Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight.
Big thanks as always to SabLuvsLogan.
I think this is probably my longest chapter so far...a lot happens in this one...enjoy!
Chapter 10
After Edward had given Bella her birthday present, they returned downstairs to join their friends who were sound asleep across the couches. Edward and Bella settled themselves on the rug in his living room after grabbing several blankets to ensure their warmth throughout the night.
When they all woke up the following morning, they groaned and stretched and parted ways before breakfast. Since Bella had promised her dad she would be home for breakfast, she left Edward's shortly after everyone else.
"You sure you don't want me to drive you?" Edward asked when Bella had informed him she would be walking home.
"Edward, it's only two blocks. You do it every day. I'm pretty sure I can handle it."
"As long as you're sure. Why are you leaving so early anyways?"
"I promised my dad I would be home in time for breakfast. He seemed really adamant about cooking for me. I think he might have talked to my mom because she used to always make me a special breakfast for my birthday," Bella said.
"Aw, that sounds nice. I would love to see Charlie cook anything," Edward said.
Bella chuckled.
"By the way, our appointment with Dr Aro is moved up to this afternoon so that we can be back in time for dinner with my parents and your dad," Edward said.
"Alright, you'll pick me up later then?"
"Yeah. Have a good breakfast," he said before pulling her into a tight hug. "And happy birthday again."
"Thank you and thanks again for the bracelet," she said smiling. "I really do love it."
Edward smiled and watched as she walked down his driveway. As she stepped foot onto the sidewalk, he saw her fasten her coat and when she started worriedly glancing around, Edward knew she was nervous.
Bella felt very tense and hated the fact that she pretended to be okay with walking home when she obviously wasn't able to do so. When she looked back and saw Edward watching her as she walked home, she felt comforted. When she was down the road, she quickened her step and practically ran home. When she got to her house, she slipped the key into the lock and opened the front door. As the smell of bacon and eggs wafted through the air, she immediately felt herself relax.
"Dad? I'm home," she called out before walking into the kitchen.
"Hey kiddo. Happy 17th!" he said, excitedly.
"Thanks," she said, smiling.
Charlie was standing by the stove looking completely dishevelled as he tried to fry the bacon and cook the eggs at the same time. Bella giggled at her father and sat down on one of the kitchen chairs.
"Need any help?" she said.
"Nope. Everything is perfectly fine over here," he said, running around the kitchen.
Bella laughed again, loving the fact that her father was trying so hard to do something nice for her. Bella had always resented the fact that she never got to know her father. As a little girl she watched as her friends would run into their daddy's arms after school and hated that she couldn't do so.
Bella did miss her mother dearly but she was thankful she was given this opportunity to get to know her father. And in doing so, she realized just how similar they really were. As she smiled at him he smiled back. When he was finished frying the eggs, he took two plates out of the cupboard and placed two eggs, a couple slices of bacon, and some toast on it before handing it to Bella.
"Mmm...This looks great, dad."
"I really hope you like it, Bells. I honestly can't remember the last time I made anything."
"I'm sure it'll be great," she said, before grabbing her fork and digging in.
"Oh, before I forget. I have something for you."
Charlie got up to fetch a large thin box and a smaller, thicker box. He handed her the small box first.
"This one's from me," he said.
Bella grabbed it and unwrapped it, revealing a new digital camera.
"Wow dad...this is awesome!"
Charlie nodded in embarrassment and handed her the second gift. He let her know it was from her mother and Bella smiled before tearing off the wrapper to find a scrapbook.
"Your mom wants you to fill it with pictures of your senior year. She wants to know about your friends and stuff."
Bella got up to her hug her father and after giving her thanks, they both sat down and finished their breakfast. Then they were done, Bella offered to wash the dishes but Charlie wouldn't hear of it so she went upstairs to get ready for the day and to catch up on some homework.
Her mother called earlier than usual wishing her a happy birthday and telling her how much she wished she could be there to celebrate with her. Bella told her about all her great gifts, including the beautiful bracelet Edward had bought her and she promised her mother she would take a picture of it with her new camera and email it to her.
