The sun shining through my window blazed into my eyes, waking me from my heavy sleep. I rolled over and searched. Empty. I reflexively flashed my eyes open, the sun stabbing at my unadjusted eyes. My room was empty. I swished to the other side too quickly, wrapping the covers around my legs and causing me to fly from my bed. I waited for the thud and the pain I would receive on my back. Instead, a set of cold, tense arms pulled me back up.
"You really should be more careful," the angelic voice rang, "I go down to make you breakfast for five minutes and you still almost break your neck." He lightly chuckled at his own joke. I couldn't help but smile as I looked at his face. The urge to retort a smart comment escaped me every time I looked into his warm golden eyes. He smiled wider, making me blush. He liked that. His fingers lightly brushed the side of my face, his other arm still steadily cradling me to his chest.
"Are you hungry, or should I stand here and stare at the most beautiful person in the world all day?" he asked. He had no idea how wrong he was, because there was no mirror for him to see himself. "I prefer the second option, but your stomach is growling so loud I could hear it from downstairs." He said it like it was an exaggeration.
I shook my head to find my voice. "Food's good, but I wouldn't mind the second option either," I managed. Edward smiled his wonderful crooked smile and carried me downstairs.
"What's for breakfast?" I asked, wanting to hear his voice. I sat down in my usual spot at the table and watched him move, no glide, to the stove.
"Eggs, toast, and milk. I know you like them scrambled," he said dishing me up a plate. He was at my seat in half a second and placed the plate and fork in front of my. A moment later, he set down a glass of milk without spilling anything. He slid into his chair across from me.
"I'm sorry if I scared you this morning. I should have waited. I thought you'd never wake up from your dreams," he said with real apology in his eyes. Leave it to Edward to blame himself for trying to do a nice thing and make me breakfast.
I cringed as I thought of what I might have said while I slept. He read my face – which was easy for him. A good substitute for not being able to read my mind.
"It wasn't anything out of the ordinary," he explained. "Just you mumbling about me," he slid a smile into his voice. "Like I said, nothing out of the ordinary."
"What should we do today?" I asked stuffing my mouth with eggs. I didn't realize how hungry I really was until the smell hit my nose. "Charlie is out fishing for the day, so we can do whatever," I said, looking down. He knew what I was getting at, and he smiled again.
"Now, love, let's not try to grasp things we know are too far out of reach." He wasn't making fun of me or totally rejecting me. I knew his conditions, he knew mine. We'd both get our way one day; we were just too stubborn to decide when that day was. "Why don't we go out? I'm sure you've noticed how bright the sun is shining." He jerked his head toward the window. It was beautiful outside – a rare occurrence in Forks.
I sighed. "Yeah, that should be fun," I said half heartedly. I played with the toast between my fingers. Edward placed his finger under my chin and forced me to look up. He was still smiling, but worry entered his eyes.
"We don't have too if you don't want to, love. Whatever you want-" I opened my mouth to suggest my idea again, but he quickly ran over my words, "-that's safe for you." I rolled my eyes. "You think your safety is irrelevant, don't you?"
"If I'm with you, everything else is," I explained plainly.
"You're insane sometimes, Bella." Edward took my hand from my toast, letting it drop to my plate. He stretched across the table to kiss me lightly on the forehead. I felt the blood rush to my cheeks. "Let's not waste the rest of the day," he whispered, looking into my eyes as his forehead rested on mine.
"I have an idea," I answered. He raised his eye brows in a way that said he didn't want to argue on the previous subject. "No, not that – but I will get that." He rolled his eyes as I continued, "Let's go to the meadow. We haven't been there in so long. It'll be like the first time, what with the sun blazing and all." He seemed to like this idea. For me, it set a romantic setting. But I really did want to go back. Edward looked like he almost was expecting the idea. Strange.
"That sounds wonderful. Should we take your car or Emmett's?" He always gave me the option, but I wondered why Emmett's car? "I sort of… overheated the engine in my Volvo," he admitted embarrassed, "The last time you went to La Push, I'd been out hunting, remember? I hurried home when Alice called to say you found yet another way to run away." His face hardened, "You realize how much it worries me when I don't know you're safe."
