Talk Nerdy To Me: Face Down by Rae Cullen

A periodic taste of geeky goodness from our resident GeekPerv©, Trin.

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Title: Face Down
Author: Rae Cullen
Chapters: One Shot
Words: 8,848
Reviews: 57
Summary: Edward is Bella's geeky tutor. Edward naturally develops a crush on Bella, but knows she would never be interested in nerd like him. But when something serious happens, and Bella needs help, who's the 1st person she calls? Geekward Shuffle Challenge entry

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Disclaimer this story touches on domestic violence and I want everyone to know before they read this one shot in the event that the subject matter is too intense.

This NerdWard story isn't as light and breezy as most of the Talk Nerdy To Me rec's but it is a lovely and very sweet story about what true love is and how it should be shown.

Like so many other people Edward suffers from social anxiety and has to fight against it all the time, it’s just one of the many things that makes him so sweet and endearing.

It's hard to place why I'm in a continually anxious state, but just thinking about it makes it worse. When I'm alone in my apartment with my books, computer and Xbox, that's when my nerves are finally at ease. Putting myself in social situations always tied my stomach into knots and made beads of sweat form on my eyebrows and nose.

Of course having anxiety makes him even more awkward and as soon as he lays eyes on Bella for their first session he worries his entire life plan may hang in the balance.

My mouth had gone dry and my groin had hardened simultaneously.
She was a devil-angel sent from both my dreams and nightmares. She was beautiful and I knew immediately that these sessions were going to be nothing short of pure torture.

The first session was, as I had predicted, a nightmare. I stuttered through the majority of the lesson, making Bella think, I'm sure, that I was completely incompetent at best. It was much more probable that she thought I was a total idiot. I thought for sure she would complain to Dr. Chang, and beg for a new tutor, forcing him to kick me off of the program and consequently ruining my entire life plan.

As the weeks progress Edward becomes more comfortable with Bella and a friendship starts to blossom. At the same time Edward starts to notice Bella’s constant bruises and distracted behavior. Battling with himself about becoming involved in her personal life or not he only gets excuses of clumsiness from Bella when he asks what happened each time. Edward tries to talk to her about the situation, but as many victims of domestic abuse, she attempts to hide the problem and makes excuses for her boyfriend, Jacob.

Finally, after being badly beaten, Bella reaches out to Edward when she escapes from Jacob. Like so many other victims of domestic violence her spirit being so badly broken she believes that she is to blame for the abuse and that Jacob actually loves her.


Fearing that Bella will be another statistic Edward calls his sister-in-law, Rose, to come and speak to her. Having been a victim herself and now working as a domestic violence counselor she is finally able to help Bella take the necessary steps to move forward. I loved the way Rae Cullen used this twist from cannon Rosalie in this story and had her come out the other side even stronger and helping others.

Edward offers to let Bella stay in his one bedroom apartment while she is waiting for Jacob’s hearing. Of course, being the perfect sweet NerdWard that he is he allows Bella his bed and sleeps on the couch. Living in such close proximity over the weeks has sweet an very funny moments but there is always the reminder that Bella is still trying to get her life back on track.

For the first time Bella sees how she should be treated by a man, even though they are not actually dating.

"You've made me feel so protected and cared for," she confessed.
I gulped audibly as she looked up at me through her lashes. My hand dropped down from her face and I'm pretty sure my heart stopped beating due to how beautiful she looked.
"No one has ever made me feel that way," she confessed again, inching closer to me. My eyes shot down to her lips, as I watched her pink tongue peek out and slide along her lower lip.
I hadn't even realized how uneven my breathing had become, too distracted by her words and how gorgeous she was.
"You deserve to be protected and cared for. You're special, Bella," I admitted, surprised by how easily the confession expelled from my mouth and by the fact I didn't stutter.

Just so I don’t flaming bags of poo on my Internet doorstep I want to tell everyone that there is no full on lemon in this story. However, there is some delicious and slightly nervous making out and exploring that makes my heart go pitter patter.

My sexual experience left something to be desired, like most of my qualities. I'd had sex twice in my life, both times were laughable as I had been a nervous wreck. I'd never been this attracted to someone on this kind of level before.

She ground her hips into me, obviously now aware of just how attractive I found her. It was hard for me to disguise my desire. I moaned embarrassingly loud into her mouth, causing her to whimper. Hesitantly, I placed my hands on her hips, my fingers grazing lightly against the sliver of skin the peeked out from between the top of her pants and the bottom hem of her shirt.

However, since Bella is still dealing with the issues with Jacob she (very wisely) knows she must take anything relational or physical slowly. This is another, of the very many things, that I love about Face Down is that it seems realistic. It’s not like Edward swoops in and saves Bella and then they are humping like bunnies around his apartment the next night. This little story beautifully expresses what the magnitude of this type of event has on a life and that it takes time to build trust and love after having experienced something of that nature.


I just want to give this NerdWard and Bella huge hugs...and maybe get one more little chapter of them down the road now that they are completely comfortable with one another and we could see where all that hip grinding has led them.

It seems like it would be a huge oversight not to mention here that if you are somebody you know is a victim of domestic violence there are so many avenues for help out there. It may seem easier to hide the problem if you are in the situation but but under no circumstances, even in the heat of the moment is it ever ok for someone to lay hands on another person out of violence in a relationship. And for those of you who do know of someone going through this, in such a disconnected society we often try not to meddle in other people’s lives but your questions and concern may help a family stop the cycle of abuse. Below you will find links to organizations that can help with domestic violence below:
The Hotline 800-799-SAFE

HelpGuide
Domestic Abuse Helpline 888-7Helpline