A/N – (I don't own twilight or the characters in any way.All credit goes toStephanie Meyers)

Skeletons in the closet

Esme's P.O.V.

Silently watching the meteor shower light the sky in trails of sparkles, I didn't take too much notice to Edward's sudden appearance. I knew he was there, I could feel him stood behind me. I just couldn't acknowledge him.

"Esme," he sighed in somewhat frustration.

"I've told you my reasons, Edward," I shot back, my voice fierce with determination.

"So, you're just going to let that one man torture you for eternity?"

"You have no idea," I warned, whipping my head round so I could look at him. "No idea whatsoever."

"But I do."

Scoffing, I turned my attention to the sky again. "Second hand," I replied, unfeeling.

"And it hurts me to see you like this."

"You hardly know me," I shot back, my voice quavering. "Sympathy, Edward, is one thing I do not need from anyone. Not you, or Carlisle, not anyone!"

Chair legs scraped across the wooden paned floor as he came to sit next to me by my bedroom window. I could feel his face concentrating on my own.

"Why can't you just leave me alone? I've coped like this for many, many years."

"And now you can just let it go. You can forget the hardships."

"But I can't can I?" I retorted, shooting a sharp look towards him. "My perfect memory remembers the windows of memories. Patchwork really, I suppose, but still, it's there. And I have proof. Look at me Edward," I sighed. "No-one can come close to me, let alone hold me. My body – muscle memory to be precise, doesn't allow me too. And I remember."

A long pause stood between us before he finally spoke again.

"I never said it would be easy, Esme."

"My life has never been "easy.""

Edward's face held a solemn expression and a bittersweet smile touched my lips.

"It's not you," I finally stated, staring at nothing in particular. "I just..."

He took my hand and I flinched despite my mind telling me that he wouldn't harm me."I understand."

"See?" My voice seemed too high and shame flushed through my veins. "This is why he can't know." I closed my eyes and breathed in as deeply as I could. "Please, understand me."

I sounded desperate in the circumstances I was in.

"I do," Edward replied, gently. "Really, Esme, I do. But you can't carry this on your own forever."

"I've done it before." And although everything he said was countered, I was beginning to run out of replies.

"Esme."

I found his eyes with my own and he smiled lightly."

"I don't know what to do anymore!" I cried as he pulled me into him, his arms holding me in a tight embrace. "What happens if I tell him and he rejects me? What happens if doesn't accept me? What happens if I tell him my true feelings and he doesn't feel the same way?"

Thoughts buzzed around my over cramped mind, my emotions – not yet mastered, flared above my control and Edward just rocked me in his arms.

"It's okay, Esme, I promise you, everything's okay."

I snuggled closer, wanting the contact I so very rarely had received in my human life.

"Carlisle listens," Edward whispered into my ear, tucking a tendril of hair behind it as he did. "Believe me; I have been in your place before. Guilt, secrets, Esme, I know what you're going through."

I sighed, pushing myself away slightly to let our eyes find each other once more. "I'm so scared, Edward. This feeling, I...I've never felt it before. I'm just so confused," I confessed, wringing my hands together.

"Love," he breathed, "is a feeling that one cannot describe accurately. It's just tenderly talking you into its arms and holding you there. A decision from you is yet to be made."

Smiling for the first time in two days my mind seemed to rest a little.

"You know," Edward continued, a crooked smile on his lips, "when you first woke to this life I thought you would run." I sucked in a sharp breath, guilt seeping through me. "But you didn't. And it was all because of your feelings for Carlisle. Even during your change just eight days ago now, you still held on hope that the voice you could hear was his, that the body cradling your broken form was his. And it was."

"Edward I-

But he placed his index finger over my lips and I was quiet again.

"When you saw him your thoughts ran into a frenzy, and all I knew was that you two were made for each other."

"But Carlisle," I began.

"Carlisle," Edward retorted, "was the same with you, Esme. When he carried your dying body into our small house, his mind was concentrated on saving the girl he had fallen so guiltily in love with a ten years ago. His mind that is so usually controlled, so precise, was in a frenzy over what he had done. You seemed so hurt, so pure that he wondered if saving you like this was the way things should've gone."

"No," I replied, quickly.

"He's still in denial even now. I know you're happy – well, to be with him like this at least, but knowing that you've lost so much that is a part of you made him doubt his decision entirely."

"But I... love... him."

Edward's smile widened and he chuckled quietly. "I know you do, Esme. You can't deny yourself any longer."

"But all the skeletons in the closet," I replied, not missing a beat, "some of them are just too horrible to tell. Most people I know would hate them."

"Carlisle isn't most people."

I let myself lean back into the chair I previously sat on, pondering my options.

"It hurts to carry secrets around with you, doesn't it?" Edward questioned and I nodded.

"He'll understand?" I asked, worriedly.

"He understands me, doesn't he?" Edward joked, winking. "And, Esme," he carried on, "you have eternity to tell him if you wish."

Soft footsteps crunched the stones beneath them as Carlisle walked up the driveway and to the front door.

"I think I'll tell him now."

Edward nodded, squeezing my hand before leaving the room as quietly as he came. And although I wasn't prepared, I removed all worries from my mind.

Maybe I could do this after all, and maybe this time, someone would listen.

A/N – This came to me suddenly and I had to write it. I just have to many Esme/Edward/Mother/Son moments floating around inside my cramped mind.

I really wanted it to be a cross between sweet and bitter, but I don't know...what do you think? Did it work like that?

Please tell me your thoughts, they are much appreciated! Thanks, Katie1995 :)