Fan Fiction ❯ Everything You Want ❯ Harsh Realities ( Chapter 11 )

Everything You Want

Chapter 11:

Harsh Realities

 

 

 

`Mmmm, warm…' Cole burrowed into the softness at his side and sighed. `I could get used to this,' he thought with a sleepy grin as his eyes drifted open to greet the morning and the still drowsing girl nestled in his arms.

 

Shifting slightly so he could see her face, Cole marveled at her tranquil beauty. Rosy lips slightly parted to allow small puffs of air to escape, practically begged for his kiss, and he was hard pressed not to grant their wish. The only thing that stopped him was the desire to observe her while she slept.

 

He brushed his fingertips over her forehead to sweep away the pale strands that lingered here and there and obscured parts of her delicate, beautiful features. His errant digits traced there way down her tiny, button nose to the full, pouty lips that were calling his name.

 

Using the pad of his thumb, Cole ran it along her bottom lip, savoring the warm, smooth skin that almost seemed to pulsate beneath his gentle caress. Unable to refuse the call of her lips to his own any longer, Cole leaned down and captured her mouth in a soft kiss.

 

Bella drifted in the abyss between sleep and wakefulness as she relished the feel of Cole's tender lips upon her own and his hard body aligned with her soft curves. Eyelids fluttering open, she snared her fingers in his dark hair and slanted her head to deepen the kiss.

 

Cole nipped at her bottom lip and moved her beneath him so he could have easier access to her mouth. Arching against him, Bella moaned softly and raced her hands up and down his shirt covered back. Parting her lips for his insistent tongue, she stroked it with her own and felt a surge of passion and pride at the groan he emitted into the recesses of her mouth.

 

Sliding his hands down her quivering form, Cole slipped his hand under the flimsy top she was wearing and cupped her lace swathed mound. Tearing her lips from his with a gasp at the sensations he was eliciting, Bella sought the skin she knew was hiding under his black t-shirt and raked her long nails sensually along his spine.

 

Feeling his control quickly beginning to slip away under a cloud of hunger and lust, Cole pulled away and flopped onto his back, all the while struggling to catch his breath and rein in his body's natural reaction to Bella's more than willing response to his kisses.

 

“Well, good morning to you, too,” Bella panted as she ran a trembling hand through her tousled blond tresses with a sexy grin.

 

Eyes still tightly screwed shut, Cole responded with a sweep of his hand in her direction, “That was not the plan, you wanton sex kitten.”

 

“Wanton sex kitten?!” Bella sputtered incredulously, “You're the one that practically attacked me in my sleep, oh delusional one!”

 

Cole popped an eye open and peeked over at Bella. Laughing out loud at her flushed, indignant expression, he pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her flaxen head.

 

“And you loved every minute of it.”

 

Bella smiled into his shoulder. “Well, yeah, but that's beside the point.”

 

Cole chuckled and gave her a gentle squeeze. “So, what would you like to do on this gorgeous Saturday morning, my lady?”

 

“Hmmm…Well, I need to stop by the house and pick up a few things, is that ok?”

 

“No.”

 

“Cole!”

 

“I'm just kidding! Ow! Hey! Don't touch me there or I'm gonna tell my mommy! Mmmm, on second thought, I kinda like it rough…”

 

Bella giggled and removed her hand from his side with a wrinkle of her nose. “You're so bad.”

 

“And you're not?” Cole commented as he threw the covers back and climbed out of the bed.

 

Bella felt her breath catch in her throat as Cole stretched. The muscles of his long, lean body rippled as he extended his arms above his head and rolled his neck to get the kinks out from sleeping. Catching Bella's dazed stare, Cole smirked and turned to face her.

 

“If you're quite done ogling my goodies, maybe you should think about getting dressed, Miss Campbell,” Cole suggested as Bella snapped out of her stupor and glared at him.

 

“Not much to ogle at, Mr. Hastings,” Bella shot back at him with a sweet smile as she scooted off the bed to stand in front of him. Letting out a surprised gasp as his arms shot out and brought her body flush with his, her gasp turned to a soft moan as the evidence of his desire pressed against her inner thigh.

