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Word Prompt: Furious


Word Prompt: Furious

I drove to the nearest park and parked. Edward reached for the door handle, but I just sat frozen in space. Getting out could mean never seeing him again, or, at least, not in the sense of being his friend, so irrationally I just wanted to freeze time. I knew that is where this conversation was headed, or, at least, that is what I thought.

"Bella?" Edward called out a second later, and I slowly turned my head. I willed my mind to memorize the way he looked, so that I would always remember. Apparently, just staring at him scared him because the next time he said my name it was far shakier.

"I'm sorry, what?" I finally managed to stutter out.

"Are we going to take a walk or…" his voice trailed off, but I shrugged. I didn't want to walk or talk or stop being friends or whatever other bad thing that would come out of us taking the walk he wanted to go on. So, in the spirit of acting my age, I shook my head no like a toddler defying their parents for the first time.

"Okay," he breathed out confused and moved to shut the door he had just opened. "I thought we were going to talk?" I wasn't sure if he meant to say that like a question, but it's exactly how it came out.

"Just say what you need to say," I gritted out, though I didn't want to say it.

"They want to move me," he started, and my head snapped up at him.

Of course…why hadn't I thought of that? My dad had mentioned that before, but then time went on, and Edward hadn't said anything. If this was where it was going to end, I would have preferred to have known at the beginning.

"Whitlock; he showed me a text he just got about this week. There is going to be a briefing of the selected soldiers they want moved into brigade for the deployment. My name was on the list," he explained slowly, and I simply nodded my head…bingo.

"So, we can't be friends anymore," I managed to get out, though a small tear fell from my traitor eyes. Edward was just a friend, and I refused to get upset over just a friend, but then, was he really just a friend?

"Please don't cry," Edward pleaded with me as he gently wiped the tear from my cheek. "I just…" Edward started to say something, but stopped. He looked down a few times, and then back up again, and back and forth, for at least a minute. It was like he was thinking of the words to say, while I sat furiously cursing the Army in my mind. The one time…just this one thing…they already owned my dad, did they have to own Edward too?

"Bella, I guess what I'm asking is, where do you see us?" He asked, and then shook his head. "Crap, this isn't coming out right. What I mean is, is Bella I have feelings for you that stretch deeper than a simple friend, or even a best friend. I know we haven't known each other very long, but you're different, something about you, it's just different and special. I know our lives are complicated right now, but they won't always be, so I need to know where you stand. I'm not asking for a commitment or a promise for the future, but, before I fight this. I don't want you to feel obligated or think you need to put your life on hold. I just need to know if you think this is worth fighting for," he finished explaining, and I froze again, this time because that was the last thing I expected to hear.

In fact, what I had in my mind was something like, 'Bella, it's been great knowing you, but this is my job and…' But, that wasn't what he was saying, nor was it even close, so now I had to think…really think, because the next sentence I said doesn't just affect me, but him to.

We were both relatively young, and he was right that our lives were complicated, but in a few short weeks Edward made me feel alive like no one else had before. I couldn't predict the future, but I at least wanted to give this a shot…I could see myself happy with him, and he was definitely very special to me.

"Can I just say I did not expect to hear that," I started nervously as I tried to find my voice. "I agree with you that I definitely feel for you more than a friend, and I don't know what the future will hold, but I want to find out. I want us to have a fighting chance, regardless of where this leads us; I think this is worth fighting for."

Edward nodded his head as a small smile crept up over his face. "Good," he whispered before raising my hand to his lips. I felt another bolt of electricity and vowed that I would somehow experience a real kiss before he deployed. I had kissed a boy once, but it was awkward and weird, and neither one of us had a clue what we were doing, but I knew kissing Edward would be different. I wanted him to have my first 'real' kiss, like the one I'd tell my daughters about when they're teenagers.

"You scared the crap out of me," I joked to try and ease the tension, but Edward apologized. With time looming down, and the deployment only two weeks away, I was more than worried. His family would be coming in the next weekend and staying for a few days before they moved down to Texas for his dad's new job. I'd never forget how excited he was to call and tell me about his phone call home.

Edward had been candid with me early on about his reasons for joining the Army and what his parents struggled through, so I knew how excited he was to see them before he went downrange. He told me they were excited to meet me, but I had to admit I was more nervous to meet them.

"Dinner?" Edward asked after a minute, and I nodded. So, we found ourselves at Rafferty's for the evening. I did text my mom to let her know, but she texted me back that she hadn't expected to see me anyway.

When Edward ordered the fried mushrooms I about moaned…they were so, so good, as was the huge salad I ordered. Literally, the bowl was about three times the size of my head with every single possible topping available. It was amazing, but so was finally feeling carefree with Edward.

We still hadn't labeled ourselves that night, but I think it was more of a formality. Before I dropped him off though, I asked him what he meant about fighting, and without a second thought he told me he wasn't taking the offer. My eyes went wide, but he then explained he wasn't sure he wanted it anyway. There were pros, but he trained with his guys, had gotten ready with his guys, and wanted to deploy with his team. I understood that and breathed a little easy when I realized it wasn't just about me.

Before Edward got out of the car for the night, he kissed my hand again, and I sighed.

"Am I ever going to get a real kiss?" I pouted playfully.

Without missing a beat Edward replied, "Yes, before I deploy, but we won't be anywhere near this base when I do it." He winked before walking off leaving me completely stunned.

When I got home, I was a little surprised to see my dad awake in the living room.

"He isn't going to take it is he?" my dad asked, and I shook my head. "I thought so."

"Dad, it's not about me though," I explained. "I don't even understand why so much is changing right now, you leave in like two weeks."

"A lot is going on in the office," he replied cryptically, and I nodded. That was his code for he couldn't talk about it, and I was used to that. "I expected that, so I made sure they put more names on the list than what we'd need. I'll make sure he comes off."

"Why?" I blurted out before my filter came on.

"You're happy," he answered. "If he doesn't want it, than it should go to a soldier that does. I've talked to his leadership, and he's a damn good soldier, they'd fight us to lose him anyway. It's why I wanted him."

"How long?" I whispered.

"Before you even knew his name, but it doesn't matter now. Specialist Cullen has made his decision, and there was no right or wrong here. It's very rare that the Army works in this way, so just take it for what it's worth."

"Thank you." I walked over and gave him a hug. "Do you go in tomorrow?" I asked, but my dad shook his head no. "Lunch?"

"That sounds good, you don't have plans?" he asked, but I said no. Edward needed to do some last minute packing before his first set of bags set off on Monday, and I had some schoolwork to catch up on. We did plan to meet sometime during the week before his family came into town, but, for now, Sunday was going to be dedicated to my dad because, for this deployment, I didn't just have one person to worry about, I had two.


Alright, back to couponing I go :) See ya tomorrow!