A/N: Yes, yes, I know. It should've been 'sense' of humor, not 'since' of humor in the previous chapter. This is what happens when I try to write while helping my daughter with her homework, and when I add a quick line AFTER the chapter has been beta'd by my beta chickie. Oh well. Sorry.
Anyway, here we go.
All characters belong to S. Meyer.
Beta'd by my chickie Michelle Renker Rhodes.
Chapter 7 – On the Seventh Day…
I woke up to a warm tongue on my face, to hot breath on my cheek.
And another tongue licking my hand.
When I opened my eyes, Romeo and Juliet were giving me their morning greetings.
I snorted and shook my head. "What a week," I muttered, turning over on the couch so that the dogs couldn't reach me. But I could hear them panting behind me. When I turned over again, they were sitting calmly side by side, staring up at me; waiting patiently.
I smirked at them, though mostly at Romeo because in the past few days I'd come to realize that he was the leader. I sat up over the couch, running a hand through my hair.
"So are you guys hungry or do you need to pee?"
I received heavy panting and rapid wagging tongues.
"That doesn't tell me much." With a sigh, I got up and followed them into the kitchen, where Romeo proceeded to scratch at the back door, answering my previous inquiry.
"Alright, alright," I chuckled. "Let me just throw on my jacket and we'll take a walk."
The morning was grey today, looking more like rain than snow. Romeo and Juliet ran through the woods, circling each other and occasionally stopping to wait for me. My knowledge of this area was nowhere near that of Bella's and they seemed to know that. I laughed out loud when they kicked up snow with their back paws, throwing it in each other's face. By the time we reached the house again, they were soaked from head to tail, sated and content – and ready for grub.
Rose was in the kitchen when we went inside - fully dressed, thank hell - standing by the coffee maker.
"Morning," I called out.
"Morning," she answered with her back to me.
I filled up the dogs' bowls with kibble and carried their water bowls to the sink.
"Really into those dogs, aren't you?" she muttered.
When I looked up, she still had her back to me, sipping from a mug.
"They need someone to walk'em and feed'em."
She turned around and leaned against the counter, staring at me, supporting her elbow in one hand while she took another sip from the mug of coffee in the other.
"They can walk themselves, you know. You just have to let them out and in."
"I know. But I enjoy the fresh air and I think they enjoy the company."
She continued staring at me for a few more moments before turning her back to me again.
"Dogs are as spoiled as she is," she muttered low under her breath. "There's more coffee in the pot. You can help yourself in the kitchen if you want since apparently you're a great cook. I'll be in the living room when you're ready to leave for the hospital."
And with that she walked out.
OOOOOOOOOO
Rose stared out of her window for the entire ride to the hospital. We said absolutely not one word to each other. It was, by far, the most uncomfortable car ride yet.
When we arrived, we walked through the hallways silently. A few feet from Renee's door, Rose stopped and put a hand on my forearm.
"Do me a favor," she said coolly, "let's not say anything about" – she waved a hand between us – "you and I not being…together anymore to my family just yet. They really like you and I think my mom especially will be heartbroken." She rolled her eyes.
"Sure, Rose," I agreed.
She sighed and gave my arm a squeeze. "Thanks, Edward. For still being here even though you don't really need to be."
I swallowed and held her gaze. Despite everything, I felt a stab of guilt again. But then I reminded myself that had she been a different type of sister, all this secrecy wouldn't have been necessary. Yes, it would've still been hard for everyone involved, but it was her senseless animosity towards Bella that compounded the entire situation. Neither Bella nor I had planned this. It had all been out of all our hands since day one.
We studied each other, both lost in our own thoughts, when the door to Renee's room opened and out walked Bella.
She startled. Her eyes flashed quickly to where Rose gripped my arm before heading back up.
"Good morning, guys." She forced a smile. "I…" - she held up a mustard-colored pitcher – "was just going to get some fresh water for mom."
"Good morning, Bella," I smiled back.
Rose's hand dropped away as she turned to face Bella. "How's she doing this morning?" There was no response to the morning greeting she'd gotten.
