FAGE 007
Title: Days to Embrace
Written for: Shellsbells6661
Written By: AcrossTheSkyInStars
Pairing: B/E
Rating: M
Summary/Prompt used: I used all three to kind of inspire me. Song lyrics: Aerosmith's "I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing". Second was a quote: Amor Vincit Omnia (Love Conquers All). Third was a poignant occasion, something perhaps with angst and a bit of sweetness to it, a death, a birth, a wedding, etc.
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Thanks a bunch to Vampiremama for being absolutely fabulous and being my beta at the last minute. You totally rock. Sending hugs and kisses (or something naughtier) your way! Love yah.
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Prologue: Apart
I helped Rose with the bags as she walked in the door. "Holy hell, woman! How in the Christ did you make it inside by yourself?"
She smiled at me. "I'm Wonder Woman."
"Apparently," I told her. "These are for the centrepieces?"
She nodded to the three bags on floor, which were ridiculously heavy, then began rifling around in them for whatever it was she needed to show me. She had called me earlier, needing help with the centrepieces for her wedding. She pulled out a bunch of material; pictures, a hinged wooden frame, a satin ribbon, a vase, and flowers.
Before I knew what she was doing, Rose was putting those items together perfectly. Seamlessly, almost.
"Okay," she told me, "so every table is just going to have a small vase with a few flowers, and then this." Rose plopped down the cute picture frame. It was triangular, with pictures of her, Emmett, and their dog, Sam. "The frame will wrap around the vase, so the flowers will kind of just come out of the top, see?"
Rose set it down on my coffee table, showing me how to properly arrange them. I had agreed to help her get them ready for her wedding day. I was, after all, her maid of honour. The wedding was only days away, and we needed the table toppers to be finished soon.
"Aw, those are honestly adorable," I told her, "and the pictures are so cute. Perfect. Yeah I can do those. How many do we need?" Rose informed me there were about twenty to make, but she had a lot to do and was kind of dumping it on me. "No worries," I said with a laugh, "leave it to me. I don't have much to do tonight. Edward is working late. I'll crack open a bottle of wine, pop on a movie, and have some fun. Don't you worry, babe. All good. I'll shoot you a picture when they're all done."
"Love you!" she beamed. "I'll see yah tomorrow."
She got up, grabbed her purse, and blew me a kiss from the door of the apartment before she left.
Me? I went for that bottle of wine.
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After about two hours of putting pictures in frames and flowers in vases, I was nearly done. All I had left to do was wrap some ribbon around said vases, and all was well with the project Rose had given me. I took a healthy sip of wine, relaxing onto the couch. There were dozens of centrepieces on the table in front of me; tons of pictures of Rose and Emmett, their smiling faces staring back at me.
I smirked.
I was just about to get up when I heard the front door open.
"Oh, hey," I said with a smile, "you're home."
Edward closed the door behind him, returning a small half smile. "Hey, babe."
I twisted toward him on the couch. "How was your day?" He stood in the shadow of the hallway, lips pursed. The fake-nothing smile was barely there. He dropped his work bag to the ground, looking back at me. "Everything okay?" He seemed tense…upset. His brows were creased, and his jaw was tight. Although he was trying to give me a smile back, something, it wasn't nearly enough; not by a long shot. I knew him well enough to see that.
I frowned, concerned when he didn't respond. "Seriously, everything alright?" I patted the space beside me, scooting over so he could sit.
He took a hesitant step into the apartment, then another. "I…I'm not sure how I should start," he began.
I swallowed uneasily. "Start with anything, Edward, because you're scaring me," I told him honestly. The wine was making me nervous, and my heart was thrumming like a drum behind my rib cage. We'd been together for just over two years now; he was someone I trusted with my life.
I had never seen him act like this before.
"It's work stuff," he began slowly, "I found out — and you might flip out — a month ago…I'm getting a promotion."
My eyes widened. "You're getting a promotion!"
