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Bella sat curled up in a chair as she stared out of her window. It had been two weeks since he had left her. She was caught in a catatonic state, her mind trying to make sense of what had happened, what had gone wrong. She wondered why Romeo had left her.
Are you sure he is your Romeo? Some part of her mind whispered. She pondered her own question. If she was truthful, she had to answer no. It was true that in the story, Romeo and Juliet had parted, but it was because Romeo was in danger. Romeo’s life depended on him leaving his love. Even though he left, there was the underlying promise, the underlying idea, that he would return for his love. Her Romeo, however, had given her no indication that he would return. In fact, he had made it quite clear that he wanted nothing more to do with her. Some soul mate he was.
Bella wiped away a few tears that had begun to trickle down her cheek. She wished that she could forget him just as easily as he seemed to forget her. He might be able to let go of his feelings for her, but she truly loved him with all of her now crippled heart. A heart she had given it to him freely; yet, he had taken her fragile gift, crushed it, and thrown it on the ground at her feet. His callous words had done more harm, than if he had actually cut out her heart.
So caught in her musing, she did not notice a car pulling up the driveway, a gentle rap on the front door, nor a quiet conversation that floated up the stairs. She didn't even notice when someone knocked on her bedroom door or called her name. Even though there was no reply, her dad opened the door and walked into the bedroom. Charlie sighed when he saw his daughter. He then motioned for the visitor to come into the room. He was almost certain that Bella would not appreciate the presence of someone in her room, but he hoped that maybe a visit from a friend might trigger a change.
“Bella,” the gentle voice of the newcomer called. As with her father, Bella did not seem to hear anything around her. The girl was saddened when her friend did not respond. She placed the textbooks she carried on the bed along with her purse and backpack. She walked over and touched Bella’s shoulder. Still, the brunette sat and stared out the window. The girl sighed and reached up to brush a strand of hair out of Bella’s face and her fingers grazed lightly across Bella’s cheek.
The warmth of the girl’s fingers shocked Bella and she gasped at the sensation. She had only felt cold for so long, the natural cold of the family that left her, the cold of his words, the cold of the hollowing feeling that had settled in her chest. She glanced up and found herself looking into dark brown eyes. Human eyes that were so different from the vampires she loved.
“Bella, are you okay,” the person whispered, kneeling down in front of the heartbroken girl.
Bella finally recognized the person as her friend Angela. Tears sprung to her eyes, as Angela’s words echoed in her ears. Bella shook her head no as she was unable to talk for fear of breaking out in sobs.
“Oh, Bella,” Angela reached for Bella’s hand and squeezed it tightly. Bella held on to Angela’s hand like it was her tether to the earth. After a minute, she slid out of the chair and to the ground. Angela pulled her into a tight embrace as Bella started openly crying. Neither girl noticed Charlie step back out of the room and pull the door closed, giving them some privacy.
The brokenhearted brunette cried until she was out of tears. Angela did not relinquish her hold right away, but rocked her friend back and forth trying to comfort her.
“Angela,” Bella’s voice was barely above a whisper. “He said the most awful things and I loved him so much.”
“You can tell me, Bella,” Angela said, pulling away. “You will feel better if you let someone help you through this.” She knew that Bella was quite taken with Edward, but it still surprised her that his leaving would affect her to this extent.
“Well,” Bella started, wiping the watery tracks from her face. “We came home after school like always. He had been distant since my birthday and I wondered why. We came in the house, but instead of going to the kitchen table to work on homework, like always, he pulled me to the sofa and told me that we needed to talk.” Bella was not really sure why she was telling Angela this, but there was a sense of peace in the room and it was almost like it was compelling her to speak. “I thought we might talk about what was bothering him. That’s when he told me his family was moving. I told him was willing to do whatever it took to make this relationship last over the long-distance... travel, call, e-mail, video chat, whatever. He shook his head and said that he didn’t want a relationship with me anymore. He told me that he was tired of pretending that he cared for me. He said that he would quickly forget me and so I should move on and find someone, who actually cared.” She took a shuddering breath.
