Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or places and a lot of the situations in this story. They are the property of Stephenie Meyer.
A/N Well! I have quite a bit to say, so in case you get bored I'll put the important stuff first.
1) After the release of Breaking Dawn, I was slightly disappointed so I thought I'd try and write the story slightly more how I'd pictured it. I am in no way undermining Stephenie Meyer or her astonishingly good work. I just need a bit of closure.
2) I tried in vain to find someone to read this before you. After trying a number of places with no results, I have just had the help of one wonderful friend. So constructive criticism is not only welcome, but asked for!
3) Some of the ideas that were used in Breaking Dawn were very clever and so I might steal a couple, but they DO NOT belong to me.
4) I have been enjoying Fanfiction for years but have only recently started writing. So if anyone is up for betaing this story, I would be very grateful. Please enjoy the story, I hope it isn't too rambly. But that is my style…
Rising Sun
Chapter one - Risotto
Although it had been my decision to spend the afternoon with Charlie, I couldn't help but miss Edward. With just one week until the wedding, our lives had become frenzied and every moment spent at the Cullen's house had me bombarded with questions as to whether I wanted white roses or red, if I minded wearing dangling earrings, if I had a particular aversion to oysters, prawns or maybe even all seafood and if for goodness sakes we should just be done with it and have chicken and if I was willing to wear four inch heels as they would go with the dress so much better than the three inch ones. I was also treated to a whole lot of anxious glances from Edward but only when he wasn't glaring daggers at Alice.
As today had been decoration-making day, Edward and I had made a mutual decision that I would be safest here, where the only chance of blood stemmed from a paper-cut from a well-read copy of Jane Eyre. I sighed as I remembered how Jane and Mr Rochester never even had a wedding and still managed to be perfectly happy – even after a whole lot of heartbreak. And Lord knows Edward and I had had our fair share of that.
I set my book down on the kitchen table and went to find Charlie. I still hadn't really come to terms with the fact that, come Sunday, I would never see him again. So I felt that any time spent together was precious, even if all it involved was sitting in silence in front of a baseball game.
When I entered the small living-room, Charlie was asleep on the couch, his hand dangerously close to a can of beer that rested atop a pile of newspapers. I tried to walk over to him and pick up the can as quietly as I could so as not to wake him. Of course, we were talking about me, so within thirty seconds I was rushing to the kitchen to grab something to mop up the contents of the spilled beer can.
As I re-entered the living room and bent down to gingerly wipe up the mess, from behind me I heard Charlie yawn and say 'Bells, I can't see the game.'
'Sorry Dad.'
I settled back on my knees and raised my eyebrows in a silent 'is that better?' to which Charlie nodded a reply and then proceeded to sit up and stretch anyway. I rolled my eyes.
'How long have I been out?' he asked with another yawn.
'Not long, it's still light out.' I said, stifling my own.
I hadn't realised how exhausted I was until I'd been given the opportunity to relax. However, I knew that this was the calm before the storm, as guests for the wedding were due to start arriving tomorrow. Last minute preparations were being made at the Cullen's house tonight to accommodate Tanya and Kate. A room had been prepared for Irina as well but we couldn't be sure if she would come. This irritated Alice no end, as she had every other part of the celebrations scrupulously organised. But because Irina couldn't make up her mind as to whether or not she would come, we had needed to make appropriate arrangements for both scenarios.
Alice had been complaining about not knowing if she should ask the caterers for an extra plate of whichever fancy French chicken dish she had eventually decided on, when Jasper came over to try and calm her down. He soothed Alice by saying that Irina wouldn't even be eating it anyway so what was the worry? A dirty look and a hiss of, 'It's all about the pretences, Jasper,' had him shaking his head and returning his gaze to the television screen, although his eyes darted warily back to his wife every so often.
The tension had been slowly building over the last couple of days, what with Jasper being afraid of his wife and therefore not his usual calming influence; Rosalie and Emmett's refusal to be involved with any of the preparations after a particularly nasty incident involving a disagreement with the florist and a broken vase; Edward's quickly darkening mood over my worry at what this wedding was doing to the Cullen household and Esme's desperate attempts to make her children see sense and just 'quit bickering like a bunch of five year olds!'
Carlisle had called a family conference to try and restore the peace and Edward had decided that it would be best for me to stay with Charlie. He seemed keen to give the others a piece of his mind and I assumed he didn't want me to see that side of him yet; if ever.
