Author's Note: Hello darling readers! I have a pretty good chapter for you, and it's definitely the longest one yet. After you read, I would most definitely appreciate reviews. Also, I'm running a little low on ideas for this story, so if you have any desire to see this story continue, pretty please drop me a line. Ideas would be simply marvelous.
Don't fear. I do know where I want the story to go, but I just need filler material. No idea is stupid. So if you have one, let me know. Thanks!
Disclaimer: I went to the movies with Edward last weekend to see "The Uninvited". For those of you that don't know, it's a horror movie, and I'm not that great with those. So we were sitting there at a really suspenseful part, and I was practically on the edge of my seat. I felt something cold on my shoulder, and I jumped like 10 feet in the air. Edward chuckled, and he pulled me toward him, draping his arm around me.
"Are you alright, love?" Oh. My. God. He called me "love"! I nodded, smiling. He leaned toward me, and his cold lips pressed against mine. I sighed, and we totally started making out. Wow. Kissing Edward Cullen. Could life get better than this?
I felt another hand on my shoulder, warmer this time. I reluctantly broke away from Edward and glared at the owner of the hand. It was Bella. Oh shit.
"Yeah, sorry to break this up," she said. "But last time I checked, you don't own Twilight."
On with the story.
"It's time to wake up, love."
"Mmm," Bella mumbled, exhaustion transforming her voice into a breathy sigh. I chuckled and leaned forward, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. The corners of her mouth turned up into a small smile, and she rolled so that she was facing away from me. Although she was pretending to be fast asleep, I knew that she was faking it. Bella isn't the most talented actress in Forks.
"Bell-a," I sang. "You're going to be late for school, so I suggest you get out of bed. Unless, of course, you would rather I brought Charlie in here to help you wake up. I'm sure he'd react marvelously to the idea that I spent the night with his daughter."
I heard rather than saw her eyes flutter open, and she turned to face me.
"Hi," she said sweetly, tilting her chin up toward my face. Sensing what she wanted, I leaned down and kissed her lips softly, lingering until she pulled away, panting slightly. "I really missed that."
"What did you miss?" I inquired.
"Kissing you, falling asleep with you here…Basically everything about you. I wouldn't even be able to begin to tell you how much." She blushed, and I ran my fingertips along the beautiful patch of scarlet.
"Bella, I would tell you how much I missed you, but you wouldn't believe me if I did."
"Try me," she challenged.
I took a deep, unnecessary breath before beginning. "Love, the way I felt… 'missing you' isn't potent enough to describe the…the yearning I felt for you. God, Bella. The only thing I could think about was you. Every second of every day, I remembered how it felt to hold you in my arms, and it nearly killed me. I was numb without you. I felt nothing, and I didn't want to. I wanted to cut off all ties from anything and everything that wasn't you, and that's exactly what I did. I went home once every other month, but I couldn't bear to be around my family. Seeing them with their other halves physically hurt. I can't describe to you the pain--" She opened her mouth to interrupt, but I gently rested a finger on her lips. "But you know that pain, don't you?" She nodded her head solemnly, her lower lip trembling. I moved the finger that was resting there and traced her lip with my thumb, watching as more blood rushed up to color her cheeks. "I know I've said before that I don't have a soul, but I realized that I was wrong. You are my soul, Bella, and without you, I was nothing. I am nothing."
She smiled up at me, her eyes glistening with tears. "Edward," she started, swallowing before she continued. "The past seven months were by far the worst of my life, but now that you're here, I can barely remember them. It's like you coming back into my life is enough to erase all of the horrible memories. I've decided that I'm not going to dwell on that awful period of time, and you shouldn't either. It hurt, but it's over, and I'm going to focus on right now. All that matters to is that you're with me again."
I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her soft body against mine. She shivered, whether from the temperature of my skin or the desire to be close to me, I don't know, but she snuggled willingly into my chest.
After a few long moments, I released her, reminding her that she still had to get ready for the day.
"Aren't you going to school?" she asked hopefully, but guessing what my answer would be.
"I can't, Bella, not until the rest of the family gets back into town. It would look too suspicious if two of Carlisle's 'children' appeared at the high school before he went back to work at the hospital. But I promise, I'll be waiting here when you get home this afternoon." She nodded, reluctantly leaving the room to shower and get dressed.
Bella returned 30 minutes later, her damp hair falling in curls over her shoulders. She was dressed in the dark blue shirt I'd complimented when we'd gone to La Bella Italia so many months ago, and she wore a small smile on her perfectly delicious lips. Pride swelled in my chest as I realized that she was mine.