Bella's small smiled widened, complimented by a note of genuineness. "She's doing well. The doctors decided they're going to keep her one more night, though, just to be on the safe side."
"Alright," Rose nodded. "I'm staying with her tonight." There was no room for discussion in her tone.
"Okay," Bella agreed.
Rose looked over at me and jerked her head towards the door.
"I'll…just go get the water," Bella murmured and walked off, and despite how much suddenly I wanted water too, I accompanied Rose inside.
Fuck, I hated this.
OOOOOOOOOO
Renee greeted me with a tight hug and a warm smile. "Edward."
"How are you feeling, Renee?"
"I feel just fine," she said adamantly. "But you know how these doctors are."
"It's for your own good, mom," Rose said.
"I know, I know," Renee sighed. "At least I received a nice beauty treatment this morning," she grinned, looking so young all of a sudden. "Bella did my hair," she waved her hair around, "and my nails," she fluttered her hands to show us.
I chuckled, and just then, Bella walked back in.
And Jasper opened his mouth.
"Rose, Edward, what took you two so long? Enjoying that empty house I see, huh?" he snickered.
And though I knew he had no idea, though I knew to him it was just playful banter meant to make everyone in the room laugh, I wanted to bash his face in.
Instead, I kept my eyes on Renee as I responded.
"I took the dogs for a walk."
"That must've been some long-ass walk," he ribbed on.
Renee smiled, eyes firmly on mine.
Charlie snorted.
Rose simply rolled her own eyes, not giving her brother a response one way or the other.
Bella served her mother a cup of water, eyes cast down.
Jasper kept going. "Tell me something, guys, how cold does it get-"
"Jasper, honey," Alice called out, "come here and show me how to put in the wi-fi password on this laptop again."
"Al, babe, I showed you that already," Jasper grinned patiently at his wife.
"Well, I forgot. Show me again," Alice insisted.
And while Jasper walked her way, his wife looked up and met my eyes quickly, and as ridiculous as it was, I could've sworn the small smile she gave me spoke volumes.
OOOOOOOOOO
After lunch, I excused myself to call my parents, whom I hadn't spoken with in a couple of days. After speaking to them both, Emmett got on the line.
"Hey, bro! How are things going up in the boondocks?"
"They're…going," I replied vaguely.
"I hear your girl's mom isn't doing too well," he said more solemnly.
"No, but she's expected to make a full recovery. She's a tough lady."
"Sounds like mom," he snorted. "Hey, you okay? You sound a bit…out of it."
I sighed, eyes unfocused while I stared off into the hospital parking lot. It backed into woods and more woods.
There were a lot of woods around here.
"Talk to me, bro," Emmett insisted, always having had an uncanny way of reading me, even over phone lines.
"It's complicated."
"Complicated situations are my specialty," he stated with a grin in his voice. "I'm all ears."
It was true, I supposed. As a psychologist, he probably listened to all sorts of crazy shit all day.
"It's hard to explain."
"Just spit it out, Ed. You know that's the only way to roll."
I exhaled loudly. "I don't want to talk about this over the phone, Emmett."
We were both silent for a moment.
"Edward, do you want me to come up? It's kind of late in the day, but I could probably catch a flight-"
"No, Em. Thanks for offering though. You stay with mom and dad. I don't want them alone during the holidays. I'll be along in a couple of days and we can talk then."
"You sure?"
I blew out another large gust of air through my nostrils. "Yeah, I'm sure. But don't judge, man."
Emmett snorted. "Ed, if I judged, I'd probably have people flinging themselves out of windows once they left my office, and that would so not be good for business," he joked.
See? Sick sense of humor. But under different circumstances, yeah, I would've laughed.
"Shit, what, did you kill someone up there or something?"
"You're a good brother, you know?"
"What?" he cried, obviously befuddled by my response.
"It's just…in the past few days I've realized that not all siblings look out for each other the way they should."
"Dude, I know it's Christmas, but you're freaking me out here with the heart to heart," he chuckled.
I rolled my eyes. "Alright, alright," I growled. "Just forget the whole thing for now."
