with him. What kind of a hypocrite would she be?
Suddenly, she regretted her decision to stay home. With a huff, she threw the covers back and stood. She caught her reflection in the mirror. Had she lost weight? Her already small figured seemed somehow smaller. She sighed and made a note to herself to eat something before she left. She glanced at the clock on her bedside table and decided she didn’t have time for a shower. Instead, she headed to her closet, pulling on the first thing her fingers found.
Minutes later, she was walking down the street, high heels clicking on the concrete as she made her way to where she knew Jane would be.
“Jane!” she called, running the last few steps to catch up with her roommate.
“Bella!” Jane cried as she turned toward her. “You came!” The two girls embraced and Bella felt better already. “It’s been slow so far, but I think things will pick up. I’m so glad you changed your mind.”
Bella stepped back and nodded. “You were right. He’s not worth crying over.” She felt a tiny, painful tug somewhere in her chest as she said the words, but she ignored it.
It wasn’t long before Jane climbed into a passing car and was gone, leaving Bella alone. She leaned against the side of a building and felt her stomach growl. She cursed herself as she remembered that she’d forgotten to eat. She wondered if she could grab something before it got too much later. As she contemplated what to eat, a car slowed to a stop in front of her. She smiled as the driver rolled down his window. He grinned at her. He was decent looking; long blond hair pulled back into a ponytail. The car was nice. She’d definitely seen worse.
“Hi,” she called as she approached the vehicle.
“How are you doing, beautiful?” he called, nodding at her. “Looking for some company?” he asked, slinging his arm casually over the passenger’s seat.
“Sure,” Bella smiled, pushing thoughts of food out of her head and switching over to the place in her mind where she went every night.
“Get in, sweetheart.” The man’s voice was smooth like honey. His teeth glinted in the dim light of his dash and Bella smiled at him again as she placed her hand on the doorknob. As she lifted the handle, she stopped. It was almost as if her hand refused to work. Puzzled, she switched hands, but she still couldn’t open the door.
“What’s wrong, darlin’?” the man asked.
Bella felt her face grow warm and felt a trickle of sweat run down her neck. What was wrong with her? She felt nauseous. Edward’s face swam before her and suddenly the idea of spending even a moment with the blond man made her so ill that she stumbled backwards away from the car. Sweating, she wretched into the gutter. The blond man shouted in disgust and his tires squealed as he peeled away from the curb. Tears streamed down Bella’s face. What was wrong with her? She made her way into the restroom of a nearby convenient store and splashed cold water on her face. Immediately she felt better, so she returned to her post.
Twice more she approached awaiting vehicles, and twice more she found herself unable to get in. Sick and weak and frustrated, she finally gave up. She took off her stilettos and walked home, the pavement cold but somehow comforting against her bare feet.
Tears blurred her vision as she approached her door. What had she gotten herself into? She thought back to her life before Edward. It hadn’t been perfect, but at least her heart hadn’t hurt like it did now. At least she’d been able to do her job. Now what the hell was she going to do?
She fumbled to fit her key into the lock, not noticing the small piece of paper that was wedged between the door and the frame. Finally, as it fluttered to the ground, it caught her eye. Heart heavy and weary, she bent down to pick it up. The paper was thick and felt expensive. It was folded in half once and when she opened it, her breath caught in her throat. She read the words over and over as she stood barefoot on her front porch.
“Bella...?”
She jumped as the voice sounded in the dark. She whirled around and her heart clenched when she saw his face as he stepped out of the shadows. A sob caught in her throat. “Is this from you?” she asked, shaking the paper at him. She knew the answer before she saw him nod. “Oh Edward,” she cried, launching herself at him. “I couldn’t do it. I don’t want to do it anymore. Please tell me that you mean it.” Her voice was desperate, and deep down she knew there was a chance that she’d misunderstood his words and that she’d be rejected again, but she didn’t care. Everything hurt, and she just wanted him to hold her.
“Oh baby.” Edward’s voice was gruff as he wrapped his arms around her, enveloping her in his warmth and scent. “That’s all I wanted to hear. I’m going to take you away from this. All of this. You don’t have to do any of that anymore. I love you.”
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