 

`Oh… my… God…'

 

“Not much, huh?” Cole murmured huskily into the shell of her ear as he lightly ground his hips into hers. Then as suddenly as he had pulled her into his arms, Cole released her and headed to the bathroom.

 

“Where are you going?” Bella asked breathily as she pressed a hand to her stomach in an attempt to calm the butterflies fluttering wildly around in there.

 

“I need to take a shower,” he muttered with a grimace, “A long, cold shower…”

 

 

 

 

 

“Holy hell, Bella! How long does it take to get a `few things' together?” Cole questioned impatiently as he watched her neatly packing a duffel bag with the personal items she had scattered about her bed.

 

“You… just shut up,” she muttered distractedly as she moved from the bed to her dresser to look for her brush. “Where in the hell… Oh! I know where it is! Be right back!” She called as she ran from the room.

 

Cole groaned and thumped his head lightly with his fist in frustration. `That girl is going to be the death of me…' he thought with a scowl.

 

“Ah! There you are!” Bella cried triumphantly as she tucked the brush into her back pocket and headed back to her room. Halfway to the stairs, Bella glanced into the living room and spotted something that looked like a photograph peeking out from beneath her father's blue recliner.

 

Changing the direction of her steps, Bella kneeled down and freed the item. Turning it over in her hands, Bella realized it was a picture of her mom taken a couple of weeks before she'd died.

 

Bella traced a finger over the picture and felt a lump forming in the back of her throat. Out of the corner of her tear filled eye, Bella's eyes spotted a white envelope also peeping out from beneath the chair.

 

Bella recognized it as the kind of packet her school report cards came in. Curious as to why it was stuffed underneath the recliner, Bella sat back on the floor and pulled out the papers from the already opened envelope.

 

Reading it, Bella was horrified to see that not only was she in danger of failing Calculus, but also History and English. Realization washing over her in painful, heart wrenching waves, Bella let out a sob and covered her face with her hands.

 

`Daddy must have seen this already. I'm the reason he did what he did. He must have sat here in this chair staring at mom's picture and my report card, and… Oh God…'

 

“No, no…” she whispered, tears streaming from her eyes. `I caused this. I'm the reason he's sick…'

 

That's how Cole found Bella. Sitting in the middle of the floor clutching the papers of her report card to her face, sobbing uncontrollably.

 

“Geez, Bella! What the hell happened? What's wrong?” Cole inquired frantically as he knelt down beside her and pulled her shaking form into his lap.

 

Letting the papers fall from her fingers, Bella flung her arms around Cole's neck. “It's all my fault, Cole!” she choked out between sobs.

 

“What are you talking about, Bella? What's all your fault?”

 

“I'm the reason daddy is so sick! I'm the one who put him in the hospital! If he dies, it's all my fault!” Bella cried hysterically as she soaked the collar of his shirt with the multitude of her tears.

 

Completely shocked, Cole hugged her close and waited for her tears to die down so she could explain what'd happened in the short span of time she'd been away from him.

 

Finally, Bella quieted enough for Cole to lean her back a little in order to see her tear stained face.

 

“What the hell happened, Bella? What do you mean; you're the one that made your dad sick? That's bull shit. The only person that did this to him is himself. You had nothing to do with it.”

 

Bella shook her head and collected the papers strewn around them to hand to Cole. “I found these along with a picture of my mom underneath his chair.”

 

Giving her confused look, Cole turned his attention to the papers and frowned.

 

“Holy shit, Bell. We gotta get this taken care of. Good thing it's only the first semester. You've got plenty of time to get these grades up…” he trailed off as Bella pushed herself from his lap to pace angrily around the room.

 

“You don't understand, Cole. Daddy saw those grades. That's the reason he got so drunk. That's the reason he's in the hospital. I put him there,” Bella stated firmly as she cut off his response with a wave of her hand, “No. Don't. There's nothing you can say to convince me that this isn't my fault. Dad knows how important my grades and graduating from high school were to my mom.”

