CHAPTER 7 – "I wanted him back"

A/N: Thank you guys for the amazing response to the last two updates. As a thank you, I give you the next one…

The rest of the night had been spent in Edward's arms.

After the dry sobs that had racked through me and subdued, Edward didn't question me and we spent the rest of the night in a peaceful silence.

His arms were wrapped around me, securing me onto his hard chest. His chin was rested on my shoulder giving him the chance to nuzzle my neck and then kiss it before moving up to kiss my cheek, "I love you"

Simplest and what used to be natural was to simply say the words back but I couldn't bring myself to do it. The words felt venomous and remained choking my throat. Instead, I ducked my head and sighed, "I know". I then gulped down the frustration and guilt that seemed to overwhelm my instincts.

There was a few minutes of silence that dragged on but thankfully he still held on. His hands still grasped me tightly before he finally broke it and muttered, "I have something for you"

I knew it was a way to distract me but I complied by sitting up from the bed when his hands left mine. When turning around, I found he was no longer there, he was now fumbling through the drawers. "Here it is…" he murmured lowly before spinning back around.

The worry was still prominent in his graven eyes but he continued to force a playful smile. His hands locked behind his back as he moved towards me.

Golden eyes remained locked with mine when bending down to my feet; "You dropped this" he smiled and unveiled what he was holding. He was now showing me the silver necklace that I knew all too well.

"Where did you get this?" I choked out.

He still smiled, oblivious to my inner turmoil, "I went back to get it from the woods" he answered, "You must have dropped it when…" he trailed off realizing his mistake of almost bringing up that day.

I was about to take it from his outstretched palm but he stopped me, "Here…" his fingers closed over the pendant, "Let me…" he offered another small smile.

When he moved around me, I felt his fingers softly brush the back of my neck, "Where did you get it?" he wondered but I was no longer with Edward.

"So this is what you do?" I burst out in annoyance, "Buy a person's love?" I was practically hysterical but didn't really care, "Well newsflash, you can't buy mine" I continued to fight against him but my eyes caught the flash of blue, cold on my bare chest, "Even if it is a very beautiful-" when it dawned onto me that I was losing track of my point, I shook my head, "The point is, I can't"

He continued to look at me with an amused expression, still sitting on the chair against the far wall.

"I'm serious" I continued to battle him but the smile was creeping up. Fighting against it, I reached up and unclasped the necklace before placing it onto the bedside table, "I'm sorry but this is too much" I argued. I would not be backing down from this.

With one last look at him, I turned around and made a move to go towards the exit. However, I was too late because as expected, he was blocking my path.

Crossing my arms over my chest, I reflected defiance when hitching an eyebrow.

"I promise you..." he began with a soft and gentle compelling voice, "I promise that no dime was spent" his piercing eyes made the breath sweep out of my lungs. "This…" he pushed my hair out of the way and behind my shoulder, the brush of his fingers set fires to my skin, "…belonged to my mother" he finalized.

His nonchalance only left me completely and utterly breathless. "Then I really can't accept this" again I reached up to unclasp it but he stopped me by gripping my wrist. He was careful to not grip me so tightly.

He was giving me his mother's necklace and not making a big deal about it.

Part of me understood that he didn't want to blow this out of proportion because that was just the way he was. It was hard for him to show emotion so this was a pretty big thing.

Sighing in defeat, I sent a pleading look, "Why did you give this to me…?" he parted his lips but I interjected, "…and don't say it's because you can"

He smirked, knowing that I was onto him. "Well of course it's because I can" he ignored my scowl by taking hold of my shoulders and making sure my eyes were locked onto his, "…but also because I wanted to"

I closed my head and shook my head but the smile was on my face. As much as I wanted to win our fights – he always wore me down. I always ended up giving into him.

Just as I opened my eyes to look into hid hooded gaze, I was taken back with the topaz ones that replaced his.

He was gone…

…and I wanted him back.

"Bella? Bella?" Edward continued to snap his fingers, so I acknowledged his presence with a forced smile, "Where did you go?" his eyebrows furrowed and the anxiety returned.

It was not supposed to be Edward…

…Edward wasn't supposed to be here…neither was I

Shaking away my thoughts, I gripped Edward's hands and fought against the visions, "I'm still here" I assured him and leaned down to press a gentle yet convincing kiss onto his lips. "I'm still here" again I kissed him once again, wanting to deepen it but I couldn't. Instead, I rested my forehead on his and kept my eyes closed.

"Bella" he brought me back and my eyes flew open in response to his calling. The concern was so defined in his graven eyes that it cut through me. I didn't want his pain – I didn't want him to feel any pain.

"Listen, I know things haven't been easy right now…" his fingers held my chin, tilting my head up so I could look up at him. "…but I want you to know that I will always be by your side" he vowed, lacing his fingers with mine before tightening his hold on them. "I promise to love you, everyday of forever…" he continued which only made me feel worse. A sob stuck in my throat threatened to ripple out but I stopped when I caught heard the shift of his movement. When glancing back up, I found that he was now on one knee.

Panic flooded me with the doubts that flooded me which were then confirmed with his following words, "Isabella Swan, will you marry me…?"

A/N: Jeez….marriage proposal while she's been thinking of another guy? Who is this mystery guy? Answers will come to those who review…