“I was stunned. I couldn’t say anything, I couldn’t think. When finally, I sorted through what he was saying and looked up, he was gone. He didn’t say anything; he just left. I raced out of the door, to see if he was still there and if I could catch him. I was too late, his car was already gone. In my dash out of the house, I tripped and fell, it had already started raining, so the porch was slippery. I should have gotten up, but I couldn’t. I was too hurt by his words. I just stayed on the ground in the rain till Charlie came home.” Bella stopped talking, her voice faded to nothing the longer she spoke.
“Oh, Bella...” was all Angela knew to say as she pulled Bella back into a hug. She did not know the Cullens well, but it was hard to believe Edward could and would be so cruel. However, it was so evident in her friend, that he could be vile enough to break up with her in such a way. “Bella,” she started, “I know that it does not feel like it now, but you will get over him. If he could say those things to you, then he was not the person everyone thought he was and he’s really not worth it.” A thought crossed her mind, she chuckled slightly and then felt Bella tense in her arms. “I’m not laughing at you, I promise. I just remember reading this saying once.” She let go of Bella so she could look into her eyes. “It is one of those sayings, where you’re like, ‘aww’ and ‘that’s so cheesy’ at the same time. It said, the boy who makes you cry is not worth it and the boy who is worth it, won’t make you cry.”
Bella laughed a little too. “I remember telling my mom that after one of her breakups. She said thanks, but it was a corny saying.” She wiped her eyes again. “Thanks, Angela.” She gave her friend a quick hug. She stood up and looked around her room. It was easy to notice the books that Angela had brought because they were out of place in the almost empty space. “Is that the homework I’ve missed,” she asked looking at the books.
Angela stood up too. “It is. You haven’t been in a while. I knew you were sick, so I thought I would bring everything over. If you want, I can explain all of the assignments before I go home?”
Bella looked at the clock. She was not sure what time Angela had gotten there, but it was already a quarter to six. “You could stay for dinner if you would like. Then we can go through everything afterward. Unless you need to get home, I’m sure I can figure everything out from your notes.”
Angela thought for a moment. “I can stay for dinner, just let me call my parents.” She walked the short distance to the bed and picked up her purse so that she could find her cell phone.
“I’ll just go downstairs and see what’s in the house. Charlie’s been left alone and there’s no telling what he has been eating.” Bella quietly left her room, so Angela could make her call. It felt weird leaving the space she had occupied for so long. The rest of the house almost seemed foreign as she descended the stairs. She could see the t.v. in the living room was on. Looking around the room, she could see her father sitting in his recliner watching whatever sport was playing. “Have you eaten any dinner yet, Dad?” Her voice was quiet and she hoped he could hear it.
The movement on the screen paused and Charlie turned in his chair to look at her. He seemed at a loss for words, having not heard his daughter’s voice for almost two weeks. He quickly got a hold of himself to answer her question. “No, but I have ordered some pizza. Would you like some Bells?”
“Sure, that would be fine. I wasn’t really in the mood to cook anyway. I asked Angela to stay for dinner, is that okay? She’s calling her parents now.”
“That’s fine Bells,” Charlie replied. He probably would have agreed to almost anything if it meant Bella was talking again. “Will she be okay with pizza?”
Bella almost rolled her eyes. “She’s a teenager, Dad. What teen have you met that will not eat pizza? I’m sure that will be fine with her.”
Charlie chuckled slightly, whether it was at her teasing or the fact she seemed to be returning to herself, it was unsure. “Alright, Bells. I gotcha. I’ll call you when the pizza gets here. I just called so it might be twenty or thirty minutes.”
Bella nodded. “Okay. Thanks, Dad.” She turned to go back upstairs when she heard her door open. “Angie, Dad’s ordered pizza. Is that good for you?” She watched as Angela nodded. “We have some time before the food gets here, do you mind if I take a real quick shower?”
“Not at all Bella. I’ll just wait downstairs with Charlie. If he’s anything like my dad, he’s watching the football game.” She quickly walked past Bella and into the living room. “Hey Chief Swan, you watchin’ the Cougars game?”
