shelikesthesound's Fanfic Corner

Chapter 3

~.~.~

Roulette

June 10, 2003


Jasper placed the rolled up paper between his lips. His tongue peeked out, trailing across the white parchment. Long fingers pulled it from his mouth and twisted the ends. He turned it a couple of times, checking for flaws in the wrapping. Once he was satisfied, he passed it to Edward.

“It’s her weed. She should get a hit before me,” Jasper said.

Edward nodded. He reached into his pants pocket and pulled out his lighter. Placing it to his lips, he lit the end. With a deep pull, he inhaled into his lungs. He turned toward me and held out the marijuana cigarette. I took it from him, grasping it between my thumb and index finger while bringing it to my face to take a drag. As the smoke entered my lungs, all of the hurt, anger, loneliness, and despair disappeared and floated into the atmosphere. My muscles relaxed when I held my breath. I exhaled and all was right in my world. It didn’t matter that Edward had been gone all day, causing tension in our precarious coupling. All that did matter was the high my brain was experiencing. I felt good.

I took two more puffs and passed it back to Edward, while leaning back on the sofa and closing my eyes. The release I was feeling was what I had needed all day, just a little something that guaranteed to take the edge off of my insecurities. Hell, if Alice had called while I was stoned, I could have told her off myself. It amazed me what a little weed would do for my courage.

“Feeling better, baby?” Edward asked.

I opened my eyes. Edward was sporting his mesmerizing crooked grin. I smiled back and stretched; the bones in my body had turned to jelly. A throat cleared, and I turned toward the noise. Jasper had his hand extended in my direction, waiting for me to take the joint. I took it and repeated my cycle of tokes, passing it back to Edward. Puff. Puff. Pass. The three of us continued our formation until it was gone. After it was extinguished, I offered the small roach to Jasper. He happily placed it in his cigarette pack sitting next to him on the floor.

“Listen, baby B, I know you probably don’t want to hear anything about today. But I got to tell you this one thing,” Jasper began.

“It’s fine, Jasper,” I said. “I’m over it.”

He smiled at me. “Okay, so you remember Victoria?”

“Um…yeah,” I said.

“I ran into her today, while Edward was off getting your stuff. And, god, she is looking bad.”

“Okay, so what’s the punch line?” I asked, confused.

“She had her new boyfriend with her. When she saw me, she got excited and kept trying to touch me and shit,” he said with laughter in his voice. “Her boyfriend was getting pissed and would glare at me every chance he got. Funny thing was the dude had to weigh a buck thirty wet.”

I giggled as I tried to imagine the skinny guy he was describing. Jasper is tall, like six foot, with a decent amount of muscles. There was no way the person was going to win in a fight.

“So, I’m standing there, trying to get her vampire claws out of my skin, and this idiot walks right up to me. He puts his finger on my chest and says, ‘Get your hands off my woman.’ Ha. My woman…that is priceless,” he chortled. I fell over on my side and was consumed by laughter. Edward was not faring any better. He was bent over in hysterics. I remembered the first time I met “Victoria.”

~.~.~.~

July 2002

Jasper brought Victoria over to the house after they had been dating for 3 months. My first impression of her was she was freakishly tall, and I felt like a dwarf next to her. Her bright blue eyes, long flaming red hair, and voluptuous body intimidated me. Surprisingly, though, she was very nice, and she tried, on more than one occasion, to make me feel at ease. After that night, I was glad Jasper had Victoria. I felt like maybe since he had someone too, his need to hang out with Edward constantly would diminish. I was wrong.

Three weeks later, we woke up to a loud pounding on our front door. Edward, ever the protector, went to answer it with a bat in his hand. Fifteen minutes later, Edward had still not returned. I tip-toed out of the room, hoping whatever or whoever was at the door hadn’t hurt him. The sight that met me was not what I was expecting. Jasper was sitting in the black leather recliner, with his head in his hands as he rocked back and forth. Edward had his hand on Jasper’s shoulder, occasionally giving it a pat. I furrowed my eyebrows and wondered what the hell was going on.

