Folktale

Chapter 16

Bella's P.O.V

Edward marches away from without as much as giving me a glance. After almost an hour looking for him, I find him with Jacob and their exchanged seemed anything but friendly. Edward completely ignored me when I walked to him and left, and as I tried to talk to him, Jacob held me back. The rain is pouring now, the sky thundering.

I yank my arm from his grasp and say, "what the hell did you say to him?"

"Nothing! It's not my fault he's sensitive!" He raised his hands in the air. His breath reeked of alcohol.

"God, Jacob, you reek!" I shove him away from me. "What the hell did you say?"

"I told him the fucking truth!" He snapped. "I told him he was nothing but a charity case, because that's what he is. To Carlisle, Esme and to you. And because you're a nurse and you helped people, he was nothing but a pitied boy."

"You did what?!" I hissed. "Why would you do that?"

"Someone ought to tell him at some point!" He yelled. "Ever since he came into your life, you've done nothing but worry about him. What else? He's nothing but this broken toy you keep trying to fix!"

"You had no fucking right!" I shove my hands against his chest with every word I yell. "What fucking right did you have telling him that! You fucking bastard!"

"Woah, woah, woah!" Jasper comes up from behind me and pulls me away. We're all soaked, the rain almost drowning us, it's hard to see. "What's going on?"

"Ask this insensitive ass!" I shove Jasper away from me. "I'm going to look for Edward."

"Yes, poor Eddie might need his babysitter," Jacob mocked.

"Grow the fuck up."

"Bella, you can't go!" Alice held me back. "Emmett just saw him leave and you can't drive in the rain like this. You can't see and you'll crash!"

I turn to Emmett. "You saw him leave?!"

"He grabbed his bag and left," he said over the rain. "I tried to stop him but he left before I could."

"But where did he go?!" I ask in urgency.

"He went toward the road-"

I try to take off again, but then again, Alice stops me. "Bella, let him go!"

"No!" I snapped at her, yanking my arm from her grasp. I run back to the beach and to the parking lot where my truck is parked. I climb in, shaking from the cold and turn the engine on. My door opens and Emmett steps in. "Emmett, I need to find him!"

"Bella, someone must have found him. You can't drive in the rain like this," he insisted. "Let's go back to Jacob's, wait until the rain and the road get cleared out and then we'll find him."

"I'm not going to that asshole's house. You have any idea what he said to him?"

"Whatever it was, Jacob has been drinking all afternoon, he probably didn't mean it," he tried to reason.

"I don't fucking care. I need to find him." I try to close the door but Emmett puts his arm to stop me. "Emmett, I swear, I'll cut your arm right off of you don't move. I need to find him! Emmett, what if it was Rosalie? What if she needed you and you were held back by me?"

Emmett groans, debating internally whether to let me go or not. The reasonable side of me says not to go because driving in rain this heavy is dangerous and the roads around here are quick to flood. But Edward is out there, walking, thinking he's some charity case to me when he isn't. When he means everything to me... Emmett must see my urge to find him because he nods to himself and steps away from the door.