Bella heard her dad tell Angela to call her Charlie and that he was. Bella shook her head as Angela started talking about the team. She never realized her friend was such a fan of the college team. There were probably a lot of things she did not know about her human friends, she decided as pulled out some clean clothes to change into. The clothes weren’t anything too special, just cotton pajama bottoms and a Phoenix High School t-shirt. She carried the clothing into the bathroom and shut and locked the door, before starting the water.
After the water reached the right temperature, she stripped off the grimy clothes she was wearing and stepped into the shower allowing the warm water to run over her, washing the last two weeks away. She remembered that Angela had said she heard Bella was sick. She wondered what was being said around the school. Charlie had called the school to tell them she was sick. He had called a doctor over when he found her outside. She had been in the cold rain for almost five hours and developed a serious upper respiratory infection. It was true, she had been sick, but it was hard for her to tell which was doing more harm, the physical illness or the heartbreak.
As she pondered the question, Bella absentmindedly reached for her shampoo to wash her hair. She froze when the scent of strawberries filled the air. He loved the scent of strawberries, Bella dropped the bottle, tears leaking from her eyes. She washed the offending, smelling liquid off of her hands, trying not to lose control of herself. As she reached for Charlie’s shampoo, she was glad, just this once, they shared a bathroom. It did not take long for her to relax as the sharp tangy scent of Charlie’s shampoo and soon body wash filled the air. Remembering that she had a friend waiting for her Bella quickly finished her shower. After wrapping herself in a towel, she grabbed the bottles of strawberry-scented cleaning products. They were no longer welcome and she tossed them into the trash can.
She quickly dried off and pulled on her clean clothing. After running a brush through her hair, Bella pulled up her brown locks and put them into a loose bun. She collected her dirty clothing and took them to the washer and tossed them in. Then she went into her bedroom and got the sheets off the bed and stuffed them in the washer. Just as she was starting the machine, the doorbell rang. She could hear the sounds of Charlie getting up and walking towards the door. Bella walked down the stairs to see what was going on.
Angela looked over at the staircase when she heard it creak. She smiled when she saw Bella walking down the stairs. It was not much, but Angela could see a few small changes in her friend. She seemed to be just a touch more alive.
“Pizza’s here,” Charlie said carrying the box through the living room to the dining room. “We’ve got sodas... milk... we might have some juice... there’s always water.” Bella could hear Charlie opening the refrigerator. “Scratch the juice, I think it might be growing mold.”
Angela bit back a laugh and followed Bella into the kitchen. “Dad, how can the juice be growing mold? I just bought it like... well, two weeks ago.” Bella was looking at the bottle in Charlie’s hand and Angela turned her attention to it. Sure enough, there were white things floating in the bottle. “What's the expiration date?”
Charlie turned the bottle. “Two days ago.”
“It shouldn’t have started growing mold that quickly if it is in the refrigerator. Maybe your refrigerator is set too high,” Angela offered.
“I don’t think so,” Bella said. “Everything would have spoiled. Dad, you have a bad habit of leaving the juice out. Perhaps it stayed out too long too often.” She was looking at her father, who was sheepishly looking at the ground.
“That might have happened... once or twice.” He looked at his daughter, who raised an eyebrow. “Or more. I guess I’m pretty helpless with all this fresh natural stuff. Before you got here Bells, I just picked up coffee every day.”
Bella sighed and grabbed the bottle. “It’s fine. I need to grocery shopping tomorrow anyway.” She opened it and dumped the contents down the sink drain, then ran some water down the drain. She tossed the bottle in a blue bin then opened the cabinet and pulled out two cups. “What would you like to drink, Angela?”
“Water is fine for me. I’ve been trying to drink more because my research topic for science is the benefits of drinking water. I think Ms. Green assigned some of the craziest topics, but what I’ve learned has been pretty interesting.”
“I guess that’s one of the things I need to catch up on,” Bella said as she turned on the water and filled up the two glasses.
“It is,” Angela said, “but it was just assigned on Monday and we were given two weeks so you still have like ten days. I can help you out if you need it.”
