Chapter ten
Edward was confused.
It been a little over a week since Bella had showed up on his door after the bad date with Riley and they had barely spoken to each other. She had showed up in his office when he needed to add meetings to his calendar and she had done her job to perfection, as always, but other than simple pleasantries, there hadn't been anything else.
That Saturday, the morning after the date, he had woken up alone in the bed, the only trace after Bella her perfume and the fact he remember every single second their skin had been connected the night before.
He was used to having girl leave him in the morning before he woke up, the girls knowing he preferred it that way, and he knew that Bella knew the same thing: he had never hidden his true self for her because there had been no need.
Waking up alone without Bella had been different. Not only had it been a blow to his ego, but, most confusingly, it had also been a blow to his heart.
These were feelings had only felt once in his life, when the girl he had thought were there love of his life, had broken his heart for the second time.
He wanted to dismiss the feeling and Edward sat leaned back in his chair, eyes closed, when he heard Bella arrive back at her desk. Before he knew what he was doing, he was pushing his chair to the end of his desk so he could sneak a peek at her through the door.
Just as he rose from the chair, ready to go out to her and seduce her into letting him fuck her against the closed door or on top of the desk, or make love to her on the plush carpet…
Where the thought came from, Edward didn't know but he didn't hate it as the thought of having Bella lying spread out underneath him on the creamy carpet in his office as he slowly pleasured him, made a smile appear on his face.
The shrill sound of her phone ringing had Edward retreat his steps and sink into his chair again with a heavy sigh.
"Bella?" Bella almost dropped the sound of the voice but she quickly gathered herself.
"Helen?" it came out barely as a whisper.
"Yeah," her sister sounded just like she had always done: high and mighty, too good to talk with her own family.
"Why are you calling?" Bella asked, trying to come up with a good enough reason for Helen to call her, but she came up empty: the woman hadn't even called her to let her know that she had become an aunt again.
"It's about dad," the way she said 'dad' was so emotionless. Bella only called Charlie 'dad' to his face but she always felt a surge of love when she talked or thought about Charlie: he was the best she had left in her life.
"What about him?" Bella's voice was almost gone.
"I thought you should know that yesterday, he had a heart attack: he died early this morning."
"Why didn't you call me yesterday?" Bella demanded to know breathlessly: it felt as if she had been punched in the stomach.
"Didn't want to worry you unnecessary," Helen said casually and Bella could see her shrugging, like she always did when she thought she had done the right thing.
"He's dead?" Bella whispered, "I only talked with him two days ago."
"Yeah. The funeral will be held Friday, back in Forks," And then Helen hung up, the phone going dead.
"Are you ok, Bella?" Bella swung around in her chair to see Edward and Phil regarding her with worried eyes.
"C-Char… M-My d-dad…" she stuttered as the tears started and she felt herself slowly falling apart.
A pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around her and Bella leaned against Edward as she cried, her tears soaking into his suit.
"Edward, bring her into your office," she heard Phil say and Bella felt herself being lifted out of the chair. She expected to feel the soft leather of Edward's couch underneath her seconds later, but instead it was Edward's muscular thighs that cushioned her ass.
"Charlie, he's dead, isn't he?" Edward asked after a long stretch of silence and Bella nodded against his shoulder as she continued to cry.
Bella lost track of time but she sat on Edward's lap until all the tears in her body had been cried up and only dry sobs were left, now and then racking through her body.
"Take a few days off and spend the time with your family," Edward said softly when the sobs too had subsided, "It's important to be with those you love in times like these." Bella almost laughed as she thought about spending days with Helen and her husband, knowing that they both would make her feel miserably as they would blame her for Charlie's death, just like Helen had blamed her for every bad thing that happened in her life.
However, she did as she was told and Thursday morning, she stopped by the office to make sure that Edward had her calendar and to pick up her notebook before heading for the airport.
Staying in her childhood home with Helen and Nathan, and their three kids, was just what Bella had expected it to be: Hell. She had barely gotten through the door after paying the taxi, because God forbid anyone came to pick her up in Port Angeles, it had been thrown in her face that she was to blame for Charlie's heart attack. Bella had problems wrapping her head around it, difficulty seeing how she could have caused a sudden blood cloth to his heart, but she didn't question it, just took it like always because there were no use going against Helen.