So this morning he had offered to take me into the centre of Forks to get what I needed for mine and Charlie's final dinner. As much as I wanted to spend all my time with Edward, I had declined his offer so that the family conference could be over and done with by this evening and Edward could drop by the house later. It also meant I could take my truck.
I knew Edward had already bought my new car and was hiding it in the garage as a surprise for after the wedding. Resigned as I was to my truck's fate, I had put on a smile and bobbed my head up and down with as much enthusiasm as I could muster until Edward had pressed his lips to my forehead and chuckled against my skin. The contact had stopped my bobbing in its tracks and made my breath hitch in my throat. When he leaned away smiling I managed a sincere thank you that was only partly for the car.
Sitting in the truck this morning and revving up the engine for possibly the last time, I couldn't stop my mind from wandering to Jacob. He had been gone for over a month now with no contact whatsoever. Charlie was getting regular updates from Billy who, from what I heard from Charlie, was fairly relaxed about the whole thing. Charlie had been worried sick when he heard and had almost been angry at me for my seeming lack of concern.
I had feigned indifference as a way to keep Charlie from knowing the extent of my pain. I was worried that if I showed any signs of wavering in my love for Edward then Charlie would forbid me from marrying him. Not that that would stop me. I still wondered sometimes why marriage was so important to Edward but recently I had become accustomed to the idea and I would just need to look at the ring on my finger to make my heart leap with joy.
The wound which Jacob had left was healing over slowly but surely. I had known that whichever choice I made would leave its mark but I hadn't expected it to be quite so hard. Every time I saw Jacob's face, be it in a memory or in one of the hundreds of coloured posters Charlie had put up, my stomach twanged with guilt and my eyes pricked with tears.
Thus far, I had avoided the posters by spending all of my time at the Cullen's house. I knew I couldn't run from it forever though and today seemed as good a time as any for me to face what I had done. As I drove past, people looked in my direction and began to whisper in the most indiscreet manner humanly possible. I heard comments about the upcoming wedding and how the only reason for it must be a baby. I slid down the seat and carried on driving.
I had half considered turning back and ordering a pizza for the evening, or failing that using the contents of the fridge to create a suitable meal. Only I doubted that a beer and leftover lasagne sandwich could count as 'suitable' in anyone's books, so I continued down the road until I found a parking space big enough for my over-sized vehicle.
I zipped up my coat and pulled it tight around me while I ducked my head to avoid any prolonged eye-contact. I had also hoped I could escape any confrontations with the feelings that seeing the Jacob posters would undoubtedly rekindle.
Once inside the little shop, I headed for the pasta aisle to see if I could pick up some risotto rice. I started to plan the specifics of the dinner operation to distract myself from any unwanted thoughts. It worked well until I was actually confronted with some very unwanted thoughts in the form of Lauren Mallory.
I hadn't wanted a big crowd at the wedding and even when Alice overruled me on that point, she did at least refrain from inviting the intimidating blonde standing before me. Even though I had somehow won Edward's love, I still paled in comparison to Lauren's tall, toned and goddamn near perfect physique. Although, to be fair, I did win in the personality stakes.
I shrank back from her, waiting for the backlash but to my utter surprise she had smiled and said, 'Congratulations Bella.'
I blinked in shock. Her smile faltered as she sighed and said, 'Look I know we haven't really got on in the past but, as we're going to different colleges and we'll probably never see each other again, wouldn't it be nice to end on a pleasant note?'
I had nodded and smiled timidly. She was obviously angling for an invite to the wedding, but why? Still, I couldn't really see the harm of bringing one more person so I said 'Sure. Listen, would you like to, um, come on Sunday? To the … wedding I mean.'
The look on her face meant that I had still been suspicious but I could see her point. That, and I didn't want to gain the reputation of being a bitch as well as a tramp.
'Oh Bella, that would be lovely! Thank you. What time?' Her eyes glinted in what I thought to be a slightly evil way.
'The ceremony starts at 11 but guests are welcome from any time after 10:15.' I had said, glad Alice had at least filled me in on the basics.
'Perfect. See you then.' She had smiled widely and fluttered her fingers at me before turning and flouncing down the aisle away from me.
Now that had been weird. Why would Lauren choose now to reconcile our differences? I started to panic that she wanted to ruin the wedding by coming up with some obscure reason why Edward couldn't marry me. Or that she'd cause a commotion at the reception and start spreading rumours. Or maybe she'd even pour something down my front and ruin my dress. Alice would murder her.
'Bells, what are you cooking for us tonight?' Charlie's voice startled me out of my thoughts.