I cleared my throat and both men’s heads shot up. Edward grimaced. Jasper, well, he looked like someone had taken a sledgehammer to his car—the car he rebuilt himself and loved more than his own life. His face was contorted in a scowl. Anger, confusion, and self-loathing danced in the depths of his cornflower blue eyes. I gasped. I wondered what had happened to make him react that way. Edward looked in my direction and shook his head. He tried to convey in that gesture to drop it. Jasper sighed and looked at me.

“Well, I guess I better tell you, too, B. I know you and Edward have no secret. You’ll find out soon anyway,” he said, resigned.

I walked over to him. He placed his hand on my arm and led me to the couch. Turning toward me, he explained.

“Okay, so you know I’ve been seeing Victoria?” he asked. I nodded my head.

“Well, for the past three weeks, I’ve been trying to seal the deal with her,” he said.

My face got hot and turned bright red. He chuckled.

“Sorry, shouldn’t have said it like that,” he said with a small smile.

“But, well, tonight she finally decided the time was right. God, things started out great,” he mused. A faraway look graced his eyes when he paused. I waited for him to come back. A few minutes later, he shook his stupor off and apologized.

“Anyway…fuck, this is hard,” he said. His hand came up and wiped the imaginary sweat off his face.

“I told her I loved her. I’ve never said that to a woman before,” Jasper admitted. “It felt good. She was, of course, overjoyed. Said she loved me too, and that she was ready.”

“One thing led to another and…” he grimaced. “We, ah, we were groping each other.”

I looked at him confused. I still didn’t understand what the problem was. I wondered to myself if she bit him or something. Jasper let out a strangled groan.

“She fucking had a penis, okay?! The first girl I ever admitted I loved was really a man with breast implants!” he exclaimed. He bent forward and thrust his head into his hands. They pulled on the golden strands until it looked like he was going to tear them out. I reached out, taking his hands in mine. The pain in Jasper’s eyes was startling.

I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, so I sat frozen in shock. I knew how hard Jasper had had it. Alice, who he carried a torch for, acted like he didn’t exist. That time, someone who might have helped him move on from the torture was a gay man? Or was he a transvestite? A gay transvestite that could convincingly pass as a woman with her surgically enhanced breasts? Wait, maybe Victoria really preferred to be called “he”? Oh, fuck it. I let the convoluted thoughts die. They made me dizzy.

I sat next to Jasper, and he told me what had happened after the shocking reveal. ” Victoria” told him he had been born James William Kincaid, and he had always known something was different about him—he wasn’t happy until he finally started dressing like a woman and got the implants. When James/Victoria began telling him about how once the surgery to fully turn him into a woman was complete, that he/she wanted Jasper to be the first, Jasper told me he lost his shit. He confessed he was overly cruel and told him that they were through. He felt bad for the way he acted, but he rationalized it as a reaction from being lied to. Jasper reasoned he probably would not have reacted as badly if he had the facts in the beginning. It took him weeks to return to his old self, even longer to see the humor in the situation. Once he’d gotten past his pain, it had become a secret joke between the three of us.

~.~.~.~

“Oh God, dude, I needed that,” Edward chortled, while he wiped tears from his eyes. “I wondered why you looked like you wanted to leave when I came back out.”

I listened as the boys recounted their drug run in Hoquiam. The “Victoria” situation was the only messed up scenario I’d ever been involved in. Edward and Jasper, however, had tons of these stories. It seemed like their dealings into the underbelly of our quaint community provided many stories featuring the undesirables and the truly screwed up. It was a world that Edward talked about but never actually let me experience. It was another way he tried to protect me.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” I said, interrupting their conversation. “When Alice called, she invited us to your mom’s next weekend.”

Edward made a face. It was the reaction I expected. He, no doubt, figured it was another attempt by Esme to “heal” the family.

“I don’t think so, Bella,” he started. I cut him off.

“Just wait. Alice assured me that Emmett and Rosalie would not be there. She said your mom set up this dinner so she could see you.”

