Mafia Princess

Chapter Sixty-Seven

Twilight...not mine (sigh).

Chapter Sixty-Seven

Edward didn't come bed that night. Secretly, I'd hoped that he would and we'd fool around some more. However, I'd gathered he was pretty pissed at me and I wasn't too thrilled with him either. I understood his need to protect me. Really, I did. I also valued talking to one another. My dad and I were the two most stubborn people in the world. The one thing we agreed on was discussing our differences.

I still kind of hate the fact that we hadn't had a chance to talk about what had happened regarding Jane, Alec and Marco. I also was pissed that my dad was imparting this double standard on Edward and me.

Deciding I couldn't sleep without the 6'2" beast of man, I wandered into the office and picked out a book. I curled up on the window seat. I opened the book and began reading, feeling incredibly bereft without Edward. I stayed up as long as I could but eventually my eyes fought the losing battle with slumber and I drifted, snuggling into the red pillows on the window seat.

"Bella! Bella! Fuck, where are you?" I faintly heard. I grumbled, burrowing deeper into the pillows. "BELLA!" I turned over and fell promptly to the floor.

"Motherfucker!" I hissed as I rubbed my ass. Edward ran into the office. His eyes were crazed and his hair was sticking up more than normal.

"Bella," he yelped running toward me, falling to his knees. "I was looking for you. I couldn't find you."

"I was in the office," I grumbled, still rubbing my ass. "Sleeping quite comfortably, mind you."

"I woke up and I went to check on you in the bedroom," he said, his voice taking on a hard edge. "You weren't there. I kind of panicked, Bella. Excuse me for caring for you and worrying if you were taken by Jane or whomever."

"You didn't care enough to come to bed last night," I bitched, getting up from the floor. "Why now?"

He scrubbed his face and stood up, towering over me. "I figured you didn't want me in bed with you. You left when I told you nothing was wrong and then got a snotty when I did tell you what Emmett shared with me. I figured you wanted space like most girls do when they're upset."

"Edward, I don't want that. I want us to talk about things. That's one thing that I believe above everything else. Communication," I yelled. I covered my eyes and I could feel the beginning of a migraine hitting me. "Listen, I'm tired. I'm bitchy. I'm getting a migraine. I want to fucking go back to sleep. Do you have a problem with that?"

"I have a problem with the way you're treating me, Bella," he hissed, his eyes narrowing at me. "I'm not a piece of shit." His face was red and flashing in his eyes was anger and fire that I didn't like. "I'm going to cool off. I don't want to communicate something that might piss you off." He stomped away, slamming the door shut. I rubbed my eyes and I felt tears prick behind them. I ran to my room, falling into my bed and sobbing brokenly at the way Edward had spoken to me. However, he was right, in his own way. I was being rude to him. The answer, though, was not to be rude in return.

An hour later, I heard the door open and some voices; Edward's being one of them. The other voices were heavily accented but speaking in English. I could someone say that the installation will be done by three. I furrowed my brows and then remembered what Edward said the night before. My dad was having a security system installed. I didn't really care at this point. I wanted this nightmare to be over. I was tired of being protected and watched. I just wanted to be...be a normal twenty-one year old girl. Knowing that I couldn't be that, more tears filled my eyes and I cried again.

"Bella?" Edward called to me. His voice sounded so uncertain.

I sniffled, burying my face into a pillow. I felt like a pussy, but I was feeling pretty shitty about myself right now. Edward walked in and he got into the bed, laying far from me. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I didn't mean to make you cry." His finger captured a tear that fell from my eyes. "I'm also sorry for acting like a grade-A douche."

"You were right. We both were wrong, too. I was treating you like shit, but my exhaustion and headache were doing the talking. You were right in walking away but you didn't have to be an asshole about it. Plus, I saw something in your eyes that scared me," I muttered, looking at his neck.

"I know, Bella. I have a wicked temper. I'm sorry you saw that," he frowned. "Well, that wasn't my full temper. You saw the beginnings of my loss of control."

"Edward, I can't be with someone who might hurt me," I said.

"Bella, I vow to you that I won't ever hurt you; raise my hand in violence towards you. I know myself well enough that I can get out of situation before it escalates," he said. "That's why I had to go."

"Where did you go?"

"I ran. I ran around the neighborhood until my legs screamed at me to stop. Then, I ran home." He snorted. "My legs are the consistency of jelly. Those hills are brutal." He looked at me, his eyes filled with remorse. "I'm sorry that I left. You were vulnerable..."

"I was fine," I sighed. "Well, as fine as I could be."

"We need to talk about this, Bella. You're so right about communication," he breathed. "After I shower, can we talk about this?" I nodded and gave him a tentative smile. He tenderly picked up my hand and kissed my wrist before getting up to go into the shower. I flopped back onto the bed thinking that having fuck buddies was a hell of a lot easier than this...

A/N: Oh, Bella...my dear, sweet Bella. So misguided. Sigh. You know the deal. Leave me some lovin, please?

.���_7'