AN: Thank you for all the reviews, favorites and alerts. They make my day.
Listening to: Shine Bright Baby – Heartbreak!
Disclaimer: No copyright infringement is intended. xVampiree does not, in any way, own Twilight. All characters, besides those not mentioned in the Twilight Series, belong to Stephenie Meyer. Any other recognizable publications and/or characters do not belong to xVampiree. They belong to their respective owners. The plot line belongs to xVampiree. Copyright 2010.
Chapter 3 – Pretending
Bella Swan
Five minutes was long enough, wasn't it? I sat on the edge of my bed, flicking the screen lock on my phone from on to off a couple hundred times.
Masen entered my room and jumped onto the bed, scrambling into my lap. "Whatcha doin'?" he inquired.
"I was just giving Tanya and your dad some time to themselves," I answered, twirling one of his copper strands of hair in my fingers.
"They're not doing anything," he said simply.
"Okay, then," I helped him off me and walked downstairs, Masen trailing behind me as usual. My little shadow.
When we entered the kitchen, Edward was seated at the island holding his head in his hands and Tanya was nowhere to be seen. He lifted his head when he heard the approaching footsteps. His eyes didn't hold any sadness, but were blazing with rage. I stopped dead in my tracks causing Masen to walk into the back of my legs.
Edward let out a deep breath and the anger appeared to dissipate, but the tension remained around his eyes. "Would you like any help making dinner?" he questioned.
"No, thank you," I squeaked. Oh, he had manners too...
I turned the heat on the stove back up and heard the sound of his phone ringing.
He sighed as he answered, "Hi, mom,"
"I'm gonna go watch TV," Masen announced and left the room.
I continued cooking, deciding that spaghetti was a good choice and managed to listen in on the conversation.
"Yes, I am in Forks... What do you mean 'come over'?..." He winced as the volume of Esme's voice increased. "I know how long I haven't seen you for... I'm spending the evening with my kids... Yes, Bella's here,"
I glanced back at him and saw him smiling.
"Yes, she's been very helpful... Yeah, yeah. Listen, mom, I gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?... Yes, love you, too. Bye."
He shook his head, "I swear news travels like wildfire in my family. My mom found out from Emmett, who found out from Alice who found out from Kate, that I'm back in Forks,"
"How long are you staying for?" I wondered, hoping he didn't take it the wrong way.
"I'm not actually sure," he answered. "it all depends on how things work out, but I have to keep up with work from here,"
I nodded and stirred the noodles one final time.
"Uh, plates?" he questioned. Looking at the cupboards next to the fridge.
"Second on your left," I answered.
He grabbed five and put them out on the counter.
"We only need four," I told him. He frowned at me in question. "Um, Tanya doesn't-"
Speak of the devil and she shall appear. I was cut off by Tanya who waltzed in as if she owned the place... okay, maybe she did. Kind of.
"'Tanya doesn't' what, Isabella?" She wondered with a fake smile.
So, this was how she was going to play it? Her husband shows up and she decides she's the perfect wife... Game on.
"Oh, nothing," With a smirk, I dished up a mountain of food for her, enjoying the way she tried to hold back her grimace.
Why hello, Tanya, my name is Karma and I'm here to bite you in the ass.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Edward watching our exchange intently.
"Kate! Masen!" I called. "Dinner." I dished up their dinner and set it on the table while Edward got his own.
-
Dinner was awkward with Tanya's presence, she sat so close to Edward you would swear she was trying to get in his lap. And the constant touching... my god, don't even get me started on the touching.
I'd look away but I was getting too much vindictive satisfaction watching her try to finish her meal.
"Nom nom nom," Masen commented through a mouthful of food. He'd picked that up from his uncle, Emmett.
"This is great, Bella," Edward murmured. "it's been a while since I've had a home-cooked meal,"
I was about to say 'thank you', when Kate interrupted. "How do you survive in Chicago? You can't cook,"
He looked sheepish, "Well, there's a lot of fast food places in Chicago, sweetheart."
Tanya rubbed his forearm, "You're still in shape though,"
He gave her a brief smile, just a slight upturn of his lips and then continued eating.
It was quiet then, except for the sounds of cutlery against plates.
"How was school, kids?" Tanya wondered, idly twirling a noodle around her fork.
I chocked on my food and coughed, reaching forward, I grabbed my glass of water.
Masen and Kate both looked surprised and had stopped eating briefly to make sure they weren't hearing things and that their mother had actually asked them a civilized question.
"Fine." Kate answered flatly. "It was only the first day."
"I like school," Masen announced happily from his seat next to me with spaghetti sauce around his mouth.
I smiled at him and collected the plates from everyone when they were finished.
I stopped at Tanya when I saw she'd hardly eaten anything, "That was...good, Isabella. Sorry, I had already eaten earlier,"
I gave her a sickly sweet smile, "No worries, it'll still be there tomorrow."
-
After that very interesting dinner, I decided it would be best to get the kids to bed and hopefully get some much needed sleep for myself as well.
I started bath time early since it was a mission just to get Masen to consider taking a bath.
"Come on, Mase," I pleaded, holding up his very own Spongebob Squarepants sponge. He was going to make me sing my version of the theme song...I just knew it.
"Bella," he whined. "Sing the song, please."
