Chapter 2 (Edward's POV)
The song for this chapter is: Confusion – The Zutons.
I waited patiently, as always, for Bella to wake up on one particularly sunny Saturday morning. Her eyelids fluttered open and, upon finding me staring lovingly at her, she smiled gratefully. I crushed her tiny body closer to my chest, and lowered my head to wake her with a kiss. However, to my annoyance, she pulled back. I frowned at her sulkily. "Morning breath," she whispered, before giving me a peck on the nose. I grinned, while reluctantly letting go of my hold around her so she could have a 'human moment'. I considered disallowing her these short periods of time away from me, but I soon realised she wouldn't have to many of them left. I sighed, something I was doing a lot over the past few weeks.
I thought, yet again, about having to change Bella. I was going to have to be so restrained; if I made a single slip, I could take her life in a second. That thought terrified me. Thinking about it, I supposed the process wouldn't be unlike performing surgery. Cut too shallow, and you won't have any effect at all. Cut too deep, and you could end up hindering more than helping. Not to mention, surgery would be about a billion times more difficult for a vampire to conduct than a human, considering the thirst for blood and everything. I suddenly felt a lot more sympathetic towards Carlisle.
I was still deep in thought when Bella re-entered the room. Her hair was in a scruffy ponytail, and half of it had fallen out after she'd slept on it. She was wearing a baggy pear of sweatpants teamed with a t-shirt that fell almost down to her knees, it was so oversized and stretched. Her eyes, thanks to left-over mascara, looked bleary with black smudges around the edges. She looked beautiful.
I beckoned her towards me, and she gladly came to sit in my lap. I cradled her next to me, feeling her warm blood through my shirt. I inhaled slowly, revelling in her sweet floral scent. She tilted her head up towards mine, and gave me a long-awaited kiss. I stroked her soft lips with my own, and she ran her fingers through my bronze hair. I knotted one hand at her scalp and wound another around her waist. If Bella had her way, we would spend forever like this, I was sure.
I felt her breathing begin to quicken to an unnatural pace, so I pulled away, laughing gently. She pouted, but settled back into my lap.
"I should get up," she stated, but made no move to detach herself from my arms.
"Are you going to?" I questioned, mocking her a little. She heard the smile in my voice.
"Fine, be that way," she joked, and moved her legs off the bed. I pulled her torso closer, not ready to let go of her yet. Would I ever be ready to let go of her warm, fragile, human body, I wondered?
"I was thinking," I started after a few minutes of content silence, "we should go and see Alice today." Bella and Alice had hardly seen each other since Alice had starting planning our wedding, and quite frankly, she was becoming distraught. I decided that, even if I would rather be selfish and keep Bella all to myself, she needed other friends too. And Alice was only too good at that job.
"Okay, sounds good. We haven't seen each other in a while," Bella answered thoughtfully. I smiled to myself. Alice would be pleased. She had been practically begging me to let her see Bella for almost ten solid days. Now, I was more patient than most, but even I couldn't put up with that much Alice.
Eventually Bella and I rose from her bed, and I hastily left the room so she could change. I decided to make her breakfast while I waited. I ran down the stairs and raided Charlie's cupboards for some cereal. Bella's favourite was right at the front, so I grabbed it and poured her a bowlful. I opened the fridge and reached for the milk, gently pouring a generous amount over the cereal. I fetched a spoon, and rested it by the side. Then, I sat opposite the bowl, waiting for my angel to descend down the stairs.
When she arrived a few minutes later, I started, as I often did, by looking at her feet. I let my eyes travel up her gorgeous body one inch at a time, taking in all of her. My eyes eventually reached contact with hers. She smiled, and blushed gently. I sighed.
There was something different about her face today, I realised. She didn't glow with the radiance that she normally did. I frowned, trying to figure out what was different. She ignored my penetrative gaze, tucking in to the cereal I had, for lack of a more appropriate word, prepared. Eventually I gave up, not able to figure out what it was her still stunning face lacked.
When she was done eating, I scooped her up in my arms and carried her to my car. She protested, of course, but there was nothing she could do about it. I grinned, and gently kicked the door of Charlie's house shut behind us. Soon, I realised, this would no longer be Bella's home. She and I would live together, in Alaska, at least to start with. We might never return to Forks. Or at least not for a while.
Thanks to my love of fast driving, we arrived at my home very shortly. Alice appeared at the front door in a flash, and squealed as she ran toward Bella.
"Bella! I haven't seen you in forever!" she exaggerated. "You can't keep her all to yourself, Edward," she scolded. "We love Bella too!"
As if to emphasise this point, Emmett and Esme both arrived at the door and engulfed Bella in a large group hug. A muffled voice came from within the huddle. "There's enough of me to go around!" Bella joked. I laughed loudly, and rescued her from the growing amount of Cullens squeezing the life out of her.
"So, how've you been?" Bella asked at no-one in particular.
"Busy," Alice said immediately. "There's just so much to plan! I don't think any of us have had a wedding in too long," she decided, looking pointedly at Rosalie, who had silently arrived next to Emmett. She smirked deviously. "I'd forgotten how much was involved!"
At this point, Alice stopped talking and held very still. She was having a vision, and I watched it along with her. It was Bella, leaning over the bowl of a toilet, vomiting violently. I cringed. Bella tensed at my side, knowing that Alice was seeing something, but not knowing what.
"She's seeing you, ill," I told her and the rest of the family. "Are you sure you're feeling okay?" I suddenly asked, worried.
"I feel fine," Bella said quickly. Alice glanced in my direction, beaming thoughts to me that were apparently not appropriate for others who were present to hear.
"I've had that same vision eleven times now," Alice stated. "She hasn't thrown up eleven times, right?" I shook my head very slightly so my family wouldn't notice, though most of them were now talking about the wedding with Esme and Bella.
"Curious." Alice's mind began to drift. I let her think, being only vaguely aware of he thoughts until she stopped on a particular one.
I gave her a clear look that said, "No. You're wrong." Alice was thinking that maybe her visions were broken or something. My immediate response to this, i.e. that it was impossible, was only because I was terrified without Alice's visions to make sure Bella was always safe. However, maybe she was right. What other explanation was there for Alice having the same vision so many times over?