I looked away, ashamed. Jake just wanted to hang out because he didn't have patrol that night. I couldn't say no to Jake when he sounded really eager to see me. Edward thinks it's not safe to be around Jake, when "at any second he could get too upset at something and it could set him off." I knew Jake better to know he'd never hurt me, but that was a matter I couldn't convince Edward of.
"Anyway," he continued sitting back in his own chair, "Rosalie is fixing it up for me. It should be ready by this afternoon. No worries." He shrugged. I stabbed at my plate one more time and realized I'd eaten everything now. Dang.
"Let's take my truck. I know you can't drive as fast in it," I teased. He rolled his eyes again.
"I'll give you a human minute," Edward winked. He picked me back up, ran to my door, set me down, and went back downstairs – probably to clean up my mess – all in under 2 seconds flat. The speed made me dizzy. I held the door frame for support for a minute until I composed myself.
I took a nice warm shower, but quicker than normal. I did want out of the house, but I wanted more just to be with Edward in his meadow, our meadow. After deciding I could let my hair air-dry, I changed into some clothes Edward must have laid on the counter. A blue T-shirt and the new jeans Alice bought me when she more or less kid-knapped me. It was meant as a bribe to behave, but I knew either way she'd end up giving them to me. My wardrobe was apparently in great need of help. I could almost care less half the time, but being around Edward made me self-conscious sometimes, even though I knew he cared less what I was wearing.
I rushed into the clothes, putting the T-shirt on backwards, making myself impatient. I calmed myself before I turned the doorknob to go back to my room. Edward was, of course, lying casually on my bed – the picture of an angel at peace.
"Those jeans look nice," he said although he was looking at my eyes.
"Thanks," I said, blushing again. "Ready to go?" He shot up from my bed and was holding my hand in an instant.
"As soon as you are." He kissed my fingers sweetly. His lips traveled up my arm and neck, finally reaching my lips. His cold lips felt good after the hot shower. I could feel my heart rate accelerating at an incredible speed. I felt a smile tug in the corner of his mouth. And then, like every other time, he put his hands to my face a pulled back gently.
"We could just do this all day," I said. I leaned my head onto his ice cold chest. I felt his body quiver has a laughed.
"Silly Bella, don't you know it's not good to be alone with a vampire?" he teased.
"Then I guess I'm very, very bad," I whispered in a giggle. He mumbled something about "truth be told." Maybe. I could barely hear him over my heart racing. He stroked my hair gently while my heart went back to the normal rate.
"Ready now?" he asked when he was sure I'd be able to stand without my knees collapsing beneath me.
I sighed, but leaned away to see his face. "I suppose." He laughed again.
Something about his mood seemed off. Not that he usually wasn't happy around me, but he was extra cheery today. I couldn't put my finger on it, and Edward saw the frustration on my face. As we sat in my truck – Edward pressing the 55 mph limit my truck could take – Edward kept a constant focus on my expression. Finally, he could take it no longer.
"Please tell me what you're thinking before I go mad!" he pleaded.
"Just trying to… figure you out," I answered staring out the windshield.
"Figure me out?" he asked, "All you need to know is that I love you. Oh, and did I mention I'm a vampire?" We both chuckled, but he went serious again.
"Oh, I might as well not even try to guess," I gave up, flailing my hands in the air and letting them rest at my sides, "I'm a terrible guesser."
"Guess what?" Edward asked exasperated.
"Why you're so peppy."
"I can't be happy around the woman I love?"
"No," I almost yelled, "No, it's not that, it's just . . . Never mind." It was silent in the car for a while, other than the moaning of the engine. By the time he spoke again, we were at the end of the dirt road.
"I'm sorry," he apologized, "I didn't mean to pry."
"No, I'm sorry." I hated it when he blamed himself for everything. "I was being unfair. I forget sometimes that you can't read my mind," I said with a half smile.