He squinted his eyes while he crinkled his nose, using what I called his “thoughtful face.” I bit my lip and wondered what he would decide. I was aware of not only the friction between Emmett and himself, but his father as well. Carlisle had tried to hide Edward’s trust fund from him. He had felt, at the time, Edward was not capable of managing such a large sum of money, nor had what it took to run a Fortune 500 company. His grandfather, Edward Masen, had started out in coal and had switched to communications later in life. These ventures had made him a very wealthy man.

When Edward’s grandfather had died, Carlisle and Esme had assumed most of his fortune, and the company, would go to her, his daughter. When the will was read, however, it was Edward who had inherited most of it. It left Esme, Alice, and Emmett with only five million dollars each. In the document, the reasons given were simple. He didn’t want Carlisle, who was still an alcoholic during that time, to “piss the money away on booze”. And, he thought Edward, who was his favorite grandchild, “was destined for greatness”. Thus, he would preserve the family traditions at Masen Unlimited. The company would be run by a proxy until his twenty-first birthday, and then it would transfer to him along with his trust fund.

Edward had had no clue about any of it. His family had kept the information pertaining to his trust fund and the company from him for years. It all had changed, however, not long after he turned nineteen.

~.~.~.~

May 30, 2001

I was at Edward’s house for dinner with his family. Since we still lived with our parents, we used any excuse to spend time together. Even if it meant we also had to spend time with the parental figures.

It was a typical Sunday meal, and Esme had outdone herself. Large platters of chicken, a heaping bowl of mashed potatoes, steaming dish of corn, and an overflowing basket of rolls adorned the long dining room table. Alice, Emmett, and Rosalie had also joined us. After we were seated, we tucked into the food. The occasional moan or appreciative groan interrupted the sound of forks scraping over plates. Halfway through the meal, however, Emmett brought up Alice’s inheritance. The one she was going to get next month…when she turned twenty-one.

Carlisle looked at Emmett with wide eyes as he shook his head. Immediately, Emmett ceased the conversation. The damage had been done, though, and Edward had heard, piquing his curiosity.

“What inheritance?” he asked, looking right at Carlisle.

“It’s nothing you need to worry about, son. Now, I was wondering, are you going to college next year? I think one year is long enough to put off your education…” Carlisle said as he tried to change the subject. Edward, however, wasn’t falling for it.

“Forget about college for a minute. What the hell was Emmett talking about? What fucking inheritance?” Edward seethed when he repeated his question.

Carlisle dropped his fork with a clang and rubbed his forehead with his hand. He moved it to his hair, dragging it through the locks. A breath expelled from his lungs as he turned in Emmett’s direction.

“You just had to bring it up, didn’t you, son?” Carlisle said to Emmett.

Emmett’s large frame slumped, and a look of remorse flitted across his face. Rosalie, who sat next to him, appeared livid. Her cold blue eyes flashed with anger. She looked in Edward’s and then my direction, wrinkling her nose at us. Turning to Carlisle, she pointed her finger at him.

“Oh, you might as well tell him. The fuck-up needs to know what he’s about to lose. Besides, rightfully, it belongs to Emmett,” Rosalie sneered.

The tension in the room was palpable. Each member of the family glared at one another, as if they were choosing sides. Edward was pissed. Esme looked like she wanted to crawl under a rock and die. Alice was smug. Carlisle appeared to be resolved. Emmett seemed remorseful. And I, well, I just wanted out of there. I knew the proverbial shit had hit the fan, and I wanted no part of it.

I started to get up but was stopped by a hand on my thigh. I glanced to my right and saw Edward. The look on his face pleaded with me to stay. I realized then that, regardless of how I felt about confrontation, I had to be there. It was likely no one was going to support him, and he was counting on me to be that person. I stayed seated.

“How much, Carlisle?” Edward asked with disdain.

Carlisle sighed. He met Edward’s gaze and squared his shoulders, like he was preparing himself for a fight.

“Two hundred and seventeen million, plus your grandfather’s company. That is what was left to you,” he said.

Edward stood up and started to pace. The veins in his neck bulged, and the skin on his face turned red. He balled up his fists when he made his third pass.

“So, why didn’t anyone tell me this?” Edward questioned.

“You would have found out before you turned twenty-one,” Esme muttered.

