LL Chapter 16

LL Chapter 16

Quality time with friends

By the time everyone had joined Bella and me at the table, Bella was looking so scared that I thought that she was ready to bolt from the room. Rose sat next to her and was whispering something in her ear while Angela was took the chair next to me and was smiling like she just won some lottery or something. Yeah, whatever.



"Hi, Edward."



"Hey Angela. I was sorry to hear about your aunt passing."



"It was my grandma."



"Was it? Oh sorry," I shrugged and turned back towards Bella and Rose only to find that she was looking more comfortable sitting with us. I do not know what it was that Rose said to her, but it abated whatever fears had bubbled in her brain because she was smiling again. It was so nice to see her smile yet again.



I spent the rest of the lunch hour engaged in a conversation with Bella and Rose about college applications and essays in an attempt to avoid my sister's questioning stare. I got why she was confused, I honestly did. I had deliberately avoided almost all contact with the females of this town since I hit puberty and now I was becoming good friends with the new girl. Add to the fact that the new girl also had a baby it went against every reason that I had ever given for avoiding dating. But I was not dating Bella and I had no interest in dating Bella. She was a merely a sweet girl that was forced into a hellish nightmare and that was not her fault. I could not understand how anyone could justify holding her situation against her.



"Thanks again for volunteering to babysit, Edward. I promise to get back as quickly as possible."



"Take your time. It's really not a problem. She's a good baby."



"Yeah, I bet you weren't thinking she was such a great baby when she kept us up until three in morning the other night."



Yeah, that got everyone's attention. Angela looked absolutely horrified at the implications that Bella's comment had had. But I really did not care at the moment. Hell, I knew that Angela had had a crush on me for a while, but damn, her life was pure perfection compared to what I knew Bella had gone through and I did not even know everything yet.



"It was no problem. And she really is a great baby." At that point the bell rang and we all stood to move on to our afternoon classes. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Angela jump out of her seat and she practically ran out of the cafeteria.



Since Rose and I both had Government next she grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the cafeteria with her. It was not totally unheard of for us to walk together; it happened quite a bit actually. But normally we walked in silence. I reveled in that silence, but from the look on Rose's face I it looked like I was going to have to endure a conversation with her today.



"I would be totally surprised if Angela sits with us let alone talks to you ever again."



"How is that a bad thing again?"



"Come on Edward! She is a nice girl and for some reason she actually likes you."



"I don't care."



Rose's responding glare made me sigh and reevaluate my response, "Ok. I'll give you that she is a nice girl. BUT, she wants to go out with me and I don't like her like that. The sooner she realizes that it is never going to happen and gives up on me the better it will be for everyone involved."



"Is Bella a member of the "everyone involved" group?"



"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"



"Do you like Bella?"



"Ugh, Rose! Not like your meaning."



"Then why are you being nice to her? You are never nice to the girls in this school. You're rude and cold and you ignore them. What about her comment that you two spent the night together?"



"First of all, I think that she is nice girl, who is wicked smart, who has gone through hell, and I thought she could use another friend. Two, you are taking the comment she made way out of context. She spent the weekend at our house because people at her house had the flu and Tanya can't be exposed. Tanya started to cry in the middle of the night and at one point she knocked on my door to help so that she could use the bathroom. End of story."



"Okay. I'll buy that," she stopped and looked around making sure that we were out of earshot of anyone else, "You know about what happened to her?"



"I don't know everything that happened. I guess at one of the big points and she confirmed it, her father let slip a little bit more this morning when I ran into him." I paused running my hand through my hair, "I take it you know everything?"



"Yeah, she's pretty open about it in group, but she has had almost a year and a lot of therapy to help her cope." Rose turned to take her seat but stopped and looked me in the eye first, "Thank you."



"For what?"



"For being her friend. She really needs more people on her side." Then we took our seats as the bell rang again and the teacher started the lecture.



The rest of the afternoon went by in a blur and the next thing I knew I was entering the front door of my house and making a beeline for my buddy for the afternoon; a cooing and drooling Tanya, who was lying on her blanket on the living room floor with mom.



As soon as mom saw me come into the room she jumped up and grabbed her purse, "Thanks for doing this honey. You are so sweet. I'm sorry I have to run but I am already running late. I'll grab something to bring home for dinner so don't worry about that."



"Don't forget about Bella's diet restrictions!"



She head shot up and she looked taken aback by my comment, "I won't," she yelled as she ran out of the door.



I sat down where mom had been sitting and look at the baby lying there in front of me, "I guess it's just and me kid." She just smiled, drooled some more and grabbed at her feet.



Tanya and I had a great afternoon together. We read, she drooled, we had a snack, she drooled some more, then we had an extremely horrifyingly foul diaper change. And wouldn't you know that Bella would get home just five minutes after that diaper change.



She let herself into the house and joined us on the couch, "Thanks again, Edward. I really needed to keep this appointment."



"Was it with your cardiologist?"



"No, it was with my therapist. I'm still working out some anger issues I have with the whole situation."



"Ah. Did your dad get a hold of you yet?"



"No. Did he call?"



"No, I ran into him at the gas station this morning, I thought that he said that he was going to call."



"I'll call him after supper. Right now, if you don't mind, I would like my daughter back. I've been away from her all day and I've missed my baby."



I laughed as I handed her Tanya and then I went to the kitchen. I had made a pitcher of lemonade with my snack, so I poured both of us a glass and returned to the living room.



"I called Dad, and he said that you could have lemonade. It's not soda or a shake, but I thought it would make a nice change from the water you always drink."



"Thank you Edward, that was really very sweet of you."



A/N:



Jekyll. Hyde. And clueless. Lol.