Chapter One
It was a dreary day outside, exactly the kind of days I like most. Edward had been gone for a week on a hunting trip with Jasper and Carlisle and was finally able to come home.
Since agreeing to marry him he has been busy with making plans and writing invitations, which are tasks I passed onto him. I've been trying to act excited for him and Alice and everyone else but sometimes I find myself slipping up, a comment here or there but I've gotten better at recovering from those slip-ups. Alice hasn't left me alone for a second but I don't mind, I love having her around, she is so full of life its hard to be down when she's around. Any minute now and Edward will be coming to the door and I will be able to run into his arms once more. I thought knowing he will be with me forever would make our time apart much easier but it seems to have made it more unbearable. The only thing that gets me through the day is knowing that I will soon be one of them and I will never have to worry about him leaving me for all eternity.
"Bella, Edward is here!" Charlie called, exactly what I was waiting for. I rushed for the bedroom door but by the time I got there Edward was already standing there with open arms smiling that perfect crooked smile, my heart gave a big leap and he heard it.
"Nice to see you too." And with that I was in his arms and on the bed before I knew what was happening. He leaned down and he put his lips to mine, but the kiss ended all too soon for me. "How has your week been, I'm surprised you survived without me to look after you."
"Well you didn't exactly leave me unprotected. Alice has been over everyday, much to Charlie's enjoyment," she had shown up everyday in order to go over wedding plans. What flowers to have, where to hold the reception and she helped finalize the guest list, which is now ten times as many people as I had first wanted. "So how was the hunt? Did you find any good mountain lions or just the usual elk?"
"I'd rather not talk about hunting, you know that, not my favourite topic. Were you and Alice able to finish up with the final decisions for the wedding? And have you told Charlie yet?" Darn, just the question I was trying to avoid.
"Well, not exactly, I was going to get to it earlier but then I got distracted," sometimes him not being able to read my mind comes in handy. In all reality I had plenty of time to do it and I hadn't thought of anything else in who knows how long. Charlie and Renee had always hoped that I wouldn't make the same mistake they did, marrying early. It would be a great disappointment for them to hear I was marrying my first boyfriend at the age of eighteen.
"Bella, you need to tell Charlie, I will do it with you if you want, but we are getting married in two weeks and he needs to be there to walk you down the aisle. Now he is in a relatively good mood today so lets go downstairs right now and tell him. I will stay beside you the whole time and listen in to his thoughts to make sure everything is fine, just like I'm sure it will be." Then he stared into my eyes and he released the full power of them, all I could say was, "ok."
The whole way down the stairs I went over what I was going to say in my head. This was not going to be a simple task, ever since Edward first left me Charlie has less than fully approved of our relationship and hearing that I was planning on marrying him is probably the last thing he wants to hear. As we approached the kitchen I could hear the sound of the basketball game on and that made my heart beat faster. I was so close to telling my father I was planning on getting married in a couple of weeks, what would he say?
"Hey Bells, is that you?" Charlie at least sounded calm.
"Yes dad, can we talk to you for a minute? It's kind of important." Uh oh, there's that face I feared, the, oh no what has she gotten herself into now face, there goes his good mood. I looked up at Edward and I could tell he was reading Charlie's thoughts and not liking what he was hearing.
"Sure honey, what's up?" the fakest casual tone I have ever heard in my life.
"Well dad, I don't really know where to start so I'm going to get right to the point. Edward and I have gotten really close in this last year and, well, he has asked me to marry him and I have said yes." As I said this Charlie's face turned from a nice peach to bright purple. And then came the fireworks.
"NO WAY! No daughter of mine is going to make the same mistake I did. How do you know he won't leave you like he did the last time, when things get tough? Bella this is a mistake and I will not let you make the same mistake your mother and I made. He is your first boyfriend, you need to play the field before making a commitment." Exactly what I was afraid of, but now my temper was boiling.
"Dad, I don't need to "play the field", I love Edward and I want to spend the rest of my life with him. We are getting married in two weeks and I would like if you would walk me down the aisle, but if you can't or won't I still plan on becoming his wife." And with that I was out the door with Edward close at my side.
"Thank you Bella, I know that was hard but it's for the best, really." But he stopped talking right there and scooped me up into his arms because I was all out crying. "Do you want to come back to my place for awhile? At least till Charlie cools off a little bit?" All I could do was nod, and with that we were in his car speeding, as usual, back to one of my favourite places in the whole world.
As we pulled up to the white house, Alice came bounding out the front door yelling something I couldn't make out but that Edward chuckled at. "She's excited that you're coming for a sleepover, just a warning."
"Oh, great…" sleepovers for Alice always mean dressing me up like a Barbie doll. "Can you hear any of the plans she has cooked up for me?"
"Oh, yeah, you're going to enjoy yourself tonight, unless you wanted to spend the night with me in the huge bed that I bought for you and you've only slept in once, then I may be able to cancel the plans she has for you." He always seemed to know what I was thinking even though I know he can't read my mind.
"Well after what I just went through, I would rather spend the night with you, if you don't mind, we need to talk. I need you to reassure me that this is the right thing to do, I love you with all of my heart but the look on Charlie's face is eating me up inside. I can't believe how much that news must have hurt him, but I know it was the right thing to do." Now only if I really believed that.