W.W.B.D? Part 2
Title: W.W.B.D? 2/2
Rating: PG-13 for language
Summary: Bella, home from Dartmouth for Thanksgiving, confronts the Cullens after her breakup with Edward.
Warning: None
Disclaimer: SMeyer owns. I borrow the characters and make them cooler.
I hated lying to Charlie--I really did---but if he knew who I was planning to meet that afternoon, he would have insisted on staying home and any hope of attaining closure with the Cullens would have been hindered. They would only come back again if Charlie scared them away this time.
Besides, I’d relied on other people to fight for me for too long. The Cullens expected to see the weak, spineless girl they’d known a year ago. The best thing I could do was face them down on my own.
Alice had emailed me that morning that they were in town, and would love to see me at their old house. I had emailed her back promptly that I would rather meet at my house (I wasn’t about to let them have the home advantage over me.) That morning, I told Charlie I was feeling a little under the weather and would be staying in all day. He made me leftover turkey soup, kissed my head, and said to call or page him at the station if I needed anything.
I watched him drive away with a combination of relief, guilt and affection. When the Cullens were gone for good, then I’d think of a way to tell him about this meeting. Until then, I didn’t see the point of upsetting him by telling him my real plans for the day.
I made my bed and showered, dreading hearing the doorbell ring any second. Although knowing Alice, it was more likely I’d come downstairs and they’d all be sitting on the couch, having invited themselves in.
I was rummaging for a clean shirt--yesterday’s turkey-induced inertia had made me procrastinate on doing my laundry--when I found one that one of my roommate, Veronica, had given me at Halloween. I hadn’t had a costume and I’d admitted to her that I used to have a “thing” for vampires, and so she’d thrown a black T-shirt with white letters spelling “W.W.B.D?” at me.
I’d asked her what it meant, and after a moment of stunned silence, she’d explained. And she had insisted that I take her Buffy Season One DVDs home with me as well, so I could “enlighten myself to the Tao of the Buffster.”
I smiled and slipped the shirt on over a fairly-clean pair of jeans. I was surprised how much I’d enjoyed the first season episodes, and I could now understand the philosophy behind the T-shirt. I hoped I had learned enough from Buffy to face my past.
I was just heading downstairs when I heard the doorbell, and for a minute all I wanted to do was run back upstairs and hide. I saw three silhouettes against the front door window, and I knew this was it. There was nothing to do now but face them.
Putting on what I hoped was a brave face, I opened the door. Carlisle and Esme, clad in impeccably clean ivory silk suits, beamed at me as if nothing whatsoever had changed since last May. Alice appeared from behind them in a whirl of periwinkle ruffles and hugged me, knocking me three steps backwards into the house.
“It’s so good to see you again, Bella!” she squealed in my ear. I winced and tried to extract myself from her crushing embrace--I was going to have bruises if she didn’t let go.
“Alice, let her go,” Esme said gently, stepping in after her. Alice pouted but released me, and I forced a smile as she looked me over.
“That shirt is horrible,” she said, wrinkling her nose. “We’re going shopping the minute you come back to France with us.”
My mouth dropped open, and even Carlisle looked a bit hesitant.
“Now, Alice, Bella hasn’t agreed to anything yet,” he said. “Let’s all sit down and talk this over.”
His calm demeanour made me remember why I’d always felt more comfortable around him than any of them--even Edward--and so I gestured them towards the kitchen table. Esme and Carlisle sat down, but Alice insisted on perching on the counter with her feet resting on the seat of a chair.
“It’s...good to see you,” I said, my mouth dry with nerves. I was lying, but it was all I could think to say. “I...really didn’t expect to see you again.” And I wish I never had to.
“We know Rose informed you about our visit,” Esme replied, folding her hands on the tabletop as though we were just chatting over lunch. “I thought she might. But please understand, we’re not here to force you into any decision.”
Oh, really? said the cynical part of me that came from knowing how these people--no, these vampires--worked all too well. Still, I kept my expression as neutral as possible.
“First of all, Edward said to tell you he doesn’t mind about his mother’s ring being ruined,” Carlisle began. “He was a little surprised with how you decided to break off the engagement, but, well,” and here he actually chuckled, “he said he’s willing to wait for you to change your mind.”