Around four o'clock, Edward came to pick her up for their Sunday appointment with Dr Aro.
"Bella! I hear it's your birthday," Dr Aro said as he entered the room to sit in his chair opposite their couch.
Bella nodded and smiled shyly.
"Well, happy birthday."
"Thank you," she replied.
"What are your birthday plans?" he asked, seeming genuinely interested.
"Um...well I spent last night with Edward and his friends..."
"They're your friends too," Edward interrupted.
"Right. Yeah. Sorry. We all spent the night together. It was really fun. This morning my dad made me breakfast and we're all having dinner tonight at Edward's."
"That sounds nice," Dr Aro said.
"It is."
"Is it different from how you would normally spend your birthday? Back with your mom, I mean."
Edward rolled his eyes.
"It's a little different but if anything it's better. I never would have let any of my old friends throw me a party and really none of them would have insisted like Alice did. Alice is a friend of ours. My mom would usually wake me up at some ungodly hour with a ridiculous breakfast. One year she spelled my name out in pancakes. It took her all morning but she had a huge smile on her face when I came downstairs so I was happy. But um...yeah we would normally just spend the day the two of us relaxing, doing whatever we felt like doing that day."
Edward loved the brightness in Bella's eyes whenever she spoke about her mother.
"Do you miss that?" Dr Aro asked.
"Yeah, for sure. But having real friends that I want to see and who want to see me is really great. And seeing my dad work so hard at cooking an egg is also pretty great. I miss my mom, I really do, but she has Phil and my dad needs me more than she does and I feel bad that it took...something so drastic...for me to realize that he needed me."
"You don't think your father was okay without you?"
"No, I think he was perfectly fine. But he knew he had a daughter that he would never really get to know. It was always really awkward between the two of us and now it's just so...comfortable and safe. I hate that I didn't get to know him sooner."
"So all in all a good birthday, then?"
Bella nodded and smiled. "Yeah. All in all a good birthday."
Dr Aro knew he needed to get Bella and Edward to talk about their kidnapping but he also knew that neither wanted to be present in that room. As he figured it was Bella's birthday, he decided not to broach on the subject he really wanted them to talk about.
The rest of the session was therefore spent talking meaninglessly about school and birthdays until it was time to leave. Edward dropped Bella off at home after that so she could change to get ready for dinner at the Cullen's.
Bella dressed in a light grey sweater and a black skirt that went bellow her knee and Charlie dressed in a pair of black pants with a light blue button down shirt. Bella told him how handsome he looked and he groaned in embarrassment.
When they rang the doorbell to the Cullen's home, Esme answered the door in a beautiful black dress with an apron tied around her waist. She smiled widely and welcomed them in.
"Hello! Welcome, welcome!" she sang.
Bella smiled and stepped into the house, Charlie following behind her. Esme greeted Bella with a hug and Charlie with a kiss on the cheek.
"How are you Charlie? Long time no see," she said with a small smirk.
"I know. We really need to get together more often. I've been great," Charlie said, removing his coat.
Bella removed her jacket as well and shifted awkwardly in the front entrance as Esme and Charlie chatted. She looked around Esme then to see if Edward was nearby. She thought she was doing so discreetly, but she obviously wasn't since Esme knew exactly what she wanted.
"Edward is in his bedroom dear. Go on up and let him know that dinner will be ready in ten minutes."
Bella took the invitation excitedly and rapidly ascended the stairs toward the bedrooms. She knocked quietly on Edward's door before opening it up.
Edward had just gotten out of the shower and as he dried himself off, he dropped his towel to the ground. As he reached over to grab a pair of boxers from his drawer, he heard a soft knock and then saw his bedroom door swing open.
"Wait!" Edward called out before bending over, grabbing a towel and fastening it around his waist.
"Oh my God!" Bella said, quickly covering her eyes with her arm and stepping out of the bedroom.
She hadn't seen anything she wasn't supposed to see but she was thoroughly embarrassed as she chastised herself for walking into his room without him first inviting her in. Edward's eyes widened as he took a deep breath and went to get her. He fastened the towel tighter around his waist as he opened the door to find Bella sitting down next to it.
