I don't own Twilight or its characters. Stephenie Meyer does.
April and Gabby, thank you for pre-reading, and Fran, thank you for editing. Any mistakes left are my own.
Ch. 8
When we arrived back at the house, Esme was in the kitchen chopping carrots. She looked up with a smile when we walked through the door.
"You're home earlier than I expected. I'm not sure if you're still hungry after the ice cream, so I was preparing a lighter meal. I grilled some chicken this morning, and I was going to put it on a salad," she said.
"That sounds great," I told her. "This is for you." I handed over the ice cream container.
"You brought me brownie sundae; you kids are so sweet." Esme looked touched.
"It was Edward's idea." I decided to give him the credit.
Edward looked at me in surprise as Esme's grin grew wider. She leaned over and kissed his cheek. His ears reddened, but he smiled sheepishly.
"Thank you, Teddy," she gushed.
"Mom, I told you I'm too old for that nickname." Edward sounded mortified.
"You'll always be my little boy." Esme smirked.
I couldn't help but giggle at her remark. Edward shot me look, and I tried to stop by pressing my lips together. But I only started to shake and a then a snort escaped. Edward snickered and sighed in resignation.
"I'm going to take Bella's bag back upstairs." He shook his head as he headed for the stairs.
"I can finish making the salads if you'd like to eat your ice cream," I offered.
"Dessert before the meal," Esme pondered. "Why not? You only live once."
She took a seat at the counter while I washed my hands and took over preparing the vegetables.
"I'm glad you and Edward have made amends. I was worried that what happened with Emmett would affect how he was with you," she softly said before taking a large bite of her treat.
"He apologized for that." I hoped I hid my surprise at her reaction.
I had suspected something had happened, but I didn't know exactly what it was. Despite being a jock, Emmett never seemed to be the bullying type. At first, I assumed they didn't ger along because they were like oil and vinegar.
"Oh, dear, I said too much." Esme looked worried.
"I was suspicious before you even said anything. I had asked Edward, but he didn't want to talk about it, so I think it's best we leave at that," I said, glancing at the stairs.
"Agreed." Esme nodded. "How's your brother?"
I noticed she left out Charlie. "The swelling in his head has come down, and he's been seizure-free for a while."
"Good. I hope he's on the upswing," Esme said.
Later, I was about to head to my room when Edward stopped me in the hallway.
"Why did you give me the credit for the ice cream? That was all your idea," he asked but didn't seem upset.
"I don't know, it was a last-minute decision. She's such a sweet woman. She also seems very lonely, so I thought it would be a nice thing to do for her. I thought she would appreciate it more if it came from you." I leaned against the door jamb.
"Are you saying, I don't treat my mom as good as I should?" His eyebrows furrowed.
"No, not at all. I don't know the two of you well enough to judge. However, at the same time, I have seen the sadness in her eyes when you're rude to her. I just hope you realize what a great mom you have before she's taken from you the way mine was from me." I bit my lip. "I wasn't trying tooverstep."
Edward checked the hall before he spoke. "She can be smothering."
I shrugged. "I'd take smothering before completely ignored."
Edward paused before giving a short nod. "I suppose."
"I'm sorry if I overstepped," I apologized.
"It's okay. I think you're right. I hate seeing her upset too. Sometimes I say stuff before I really even think about how it comes out," he admitted. "I have some homework to do, so I'll see you later." He headed for his room.
"Night, Teddy," I teased.
He looked over his shoulder at me with narrowed eyes. "Good night, Betty," he retorted, making me laugh.
S
I logged onto my computer and opened up to my last chapter. I should check with Carlisle to see if it would be okay for me to bring my laptop into Emmett's room while I sat with him. Before I started writing, I hit the speed dial on my phone.
"I hate Shakespeare…no I loathe…Shakespeare." Was my greeting.
"Alice, wherefore thou heavy?" I smirked.
"Did you just call me fat?" Alice gasped.
I burst out laughing. "No, why are you sad?"
"Ugh…if you were here right now, I would so throw this ham omelet book at you," she threatened jokingly.
"Knowing you, you'd miss me by a foot," I teased.
"At least it would be a foot closer than you. If you threw it, you'd probably only wind up hitting yourself," she retorted.
"True," I agreed, and we both started laughing. "Did you just refer to Hamlet as ham omelet?"
"Yes, his acting is hammy, and everything that happens is a scrambled mess," she complained.
"Alice Dwyer, are you watching it instead of reading," I accused.
"I thought if I watched it, I would understand what they were saying better, you know facial cues and body language—not that it's helping." She sighed dramatically. "Google really needs to add Shakespeare to its translator."
"Have you tried asking Suri?" I joked.
"No, do you think it would work?" she sounded excited.
I shook my head. "I was kidding. In all seriousness, ask Katie to help you. She likes Shakespeare and has done some productions at the community theatre."
"I forgot about that. That's a great idea. So…did you tell Edward yes about the ice cream," she prompted.
"We actually went out today," I answered her.
"How did it go?" She sounded excited.
"Okay, but the people in this town are nosy busybodies. A few of them decided they had to intercede on Emmett's behalf."
"I hope you told them off," she huffed.
"Of course. We're going out this weekend too," I told her.
"Yay! You have to take a picture of him and send it to me. I want to see what this guy looks like." She sounded happy for me.
