Disclaimer: Ok, I'm just going to say it once. I DON'T OWN TWILIGHT. Though, I must admit, ever since I learned that both SM and Rob read fanfiction, I've been quite scared, posting this.
A/: … you're actually still here? It's been, what… jeeze! Just about a month, hasn't it? I'm horrid, I know. I've been pretty neglectful to this story for a while. Life's been busy *she types as she tosses another Cheez-it in her mouth. Yeah, really busy, huh?* And I'm sorry. But I'm back on track, with my life and my writing. Don't ask. Just… don't. Trust me, if you do not enjoy cliché soap operas, just don't ask, and read the chapter instead.
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The Unnatural
Chapter 7
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It was too much. Carlie had just told me the one most vital piece of information I could have ever received, and it ended up being too much, resulting in Edward's and my visit having to be cut short, as he had to take me home, I was that shaken up. I felt horrible for displaying such behavior in front of my kids –what kind of an example did that set?—but I couldn't take it. Edward kept insisting that it was only hormones, but you didn't need an IQ higher than 50 to know that that wasn't true.
I was just weak.
I don't know what I ever did right to deserve Edward. He took me home without so much as an explanation from me for my actions, held me as I cried over everything –our life falling apart, mostly—and reassured me at every chance he got. I knew he was just as upset as I was and was falling apart on the inside, but not once did he show me any signs of weakness. He was amazing, as usual.
"I promise, Bella, I will not let anyone hurt you, me, or the kids," he vowed that night as he held me in bed, trying to get me to sleep. I needed rest… at least, that's what he had told me. I felt that I needed to stay up and think things through more thoroughly—something I had yet to do, even though it could have been the biggest step I had taken to solving this mystery once and for all.
I scoffed. "How do you plan on doing that? For all you know, there could be some deranged psycho murderer down stairs right now, waiting for you to go down tomorrow morning and start breakfast so that he can stab you to death when you're not paying attention." I really had no reason to be acting as pessimistic as I was. We could always blame the hormones, like before, though. But even I knew that wasn't the way to go about things. And yet I still looked at the glass as half-empty. I was conflicted.
He tightened his grip on me and chuckled darkly. He lowered his mouth so that it was at my ear and whispered, "You always seem to forget that you're married to a mind-reader. And besides, I have no intentions on dying anytime soon. I've died once, and I don't plan on it happening again for a very long time. Especially not by murder—not again." That last part didn't exactly help.
I sighed deeply, emotionally, and flipped over so that I was facing him, his arms still encircled me. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled my face up to his so that our faces were extremely close to one another, our noses touching.
"I love you," I stated, my voice full of emotion. One emotion, really: love. Those three words would never be enough. "You know that, don't you?"
"Bella, comparing the love you have for me to mine for you, is like comparing one baby tree to the entire forest."
I smirked, and rubbed my nose against his. My mom had always called those 'Eskimo Kisses'. "I'm sure I could say the same. But wait, I can do better. Ready? Okay, comparing your love for me and vice versa, is just about the same as comparing one blade of grass to the entire 100-Acre Wood."
He laughed. "I think Carlie has been having you watch a little too much Winnie the Pooh lately, love," he joked.
Bringing Carlie into this instantly killed the mood, and he seemed to realize this. His once-playful expression soon turned into an understanding frown.
"I'm sorry, Bella, I completely forgot for a moment, I-"
I cut him off. "It's alright. I get it, you didn't mean to. Let's just forget about it and go to sleep." I didn't mean to sound snippy, but I most likely did, and the way I pushed his arms away and flipped over to my previous position probably didn't help either. I was selfish, only caring about myself. This was killing him just as much as it was me, but I only seemed to care if he was comforting me, and when he slipped up, I got angry. What a bitch I was.
I mentally cringed—I never used that language, and yet I knew it was one-hundred percent true.
I heard him suck in a shaky breath, and the unshed tears in my eyes were there the next second. He was amazing to me in every sense of the word, and I took it all for granted. I didn't deserve his love, and he showered me with it anyways.
I guiltily turned back around, only to find him facing the opposite direction as me. He didn't want me to see him upset.
