Love Is Flower Like

Chapter 8

Edited 05/25/21

Dinner at the Swan's house was interesting. Bella made dinner: fried fish with vegetables and a side of rolls. She was quiet. Jake kept trying to engage her in some light-hearted conversation, but she was as bad as Meadow at keeping it up. Meadow analyzed her and realized that she wasn't doing too well. There were bags under her eyes and her skin was paler than it had ever been. In her eyes was a gleam of defeat. It was a sad sight to see. Meadow always thought Bella was an attractive girl. Nothing too special, but just the right amount. And her slightly closed-off personality fed into it. Seeing her so zombie-like was strange.

Charlie and her dad talked the entire time. It was like they hadn't seen each other for years when they had just seen each other a few days ago. Meadow was the only one who felt out of the loop, like she didn't belong. She'd answer a few questions here and there when Charlie asked, but, other than that, she remained silent. It was nice that talking wasn't obligatory, but by withholding her voice, she felt ostracized; like she was the only stranger at a party.

When they finished eating dinner, Charlie, her dad, and Jacob all went into the living room to watch a game on TV. Meadow went to follow but was stopped by a look from her dad.

"Why don't you help Bella with the dishes?" he suggested.

"That's a great idea," Charlie gruffed out. "Lord knows Bella needs someone to talk to."

Puzzled by her dad's suggestion and by Charlie's comment, Meadow did as she was told. Bella was getting the water ready when Meadow reentered the room. Not knowing what she should do first, she stood there and waited for Bella to turn around. When she did, she was startled by Meadow's presence.

"Oh," she said quietly, "I can clean up by myself."

"I was told to help you," Meadow said bluntly.

"Oh, okay," Bella said. She started picking up the dishes on the table, ignoring Meadow.

"What would you like me to do?" Meadow questioned. She wasn't going to disobey her dad's wishes, and she certainly wasn't going to stand in the doorway looking like an idiot.

"You can wipe down the table and the counters if you want to help," Bella said.

After asking for a rag, Meadow began doing her job. It was quiet in the room. The only sound in the room came from the noise in the living room. Shouts of happiness and groans of disappointment trickled into the room, making the awkwardness in the air dissipate ever so slightly. Still, Meadow felt the uncomfortable tension and wanted to get rid of it. Knowing that she was breaking her internal code, she asked Bella, "How is school?"

Meadow cringed outwardly at the dumb question. Who asks about school when there are dozens of other things to ask about? Sure, they both were seniors, and both were experiencing high school, but that didn't mean she had to start there.

"School's good," Bella said shortly.

Meadow scrambled to think of something else to ask, or say, to further the exchange. Without thinking, Meadow asked, "How's your relationship going?"

She was met with silence. She turned to look at Bella and noticed a tension in her shoulders. Wondering if she made an error or offended her by asking about her relationship, Meadow furthered her question by saying, "Jacob told me you were dating some guy at your school. Edward Cullen, I think is his name."

After a few beats, Bella let out a soft, "Yeah."

Meadow noticed how Bella's mood became worse. She wondered if Edward Cullen was the reason for her bad mood. Meadow concluded they broke up. She had never experienced a break-up, but she could only imagine how bad it would feel. Then again, Bella and Edward weren't dating for long. Would it still hurt the same if they dated for a month versus dating for a year?