As those words left Esme’s mouth, Alice burst into giggles. Each set of eyes turned in her direction. When she calmed from her laughing fit, she wiped her eyes and sighed.

“Really? Then what was Rosalie implying when she made her comment?” Edward asked.

“You really want to know?” Rosalie questioned. Edward shook his head. “Fine, I will tell you because there is nothing you can do about it now. They have been trying to find a way to stop you from getting your money, the company, all of it. You don’t deserve it. Hell, Esme only received five million from her father because Carlisle was a drunk at the time. What makes you think you deserve it now that you are also a drunk and a druggie? You don’t. He should have never left it to you. Emmett is the oldest and deserves it more than you do…” Rosalie taunted.

A plate full of food flew across the room, hitting the wall and shattering on impact. Bits of chicken, potatoes, and corn painted the surface. Edward stood next to the table and was magnificent in his rage. His lips were pulled into a tight line, while the air in his lungs entered and exited in harsh pulls. Between his eyebrows, a crease had formed, and his eyes were the color of pitch. A terrifying, cruel laugh escaped his mouth.

“So, what you’re telling me, Rosalie…” Edward said, as he sneered the woman’s name. “Is the man I used to call ‘father’ is trying to steal from me,” he spat.
Every person at the table was silent. No one, except me, could look Edward in the eye. Suddenly, a heart-wrenching sob escaped from Esme. Carlisle reached over and took her in his arms. He raised his head, meeting Edward’s glare.

“No, son. No one is trying to steal from you. Your mother and I decided that five million, the same amount your brother and sister have, is more than enough. As for the rest of it, well, you have to think about the 115 people working for Masen Unlimited. The current CEO isn’t comfortable giving you control…”Carlisle explained.

“Fuck the company!” Edward roared.

“Excuse me?” Carlisle asked. His voice rising with each syllable.

“I know you heard me, old man. I said. FUCK. THE. COMPANY!” Edward yelled, emphasizing the last three words. “Give it to the current guy in charge. Hell, give it to Emmett. I don’t fucking care. But you will give me my inheritance. Just because you couldn’t handle your finances doesn’t mean I can’t handle mine. Now, here are your choices. Either you back off, or I take your ass to court. I guarantee you, if you choose the second option, this is the last time you will see me or Bella. As far as I’m concerned, every last person here will be dead to me. You will have no place in our future. So, think carefully before you decide,” Edward stated with a deadly calm voice.

Esme was openly sobbing. I wanted to comfort her, but I sat motionless in my chair. After Edward’s speech, I knew I couldn’t. He had just drawn the battle lines, and if I crossed it for any reason, I was sure he would take it as an affront. In his current state of mind, it would have been detrimental to our relationship.

Edward walked over to where I was sitting and stood behind my chair. His hands came up and rested on the back of my neck. He massaged the muscles as he stared down the people he once trusted without question. After a few moments, it was Esme who answered.

“All right, Edward. Your father and I will cease all attempts to take over your trust fund,” Esme promised.

“Esme, you can’t be serious…”Carlisle started.

“Enough!” Esme yelled with authority. “I will not lose my son over something as trivial as money. Edward, I’m sorry. I hope one day you can forgive us. We really were trying to look out for you,” she said.

Edward’s hands fell from my neck. He reached down, taking his hand in mine. I squeezed it, and he pulled me to a standing position. He started toward the door, and I followed. Edward and I didn’t see his family again for six months.

On his twenty-first birthday, Edward had come into possession of his inheritance. He had decided, even after his Thanksgiving Day fight with Emmett, to sign his grandfather’s company over to his brother. Esme had been the deciding factor in the decision. She had pleaded with him for months beforehand, stating his grandfather would have wanted it to stay in the family. He had caved, since he had no intention of running it himself.

Two weeks after he received the money, he purchased our house. He wanted to make sure, in his words, we would never be separated again. And, to prove that I was the only person he could trust, he put my name on the deed with his.

~.~.~.~

I broke from my thoughts. Edward cleared his throat and looked at me. “We’ll go. I haven’t seen Mom in awhile,” he said. I smiled, secretly pleased, because I had hoped we would go. I missed Esme.