"It's okay, Bella. Come on in," he said.
She got up then slowly and walked into his bedroom. "I'm so sorry," she said, turning around to face him, her face red as a tomato. "I should have knocked louder and I should have waited for you to answer and I'm really stupid, sorry!"
Edward laughed. "It's fine, Bella, really."
Bella was thoroughly embarrassed as she stared down at the floor.
Edward paused for a second. "Did you umm...see anything?" he asked nervously.
Bella chuckled nervously. "No, don't worry. I saw a lot of leg but nothing else."
Edward breathed a sigh of relief. Bella took a moment then to really look at Edward since she had never seen him without a shirt on. Edward was tall and slim with a lean torso showing off his newfound muscles. His shoulders seemed broader and as her eyes drifted south, she noticed abs starting to form around his stomach. His skin looked soft and clean and smooth and she wanted to run her hands along his chest.
"Like what you see?" he joked.
Bella blushed and forced her eyes away from his body, shaking her head in confusion. "Sorry," she muttered.
Edward laughed. "It's all good. I'm always seeing you in a towel so I guess it's about time you see me in one, right?"
"I guess. You're much more attractive than I am. That gym really is working," she said, remembering how skinny he used to be.
"Yeah. Felix is crazy. You really should come with me sometime. You'd have fun," he said.
"Edward, can you imagine me doing anything physical? I'll probably fall off the treadmill or drop a weight on my foot. It would be disastrous," she said.
"Felix is there to spot you the entire time. He won't let anything happen," Edward said.
Bella looked sceptical at first but when Edward gave her his puppy dog eyes, she laughed and agreed.
"Fine, I'll try it out."
"Sweet!" he said, enveloping her in a hug.
Bella suddenly felt his whole body against hers and shuddered at the feel. He was hard and soft and smelled delicious and she hadn't wanted him to release her.
A knock at his bedroom door forced the two of them to catapult away from each other as Carlisle entered the room. He looked between Edward and Bella and frowned in disappointment.
"Edward, dinner is ready. Put some clothes on, son," Carlisle said.
Edward nodded and went to his dresser to grab a pair of pants and a shirt. Carlisle then watched as Edward grabbed a pair of boxers realizing that his fears of Edward being completely naked under that towel were indeed true. Carlisle looked over at Bella then who looked all too guilty as she stood, swinging her leg underneath her, looking everywhere other than at him.
"Bella, maybe you should head downstairs now?" Carlisle said.
She nodded quickly and left the bedroom, looking back one last time at Edward in nothing but a towel. Edward smiled and winked at her and she blushed again. Carlisle closed the door to Edward's bedroom then, breaking her gaze.
"You realize if your father had walked in on you two he would have had a heart attack?" Carlisle said.
"Why?" Bella said confused.
Carlisle just stared at her, disapprovingly.
"It just looked bad because Edward was..." Bella started.
"Naked?" Carlisle finished.
"He had a towel on," Bella said. "And we were just talking."
"Go look in the mirror, Bella," Carlisle said before walking down the stairs.
Bella scrunched her eyebrows and walked into the bathroom. What she saw before her forced her eyes to widen in sheer embarrassment. The entire front of her light grey sweater was darkened by the remnant water from Edward's chest.
"Shit!" she muttered under her breath.
She didn't know what Carlisle thought they were doing but just the thought made her blush. She chuckled and shook her head at the ridiculousness of the situation and decided to just come up with an excuse. After doing so, she sighed and walked downstairs to join everyone for dinner.
As she sat down next to Edward at the dinner table, Charlie noticed her shirt.
"Bells, what the hell happened to your shirt?" he said.
Edward turned to look at Bella's shirt and immediately knew what it was from. He turned his head away, trying to hide the smile forming on his lips.
"Oh, yeah...um...I was washing my face and I got water all over me," Bella said.
Carlisle rolled his eyes and Charlie laughed.
"Oh you poor thing," Esme said. "Do you want a new shirt? You can borrow one of Edwards."
