Disclaimer: I don't own twilight Stephenie Meyers does. Now the real disclaimer. For anyone here because they read my stories at Zosie where Ed and Bella always have a Happy Ever After and there are often quick fixes if the story begins with them apart, and you like that lighter stuff, stay there and don't read here. This is a separate user for a reason. This story will not have a quick fix, so don't ask for one. It will contain people with fucked up lives, and human tragedy and a disturbing cat story. You have been warned.
Safe
Chapter 4
BPOV
Esme stood back and I held my breath. She had admitted she really had no idea how red streaks added to hair that had been covered in paint then paint remover, would fare.
They were the large patches that she couldn't simply trim away or I'd look rather odd.
"Actually, it's lovely. Better than I even dared hope," she said and I breathed again.
"It's really beautiful. The sun picks up the highlights and makes them really shine," Edward commented from the lounger he was laying on beside the pool.
Okay, we long time residents had all had a bit of a laugh when the Cullens became the only household in Forks to pay money to have a swimming pool installed but they had the last laugh. Carlisle knew some builder who built these amazing outdoor pool rooms where the roof retracted and opened up on sunny days and the side walls could be opened right up and folded back as well. Of course, much more often than not, the roof stayed put and the walls stayed closed because they needed to keep the heat inside, not let the cold from outside invade.
And it had a heating system that kept the water at the same temperature all year round.
I for one, thought the pool was amazing. I loved sitting in the spa corner, watching the others swim laps and race against one another.
Our only other choice was the beach at La Push and let's just say it's a place you mainly get to walk along to show off your latest pair of sheepskin boots and matching jacket. One can live here and never need a bikini, because they are not compulsory under a wetsuit, and that's what the surfers and people who swim there wear.
When this pool was installed, I could not actually swim. There had never been any need or occasion to learn. It wasn't as if I ever went out fishing with my Dad in his boat.
Then Alice announced she was having a pool party and I panicked and tried to make up a reason as to why I would not be attending.
xxxx
"You can't swim, can you, Bellarina?" Emmett boomed, laughing as I stood there, frantically trying to make up an excuse that someone would believe.
"Of course she can. She's almost sixteen, who can't swim when they are sixteen?" Alice replied on my behalf.
"It's just that my Gran..." Dammit. They all knew she had died six months earlier.
"That's right, you told me at school that you had to go visit your Gran's best friend on Alice's birthday," Edward lied.
"Oh bummer," Emmett said, walking off, losing interest now he knew he couldn't tease me.
"Alice, come up here and help me tie up my bikini," Rose yelled from Alice's upstairs bedroom window. Edward laughed and looked at Emmett, who decided he really needed to stick around after all. He got himself a drink and spread a towel across a lounger and sat down with his feet up, waiting for the Rose In A Tiny Bikini Show to begin.
"I can teach you," Edward whispered, taking my hand and leading me to the new flower garden his Mother had made, pointing to flowers as if that's what we were talking about.
"How can you? Emmett will sit and watch and tease me," I protested.
"Then come at night. The pool's heated, the room is too. It makes no difference what hour it is."
"Can we start tonight?" I asked nervously. Alice's birthday was only five weeks away and let's just accept I will never be on any Olympic Team. Sport is just another word for torture to me.
So our lessons began.
Edward bought me a bikini of my own, having taken one glance at the hideous one piece Dad had decided was fitting for a nearly sixteen year old virgin to wear. I think whoever designed it was making sure whoever wore it stayed a virgin forever. That would be why Charlie chose it. He'd given me several excruciating 'talks' about abstinence and the joys of saving oneself for their honeymoon, in the very distant future, and how so many girls thought their first boyfriends were the One, and gave him the 'gift', only to discover that was all he'd been hanging around for anyway as he disappeared into the night afterwards and became 'too busy' to call.
I would need to leave the tiny blue two piece in Edward's bedroom so Charlie never found it, mind you.