“I might. I like writing, but the research part can be so boring. Is she requiring a certain format?” Bella opened the freezer to get ice for the two cups.
“I’ll have my water without ice,” Angela said. Bella looked at her funny but passed her the glass anyway. “Don’t look at me like that. There’s science behind it. If you drink a cold drink with your meal, it helps to solidify the fat in the food and makes it harder for your body to process and get rid of. Warm drinks are the best, but cool to room temperature water is about all I can stand.” Angela watched as Bella close the freezer door without getting any ice. “So, anyway, the paper has to be five to ten pages in standard MLA format. You also need a five to ten-minute presentation.”
“Great, a presentation. Why do teachers subject us to things like that?” Bella grabbed some plates that were sitting on the drying rack by the sink.
“I’m sure some just do to get out of teaching, but Ms. Green was big into us learning about to be good public speakers and things like that.”
“She would. I’m not even sure what she’s doing in school. She’s like a genius, all that science stuff she knows. It’s crazy.” Bella walked over to the kitchen table where the open box of pizza was sitting. She passed Angela a plate before getting a slice of pizza.
“I know what you mean, but some people just have that desire to share their knowledge with others. I think she was meant to be a teacher, kinda like it was her fate to be one.” Angela got some pizza and picked up her glass. She did not notice Bella freeze at the mention of the word fate. “Do you mind if we eat in the living room? I would really like to see the end of the game.”
Bella shook her head, clearing the haunting echoes in her mind “That’s fine. I’m sure Charlie is already in there.” She walked with Angela back into the living room and the two girls sat down on the sofa. Bella didn’t really eat much and didn’t really watch the game, but she was content enough just to sit and watch Charlie and Angela who were caught up in the game.
It was close to eight when the game was over and the two fans were very upset at how their team had ‘snatched defeat out of the jaws of victory’, as Charlie had phrased it. All that Bella had gathered was that Cougars were winning until the last quarter, when, according to Angela, they had gotten too cocky, allowing the other team to gain three goals, therefore losing by three points.
Angela glanced at her watch. “Oh, Bella, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get so wrapped up in the game. I have to be home by ten, but I can help you till then.”
“It’s fine, Angela. I’m happy avoiding all my work.” Bella smiled slightly. “But I guess if you can just give me the overview of everything I can start working on it all this weekend. It’s not like anything else is going on this weekend.”
“Sure,” Angela replied picking up her plate and glass. “That should not be too hard. If you want I can come over tomorrow and we can work on math. I couldn’t get your book out of your locker, so I was thinking we could just tackle it together. I don’t think you’ll need any help on the other assignments. It’s not much really.”
The girls took their dishes into the kitchen. “Just leave them in the sink,” Charlie called from the other room. “I can take care of the dishes and the pizza.”
“Okay, Dad.”
“Yes, sir, Charlie.”
There was a quite clattering of the dishes being placed in the sink. Then Bella and Angela went upstairs into Bella’s bedroom. Unconsciously, Bella wrapped an arm around her chest, and the pain that had been quiet all evening flared to life.
“So,” Angela started. “I’ve told you the science project.” She grabbed a sheet of paper and looked over it. “Oh, here’s your topic. Ms. Green wants you to research the long-term medical problems playing football can cause. There’s a note, that you might want to watch some games to get a better idea of how the sport is played. Looks like I should have told you this earlier before we watched the game. I’m sure if you ask Charlie, he will know when the next game is. You can talk to Mike too. He’s on the football team at school, he should know when their next game is. Look at some of the other topics and who they are assigned to.” She passed the page over to Bella, who took it and looked at it.
Bella could not help but laugh as she looked at some of the topics. “Wow, it looks like Ms. Green was having a lot of fun with this. Lauren has to research abstinence and what are the medical benefits of it. Eric is researching the pros and cons of being a vegetarian. Where did she come up with some of these? Really... Jessica has to research the dangers of makeup?” Bella looked at Angela.
“I’m excited about hearing what Jessica has learned. Today, she was only wearing foundation and mascara. I asked her what changed and she said I would have to wait until her presentation. It’s crazy to see her without makeup but I must say I think she looks better with the more natural look.”
