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"He not gonna be the last to the finish line,

She says think big cause even losers get lucky sometimes."

Chapter Nine

EDWARD POV

When I opened the door to the house, it seemed as if something had changed.

At first I thought there was just a new atmosphere because I was lugging the Christmas tree in behind me, but as soon as I took one step inside… I knew what it was.

The heating was on full blast.

There was the smell of freshly made coffee coming from the kitchen.

There was music coming from… Somewhere.

Christmas carols.

It felt like home again.

I put the tree by the door before shutting it quietly.

Bella should be in bed… So clearly it wasn't her that was doing all this?

Then who?

I walked towards the kitchen slowly, feeling my hand reach the door frame as I looked around.

My heart raced into my throat as I saw Bella standing by the counter, dressed in sweats and a t shirt, her long hair wet and falling down her back.

She was working on the radio, turning the knob slightly to get a better sound.

I cleared my throat, which caused her to glance up at me, "Hi." She smiled.

"Hi…" My voice sounded like a croak, and I coughed once more, "You're out of bed." I stated dumbly.

She nodded, "I had a shower and got changed. I also cleaned up all the stuff in the bedroom." She turned towards the oven suddenly, "Oh and I made mince pies."

"Mince pies?" My voice was full of shock, and my mind wondered how on earth she managed all that in her condition, "Are you okay? You're due medication too, and –"

"Edward." She smiled brightly, silencing my words as I stared at her.

She was the picture of our past.

"I'm fine. And I just took the medication." She opened the oven, putting on some oven gloves before pulling out the tray, "I remembered you saying about the Christmas decorations… And mince pies and coffee is the normal tradition right?"

I could nothing but nod my head. I was afraid of what words would come out of my mouth if I tried to speak.

Why?

Don't you hate me after last night?

Do you miss our traditions?

Do you still love me?

Will you stay with me forever?

She smiled to herself, lifting a plate and putting the pies on it before turning and grabbing two mugs. She poured the coffee, and I stood like a dumbass staring at her.

She lifted her eyes to mine once she was finished, "You okay?"

"I'm fine." I blurted at once, taking the coffee from her, "You're going to help?"

I'd be lying if I said my voice didn't sound offensive, so she had every right to be upset.

"Um… Well… I guess, if you want to do it by yourself then… Umm…"

Her cheerful exterior suddenly crumbled, and she went back to the Bella she had been this past week.

"No!" I shook my head quickly, "No, I didn't mean it like that… I just meant…"

What I meant was she hadn't been here the past two years to help… Watching her help now would more than likely break my heart even more.

"I meant… Are you up to it? What if the dust… It'll hurt your chest."

She shrugged lightly, "I'll take my chances… I haven't decorated a tree in two years and knowing that you're decorating one without me will just depress me!" She laughed lightly, but then frowned.

It was as if her words hit her up the face.

"You haven't decorated a tree in two years?" I whispered without even thinking about it.

She glanced away from me slightly, "No… Not since… Our last Christmas." She nodded a bit.

I swallowed tightly, "Me neither."

We stared at each other for a long moment, before she shook her head and turned towards the mince pies, "Should we start?"

"Yeah."

And so, we did.

She brought the mince pies and coffee into the living room, while I grabbed the tree.

We put it in the right spot, fixing it to stand perfectly. I climbed up to the attic, grabbing all our Christmas decorations and bringing them to her.

The dust did catch her chest, and so I had to remove my checked shirt from over my t shirt and give it to her to hold over her nose and mouth.

We put lights around the mantelpiece and covered the living room in all the traditional decorations while we ate our mince pies and drank the coffee.

We placed the lights on the tree, and the baubles, all the while the Christmas music played softly from the kitchen.

Was it only me who noticed the little looks we gave each other?

Was it only me who noticed the little smiles?

I desperately wanted to talk to her about last night, to apologise.

I mean, it didn't matter if she was smiling and laughing at my jokes now, and even giving me that little look of love that used to shine permanently out of her eyes when she looked at me…

It didn't matter.

Because when I woke up this morning… She wasn't there…

So clearly, she hadn't wanted to be in my arms at all.

I watched her closely as she smiled into the box, before reaching in and taking out the star.

She turned to me, "You wanna put it up? Like always?"

I smiled, nodding my head as I took it off her, attempting to ignore the flash of heat as our hands brushed.

I stood up on the stepladder, placing the star on top of the tree before I glanced down at Bella.

She had one arm around her waist, and her other hand had been holding my shirt to her mouth, but now it was lowering as she stared up at me with a breathless smile.

I couldn't help but smile back at her, and I couldn't even take my eyes off her as I took my steps down from the ladder.

Unfortunately for me, my foot slipped, and both myself and the ladder clattered to the ground.

I heard Bella's gasp before I felt myself even hit the floor, and suddenly she was kneeling beside me.

"Are you okay? Oh my God."

I let out a laugh, shaking my head, "I'm fine, baby."

We both stopped short, and she stared at me for a long moment before offering her hand, "I'll help you up…" She whispered, as if she was in a daze.

I wasn't sure whether or not to be embarrassed over what I'd just said.

My mind and my heart hadn't decided yet.

She helped me up, and we stood in close proximity of each other as our hands refused to let go.

She glanced up at me once more, "You're sure you're okay?" She asked quietly.

I smiled to myself, nodding my head, "I'm very very very okay."

We both stared, smiling at one another as we moved closer.

Or was it just me imagining it?

Suddenly, there was a hand on the side of her face…

Wait.

It was my free hand.

I blinked, gazing at her brown eyes as they stared back at mine.

She wasn't moving away.

Why wasn't she moving away?

Not that I would ever complain.

Our foreheads touched gently, our noses brushing past each other as our breaths began to mingle and our eyes closed…

And then…

The shrilling of the phone blasted through the living room.

We both pulled away, and my hands left hers unwillingly as I moved to grab the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hello? Edward, darling."

"Hi mom."

Bella was watching me, and seemed to let out a breath as she listened to my words.

"Honey, I just called to let you know that I spoke to Tanya… I told her about Bella. Why hadn't you told her before?"

"It was never the right time." I sighed, "I never had time… Look, we're kinda in the middle of something here… Can I call you later?"

"This isn't good for you, son. Just remember you need to talk to people, don't get caught up in it without talking about it too."

"I won't. I promise."

"Ok, I'll let you go then… I love you."

"Love you too. Bye."

I ended the call, smiling at Bella as I rolled my eyes, "You know my mom. Always a worrier."

"She knows I'm here?"

"Of course she does… She was gonna come down and see you… But I told her to at least wait until you're a bit better… That is of course, if you ever want to see her…" I sighed, looking at the ground, "I don't know if you will… Or…"

"No." She shook her head, smiling brightly, "That would be great." I glanced up at her in shock, "It would be just like old times."

Old times?

She wanted the old times?

I wanted the old times too…

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