Edward seemed to have endless patience and he never complained as he stood there in waist deep water , holding my horizontal body up on the top of the water as I flung my arms around and tried to remember to kick at the same time.
I don't think anyone has ever laughed as much as the two of us did those nights. I would appear to get the hang of it, then suddenly I'd find myself on the bottom of the pool and Edward would be diving down to drag me up again. It seemed not everyone could stay afloat after all.
In the end, he decided he would attend the party, despite the fact so many 'giggling girls' would be there annoying him, and stay at my side in the pool 'just in case'.
I did not get to drown on his watch.
Jake was invited but he had a major problem with the Cullen's being rich and he was constantly telling me they only invited me because they felt sorry for me, seeing there was no way the Swan family would ever own a swimming pool, which hurt even though I knew it wasn't true. They did like me. Nobody forced them to endure my company, I only ever went there when I'd been specifically invited even though every one of them, from Esme to Alice, and of course, Edward, had assured me often I was welcome anytime.
Jake made such a big deal about how he would be cross if I went to the party even though he was not going, that I think I would have gone even if I hadn't wanted to.
There was no way all those swimming lessons were being wasted. That had been the whole point of having them, but I could hardly tell Jake I'd been sneaking to meet up with Edward after he left our house after dinner many nights. I never thought Jake was Dad's favourite person, to be honest, but he was always polite to him and didn't attempt to sabotage our romance. In fact, he encouraged Jake to visit frequently, so often in fact I sometimes wondered if Charlie hoped I would get sick of Jake being there.
If I said I wanted a Saturday afternoon to myself and took a blanket out into our backyard so I could lie there reading one of my favourite novels, Jake would always appear five minutes later, and for ages I didn't know it was because Charlie had called him and said I 'looked lonely' and he should visit. Charlie knew I hated being interrupted when I was lost in the arms of Mr Darcy or crying over some long ago fictional tragedy.
Jake hated reading and thought anyone who read anything apart from what school demanded was wasting their time, so it wasn't as if we could just lie there together, both enjoying our books, like Edward and I did if he came over.
Funnily enough, Dad never called Jake if Edward was there; apparently, I wasn't 'lonely' and needing Jake's company on those occasions.
And he did do this sort of scoff/cough whenever I went on about how Jake was clearly my soulmate and true love. Even if he could be a bit difficult to keep happy sometimes.
Alice was my best girl friend, and I'd used some of my savings to buy her a pendant she had often admired when she saw other girls at school wearing one like this. It was a Best Friends 4Ever thing, so I knew I would be the only one entitled to buy one for her. Unlike most of the things she owned, it wasn't even that expensive, just pretty.
Quite within my budget.
She was so thrilled when she opened my gift, she hugged me in front of everyone and declared it was 'the best gift ever'. I don't think Rosalie was happy about that, having spent about ten times more on whatever lavish present she'd bought her.
I felt completely at home even though Jake didn't turn up, just as he had said. Edward had sought me out practically the minute I got there, and I spent more time sitting with him, just talking, than mingling with the other guests. Alice even came over to where we were sitting and slapped her brother for hogging my attention, but Edward just replied she was the hostess and had to 'circulate', so he was actually doing her a favour by amusing me.
I didn't actually realize just how many hours we sat there, side by side, only separating to use the bathroom or for Edward to get us fresh drinks or snacks, until Alice was showing everyone the photos at school a few days later.
Jake went into a rage, and accused me of liking Edward, and I agreed, I did like Edward. Not like I loved him, nothing like it, but Edward was fast becoming an even better friend to me than Alice was.
Back then, I defied Jake quite regularly.
I don't think I'd made the connection yet; that defying Jake equalled fewer kisses and when he refused to speak to me, I never looked for a reason. I just assumed I was somehow lacking, and was not amusing enough to hold his attention.
It was Rose who pointed out the obvious to me.