As appealing as that sounded, Bella decided to turn down Esme's offer. "No thanks Esme, I'm fine. It'll dry."
Edward was still trying hard not to laugh and when Bella noticed she scowled and elbowed him playfully under the table.
"Okay, Bella. I made you chicken cacciatore for supper tonight. I hope you like it," Esme said placing dishes on the table. As she filled everyone's plate, Charlie thanked her for inviting them over.
"It's my pleasure, Charlie. We wanted to give Bella a nice birthday dinner," Esme said smiling.
Bella smiled and thanked her.
"So how's school going guys?" Carlisle asked once they all started eating.
Edward shrugged and Bella smiled. "It's going pretty good," she said.
"You like your classes?" he asked.
"Yeah, I guess. I like the people too. Kids in Forks are different than kids in Phoenix," Bella said.
"Oh! Speaking of Phoenix...Carlisle, we almost forgot," Esme said, getting up and reaching for an envelope on the counter.
"We got you a little something for your birthday," Carlisle said.
"You didn't have to," Bella said, grabbing the envelope and slipping it open.
Inside the card were two tickets. Bella pulled them out and upon noticing Bella's confusion, Esme explained the gift.
"Those are two tickets to Phoenix, Bella."
Bella stiffened immediately. She didn't know what to say as she could feel the fear creeping in. As she started fidgeting in her seat, Edward noticed and discreetly grabbed her hand under the table. Esme saw Bella's reaction and decided to explain.
"We know you don't want to go back there right now, Bella. But we pulled some strings and these two tickets don't expire so whenever you're ready you can bring whoever you want and you can go visit your mother."
Esme's reasoning combined with Edward's thumb rubbing soothing circles on her palm allowed Bella to calm down. With a small smile she realized no one was forcing her to go back to Phoenix.
"Thank you," she whispered. "This is a great gift."
Bella got up then and hugged both Carlisle and Esme before returning to her supper. They continued to converse casually between themselves, alternating between school and work.
"Esme, this is really delicious," Charlie said, scrapping his already empty plate.
Bella suddenly felt bad because she had never cooked Charlie a meal as delightful as the one they were eating. Bella was able to cook little things here and there, keeping them fed, but nothing had been as fancy as the delicious chicken covered in the tasty tomato sauce that Esme had managed to cook.
"Oh it was nothing, Charlie. I love making dinners like these," Esme said, smiling.
After dinner, Bella and Edward helped Esme clean up as Charlie and Carlisle went to watch TV in the family room. As Bella and Edward washed dishes together – Bella washing and Edward drying – they playful shot water and soap at each other, making a mess around the whole sink. Esme smiled, not caring in the least that her counters were soaked because the smile on her son's face was one she never wanted gone. Edward laughed and Bella giggled as they splashed and joked with each other and Esme couldn't resist capturing the moment in a picture.
When they were done, Edward headed out of the kitchen to watch TV with Carlisle and Charlie. When Bella didn't follow behind him, he turned to look at her and she merely shook her head, letting him know she wanted to stay in the kitchen.
"Umm...Esme? Can I ask you something?" Bella said shyly when she realized she was alone with her.
"Yes, of course dear. Don't be shy."
"Well...your chicken cacciatore tonight was really good and Charlie really enjoyed it..."
"Oh you want the recipe?" Esme said smiling.
"Well...yes, but not just that. I was wondering if you could...um...teach me how to cook."
Esme's smile widened until she was full on grinning. "Oh my goodness, of course! I would love to!"
"Are you sure?" Bella asked, worriedly. "I don't want to impose or anything I just thought it would be interesting."
"Yes I'm sure! I would love nothing more. The boys here they only care about how good it tastes not what actually goes into making the food. I would love to teach you!"
Bella smiled then and thanked Esme before joining Edward in the living room. Edward's arm was draped along the back of the couch and when Bella sat down he wrapped it around her shoulders and pulled her closer.
"Your shirt is all dry now," he said, whispering into her ear.
She chuckled and pushed him playfully as Charlie sat staring at them.
With Edward's arm around Bella's shoulder, dangerously close to his daughter's right breast, the Chief of Police in him came out.
