Chapter 3 –
Bella's POV
When I woke up in the morning, I was surprised to find that it wasn't the annoying, electronic buzzing from my alarm as usual, which woke me. It wasn't even going off. It was the cool hand, gently trailing down my cheek, over my neck and down my arm, his low voice quietly saying my name. I was even more surprised when I figured out that Edward was real and that he had come back, and he was still here.
"Good morning..." I mumbled, stretching my arms out in front of me.
"Morning, my love. I turned your alarm off but you probably need to be getting up." He said, sitting up.
"What time is it?" I asked.
"Just past nine." He said smiling.
"Nine? I have to be at work in half an hour! It'll take me that long to drive there!" I said jumping up and going through my closet.
He sighed, apparently dismayed that I needed to wake up at all. He had always thought it was unfair how little sleep I got when it was such a peaceful, restoring miracle for humans, in his words.
I grabbed my jeans and the t-shirt I was required to wear, running into the bathroom.
"Is there anything I can do?" Edward called.
Maybe it was just my crazy mind or his absence but in my mind what he asked sounded pretty dirty. But then I reminded myself he was Edward, with his high morals and virtues.
"Can you get me a granola bar, throw my wallet in my bag, and get my phone and my keys from the kitchen and get a water bottle out of the fridge, please?" I asked, knowing it would be so much quicker for him being a vampire.
"Sure." He said.
I changed quickly, yanking my hair brush through my hair and pulling it into a pony tail.
I had no time to argue when Edward insisted that he drive me and come in to watch me work. Due to his death-defying, illegal, driving standards we arrived there six minutes early. I went in around the back and sent Edward to go get coffee from the cafe across the road. At half past nine I flipped the 'OPEN' sign around and let Edward in.
"Have you changed your dieting habits since I last saw you?" I asked jokily, noticing how he'd bought a bag of breakfast foods that could feed a family.
He handed me my coffee, grinning sheepishly, "No, but you need to have breakfast."
He was exactly the same person I had known years ago, which made it easier to believe that he had lied when he left, although I was still having a difficult time coming to terms with it. How could I accept his logic had been the only thing that drove him to leave me? Maybe I had been away from him so long that my mind didn't remember exactly how conscientious, guilt-consumed and caring he was. Still, I had been telling myself for over two years that I wasn't beautiful enough, that I wasn't lovable in any way. And Jake had been the only one to ever say that I was wrong.
Edward's POV
I watched her sipping her coffee, nibbling on a bacon and egg muffin, typing at the computer. Sometimes she would be consumed by her thoughts and start staring off into space. Then she'd notice me and go back to her work. When I was surveying the book shelves, I would see her out of the corner of my eye, looking at me questioningly, searching for something in my eyes. Like I was the most baffling thing she'd ever seen. I was a vampire, so I understood that, except that she'd never looked at me like that before I left.
"Is this what you normally do at work?" I asked after she'd finished her breakfast.
"It's always quiet in the morning, so I usually go through the stock lists or tidy the shelves. Today I'm waiting for a delivery of books so I can barcode them and then put them on the shelves." She answered, still looking at her computer screen.
I scrutinized her face, memorizing every detail for the next hour. The phone rang twice and no one came into the store.
When a delivery van drove around the back of the store she signed for two big boxes, presumably containing the books she mentioned.
She went back to the computer and a few minutes later she had printed off sheets of adhesive barcodes. She opened the boxes and went through each book: finding its barcode, scanning it, typing the details into the computer. Then she took piles of three or four books at a time and found where they belonged in the store. It was dull but at least I could be with her again, watching her bite her lip as she concentrated. She had always been beautiful but now... it amazed me how much she'd changed, how extraordinary she'd become.
Customers started to come in every twenty minutes or so and I would pretend to be browsing through the shelves while I watched Bella serve them, answer their questions. It came naturally to her; effortlessly she could describe a book or find a textbook. She was brilliant. Not that I wasn't biased, I loved her.
When there was no one around, she seemed to remember that I was there and smiled, "The store closes at three today, sometimes I do shifts with the owner when it's open later but because it's so quiet here..."
"Do you get breaks?" Although she wasn't doing much, it seemed wrong that she stayed here and worked for that long.
She nodded, "If I want I can put a back in fifteen minutes sign on the door. But I normally don't."
I seemed to be far more intrigued with her job than she did. It was routine to her but for me it was new. I wanted to know everything about it.
She went to the staff/store room at the back of the store to make a tea.
"Do you want to do something after I lock up?" She called back to me.
"Sure, what were you thinking?" I grinned, happy that she still wanted me after all this time.
She was thoughtful as she carried her tea back to the counter – without tripping once – until something occurred to her and she said 'oh, I forgot something...' to herself.
"Hmm?" I asked, if she needed to pick up dry cleaning or get groceries, she must have known I would be happy to come with her. I wanted to spend every second of eternity with her.
She looked down and fiddled with a pen, "Jake...um, Jacob was coming over. I was going to help him study... like we normally do."
"Oh." I said, thinking this through. I still didn't like Jacob, if not because I was jealous, then because he was a werewolf. He was too young for her anyway; he was still studying at high school.