'I thought we'd have chicken risotto. Did you know that risotto originated in Northern Italy?' I said, keeping the tone light.
'No,' Charlie smiled, 'No, I didn't know that.'
'Actually, it's getting late, I should probably get started.' I said as I made my way through to the kitchen and put a pan of water on to boil. Cooking risotto was a long and laborious process that required patience so while I put the rice in to simmer, I let my mind wander again.
The time between telling Charlie about the wedding and this last night with just the two of us had flown by so quickly that I wasn't entirely sure I hadn't dreamed some of it. Edward and I had been in the kitchen talking over what exactly we were going to say. Well Edward was talking; I was hyperventilating.
'I don't think I'm ready. You do it.'
Edward had smiled my favourite crooked smile and said as sweetly as he could, 'Bella, sweetheart, the wedding is in less than a month. Charlie has to know now.'
'That doesn't mean I have to be the one to tell him.' I said stubbornly.
'No,' Edward spoke slowly like he was talking to an uncooperative child, 'but isn't it better that you break the news? He's much less likely to shoot you.'
'But, but …'
I sighed and rested my head on Edward's shoulder, 'Okay, I'll tell him. But only if you'll hold my hand the whole time.'
Smiling, Edward had clasped my hand to his chest. Suddenly his face turned grave and a moment later I heard the slamming of car door and Charlie's keys in the lock. When he shuffled into the kitchen he was mumbling something that sounded suspiciously like 'the only one who gives a damn about the kid. Still haven't found anything helpful.' Then he glanced up and his expression darkened considerably.
'What's going on?' he asked, his tone thunderous.
'Dad, um, I …,' my voice cracked and I swallowed before continuing, 'We have something to tell you.'
Edward gripped my hand tighter as a sign of encouragement.
I took a deep breath and said, 'Dad. Edward has proposed to me.'
I waited a moment for Charlie's mouth to close and for his face to return to its normal colour but when it became clear that was going to take a good few minutes, I carried on anyway.
'And I've said yes.'
Of course this statement did no good for Charlie's purple complexion and I risked a glance at Edward only to see the corners of his mouth having an epic battle with his self restraint as he fought back a smirk. Seeing nothing funny in the situation I bit my lip and fixed my eyes on Charlie's reddening face as his mouth contorted in a multitude of odd shapes. Finally he broke the silence with, 'You're sure?'
Taken a back I stuttered an 'Of course,' before turning to Edward as his perfect features fell into a frown.
Charlie mirrored his expression and said, 'Well, as long as you're happy. But you,' he pointed a finger at Edward whose eyes widened, 'will never, ever let her be miserable. And, and make sure she still gets to experience the world and see everything she wants to see. Make sure she never regrets this decision.'
Edward opened his mouth to speak but thought better of it and nodded mutely.
'And, as I am being so wonderfully accepting of … you, I expect you to have honourable intentions.'
Edward looked shocked that anyone could have thought that his intentions were anything but honourable until Charlie said, 'And that means no more sneaking into my house at night.'
My eyes just about popped out of my head as Charlie said that. How long had he known? My heart rate picked up and I wondered how on earth I could survive one night without Edward in my room, let alone the whole month we had until the wedding. I looked at Edward searching out an answer in his face, but he only squeezed my hand as if to say 'later.'
It turned out that Charlie had gone to the bathroom one night and heard Edward humming my lullaby. Luckily this had only happened about a week ago, so as far as Charlie knew, we were just celebrating the engagement.
Once again, Charlie woke me from my reverie but this time with a loud, 'Mmm, this smells fantastic Bella.'
When the risotto was done and I'd arranged it as prettily as I could on the plates, I brought it over to the table where Charlie was already sat. We ate mainly in silence, only occasionally uttering noises of appreciation for the food. It was towards the end of the meal when a lump started to rise in my throat and I had to fight back the tears. I had hoped Charlie would be unobservant enough not to notice but I guess he was more perceptive than I'd given him credit for.
'Bells, what's wrong?' He asked.
'Nothing, Dad. I'm just…I'm gonna miss you, while I'm at college.'
'I'll miss you too kid.' Charlie said, slightly taken a back.
Before I knew what I was doing I'd leapt from my seat and was hugging Charlie with a force that could rival a vampire's. I let the noisy sobs rack my body as I said my silent goodbye. Only Charlie didn't know it was the goodbye, which only made it more difficult.
Cautiously, he wrapped his strong arms around me and when I continued to cry, he muttered, 'C'mon Bells. You know I'll always be here for you. For as long as you want me around.' That only made me cry harder.
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