The Bonds Between Us • E.Cullen x Fem oc x B. Swan

Chapter 57

The next day Cori found herself cuddled up under a blanket on Bella's bed, her laptop sitting on a slant as her legs were angled acutely.

"This is so stupid." Cori hissed as she glared at the screen. "What are you working on?" Bella asked, putting down her literature book as she leaned over to look at the screen. "Algebra. Why is the alphabet in the numerical system. It's stupid." "Didn't you have algebra last year?" Bella asked Cori. "So." "So they're making you retake it again?" Bella questioned. "I had- help. Now I don't, so." Cori said softly, not able to meet Bella's eye.

"Well, I'm no math wizard, but I know someone who may be." "Oh yeah?" Cori asked as she raised a brow. "Where have you been to know this math wizard?" "Over at Jake's." Bella told the red head and her smile fell. "Of course." "I needed something to help me get back to normal, and you were, well, not available and he was." "He'd always be available for you." "You can't still be jealous over him." Bella argued.

"I'm not, but Bells, He's obsessed with you. I'm sure if you looked in the right place he would probably have one of those picture shrines of you on the wall." Cori said as Bella scoffed. "He's a childhood friend." She countered.

"Look, I'm not saying who you can and can't be friends with, I'm just saying that he wants more, maybe expects more now that- uh- he's out of the way." Cori told her both girls flinching at the mention of the Cullen. "Plus, Jacob hates me just as much as I hate him, so." Cori pointed out.

"Let's just go over there. Maybe he can help, maybe he can't. I told him I would be over anyway. We're fixing bikes." Bella said an excited gleam in her eyes. "Bikes?" "Yeah, like dirt bikes." Bella told her as she packed her book bag, not seeing the worried look that Cori cast at her. "Bella, you can barely walk on your own two feet sometimes, how are you supposed to ride a bike?" Cori asked gently.

"Look, I don't know, okay. Jake just said he would teach me." Bella huffed, not wanting to tell the red head the real reason. "Okay, fine." Cori said, not believing the girl one bit, but who was she to say anything. They weren't together anymore, well not yet anyway.

As Cori sat in the passenger seat of Bella's truck, her hand wrung back and fourth. "Is something up?" Bella asked. "The sky." Cori said as Bella smirked before looking back at her. "No, really. What's up with you?" She said eyeing her nonstop moving hands before her eyes found the road again. "It's the first time being back on the reservation after Sam and I's big fight." Cori said softly, remembering how said man had calmed her slightly the night they left, promising to be there, but he hadn't shown his face again.

"Oh." Bella said shortly, not knowing how to respond. She knew the older male was a tough subject for Cori, especially as he used to be like an older brother to her. "Are you going to see if he's home?" Bella asked as she glanced as the red head, whose hands were now griping the door tightly, her knuckles turning white.

"No. If he wanted to see me he would. It's not like I went anywhere." Cori grumbled, trying to keep her temper in check.

Cordelia still wasn't used to talking this much, let alone, being around anyone but her father, but she chose to come over to Bella's today. She wanted to rekindle their relationship, but now she was stuck in the passenger seat as they headed over to the boy who had the biggest crush on her girl.

Cori's cheeks bloomed pink as she realized her inner monologue had even considered Bella hers, though they weren't completely together yet.

She shook her head gently as she had to get out of that head space. Bella wasn't anyone's but her own. No one owned her, but if anyone would have the chance of calling her theirs again, Cori wanted it to be it. She wanted it so desperately that sometimes it made it hard to breathe.

Though it had only been exactly twenty- eight and half hours since they had started to rekindle their relationship, Cori was finding it hard. Bella was being gentle with her, even still calling her Cori, though the redhead wanted nothing more than to hear the nickname that only she used, to come from her lips.

Bella was doing everything right, and still Cori somehow hated it. She wanted things to go back to how they were, but her insecurities would never let her live it down.

As her thoughts started to spiral, tears gathered at the corners of her eyes. Bella seemed to notice the shift in the girl next to her immediately, taking her hand in her own. "Hey, what's goin' on in there?" Bella asked as she squeezed Cori's hand.

Cori squeezed back, as her eyes fell shut as two tears rolled down her cheeks, a stuttered breath coming from her. "Nothing good." Coro joked darkly, as she wiped her face. "Well, we're almost there. Did you want to share?" Bella asked gently.

Bella knew a little how Cori's mind worked, how guarded she kept herself, especially now that they left. Edward could always read her like a book, not having to read her mind to know what was going through her complex brain. Bella wanted to know Cori like that, she craved it.

"To be honest, no. I don't want to say something and mess something up." Cori said, a fragile laugh coming from her. "Okay, I understand. When you're ready, I'll be here." Bella told her and Cori smiled slightly, squeezing their connected hands.

"Do you remember the first time you held my hand?" Cori asked the brunette. "At the beach." Bella told her and Cori shook her head. "In the hospital, when you had your wreck with Tyler, Carlisle touched my cheek and I flinched away. You grabbed my hand and held it until you had to leave. That's kinds been our thing, holding hands." Cori said, drifting off towards the end as she eyed their connected hands.

"Yeah, I guess it has been." Bella said softly, smiling a true smile with someone other than Jake, for the first time since he left.

A/N: So cute!!!!! Just letting you know New moon from here on is going to be a little different.