Breaking Dawn Revisited
Chapter 1
Have you ever woken up one morning, expecting to go about your usual schedule, but then suddenly being wrenched by a paralyzing realization? Your life will never be the same. No more heading to the grocery store to pick up some bread and eggs nor popping downtown with some friends for a day of fun and friendship. All of that has extended beyond your grasp, as if life has continued along its course, taking everyone but you along with it. That was how I felt as I woke the morning of June 20th, realizing shortly thereafter that everything that I knew was about to change.
Lately, my life had become unnecessarily strange; stranger than it had been in the past two years. The irony of it all was not that I was dating a beautiful beyond reason, godly, immortal vampire, but that I was about to become more than that to him. In the time of a month, I was to marry him, solidifying our relationship forever. The planning was already well under way and the more that everything fell into place, the more nauseated I began to feel. Something about all of this just wasn't right.
This was not at all to say that I didn't love Edward and want more than anything to be his forever; I loved him more than life itself, as was apparent by my willingness to give mine up for him. It was not even that I was troubled by the life waiting ahead of me, the one filled with murdering, sadistic vampires and revenge-bent werewolves. My anxiety was caused more than anything by the fact that I was afraid. I was afraid of losing everyone I loved, my mother, my father, the few friends that I had made here in Forks. Once I married Edward, I would never be able to see any of them again. Even if I did see them again, who is to say that I would feel the same about them? Could someone truly love what they were constantly battling not to devour?
At that thought, I shook my head, feeling slightly foolish. Edward loved me, didn't he? He was marrying me in a month's time, sealing our eternal commitment to each other. I sighed, finally opening my eyes, preparing to pull back the comforter from my legs. When I opened my eyes, they met the arrestingly golden honey-colored eyes of my future husband. He was crouched on the end of my bed, as immobile as a statue, watching me with glittering eyes and an amorous smile on his face. The surprise of the situation caught me off guard and I couldn't help but stare at him. He finally broke his static stance and chuckled.
"Bella, you know that it's impolite to stare," Edward joked, appearing beside me in a flash, stroking my hair with his wintry fingers.
"I'm sorry, you just surprised me," I explained, rolling over on my side so that I could look at him face-to-face. I reveled in the moment that his fingers slipped from my chestnut locks to the pal, yet still warm skin of my cheek. His fingers, as cold as ice to the touch, offered me more warmth and comfort than anything else in this world. "Where did you go last night?" I asked, moving across the bed to curl up against his rigid torso.
Edward's face, though he tried to hide this from me, contorted into a look of embarrassment. "Oh, you noticed?" he asked hesitantly, his fingers ceasing their caressing.
"It's kind of hard not to notice that I'm suddenly warm and cozy in the middle of the night," I said with a small grin. At that, I reached up, entwining my fingers in his.
Edward shook his head slightly, a frown etched across his face. "I went nowhere, Bella. You do not need to concern yourself with anything of the sort."
I don't remember Edward ever lying to me before, especially directly to my face. It was an unnerving feeling, one that I definitely did not enjoy feeling as it spread icy tendrils of doubt throughout my body. I untangled my fingers from him and swung my legs out of bed quickly, walking over to my closet and beginning to shuffle through my clothing.
"Bella…" he murmured, appearing beside me in a moment. "Have I upset you?"
"Oh no, not at all," I said, trying to lay the sarcasm on as thickly as I could. "I'm not upset with you at all. I'm perfectly alright that you disappeared in the middle of the night and do not feel the need to tell me where you were. I feel perfectly convinced that our relationship is based on truth and trust." As I snapped at him, I angrily shoved various articles of ridiculous designer clothing from one side of the closet to the other, trying to distract myself with something else so that I didn't feel the urge to turn around and slap him. That would not end well for my hand, to say the least.
The sparkle in Edward's eyes faded a bit and he spun me around as gently as possible to face him, staring at me with a passionate gaze in his eyes. "I am sorry that I worried you, Bella," he said carefully, gauging my reaction as he spoke. "I should not have left last night without telling you first. I hope that you will be able to accept my apology for having caused you anxiety; that was the last of my intentions."
I couldn't help but allow my anger to fade slowly away. How could I stay annoyed with him when he spoke to me like that? My eyes must have betrayed my change of heart, for he smiled and hugged me closely.
"Trust me, Bella," he whispered against my ear, his lips brushing against the soft skin of my neck. "All is well and you are safe with me."
From downstairs, I heard Charlie rousing. Edward released me slowly and planted a gentle kiss against my awaiting lips. "I will come to fetch you in about an hour. Alice has some things that she wants for you to see." He turned to escape out of the window, but turned back to me for a moment. "I love you, Bella," he said with no hesitation in his voice.
I smiled in what must have been an ear-to-ear smile, for Edward's face began to glow with happiness. "I love you too," I answered honestly, pushing him toward the window. He disappeared into the tree outside of my room and I sighed, feeling incredibly and unexplainably alone. Quickly, I pulled on a pair of faded, tattered jeans and a t-shirt, heading down the creaky old stairs toward the kitchen to prepare breakfast for Charlie and myself.
