11. Tin Boxes And Packing

EPOV

Marie had fallen asleep while I was driving back to my house. I kept my hand on her leg as she curled up on her side. We hadn’t been driving for five minutes before she fell asleep. I guess today’s events had worn her out, and Bella had been pretty stressed before Marie took over when we had arrived at the grocery store.


I pulled up into our driveway and decided that since I was only going to run in for a minute to put her icecream away and take her medicine to the kitchen, that I would just leave Marie in the car and let her sleep. I was relieved that she seemed to be catching up on some much needed rest, so I grabbed the prescription medicine bottle out of the center console, then rolled down the windows for her before I shut the car off, and went around to my trunk to get the icecream.


I walked inside the house and Alice met me at the door.


“Is she alright? Bella’s bed arrived this morning from the furniture outlet while we were at school. It’s already set up for her in your bedroom and I talked to Jasper about Bella’s concerns. He said he will talk to her about them tonight. He would do it right now, but she’s pretty much knocked out, huh?” she said, referring to the sleeping beauty outside in my car.


“Yes, thank you Alice, she’s fine and yes, she’s sleeping. Today has been stressful for her, you know,” I stated the obvious while walking past her towards the kitchen.


I was putting the icecream in the freezer when Carlisle approached me. “Edward, I treated Lauren Mallory in the ER this afternoon. The gossip around town now seems to be that Bella is quite the ‘bad ass’,” he said with a smirk.


I chuckled at the expression, but then gained back my composure before I told him, “Yes, that whole scene played out quite nicely. Marie assaulted two students and a teacher. And now Bella is expelled from school.” I shook my head, still having a hard time believing it. “But I‘ve already told her about her options for summer and night school, so she doesn‘t seem to be as upset as she was when she found out about her punishment. At first, it was pretty bad. She was very upset at the idea of not being able to graduate.”


He nodded, serious now. “Yes, I heard. We’re going to have to keep an eye on her,“ he said with concern. “Also, I went to the station and talked to Charlie this morning. I explained to him about Bella’s mental state and her moving intentions. He seemed quite cooperative with it all, and is entrusting her welfare into me.”


“Yeah, more like he can’t wait to get rid of the problem that he can’t handle," she with exasperation and a roll of my eyes. "He’s been neglecting her ever since we left Forks back in September. He’s pushing for her move to happen as soon as possible, so that he can move Sue Clearwater into the house without bothering with Bella’s opinion about it,” I informed him.


He nodded as though he already knew this information. I could tell by his thoughts that he had suspected as much, but didn’t know for sure.

“So, how is she now? Besides the incident at school, has Marie made any other appearances since last night?”


After I placed her medicine bottle on the kitchen counter, aware that everyone in the house could hear me, I began my lengthy explanations of early this morning when she had woken up in the middle of the night asking for Alice, and at the diner this morning, throwing a fit and refusing to eat breakfast, then the details of the gym class confrontations, then Bella’s meltdown in the car on the way to the pharmacy after school, and, finally, Marie’s appearance at the grocery store.


I described her different moods on all of the occasions, and stressed to him what Bella had told me about Marie’s instinctive reactions, her violent tendencies and her hands-on education allowing her to express that violence. I explained about how her sole purpose, and reason for existence is to protect Bella at all costs. And when we came upon that subject, I told him about how Marie had actually killed a man while we were gone. A man intending to rape Bella.


By the end of my speech, everyone had gathered around to listen more intently, and Carlisle looked astonished by most of my information. I could tell by his thoughts that were going a million miles a minute, that he was especially excited to start working with Bella and counsel her about this apparent disorder of hers.


“Edward…” came Bella’s sleepy voice from outside.


“We’ll be back later this evening,“ I told my family, then rushed back outside before any one could get a word in as response, intent on getting back to Bella.

I wasn’t expecting to stay inside for more than a minute, and already fifteen minutes had passed. I didn’t know whether to expect Bella or Marie when I got there, so I quickly decided to always assume that she was Bella, unless Marie’s unique voice, language or actions proved otherwise.

I could tell them apart now with ease.


I was at the passenger door of my car in a split second to find Bella starting to sit up from her curled up position in the seat. I leaned forward into the window space of the car door and cooed softly to her, “My sleepy girl.”

I reached my hand out and ran my fingertips across her beautiful blushing cheek. She gave me a small smile and stretched. The way that her body flexed allowed her shirt to ride up just a little bit, and it exposed a sliver of her creamy belly skin to my eyes. I lowered by already outstretched hand, and lightly tickled my fingertips on that enticing bare skin. Immediately, my ears were assaulted by her peels of giggles. I smiled at the sound and removed my hand.


“Ready to go do some packing?” I asked her.