He chuckled again. That was Emmett. Always chuckling. But then I heard him draw in a deep breath.
"Dude, whatever it is, just remember that unless you have killed someone, everything works itself out in the end. Every tunnel has an exit. Got it?"
Another deep breath. "Yeah," I smiled, picturing Bella's sparkling doe eyes, her impish grin. "I've got it."
OOOOOOOOOO
After dinner, I took Renee's pitcher and went to refill it. The nurses tended to hook me up with their own private stash of cool, bottled spring water, while everyone else who went to refill the pitcher would be sent back with the lukewarm faucet water that the staff had simply placed in a large container in the patient kitchen – sorely in need of ice and a filter.
When I walked back into Renee's room, Alice and Bella were missing. There was a palpable change in the air.
"…You two can't keep doing this. It gets worse and worse every year," Jasper was hissing quietly Rose's way, while she stood by the windows, staring out stiffly into the parking lot.
"What happened?" I asked.
Jasper turned around and looked at me, shaking his head, expression stony.
"I'll be right back," he muttered, walking quickly out of the room.
Blood boiled in my veins.
I scanned the scene before me. Besides Rose, who still stared out the window at the fading sun, Charlie stared down at his lap, the same way Bella tended to do when she was upset, Renee was playing with her granddaughters, who sat on her bed surrounding her, dolls scattered all about and oblivious to the tension in the air.
"Nanny, brush this one's hair now."
"Okay," Renee agreed, but she looked up, her eyes meeting mine, and sighed.
I glared at Rose's back, and opened my mouth.
"Edward, can you please do me a favor and go find them for me?" Renee said, eyes pleading with me.
With a deep breath, I relented. "Sure."
OOOOOOOOOO
I found the three of them over in a quiet corner off of the elevators. Bella's head was down, shoulders rising and falling while Alice faced her, arms waving wildly.
"…ridiculous already! You need to tell her to fuck off once and for all!"
Bella shook her head. "I can't. I have to think of my mom."
"She's right, Alice," Jasper agreed.
Alice turned glaring eyes towards her husband. "She doesn't think of your mom! She talks so much bullshit yet she's the one that causes all the stress with the way she constantly picks on Bella, year after year!" she riled. "You know, I know it's not my place to say anything because this is something that as siblings the three of you have to resolve, but-"
"What's going on?" I asked, bringing all their eyes up to me, but mine were firmly on Bella. She held my gaze for a split second before resting her body up against the Emergency Exit door and throwing her head back to stare at the ceiling.
Jasper didn't answer me, either.
Alice looked from one to the other, and then stormed over to me. "What's going on is that Rosalie has always been so fucking…envious of Bella that she can't even see straight anymore!"
"Alice," Bella breathed, eyes still on the ceiling.
Alice turned back to her. "She's got loads of beauty and brains but no fucking sense whatsoever! She's turned a childhood fear into an excuse to torture you and torture you to the point of ridiculousness!"
"Alice," Jasper warned.
"No, Jasper!" Alice hissed, refusing to be quieted. "Look, you know I love and respect your parents with all my heart, but this should've been nipped in the bud years ago and I don't blame them completely because god knows it's hard to be a parent and always do right by your kids, but Rosalie's a grown fucking woman now! It's time someone makes her take some responsibility and put a stop to this shit already! Bella, you have to-"
"Alice, no," Bella cut her off. She sighed and brought her eyes down to Alice, smiling sadly. "Not now. I have to think of my family."
Alice's small shoulders slumped. She took a couple of steps towards Bella. Slowly, she reached out and ran her hand through a few strands of Bella's hair.
"I love you like a little sister, you know that, right?" Alice murmured, her tone devoid of all the anger from a few seconds ago.
Bella nodded, her bottom lip trembling.
"Come here." Alice pulled her into a tight embrace. "I'll always be here for you, okay?"
Bella's head bobbed up and down, eyes closed. After a moment, she pulled away. "I'm going back in now."
Alice nodded. When Bella walked away, Jasper went with her.