Bella shrugged and laid the paper by her computer. “So, what else?”
“Well, in English and Lit, we’re reading Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. Everyone has a part and we’re reading it aloud in class. We’re only made it to Act 2, it’s been hysterical so far. I don’t remember if you have a part yet or not, but you can find out on Monday. Math we can look at tomorrow. It will take some explaining as Ms. Turner flipped out a little. It’s like she’s decided we don’t really need to know calculus. She was talking one day about a grant she’s applied for and making math life applicable. Anyway, it's too much for tonight. Let’s see, what am I forgetting?” Angela looked at the stack of books.
“Oh, yeah, geography. Um... we got maps of each continent, except Asia, which has three maps. We’ve been using our textbooks to fill them out. We have to put the name of each country, its capital, major cities, and landforms. It’s been a lot of busy work. I think Thompson is going to take them up to check on Monday, then we have to start studying each one. It’s been boring, but at least he’s stopped talking about his one trip to Russia. I tell ya, I feel like the first three weeks of school were a complete waste in that class. I’m sure we will have to listen to each story again when we start studying the country.” Angela glanced at Bella and smiled. “Any questions?”
“Could you repeat all that so I can write it down?”
Angela laughed. She picked up a notebook off the bed and pulled out a sheet of paper. “Assignments listed by class and with due dates. The first is the date we were given. Some of them have extension dates because you were out sick. I was going to come by last week, but when I called Charlie, he said the doctor had you on bed rest because of the seriousness of your sickness. He said I could come this week and I meant to on earlier in the week, but this new coffee shop opened in town last week and I got a job there, so I’ve been working each night. I finally had a day off, so I came by.”
“Thanks, Angie,” Bella said. “Everything you’ve done has been a big help. I would hate to have found all of this out on Monday.” Or whenever she made it back to school. Bella was not sure if she would have attended on Monday if Angela had not come by and somehow brought her back to life.
“No problem, Bella,” Angela replied. She moved to Bella’s side and gave her a quick hug, before picking up her purse. “When do you want to meet up to work on math?
“Tomorrow’s fine. In the afternoon would be better, I need to go grocery shopping. So, about 2:00. That would give me some time to look through the other assignments.”
“Two works for me. Call me if something comes up.” Angela left the room and went down the stairs. Bella went with her, wanting to escape her room and be polite and escort her guest to the door.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Bella said. “Thanks for coming over, Angela. It means a lot.”
Angela smiled and walked out the door. “It’s the least I can do for a friend.” She got to her car and turned to look at Bella. “Remember what I said, as cheesy as it may be... the boy who makes you cry is not worth it and the one who is, won’t make you cry.” With that, Angela climbed into her car and drove away.
Bella closed the door, walked over to the sofa, and collapsed on it. She threw an arm over her eyes and sighed. “I’m not sure if I want to thank you or yell at you, Dad.” She heard Charlie chuckle and the television grow quiet.
“I’ll take either one as long as you’re talking to me.” He looked over at his daughter. Just a few things she had done today had done wonders for her, bringing life back into her.
Bella moved her arm and looked at Charlie. “Yeah, sorry about that. I guess I haven’t been dealing well with the C-Cullens leaving so suddenly.”
“I know it's hard to lose friends because of a move, but with today’s technology shouldn’t be that hard, you know cell phones and e-mail.” Charlie watched his daughter and could not understand the sorrow that flashed across her face.
“I don’t think keeping contact is all that possible. Besides, Ed...Ed-w-ward made it quite clear he didn’t want to hear from me again.” Bella furiously wiped away some traitorous tears that escaped from her eyes.
Charlie got up and walked over to his daughter and knelt, but her side. “Honey, I’m not going to press you for details and I know you probably don’t want to talk to your dad, but I’m here if you need me. I know I’m not the best person to talk to about getting over a breakup, we both know I never dealt well, with Renee leaving and taking you with her, but I can at least listen.”
“Thanks, Dad.” Bella sat up and wrapped her arms around her dad. Charlie pulled her into a tight hug. It was the type of hug they had not shared in many years.