It was time for school, I really didn't want to be around Edward, we were going to be family members now and it was hard to around him and not want to kiss him. My mother was so excited that she was getting married. I was so happy for her.
She was still bothered about what had happened between her and I when she told me that she was getting married. I told her that she didn't need to worry about me anymore and that everything was fine, but she couldn't seem to shake the feelings that I was upset about her marriage to Carlisle.
There was a knock on my door. I went to it and opened it slowly. I was still very tired and not very coherent.
Carlisle stood at my door way. It was surprising really. "Good morning, your mother told me that I was supposed to make sure you got up in time for school," He said to me with a smile. It was a little different for me because I knew he was trying to act like a father figure to me because that's what he was going to be in a couple of months.
"Oh, yeah I'm up. Thanks for doing that, it was very nice of you," I told him not sure if it was the right thing to say.
We
stood there for another 10 seconds feeling the awkward silence start
to set in. "Well I'll be downstairs if you need anything,"
Carlisle stated starting to turn and prepare to walk away.
I
nodded my head and then he was gone.
All of this was so new to me. I wasn't used to having guys around the house. I wasn't sure if this was a good or bad thing.
I quickly got dressed and headed downstairs with my book bag slung over my shoulder.
"Good morning Bella, would you like some pancakes and sausage?" Esme asked with a smiled as she flipped the pancakes. Carlisle was right beside her turning the sausage's over in the sizzling greasy pan.
"Sorry mom, I have to leave now. I don't have time to eat," This whole thing between my mother and Carlisle had changed the relationship between my mother and I. I felt like we were becoming distant. Maybe that was what was supposed to happen when you found someone else that you could love. It bothered me in a way, but I would learn to get over it.
I walked down the steps keeping my eyes down not wanting to look up in case I wasn't watching where I was going and I tripped over my own feet.
"You want a ride to school," I then looked up at the sound of his voice. He was smiling and holding the door open for me. I smiled and pulled some stray hair behind my ear. I couldn't help the blush that danced across my cheeks.
"um, yeah okay," I said to him slowly walking over to him. He was about to pull me into a kiss, but then I refused him with the pain in my chest. "I'm sorry Edward, but we do have to work on this," I said to him, just pulling him into a hug now. I thought that hugging was okay, it wasn't crossing the brother sister bond. It wasn't normal for all brothers and sisters to hug, but this would be okay.
"No, don't be, it was my fault," He said to me.
I pulled out of his arms slowly and got into his Volvo. I felt so much better when I was around him, so much more comfortable, able to express myself more and tell him what I was feeling.
"Bella is something wrong?" He asked as he was already in the drivers seat starting the engine back up. He was looking deep into my eyes like he was trying to figure out what I was thinking.
"It's nothing really," I said to him glancing down at my hands that were resting on my lap. I didn't want to meet his gaze.
I heard him lean over. Edward placed two soft fingers under my chin and lifted my face to look up at his face. He was so close again.
"Bella, I don't like it when you don't look at me, it makes things more difficult for me," His sweet breath caressed my lips and made my mouth water with the need to kiss him.
"It's just that my mom and I, well we, I don't think we are getting along as well as we used to, ever since she started seeing your father, she just seems so distant now." I felt like crying.
"She just doesn't seem to act the same anymore," I said feeling the wet tears start to form in my eyes.
"Bella, maybe it's not your mother, maybe it's you," He said to me. I looked at him like he was nuts. He wasn't taking my side. Why was this.
"But," I stammered.
"Bella, maybe we shouldn't be seeing one another like this anymore. Maybe this is the reason that you are thinking what you are thinking. Maybe if we take some time away from one another things will turn out better," He said to me.
My body started to fill with panic. "Edward I don't want you to leave me. I love you so much," He pressed a finger to my lips and shut me up.
"I'm not leaving you Bella. I will never leave you, I'm just saying that we shouldn't be seeing one another like we are now," He said removing his finger. I sighed and then leaned back in the seat. Edward was right. I didn't know why I was making this such a big deal.
