trigger warning: sexual assault emotional trauma similar to that of rosalie's storyline. please don't read and just ask for a synopsis of the chapter if that will bother you!!
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"Stop telling me to 'chill out' in your mind," Edward muttered.
"Alright," Valeria stated. "I'll say it out loud. Chill out, Edward."
Edward and Valeria were standing outside of Bella's house. She was in there with Jacob, letting him get a good hit on the vampire's scent. Having the two Cullens in the house would overwhelm his senses too much and make it harder to pick up on.
While Edward was staring at the house as if he was in physical pain from Jacob and Bella being alone together, Valeria was lazily leaning against Bella's truck. She didn't really want to be there, but Bella had asked, thinking that maybe she could settle any disputes between the two boys.
"I have good reason for not liking this," Edward told her in a sharp tone.
"Oh, yeah, cause Bella is totally up there fucking Jacob right now in her room," Valeria shot back in a sarcastic tone. Edward shot her an unappreciative glare. "She already picked you, dude. Yeah, Jake can't take a hint, but he's harmless."
"He's not harmless," he spat. Then he glanced from the house back to Valeria. "Since when do you call him Jake too?"
She only shrugged her shoulders, making sure to keep all thoughts of the wolves from her mind. Instead, she thought of how often Bella used the nickname, making him think it just wore off on her.
A moment later, Bella led Jacob out of the house. "Whoever it was, he left a stink behind. It'll be hard to miss when we cross it again. We'll handle it from here," Jacob told Edward, walking over to them. Valeria smiled appreciatively, but Edward wasn't so thrilled.
"We don't need you to handle anything or anyone," he said in a low tone.
"I couldn't care less what you need," Jacob said, glaring at him.
Edward shook his head, unable to stand Jacob and his attitude. "All right, we're done here."
"No, you're done here," Jacob replied, taking a threatening step forward.
Valeria sighed and rubbed her forehead as she glanced at Bella. "These two are exhausting."
"Stop!" Bella exclaimed, stepping in between the two boys. "I'm tired of this. From now on, I'm Switzerland, okay?"
Edward and Jacob both seemed to calm down a little bit and even backed off, but both still glared at the other, full of hatred.
"Why did that work?" Valeria whispered, leaning in close to Bella. "What's Switzerland got to do with it?"
Jacob rolled his eyes. "They were neutral in the war."
"What war?"
"World War One," Edward said, scoffing. "Could you not act like a dumbass for once in your life?"