"So Edward, do you have a girlfriend?" Charlie asked.
Edward turned his head away from Bella then to look at Charlie who was glaring at him. Edward coughed uncomfortably, removed his arm from around her shoulder and shifted away from her.
"Umm, nope, no girlfriend," he said.
"Hmm. You're a good looking kid though, no girls catching your interest?"
Edward quirked an eyebrow at him and looked down at Bella and smiled.
"No, not really," Edward said, shrugging his shoulders.
"Most seventeen year old guys want girlfriends. What's different with you?"
Bella was very confused and had no idea what her father was trying to get at.
"I don't have the time for a girlfriend," Edward said, chuckling, trying to joke around.
"No time? You're seventeen. You go to school and that's it."
"Well sir, your daughter keeps me a little too busy."
Bella smiled and once again pushed him playfully.
Charlie took that comment with a sexual meaning behind it and glared at the boy who was smiling sweetly at his teenage daughter. Charlie turned his head back toward the TV but continued to keep an eye on Edward. He watched as Edward whispered into Bella's ear as she blushed and chuckled. When she lightly placed her head on his shoulder and he began to play with her hair, Charlie knew there was something more going on.
"Wanna go upstairs?" Edward whispered so only Bella could hear.
She nodded her head shyly.
"Oh! I forgot to give you back your textbook didn't I?" Edward asked so everyone could hear.
"Yes, I keep telling you to bring it to school and you never do," Bella said, pretending to be frustrated.
"Come on, let's go get it."
Edward and Bella got up then and headed upstairs to his bedroom. Charlie watched and was about to interrupt but they were long gone.
Once inside his bedroom, Edward shut the door.
"Sorry, it was just really awkward down there with them. Your dad kept staring at me," Edward said.
"Yeah, it's fine. I kinda wanted to be alone too," Bella said.
Edward smiled and lay down on his bed. Bella followed and lay down beside him – Bella on her stomach, Edward on his back.
"Can I ask you something?" she said.
"Anything," Edward answered.
"Am I standing in the way of you getting a girlfriend?"
"No...Why would you say that?" Edward asked, raising an eyebrow. "Because of what your dad was saying?"
"Well it just seems like everyone is always telling you how good looking you are and how girls are always throwing themselves at you and I don't understand why you're not...with someone."
"I don't want to be," he said.
"But you're a boy. You have like...needs and stuff..."
Edward laughed. "Please don't worry about my needs, Bella."
"I do worry though. You could probably be you know...doing it with like everyone...but you're not and I feel it's because of me," Bella said.
"Bella, it's not because of you. I'm not like that. Even before you, I never slept around."
"Are you sure?" Bella asked.
"Yes, I'm sure. Look if I wanted a girlfriend I would have one. And it's really not a good time for me right now. So don't worry, okay?"
"Okay," Bella said. "Just...promise me you'll tell me if I'm like...getting in the way...or occupying too much of your time..."
"Bella, stop right there," Edward interrupted her. "You're never going to get in the way of anything, okay? And I spend time with you because I want to not because you force me to."
"As long as you're sure," she said.
Edward stared at her and she decided to back down.
"Sorry...I was just...you know...getting a little annoyed of everyone always saying how cute and perfect you are," she said, smiling and poking him in the ribs.
Edward laughed. "So what? You don't think I'm cute?" he said wiggling away from her as he started to poke her sides.
"I didn't say that," Bella said giggling.
He continued to poke at her side as she laughed. "So you do think I'm cute?"
"Meh," Bella said.
"Meh? Even your dad thinks I'm cute."
"You're okay," she said, desperately trying not to smile but failing miserably.
"That's it," he said, grabbing her arms, flipping her over and trapping her underneath him. He pressed his body against hers as he pinned her arms above her head.
"Edward!" she said, wiggling her body underneath his.
"Admit that you find me attractive," he said, smiling.
"I can't admit something I don't think, Edward."
