Ooooh, she's a little runaway. Edward had turned on Bon Jovi's first album at full volume in the next room. I set the book, Daisy Miller, in my lap and leaned back in the recliner. Ten years ago we'd moved into a smaller house – our own – and I'd never felt so happy. But now Renesmee was at college and Edward and I living off the wealth of his family – I was bored. If we were a normal family, Edward and I would be at least forty and working full time jobs. Our daughter would be a teenager instead of just looking like one. But we were vampires, I was a teen mother. Well, I was no longer a teen, though I still looked like one. From the bedroom, Edward's voice mingled with Bon Jovi's. An anxious energy was gnawing at me. I stood up, and Daisy Miller fell to the floor.
Edward started and dropped his hairbrush microphone when he saw me standing in the doorway. I felt like something had exploded inside of me, and must have looked it.
"Jesus! You scared me."
"I'm going back to school."
He picked up the hairbrush and set it back on the dresser, turning down the music. "What?"
"I'm going back to school to get my bachelor's degree."
"Okaaaaaay." His tone was one of disbelief. I didn't like it.
"What do you think?" I asked, crossing my arms.
"Well, I don't know why you'd want to. Plus, what would you study?"
"Literature."
He smirked. That fucking smirk.
"Look!" I said, gripping the doorframe so hard that I heard it start to crack, "I gave up a lot for you."
"I'm not saying you didn't, Bella, I just don't know where this is coming from…"
"I was just a kid when I had Renesmee. Just a kid as she was growing up. I never got to be a kid myself. You don't respect that. You've never respected me." That word felt good in my teeth. Respect.
Edward spread his hands in question. "I respect that. You wanted this life."
"I did," I said. "But I was young. I didn't understand."
"So go get a masters degree, that's fine."
I felt a piece of the doorframe come off in my hand and kept it clenched there. "I will. And another thing." I let the crumbled wood pieces fall to the floor. "I'm going backpacking in Europe for the summer. Alone."