Everything about the funeral had been taken care of, according to Helen, and all Bella had to do was to wear a black dress that didn't show off her breasts or her legs, and be on time the next day.
*** C R S ***
The rain was heavy the next day, like it always was, but that Friday, it seemed as if it was worse than ever. She knew Charlie would have loved sitting inside, a beer in his hands as he watched football instead of standing outside and getting soaked to the bone.
The whole town had turned up and Bella recognized the faces of several she had gone to high school with, but no one came up to her and said 'hi' or paid their condolences to her. Helen and Nathan was surrounded by the town's people, grieving with them at the loss of the best Chief of Police Forks had ever had.
Her tears mixed with the rain that whipped against her face. The umbrella she had brought with her had been caught by the wind and only the Gods knew where it had gone. Clasping her hands in front of her, she listened to the priest as he talked about Charlie, his coffin ready to be lowered into the grown.
An arm wrapped itself around her shoulders and Bella gasped at the contact. Edward's cologne filled her nose and she turned into his side as his umbrella shielded her from the rain.
The heat from his body warmed Bella and as she stared at what would become Charlie's final resting place, she thanked the God she never really believed in for sending Edward to her when everyone else turned their back on her.
"Why were you standing alone?" he asked as he led her away from Charlie's grave after the coffin had been lowered into the grown.
"Because everyone blame me," Bella murmured as he opened the door of his car for her. He gave her a questioning look but Bella shook her head.
Their drive back to the house was silent and Bella enjoyed the silent more than she had ever done before, especially when she knew what there was to expect as soon she walked through the door, with Edward.
And it was just like she had expected: everyone grew silent as she walked through the door and shed her coat, hanging it up to let it dry. Someone whispered something when Edward came up behind her and as soon he had removed his coat as well, she grabbed his hand and led him up to the guest room. She knew Helen was already spitting out something, all lies of course, but Bella didn't care: she just wanted to be alone with Edward.
"Now, tell me why everyone blames you for Charlie's death," Edward demanded to know as soon the door was closed behind them.
"My mom died when I was eleven," Bella started, lying down on the bed, smiling inwardly when Edward did the same and pulled her close to him. "Helen is ten years older than me so she was twenty-one when it happened and she somehow believed that it was important that she took on the job as my mom after Renee's funeral. It was nice and comforting to have someone adult around when Charlie had to work late, but when Charlie was home, I needed my sister, though Helen believed she knew best. She dropped out of school as soon she learned of Renee's death and moved back home. I think Charlie appreciated it, the help at home, but as time went by and I grew older, it was as if she was doing everything in her power to take mom's place and shape it in the ways Helen saw fit. When I finished high school, she expected me to stay in Forks and get a job, not go to college and get a degree in something: she wanted me to be her. I refused and Charlie agreed that Helen couldn't expect me to stay in Forks like she had done. I got a scholarship, but it wasn't enough so Charlie took up a loan, even when I protested, and helped me move to Boston, bought all of my books and transferred enough money into a bank account that would leave me quite rich while studying." Edward moved, crossing his legs and Bella tilted her head to look at him. "Then Charlie got sick and I transferred the money back to him as he needed it more than I would ever need them."
"I don't see how you're to be blamed," Edward confessed when she stopped talking.
"Helen is a firm believer in that since I decided to abandon the family, that's how she sees it, it's my fault that Charlie got cancer, even when the doctor explained that he would have gotten it even with me living under the same roof. It all propelled out of control when Charlie sold the house to Nathan, Helen's husband, and told us that he was moving to San Francisco because if he stayed in gloomy Forks any longer, he would lose his mind and put an end to his misery before it would even start. He claimed that he needed sun, though the doctor told him to stay out of it during chemo, but in the end, Charlie had been informed of a doctor who had battled the same cancer himself and then started researching. Unfortunately, Dr. Johnson's research isn't near as extensive as your parent's work," Bella yawned.
"Get some sleep," Edward ordered and Bella found herself slipping away quickly.
At one point during her nap, she heard Helen barge into the room, screeching like a hyena, demanding to know if they were having sex under her roof, on the same day she had buried her beloved father. She didn't hear Edward's reply but felt him rumble underneath her.