Edward took me school and we didn't speak the rest of the trip. " I guess I'll see you after school. I was sort of upset about all this, I had to get over my love for Edward. I needed to see other guys get to know more people. That was my goal.
I walked to class and as I walked through the halls with my books cradled in my arms, I was surprised by Mike Newton. The Mike Newton. I mentally growled in my head. Why did he have to bother me, today wasn't a good day.
"Hey Bella. How are you, I haven't talked to you in a while. How have things been going? He asked sticking right to my side like glue. I wanted to shove him into a locker.
"Things are fine," It was to bad that he had the next class with me. "Things have been good for me I guess you could say," I told him. I didn't feel like explaining to him about what was going on between my mother, Carlisle, Edward and I. It was just kind of personal really.
"That's good to hear, yeah. Things have been going fine with me as well. You know what Bella. If your not doing anything this weekend, maybe we should well I don't know, go see a movie, get a bite to eat," Mike was always nervous around me. It made me feel like I was so much older than him and he was like a young little child who had a crush on me.
"um, I don't know. My mom and I were planning to do something together this weekend and she is going to be busy for then next couple of weeks, so I need to spend this time with her," I said coming up with an excuse for Mike to believe. He seemed to believe it
"Oh, well okay, maybe another time then," he said walking away. Thank goodness I got him out of my hair for now. I went through my classes thinking about Edward. I couldn't get him off my mind. He was so attractive and I was in love with him.
My day went by slowly and before I knew it, it was time for me to go home and Edward was the one who was going to be driving me home today. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to talk to him.
"Hi Bella. It's good to see you again, did you have a good day at school?" He asked me as we both got into the shiny Volvo.
"Yeah, my day was good. Thanks for asking, and how was yours?" I asked as he started to drive away from the school.
"My day went fine. So that Newton kid, he seems pretty into you don't you think?" I looked at him questionably. I wonder how he knew that.
"How did you know I was talking to Mike Newton?" I asked him.
I heard it from a friend that he was talking to you," Edward said quickly.
I nodded my head in understanding what he was saying.
Edward dropped me off at my home. "I'll talk you later, oh and is it okay if I take you to school tomorrow?" He asked me.
I nodded my head slowly. "Yeah that sounds fine to me. It's very nice of you," I said to him with a smile. "I know this is going to sound weird and completely stupid, but I miss you so much Edward. I know that you are with me whenever you get time, but you don't kiss me or touch me like you used to and I feel so alone," I said softly. I slowly looked up into his eyes to see that he was hurt on the inside.
I should have kept my mouth closed. "I'm sorry said anything Edward," I was about to get out of the car, but he stopped me from doing so. He placed his arm on mine.
"Bella, I don't want you to be upset. I don't like seeing you sad, you know we can't do this," He said stroking my cheek with his hand.
"I have to go Edward," I told him quickly getting out of the car with tears streaming down my face. I must not let him see. I didn't want to hurt him anymore than I had already.
I quickly walked into the house running past my mother. I hope she didn't see my tears. I just wanted to be alone for a while. "Bella. Is everything alright," She called from the bottom of the steps. I just ignored her and slammed my door shut. I knew it wasn't her fault, but I felt like I wanted to blame her for doing this to me. I stuffed my face into a pillow and cried my heart out. It hurt so much to think that I couldn't be with Edward the way I wanted it.
I wouldn't dare tell Esme. It would break her heart.
The wedding was going to take place in a few months and Esme and I hadn't talked for a long time.
I laid on my bed looking up to the ceiling thinking about the music that I was listening to. I thought about what Edward had said to me about me being the one who had changed instead of Esme changing.
Edward and I still talked and he still drove me to and from school. We never kissed anymore, but I wanted to every minute I was around him and it seemed like it was the same way for him, that made me feel a little better to know that he was going through the same kind of pain that I was going through.
"Well the wedding is going to take place next week," I said on an early Sunday morning at my kitchen table.
I was eating a piece of toast while he skimmed the Sunday paper. "I don't understand why your father reads this every Sunday. It doesn't that interesting to me," Edward folding it back to a square and clasping his hands together and looking at me straight in the face.