He continued to tickle her, trying to get her to admit that she found him attractive but she wouldn't give in. As Edward hovered above her, they both suddenly realized the position they were in. Edward felt Bella's small, warm body underneath his and as he stared into her eyes, he realized just how beautiful she was. Bella was breathing heavily, looking up at Edward as her hands were trapped above her head. Her breasts were moving up and down, hitting his chest with each inhale.
For the second time in two days, Edward wanted to kiss her. He had deluded himself into thinking that he only wanted to kiss her the previous night because of the alcohol but there he was, perfectly sober, staring into Bella's beautiful eyes and the urge came right back. He looked at her and as she looked up at him, her perfect pink little tongue came out to swipe along her bottom lip. That was all Edward needed before beginning his descent. He slowly moved his lips lower to hers as he passed his tongue along his bottom lip.
"Bella, is this okay?" Edward whispered.
Bella nodded and Edward brought his face closer. His lips ghosted over Bella's until his bedroom door flew open.
"Hey Bells, did you get that notebook? It's time to leave," Charlie said as he walked right into Edward's bedroom.
Edward jumped off Bella in lightning speed as he ran to the other side of the room and Bella sat up quickly. Charlie was standing, staring between Edward and Bella.
"What is going on in here?" Charlie yelled.
"Don't you knock, dad?" Bella said, trying to catch her breath.
"What? No!"
Carlisle and Esme had heard the commotion and ran upstairs.
"Is everything okay?" Carlisle asked.
"I thought you weren't dating!" Charlie exclaimed, ignoring Carlisle's question.
"We're not dating," Edward said, nervously fidgeting with his arms in front of him.
"You were...horizontal...on the bed!" Charlie said.
"What?" Esme asked.
"It's really not what it looks like," Edward said.
"You know, you keep saying that to me, Edward, and it's getting old. If you're dating my daughter, tell me," Charlie said, getting angrier and angrier.
"I'm not dating your daughter, Chief Swan. You have nothing to worry about," Edward said, running his hand through his hair.
"Then why was she underneath you? Why were you hovering above her like you were about to rip all of her clothes off?"
Edward's head snapped up. "What? I wasn't going to rip her clothes off."
"We were just playing around, dad," Bella said, utterly embarrassed.
"Alright, that's it. Edward, sit down," Charlie said, motioning to the spot on the bed next to Bella. He grabbed the chair by Edward's desk then, sliding it over and sitting in front of the bed, directly in front of Edward and Bella.
"You are too young to be having sex," Charlie said firmly.
"Charlie, my goodness!" Esme said.
"What?" Edward yelled.
"Oh my God," Bella cried.
"Bella you just turned seventeen for crying out loud. You cannot be engaging in sexual activity."
"Dad! Stop! We weren't doing anything!" Bella pleaded.
"You were horizontal together, Bella. But that's not the point. The point is...sex is bad."
"Charlie, if we're going to do this let's do it properly," Esme chastised. "What Charlie is trying to say is that...sex is not necessarily bad..."
"No, that's exactly what I'm trying to say. Sex is bad. Don't do it," Charlie said sternly.
"Sex can have disastrous consequences," Esme continued, ignoring Charlie's comment. "And not just pregnancy and that stuff but it takes a heavy toll on a relationship and you should really wait until...well until you're ready, you know?"
"Like when you're married," Charlie said.
"Like when you've been dating for a long time and you both feel comfortable with each other..."
"Mom. Please. I am begging you to stop talking," Edward said.
Bella's face was completely scarlet as she was utterly embarrassed and mortified.
"We're not having sex. We haven't even kissed. We're not dating. Please get out of my bedroom," Edward said.
"So you can continue where you left off? Dry humping my daughter! I don't think so!" Charlie said, his voice progressively getting louder and louder.
"Oh my God!" Bella cried out again.
"Dry humping? What? We weren't doing anything!" Edward yelled.
"Don't you yell at me, Edward Cullen. I know what I saw!"
"What did you see?" Edward said, challenging the Chief of Police.
"You're taking advantage of her because she's vulnerable!"
Edward's jaw dropped open.
"Charlie!" Esme yelled.
"I've seen this all too often. She hangs on your every word, Edward. You say, hey Bella maybe we should have sex, it's the right thing to do, and she says, okay Edward, sounds good."