"So, Bella, if you don't obey orders and behave like a well trained show dog, Jake doesn't kiss you?" she stated one day when we were at the beach in a large group and Edward had invited me to join in with the kids playing beach baseball.
I'd wanted to join in, mainly because baseball is the one sport I can play and I wanted to show off how far I could slam the ball since Edward started coaching me.
"Bella, don't make a spectacle of yourself. You will embarrass us both," Jake hissed as I jumped up from where I'd been laying on a towel at his side.
"I can hit. I may suck at catching, but wait until you see how far.."
"Bella, sit down," Jake straight out ordered.
"No. I want to play," I replied and ran off to take the bat.
"Batter up," called Emmett, grinning as I joined in. I knew he expected a couple of strikes followed by some weak little tap if I did manage to connect the bat and the ball , so it was great watching him stare at me in shock as I slammed the very first ball past the car park and into the forest.
"That had to be a very big fluke," Emmett growled, and ordered me to stay where I was and he pitched a new ball my way.
I slugged it as well, maybe even further than the first, and he ran over and picked me up and put me on his shoulders.
"Victory lap, then you join my team," he yelled as I gripped onto his hair as he ran.
Edward laughed, and took photos.
Jake scowled and put his sunnies on and lay back, ignoring us all.
True to form, my hitting had been amazing and my catching pathetic but Edward positioned himself behind me and he jumped in front of me to take the catches instead if I tripped and fumbled and face planted.
The game was close but we won.
Mike conceded defeat and Emmett and I repeated our lap again.
I ran back to Jake, stupidly thinking I had earned a kiss for finally excelling half the time at a sport, but he was simmering with anger and he soon let me know I had somehow humiliated him by playing.
I tried to make it up to him, but he drove me home in frosty silence and even though it was my birthday the next day, I didn't see or hear from him. I spent the whole day waiting for him to visit or make contact and that night, even though Billy attended the barbecue Charlie had insisted on having, Jake did not show.
"Now do you get it?" Rose said as I sat watching the gate, sure he would come, no matter how late. "Bella has been a bad little puppy and her master is angry and punishing her. No pat on the head or doggie treat for you."
"He would never be that petty," I defended. "I didn't do anything wrong. Did I?"
"Did you listen and obey? Did you Sit when you were ordered to sit? Did you fetch and beg correctly as trained?" she asked roughly.
When darkness fell and Dad and the other adults moved inside, Alice set up her iPod and everyone started dancing. Edward came to my side and took my hand.
"Come on. It's your birthday, you are allowed to have a little bit of fun."
"Wait, let me check the list of allowed activities Jake left for Bella," Rose joked as Emmett came to claim her. "I think he carved them in stone over there."
"I can't dance anyway," I told Edward. "Think of my catching. I'm even worse at dancing."
"It's all in the leading," he replied and to my surprise, he was right. He saved the day from being a complete disappointment and we danced long into the night until I suddenly realized everyone else had slipped away at some point.
"I guess I should go home ," Edward said, making no attempt to let me go. "Thank you for inviting us."
He slipped his hand into his pocket and took my hand, clasping a bracelet around my wrist. A shiny crystal hung from the gold chain and he wished me a happy birthday and stepped back.
"Thank you, it's beautiful," I stated, not yet knowing how it would sparkle and shine in the sunlight. "I'm glad you came to my lame little party. I mean, I'm glad you and Alice and Emmett all came, of course."
"May I give you a birthday kiss?" he asked.
"I have a feeling it may be the only one I get," I replied sadly, and as he kissed me for the first time ever, I forgot everything but the feel of his lips. Later it occurred to me that it was a damned shame my heart was not under my control and that boys were not interchangeable.
xxxx
Jake was all charm and love the next day,though he refused to explain why he hadn't attended my party or where he had gone instead.
"Hey, I don't see a wedding ring on your finger. I don't believe I have to answer to you yet," he replied when I asked.