I rested one hand on his shoulder and scooted over closer to him. "Edward, I'm sorry. That was uncalled for," I apologized in his ear. He shook his head, but still didn't turn to face me.
"No it wasn't," was his strained reply. "You're their mother, you deserve to act this way towards them—especially now."
"But you're their father, Edward! You matter just as much as I do." Did he really think that just because I was their mom that it gave me more reason to be upset? Because it didn't. Not really.
"No, I don't. You could have taken good care of them without me." Surely he was joking. There was no possible way that I would have been able to raise those two kids on my own. He did most of the work after they were born anyways. He always seemed to be doing the most work out of the two of us.
I placed my hand on his jaw and forced him to look at me. He didn't put up a fight—yet another sign that this was traumatizing him just as much as I.
"No, don't say that. I'm sick and tired of it, Edward! I want you to break down in front of me, cry your eyes out, and yell and scream that life is unfair. Do something that I'm doing! But you don't; you do the complete opposite. Do something besides this. Please," I begged. The tears were now rolling down my face. Despite my blurry visage, though, I saw how his eyes filled to the brim with wetness, and I smiled weakly. He was showing me that he really was being affected by this. I wove my fingers through his hair and yanked him closer to me, pressing his lips to mine. Our lips moved with one another relentlessly. Soon after I could taste the saltiness of tears, but whether they were his or mine, I didn't know. I also didn't care.
Eventually we pulled away from one another, gasping for breath.
He lent his forehead against mine gently, still breathing heavily.
"Thank you," I whispered.
"For what, love?" His voice broke.
"For being manly enough to cry in front of your wife."
He chuckled, and pulled me in closer. "I love you," he mumbled.
I smiled, and with those three words ringing through my mind, I fell into a deep and restful sleep—the only night of this I would have for a while.
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I woke up the next morning cold, alone, and Edward-less.
Still half-asleep, I patted his side of the bed, searching for him. He was nowhere to be found.
"Yes, Edward won't be attending school for a couple days… yes… mm-hmm… yes, thank you for your understanding… you too… bye." I heard his voice across the room, followed by a click, indicating that he had hung up the phone.
Then I heard him sigh, and some ruffling. He had gotten up and was heading over to me. My eyes snapped shut just in time, for I felt him kneel at the bedside and his hand ghosted over the side of my face. It took every ounce of willpower I had not to shiver—that spark that I felt every time he touched me hadn't ceased since our time at Cullen Manor.
He was starting to pull away, and I couldn't have that. I grabbed his arm and kept it where it was. He chuckled, and made no move to leave, for which I was glad.
"So you are awake, huh?" he asked playfully.
I nodded. "Mm-hmm." He laughed again.
"You act like you haven't seen me in days!"
"Well, I don't know how long you've been gone. Get back in this bed; I'm not done with you yet."
He chuckled under his breath and stood up. Reluctantly, I let go of his arm long enough for him to climb back in beside me before I latched onto him again.
"So I called the hospital today," he began conversationally. He had been talking long before that sentence, I had just not heard him, considering that I was a little preoccupied getting comfortable to listen before, though.
I stopped my nuzzling of his neck and my head snapped up the second he said 'hospital'.
"Huh?" I asked dumbly. He smiled at me, amusement flashing in his green eyes. He gave me a warm, yet sad, smile, and tucked a lock of my hair behind my ear.
"Don't worry, it's nothing bad; quite the opposite actually."
I huffed. "Well, out with it!" I exclaimed impatiently.
He let out a small breath and the smile from before was back. He wound an arm around my waist and allowed it to rest against the small of my back before crushing me to him. He rested his chin on the top of my head and, with his free hand, began to stroke my hair affectionately.
"Well, I originally only called to see when I'd be called in again, but they told me that Carlie and Junior would be able to come home today,"
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A/N: Short. Yeah. I kow. But I felt that I owed you all un update. It's been almost a month, you know. Have you noticed that the past six chapters have only gone through two days' worth of the story? Friday and Saturday. Man, this story is happening pretty darn fast! You see, that's what happens when the story writes itself.
