Angel:Part 1
Disclaimer: The characters belong to Stephenie Meyer and so does Edward Cullen. However the plot of this story is mine.
The torrential rainfall in the middle of December was nothing impossible in Seattle. The original inhabitants were habituated with it but the tourists or new comers who were ignorant of the weather had to feel the chill to their bones. Everybody ran to their nearest shelter to save themselves from the icy raindrops. A girl standing near a toy shop window, who was continuously nagging to her mother for some toy had to leave behind her wish and quickly escape to the sanctuary of her mother's car to drive away some place safe. An old man standing on the pavement cursed, to relieve himself of his irritation that the rain was affecting his business, what was his business, was rather unknown.
Bella watched how different people reacted differently due to the rains. But however, she did not mind it at all. She looked up at the sky. The low gray clouds and the additional lighting and thunder somehow reflected her inner turmoil. She was thankful that the rains would help her to hide her red tear rimmed face and the by passers would stop giving her odd looks.
She started walking again, not knowing where she was headed. It was the 24th of December, the Christmas Eve, surprisingly a Sunday that year. It seemed everybody in the city was headed someplace, towards a planned destination, either to buy presents or to meet loved ones. However much the rains were unwanted and caused a bit of a problem initially, it did not stop the people from resuming their work. This year Christmas was gloomy for Bella.
This year she did not have to buy any present for her Charlie, her dad. Previously, each year she would gift him something related to outdoor activities, but that year an outdoor activity had taken his life and had left Bella free of her responsibility to buy any gift ever again. She had however bought gifts for her other family: as she liked to call them that in her head.
Isabella Marie Swan who lived in the wettest town of Forks in Washington State on the west coast of the United States of America, had been a straight A student who had all the traits of a typical nerd. She was socially retarded and spent most of her days reading, studying or taking care of her house, due to the absence of her hairbrained mother, who had freed herself of the responsibility of Bella and Charlie, and left when Bella was six years old, never to look back again.
Bella had long brown hair which she used to trim herself, therefore it lacked a proper shape. In addition to that she had a pale heart shape face with plain brown eyes. 'Old, plain Jane'. She had never much interest in shopping and did not know how to use make-up elaborately, thanks to the absence of a influential female in her life. She dressed herself in clothes bought from Walmart, mainly, long sleeved tee-shirts and jeans accompanied by sneakers or Chuck Taylors. She was comfortable in her clothes and that was enough for her.
Her daily routine consisted of waking up, brushing her teeth, shower, cooking breakfast, eating it with her Dad, driving to school in her old Chevy truck (of which she was proud of, though her classmates never found the appeal), going through her daily classes and exams, working at Newton's Sports Shop, desperately trying to wave off Mike Newton's advances, go back home, cook dinner, do her homework, eat dinner with her dad trying to make small talk and go to bed. Her weekends consisted of visiting the library or sometimes hanging out with her fellow nerd best friend Angela.
'Plain Jane Bella Swan' (as she called herself) had never imagined in a million times that her life would drastically change with the emergence of a family in her hometown: The Cullens.
The Cullen family consisted of Dr. Carlisle Cullen, his beautiful wife Esme Cullen along with their children Emmett Cullen and twins Alice Cullen and Edward Cullen.
Dr. Cullen was an exceptionally talented surgeon, who had been transferred to the Forks Hospital as the hospital Super to make some efficient changes. Esme, who wanted a break from living a high profile life in Chicago wanted to try out Forks, which she thought was a peaceful town. Her oldest son Emmett was a happy go lucky kind of a person, who could happily adjust anywhere and was therefore not upset about the change, though the continuous rainfall was a bit irritating.
The middle Cullen sibling Alice reflected the spirit of her older brother and mother and was excited to make new friends, though the obscure lack of fashion boutiques and malls perplexed her a bit.
Edward the youngest sibling, was not at all happy with the change. Upon entering Forks, he had made his mind that he disliked the place, the climate, the over interfering people, the lack of any other colour than green. It was not that he was some snobbish rich kid who looked down upon people but the apparent lack of sunlight and warmth vexed him.
But both his as well as Bella's agony and their world turned upside down when they had met each other in their junior year biology class by becoming lab partners. Both had hit off immediately and discovered their likeness in their hobbies as well as choices.
Bella had been hesitant a bit at the beginning considering that Edward looked like Adonis in person with bronze hair, emerald green eyes, a well toned body with high cheek bones and a chiselled face whereas she was so plain. But somehow Edward made her feel different, she felt, what was the word, yes Alive.
Emmett who was huge and built like a football player but actually a teddy bear when you got to know him and the tiny yet scary pixie Alice when in mood to play Barbie Bella had initially nervoused Bella, but on discovering that they were the two nicest people on earth, and were close enough to be called her siblings had made Bella feel happy. Esme and Carlisle were lovely too. Bella felt safe with the Cullens, she felt wanted.
What started as a friendship in junior year quickly turned to a lovely relationship by the end of senior year. Bella was in love and Edward made her complete and whole. She took the leap of faith and opened her heart completely to him. He accepted her love and equally showered her with his own. Thus was born the other family of Bella.