"I'll try," I promised her. "I talked to Rose. Seems she and my brother aren't officially dating because of my father. He thinks she would be a distraction."
"Puh-lease. I swear I'm starting to think your father is trying to live through your brother. I'm glad you're coming home soon," she stated.
"About that…"
"Uh-uh…no. Bella. Your father's out of the hospital, so there's no reason for you to stay," Alice stated before I could finish.
"I'm not staying for good. But the way Charlie is talking, I'm afraid he's going to rush Emmett's recovery," I explained.
"Okay…but, howis that your problem?" she asked.
"According to Rose, Emmett hates the fact we aren't close, and he was excited about my book," I told her what I found out today.
"Yet, why didn't he ever tell you himself? Why didn't he rush here after that night? I just don't want you hopeful for something that isn't there." She didn't seem convinced.
I didn't respond and thought over her words. Was she right, and was I grasping at straws? The silence grew awkward between us.
"B, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be a bitch," she apologized.
"You had a point; I don't want to get suckered in either. When I saw the articles about me posted in his room, I just had a glimmer of hope. I haven't made any decisions yet. It's just not that black and white," I said.
"You didn't tell me that. It sounds sweet, but it seems like something is missing. If he wanted to be close, he didn't try that hard," she reasoned. "Ugh…I'm sorry. I know you'll make the right decision. I'll keep my mouth shut."
"No, I appreciate your opinion. I can always trust you to be honest with me," I told her.
"Good. Sorry to cut this short, but I need to get back to this so I can figure out who Yorick is."
"He was the court jester," I informed her, snickering.
"Really? That just proves I'll never get Shakespeare." Alice sighed in resignation.
"Alas, sweet Alice, parting is such sweet sorrow," I said with a flourish.
"That I actually got. Good night, B." She giggled.
"Night, Ali."
S
I wrote for a couple hours before deciding to take a break and get a snack. I headed for the kitchen and found Edward in the process of the same thing. He had an air popper on the counter and was making a large bowl of popcorn. The delish smell caused my belly to rumble.
Edward looked up when I entered the room. "Would you like some?
"Yes, please. It smells good." I sat on the stool across from him.
"I usually put parmesan and garlic on it, is that okay? Or would you rather have something else?" Edward asked.
"I'll try it your way. Would you like anything to drink?" I went to the cabinet for a glass.
"I'll take a root beer from the fridge, please."
I filled my glass with water and grabbed his soda. I brought them back to the counter, and he slid the large bowl over to me.
"Homework all done?" I asked.
"Yes. Only one teacher was jerky enough to give an assignment other than reading the syllabus and covering your book on the first day. I'm going to watch Big Bang Theory if you'd like to join me. You don't have to stay in your room," he said.
"I love that show; Alice and I watch it all the time." I picked up my snack and followed him into the den.
"Is that your friend that owns the car?" Edward asked, taking a seat on the couch.
"Actually, the car belongs to her father. He leased it for me so I would have something to drive out here." I was more comfortable sharing more of myself with him now. I took a seat on the opposite end.
"That was very nice of him. I have to get better friends with giving parents," Edward said jokingly.
"Phil has been more than just Alice's dad. He's been more of a father to me than my own, even after my mother's death," I explained.
"He sounds like a good man. But enough with the heavy." He used the remote to turn on the television and looked at me when I laughed.
"Sorry," I apologized. "I used heavy in a sentence when talking to Alice earlier tonight about Shakespeare. Wherefore thou heavy. She thought I was calling her fat."
Edward smirked. "She's not a Shakespeare fan I take it."
"Not in the least. She's more into technology and fashion," I told him.
"And books where humans fall in love with vampires and werewolves," Edward said.
"You checked out my book?" I raised an eyebrow.
"It's not that bad." He shrugged.
"Not that bad? Thanks a lot." I tossed a piece of popcorn at him.
He laughed when it hit the floor next to the couch and picked up a handful and threw it at me, peppering me with it.
"Hey." I grabbed a handful and slid closer so I could get a better aim.
He was anticipating me and caught my arm and pinned it lightly against the cushion. He then brought his face close until we were almost nose to nose. For a moment, I thought he was going to kiss me, and my heart started pumping wildly. Suddenly I was showered with popcorn as he dumped his bowl on my head. I squealed and pulled away, sliding off the couch and landing on the floor.
"Jerk," I huffed.
"You started it." He helped me up while laughing.
"I threw one and missed. And you insulted my book," I defended myself.
"I didn't insult it. It's good…I'm just more a Stephen King guy." He held up his hands in surrender.
I seized the opportunity to throw my handful at him. Pathetically, it all missed. He looked at it and started laughing so hard, he wasn't making any sound. He clutched his stomach and gasped for air.
"I'm glad I could amuse you." I rolled my eyes and focused on the television.
"Sorry…I…" He struggled to contain himself. "I can't help it. I'll be good."
He reached over and brushed the popcorn from the top of my head, and I was hyperaware of his fingers combing through my hair. His eyes flickered to my lips, and he started to lean in but then suddenly stopped. He closed his eyes, then pulled away and focused on the television.
What just happened? I blinked in confusion.
A/N: Thank you for sharing all your thoughts with me.
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The first started by my beta and I'm one of the banner makers. It's batman/ Crime fighter themed. Details can be found here: fanfiction dot net /u/ 12410521 /Crime-Crusaders-Contest
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