The look he was giving me was making my knees grow weak. If I were standing up, I would have needed his support because my body felt like Jello when he looked at me like he was now. Edward had avoided my statement that I made.
"So are you going to go out with Carlisle and have a bachelor's party or something?" I asked him taking a bite of my toast.
"I don't know. Carlisle hasn't really said much about that. I don't think he really wants one because he's glad that he's getting married," Edward smiled and looked down for a split second because I knew a blush had risen to my face. "Why do you look away when you blush. I think it looks cute on you," He pointed out.
I couldn't help the smile that spread out across my face. "I don't know I guess it's just involuntary," I told him. My heart bounded rapidly in my chest every time he was around me. I couldn't help that either.
I heard Esme and Carlisle come down the stairs. I was about to get up and tell them I had to leave, when Edward moved his hand across the table and placed it on mine stopping me from leaving.
"Bella, Edward, we have good news," Esme chimed in as she walked into the kitchen with a smile on her face. "Bella, your sister Alice is coming home with her boyfriend Jasper," Alice was my older sister, she more looked like my older father and I looked a little bit like him, and a little bit like mother.
Then Carlisle spoke "Edward, Emmett is coming home with his girlfriend Rosalie, we are getting them together for the wedding," Then Esme spoke again.
"Oh and Bella, I also invited Renee and Charlie and they are going to be here in about three days and we are going to go over to Carlisle home because he has more room over there in his big house," When she said this Carlisle wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close. "There are plenty of extra rooms and well actually I should get this out now, we are going to move there," They were making all these plans. I wasn't sure if I was mentally prepared for all this. Probably by the look on my face.
This was my home, this is where I grew up and I loved it. It was a cozy home, even though I had never seen the Cullen home, I knew that it was very luxurious, but this was my home and this is where I had all of my memories, they could just sell those away. I was hurt on the inside and I knew that Edward wanted to come to my side and hold me and tell me everything was alright.
"So what do you think Bella, we are going to be moving into their house right after the marriage, so I think that you should start packing your things right away," Esme said with a smile. "Right now wouldn't be a bad time actually. You know what you could get your things packed and ready to go for our little visit when your sister and the rest of the family comes," Esme suggested. I couldn't look at her.
"Yeah, Edward. Why don't you help her,' Edward nodded and went to me and helped me up.
I quickly walked past my mother and Carlisle, not meeting their eyes.
"Is Bella okay, she seems kind of distant," Carlisle spoke as he took Edward's seat and Esme took mine.
She sighed. "I don't know. She hasn't been talking to me. I feel that this, us you know it's wrong. Ever since I told her about us getting together she's been distant," Esme placed her head in her hands.
Carlisle reached his hand across the table and took hold of her wrist.
"What is happening between us is right, she's just having a difficult time dealing with all these changes, she'll come around I promise you," Carlisle said running a soothing thumb over the back of her hand.
I marched into my room with tears rolling down my face and my eyes growing red as an effect from the tears.
"Bella, love don't cry. I know it's hard, but you can't blame them. It's not their fault that they fell in love. It just happened. Now I know this is hard for you to understand, but you can't keep avoiding your mother like this, she's starting to really worry," Edward said taking hold of my shoulders. I kept my eyes glued to the floor. "How do you know?" I asked him.
"Because I can see it on her face. She is really worried about you," Edward said now placing his hands on the side of my face and brining my head up.
"How can she do this to me. She knows that I love this home. Why does she want to take me away from this place. It's unfair," I stomped starting to feel my body grow weak. Edward must have felt it to because he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me to his cold hard body. I literally melted into him.
Then a thought came to my mind. "Edward, could you give me some time alone. I need to think," I said quietly.
He looked down at me confused. He must have been wondering why my tears had stopped so abruptly.
I pulled away from him and went to sit on my bed. "Do you think that you could come back later?" I asked him. He looked hesitant for a moment like he wasn't sure if it was safe to leave me here all by myself. "Don't worry, I just need some time to think. I think that I am going to talk to my mom about all this," I told him. He let out a breath of air.
