Lost in Mystic Creek

Chapter 7

Intuition

"What exactly are we looking for, Bella?" Edward asked, his patience thinning. Even the polite nature he developed during the course of over a century couldn't deal with shopping.

"Nothing specific, Edward. Just the normal furniture we need to actually live in that house we're moving to…" Bella replied absently, looking at the many different varieties of beds.

"Ok then. A bed, a couch, and a table with two chairs will do fine," Edward said.

"Well, then, why don't we get to finding them," Bella replied with a deep sigh.

"Wait here for a second, Bella," Edward said, suddenly rounding the corner of the aisle. "Don't move," he added quickly before completely disappearing.

While waiting for Edward to reappear, Bella started to daydream about what their new house would look like. Edward had said that it was in that strange town, Mystic Creek, but had given no hint as to what it looked like.

Her daydreams were quickly interrupted when a couple burst through the doors, in the midst of an argument that seemed to have been far from the beginning, but nowhere close to ending.

"What the bloody hell are we doing in a furniture store?!" the man yelled. He was tall with short blond hair, and his British accent was thick.

"Well, my sodding fiancé had the idiotic idea of moving us out of England and to the bloody states!" the woman retorted quickly. She was of average height, with an untamable mane of curly brown hair, her British accent also thick.

As the couple went on with their argument down another aisle, Edward returned with a triumphant smile on his face.

"It's all set, Bella. A bed, a couch, and a table with two chairs is going to be delivered to our new house later on this afternoon," he said pleased.

"Wait, how did you… what happened… what---" Bella babbled.

"Don't ask, and I won't tell," Edward said happily.

She smiled pleasantly in response.

Weaving his arm through hers, he led her out of the store and to their car. Luckily it was a cloudy day, so there was no issue with being social for him today.

---

"It's so… ordinary," Bella stated, slightly disappointed, walking across the threshold into their new home.

"What were you expecting? Coffins and secret passageways?" Edward retorted with a smirk.

"That would give it a few homey touches, don't you think?" Bella said, playing along.

Walking inside, she noticed that the house consisted of all of the necessary rooms--- a kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, and living room--- but nothing extra. The only relief was finally being in a single place without have to move every night.

"Edward… I have a question," Bella called to him from the living room.

"Yes?" he asked, suddenly at her side.

"Well, now we have the house, we have the furniture. What else is up your sleeve?" Bella asked, smiling.

Instead of saying something, he laughed softly, sweeping her up into his arms. Caressing her like a baby, he headed towards the coach, which was the only decorative item in the room.

"Well, I was thinking of treating you to a romantic dinner in this suburban city. Then, maybe we could find a little park to gaze at the stars together," Edward started, smiling. "A little romance, with a cheesy ending. How about it?"

"I think it sounds wonderful," Bella laughed.

"Of course it does," Edward replied, chuckling softly. "I just have to warn you that I doubt that there'll be any sort of romantic restaurant in 'Mystic Creek'," he mocked.

"I can forgive you for whatever cockroached-restaurant we go to if you do me a small favor," Bella pleaded randomly.

"Very funny, Bella. I'll forget you even brought that up," Edward replied, carrying her out of the house and towards the car.

"But Edward---" she whined babyishly from her place in Edward's arms.

"Bella please," Edward said sternly. "I know how you're feeling--- you already told me last night. If you really love me so much, you would drop the subject and move on."

If you loved me so much you'd do that small favor for me, Bella added to herself silently, but dropped the subject reluctantly.

---

"Marcel's… sounds fancy," Bella commented sarcastically, at least in a more pleasant mood.

"The best in town, I heard," Edward replied, slightly defensive.

"From who? We haven't met any neighbors, or anyone for that matter," Bella asked.

"Must I remind you once more of my secret little power?" Edward questioned smiling.

"Ahh, I see," Bella replied absently. Through the window of the restaurant, she thought she had seen a blond head and a frizzy mane of brown hair over the edge of a booth.

"Bella, are you coming?" Edward asked, holding the door open.

"Oh, yeah. I just thought… never mind," Bella responded, walking inside the restaurant.

Once they were seated, a polite waitress came over and asked,

"Hello, I'm Lisa. Can I take your order?"

"Oh, yes. Uh… what's the special of the day?" Bella asked, having no idea of what was on the menu.