She looked towards the house behind me, then back up to my face, and nodded.

“Okay, beautiful,” I responded, and went around to my side of the car.

I slipped inside and took Bella’s hand in mine. I started the Volvo and sped down the driveway, headed over to Charlie’s house.

BPOV

I was quiet, absently playing with Edward’s cold fingers during the drive over to my dad’s house. I had woken up alone in Edward’s car earlier, wondering what had happened and how long I’d been out. But after looking at the dash clock, I saw that I was only gone for just over an hour since it was now 5:30 in the afternoon. I watched Marie’s memory play out at the grocery store with a smile playing on my lips.

She was certainly in a good mood…


Edward is proud of me!


Yes, well…that’s because you didn’t let that man hurt us. I’m proud of you too.


It’s ‘cause I’m fucking awesome.


Yeah, okay. I’m still mad at you.


Well goddamn it, hurry up and get the fuck over it already. Not going to school for a couple of months isn’t exactly something to cry about, drama queen.


“We’re here, love,” Edward informed me when we were sitting in the driveway and I hadn’t made a move to unbuckle my seatbelt.


I shook my head a little, coming back to the present reality. “Oh, right,” I said, then quickly unbuckled my seatbelt and got out of the car.


Edward followed around to the trunk of the car. He popped it open and handed me the small bag that had what looked to be some boxing tape in it, then he grabbed the stack of flattened boxes and closed the trunk. We turned to go towards the house and I started fishing for my keys in my purse. Once I had them out, I unlocked the door and we walked into the house, getting out of the light drizzling rain.


We went straight up to my bedroom and Edward made quick work of putting all the boxes together. We had twelve boxes to work with. I nodded, thinking that it would be more than enough.


I went to my dresser with a box while Edward went to my closet with a box of his own. About ten minutes later, all of my clothes were packed with the boxes taped up. I put the dirty clothes that were in my hamper in a black trash bag. I would wash those at Edward’s house tonight.


“Edward, will you take a box down to the living room and pack the dvds that are mine and my Nintendo DS stuff, please? I’m going to pack up my bathroom stuff, and then I’ll be down there with a box to get the food out of the cabinets that are for me. Stuff like my pop tarts, and little Sunny D bottles. Charlie doesn’t like those.”


“Yeah, baby.”

He grabbed a box off the floor and came over to give me a kiss before jogging off downstairs.


I grabbed a box and went to the bathroom. I packed up my shampoo, conditioner, body wash with scrubby, face wash, bubble bath, feminine products, my purple sparkly toothbrush and my Crest toothpaste, my deodorant, my hair brush along with a few hair accessories, and some q-tips. Then I raided the medicine cabinet for my Excedrin, Midol and trusty Neosporin with a pack of Band-Aids. Once all the necesseties were packed, I grabbed the few bottles of nail polish that I actually owned, and threw those in the box too.


I took the box back into my bedroom, intent on taping it up. I grabbed the tape, but couldn’t make it work right on the stupid tape gun. After nine tries, I stomped my foot, let out a scream of frustration, then threw the stupid tape gun onto the bed and just fucking gave up.


“What happened, love?” Edward asked after appearing out of thin air.


I grabbed a marker off my desk, deciding to label the few boxes that were packed already instead. “I was trying to tape up my box but I can’t get the stupid tape gun to work,” I said, frustrated.


Edward grabbed it, chuckling lightly about it being ‘child proof’, then ever-so-expertly taped up the stupid box with my bathroom stuff in it.


“Shut up,” I grumbled, which only made him laugh louder.


“You’re fucking precious,” he said before grabbing my stereo and cds off the shelf and heading back downstairs to finish packing up my electronics.


My tin box, Bell. Don’t forget my box.


What tin box? I asked, then immediately saw a picture of it from her memory.

I immediately started looking everywhere in the room for it, feeling her immense, almost desperate need for this…box.


Just find it. It’s not in my hidey-hole anymore.


I checked everywhere, and couldn’t find it.


Ask Edward. NOW, goddamn it she demanded.


After I looked under the bed, I decided to go ahead and ask Edward. I went to the top of the staircase and yelled for him. In a flash, he appeared at the bottom of the staircase and looked up at me.


“What is it, love?”


I shifted my feet nervously, not liking this longing feeling Marie was causing me. I didn’t understand it. “Um...do you know anything about a tin box?”

His facial features quickly shifted to a blank expression and he stayed quiet.


I took a deep breath and breathed it out, not understanding his reaction. “It’s just that, you know…I was up there packing, and then all of a sudden Marie mentions something about a…tin box? I saw a picture in my mind of what it looks like and when I saw the picture of it from her memory, I got this horribly desperate feeling that came with it. She needs this box, okay? So um…do you know where it is?”