He leaned over and kissed me. The sudden movement made me jump, but I wasn't one to object in this situation. I slowly melted back into my chair, letting him continue. As he began to pull away, I leaned into him, never wanting him to stop. I was leaning so far that I was losing my balance and flashed my arm out to catch me, even though I knew Edward would never let me fall. He didn't catch me though. A half second went by and I wondered why he didn't catch me. I felt his lips curl into a smile. The other half of that second, I understood why; my hand came crashing down onto the wheel, sounding the horn. The sound scared me more than Edward jumping at me. I leaped into the air, hitting my head on the top of the truck. I went tumbling down onto Edward, who caught me immediately, rubbing and kissing the top of my head where a bump slowly rose.
"Well, you weren't supposed to hurt yourself, you silly girl," He cooed.
I laughed lightly. "You knew I'd do that, didn't you?" I smiled widely, although it did hurt.
"Yes," he admitted, "I'm just glad it put you in a better mood. You need to be happy now."
"I'm always happy when I'm with you." My cheeks flushed and I could feel the blood rushing to them. He stroked my left cheek with his right hand. The coolness shocked me a bit, but I loved the feeling.
"Want a ride, or should we walk?" he asked, pointing to the woods.
"Why even give me the option?" I asked with a smile. He gently placed me back into my seat and was out of his and at my door in the same second. I jumped onto his back, and we were off, flashing past the trees and zooming through the bushes. I rested my head on his shoulder and watched the scenery pass. I couldn't make anything out, but the shades of green were fantastic - blending and fading in and out perfectly.
We arrived and the entrance in a few minutes, which would have taken half the day on foot, maybe more, what with me falling every ten seconds. He slid me off his back and my feet thudded lightly on the grass below. He grabbed my hand and led me through the last of think, dense forest. The light was blinding, but that was my favorite part – the image came in slowly, allowing me to take in every detail. First, the green of the trees and grass, and the blue of the sky and stream. Next, the perfect circle of which everything fastened itself around. Then, something new, a large red square with a smaller brown square inside the red, all settled in the very middle of the meadow. As my vision cleared, I made out the red and brown; a large red blanket and a picnic basket nestled at the core of our sanctuary. Two candles were placed next to the basket and light red pillows sat on either side of them. I gasped almost soundlessly, and I looked up to Edward. He was still judging my expression. As he saw the smile within my gasp, he beamed a smile brighter than his sparkling skin.
"Oh, Edward!" was all I could manage.
"Do you like it?" he asked. Even though he couldn't read my mind, I knew he saw the answer plain on my face.
I nodded and hugged him with all the strength I could conjure up, although I knew it felt like nothing to him. He hugged me back and kissed my hair. He gracefully picked me up and walked at a human pace to the set up.
Tears started streaming down my face. Small laughs and gasps erupted silently out of my chest. He held me closer, if that was possible. He placed his face right by my ear and whispered, "Happy anniversary." I turned around with the biggest grin on my face and kissed him. The most perfect person in the world was all mine, even if it didn't make sense.
Edward picked me up and walked gently to the blanket and sat us next to each other. He started to pull away, but I leaned in more. He chuckled and leaned in too for a brief moment, putting me in a daze. He knew it would distract me long enough to get away. Darn him.
Edward pulled out delicious smelling food and two champagne glasses.
"Wine? I know you're well over the age limit, being 109, but not me," I teased. He pulled out a bottle.
"Sparkling apple juice, of course," he answered with a smile.
"Of course," I repeated. I watched as he poured it into the glasses carefully.
Edward raised his glass just over his eyes and looked deep into my eyes. "To the most wonderful person in the world: I don't know where I would be without you, Bella." We clinked our glasses together and it made that sound that you'd imagine high-pitched wind chimes would make. Beautiful.
We each sipped a little from our glasses, then set them down. Edward grabbed me by my waist and pulled me close to him.
"I love you," he whispered.
"I love you, too," I whispered back.
And we fell into an abyss of love and passion.