"Okay, well Carlisle is going to take me to get our tuxedo's for the wedding. I will be back a little after lunch time, okay Bella," He said looking into my eyes waiting for my response. I slowly nodded my head in agreement.
"Bye Edward," I told him as he walked out of my room. He turned back to me and looked at me like this was the last time that we were going to see one another.
"I'll be back Bella, I promise," I watched him as he descended down the steps.
It was to bad that I wasn't going to be here when he got back.
I watched as his silver Volvo pulled out of the rock/dirt, more like mud, driveway. I would wait until I was sure that he was far enough away. Carlisle's black car was still in the drive way, he was probably wrapping up his conversation with Esme.
I quickly packed my things in a back pack making sure that I had everything that I needed, Money, a couple pairs of clothes to change into, my phone and my passport. That was all I really needed.
Then I thought I should make a quick phone call and pulled my phone out of my bag.
"Hi, how are you. I'm good. Yeah I was just wondering if you are home?" I asked as I paced my room while I spoke. I always did this. I glanced out the slightly dirty window to see that Carlisle was still here, good that's what I wanted. "Okay, I have to go. Bye bye," I told her and then I hung up and repacked my phone.
I went to Esme's room and took her credit card from her underwear drawer. I might need it if worse came to worse. When my bag was packed I went to the window and looked out. I would probably be able to get to the ground without hurting myself. But it was me that I was talking about. Clumsy Bella. I climbed onto the roof being very steady with my self as I tried not to look down. The tree branch was right there and I was able to climb onto it with shaky hands.
If Edward was here now. He would freak out and come and rescue me even though I didn't need rescuing
I slowly climbed out of the tree, but unfortunately I didn't come down without a few scratches and pieces of bark in my hair. I easily picked them out and didn't really care about the scratches. They stung a little, but I ignored them as I threw my bag into my truck and started it and then quickly peeled out of the driveway, probably not being able to go unheard.
Carlisle was probably going to meet Edward at the Tuxedo store. I was down the road before anyone stopped me. I left a note in my bedroom for whoever found it. It was placed on my pillows of my nicely made bed.
I was headed to the air port. No one was going to stop me now.
Esme's point of view
"Thank you so much for all your help Carlisle. I really appreciate it," I brought him into a kiss as he then hugged me.
"No problem, well I better go. Edward is probably waiting for me at the store. Gee I bet he's already got his Tux and paid for it and went home," Carlisle said glancing at the clock with a smile. "I'll be back later tonight and we will start packing to get ready to sell the house and move," He smiled and I smiled back.
Carlisle waved as he walked out of the door.
When he was gone the house felt empty, but I knew that Bella was up in her room. I figured that it would be better if I let her be for now. I would go do the laundry and then I would check on her.
I folded the towels and as I sat there in the living room, something didn't feel right. The house was way to quiet.
I placed the last towel that was in the basket, but that was now folded on top of the pile of the other folded towels and got up off the couch and trudged over to the stairs and looked up. Then listening intently. I heard nothing. Maybe Bella was taking nap. I would go check on her and make sure that she was alright. I climbed the stairs taking each step with care and gliding my hand over the railing as I finally made it to the top.
I glanced in Bella's room and I didn't see her, my eyes averted to the bathroom that was right next to her room and the door was open and it was empty.
Maybe for some odd reason Bella crashed in my room.
I went to my bed room also to find it empty.
Then my heart started to race in my chest. Where could she have gone.
I quickly moved into her room to look for something that might tell me where she could be, and there was my clue, written on a white piece of notebook paper. It was a riddle.
I have flown south for the winter
I will wait until this cold session is done and over with
because I just can't stand the cold
I feel that everything has been taken away from me
I guess that's what happens when winter comes into play
Bella
I looked at it over and over and I didn't understand what she was trying to tell me. It was a riddle I knew that. I held onto the piece of paper and ran downstairs to the phone. Picked it up and dialed Carlisle's number.
"Carlisle, bring Edward. Bella's gone missing," I said frantically on the phone clutching it in my hand and slightly struggling to get my words out clearly.
