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Disclaimer: I obviously don't own Edward or Bella... any of the characters, really... not even the dirt on the silver Volvo... but I like to play with them a little bit...
So, this is the beta-ed version... Thanks a million to MeteorOnAMoonlessNight for helping me with this story!
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Chapter 10: Panic
BPOV
Our life kept the steady rhythm it had so far. We went to school; had lunch together, laughed with our friends, avoided idiots cough, Newton, cough. Edward actually went to the doctor every two weeks, as Carlisle's suggested, to get checked and every once in awhile he walked the school grounds with the little cannula on his nose... He even named it Bob… DORK!
Besides school, I actually spent a lot of time with the Cullens. Every time Charlie saw me running to get my things so I could go to Edward's house, he laughed and joked about how I was going to break something if I didn't learn to be organized. Well, not gonna happen in this lifetime, Dad! But I didn't mind his teasing as long as he let me hang out with Edward. Even if he hadn't met him yet, he was happy with me being happy. Yup, my dad rocks, let's face it!
Edward… sigh, he's a dream. I steal kisses here and there. We hold hands and share secret smiles. When he looks at me and smiles, I forget about everything else in the world around me. Everything just… disappears. Nothing else matters but him. Alice would joke around making gagging sounds until I pointed out that she makes goo-goo eyes at Jasper everyday and she stopped. Nothing could stop Emmett, though. Not even Rosalie. Not Carlisle and Esme. But, it was really okay.
Today was Friday and Edward was going to come to my house for dinner. I was freaking out all week, but he assured me he wanted to be there with me. I was even more of a mess than normal. I couldn't even find my Biology book before school. I grunted while throwing a few things around.
"What the hell, Bells? I found this in the kitchen, kid." Charlie appeared with my book in his hand. I sighed and took it. He smiled at me. "Damn, this boy must be really important. I might clean my weapons tonight, since I'm going hunting with Billy tomorrow."
"Don't you dare, Dad. I'm freaking out enough already," I grunted while grabbing a pop-tart. "Play nice, Dad."
"Be glad I like Carlisle and the kid's not a punk or it would be worse." I glared at him and he smiled. "Don't worry, Bells. I'll behave. I promise." I didn't say anything else, just gave him a kiss on the cheek and left to get in my truck and go to school.
I always used to be late to school, but now it was important for me that I got there early enough. It was a little more time I got to spend with Edward. I got there and went to the Jeep where I knew all of them would be. I sneaked around and wrapped my arms around Edward and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He turned around and smiled at me. I loved his smiles, because they gave a light to his face that make him even more beautiful than ever.
"Good morning to you, too," he said, and turned so he could hug me back. I waved at the rest of them and Jazz elbowed me with a smile.
"Thank goodness you're here. Now Rainbow Dash can stop asking about you every five damn seconds!" The rest of the group laughed at Jasper's words, Edward scowled, and I raised an eyebrow.
"Rainbow Dash? Seriously, Jazz?" I wondered with amusement; he shrugged.
"Our little cousins love My Little Pony. Jazz is always stuck watching it with them on Christmas," explained Rosalie, and Jasper grunted.
"I tell you, that shit is brainwashing material!" Now even Edward and I were laughing. Alice brushed away her tears and put her hand on Jasper's arm.
"Come on, Twilight Sparkle. Let's get moving. The bell's about to ring."
Everyone got to business as my stomach filled with butterflies when Edward grabbed my hand on our way to homeroom. Yeah, that's a nice way to start a day!
The day flew by and suddenly we were saying goodbye to the guys and Edward was in my car on the way to my house. I was a nervous wreck once again, even when he smiled at me.
"What's going on, sweetheart?" he asked and grabbed my hand. I sighed. "You're nervous since this morning; I want to know what's wrong."
"I want everything to be perfect," I whispered, and he squeezed my hand. "I want the two guys that mean the most to me to get along."
"Who says we won't? Unless he pulls a gun on me and I pass out." I giggled at that, remembering my dad's 'threat' that morning. "He's your dad and the chief! I'll do my best to make everything perfect for you, I promise." He kissed my hand and I smiled.
"I know you will. Everything will be perfect, you know why?" He shook his head. "Because you'll be there. Done."
I was making dinner while Edward talked to me from the kitchen island. My dad was meant to arrive any time, so I was trying to finish everything before he got there. The chicken was almost ready and Edward asked for the bathroom just as Charlie arrived.