"You look stunning," I told her reverently, watching her cheeks grow redder by the second.
"Thank you," she murmured quietly, shuffling her feet. I strode over to her, placing a finger under her chin and lifting her face to mine.
"Will you be driving yourself to school?"
"Yes," she answered. "You said that no one can know that you're back yet, so I kind of have to."
"We could run," I suggested, already knowing what she would say.
"Um, thank you, but I would really rather drive myself." I chuckled before kissing her tenderly, taking her bottom lip between both of mine and then pulling away, trailing soft kisses across her cheek and along her jaw. I continued down her neck, stopping when I felt her pulse pounding under my lips, and I flicked my tongue against the delicate skin that separated me from her oh-so-tempting blood. That tantalizing inch of tender flesh tasted sweeter than anything I'd ever tasted, and I groaned against her throat, eliciting a gasp from her positively perfect mouth. Sensing that I'd crossed the boundaries enough for one day, I removed my lips from Bella's neck, resting my forehead against hers. We were both breathing heavily.
"Edward," she sighed. "As much as I hate to end this, I really must get to school." We walked out to her beaten-down truck, and I opened the driver side door for her. I kissed her quickly, chastely, and I pulled away as she tried to prolong the contact. One side of my mouth pulled up into her favorite crooked grin when I caught sight of the pout on her face.
"Isabella," I whispered, noting the scowl she gave me at the use of her full name. "I will be here when you get home. Have a wonderful day, love."
She smiled and climbed into the truck, and I closed her door as quietly as I could manage, waving at her as she drove off. As soon as she was out of sight, I ran back to my house. The yard was overgrown, the grass standing almost as tall as my knees, and the house itself seemed somehow forlorn. I bounded up the front steps, and the door opened when my hand was just inches from it.
"Edward!" Alice screamed, launching herself at me. "Oh, Edward! You did it, you saved her! And she took you back!" I beamed, just now recognizing the possibility that Bella could have refused me. "Just like I said she would," Alice added smugly.
"Yes, yes. You told me so."
"I didn't think you were going to make it in time to stop her. For a second, I saw it. You got there just after she cut herself, and there was so much blood…It was awful. You ran over to her, pulled her off the bed, and you…you sank your teeth into her throat."
"Alice!" I was horrified.
"Will you let me finish?" she snapped. "So you bit her. It looked like you were going to suck out whatever life she had left in her. And then...you pulled away from her, Edward. You stopped." I felt my jaw go slack, and I couldn't believe what Alice had just said. "And of course, then she started twitching and screaming and you just held her. You changed her. Successfully."
"I…" I started, but trailed off, not knowing what to say.
"But then, you did make it, and I, of course saw the whole scene play out in front of me. And well, I'm super-happy for you, man. It looks like things are back to how their supposed to be."
"Alice, you saw me change Bella."
"Yeah, so? It was a possibility at the time, but you made it there in time to save her. No harm done."
"But I never would have changed her."
"You say that now, Edward, but if it were between you changing Bella and her dying some untimely death, can you seriously say that you would let her die? You would just stand by and watch as she lay dying? I don't think so."
I thought about it for a moment and decided that Alice was right. If I had arrived after Bella had cut herself, I would not have just stood there as she died. I would have tried my best to save her. She means too much to me for me to just stand by as her life slips away. But that's exactly what I was going to do. That was the point of me leaving. I was going to let her grow old and eventually die.
The idea seemed impossible to me now. I had used all of my strength in staying away for those many months, and now that I was once again feeding my hopeless addiction to Bella, there was no way I would be strong enough to leave again. I would never leave Bella again. I would stay with her. Forever.
"Ooooh!" Alice squealed, clapping her hands as she bounced up and down. "I just saw it. You are going to change her!"
"No, I'm not," I said defiantly.
"Edward, I saw it. You just subconsciously made the decision. It's going to happen. Maybe not right away, but it's coming." She clapped again. "I'm going to have to start shopping for Bella. If she's going to be a Cullen, she'd better start dressing like one. And once we graduate in June, you two will get married, of course—"
"Alice! I'm not changing Bella."
"Dude, you totally are. As soon as I said that you wouldn't let her die, you started thinking about how that's what you originally planned to do, and you realized that you could never watch her life end. Blah, blah, blah…you're going to change her."
"Can you read my mind or something?" I asked suspiciously.
"No, I just know you. Anyways, I'm leaving. I have to do some shopping for Bella. Do you want to come with me? You can help me pick out some of her clothes; I know how you love it when she wears blue."