"I should call Jacob..." She murmured, picking up the phone. I nodded, flipping through a book catalogue while I listened to their conversation.
"Hey Bells!" Jacob greeted, obnoxiously happy.
"Hi Jake, were you still coming over to uh, study this afternoon?" She asked hesitantly.
Bella's POV
I heard Quil laughing next to the phone then him calling, "Hey Hot Stuff!" Before Jacob shushed him.
Jake laughed on the other end of the phone, "Of course. Oh and Quil says hi."
"Mmhmm... That's what he said." I reply smiling.
"You seem happier than usual, especially for someone who's at work..." He said, half joking.
"Yeah well... There's something I have to tell you Jake. Don't freak out. And it's none of the pack's business. I'm telling you because you're my best friend, not because it's some threat to tell Sam about." I caught Edward peeking up from the book he was looking through, "Maybe I should just tell you this afternoon..."
I could practically hear Jacob stressing, "Is something wrong? What do you mean?"
"I knew you would freak out. You worry too much about me; you're the one who goes off to kill immortals." I joke, trying to distract him.
"Bella..." he says in a warning voice.
"It's nothing bad... but you won't like it." I tell him. I noticed Edward watching me again and hold the phone away from my mouth, "Stop looking at me like that!" I say to him and then mumble, frustrated, "Overprotective, caring, mythical creatures!"
He chuckles and goes to look at the book shelves with his back to me.
"Bella?" Jake calls from the phone.
"Oh, yeah, Jake. Sorry about that. I had to... uh..."
He cut me off, "Tell someone to stop looking at you. I heard. Who's there? Is Angela trying to set you up again?"
"No, no. Never mind that. Anyway, when you see a, uh... vampire, do you always start shaking or just when it's in your territory?" I asked nonchalantly. If only I was a better liar. And Edward just smirked at me.
"Depends who the vamp is and why I'm seeing them. The shaking is when I'm angry. Them being on my territory makes me angry." He said questioningly. "Why do you ask?"
"Just curious... So I'll talk to you this afternoon?" I asked, in a happy voice.
"Hang on, what were you going to tell me, that I wouldn't like?" He said suspiciously.
I didn't want to tell him on the phone that Edward was back... I didn't really want to tell him at all. His response to the topic of Edward was never pleasant.
After a long moment of consideration and watching Edward pretend to be deeply interested in a biography, I answered.
"I'm going away this weekend. I'll tell you about it this afternoon. We'll have to cancel meeting in your garage. Sorry." I wasn't really lying... It was true. It just wasn't all the details.
He laughed, "You had me worried Bella. I was thinking of that time you insisted we go cliff diving and then didn't wait for me. Who knows when you'll discover sky diving or abseiling?"
"I think I'm over that stuff. Anyway, see you later." I didn't want to go into conversations about nearly dying when Edward was listening, ever.
"Yeah, love ya, Bells!" he called, before hanging up.
Edward raised an eyebrow at me - which I ignored - and came to sit on the other side of the counter.
"You can't be there this afternoon. He'll probably already smell you. I'm sorry, I don't want to leave you either, but Jacob will..." I tilted my head to the side, trying to think of a nice way of putting 'kill you'. "He'll be upset. Very upset... It's not going to turn out well if you're there." I said nodding.
"You want me to leave you alone with a very upset werewolf? Bella..." He sighed.
"Edward, Jake isn't like that; he would never do anything to me. Trust me on this. It's not your choice." I told him, trying to calm this situation down quickly.
Edward was upset, I could see it in his eyes when he went to make me another tea, when he smiled and said he was going to book the flights to the Cullen's new house and when he said he was scoping out the area for decent restaurants but actually just walked up and down the street with his head down where he thought I couldn't see. He'd been back a day and I was already distressing him.
As he came back in the door, still trying to smile, I moved around the counter to stand next to him.
"Edward, please don't be worried. It's nearly time to close up, let's go to the meadow, okay? Jake doesn't come by until five. I'll even let you drive." I smiled at him.
"You're right, it's not my choice. He's your friend...it'll be fine. Yes, the meadow... I haven't been brave enough to go back since I was there with you. I couldn't bare the memories."
"Okay, then. It's decided." I said, hugging him. He was so much more vulnerable now. Not the stoic Edward I knew, after all.
A/N: Has our Edward changed?
To all of you who story alerted this, I'm touched, really, but I know who you are and I want reviews. Or I'll start naming people. Mhmm... I have names. My lovely reviewers, caroline and snoopykid, thank you so much and also, will you go angry werewolf on those who only story alerted for me? Joking, angry vampire would be much better... encouragement. It's December everyone! Get with the holiday spirit! Also check out all my other stories and review lots. If you do then I'll write a Christmas special fanfic for Twilight. I mean, I was going to do it for something else, like hmm... Evernight.
Check out Unnoticed Moments for a 'Christmas Song' which is - obviously - Christmas in New moon... Poor Bella.
I promise the new Christmas Special will be much happier. If you review.
Thanks againeveryone for your support! In the words of Mcdonalds - I'm loving it. (Yes, that was McDonalds, don't question it.)