"It's penne a la vodka with wine," the waitress replied pleasantly, answering to the gorgeous Edward rather than Bella.

"I'll have that, but with a coke please," Bella ordered, ignoring the waitress's intense gaze at Edward.

"I'll have the same, please," Edward said, not taking his eyes off of Bella.

"Ok, then, we'll have your order out as soon as possible," the waitress replied, writing it all down. With a pleasant smile aimed at Edward, she left them in peace.

"Hmmmm," Bella said as a way to start the conversation.

"What?" Edward inquired, smiling.

"Didn't you notice how the waitress couldn't find enough will power to keep her eyes off of you?" Bella asked, smiling.

"Not really," Edward replied honestly.

"Kind of reminds me of our first date together," Bella said, remembering that night.

"Oh, yes. The night that started it all," Edward responded with both a happy and frustrated tone, and a far-off look in his eyes.

"Here's your food. Enjoy," the waitress said, seeming to appear out of nowhere.

"Thank you," Edward answered, purposefully looking at the waitress, giving her a quick smile. She seemed very affected by it, as her cheeks turned beet red and she ran off to the kitchen almost instantly.

"I think you might've just caused her to have a stroke," Bella said laughing.

"Maybe I did," Edward laughed.

"Did you realize that all of the problems our first date caused could be solved with a small bite?" Bella inquired, biting her penne a la vodka for assistance.

"Bella, what will it take for you to stop that?" Edward asked, seeming tortured on the inside.

In response, Bella raised her eyebrows, glancing at her penne a la vodka with a wanting expression.

"Well, if that's all it'll take, I'll eat that peace of dirt willingly," Edward said sarcastically, taking a bite of Bella's dinner.

"You're hilarious Edward," Bella sighed. "And now that penne isn't looking too appetizing."

"Hey, you want to be a vampire, might as well picture that little dinner as a bear's furry neck," Edward replied, making her dinner less and less appetizing.

"Yes, I'm definitely done," Bella said, throwing her fork down enthusiastically.

"Then I guess we'll just have to move on to our little night at the park," Edward responded, stifling his laughter.

Smiling back, Bella got up, and headed out the door and towards the car.

As Edward went to follow, he couldn't help but notice how the thoughts of a certain British couple stood out against all others.

'…wish I could just conjure myself a meal, these bloody muggles are taking half a century to serve us. A sodding house elf would be lovely, too. These muggle waiters are too full of themselves…"

The thought of magic lying in more than just himself worried him beyond belief.

---

"Bella! No!" Edward screamed, at her assistance in one quick, graceful movement.

Just as Edward tried to pry Bella out of Aro's hold, and then his teeth hit her neck, and a burning like hell's fire filled Bella's entire body.

As Bella lay there withering in pain, Edward threw himself at the infamous leader of the Voltouri, forgetting his strength was no match for the more experienced vampire. With all his anger from him having done that to Bella, he thrashed at Aro, but only to have every one of his strikes blocked, Aro laughing cruelly.

Suddenly, the fight between Edward and Aro faded from Bella's sight, as she was transported back to the ballet room, where she lay there, blood spilling from a thousand wounds.

"I may have failed, but this experience will only be a fraction of what you'll face eventually," James, the tracking vampire that had nearly killed her, said, looking at her with a look of pure hunger.

Crying desperately, his words sank in, leaving an invisible scar in her brain.

"Don't listen to them. I'll help you, Bella," a strange woman with blond hair called to her from behind James. Although from a dream and a stranger, the woman's promise seemed as true as any she had ever heard.

"Bella!" she faintly heard Edward call, as she lay there tortured by her visions.

---

"Bella!"

Jerking awake and into a sitting position, Bella accidentally hit Edward. She was drenched in sweat from head to toe, her nightmare having terrified her.

"Bella! What's wrong?" Edward asked worriedly, holding her tightly around the waist, and pulling her into his lap.

While still recovering from her nightmare, she looked around her, noticing that she had fallen asleep while gazing at the stars.

"Bella?" Edward asked again.

Looking up into his worried face, she saw that Edward would be willing to help her through any type of situation that came her way.

With that in mind, she breathed out a shuddery breath, leaning against Edward's chest, finding more comfort there than she could anywhere else.

"Are you all right?" he questioned.

"I am now," Bella answered sincerely.