The snapping of a car horn brought Bella back to reality. She discovered that she was standing in the middle of a by lane and a car was honking behind her waiting for her to get out of the way. Snapping at herself mentally she quickly moved out of the way. The car, a Audi A3 with black windows moved forward with speed and on its way splashed mud from the roadside on Bella.
"What the fuck!" she shouted. But the driver had long gone to hear her. Bella checked herself to find that her jeans and shoes were covered with mud. She pinched her nose in disgust. She was in a desperate need to clean herself.
The rains had somewhat slowed down for the time being to a light drizzle. She looked up and down the road to search for a board or a sign to hint her where on earth she was.
After a few minutes she saw that near the next left turn there was a board with the words 'Eliot Park'. She vaguely remembered Angela saying to her that there was a cafe called Twilight in Eliot Park where she had met the love of her life, Ben Chesney. Bella smiled to herself remembering that her best friend Angela Chesney née Weber was a married woman now with a one year old son, Eric.
Her smile disappeared as quickly as it had come. She could not be happy. Everything about the day was depressing her. She walked forward to search for Twilight. The thing she craved at the moment was a large double espresso and a large sized Kwality Wall's vanilla tub.
On the other side, in downtown Seattle, Edward Cullen was pacing the master bedroom of his ten thousand square feet, twenty-fifth floor penthouse apartment. Everything had been alright till yesterday. His life had been perfect. He could not understand what happened to change everything in a single night. Desperately in need of coffee he decided to go to the kitchen in search for it.
After a few failed attempts and spoling the spotless kitchen Edward gave up. "Bella, where are you? You know that I am clueless without you." Edward had never learnt to cook. He did not even know how to boil milk.
He never required to learn it. When he stayed with his parents his mom Esme cooked for him. She was a brilliant cook and could create marvel in the kitchen.
His love: Bella excelled at cooking too. That was one of the many things that had attracted him to her. When he moved out of his home for university in Berkley, Bella had moved in with him to his apartment after a few arguments that no way in hell he would let his girlfriend live in the dormitories. He studied medicine and she studied Literature. Though both of them had a hectic schedule, they always had time for themselves. Their friends used to tease them that they pretty much lived like a married couple.
They divided all their work. While Bella was in responsibility of the kitchen and shopping Edward handled the washing and cleaning.
When they moved to Seattle, Bella and Edward worked hard to build up their life. Bella acquired the position of an editor (her dream job) at Seattle Publishing House (SPH) and Edward the position of an intern in the main hospital. They lived in a small condo together refusing to accept any help from their respective parents.
After getting the Senior doctor position in Seattle Cancer Research Centre (SCRC), Edward bought the penthouse and a Ashton Martin Vanquish for his lovely girlfriend as a gift. Bella had loved the downtown penthouse apartment at first sight, and rolled her eyes on seeing the car. She was perfectly happy with her Mercedes and did not understand why she needed a costly car. They had moved in the next week.
Bella had refused to hire a housekeeper. "I can take care of my house myself Edward, I don't need anybody. Esme does it too." Edward knew that Bella was stubborn and tried to reason with her. "Love, mom is a housewife but you have to work. There will be pressure from work and you will get tired. Think about it." He had said.
"I have decided. This is my house." Edward had smiled looking at the small v that had appeared on Bella's forehead, a sign that Bella was pissed. He moved over to her and kissed her forehead on the v. Bella straightened and leaned herself in his arms. "I hate fighting with you. Don't you know that? I want to take care of my own house, Edward." Edward gave in knowing very well that it was impossible to win against the beautiful, witty yet stubborn woman he was in love with.
"Aye, aye princess" he muttered in her ears trying his best to speak in English accent but failing miserably. He heard Bella chuckling, hiding her face on his chest. That night Bella had been loving in bed taking charge herself. His own little princess.
"Bella" He sighed. He heard the sound of his cell phone ringing somewhere in the house. Giving up his attempt to clean the mess in the kitchen, he hurried to find his phone.
He found it on the dining table. Silently praying for the call to be from Bella, he was slightly disappointed to see his sister's name splashing on the screen. He accepted the call and put the phone to his ears. As usual Alice did not give him a chance to say a greeting. She marched off straight. "Where the hell are you two lovebirds? Mom is worrying and Ira is dying to meet both of you."
Edward knew that sooner or later the call was going to come. Every year Bella and he drived back to Forks to meet his parents and Bella's father. This year Bella's dad's absence had shifted the plan a day before. They were to arrive at The Cullen Residence in Forks that morning. But however nothing had happened as had been planned. "Hi Alice", he said quietly.
"Edward, what is wrong? Did you screw up?" asked Alice from the other side of the phone. Edward heard Ira's voice somewhere from a distance laughing. He remembered the cake that Bella had made for her godchild. Isabelle Rosalie Whitlock, who was known as Ira Whitlock was the apple of Bella's eyes.
The day Alice had met her husband, her then boss Jasper Whitlock she had decided that she was going to marry him and have a daughter whose name was going to be something related to her sister, Bella. By the time Jasper and Alice fell in love and married, Emmett had already proposed to his girlfriend Rosalie Hale, a motor car mechanic. Two months after Jasper and Alice were married, Emmett unable to stay away from Rosalie anymore completed a Vegas marriage, unknown to their mom and dad.