"Sorry, I already have plans," I informed her.
"Oh yeah, I guess you would. Have fun spying on Bella today."
"You know I will," I said, chuckling.
Alice left a few minutes later, and I ran to Forks High School, seeing as how Alice took the Vanquish to Olympia. I hid in the forest behind the school, listening to the minds of Bella's friends. Yeah, Edward, I thought. This isn't stalker-like at all. I listened to Jessica first, and I was surprised by the unpleasant thoughts that she had about Bella. I guess they severely drifted apart during the past few months. She mainly thought about how she could get Mike back, since apparently the whole school knew that he and Bella went on a date. I can't believe he got to third base with that…that slut. He only ever kissed me. And seriously, what does Bella have that I don't? Besides a history with Edward Cullen. Damn, it's a shame that he doesn't go to our school anymore. Maybe he and I would be able to get together. I sure wouldn't mind a roll in the hay with him.
I almost gagged, completely repulsed by the idea. I was even more repulsed by the idea that Mike was telling the entire school that he got to third base with Bella. My angel would never dream of letting someone like Mike Newton get his filthy hands on her.
I moved on to Angela's thoughts. She was just as sweet and genuine toward Bella as she had always been, making sure no harm came to her. Goodness, I would love nothing more than to punch Mike in the face. I can't believe him! Now half the school thinks that Bella is sleeping around, and the other half won't talk to her because they think she's a freak. On the bright side, she seems happier today, and thank gosh for that. She's been sad for too long, and I miss the happy Bella. Of course she's nowhere near healed, but I think it's a start.
I knew I always liked Angela, and I was truly grateful that she had stuck by Bella for so long, even when no one else did. She was friends with Bella because she loved Bella, not because being friends with her could give her some sort of popularity boost. I would have to find some way to make it up to her. Maybe an acceptance to the college of her choice? I would figure it out eventually.
Last, but certainly not least, I listened to Mike's thoughts. It was more of a scene than words, and I realized that I was seeing what Mike was seeing. Not very original, Mike, I thought, chuckling. He must have been focused on what was about to happen. My breath caught when I saw what exactly he was so intent on: Bella.
She was standing at her locker, trying to pry her English binder out of the pile of books on the bottom. Her feet were planted firmly on the floor, and the way she pulled the binder indicated that she was using every drop of strength she could muster. I smiled to myself as I watched her struggle through Mike's eyes.
Damn, Bella looks fucking hot today, Mike thought, his eyes raking up and down her body. I snarled under my breath. He shouldn't be referring to my Bella in such a degrading way, and I wouldn't let him get away with it. Pinching the bridge of my nose between my thumb and forefinger, I closed my eyes, focusing again on his thoughts.
"So, Bella. I just wanted to apologize for my behavior last night. It was completely out of line, I just couldn't control myself. You looked so hot." Bella notably flinched at his word choice.
There was that word again: "hot". I have never called nor will ever call Bella "hot", because she deserved so much more than what that word implied. She was beautiful, stunning, breathtaking, perfect…the list went on. "Hot" was a term used by hormonal teenage boys to describe a girl they wanted to have sex with, and judging by some of the things I'd picked out of Mike's mind, that was exactly the case. Before I'd left Forks, I'd once caught him mentally undressing Bella in the middle of lunch. Believe me, I'd wanted nothing more than to dash over to him and beat him senseless.
"It's fine, Mike. I'm sorry if I led you on at all, and if I did, I didn't mean to," my angel spoke sweetly, kindly, but here eyes told me that she was nervous.
"Well, I know how you could make it up to me…" Bella gulped audibly.
"And how might I do that?" she inquired.
"You could go out with me again on Friday. You know, get dinner, maybe head back to my place. The parental units are out of town this weekend, so it would just be you and me."
"Mike, if I didn't want to go out with you last night, what makes you think that this time will be any different?" Bella huffed, clearly getting frustrated.
"You were having a bad day yesterday. Today is different, I can tell. You seem…happier, more like the old you. It was that kiss, wasn't it? Bella, when are you going to stop fighting and realize that you want me as much as I want you?" She laughed.
"Mike, I don't know what planet you're living on, but I definitely don't want you. I'm sorry if I'm being mean, but it's the truth."
Way to stand up to him, Bella. She has to be the strongest person I know. Suddenly, my phone went off, indicating a new text message from Alice.
Edward! Stay where you are. Don't do anything rash, everything will be fine. –Al.
What did she mean by that? I was about to get my answer.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get home and make dinner for Charlie."
Okay, Mike. This is your shot, buddy. Make her want it.