Charlie was already sitting in his chair at the kitchen table, nursing a cup of hot, black coffee. I could smell the burnt smell wafting through the kitchen and it made me feel a bit ill.
"Charlie, how can you drink that?" I asked, removing the pot from the base and pouring the remainder of the scalded coffee down the sink.
"Is something wrong with it?" he asked, tipping his cup toward him to examine the liquid more closely. "I mean, it doesn't taste like it does when you make it for me, but I don't think that it's entirely awful."
I rolled my eyes at my dad and then chuckled to myself. My dad was inevitably and undeniably the worst cook who had ever lived in the history of the entire world. I swear that he could burn water if he tried to. How was he going to live once I moved away and became an immortal vampire? He would starve to death in a matter of days.
I retrieved a mixing bowl from the cabinet and set it on the counter beside the refrigerator. I turned the burner on the stove under a skillet on to heat. "How hungry are you, Charlie?" I asked, opening the refrigerator, which made a loud suction sound as I opened it.
"Pretty," he answered, taking a swig of the disgustingly aromatic coffee.
I retrieved the carton of eggs, a block of cheese and some vegetables from the fridge, closing it with my hip as I set the ingredients down onto the counter. I cracked some eggs into the bowl and stirred them around until they blurred together in a blend of yellow and white. "You up for omelettes?" I asked, realizing that I should have asked him before I began to make them.
"Yeah, you joking?" he asked, watching me work. "I love your omelettes, Bels."
I smiled and poured the eggs into the skillet. They began to heat up under the heat of the skillet, changing from their flowing fluid state to a solid mass of egg. I sprinkled the cheese and vegetables on one side, then flipped the other over the top. The omelette was a beautiful shade of golden yellow. I smiled to myself, proud of my cooking ability.
Charlie had yet to take his eyes off of my back as I worked diligently, moving the first omelette to a plate and pouring in the egg for the next. I could feel his gaze as if it were heating the skin where it touched.
Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. "Charlie, is there something you wanted to say?" I asked, turning to look at him.
"Huh?" he asked, shaking his head as if my words removed him from a trance. "Oh, well, sort of, but it can wait until after we eat," he answered.
"Why not now, Charlie?" I asked, flipping the omelette over to reveal another perfectly golden face. I slid it from the skillet and onto a plate, transferring the skillet into the sink. I picked up both plates and walked to the table, setting one in front of Charlie along with a fork and knife.
It was as I sat in my chair at the table, beginning to eat my omelette, that Charlie finally spoke. "Bella, I need to ask you something," he said gruffly, not having yet touched his breakfast.
"Yeah, Charlie?" I asked, looking up at him as I put another piece of omelette into my mouth.
Charlie looked as though he was debating as to whether or not he should say anything at all. Eventually, it seemed as though he reached a conclusion and cleared his throat. "I've been worried about you lately… about your… relationship with the Cullen boy."
I rolled my eyes. "Charlie, we've been through this about a hundred times already? Do you really need to ask me again?"
Charlie's eyes grew colder. "Yes, Bella, I do. I am very worried about you and I need to tell you that before it's too late." He set his fork down on the table with a metallic thump. "I can see that you two care for each other deeply and I might even concede that if love exists, you two may even be flirting on the edge of that. But Bella, aren't you taking all of this far too quickly? You're only eighteen for goodness' sake!" I'd never heard Charlie say so many words at once before. Usually, being a man of little talk and hasty action, he rarely ever spoke more than a few words to me at a time.
"Charlie," I began, setting my fork down gently against the faded table cloth, "I am going to marry Edward in one month because I love him and I know that it is what I want to do. I want to be with him for the rest of our lives and I don't need a few more years to clarify that it my mind. I know now what I want. Edward and I care deeply for each other and that is just how it is." As if on cue, Charlie and I both heard the signature grind of Edward's tires against the gravel as he pulled his beautiful silver Volvo into the driveway.
"Can we finish this later?" I asked, dumping the remainder of my omelette into the trash can and depositing the dishes into the sink. "Alice has some things to show me over at their house."
Charlie looked hesitant, but nodded in agreement finally. "Yeah, sure. But we will continue, Bella. I have more to say to you."
I planted a soft kiss on Charlie's cheek and then headed for the door, removing my coat from the hook on the wall as I walked. "I'll be back a little bit later!" I called into the house, closing the front door behind me with a click of the lock. My shoes crunched against the rocks as I moved across the driveway and toward Edward, who was leaning back against the passenger-side door of his car.
"Good morning, stranger," I said with a smile, climbing into the door which he had opened for me. He entered his side of the car and revved the engine.
"You ready to go?" he asked, turning to look at me with a small grin. It seemed like he knew something that he wasn't telling me. It was a little bit unnerving.
"Yeah, I guess so. We're not doing anything out of the ordinary, right?" I asked, searching for a clue to support my suspicions.
He smiled, but did not answer me as he pulled out of the driveway and sped down the road toward his home and my soon to be family.