Edward looked at me searching for my thoughts. "Are you sure? Now?"
"Yes. We've got to tell him sooner or later." I replied unsure of myself.
"If you're sure then lets go in now." He said slowly, more a question than a demand.
I had been standing outside the front door of Charlie's house for 15 minutes trying to turn the knob. The thing that scared me the most was the uncertainty of his reaction. I had gone over what i would say countless times on the ride over, but i couldn't contain my fear of his reaction. Would it be anger? Would he be disappointed? These questions held me here gripping the doorknob, but not letting me turn the damn thing. Suddenly i was no longer standing on the front step, i was falling into the house. Before i could hit Edward caught me by the arm, too quickly for any human to react. Charlie, as surprised as i was impulsively grabbed to catch me, much to slow as Edward already had me standing upright. My eyes widened, but soon my pulse slowed as i realized Charlie thought nothing of Edward's obvious ability to move at that speed.
"Damn, Bella you scared me! What are you two doing out here?"
"We were just going in," I said a bit too loudly and quickly for normal speaking, "Where are you going?"
"I'm headed to the lake," he said slowly, apparent suspicion spreading through his face, "gonna see if i can get some fish for dinner tonight." he added.
"Oh, well great! We were running low there for a while." I said, thick sarcasm coloring my response.
He cautious smile spread across his face. "all right then..." he trailed off. "I'll see you kids when i get home then."
With a thermos in one of his hands, he headed toward the cruiser. I looked up at Edward a sheepish smile on my face. He let the corners of his mouth curl up slightly, but there was an emotion in his eyes that i couldn't read. I didn't like the way his expression made me feel.
"Wait! Dad, can i talk to you before you leave?" I took several large strides to catch Charlie before he reached the cruiser.
He looked around as if to ask approval from his invisible fishing buddy. He glanced at his wrist, and found no watch. " Uh.. sure Bella, what is it?"
"Could we go inside to do this?" I asked timidly.
"Bella, I gotta get out there soon if i'm going to catch anything...can't you tell me here?"
Edward was by my side then, his hand on my shoulder. I was glad for that. I cleared my throat a few times, unsure that my vocal cords were working properly. I looked up at Edward, and that was all I needed.
"Dad, you know Edward and I have been a couple for some time now." I chose my words carefully, but my voice sounded strange to me.
"And I hope you know how much I love you daughter, Sir." Edward added with a glance toward me that warmed me.
"Well see, Edward...he has asked me, and I have agreed to...marry...him." My gaze wandered near the end of my confession as if i was no longer talking to him.
After several silent seconds, i let my eyes travel back to him and look up under my eyelashes at him to see his face. It was blank. I couldn't tell what he was thinking. He cleared his throat now a few times.
"Huh...well we'll talk about this more when i get home." With that he slipped into the drivers seat and started the engine. He was turning at the end of the street before i realized what has happened. I turned to Edward.
"What happened?" I said so quiet i could hardly hear myself. Edward however could hear me fine.
"He's confused. He's shocked. He's angry with himself. He's angry with me. He's relieved. He's happy. He's sad. Alot of emotions ran through him, it was hard to hear the first one before he moved on to the next. I'm not sure."
I tried hard to swallow the lump that built in my throat. "Maybe he needs time to process." I whispered trying to comfort myself.