Mike's arm shot out, wrapping around Bella's waist as he pinned her against the lockers. He assaulted her mouth with his, Bella struggling the entire time. Mike moved his mouth to Bella's throat, the very same spot I had worshipped this morning. A vicious growl crept up my throat as he attacked her. Bella, beautiful, strong, innocent creature that she is, moved her hands to Mike's hair, attempting to rip it out of his head. I knew this because Mike was thinking about it. Too bad he had it all wrong.
Damn, she wants me. Maybe we should take this somewhere more private. The janitor's closet is just down the hall, and that would work well for a quick fuck.
I roared at his last mental comment. Bella was a wonderful, incredible person who deserved to be loved and respected, not a piece of ass that could be used for a "quick fuck". All I wanted right now was to pummel him into oblivion.
Bella's hands were pulling at Mike's hair, and she finally managed to pry him away from her neck, which was now covered in large, red blotches. I wanted to vomit. Too bad that's physically impossible for me. Bella's raised her arm to the level of her head and swung it forward, slapping Mike right across his pathetic face.
Way to go, beautiful.
However, Mike wasn't having any of that. His hand slid from her waist, moving down her hip and around to the back of her body. Bella gasped as he squeezed, and she struggled harder against him.
"Bella, baby. I know what you want, because believe me, I want it too. So calm down, okay? Trust me, the last thing I'm going to do is hurt you. As a matter of fact, I'm gonna make you feel really good."
I was on my feet when my phone went off again.
Sit back down. Bella is going to be alright. You can deal with Newton later.
It took everything I had to sit down on the ground again and watch as Mike assaulted the love of my existence.
Suddenly, he keeled over in pain, falling to the ground.
Fuck. That was all he was thinking as he watched Bella run full-speed away from him. She was headed toward the West exit, the one nearest to where I was hiding. I stood and ran to the door, reaching it just as she emerged. She had tears falling down her face as she threw herself into my arms.
"Edward," she sobbed.
"Shh. I'm here, love. He won't hurt you anymore." I picked her up, carrying her bridal-style to where I had been watching from in the woods. She shook in my grasp, and I smoothed her hair with my hand, whispering in her ear. "Bella, I don't care how it looks, I'm going to school with you tomorrow. I won't let that vile monster near you again, I promise. I'm going to protect you." I sank lithely to the ground, cradling her to my chest. She sniffled and looked up at me, her eyes glistening with her leftover tears. I smiled reassuringly, having to fake it more than a little bit. I was still infuriated, but I managed to keep my temper in check so I could comfort Bella. I placed one hand on the side of her face, guiding her head back so I was better able to examine her neck.
I gently traced the most prominent red mark with my index finger, grief consuming me. Bella shuddered as I drew soothing circles around the remaining spots, wallowing in guilt. I should never have let her venture off to school by herself, especially not when Newton was stalking around, trying to use her for his own selfish pleasure. Newton. I wanted to kill him. I bent down toward Bella, placing a gentle kiss right beneath the corner of her jaw.
"E-Edward," she stammered.
"What is it, beautiful?"
"I'm so sorry. I tried to get away from him, but I just…I just couldn't. He was too strong, and I--"
I cut her off, shaking my head slowly. She couldn't honestly be blaming herself for this. The idiot attacked her!
"Do not, for one second, think that this was your fault. You did nothing to bring this on yourself, and I'm already upset as it is, so stop attempting to take the blame for something you had no control over." She grimaced.
"I feel so…disgusting. Like I'm dirty or something. The whole time he was kissing me, all I could think about was how unfair it was to you that some other man should…touch me like that. I feel like I've wronged you somehow, Edward, and that hurts worse than any pain Mike could have inflicted on me." Her voice broke on the last word, and she buried her head in my shoulder once again, clinging tightly to me.
"Sweetheart, please," I crooned, kissing the top of her head. "You could never do me wrong. And as…disturbing as it was to see him treat you that way, I was only concerned for your safety. You should never be treated like that by anyone." She ducked her head. "Look at me, Bella," I commanded softly, and she did. "You are the purest, most beautiful person I've ever met, and I never want you to think that you are anything less. Do you hear me?" She nodded her head solemnly. "Good. Now let's get you home."
I carried her to her truck, placing her carefully in the passenger seat before walking around to the driver's side and sliding into the seat. I put the key in the ignition and twisted, and the truck roared to life.
"Bella?" I asked.
"Yeah?"
"What did you do to make Mike fall over? All I could catch was his obvious pain." Bella blushed furiously.
