Unravelling

A short story about waking up to what has been in front of you the whole time. Music producer Edward and singer/songwriter Bella.

Part one of three.

A sharp kick to her left leg jolted her out of a daydream, her attention previously focused on two dark haired guys ordering drinks at the bar; her best friend and her brother-in-law.

Though, apparently she wasn't quick enough to divert her interest because she took another blow to her leg causing her to wince.

Her gaze finally snapped over to her sister, who sat impatiently across the table from her.

"What?" she frowned, bending slightly to rub the place of impact on her calf, her brown curls falling forward as her eyes unconsciously shifted back to the men leaning casually against the bar.

Her sister sighed.

"It's time you told him, Bel."

With eyes full of mirth, Bella straightened up and grinned at the blonde.

"Told who what exactly?"

Rose didn't see the humour.

"Time you tell Ed that you're in love with him."

Bella's grin vanished and she spluttered around a mouthful of her drink.

"Excuse me?"

Rose reached forward to take a final swig from her almost empty beer bottle before she dared to reply.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about," Rose told her, as Bella's eyes began to narrow dangerously.

"I-" she started to rebuff her sister's comment but was interrupted by an arm slinging around her shoulders, which stopped her in her tracks.

She stiffened and refused to turn to the man who had just taken the seat next to her.

"What's going on?" Edward asked in obvious confusion.

Bella couldn't bring herself to reply, but she needn't have worried.

"Bella just doesn't like hearing the truth," Rose replied nonchalantly, tapping her manicured fingers against the table top.

That was enough for Bella. Her patience with her sister had run out.

"You know what? I'm out of here," Bella huffed, shaking off Edward's arm as she rose to her feet and shot off toward the exit.

"Bells!" Edward called out after her, "Wait up."

Her hesitation was clear, but after a moment she twisted around to face him, shooting her sister a dark pointed look, daring her to comment.

Edward quickly snatched his wallet and leather jacket up off the table and strode toward her, discarding his newly bought drink without a second thought.

Rose watched on silently as Edward caught up to her sister and they vanished through the bar's front entrance.

"Where are those two going?"

She turned to look at her dumbfounded husband, who had approached the table just in time to see his friends leaving.

She sighed, rubbing her temples in a soothing, circular motion.

"Off to live in oblivion-land would be my guess."

Emmett shot her a curious look, which Rose just shook her head at, "Never mind."

She pushed the stool she was seated on back and stood before her husband.

"Let's go pick up Gracie."

Emmett knew his complaints would be ignored so he gathered the three unopened beers that sat on the table and followed his wife out through the crowd.

"I'm afraid to ask what that was," Edward grinned once he and Bella were seated comfortably in his Volvo.

She leant her head back against the headrest of the car seat and didn't reply.

"What, no snarky comment about how I should mind my own?" he teased, trying to get a rise out of her and pull her out from her sudden dark mood.

He backed the car out from the bar's fairly packed parking lot and they took off down the road.

"No," she said after a while and briefly paused to think over her words, "It was just Rosalie running her mouth off as usual."

He knew there was more to it, but he didn't push, though she could tell he wanted too. She loved that about him.

Ha, love.

Yes, her sister may have been right, but she would never admit it. Not to her sister and especially not to Edward who she was sure felt nothing but friendship for her. And that was fine. Why ruin a good thing? Rose just didn't understand how important having Edward there for her was.

"So... your place or mine?" Edward asked, interrupting her mind's ramblings.

A faint smile broke out on Bella's face.

"Yours," she replied reaching over to turn on the radio and leant back into her seat as Edward directed them home.

"There's something still not right about it," Bella spoke up over the noise of the speakers, which were currently projecting out her newest track, early Monday morning. She took a sip of coffee from her styrofoam cup as she moved impatiently from side to side in her chair.

Edward distractedly nodded his agreement, his fingers gliding across the soundboard with years of well-practiced ease as he adjusted sound levels and instrumental progressions.