With a deep breath, Alice turned around and met my eyes. She walked towards me slowly, studying me.
"So did you recognize it for what it was right away?"
It only took me a split second to understand what she meant.
I sighed, a strange sense of relief, of comradery coursed through me. "No, not right away." I offered her a small grin. "I think sometime the next day."
She grinned back. "Yeah. You looked sort of…confused that first night after she got home. But then the next day, after you came back from ice fishing…"
For a few moments, I didn't say anything.
"Does Jasper know?" I asked.
"Are you fucking crazy? Look, I'm not going to sugar-coat it for you. The shit's gonna hit the fan. I mean, the drama between James, Jasper and I was nothing compared to what this is gonna be like."
"Thanks," I smirked.
She laughed softly. "Edward, Bella told me that you guys have decided to wait a while before saying anything, and believe me, I understand your reasoning. Bella always thinks of everyone else's needs first, and that's great, it really and truly is, but no matter how long you wait, whether you come out with this now or in a few months, chances are Rose will hit the roof. Any acceptance, whether now or down the line, will have to start with Rose herself."
I ran a hand through my hair, knowing that what Alice said was true, there was nothing we could do to make Rose understand, Rose had to be willing to do so.
"She'll never purposely hurt Rose, no matter how much Rose hurts her," I said through gritted teeth.
Alice reached out and put a comforting hand on my arm.
"And that's what makes her Bella. I need you to do something for me, Edward. Help her understand that sometimes it's okay, even necessary to put your needs first. I'd probably be unhappily married to James right now and Jasper would be a whoring player if we hadn't figured that out quickly," she grinned.
"Thanks, Alice."
"Sure." She squeezed my arm. "Just take care of my girl."
OOOOOOOOOO
Later that night, after Bella and I and Alice and Jasper and the girls left the hospital, Bella and I took Romeo and Juliet for another walk through the woods. When the trees were in front and behind us, and the faint glow of the Christmas lights on the back porch were no longer visible, I reached out and took Bella's hand. Slowly, her fingers folded into mine, the proximity of her body warmed me.
"Do you want to tell me what happened between you and Rose today?"
She grinned emptily. "What always happens between Rose and me."
I sighed and raked my free hand down my face. "Bella, I honestly don't know how much longer I'll be able to stop myself from saying something to her."
Bella stopped and turned to face me. "Don't, Edward. Please." She moved in closer, fisting my jacket between her fingers and rolling it aimlessly between her thumbs. "I appreciate the sentiment, I really do," she smiled grimly, "but first of all, I'm a big girl. Second, how would it look if Rose's boyfriend turned around and defended me?"
"I'm not Rose's boyfriend."
She raised a brow. "Officially, you are."
I shook my head. "No, I'm not."
She looked up at me, brown eyes sparkling. The cold from the winter night made our breaths swirl around us, mixing and melding together.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, we broke up. Rose and I. Last night."
She held my gaze, shaking her head. "But…she didn't say anything."
"She didn't want your parents to know yet."
She continued staring at me. I moved in closer and she craned her neck, locking me in her gaze.
"I wanted to tell you earlier, Bella," I said quickly, "but we haven't had a chance to talk. And I know you didn't want me to say anything yet, but I couldn't keep pretending – not when I feel for you the way I do. And I swear I didn't tell her about us. We can still do things the way you-"
She reached up and wrapped her arms around me. Instinctively, I reached down and gripped her hips, pulling her up and flush against me, reveling in the feel of her body so close to mine.
"Edward…" She held me tighter and the entire world warmed up.
"Yes, love," I murmured in her ear. "I'm sorry about what Jasper said this morning, but I hope you know that nothing could've been further from the truth."
She shook her head from side to side, her lips grazing my neck. "I didn't think…Edward…I shouldn't be as happy as I am right now."
Her words vibrated against my chest. I kissed the top of her scalp, inhaling the sweet scent that emanated off her. "I like knowing you're happy," I murmured.
She looked up at me then, doe eyes radiant. A slow grin inched across her creamy face.