"I...uh...kicked him...you know, where guys don't really appreciate being kicked." I laughed.
"That's my girl," I told her.
I chuckled as I drove out of the school parking lot, one hand on the wheel, and the other holding Bella's hand on the seat. When I drove past her road, she looked at me confusedly.
"You do know I live back there, correct?" I laughed.
"Yes, love. But we're going to my house. There's someone else who will be extremely happy to see you." Her beautiful eyes lit up.
"Alice?" she asked hopefully. I nodded, smiling. She beamed at me before turning to look out the window.
We pulled up to my house, and Alice, already back from her all-day shopping trip in Olympia, came dashing out to meet us. As soon as I turned off the truck, she flung open Bella's door, pulling her out of the vehicle and into a tight hug. I got out and walked slowly to where they were standing.
"Bella!" Alice squealed in delight. "I've missed you so much!"
"I missed you too, Alice. It's wonderful to see you!" Alice pulled away, doing a head-to-toe scan of Bella. I wonder if Bella will wear the same size clothing after she's been changed. It would make shopping now a lot easier. Then she turned to me.
"Hi, Edward."
"Alice," I greeted her back.
Are you planning on telling Bella that you'll be changing her? She thought at me. I shook my head curtly, signaling the end of that particular topic. Fine, Alice persisted. You know you'll have to tell her sooner or later, right? I glared at her, letting her know that I wouldn't discuss this any further.
"Will you two stop having a mental conversation? I'm getting a headache trying to follow you," Bella complained. I smiled and wrapped my arm around her slender waist, marveling at the way her body felt against mine.
"Sorry," I murmured. "I was just about to ask Alice why she texted me and told me to stay where I was while you were getting mauled by Mike Newton." Bella cringed, and I ran my fingers up and down her side, and she leaned into me as they came to rest on her waist once again.
"Edward, you may think that you could have kept yourself under control while bludgeoning that awful Newton kid, but I saw the whole thing," she said, tapping the side of her head. "You would have lost it, beat him to a pulp, and he would have been taken to the hospital. And you know that Mommy and Daddy Newton could never let anyone get away with harassing their precious little boy, and there would have been a lawsuit, one thing would lead to another…we'd have to pack up and leave again." Bella stiffened beside me, and Alice noticed. "Of course, Bella would come with us this time. We're not going anywhere without her." Bella sighed and relaxed against me. "Bella, I cleaned up the house, and I know you've had a rough day, so if you want to go relax, you can."
My angel nodded before kissing my cheek and walking into the house. I watched her walk inside and then turned back to Alice, who was standing with her hands on her hips.
"What?" I asked indignantly. She smirked.
"Nothing, I just don't know why you're still trying to fight the idea of changing Bella. It's still going to happen."
"You don't know that," I snarled. She just laughed.
"Did you honestly just tell the psychic that she 'doesn't know that'? That's hilarious. But yeah, Edward, I do know that. The vision is stronger now than it was this morning. That little tiff with Newton must have convinced you that she needs to be stronger so she can take care of herself."
"I'll take care of her."
"You say that, but you're thinking something completely different. You're going to change her," she sang, dancing around.
"Alice, I don't want to talk about this right now. Let's just go inside and spend a relaxing evening with Bella. She missed you."
"Alright, but promise me you'll talk to her. She loves you, Edward, and I know she'll jump at the chance to be like us. All she wants is to be enough for you."
"She'll always be enough for me," I answered.
"Yes, but she doesn't think that she is. So give her a chance to defend her side before you jump all over her. Or hey, jump all over her. I'm sure Bella wouldn't mind at all," she said suggestively, winking at me.
"Oh, God. Let's go inside, Bella's waiting for us."
"You're right. Besides, I wouldn't want to give you any crazy ideas." She laughed, spinning around and prancing into the house. I exhaled, shaking my head to clear it of all the craziness.
I could have obliterated Mike Newton today, Bella felt that she wasn't good enough for me, and Alice swore up and down that I was going to change Bella. I, on the other hand, didn't know what to think. Of course I wanted forever with Bella, but how could she want to give up her life just to be with me?
Bella appeared in the doorway, smiling sweetly at me.
"Edward? Are you coming inside?" I grinned crookedly back at her.
"Yes, love. I'm coming." I walked toward her, and she held her hand out for me. I placed mine in it, loving the way our hands fit perfectly together. She gave a little tug, and I followed her into the house.
I would follow her anywhere.
A/N: So there it is. Remember: reviews first, then ideas! And here's something else: The more reviews I get, the faster I'll update. Sound good?
Love you all.