I wanted to break something over Carlisle’s perfectly-groomed head. And for the first time in a long time, I wished Edward was there just so I could curse him out to his face and tell him what he could do with his insufferably patronizing attitude.
Carlisle must have noticed my face twitching, because he patted my hand with his freezing marble one. I jerked my hand back at the sensation.
“Bella, please understand that none of us hold any of it against you,” he said gently. “You are a very human girl. You’re prone to fits of irrationality. We were as surprised as Edward when you cancelled the wedding--”
“And we had to uninvite a lot of people,” Alice interrupted, her chin on her fists. “The Volturri were not amused, and neither were our friends in Spain, and I still have the wedding dress--”
“Yes, we know, Alice,” Esme said, with a hint of irritation. “The timing was a bit inconvenient, but that’s what happened.” She smiled apologetically at me. “Alice is taking this rather hard, being the wedding planner and all. But everything can be re-scheduled and re-organized if you change your mind.”
I closed my eyes, wanting to slump to the ground and cry. They weren’t letting me have any say whatsoever, just like they’d always done. Taking control of my own life was interpreted as “irrational,” and they had taken the first opportunity to rush back into it and try to make me re-consider what had been the wisest decision I’d ever made.
The more I thought about it, the angrier I became. How dare they pounce the moment I was back in town? How dare they ignore how controlling and possessive Edward had been, and refuse to give any consideration to the fact that maybe I wasn’t entirely to blame? How dare they treat me like this?
My head snapped up, and suddenly I had an idea of exactly what Buffy would do in a situation like this.
“I’m not going to change my mind, Esme,” I stated coldly. “My mind is just as made up now as it was when I broke up with Edward. I’m happy now. I’m going to school, and I have new friends, and--”
Alice tittered. “Oh, Bella! You can still go to college as a vampire! I got all my degrees after I was turned!”
I whirled on her. “Shut up, you obnoxious little pixie twat!”
She nearly fell off the counter. “Bella!”
Carlisle frowned at me. “Bella, I think you should apologize.There’s no need to lash out at Alice.”
I hadn’t meant to resort to name-calling, but it felt damn good.I smiled sweetly at Alice.
“Alice, I’m so sorry that the best decision I ever made meant you had to dis-invite a few human-hungry monsters from coming to town. I’m also sorry that you’re so obsessed with weddings that you didn’t even think to give away or send back my dress. Who keeps a custom-made wedding dress that wouldn’t even fit anyone else?”
Alice sniffed haughtily, a sound that set my teeth on edge. “Well, of course we were all hoping it was just a temporary setback.”
“A temporary setback?” My voice climbed higher in rage. “I don’t want to get married! I really don’t want to marry Edward! I am free to decide who I marry and when, and no amount of trying to guilt me is going to change my mind!”
The silence that greeted my outburst was very satisfying. I knew they’d never seen me this angry before, but I knew one of them was bound to say something eventually.
“Just so we’re absolutely clear,” I said, before any of them could regain the power of speech, “I am not in love with Edward anymore. I don’t think I ever really was. I was head over heels for his looks and his weird vampiric allure, or whatever you call it, and the fact that his family was filthy rich. None of those are good enough reasons to marry someone. And I was such a depressed and lonely person back then that I obsessed over him. I neglected my family and hardly bothered living my life at all unless he was around. Again, not a good reason to marry somebody.”
“Add the fact that he’s a controlling, emotionally abusive douchebag so closeted that he lives in the garage of latent homosexuality, and I’d say we weren’t exactly a match made in heaven.”
I added that last part in my best imitation of Buffy’s dry, matter-of-fact tone. It came out rather well, I thought, and the looks on Esme and Carlisle’s faces were priceless.
Alice only looked perplexed. “What’s a douchebag?”
“You should know, you married one,” I said offhandedly. “I heard all about you wanting Jasper to brainwash me. Anyway, if all you guys came to do was waste my time talking about what a stupid little human I am for rejecting your precious Edward, you can leave. Immediately. Before I call my father and tell him you’re stalking me.”
“Bella, no one’s stalking you!” Carlisle protested. “We only wanted to make you understand that you may have made a mistake in calling off the wedding.”