When she opened her eyes again, it was dark outside and the whole house was quiet. She snuggled against Edward's chest and felt bare skin against her cheek. Blinking, she lifted her head to meet Edward's eyes as he watched her.
While she had been sleeping, he had removed her clothes and put her in a t-shirt. He had also removed his own clothes, leaving only his boxers on as they showed from underneath covers that lay low on his hips.
Pushing herself up in a half sitting position, Bella leaned in and kissed him. They had only kissed a few times during sex, caught in the heath of the moment, but then again, it was the first time Bella had initiated sex with Edward.
She had expected him to lay there, letting her kiss him, but he kissed back and Bella found herself sprawled over his chest, one hand pushed underneath her t-shirt, resting at the small of her back, while the other one curled itself into her tangled hair.
The kiss grew hungrier by the second and Bella found herself grinding against Edward. He didn't seem to mind as he moaned into her mouth and Bella suddenly found herself on her back, her t-shirt pushed up to under her breasts and panties gone.
Slowly, never breaking their kiss, Edward entered Bella, and for the first time since she had met him, Edward didn't dominate her like he used to. There was nothing rough about the sex and Bella enjoyed it immensely as he rocked against her, slowly pushing her closer to the edge and she clung to him as she came, moaning into his mouth. She felt him shudder above her and Bella milked him for every drop he could give her.
When they broke apart, they were both breathing heavily and Edward chuckled softly, brushing a hand over her tangled hair. After pulling out, Edward removed his boxers and Bella's panties as she pulled off the t-shirt.
No words were needed for Bella as Edward pulled the covers over them and Bella rested her cheek against his left pec. As she listened to Edward's breath even out, Bella lay awake, just enjoying the afterglow of the sex, imagining that their relationship, if one could call it that, finally would change into something Bella could enjoy as well. The past weeks with Edward had been different: he had taken her feelings into consideration, and that was new.
*** C R S ***
"I can't put it off any longer," Bella said, her voice strong.
For what seemed like hours, she had been sitting in Phil's office with him and Edward, trying to see how they could fit in a trip for Bella to San Francisco to clear out Charlie's house.
Charlie had been dead for a month and Bella was still struggling with accepting the fact that she would never hear his voice again, feel the warmth of his hugs and laugh at his silly advices.
December was just around the corner and she wanted nothing more than to be finished with everything and take a few weeks off, just like she knew she would have to do after returning from San Francisco.
"There's the running up of a case that will be needing all hands on deck," Phil muttered as he went through his calendar, Bella's lying open in her lap, the case he was talking about circled with a red pen.
"I think Phil, that we can let Bella go for a week or two: she's already done all she can so far and we're not going to court until the fifteenth of December."
"Yes, well, I guess you won't be much use for us if you are worried about the house in San Francisco, your head somewhere else than here. When will you need to leave?"
"The sooner the better," Bella answered Phil's question. "The sooner I go, the sooner I will be back."
"Ok, why don't we let this go as your vacation as you have a few weeks to take off?"
"Sounds perfect for me," Bella smiled as she closed her calendar and stood to leave. "Thank you."
"We need to talk," Edward's voice was low and dark in her ear as he walked up behind her after leaving Phil's office.
"I don't have time for one of your 'relaxing' meetings," Bella did her best to keep her voice neutral.
"I'm not asking you Bella, I'm telling you." Keeping a sigh back, Bella followed him into his office and closed the door behind, expecting him to press her up against the door, pull her pants down and fill her up, just like she wanted him to do but wasn't about to admit again.
He didn't do anything other than take a seat behind his desk.
"What's going on, Bella? Since your date with Riley, you've barely said a word to me, been distant. If you hadn't been doing your job, I would have said something much earlier, however, you're starting to get on my nerves."
"Sorry I haven't been to your disposal," Bella snapped. "I haven't been much in the mood for sex." It was a lie, but she wasn't about to tell him the real reason, neither of the reasons.
"I'm not expecting you to have sex with me every time I call you into the office," Edward laughed, once, before turning serious again. "I understand that with Charlie's death, things haven't been easy but you can talk with me if you need to: I'm not as heartless as you want me to be."
"I know you're not heartless," Bella murmured.
"Good," Edward smiled. "Now, go home, pack and get to San Francisco so we can have you back as quickly as possible."