"Hello, Bells. Smells good."
"Dinner is almost ready, Dad. I'm gonna go call Edward so we can eat, okay? Take the chicken out of the oven in a couple of minutes, please."
He grunted in response and I went to find Edward. I saw my room's door open so I went there. I found him looking at the pictures I had on my wall. My mom with me in Colorado. Watching the sunset in Florida. Skiing in Maine. My dad and I fishing with Billy and Jacob at La Push. And also—blush—his picture. Alice gave me one she took of us at his house. We were laughing and carefree and I didn't think twice before adding it to my wall next to his drawing. He turned around and saw me there and smiled at me.
"Sorry, I didn't know which door was the bathroom."
"Be thankful it was my room and not Charlie's." He blushed and I giggled. "I'm kidding."
"I know. These pictures are so cool, though. You traveled a lot."
"I told you, my mom loved to move around. I never finished a year in the same school I started it." I hugged him from behind and planted a kiss on his shoulder. "It was cool but it started to get old when I grew up."
Suddenly, we heard a muffled curse and "Bella!" from downstairs. I left Edward so I could run down and see what happened to Charlie, Edward following much more slowly than my frantic run. I saw Charlie with a burning towel in his hand trying to put out a fire. I ran to his side and grabbed a couple of glasses of water from the sink and tried with him to put out the fire.
"Bella, is everything okay?" Edward asked as he came into the kitchen. I was going to tell him to wait for me in the living room, but his eyes widened when he saw what was happening and he backed up until he was against the kitchen wall on the opposite side.
He was breathing so fast that I could see him trying to get some air to his lungs; I tried to get to him but he moved again and I didn't want to make it worse. Charlie saw it too and tried to reassure him. I remembered that he told me he was afraid of fire because of what happened with his parents. He sat on the floor with his head between his legs trying to breathe while his body shuddered with coughs. I went to his side and tried to help him breathe better, soothing him while Charlie ended the fire and turned the stove off.
"Edward, you need to calm down, sweetheart. You're gonna pass out. There's no more fire." He looked at me but kept coughing, then I remembered something Alice said before we left school. "Dad, go get his backpack. It's in the living room. There's a small oxygen tank there." Charlie went quickly and I tried again with Edward. "Come on, sweetheart, you're okay. Everything is okay. Come on, let's get you to the sofa."
I struggled to lift him up but I managed, so I guided him to the couch and made him sit there while Charlie struggled with the oxygen and the cannula. But he got it right in no time and we put it on Edward's nose as soon as possible.
"Lay down, kid. You need to calm your breathing." Charlie was trying to help us but he was kind of worried. He looked at me. "Do I need to call Carlisle?"
"No!" Edward answered before a coughing fit took over. Then he fixed the oxygen levels and lay back on the couch.
"I'll get you some water, kid. Don't move for now, okay?" Edward nodded, and after patting my shoulder, went back to the kitchen. Edward looked at me and I could tell that, even if he wasn't 100% okay again, he was better than a couple of minutes ago.
"I'm sorry."
"You don't have anything to be sorry, sweetheart."
"I just freaked out in front of your dad."
"Well, I freak out in front of my dad every morning before school. Don't worry about it, he's used to it." He looked at me and scoffed. "Really, Edward. You're scared of fire and Charlie set the kitchen on fire. It's okay, honey."
"No, it's not."
"Okay, for you it's not. For me it's okay. So stop complaining." I brushed the hair from his face. "Are you feeling better, now?"
"I just ruined your dinner."
"You didn't ruin anything, kid. It was me that thought it would be nice to play with fire," Charlie said, putting a bottle of water in Edward's hand. "I'm gonna go serve dinner, if I didn't burn it all."
"Like he said, you didn't ruin anything." Edward looked at me dubiously. "I'm serious. But you need to take it easy now, or I'm the one who's going to call Carlisle."
"Okay," he pouted and I had to kiss him right there. I smiled against his lips knowing that his panic attack was over.
"I'm entering the room now, so keep it PG-13, you two."
We giggled and he hugged me. It could have been a lot worse…
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A/N: I can't tell anyone how sorry I am for the delay... real life caught up with me and almost killed me! ;) But, at least here's a chapter. I'll probably get changed a little when I have time to review it or it will be beta'ed... but, here it is!
Hope you guys are still with this story and... Hopefully, next Wednesday, I'll be here again!
See ya!
AYEN!