Edward stared at Charlie as the entire room fell silent. Charlie knew what he said and he wasn't backing down as he returned Edward's gaze.
"Edward," Bella whispered.
Edward looked at her as she sat nervously on his bed, completely embarrassed with her cheeks tinted pink. He turned then to see his dad in the doorway looking completely disappointed and his mother looking worried.
"I see you're not denying it," Charlie said.
Edward immediately stormed out of his bedroom, not being able to believe what he was hearing. His brain was working at a mile a minute and he didn't know what to think. Ever since he had met Bella he had tried to protect her. Even when he didn't even know her name, he was trying to protect her.
"Edward!" Bella said, running after him.
Edward didn't stop. He needed to clear his head. One second he had Bella underneath him, wanting to kiss her, and the next her father was accusing him of taking advantage of her.
Had he been?
Edward couldn't get that thought out of his head. Did Bella want him to kiss her? Maybe she wanted him to get off her but was too shy. He heard Bella calling after him but he needed to flee. He needed to get away from his parents, from his house, and from the Chief of Police who was accusing him of taking advantage of Bella's vulnerability.
Edward ran into his car but before he had the chance to reverse out of his driveway, Bella jumped into the front seat.
Edward should have known better because neither would ever abandon the other in their time of need.
"Drive," Bella said sternly.
And he did. Edward drove and drove and he didn't pay attention to where he was going. He just drove in order to clear his head. Neither said a word until they reached the outskirts of town, and Edward stopped when the road turned into a darkened path too thin for cars.
As he put the car in park he sat staring ahead, knuckles clenched on the steering wheel.
"Edward, you're not actually contemplating what my dad said, right?"
He didn't answer her.
"Edward?" she asked on the brink of tears, wanting him to answer her.
Hoping to elicit a response, she quickly unbuckled herself and moved across the center console, grabbing his right arm from the steering wheel in order to sit sideways in his lap. "Edward?" she repeated.
"I don't know what I'm thinking, Bella."
"Edward, please, you have to know I don't think you're taking advantage of me."
"Bella...I...I'm so fucking confused. One second we're lying down, the next I'm on top of you and about to kiss you and I'm thinking you want it too and then your dad is there and telling us sex is bad and then my mom is telling us to wait for love and then he's telling me I'm a monster and...I..."
"Edward, stop," Bella whispered.
"I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable."
"You didn't...I..."
Bella paused before looking down at her hands.
"Yes?"Edward said, wanting her to finish her sentence.
"I wanted you to kiss me," she said softly, staring at her hands.
After a moment of silence, Edward spoke up.
"Come with me," he said, opening his car door.
Bella followed after him as he grabbed her hand in his and led her down the path.
"Umm, Edward, where are we going?"
"I want to show you something," he said.
"In the woods?" Bella said, clutching Edward's hand tighter.
Edward said nothing and led Bella further down the path. As the trees seemed to be getting thicker and thicker and as Bella started feeling more and more lost, the path suddenly opened up, making way for a beautiful opening in the woods that revealed a ledge overlooking a river.
The trees surrounding the area were tall and the flattened, open area was filled with beautiful flowers. The moon was shining down on the small river and Bella gasped.
"Oh my God, Edward, what is this place? It's beautiful!" she exclaimed.
Edward smiled and led her right to the center where he plopped himself down and Bella followed.
"Where are we?" Bella asked.
"We're in the forest," Edward said, chuckling.
His smile didn't reach his eyes and Bella frowned until she remembered something.
"I remember now. This is the place you were talking about. The place you wanted to bring me."
Edward nodded. "I'm glad you remember," he said.
"Of course I remember. How did you find this place?"
"Really randomly. I ran out of gas right where we parked the car and as I was waiting for my dad I went to take a piss..."
Edward paused as he noticed Bella's face scrunch up in disgust.
He chuckled. "Sorry, I went to relieve myself and I noticed the light shining in so I followed it until the clearing. It's really beautiful during the day. We'll come back," Edward said.
"I'd like that," Bella said, smiling.