 

“She was always telling me how she wanted me to live out her dreams for her since she wasn't able to. She'd had to drop out of school because she was pregnant with me.”

 

“It was always her wish that I graduate at the top of my class and go to a Ivy League college to major in something like law or medicine. I never had the heart to tell her that not only did I not really have interest in either of those professions, but I wasn't really that smart. I'm average at best, definitely not intelligent enough to go as far as her dreams wanted to take me.”

 

“So, I did my best in school but somehow always found myself lacking in my mother's eyes. I know she would never tell me she was disappointed in me, but I could tell. After she died, I stopped caring about school. I guess it was my way of punishing her for leaving me.”

 

Bella stopped and gazed guilty over at Cole's grim expression. “God, that makes me seem like such a horrible person, doesn't it? Punishing my dead mother for something she had no control over and in the process forcing my father to drown himself so he didn't have to face the fact that his daughter was a stupid, selfish, idiot. OH GOD! What have I done?!” Bella cried as her legs collapsed from beneath her and she slumped to the floor in a sobbing, hysterical ball.

 

Snapping himself out of his shocked stupor, Cole crawled over to Bella and pulled her once again into his arms. “Shhh…” Cole soothed gently as he stroked her silky blond head, “Oh, baby, how can you possibly think that this is your fault?”

 

Bella pushed at his chest. “Because it is, Cole!” she cried angrily as she struggled to remove herself from her arms. “It is my fault! Didn't you listen to anything I just told you?”

 

Gripping her upper arms firmly, Cole shook her and forced her eyes to his.

 

“Look at me Bella Marie. I'm only going to tell you this one more time. Your father's actions and decisions are nobody's fault but his own. Yes, he probably did use your grades and your mom's death as an excuse to get drunk, but that doesn't make it her fault any more than it makes it yours.”

 

“Both of you are still hurting and that's to be expected, but honestly, I'll tell you the same thing I told your father. You need to suck it up, Bella. Stop feeling sorry for yourself, stop hiding and running away from reality, and learn to deal with the fact that your mom is gone. She's gone and I bet she's looking down on the way you two are living your lives and she's crying, Bella.”

 

Cole crooked a finger underneath Bella's chin, and gently kissed away the tears streaming down her cheeks.

 

“I know you don't want her to be sad, right?” At Bella's nod, he continued, “Well then, I think it's about time you got your act together, right?”

 

Bella took a deep shuddering breath and cupped her palm to Cole's cheek. “Will you help me?”

 

Cole covered her hand with his own and smiled. “As much as I can, but this really has to be something you do on your own, Bell. You've got to learn to depend on your own strength to see you through your struggles because you're not always going to have someone to do it for you.”

 

Bella felt a flicker of a smile light upon her lips. “How are you always so strong, Cole?”

 

He held her close and murmured into her hair, “Because you need me to be…”

 

 

 

 

 

*~~~~A/N~~~~*

 

 

 

Oh my gosh, I'm so hungry. As soon as I woke up, I sat down and started writing, just for you guys. :o) Of course, I did wake up at 1:30 because I'm a lazy bum, but that's beside the point. lol Anyway, hope you liked the chapter! What did you all think of Cole taking charge like that? Sexy, huh? I know, I know… I'm a genius… Please don't gush on me so… lol Just kidding. Well, the refrigerator is calling me so until tomorrow… Tchao!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

*~~~~Media Miner Reviewer(s)~~~~*

 

 

 

quirkyslayer: Glad to see you're happy with the way the story and Bella and Cole's relationship are progressing. I aim to please. ;o) lol Thanks so much for the review!

 

 

 

 

 

*~~Anime Spiral Reviewer(s)~~*

 

 

 

Xx_tearful_worries_xX: I wrote this long ass chapter just for you, just so ya know! lol *hugz* Hope you like it! :o)

 

 

 

 

 

Next Chapter: Teach Me