He came bearing a bouquet of mixed flowers that I immediately put in a vase in my bedroom , and placed it on the small table beside my bed.
"I considered buying you chocolates but we don't want to start any bad habits, especially fattening ones, right?" he said lightheartedly.
"I love the flowers, thank you," I replied, glancing at my waistline in the mirror. Had I gained weight and not noticed?
"Bella, your figure is wonderful but we need to ensure it stays that way," he stated. "I would never date an overweight girl so I'm trusting you to never turn into one. That's fair, right? If I liked chubby females, I date them. As it is, I like slender girls, so keep that in mind when someone offers you takeaway and candies. Oh, I got you a book."
There has never been a novel I've regretted reading, so I knew I would treasure whatever Jake had bought for me. I opened the wrapping and sat there dumbstruck.
"NO FAT CHICKS- Keep Your Figure And Your Man.
Don't force him to have to go elsewhere because you are too lazy to keep yourself slim and attractive.
Even when pregnant, you don't have to look it.
The Diet that guarantees you can keep your teen body all your life: nobody will even know you are expecting until you walk into the Labor Ward. You will never need larger jeans if you follow my diet and exercise plan for life!"
I guess he was just wanting to be sure I stayed healthy, so I hid my disappointment and promised to read it as soon as I had time.
"Now, I believe it's customary to kiss the birthday girl."
I didn't mention I was no longer technically the birthday girl, because I needed him to kiss me and make me feel lovable again; not remind him it was my own fault he had avoided me yesterday. He knew how much I loved him and although he did not always show it, I knew he loved me back. I was sure at some point he would grow up and stop playing his stupid games, and the wait would be worth it.
"You know what sixteen means, right?" he whispered in my ear as he hovered above me on my bed.
"Well, I have been kissed already …" I replied.
"Legal, Bella. It's now legal for us to make love."
"I'm not sure I'm ready for that. I was thinking maybe eighteen would be a better age to make adult decisions," I replied.
He looked at me for quite a while, then shrugged.
"Okay, but you need to always remember it was your decision. A man has needs and he cannot be expected to wait forever."
"I promise, the moment I turn eighteen, we will make love together," I swore, never dreaming he would not be my first. Had anyone read my future and told me what would happen, I would never have believed it. Jake was my world and I would not have been able to get my head around cheating on him, with anyone.
"Then it will all begin. The engagement, the wedding, the kids. I have it all planned out."
"How many children do you want?" I asked him as he lay back on my pillow, his long black hair fanned out around his head. God, he was so beautiful. I loved his skin, so unlike my own pale white complexion. I loved his eyes, so dark they appeared black. Most of all I loved his jet black hair.
I felt like a watered down version of a person, with my mid brown eyes and brunette hair and accursed skin tone. I swear if I ever fell into a snowdrift naked, nobody would see me and pull me out, I'd just blend in.
"Two. You can't have just one or it would be a spoiled little brat," he said, forgetting I was an only child. "And any more than two and it would ruin your figure completely. Two it is."
"But your sisters are twins," I pointed out. "We could have a single baby then have a twin pregnancy and end up with three."
I always imagined myself with three.
"No," he replied. "I would not allow you to risk having twins. They killed my Mom, remember, Bella."
"But Jake, we wouldn't have any choice. If we conceived twins, it would be out of our hands."
"You always have choices. My Mom was unlucky to have my sisters back before selective reductions were possible."
"But that would mean either Rebecca or Rachel would not exist," I replied in horror.
"You wouldn't have known the one they chose to abort, so you are speaking of a hypothetical child. If only one of the twins had survived the pregnancy, you would not even ever think about the other one. It wouldn't have been born so it wouldn't have been real."
"Sometimes I hate modern medicine," I replied.
"Hey, it won't happen to us. We will have our two boys and be the perfect family."
"Jake, don't set your heart on two boys, now that really is a choice that's out of our hands."