Carlisle had been upset with Emmett's behaviour and Bella had stepped in and handled the situation. That Fall, Emmett and Rosalie had a formal wedding and Bella and Alice gained another sister. "Edward are you there? You are scaring me." Alice's near panicked voice snapped Edward to reality. His twin had understood by his voice that something was wrong. His lovely near psychic annoying pixie sister! Edward clutched the phone tight in his hand and closed his eyes. Taking a deep breath he said, "She left".
"Bella left?" The two words were enough to set the whole Cullen house in commotion. There was a sudden pin drop silence and Alice felt as if time had frozen. Rosalie and Esme had stopped setting the table and looked at her. Esme had a worried look on her face and Rosalie was already on her phone calling Bella. Carlisle and Jasper had stopped their discussion and tried to understand what was wrong. Emmett and Ira had stopped playing and stood up from the sofa. "Aunt Bella?" Ira said but nobody answered her.
"Yesterday..Bella..we fought" Edward said. Yes, it was his mistake that the girl he had been in love for the past ten years had left him. He heard Emmett's voice on the other side saying "Ask him, whether we need to come down there?" Edward smiled, his older brother had always had his back, but this time nobody could save him.
"Edward, I have put the phone on loudspeaker. Everybody wants to know what happened. Mom and dad are so worried." Edward grunted in response. He knew it was better to get the conversation over with all of them at the same time than to speak with each of them separately. "Son, what exactly happened?" The cool, soothing voice of his father reminded Edward of his childhood days when his father would tell all of them bedtime stories before they fell asleep.
"Dad..I really don't know what happened. We fought yesterday over a stupid issue. Today morning I woke up to find that she was missing." Edward answered.
"Didn't you call her?" Emmett's angry voice came through the phone. Edward rolled his eyes. "She left it here, Em." He replied.
"Oh my god! Seattle is having a horrible weather today." Rosalie said next. Edward had not noticed that. He glanced towards the east, where the best part of the house was, the entire wall made of glass. It had been Esme's idea and Bella had loved it and insisted on putting it there.
Edward drew the blinds and was shocked to see the low hanging black clouds and the rain. How had he missed that? "Oh fuck! Where did she go in this weather? If she gets wet, she falls ill so easily. Bella, love come back." He thought to himself.
"Edward, do we need to come there?" came Jasper's voice next through the phone repeating Emmett. Jasper always had a thing about him which made everybody feel relaxed. He wished if he could be there with Jasper at the house at that moment.
"No, not now. It has not been twenty four hours, yet. Let us wait for now." Edward did not know what else to do. He could not complain to the cops before twenty four hours had passed. Maybe Bella would return before that. He sincerely hoped that his wish came true.
"What happened so bad? You were going to propose to her tomorrow." Alice said. Yes, that was the plan, he was going to propose Bella, tomorrow. He had made his decision. The wait was enough.
Edward had everything planned out. He had waited ten long years for this day to come. He had asked for his inheritance from his mother, the ring, with which Grandpa Cullen had proposed to Grandma Cullen. Esme had cried and told her that she was proud of him to make Bella a formal part of her family. "She is the best thing that ever happened to you. Make her yours forever son." His siblings had been thrilled with the idea."Finally, I thought it would never happen." Emmett had said only to be later smacked by Rosalie.
The ring was beautiful and simple, nothing extravagant just like his Bella. He had decided to propose to her in the meadow behind The Cullen Residence, where he had confessed to her that it was impossible for him to live without her anymore. She had reciprocated his feelings. Edward had never known so much joy before.
He had never believed that he was capable of love. Bella changed him. She was everything he could wish for. A brown eyed angel. He had known the first day he had seen her in the junior year biology class, that he was a Goner. He could follow her anywhere on earth and do anything she told him to do.
"I have to go," Edward said to no one in particular. "Keep us informed son." Carlisle said and disconnected the phone.
An hour passed by as Edward thought of the past. The rain had grown heavier again. He glanced at the picture on the wall. It was a picture of Bella taken by Jasper. He had captured the moment perfectly. Bella was with Ira, both of them making sand castles on the La Push beach, past Christmas.
She looked so happy and carefree with Ira. Edward had noticed that she was a natural with kids. All the kids would come flooding to her in the SCRC whenever Bella would come to visit him. She would bring her own home made food and spend time with them playing and telling stories. Edward knew that when they would have kids, she would be the perfect mother. He wanted to share his whole life with her, to grow old with her.
Yes, she was everything to him. He could not breathe without her. He was going to find her even if he had to go the last corner of the fucking planet. Quickly pulling over a shirt and a pair of jeans Edward collecting his wallet, Bella's as well as his phone, his car keys, a coat for Bella and marched out of the house. "Bella" he said.
A/N: Initially, I thought I would make it a one-shot, but I got tired of typing. This story has one more chapter which I will post tomorrow, and if not, then definitely by Monday. Do comment, and tell me whether you like it or not?