As they both smiled at each other, Edward knew they had to discuss the situation.
"I'm sorry I tried to kiss you..." Edward said.
"Don't be."
"I think...we're just a little confused now because we've been spending so much time together and stuff but um...we probably shouldn't be kissing...right?"
Edward didn't know what to say to relieve the situation. A part of him was desperately hoping she would say no and tell him that he should definitely be kissing her but another part of him was telling him he was crazy. He didn't know why he was suddenly looking at her differently but he couldn't get her beauty out of his head. She wasn't just Bella anymore. She was beautiful. Her big brown eyes had always been comforting but now they were just plain amazing. Her long brown hair had always smelled nice but now he wanted to wrap his hands in it. He noticed the shape of her face, the length of her body, the smoothness of her skin, and all of it was confusing him.
He was waiting, counting the seconds to see what she was going to say. He really wanted to give her an out. He wanted to make sure she really wanted him to kiss her before doing so but Bella didn't see it that way. She felt like he was asking her because he didn't really want to kiss her. She felt a hint of rejection and wasn't going to admit to wanting to kiss him a second time when he obviously didn't want to kiss her.
"Yeah...you're probably right," Bella said, looking down.
Edward smiled sheepishly and nodded as he felt a tug of pain in his heart. He wondered what happened in his bedroom then because it definitely seemed like Bella had wanted him to kiss her. He was so close too. What would have happened if Charlie hadn't walked in?
Edward and Bella sat in silence trying to enjoy the scenery but there were more pressing issues on both their minds.
When Bella shivered, Edward decided it was time to get going.
"I'm sorry, you're probably freezing now. I'll get you home," Edward said getting up and offering her his hand.
"This place is amazing Edward. Thank you for bringing me here," she said.
He smiled and they both walked back to the car.
:::
"What do you miss the most?" Edward asked one night as they sat eating dinner side by side on the cement floor.
Bella contemplated for a second. "My mom. You?"
"My bedroom," Edward answered.
"Your bedroom?"
"Yeah. I mean...of course I miss my parents but... I miss my privacy. I miss being... angry and not wanting to talk to anyone and just shutting myself in my bedroom."
Bella smiled. "Yeah. I miss that too."
"I miss...just...feeling," Edward said as he played with the food on his plate.
"What do you mean?"
"When I first got here I was so...scared. I was so petrified and freaked out that all I could feel was fear. And now...now that it's been this long...I just feel...nothing. I'm not scared or sad or happy or anything. I miss just...feeling."
Bella watched as Edward stared at his food and wondered if she felt the same way.
"Yeah," she said, suddenly losing her appetite.
"Are you scared?" Edward asked, turning to face her.
"Of course I'm scared."
"What are you afraid of?"
"I'm afraid of everything. I'm afraid of this room. I'm afraid of the brick wall surrounding this place. I'm afraid of that bathroom. I'm afraid of him. I'm afraid of you..."
"Me?" Edward asked worriedly.
"Yeah," Bella said, nodding her head and looking down at her hands.
"Why?"
"Because you could leave. He could take you away and I've attached myself to you now. If you leave I'm...I don't even know what'll happen."
Edward hated seeing her like that and he knew he needed to make her feel better. He immediately rubbed at the thin piece of rope on her wrist and she smiled.
"When I used to feel scared or confused or anything... I would go to this place near my house back home. It was beautiful, Bella. It was a large opening in the woods overlooking the river and during the day the sun would shine right down on it. I'm pretty sure I was the only person who knew about it, too. There was never anyone there. I could go at any time of the day and it was just...perfect."
"It sounds amazing," Bella said.
"It was..." Edward said, frowning at the memory. He decided to regroup then. "It still is. I'm going to take you there one day. I'll show it to you so if you ever feel scared you can go there and all your worries will be gone."
Bella smiled.
"I'm looking forward to that, Edward. I really am."
Be nice to Charlie :)
Thank you again to everyone who is reading and reviewing and adding this to their favourites.
I'm changing up my update day to Wednesday now because of school...I hope that's okay with everyone.
Reviews get teasers!