"We'll see," he replied, pulling me back to his lips and erasing much of the conversation from my head. All I retained was that Jake wanted to marry me one day and that we would have children.
"Come on, we may as well go eat somewhere seeing nothing is happening in this bed for another two years" he stated.
xxxx
I got back from our date late but even so, we had visitors. Alice and Rose were sitting in the room with Charlie, and all three were in great spirits. Then I noticed Mrs Hale was there as well. Since her husband died, I knew she had been lonely, but I wasn't aware she even knew Dad as more than a nodding acquaintance.
"Hey Bella, we knew you would be out on your big romantic date so we thought we would come visit your Dad and keep him company. So,spill. What was it like? Did you two have fun?" Alice asked.
"Um, take this upstairs, I don't need to hear about the details of my daughter's love life," Dad growled. "Can I get you a cup of tea or coffee, Natalie?"
Natalie? Boy, I didn't even know Mrs Hale's first name.
Rose shut the door and immediately walked over to my flowers.
"Alice, look at what Jake gave Bella."
"Nice," Alice said, frowning and giving Rose a glare.
"What?" I asked. "Is it bad luck or something to give the girl you plan to marry flowers now?"
"Depends what they are," Rose replied.
"Shut up. I think it's very sweet and romantic," Alice cut in. "Leave it, Rose. I'm sure he meant well. Men have no idea what each type of flower means. Most women don't."
"But we do," Rose declared, touching each bloom in turn. "Lavender, Marigold, Rhododendron, Begonia's, YELLOW carnations, oh Lilacs, nice."
"Okay, spill. What do they mean?" I grumbled.
"Lilac is good, it means first love," Alice chirped.
"And?"
"Lavender is so pretty, he probably chose it for it's colour and aroma," she hastily offered.
"And it means?" I insisted.
"Distrust," Rose stated. "Marigolds means a desire for riches, Rhododendron and Begonia's both mean beware. But lilacs are cute. "
"I'm sure he just picked them all for colour, they look lovely together. We should go. School tomorrow. Good night Bella."
"Yellow carnations, " I reminded them. "You forgot to tell me what they mean."
"They sometimes are used to tell someone they have disappointed you but I'm sure they have other meanings as well."
I closed the door behind them then saw Alice's phone on my bed and picked it up and ran after them.
"There's no way he chose them randomly. Half of them don't even grow here. He had to have placed a special order," Rose said before she realized I was there behind them.
"I could be wrong," she said with a smile when she saw me, and took the phone. I went back to my room.
Now I felt paranoid.
The Cullen siblings had handed me a bunch of flowers when they arrived at my party. Well, Edward had handed them to me, but I assumed they were from all three. I went downstairs and found a note from my Dad, saying he had been called into work, so I collected my other bouquet and went back upstairs and opened Google..
White carnations...innocence,purity.
Pink carnations...I'll never forget you.
Red carnations...my heart aches to be with you.
Strange that Jake chose yellow ones, the only colour with negative overtones.
Daffodils...unrequited love? Hmm, strange.
Forget-me-nots...obviously, remember me.
Daisies...loyal love.
Gardenia...secret love.
Gloxinia...love at first sight.
All pretty happy meanings and I had to believe, both bunches were random choices.
xxxx
EPOV
"Bella, you will stay for dinner tonight?" Esme checked.
"Her house still stinks, I checked it while you were mucking with her hair," I replied. "She will have to sleep here until she leaves for the city, most probably."
"Then I must make up the guest room," Mom said, glaring in my direction. "Edward, I need you to get something down from a high shelf. You stay by the pool, Bella, just don't get your hair wet if you swim. I have no idea what might happen if we add chlorine to the mix."
"What?" I asked as Mom closed the door behind us.
"Bella slept in your bed last night," Mom stated.
"She is going through some stuff. She has nightmares. I can calm her down easily if we are together, that's all. Mom, we shared a place for four years and we are both adults, anyway."
