I noticed a
big storm was coming while I was driving back home. I had been so absorbed in my thoughts that I didn’t acknowledge the weather until a lightning illuminated
the top of the buildings. I was glad I was almost at home; we had fairly good
weather for the most part of the year, but that kind of storms were usually
nasty. Being so close to the sea, the wind could be quite violent, and I was
expecting the rain to pour heavily too.
I opened my
door when the first raindrops started tapping on the awning over my door.
I wasn’t
used to be at home so early, and not having Alice
I finally
opted for some ice-cream, because everybody knows that ice-cream is the
mandatory diet for girls having crappy days. I wasn’t really hungry, more like
anxious, so I guessed a sugar overdose would help.
I haven’t
heard from Edward in all day aside from a short text around noon. He wanted to
check on me and make sure I was fine after the previous night’s incident, so I
texted back assuring him I was ok and didn’t contact him again for the rest of
the day. I figured he must have been busy and worried with all the situation at
the hotel.
Once I
settled on the couch with the carton of Breyer’s triple chocolate ice-cream
determined to pig out and die happy, I couldn’t stop thinking about the
stranger’s purse. At first, I ignored it just in case it carried secrets I
didn’t want to know, but no matter what Granma Higginbotham said, things just
don’t go away if you ignore them.
Soldier up, Swan!
I placed
the ice cream carton on the coffee table, and went upstairs to bring the purse.
I glared at
the black purse for about twenty minutes, while eating the chocolaty goodness,
but in the end, I knew I would have no choice but opening it.
The storm
was hitting us full force by then, rain and thunders. It wasn’t a common thing
having that kind of storms in winter, they were usually a summer treat, but
considering the previous days had been warm, and that evening the temperature
had gone down abruptly, I guessed it wasn’t something that unexpectable. I wouldn’t
have been surprised if it we had a blizzard next.
I turned on
the television, even when it wasn’t recommended during one of those storms,
just to have some background noise to keep me company.
Enough stalling, Swan! You look more like ‘Chicken’!
Bwack…bock..bock!
I huffed at
my inner bitch, and opened the purse, putting it upside down, and empting its
contents on the couch.
Lipstick,
powder compact, diary, tampons, papers, wet wipes, Kleenex, nail file, flashlight…screwdriver?
Wallet.
That was the one I was looking for.
I took a
deep breath, and opened it, looking at the licence.
Rosalie
Lilian Cullen.
Cullen?
Could she
be Edward’s wife?
Cosmo’s list of most eligible bachelors, brain box...Does it ring any
bells?
I slapped
my forehead. Of course, no wife.
She had to
be a relative, but what was the purse belonging to a resident of Vegas doing in
Atlantic City
Going on a casino rendezvous?
Hardy har
har. I was about to mental slap my inner bitch when the sound of a thunder made
the windows tremble. Then all went dark…
Great. The
last thing I needed at that moment was being alone in a dark house. I silently
prayed for the power to come back on, but after several minutes sitting in the
dark, watching as the storm glowed intermittently on the walls creating strange
shadows behind the furniture, I was starting to lose my hope. And my calm…
I blindly
reached with my hand, and started looking for the small flashlight I remembered
seeing when I emptied the purse on the coach.
That’s when
I heard the noises.
A few lighter
thumps and a thud. Several minutes of silence, and then more noises. Creaking
sounds, and what seemed like footsteps upstairs.
I went into
full panic mode. I couldn’t think clearly, I felt the urgency to run as fast as
I could.
“E…Edward…I
need help…I…”
“Are you
ok, Bella? Where are you, love? What happens?”
Edward was
frantic. I had trouble speaking because my teeth were chattering from the cold
and the nerves, but I finally managed to give him directions. He made me
promise I’d stay there, and wait for him to pick me up.
I didn’t
know how long it took for him to arrive, but it must have been fast considering
the state he was in when he got out of his car. He seemed to relax marginally
when he saw I was unharmed, but he was still very anxious as he wrapped me in
his coat, and escorted me to his car. I noticed there was another car with him,
I guessed it must have been his security guys, but I was so cold and scared that
I didn’t ask about them.
Once at the
Twilight, he left his car in the underground parking lot like the first time,
and carried me bridal style to the elevator and all the way to his suite. He
placed me gently on his couch disappearing for a few minutes.
I must have
fainted or dozed off; because I felt some tugging and pulling, and next thing I
was inside his hot tube.
The hot
water hurt, I wanted to scream as my muscles started losing their numbness. He
tried to calm me, talking gently and rubbing my limbs, till the painful
sensations went away and I started feeling the warmth.
That’s when
discomfort was followed by another feeling…
I wanted to
cry.
But not
just a child’s act to get attention, not from pain or any other feeling I could
identify, I just needed to cry. It was something oppressive, an agony that was
choking me. I knew it wasn’t going to be pretty…
Have you
ever seen a movie heroine crying? She would sob, cover her glossy eyes with her
hand, and have her moment of misery. When she’s done crying, her breathing
would slow down, she’d smile, and the sun would smile back at her.
When I
cried, it was a mess of tears, snot, and hiccups, with shrieks and babbling in
the middle, and lots of awkwardness. By the time the full force hurricane was
over, my nose would be red, my face, blotchy and swollen with bloodshot eyes,
and I’d still breathe funny, sniffing and hiccupping from time to time.
If there
was a secret to cry with dignity like the movie heroine, it wasn’t a one that
the Pink Ladies were privy to. I wondered if that was the reason that having
crying outbursts was something severely advised to be done behind closed doors
and alone.
So I cried
the only way I knew. Noisily and messily…and in Edward’s presence.
He held me
while I cried my eyes out, wiping my face with a towel from time to time,
murmuring soothing words, and caressing my hair.
At some
point I felt him slide beside me and pull me into his lap, I wasn’t really
paying attention to anything, I just wanted to weird feeling to go away.
When the
choking sensation receded, he started rocking me gently, still whispering words
of comfort, and kissing my hair until I finally could breathe evenly, and I raised my head from his shoulder.
“Edward,
what are you doing half dressed inside the hot tub?”
Shouldn’t you be asking what the heck you are doing naked on his lap, baby?
Oh, crap!
Sure enough, I was sitting stark naked on Edward’s lap; he, at least, was
wearing his jeans…inside the hot tub.
Just when I
thought the day couldn’t get any weirder…
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