“I can take you to school,” Edward said. He was dressed in a
black suit with a charcoal grey shirt and black tie. “I don’t want you …”
“I’m fine. Jacob texted me, only misspelling a handful of
words,” I smirked. My face was nearly normal, with some residual bruising.
Alice came over early and applied some makeup, hiding the remaining injuries.
She was quite adept at applying makeup and I still looked like me, not like a
damned clown.
“I know that Jacob is not the sharpest tool in the shed,”
Edward said, sipping his espresso. “However, he’s muscular and wicked fast with
a gun.”
“It’s just weird to have to decrypt a text,” I said, showing
him my phone. Edward wrinkled his nose and blinked a few times. “Do you
understand what he said?”
“Uh, sure?” he quipped, grinning crookedly.
“Then, please, enlighten me, Edward,” I deadpanned.
There was a knock at the door and Edward chuckled. “Get
ready. He’s here.”
“Ass,” I grumbled as he walked past me, to open the door. I
finished my breakfast and rinsed off my dishes. Jacob followed Edward into the
condo. He was dressed in all black, looking very obvious. “Dude, he’s going to
be noticed. Can’t he dress like a student?”
“How does a student dress?” Edward asked.
“Jeans, backpack?” I replied. I gestured to my own clothing.
I was in a pair of skinny jeans, a pair of boots and sweater. “Creepy,
protector guy. Normal-looking graduate student. Huge difference.”
“Jake, tomorrow, lose the black,” Edward ordered.
“Apparently, you’re noticeable.”
“I’m six-seven. I’m going to be noticed,” Jacob shrugged.
“But, okay. You ready, Miss Bella?”
“Just Bella,” I sighed. “And yes. I can already feel a
migraine building.”
“You can take more time,” Edward said, walking to me and
running his fingers down my cheek. “I don’t want you to push yourself.”
“I’m this close to the end of the semester, Edward. I’m not
taking any more time,” I replied. I picked up my leather jacket, scarf and hat.
Jacob picked up my new leather satchel, complete with a new MacBook Pro, iPad
and iPod Touch. I was all tricked out in Apple. I grabbed my purse and slid it
over my body. Edward walked over to me, a coy smile touching his lips. “What?”
He handed me a black credit card. “For you, Miss Swan,” he
replied.
“A Black AMEX?” I squeaked. “No. Just, no.”
“Yes,” he argued, opening my purse and sliding it into my wallet.
“Please, dolce? I know that you’re
stressing out because you’re not working.”
“I still have some cash from my tips,” I retorted sullenly.
“Keep that for something for you,” he replied. He handed me back my wallet and grinned sweetly.
“Have fun at school today. Are you going to the children’s home?”
“The director told me to come back after the first of the
year,” I answered. “I agreed to it since I’m still not all there. My head is
really pounding.”
“If it’s still bad, please come back home,” Edward murmured.
He reached into his pocket and handed me a set of keys, on a swan key chain.
“Keys to the condo. This one gets you into the building and this is to open the
door. You’ll need a passcode to get up the elevator. It’s 1918.”
I took out my phone, jotting down that information and nodded. “Thank you,” I replied. Edward kissed my forehead and stepped back, his pale cheeks a subtle pink. I gave him an appreciative smile before following Jake down to the garage.