"She loves Jake. If you cross any lines, Edward, she will still choose him and you will be the one left hurting."
"I already hurt, Mom, what difference would it make? At least I can have a few measly nights with her. Compared to the rest of her life, even Jake wouldn't begrudge me that. "
"I believe he would, if you are using the same method to calm Bella down as your father uses on me. She intends marrying him, no matter what. Don't complicate her life or yours. There are plenty of other fish in the sea. Wait until you see the new nurses your father has hired, with you in mind. Betty and Lorna were both ready to retire, so he chose three nice young single ladies as their replacements."
"So, he's filled the hospital with pretty nurses, has he?" I answered. "Then you had better keep your eye on him, because they will not be of any interest to me, and if they are looking for a doctor to marry, he'll be getting all their attention."
"Carlisle would never cheat, I'm quite confident about that."
"You'd be surprised who cheats, Mom, and why. The world is not always black and white. Sometimes desperate people would do anything to be with the one they love, even if it means cheating on somebody."
"Don't, Edward. Don't make her cheat on Jake. I was wrong, she will be the one who gets hurt. You will move on once she is gone but she will have to look him in the face and know she betrayed him with you. It will have repercussions, even if he never finds out. She will know, Edward, even if he doesn't, and Bella is not the type to ever forgive herself."
"It's too late, Mom. Don't bother making up the guest bed. She is staying with me. Six more nights then I may never see her again, ever. If she's going to Hell for this, she may as well enjoy herself all she can before she pays."
"You do know she doesn't love you, Edward? Not in that way."
"How would you know?" I barked. Of course I knew, didn't my heart bleed every day just for that reason?
"It's in her eyes. She enjoys your company and loves you as a friend and she may even love you a little. She wishes she loved you enough to choose you over Jake, I know that much. Sometimes being with the person you love the most does not make your life easy or happy. And sometimes, Edward, you do not get to be with the one you love the most ever. Six days, six nights, they won't change anything. You have had more than six years and she's still as in love with him as ever. I do know you would be far better for her than he is, and maybe even Bella knows that herself, but if she stayed here with you, she'd still love him more. Would you want to be in that situation? Wouldn't you wonder, every time she closed her eyes, if she was thinking of him, and pretending you were him?"
"It's not like that. She's happy when she's with me and he is such a miserable bastard. You have seen how he treats her."
"Yet she runs back for more. That says more than if he treated her like a queen. She accepts whatever scraps he offers. Sound familiar?"
I slammed the door behind me and went down to the garages and decided it was time to take the good car out for a drive. Who knows, maybe I'll get lucky and a tree will jump out into my path.
It was exhilarating, the wind in my hair, the feeling of power beneath my foot, as I broke every speed law in the state.
Inevitably, I got pulled over on my way back home and had it been anyone but Charlie Swan, I'm sure I would have been in big trouble.
"Let me guess. Woman trouble," he stated flatly as he stood at my drivers door window.
"You said it."
"My daughter?" he hazarded a guess.
"Yep," I replied. No point lying now.
"So, in six days time you will return to sanity and stick to the road rules?"
"Absolutely," I agreed.
"Edward, Renee destroyed me. Don't let Bella do the same to you."
"I love her, Charlie."
"A blind horse could see that,Son, from the day you met. You think I don't love Renee? You think I chose to be alone the whole time Bella was growing up? It would have felt like cheating on her mother if I'd ever even kissed another woman. I went without sex for twenty two years, Edward. How many men in the world choose to give up sex because there's only one woman they want to sleep with?"
"Just you and me, Charlie."
"Don't do it, Son. Other women can be good enough, after all. They can fill the hole in your chest a little, for a while, if you let them."
"And if Renee came back today?" I questioned.
"I'd take her back in a heartbeat," he replied.
"And what if the women you have finally been with meant she spurned you?"