I was off the couch before I knew what I was doing. I practically tackled him in a hug. "Oh my god, Edward, that's amazing." I pressed a kiss to the corner of his jaw. "Congratulations. Wow, I…wait. A month ago?" I tilted my head to look at him in the dim light. "Why didn't you tell me about it when you found out?"
He gripped me by the waist, holding me at arms' length. "I wanted to," he agreed, "it killed me to hide it from you, Bella. I didn't tell you because I don't know if I'm going to take this promotion. How I can take it. I have no fucking idea what to do." He sighed, lowering those beautiful green eyes of his I fell in love with before he looked at me again.
"The position will take me overseas," he finally admitted. A weight sat on my chest, it hurt to even think about breathing, and all I could do was stare at him. "They're trying to expand the company in Europe — London, specifically — and they asked me and a few other reps to be their coordinators over there for the first year."
I blinked finally, feeling the sting of tears behind my eyes. Breathing was hard; painfully so.
I stepped away from Edward, stumbled, almost. "Okay, and…you still couldn't tell me, why?"
"Because I didn't know what to do!" he practically yelled, defeated. "I spent a whole two months torn. I knew I couldn't leave you, and I know you won't be able to leave your life here, Bella. So what am I supposed to do, realistically? Take this amazing, once in a lifetime job offer, and lose you? Or lose a great job offer, amazing money, a year in a fantastic city, and keep you…the love of my life? It seems like a no-brainer to me, it really does. I love you and don't want to lose you. But I want both, okay? I want both." He paused, breathing heavy. "I've just…I don't know what you want and I don't know if I can ask that of you."
My mind was racing. I thought of it all. My job, how much I loved my goddamn job. How much of a life Edward and I had built here, all the family we had. How much Edward wanted this promotion. How badly he wanted to go.
"But you want this, Edward," I told him. "You've spent a month thinking about it. Without me."
He looked at me from where he was standing, his eyes sad. "But I love you so much," he argued. "I want you to come with me. I spent a month trying to figure out how I could make both of those things work. I wanted to have a plan before I told you. I wanted to be able to take you with me and make you absolutely happy in the process, no fuck-ups, just a solid way for us to do this and not break up instead."
At the words break up the tears started flowing.
I nodded.
"And I love you, too, Edward," I told him, "but hiding it from me and trying to do this on your own…now look at where it's gotten us. I have to make a decision that will change the course of my life right now." I paused, attempting to catch the stuttered breathing that was overwhelming me. "When would you be leaving?"
"The end of the month," he replied, "so roughly twenty days."
Tears trickled over my chin. I shook my head. "I can't come with you," I told him, "I can't. My parents…my brother, Edward my whole family is here. I can't just up and leave. My job? I love my job so much. What would I even do out there?"
He came toward me, brushing the tears off my face. "It's not forever, Bella," he assured. "Only a year. One year. Your family would live without you. A job? I wasn't quite sure, and that's why I didn't tell you. Which is why I still have no fucking idea what to do." He paused. "We could make it work, babe, I promise. I just…I don't want to lose you."
Tears met Edward's hands, and I closed my eyes.
There was a slight quiver in his voice when he asked, "You're not going to come, are you?"
"I can't," I whispered back. "I'm sorry."
His forehead dipped, resting against mine. "Please don't do this," he begged, "I don't want to lose this job opportunity, Bella…and I can't give you up. I love you too much."
I felt tears, hot and thick on my cheeks, my chin. "And I can't stand here and tell you yes. I can't leave my job, Edward." I could hear my voice cracking. "I wouldn't know where to start…how to leave all this. I…"
He sighed quietly. "You mean so much to me."
"You mean everything to me," I admitted honestly, taking another step into him, "but this could be so good for you, Edward. You have to do it. As much as it will kill me."
"So that's it then?" he asked. There was a twinge of something in his voice. Anger, maybe? It was more than him just being upset. "We're just going to break up?"
I pulled away slightly, glancing up at him.
From that moment on, there was no silence; only fighting, arguing, bickering. One of the biggest fights Edward and I had ever been in throughout our entire relationship.
With Rose's wedding only days away, I became a party of one.