This track was set to be the second for her up and coming third album. Her third. She could hardly believe it. Who would have guessed that the young and unexperienced 17 year-old winner of an underrated talent contest would go on to sell two platinum records in the space of two years. However, all her success, she knew, was in largely in part of her producer and best friend, Edward Cullen. Together they made an unstoppable team, both in and outside of the studio.

She'd known Edward two years before they had started working together at Volterra Records. He had been Rose's boyfriend's best friend; so really, she had no other choice but to get to know him. They'd butted heads at the start, mainly because Bella had not understood how to deal with developing a teenage crush on the much older and mature, Edward Cullen. However, she had quickly mastered the art of locking her feelings away and, as such, they had become inseparable, bonding over their love of all things musical and his role as a well-known and respected producer in the music industry. And the rest, like they say, was history.

The day wore on much like it always did, with their fair share of provoking, arguments and making up. Late afternoon was quickly approaching and Bella was currently situated on her side of the glass in the recording booth as she sung half-heartedly, her hands gripping the headphones, which clung over her ears. She couldn't help but laugh as Edward threw the remains of his bowl of popcorn, left over from lunch, at the glass, pretending to aim them at her head. They had started messing around with a new song a few hours ago and they were becoming restless after being cooped up in the studio all day.

"Are we interrupting?" A female voice sounded from the studio's doorway, sending their attention toward their visitor.

Bella smiled at the intrusion.

Rosalie stood there, leaning against the doorway with an amused expression, a large bag over her shoulder, and a little girl wrapped around her legs.

Edward winced. The small child, he recognised, was little three-and-a-half-year-old Emma Grace Hale. Although, he liked to think of her as a pint-size demon summoned from one of his worst nightmares.

He watched as Bella exited the sound booth and a piercing squeal erupted from the child at the sight of her, ignoring Edward's presence altogether.

"Aunt Bel-wa!" she cried happily, clopping her way over to her much loved Aunt in polka dot rubber boots, a pink sparkly dress, and a floppy, white bucket hat that covered most of her dark, messy curls, though some still managed to peek out on either side.

The entire ensemble looked ridiculous to Edward, but he knew from experience to keep his comments to himself.

A small sippy cup full of bright juice, that he hadn't previously spotted, was clasped firmly in her sweaty grasp and stuck out when she threw her arms around Bella.

The kid was obsessed with juice it seemed. Every time he saw her, she was gripping onto some kind of juice cup like it was the most precious thing in the whole wide world. However, that didn't seem to stop her from accidently (on purpose) covering him in it each time they met, leaving him with sticky stains to deal with for the rest of the day. Edward, even at the age of 25, didn't know much about kids, but he knew this one was out to get him, though everyone else just laughed at his suspicions. Especially Bella, who in between laughs had once exclaimed, "She's three Edward, not exactly a mastermind!" But he knew it wasn't all in his head.

"Hi, little miss Emma Grace, how are you today?" Bella laughed swinging the giggling toddler into her arms.

"What an unexpected surprise," Edward smiled thinly, his gaze still wearily eyeing the little girl's juice cup as if it was going to jump up and bite him.

Rose narrowed her eyes at Ed, catching onto his insincerity and dropped the large bag that was over her shoulder onto the floor near her sister's feet.

"Bella's kindly offered to look after Grace while Em and I go out to dinner."

"Oh, is that right?" Edward asked, turning to Bella with a raised eyebrow.

Her face was one of pure innocence. Fake innocence, just like her niece, who was now eying him distrustfully, swaying her juice through the air mimicking an airplane.

"You didn't forget did you, Bell?" Rose questioned anxiously, as she straightened out her evening dress, "Because I've got to leave, like-" her eyes dropped to the phone in her hand, catching the time, "right now. We're already late thanks to Grace's clothing dilemma."

She planted an affectionate kiss on the child's head, who was happily hanging off Bella's hip.

"Of course not, but I might have chosen to not let Cullen in on the plan..." she laughed as Edward's face grew grave at the newly acquired information.

Rose laughed along with her and gave Grace another kiss.

"I'll see you later, baby girl," she smiled and then turned to her sister and also gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, told her thanks and quickly walked out the door, her heels clicking across the floor, in a hurry for dinner with her husband.