He was impassive.


I sight and tried again. “Okay, do you even know what I’m talking about? I don’t understand this feeling she is giving me…” I tried to explain, now feel very desperate for him to just tell me where the stupid box was already. “Why?…why is this box so important?” I asked in a shaky breath.


He looked at me a second longer then came upstairs to stand by me. He looked right in my eyes and said, “Okay, I know that Marie can hear me right now. So I’m gonna talk to her for a second, alright?”

I nodded, unsure of what was going on.


“Marie, I told you I was getting rid of that box, and that I didn’t want you touching it anymore,” he said sternly.


Fuck you, Edward. Give me my goddamn box!


“Whoa…” I breathed out, covering my ears by instinct because of her sudden loud voice in my head.

My eyes widened.


What the hell Marie?


Just shut up and get my fucking box, Bell. Persuade him, bribe him, suck his dick - I don't care, just do something to make him give it back.


I furrowed my brow and he asked, “What did she say?”


I uncovered my ears, shook my head a bit and asked, “Does she always talk to you like that?” I asked incredulously.


“Like what? What did she say?” he asked again.


“She said ‘fuck you Edward give me my goddamn box’ before she suggested that I suck your dick as a persuasion to get it back,” I replied slowly, completely confused.

His eyes squinted in anger.

I spoke again before he could say something else to Marie. “Edward, what’s going on? What’s with this tin box?”


“It’s what she kept her marijuana, pipe and lighter in. She hid it under the floorboard of your bedroom where I stashed your presents from last year. She must have been watching when I pried it back open and gave them back to you last week,” he explained. “Nothing else was in that box…nothing of sentimental value. But if she wants a box that is just hers, for her keepsakes and stuff, then I can take her shopping for a similar one tomorrow. But she will not be using it to store drugs or anything else illegal. Is that clear?” he asked me, but I’m pretty sure a lot of it was meant for Marie.


GOD FUCKING DAMN IT!! her loud voice boomed inside my head.


I cringed.


Shut up! Fucking pot head. This is my body. No. More. Smoking.


Fuck you and Edward.


I just nodded to Edward in response, not trusting my voice.


“What did she say?” he asked after a minute of my internal conversation while I glared at the wall beside his face.


“She’s pissed.”


“That’s too bad,” he replied nonchalantly.


“I agree,” I told him before heading back over to my bedroom. It looked like it had been ransacked after my frantic searching for that stupid box a minute ago.


I took some calming breaths after my head went completely silent and after I labeled the packed boxes, I went downstairs with another box and headed towards the kitchen. I passed by Edward knelt down on the floor, carefully organizing my cds and dvds on top of my small boom box stereo in his box, and smiled. I placed a kiss on the top of his head and continued on my path to the kitchen.


I opened the cabinets and grabbed my pop tarts, macaroni & cheese, granola bars, cheese ritz-bitz crackers, and tomato soup cans. I opened the fridge and grabbed my small Sunny D bottles. I had eight of them left and I put all of them in there. I took my magnets off of the refrigerator and put those in the box also.

Edward walked up behind me with that annoying tape gun and showed off his taping skills, once again, while I rolled my eyes at him. He smiled and gave me a wink, then walked back out of the kitchen. I labeled that box and brought into the living room, sitting it beside the front door next to the box labeled ‘Bella’s Electronics‘.


We went back up to my room together and I grabbed another box off of the floor, heading over to my bookshelf.


“I’m going to take these downstairs,” he said, pointing to the three boxes and black trash bag, “then I’ll come back up and help you with those heavy books, baby.”


I nodded and sat down on the floor, starting to pull books out and put them in the box. Soon, Edward was back in my room, sitting beside me with a box of his own. We sat in companionable silence, packing up my huge book collection.

After we had each filled up a box, Edward broke out that damn tape gun again. I labeled the boxes after he was done showing off, and he took those boxes downstairs to put with the rest of them.


We had five boxes left, and I grabbed one of them on the floor and scooted it over to where I was, then continued packing up my bookshelf. Edward came back up and grabbed another box as well, and we repeated the process of trying to pack all of my books.

After he went downstairs the second time with the fourth box of books, I grabbed another box for the last of my miniature library. When Edward came back upstairs, he sat beside me with the tape gun in his lap, and absently played with the long strands of my hair as I finished the packing.


I had come across my photo albums and started carefully putting them in the box. When I picked up the old white one filled with my childhood pictures that I brought with me from phoenix, a picture slipped out of it and landed on the floor by my knee. I glanced at it, intent on picking it up and just slipping it back in place, but what I saw on the glossy paper made my heart skip a beat and I froze.