“Hey, Jazz. Want to go, too?” he asked as he looked at Jasper.

“Sure, man. You know I could never turn down Mama Cullen’s cooking,” he said.

My heart sank. Of course Jasper was invited. It wasn’t like Edward spent every moment with him anyway, I thought sarcastically. The previous happy mood I had disappeared…I didn’t understand. Couldn’t Edward and I have just one night away from him? It wasn’t that I hated Jasper, no, I considered him one of the few friends I had. But, sometimes, I wanted to do things that involved only my boyfriend and me.

I noticed Edward staring at me with a frown on his face. Crap, did I miss something? I thought. I looked up and saw Jasper was gone. Huh. He left, and I didn’t notice.

“So, what’s going on in that brain of yours?” Edward asked. He cocked his head to the side.

“Nothing important,” I said. “So, where did Jasper go?”

“He had some things to do,” he answered.

“Huh.” I said dumbly.

“I’ve been thinking,” Edward started. He took the collar of my shirt between his thumb and forefinger, while he ran them across the material. The corner of his mouth pulled up in a small smile.

“I was wondering if you wanted to do something tomorrow. It feels like I haven’t taken my girl out on a proper date in forever,” he muttered. His eyes never left mine.

Inside, I was screaming like a fangirl. I tried to hide the huge grin that wanted to break out on my face. It had been a long time since we had done anything together, and I craved his company.

I toyed with the hem of my shirt, trying to fake nonchalance. “I don’t know, Edward. I kind of had plans tomorrow,” I lied.

“Oh, what plans?” he inquired as he tried to hide the hurt in his voice.

I felt bad for teasing him. I decided to put him out of his misery. “You know, clean the house. Wash my hair,” I joked with a smile.

He launched himself at me. His hands grabbed my sides and began tickling me. The force of his assault pushed me onto my back. Edward hovered over me, while he continued his attack, causing me to shriek. The dance of his fingers across my ribs made my muscles tense and release. A fluttering sensation in my side triggered my squirming. I begged for mercy, but he refused. He demanded I apologize for tricking him.

“I’m sorry,” I squealed. “Please, let me up.”

Edward released me with a smug smile on his face. I huffed and sat up. Out of breath, my chest heaved up and down, trying to regulate to a normal breathing pattern. My face was burning from overexertion. Stupid, smug boyfriend, I thought.

The rest of the night we relaxed. It was nice to reconnect with Edward…something that had been missing from our relationship for a while. We talked about things of no importance, and when both of us could barely keep our eyes open, we decided it was time for bed. Edward helped me up and led me to the bedroom. Each of us took our time getting undressed because neither one wanted to rush. I caught him watching me when I pulled my night shirt over my head. He rolled his eyes and smirked.

I left the room to do my nightly ritual, and Edward followed seconds later. We brushed our teeth in tandem, while we occasionally stared at one another. It was nice to engage in something so intimate with him, even if it was purely platonic.

When I returned to the bedroom, I went over to the bed and pulled back the covers. I slipped between the sheets, turning on my left side as I covered myself. Edward came in after me. He crawled in behind me, while his hand reached for my waist. My body moved backwards to his, causing the back of my head to rest against his chest. A contented sound came out of Edward as he wrapped his arms around my middle. I closed my eyes and basked in his affection. The feeling of safety and security enveloped me. I yawned when sleep tried to claim me.

“Bella, are you still awake?” Edward whispered.

My eyes popped open. I stretched to try to shake off some of my tiredness. “Barely,” I yawned.

“Sorry. But you didn’t answer my question,” he said.

“What was that?” I asked.

“Can I take you somewhere tomorrow?” he replied with a question.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“It’s a surprise,” he answered.

“Edward,” I whined. “You know I hate surprises.”

“I know, but I promise you’ll adore this one, love,” he said.

“Fine, just don’t get too crazy,” I said.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he chuckled. The sound made me laugh. It was going to be interesting to see what Edward had planned, because he didn’t know the meaning of simple. I turned over and pecked his lips, and he returned the kiss. I laid my head back on my pillow and snuggled into his warm body. Tomorrow was going to be interesting indeed, I thought as I fell into a deep slumber.