"Bells..." Edward eyed her darkly.

Bella's eyes shone with undisguised amusement.

"Uh oh, we better get out of here, Gracie," she grinned down at her niece, "Uncle Ed doesn't look too happy," she laughed before escaping out the studio door with the giggling child.

Edward sighed.

"Right kid, this is how it's going to work," he told Emma Grace who sat beside him, kicking her feet back and forth as her huge brown orbs absorbed her surroundings.

It didn't look like she was paying much attention to Edward.

"Grace?" he clicked his fingers in an attempt to grasp her attention until she turned he head toward him, still swinging her legs as she took a sip of her drink and tilted her head to the side to stare at him, like she had never seen him before.

"You sit there and watch Aunt Bella while we work," he paused, waiting for a reaction but got none, "If you're good we'll take you for an ice cream later, okay?"

Emma Grace looked at him blankly, but he knew her well enough to know she understood. Damn sneaky child. Who knew what that blank look was covering up. If he wasn't so sure she was plotting his demise, he'd be amused at how cluey she was.

It had happened, just like he knew it would. The little bugger had gone and done it again. This time she'd outdone herself. This time the little demon had somehow uncapped her supposably child locked drink and, when he had been distracted at the soundboard, had shuffled closer to him and dumped her full cup of juice directly in his lap.

Bella had laughed her ass off until she was red in the face, while her niece looked on mischievously at the mess she had made. He, on the other hand, was trying to hold himself back from strangling the kid.

After Bella had subdued her laughing she had put Grace to sleep on the couch, situated in the far corner of the studio.

He now watched on as the little girl expelled frequent puffs off air. Asleep, she almost looked harmless, but he knew better than that.

"So, no kids for you then, Cullen?" Bella asked teasingly as she re-entered the studio, quietly closing the door behind her.

He blanched at the thought of multiple little Emma Grace's running around.

Bella took in his sour look.

"I guess not," she grinned as she leant over the child's sleeping figure, brushing the hair out of her eyes before she took a seat beside Edward.

"Can you blame me?" he asked, motioning to the crotch of his pants.

He watched as Bella's gaze lowered to the now dry, but stained, spot and then quickly darted away before she got to her feet and disappeared out the door.

Edward's eyebrows furrowed in confusion but he didn't chase after her.

"Now do you believe that she's out to get me?" he asked a couple of hours later as they watched over the sleeping child.

They were finished with the studio for the night, but didn't have the heart to wake her just yet. Well, Bella didn't, Edward had ulterior motives for not wanting her to wake up.

She shook her head and a grin suddenly broke through her thoughtful expression, "Gotta say though, that kid's got good aim."

Edward flicked her thigh, making her yelp.

"Are you staying over tonight?" he questioned as she propped her feet up onto his lap.

"Hmmm... not unless you want to house the little gremlin as well," she grinned settling back into her seat.

He frowned.

"Uh, I thought this was a temporary arrangement."

"Yeah, well, so did I, but Rose called and asked if I could keep her for the night, since they were having such a good time..."

Edward groaned.

"And you said yes," he replied, rolling his eyes.

"Don't be an ass, I hardly get to spend any time with Gracie these days. Rose always has her involved in all these little play groups. And not to mention that I can barely get away from you, you slave driver," she taunted, jabbing his chest with the heel of her foot.

He stilled her feet, covering them with the palms of his hands.

"You've never complained before," he grinned wagging his eyebrows.

"Ugh," she squirmed in false disgust, "Let me go."

He did.

"I better go and get Grace into a proper bed," she sighed.

He watched as she approached the sleeping child, kissing her forehead before she gathered her into her arms and began to pick up Grace's bag of things. However, Edward got there quicker and gently knocked her hand out of the way.

"C'mon," he sighed, slinging the bag over one shoulder and opening the door to the studio, holding it open for her and Grace to pass through. "You're staying at my house, even if the Pip Squeak has to, too."

"Oh, how selfless you are, Cullen," she swooned mockingly.

He flicked off the studio lights as she passed him.

"Shut it."