Chapter 37

                                    

                                          
Chapter 37- Edward's POV
                          

                          
I took a deep breath. I was going to tell her. And about time too.
                          
Relax, Edward, you can do this.
                          
I always wondered how Nathan had never told Ella about his mum and I. I mean, it was the perfect opportunity to get her to back off from me and never, ever consider dating me at all. Had Nathan told her, she would have been totally disgusted by me and probably would have dated Nathan instead?
                          
Ugh, why am I thinking about this now? Ella's waiting for an answer. She was still looking at me, obviously dying of curiosity, but gave me time to talk about it without pestering me about it. I looked up at her, meeting her amazing honey brown eyes and taking her hand in mine. 
                          
"It could be Nathan's mum..." I said. "Yeah... ugh, Lauren."
                          
"I know her name is Lauren," Ella said with a chuckle. "I'm just a bit confused here. Why would she do this to you? She seems nice."
                          
Nice, huh. I was pretty sure that Ella would not use that adjective to describe Lauren in a minute or so. I smiled at her and leaned closer, connecting my lips with hers in a soft kiss. She seemed surprised, but kissed me back slowly. I myself wondered why I had kissed her at this moment. Maybe to stall time. Or maybe because I knew that she was going to be mad when she found out the truth. 
                          
Ella pulled away and narrowed her eyes, still in a good mood, though. "Get on with it, Romeo. Your kisses aren't going to explain what Nate's mum has to do with any of this, or solve who the person annoying you is." She looked up at me.
                          
I forced a smile. "Yeah, that's true," I said. Then I proceeded.
                          
"lt could be Nathan's mum... because of one very important reason. Because last year..." I paused and met Ella's eyes. "Her and I dated for a while."
                          
Finally I'd managed to say it. But the silence that followed was shocking. Ella retreated herself back, propping up against the back of the sofa. She let go of my hand without saying anything, and just stared off into the distance. I watched her warily. I had no idea what she was thinking , because she was giving out no facial expressions. It was almost as if she did not want me to know how she felt.
                          
Then she met my eyes. Hers were filled with tears and as soon as I saw her in that way, I reached out to her to hold her, but she just pushed me away from her. Her rejection made me feel all cold and empty on the inside. I didn't want it to be like this... I didn't want us to fight again after just getting back together. But I could understand how she felt. This was Nathan's mum we were talking about after all. Her friend's mother, whom she knew had to be at least fifteen years older than she was. Lauren was actually twenty years older than Ella. I mentally shook my head. I screwed up. The age difference between two people I dated was twenty years. This is crazy.
                          
"Ella?" I asked cautiously. She didn't answer, but just shook her head and stood up. As soon as she started walking away, I stood up after her and followed her. I had to get her to talk to me.
                          
Wow, she was freaking out and I only told her that I had dated Lauren for a while. I didn't even tell her that I had  caused the divorce between her and Nathan's father. Not that I had planned to tell her. But imagine how much more she would freak out if she were to know.
                          
I'm such an idiot.
                          
"Ella?" I asked again, grabbing hold of her arm. She finally looked at me. She had wiped the tears from her eyes, but her make up was all smudged and she looked worn out. She also wiped her mouth, as I presumed, from my kiss. That was tough.
                          
"What?" she yelled. I flinched at her loud voice.
                          
"I knew it! I just knew it! Nathan always said stuff that implied this, but I could never be sure. And the other day, when I saw you with her in class..." She shook her head once again, and then shook herself free from me. She was apalled, I could tell.