"Then I guess I would borrow a very fast car and wrap myself around a tree. But the thing is, Edward, Renee will never come back. I finally got that when Bella was sixteen years old, and her Mom forgot her birthday yet again. I mean, Sweet Sixteen, it's a big deal for a girl. Her Mom must know that, but she still forgot. Forgot her eighteenth, forgot her twenty first. It finally made me realize Renee truly has forgotten we both exist. And I looked back at the ladies who had shown an interest in me over the years and I'd spurned them, Edward. For nothing. For a woman who forgot me. Don't make her the center of your life, when he is the center of hers."
"Are you honestly happy she is with Jake?"
"Not for a minute. He was always a selfish little prick from the day he was born. I did what I thought was best but nothing changed the way she loves him. I even encouraged her to go live in New York with another man, for four years, hoping he would turn her head. Remember that? I told her I had spent her dorm money years ago, in some emergency that never happened, when you offered to let her live in Carlisle's apartment with you. I lied to her face, told her it was the only way she would be able to attend NYU. The money is still in her bank account, if she ever bothered to look."
"Thanks for trying, Charlie."
"Sorry it didn't work, Edward. You did try...you know.."
"I slept with her Charlie. I was her first."
The man scratched his head at that piece of news.
"Good for you, Edward. I bet the little prick has no idea."
"None at all."
"But we know, don't we Edward," he chortled. "If I didn't think he'd take it out on her, I'd love to tell him."
"You and me both."
"Boy, will I ever grin when I am forced to hand her over to him down the aisle. I hope she goes traditional, and wears white. Virginal," he laughed then paused.
"You do realize I'm happy my daughter had sex with someone she isn't going to marry? Is that wrong?"
"Not in this case. It didn't feel wrong to me."
"And she's sleeping at your place all this week? You haven't considered..."
"I really have tried everything, Charlie but she still intends going to him next week."
"Then I'm sorry, lad. I would have enjoyed having you as a son-in-law. I guess at least now I have one tiny little piece of joy when the wedding day arrives much too soon, as it will. I will hand her to him knowing you got to her first."
"Glad to be of service, Charlie."
"Okay. You are officially warned not to speed again and I will be patrolling this piece of highway myself for the next six days. After that , there will be a real policeman on this detail and he will put your arse in jail if he catches you."
"I got it Charlie. Six days."
"A lot can happen in six days. Maybe one of these crank religions will be right and the world will end."
"It will end for me, anyway."
"Edward, don't do anything reckless. Nothing...permanent. Promise me?"
"How could I, Charlie? I have to sit around and wait and hope for the next twenty years that she comes back."
"You ever need someone to talk to, Edward, you know where I live."
"Thanks, Charlie. I will take you up on that."
"Hopefully the paint stink will be gone by then," he said with a wink and got into his cruiser.
xxxx
"Where have you been?" Emmett asked as I walked into the pool room to find Bella.
She was sitting in the spa, talking with Alice and Rose.
"Rosalie, get out of the spa, now, please. Go have a cool shower," I ordered.
She frowned but did as I asked.
"I've been having the most bizarre conversation ever. A man just thanked me for taking his daughter's virginity before her boyfriend got the chance to."
"That's right up there in bizarre conversations all right," Emmett agreed. "I'm going to guess his daughter is sitting in our spa."
"She is. Pregnant women should not use spas, Emmett."
"Really? I had no idea. I know by that you are saying you know Rose is pregnant to me and I will marry her, bro."
"Lucky you, Emm. If I could fix my problem and my life as simply as you can, I'd be a fucking happy man. If the most I had to worry about was the woman I loved and who loved me back being pregnant before the wedding, I'd have it written across the sky for the whole world to read."
"I'm sorry she doesn't love you," he said quietly.
"Yeah, you are not the only one," I replied.
A/N Ok, I need to get this bloody story to the point where i can go write updates for my Zosie stories, so please review and keep me writing.
