Chapter 1
I stood staring at the door for a while as Edward kept rubbing circles into my hand. Slowly, my breathing became more even and I told him it was time to go in.
I heard the baseball, or basketball, or whatever seep into the entry hall from where Charlie sat watching his team do something. I rounded the corner into the living room, trying to make sure my breathing was still in check, and then walked toward where Charlie sat.
"Hey Bells, would you mind starting dinner, I'm starved," he said without even taking his eyes off the screen.
Wow, he must really be hungry to have not have said a single mean thing or gesture in his presence, or maybe what he'd told me last night was coming true. Either way I couldn't be more pleased. Then, I swiftly walked out of the room without saying a word because I knew my voice would betray me and force me to tell him of our marriage plans; I still didn't like the word, mostly out of habit. I just swiftly walked out of the room with Edward in tow.
As I stepped into the kitchen, I could tell from his eyes that Edward wanted me to just go tell Charlie now. I marveled at how he seemed to portray this along with absolute happiness in his eyes. Then I noticed that he was about to speak.
"Don't worry; I'm just going to soften him up with some food. Then, I'll tell him," I whispered, careful to make sure that Charlie wouldn't hear me.
"Love, I think you should just go and get it over with now."
"No," I said, and then returned to the meal I was preparing. I was careful not to look in his eyes since I knew that they would confuse me into doing what he wanted.
After I finished cooking, I called Charlie to the table to eat. His game had just ended, so he willingly joined Edward and I in the kitchen. I figured the best way to tell him might be when he was eating because that way, he might not want to stop to yell at me (OK, it's a long shot), or he might not be so mad since it's not just the memory of food to keep him happy.
Once he gathered up his plate of food, Edward squeezed my hand under the table, telling me it was time.
"Um, dad, well, a, Edward and I have some news to tell you."
He looked up startled, and I could see suspicion begin to creep into them at my words. He continued to eat, though, so I figured I was still OK. For now.
"Um, yeah, we're getting married."
Then, his fork stopped midway to his mouth and dropped from his hand, clattering against the plate. His eyes immediately darted to my stomach.
"Bella, have you thought about the alternatives. I mean you're only eighteen, if you're really against abortion, you could just give it up for adoption. This isn't your only…" I cut him off.
I had stared at him in confusion is he gave his little speech and then I realized that he thought we were getting married because I was pregnant.
"Wait, you've got it wrong. Don't worry, I'm not pregnant or anything," I scoffed, "Edward just proposed to me because we want to be together forever, and we didn't feel the need to wait. So I said yes."
At the reminder of Edward, his head snapped to face him, and his face hardened. Uh-oh.
"How dare you!" Charlie bellowed, "You have the nerve to even come back after what you did to her, then you go and make her break poor Jacob's heart, and then you're still not satisfied, so you decided to go and ruin her life by marrying her too!"
Now it was Edward's turn to talk.
"Charlie, I swear that I did not mean to cause her or anyone else any harm. I love Bella with every fiber of my being and refuse to ever be without her while she still wants me. Please Charlie; you have no idea what you're attending of our wedding means to her. Please, please do this for Bella, not me."
I could see Charlie's anger begin to fade slightly and sensed an easy victory.
"So dad, what do you say?" I asked hopefully.
He responded, "Fine. Bella I think that you are being a bit of an idiot with this but I guess I trust your judgment, and of course I couldn't miss my daughter's big day." He gave me a small smile, and then I ran up and hugged him.
"Oh, thank you so much!" I screamed.
"That's all good and nice, but you are the one who will be telling your mom."
Oh yeah, I forgot. Renee would be even harder to convince than Charlie. I gulped.