waiting ii.

vingt

Tatum and Paul nearly spin into the Swan yard, the truck wasn't even turned off before she had launched herself into the house. But, she regrets not taking the time. She should've parked properly, turned it off, and maybe she would've seen the silver Volvo.

Hurrying into the house, she stops in her place as four people stand in the living room. Two more than expected. With her sudden stop, Paul bumps into her. A small, guttural growl comes from the blond man. Jasper and Alice. Tatum prepares for a yelling match. Bella's angry face said it all.

"You knew?!" she shouts at the blonde girl, causing her to flinch and look down in shame. "You knew the truth and didn't tell me?!"

"Bella," Alice warns, going into a daze, her face softening. She snaps out of it. "It's not her fault."

"She could've told me about all of this and I wouldn't have had to go through what I did!" Bella shouts, blowing up at her. Alice grabs Jasper's wrist, holding him back from defending. "She caused all of this! I could have been happy but her choice put me through hell!"

Tatum nods, not meeting Bella's eyes. However, that only fueled Bella's anger. "Now you can't even look me in the eye! You knew what you were doing and you did it anyway! Was all that talk about self-worth crap too?! God, why aren't you saying anything?!" 

"Bella, that's enou-"

"Shut up, cowboy." Tatum uncrosses her arms and steps outside. Paul trying to follow her until Jacob stops him, putting a hand on his shoulder. Bella immediately regrets her words, seeing a glimpse of the distraught look in her eyes. 

Tatum reaches for her truck door, the cold air making her sniffle. Before she can open the door, it's slammed back shut by a pale hand. The hand stays there and she can practically picture the intimate stance they were in. He was standing so close to her, his nose almost nuzzling into her hair. In fact, he had to hold himself back from doing so. 

"Tatum," Jasper whispers softly, his hand sliding to the one she had on the door handle. "Don't go. Darlin', please."

"Don't 'darlin' me. I'm not dealing with this, Hale." Tatum tries to remove his hand but it doesn't budge. She bites her lip in anger, and the four others staring through the window didn't help. "I said I'm not dealing with this. Let me go home."

"I thought I was your home," Jasper says, almost distantly, as he stares at their hands. "You're my home, Tatu-"

"Stop." Resisting the urge to scream, she whips around and glares at him. Eyes dry, she shoves his hand away from hers. "I'm going to my nephew and dad because I'm not dealing with this."

"Please, just slow dow-"

"No. Not now. Not here. And, not with these people around. Three of them have super-hearing and the other is trying not to bite my head off," Tatum says, walking forward, making Jasper move back so she doesn't bump into him. "Respect my choice or move the fuck outta my way."

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Arriving at her house, Tatum was greeted by her family of two sleeping on the couch. She smiles as she places her keys in it's designated dish, shoes in the shoe rack, and her coat on the hanger. Locking the door and turning on the security system, Tatum carefully grabs her nephew and carries him to his Lightning McQueen toddler bed. She tucks him in and makes sure to lock the window, check under the bed, and in the closet before going back downstairs. Tatum smiles at her aging dad, draping a blanket over him to prevent him from shivering. Finally, she retreats to her own room. 

Tatum grabs a pair of pajamas and closes the blinds in her room, changing into said pajamas. Tatum wipes off her makeup and puts her hair in the messiest bun she could make. Grabbing her laptop, she settles down on her bed and opens her Skype before clicking on Georgianna's profile without hesitation.

However, instead of Georgie, her wife, Katalina, answers. The beautiful blonde looks strangely towards the screen before whispering, "I'll never understand technology."

"Katalina?" Tatum asks, the blonde vampire's attention flickering to call screen. "Hey, it's Tatum!"

"Oh, Tatum! I'm so glad you called! Whatcha wanna talk about, honey?" 

"Would it be strange to ask you about love?" Tatum asks, cringing at herself.

But Katalina shakes her head, "No, I've witnessed almost every type of person fall in love, honey. I'm probably the one person that will understand it no matter how crazy it sounds. But, funny enough, I didn't even know what a lesbian was until after we got married."

Tatum chuckles, "They showed up tonight."

In the blink of an eye, Georgie was sitting in front of the camera with a glass of obviously not wine. "Those asswipes! After 4 months, they come back and then what? What'd they do?"

"Hi, Georgie," Tatum jokes, earning a quick 'hello' back. "They showed up but I never got to know why they were here. But, he tried convincing me to stay and I told him to let me go."

"You said that word-for-word?" Katalina asks, sensing something else.

"I told him to respect my choice or to fuck off."

Cheers and 'whoops' come from the opposite side of the screen. Georgie takes a sip of her juice before chuckling proudly, "That's my girl! But seriously, what an asshole."

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