I sighed then cleared my throat, using my best 'pirate voice' "Are you ready, Mase?"
"Aye aye, Captain," he cheered.
"I can't hear you..."
"Aye Aye, Captain!" he shouted, his mouth pulled up into a ridiculous grin.
"Oh... who loves taking baths just especially for me?"
"Masen Cullen!"
"Absorbent and friendly and boisterous is he."
"Masen Cullen!"
"If no more nonsense be something you wish,"
"Masen Cullen!"
"Then jump in the bath and flop like a fish,"
He jumped in, the water splashing out the bath and, of course, onto me.
Shit. I had forgotten to change out of my white shirt, that was now displaying my bra. I grabbed the nearest towel and wrapped it around me just as I heard a chuckle from the doorway.
I looked over my shoulder from my seat on the floor and saw Edward standing there, clapping his hands together silently.
"Very creative, Bella," he commented with a smirk.
I blushed. Had he heard the whole thing? God, how mortifying. "It's the only thing that works..."
He just grinned and looked at his son, crouching down next to me "Do you make Bella sing that every night?"
Masen nodded with a megawatt smile and splashed some more, making Spongebob dive into the water while I washed his arms, face and torso. It felt a little awkward having Edward just sitting there watching me wash his son, but a few seconds later he started washing Masen's back.
Masen put his toy down once we were finished and cleaned 'Winky Will' as he liked to call it, since he knew the drill by now. It's not that I felt uncomfortable about it, I just felt it was better for him to do it.
"All done!" he announced happily, throwing his arms into the air for me to wrap him up in a towel.
He wiggled like he usually did, hampering my process as I attempted to dry him off as best as I could without dropping my towel. Edward just laughed the whole time at the ridiculousness of his son.
Edward held out his hand to take over. I passed him the towel and secured mine around my chest.
Masen filled the silence by prattling on about his new friends, Seth's puppy, Jacob, his teacher, Miss Heart, who let him use the new crayons since he held the door open for her in the morning.
"Do you mind just helping him into his pajamas?" I asked. "I just need to change,"
Edward nodded, "Yeah, I'm okay,"
Once I had left the room and changed into a simple black tank top, I waited for the mayhem to begin. Getting Masen into the bath paled in comparison to getting him to put on his pajamas.
There was a loud squee followed by a groan as Masen began running around the house. I glanced out my door just as Masen ran passed stark naked with Edward on hot pursuit holding a pair of pajama pants.
They ran passed my room again but this time I grabbed Masen and picked him up. He wiggled around and snickered to himself the entire time but Edward and I managed to at least get him in a pair of sleep shorts.
Once he had calmed down, I took him to his room and tucked him in, brushing away the stray curls that hung in his face to kiss his forehead.
"Love you," he murmured sleepily, holding on to the front of my shirt.
"Love you too, Mase," I whispered and stepped away so Edward could say goodnight.
"Do you tuck them in every night?" Edward wondered as he closed his son's bedroom door.
I nodded and opened Kate's door quietly. She was already asleep but had left her bedside light on, I crept through her room and switched it off.
Once I was done and both kids were in bed, I decided it was time to begin my own nightly routine. I tied my hair up in a messy bun and took a shower. The warm water caressed my skin and helped relieve some of the tension in my neck. All throughout my teens years I had suffered with a stiff neck as a result of the way I slept at night and I didn't have time to go to a chiropractor or even get someone to give me a massage.
I dressed in a big t-shirt that was black and had Kings Of Leon printed on the front in red letters. Next was a pair of cotton shorts.
I lay in bed tossing and turning for a few hours, flipping my pillow over, kicking the sheets off, but nothing I did made me comfortable. Grumbling to myself, I got up and stumbled downstairs to drink some warm milk and honey. The house was always eerily quiet at this time of night and every little sound made me jump.
Which is why I nearly shat myself when I heard a throat clear behind me.
I whirled around and the first thing I noticed was the piercing green eyes. How were they still so bright in the dark?
"I thought announcing myself would be a better option that to just start talking," he murmured.
"Yeah, great choice," I muttered sarcastically.
He chuckled, "I didn't mean to startle you, I heard noises downstairs... you know, Alpha Male thing, you gotta protect your territory."
I giggled, "Sorry, I couldn't sleep so I came down here to have some honey and milk,"
"That works?" He wondered, looking down at the cup in my hands.
I yawned, "Does for me."
"I'll have to try that,"
I nodded and moved away, "Goodnight, Edward,"
He smiled gently, "Night, Bella,"
I returned to my room and closed the door. A little girl with blond hair was now curled up in my comforter, watching me with tired eyes.
"You okay, sweetheart?" I wondered as I got in next to her.
She nodded and snuggled into my side, "I just had a bad dream."
I didn't have much to offer her... I'd never be her mother, nor could I make her real mother see just how much she was missing... All I could offer was comfort and love.
And she seemed okay with that.
AN: I have a weak spot for the kitchen scenes...
It's short, yes, I know.
Ahh, Tanya and Bella's relationship... there's so much bitchiness and sarcasm. I love it.
Big thank you to MrsEdwardCullenP as usual, for being an amazing Beta.
And, thank you Hayley.
Please be kind and review. Your support really makes my day.
Next chapter is EPOV. So, your questions about age will be answered then.