She unwrapped her arms from around my neck and let her feet touch the snowy ground, and with a stronger, firmer grip than before, her hand reached out for mine. For a long while, we simply stood there, gazing at each other wordlessly.
Romeo and Juliet circled us, anxious to continue their walk.
"We're coming guys," I groaned jokingly. "We're coming."
Bella chuckled and hand in hand, we continued our walk.
OOOOOOOOOO
"Jeez, it's cold tonight!" Bella exclaimed as we flew back into the kitchen and swiftly closed the door behind us. Romeo and Juliet strolled to the middle of the room and proceeded to shake themselves off from snout to tail. A few flakes had started falling just as we'd started our walk and had grown progressively thicker and heavier as we went along. Now it was seriously coming down.
Bella and I removed our coats and sweaters, opting for the simple tank tops we both wore underneath, since it was pretty warm in the house. Her dark hair was once again covered in a white halo, the way it'd been a few nights ago when she'd popped into my life like a roaring blizzard.
She started shaking her hair off and I walked over, transfixed by the sight the way I'd been that first night. When I gently helped her pat the snowflakes out of her hair, she looked up at me, grinning, cheeks rosy.
I ran two fingers across one cheek, over her nose and across the other cheek. "You look like a winter fairy."
"More like a Christmas elf."
I smirked.
She chuckled. "Get it?" she asked with a raised brow. "Cuz I'm so short, and it's the Christmas season, and elves are short."
"Petite."
"Short," she chuckled heartily.
We gazed at each other.
She sighed. "Hot chocolate?"
"Sounds good. Want me to make it?"
"I know where everything is. You can make breakfast in the morning. Deal?"
"Deal," I chuckled, shaking my head.
While Bella prepared our hot chocolate, I stared out the window at the continuously whitening landscape. The bare branches and full shrubs that had just this morning begun to recover their color were once again being bathed in a white glow. A squirrel quickly made its way up a tree, carrying it's dinner. It was a quaint sight, at least to me, coming from New York. I turned around to mention it to Bella.
She'd been so close that I startled her and with one mug full of hot chocolate in each hand, she jumped, spilling half of the contents of each mug all around her. Like two bolts, Romeo and Juliet shot over, licking up the spilled drinks.
"Romeo! Juliet! No!" Bella cried. "Chocolate will make you sick!"
She tried to move quickly, but the floor was wet with hot chocolate and melted snow and she started losing her balance. Her eyes met mine, full of horror.
I took the one stride to her as fast as possible, but she was already going down, still trying to balance the mugs in each hand. The best I was able to do was grab her waist and land under her, cushioning her fall.
Mugs and hot chocolate went flying everywhere, including all over us.
"Oomph!"
For a few moments, we simply stared at each other, wide-eyed.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
She looked down and around her and met my eyes again, fighting to keep a straight face.
"Are you?"
We both burst out laughing.
"What a mess!" she cried, looking all around us again, scowling at Romeo and Juliet, who were doing their best to clean up the mess with their tongues. "Guys!" She dropped her shoulders and shook her head in defeat. "It's not gonna be a fun walk tomorrow morning."
I threw my head back, laying flat against the floor and staring up at the ceiling and laughing uncontrollably. It was only a few seconds after that, once the initial fear that Bella would hurt herself had passed, that I felt her.
She'd landed on my lap, and as she twisted and turned, looking all about her, I felt her.
Abruptly frozen stiff, I moved my eyes to her, head still flat on the floor. She'd apparently noticed where she'd landed at about the same time I had. Her big brown eyes gazed at me, all traces of humor gone.
Slowly, I sat up.
For one endless moment, we just sat there, while outside the snow continued to fall and inside hot chocolate covered everything.
Bella reached out slowly and wiped off a spot on my cheek. "You got some there."
My heart raced. Blood flowed to every extremity. My eyes fell to her mouth, where just at the edge she had her own stain of errant hot chocolate.
I lifted my hand and slowly moved it towards the stray drop.
