Don't Fight It

Chapter 5

A/N: It's been a rough week, full of doctor's visits and medical issues, but I got this chapter done.  Wrote it all today, 25 pages today in a matter of hours.  

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"Edward?"

I let out a sigh and contemplated banging my head against my locker. Jess apparently didn't know the meaning of the word no. She'd asked me out three times already, and I was tired of it.

"No, Jess. Just … no. Please respect the fact that I don't want to go out with you. I have nothing against you. You're a nice girl, but I don't want to date you," I told her, feeling like an asshole.

I heard her let out a huff before hearing footsteps take off down the hall. I turned around, resting my back against my locker and let out a sigh. The only girl I wanted to ask me out was Bella, but I was afraid that she'd categorized me into the friends only category.

Realizing that the bell was about to ring, I headed toward my last class of the day. Once school was over, I said goodbye to the Swans and headed home. I had a ton of homework to do, plus I needed to study for a math test.

I was sitting on the couch, scowling at my book when Carlisle came home.

"Hey, Edward. I'm going out with Esme tonight. Will you be okay on your own?"

I barely looked up from my book. "Sure. Have fun," I told him.

We were slowly learning to live with another. Carlisle tended to work a lot but now that I was living with him, he was trying to cut his hours back a bit. I appreciated the gesture, although I wasn't sure it was all to do with me. I was pretty sure that working less, meant he'd have more time to spend with Esme as well.

She'd stopped by Monday night for dinner, and I'd come to find that I really liked her. She'd told me a little more about herself. She was forty-five, two years older than Carlisle, and divorced. Apparently, her first husband had been a nasty piece of work who thought it was acceptable to abuse women.

When I'd asked her if she had any children, her eyes had grown sad. She'd told me that she'd had a little boy named Colin, who had died a few weeks after he was born. I'd felt horrible that I'd brought it up, but she'd assured me it was okay.

The door bell rang, interrupting my thoughts, and I got up to let Esme in. She gave me a hug and asked me how school was.

"It was okay," I said, sighing as I thought about Jess and her persistence.

Esme gave me a calculating look. "You can talk to me or your dad about anything. You know that, right?"

I nodded. Esme made me want to tell her what was going on and before I knew it, I was.

"There's this girl who's asked me out four times. She's a nice girl, but she's not the girl for me. I feel like such an as—jerk every time I turn her down."

Esme gave my shoulder a squeeze. "Some girls can be a bit persistent."