Pieces of Me
Part 9
I had almost expected Edward to be at my door as soon as I got off the phone with Alice's grandfather. I was positive that his entire family would have already known about it. I was relieved when he wasn't. The next time I was with him, it would be proudly and with my head held high. For that to happen, there was a conversation I needed to have with my parents that I'd been putting off for over a year.
Edward had slayed his dragons, now it was my turn.
*~*PoM*~*
The phone rang in my ear a few times before my mom picked up. As she greeted me, I could hear her working in the kitchen and the sound of Sports Center turned up loudly in the background. They were the sounds of home and they comforted me, reminding me that my parents loved me, and while I was about to reveal my betrayal, I was also about to share with them some amazing news.
"Bella, honey? Did you hear a word I just said?" my mom asked worriedly.
"I'm sorry, Mom, I have a lot on my mind. There's actually something I needed to talk to you and Daddy about. Are you both able to talk now?" I tried to sound upbeat, but I was pretty sure I sounded just as close to throwing up as I felt.
"Yeah, of course. Hold on, I just need to shut off the burners."
I heard her moving around again and calling to my dad, "Charlie, turn off the TV. Bella wants to talk." She covered the phone and I could only hear her muffled voice talking to him. After a minute, I heard the line clear and Mom said, "Okay, honey, I've got you on speaker. What did you need to talk about?"
The apprehension was back, deep and churning in my stomach, closing off my throat and making the words impossible to form. So many things I needed to say, but I hated the idea that they would look at me differently after this. Because even though it looked like it might turn out okay, I didn't go into it for that. My motives for being with Edward were completely selfish, getting to meet Alice was a happy coincidence.
"Um, I have some really good news, but first...there's some stuff I need to tell you. And I need you to promise to listen before you freak out, okay?"
My mom agreed readily, my dad sounded unsure, but agreed so I would start talking.
"Last February, I met someone, and I fell in love with him. He is amazing, and he made me incredibly happy. He's everything I've ever wanted and so, so much more." I stopped to try to stem my tears and clear my throat. I couldn't believe how much it hurt to talk about how perfect Edward was, how much I loved him.
My parents took the opportunity to start speaking.
"Are you pregnant?" my dad asked with a tight voice.
"That's wonderful, sweetheart. What's his name?" my mom asked, though her question was deceptively innocent. She knew something was up because I kept it from them.
I laughed bitterly. "No, Dad, I'm definitely not pregnant."
"Who is it, Bella?" my mom asked again, this time more forcefully.
I took a deep breath, steadying myself. Whatever their reaction, I deserved it.
"Edward Cullen."
There was a pause, a single beat before my dad erupted.
"Over my dead body!" Dad yelled. "That family took everything from us, I'll be fucking damned if they get you, too! What were thinking, Bella?"
Tears continued to course down my cheeks and dripping off my chin; I didn't even both trying to stop them. "I know. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to fall in love with him - it just happened. We tried to find a way to tell you and his family, but...there just wasn't."
He was deathly silent by this point, evidently too angry to even continue yelling. My mom, who hadn't really said anything yet, finally spoke. "What happened?"
People often mistook my mother's constant motion and movement as flakiness. In reality, she was one of the most observant people I had ever known and had a way of reducing things down to the important parts.
"We broke up," I whispered, "back in August. It hurt too much to keep hiding, but I couldn't hurt you guys by telling you. Edward wanted to tell both of our families, he wanted to from the beginning, but I just...I was scared, I didn't want to hurt you."
"Oh, baby girl," my mom said, trying to comfort me.
My dad scoffed. "And you're hoping that maybe now I'll just forget what the Cullens did? Nothing's changed, Bella."
"Actually, everything's changed. That's why I'm calling, that's the whole reason for putting us both through this. After Edward and I broke up, I got a call in January...from Alice. He gave her my number. I've been talking to her for the last month..."
My dad interrupted me, "Something else..." but I quickly cut him off.
"Let me finish! Please. I promise there's a point, I just needed you to know everything because I'm tired of lying about it, but also because I need you to trust me when I say that there's no ulterior motives here. They have nothing to gain. Please," I begged him.
He grunted out an agreement and I went on. "I got a call last night from Arthur Cullen. Alice finally convinced them to let her meet you guys. You can fly out here whenever you're ready. He had a small condition, though," I said hesitantly. This last part was the most delicate. I knew how stubborn my dad could be, and it would be easy for him to lose sight of what was important in favor of what he saw as fair.
"Of course he does," he sneered. "Aurthur Cullen would never do anything out of the kindness of his heart."
"He just said that you are welcome to come to Chicago and talk to Alice, spend as much time as you'd like with her here, but he said it's with the stipulation that you don't fight the custody arrangements."
I could feel the tension from my dad, even over the phone. He was pissed. And then I heard my mom's gentle crying.
"Renee?" Dad's voice came out much gentler than I would have expected.
"I'm going to get to meet my granddaughter, Charlie. Rosie's daughter." I could hear my mom's muffled voice and imagined that she was resting her head on my dad's chest.
And with just a word from my mother, my dad let go of the past. "Yeah, yeah, you are," he said, his voice thick with emotion.
A/N: Thanks for reading! This is the chapter that made my pre-readers tear up the most. What did you guys think? :)
Thanks to the usual suspects, Kas90 for beta'ing, Sammielynnsmom for pre-reading and KrisScott for the prompt.
I own nothing. Until tomorrow ~Kimberly