"And you've got one…"
I don't know if I pulled her in, or if she came to me, but as soon as our mouths met my hands snaked around her hips and her arms did the same around my neck, and I tasted the sweetest, most delicious lips to have ever been created.
"Bella…" I breathed against her mouth, sucking on her sugary lips while she did the same to mine. Her hands fisted my hair and I groaned.
"Jesus, Bella…"
"Edward…"
When I pushed my tongue into her mouth she opened up with no resistance, meeting mine with her own. She whimpered and the sound made me want to pull her in closer, but she was sitting over me sideways, so without breaking our kiss Bella lifted herself up and straddled one leg over each of my thighs, and then quickly lowered herself down again.
I groaned.
My hands were in her hair, feeling the silkiness I'd been dying to savor for days that now felt like lifetimes. She moved her hips back and forth over me. I gripped her hips tighter.
"Edward…"
My mouth trailed frenzied kisses down her jaw, across her neck, biting, sucking, indulging in every taste, in every sensation, in the sounds her mouth made.
"Edward…"
I gripped both sides of her face and brought her eyes to mine. Her face was flushed and so god damned perfect and beautiful.
"Bella, I don't want to do anything you're not ready for. I'll wait," I said quickly, before I changed my mind. "Just say the word and I'll wait for as long as-"
She put two fingers over my mouth.
"Shh." Her eyes trailed from my eyes to my lips. "Edward, I…don't want to have sex."
Despite my inner need to do things right by her, I couldn't entirely suppress my disappointment.
"I mean, I do," she said quickly, "but not yet. Not under my parents' roof while my mom is in the hospital."
I nodded and kissed her mouth softly. "I understand." Because I did. My cock was about to explode, but I understood.
She smiled impishly, as if she could read my mind. "I know we should wait to tell everyone, and I know that as hard as it'll be, the right thing is for me to let you go for a while, until things with my family settle down, but Edward," she sighed, holding my gaze firmly, "before I have to do that, just give me one night where we can pretend that only you and I exist in the world. Give me one night where what we feel doesn't hurt anyone."
I swallowed against the lump in my throat. "I'll give you anything, Bella. Anything you want."
She stood up and held out her hand to me. And when I took it she guided me out of the kitchen, through the family room, and up the stairs. I tilted her face up when we stood in the middle of her room, her expression suddenly unsure and wary.
"You're in charge here, okay?"
She nodded sheepishly, and when we kissed I felt her warm hands tugging up my shirt and raised my arms up to help her. She ran her hands down my chest, kissing me softly while my heart hammered, warm and full inside while the cool snow blanketed the earth outside. When she guided my hands to the hem of her shirt I pulled it up slowly, letting her change her mind yet praying she wouldn't.
She didn't.
Eyes on mine, she backed up and reached behind her, and her pink bra fell to the floor.
She bit her lip, eyeing me tentatively.
"Beautiful," I murmured, unaware that I'd even spoken until a relieved little smile graced her face.
She came to me and reached up, wrapping her arms around my neck, pressing herself into me.
I cupped her face and bent down to kiss her, tongues and teeth meeting and retreating. She kissed down my chest, wet little kisses, soft sucking. I threw my head back and groaned.
I met her mouth again and walked her backwards to the bed, a question in my eyes.
She nodded and I gripped her hips, guiding her to the middle, climbing over her slowly, worshipping her body with my eyes before lowering my mouth to her breasts, circling my tongue around her nipples. Soft. Pink. She cried out softly, playing with my hair.
She parted her legs, still clad in chocolate wet jeans, and I dropped down between them, moving in ways that made us both gasp, both moan. We kissed and we touched and we moved against each other, but the pants stayed on. And when she came, her eyes stayed on me and I told her I loved her more than anything in this world. Because it was true.
"I love you too."
Everything would be okay. I felt in my soul.
And when she drifted off to sleep, under her covers and spooned into my side, I nuzzled her neck and whispered my love for her again.
A/N: Whew! Close!
Thoughts?
Don't know if I'll be able to update over the weekend, guys. The Pattyrosa house gets hectic! But I'll definitely see you all on Monday (barring any natural disasters and such).