“Edward was devastated, Bella,” Esme chimed in, rising from her chair. “We’ve never seen him so upset, not even that time when he almost let himself be exposed in Volterra. He wanted to spend forever with you, and, to be honest, you threw it back in his face.”
I snorted. “First of all, he never wanted to spend forever with me. I was obsessed with becoming a vampire, and I kind of really wanted to have sex into the bargain. It was his idea to slap a ‘not before marriage’ clause on both. I made a choice, yes, but it was the wrong choice and I changed my mind. He didn’t respect that. I even filed a restraining order against him, and if he still doesn’t think I’m serious, that’s his problem. I’m happy with my life now, and I don’t need him in it. I don’t want him in it. Or any of you, for that matter.”
The last bit was inaccurate--I had nothing against Rose or Emmett, but I could happily go the rest of my natural lifespan without seeing these three, Jasper or Edward ever again. Just as I was about to tell them one last time to leave, the phone rang.
Sighing, I picked it up, turning my back on the Cullens.
“Hello?”
“Bella, what the hell?” came Leah’s extremely agitated voice. “Sam and Jacob and Seth and I have been phasing since this morning! Everyone thinks there are vampires back in town! I thought you said no more drama!”
I ground my teeth in self-reproach when I remembered the werewolves’ reaction to vampires. Damn it!
“Leah, I am so, so sorry,” I said in a whisper. “It wasn’t my idea. Esme and Carlisle and Alice are here trying to get me to take Edward back, but I’ve been telling them no. I’ll get them out of here as soon as I can. Just--please don’t tell Jacob.”
Leah let out a growly sigh. “If they’re not gone by tonight, I’m telling him. This is your warning.”
I nodded. It was more than I deserved for my thoughtlessness. “Thanks, Leah.”
“You’re really not into bloodsuckers anymore?” she said suspiciously. I almost grinned.
“Definitely not. I called Edward a douchebag to their faces.”
She let out a shout of laughter. “Awesome! Well done.” Her voice flattened. “Now get them out of here.”
I nearly saluted. “Will do. Bye.” I hung up and turned around to find them all looking at me as if I’d just been cleaning out the garbage disposal.
“That was Leah Clearwater,” I said, even though they’d likely heard every word. “The Quileutes are phasing because you’re back, and you have to be gone before tomorrow.”
Esme scoffed, Carlisle looked unimpressed, and Alice tossed her head.
“We’re not in the habit of taking orders from dogs,” she sniffed. “Anyway, our hotel is paid through the week.”
I stared at her.
“Get the fuck out of my house and out of my town, right now,” I said at last. “If any of you so much as set foot in Forks again, I’ll have Charlie arrest you all. That goes double for Edward.”
They stared back at me, and just as I was about to lose it completely, Carlisle gestured to Esme and Alice and nodded towards the back door.
“We’re very sorry about all of this, Bella,” he said formally as Esme and Alice went out first, glancing at me over their shoulders. “I hope you understand the consequences of your decision.”
I smirked at him. “More than you know, Dr. Acula.”
He blinked at me, nodded stiffly and left. The sight of their tacky rental Porsche driving away from my house made me almost weak-kneed with relief, followed closely by a feeling of absolute glee. They were gone! It was over! And I’d done it all by myself!
The phone rang again, and I jumped for it.
“It’s okay, Leah, I got them to leave. I told them never to come back or I’d have Charlie arrest them,” I babbled into the phone.
“Isabella Marie,” came a masculine voice that was definitely not Leah’s. “I take it this means you knew the Cullens were back in town?”
I gulped.
“I can explain, Charl--Dad,” I said meekly. “It’s not what you think. I didn’t agree to get back together with Edward, and they didn’t convince me to.”
He made a surprised sound. “Really? Well, we can talk more when I get home. I’m assuming you’ve made a full recovery?”
I nodded. “I’m sorry I lied to you. I just wanted to do this on my own. I needed to show them I was stronger.”
His voice softened a little. “You’re stronger than anyone I know, kiddo. Now go to your room and stay there until I get back.”
I smiled a little. “Okay, Dad.”
He hung up, and I went upstairs with my heart lighter than it had been in months. I looked down at the abbreviation on my shirt, and grinned.
Sorry, Veronica. I was definitely keeping this shirt.
The End