Author's Note: This is my first time writing Edward, and this is also the largest amount of characters I have included in a scene. Please be kind.
Disclaimer: Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse are the property of Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement intended. No money is being made from this endeavor.
Tonight was going to be one of the hardest nights of my existence. Tomorrow I was marrying Bella. I had been looking forward to this ever since she had said yes to me several months ago.
The reason for my unhappiness was not my impending nuptials. Rather, it was that Alice was stubbornly insisting on the ridiculous tradition of the groom not seeing the bride before the wedding. And because Alice was counting the images I could see in other people's minds in the scope of this tradition, she had assigned Emmett, Jasper, and Carlisle to take me hunting. They had strict orders to take me far enough away that I could not sneak back to the house during the night.
Consequently, we were all in Emmett's Jeep as he drove us to an as-of-yet unspecified location. Emmett was the only one who knew where we were going and he was using his tried and true method of keeping me out of his head. This had already been going on for a couple hours, and I was thoroughly fed up.
"Emmett!" I yelled, "I have absolutely no desire to see you and Rosalie in any more compromising situations! Pick something else to think of!" Jasper snickered next to me, and I sent him the biggest glare I could muster.
"Come on, little bro. Tomorrow you are going to have to make Bella happy. Maybe you could pick up a couple of pointers." Emmett turned his head to smirk at me, and I smacked him in the head. This time it was Carlisle who laughed, although he choked it back when Emmett turned to glare at him.
"All right, you two," Carlisle said reprovingly, although his thoughts were rather amused. "We are going to be spending the whole night together, so if you two could get along, I would really appreciate it."
"As would I," Jasper said. "Both of you need to get a grip on your emotions." I sent him an apologetic look. I knew how hard this was on him. He smiled in appreciation.
"And we are here!" Emmett said, pulling over into a clearing. I pulled out my cell phone and checked the reception. Satisfied that I would be able to make and receive calls, I opened the door and stepped out of the car, looking at my surroundings. The forest surrounding us was thick and I could smell a herd of deer not too far away. I swallowed the venom that pooled in my mouth, knowing that we needed to set up the tent before we split off to go hunting.
The tents were only for appearances sake, so we did not really worry about putting them up perfectly. It took all of us only a second to set them up, and then we split off to go hunting on our own. We agreed to meet back at the campsite in a couple hours, and then each headed off in a different direction.
Normally I would just pick off the first animals I came across, but today I was going after bigger game. Because I had promised Bella that we would try tomorrow night, I needed to be at my strongest. I would be lying if I said that I wasn't worried about hurting her. On the contrary, I was terrified that something would go wrong and I would lose he forever. However, Bella was quite stubborn in her belief that I would not hurt her, and I found it very difficult to deny her anything she truly wanted. This was her condition for marrying me, so it was clear that she wanted this very much.
I took down a large bear first, and after draining it decided that it was probably in my best interest to try and find something else as well. I wanted to take every precaution for tomorrow night. Shortly thereafter I found a mountain lion and drained that as well. I decided that that was probably enough, and pulled out my phone. Alice said that I could not see Bella, but she had never said that I could not call her. I dialed the number of the cell phone I had given her.
Bella picked up on the second ring. "Edward!" she sang, the happiness in her voice making me smile. "How is the hunting?" she asked.
"Hunting is good," I said, "but I miss you a great deal."
"I miss you a lot as well," she said. "Alice has already painted my fingernails and toenails, and now she is planning on having me watch a couple movies. She is frustrated because I miss you too much too be much fun." I smiled, not unhappy that she was missing me as much as I missed her.
"Alice, what are you doing? Wait--" I heard Bella's voice fade as Alice apparently seized the phone from her.
"I knew you were going to call Edward, but you are not going to talk to her for hours and hours. I only let you get away with this because I saw that if Bella didn't get to talk to you all night she was going to have so much trouble sleeping that she would be too tired to say her vows tomorrow. You have five more minutes." I heard Alice pass the phone back to Bella.
"The warden is timing my phone call," Bella said sourly. I chuckled, knowing exactly how she felt.
"It's hard, love, but just think, after tomorrow night we never have to spend any time apart ever again if we don't want."
" We won't," she said in a no-nonsense tone, making me laugh. "I never want to be apart from you ever again."
"I feel the same way, love," I said, feeling as though my dead heart was turning over.
"Alice is going to take the phone away from me now," Bella said with a trace of petulance, "so I will see you tomorrow, and you better not be late!" I laughed at the thought. Of the pair of us, I was the less likely to be late.
"Goodnight, my Bella," I said. "Dream of me."
"You know I always do," she said softly. "I love you, Edward."
"I love you too, Bella." And with that I disconnected the call. It was time for me to make my way back to our "campsite" already.
When I returned, Carlisle was sitting on a fallen tree, staring into the fire he had built. I took a seat next to him, and he smiled in greeting. How are you doing, Edward? Getting cold feet? I laughed at the joke. Our feet were always cold.
"No, I am still genuinely looking forward to tomorrow's festivities. I am, however, a bit worried about tomorrow night," I admitted with some hesitance. Carlisle smiled at me reassuringly.
I believe that Bella is right in her assumption that you care for her too much to allow yourself to hurt her. As long as both of you pay attention, I see no reason why the two of you should not be successful. Have you given any thought to protecting her from your venom?
I nodded. "I have some condoms. They seemed like the best solution to the problem." Carlisle nodded his agreement.
It will all be fine, Edward. I will be a phone call away if you need me. I hope that you won't"
I nodded, hearing the sounds of Emmett and Jasper approaching.
"So, little brother," Emmett said, "have any questions for us?" Jasper smirked at me as I glared at the both of them.
"No, thank you," I said through my teeth. "I also don't need the video tutorial that you are currently broadcasting. Kindly keep all those thoughts behind closed doors." I was really tired of Emmett trying to share his experience with me. At least Jasper kept those thoughts to himself.
Jasper excused himself for a moment to make a call to Alice. Emmett stepped away from the fire a few minutes later. I wasn't the only one missing my mate tonight.
I closed my eyes, thinking of my Bella. How her scent filled the air around her like the sweetest perfume. How her heart pounded whenever I kissed her. How her cheeks turned the most delicate shade of pink whenever she was embarrassed. And how she would murmur my name when she dreamed, showing me that I was always in her thoughts.
Before I knew it, the sun was rising, and it was time to pack up the tents. I moved quickly to get everything back into the Jeep. Today was my wedding day, and I was returning to the most beautiful woman in the world.