Despite my reservations about his intentions, I take James' brother's advice and put the house on the market. I'm not surprised when I get an offer after the first showing. Perfect house. Perfect location. It deserves the perfect family.
Alice comes over to help me box my things up. I decide to give most of our things to people who need it more than I do. I keep only what I need, only what's mine. I figure it gives me an excuse to stop having to look at James' shirts hanging in the closet.
"I think this is going to be good for you, Bella. Get your own place, start over. I don't know how you stayed in this house as long as you did. Haunted with those terrible memories." Alice wraps a plate in newspaper and sets it in a cardboard box sitting on the counter.
She's right, but I feel guilty for not hating the right memory. The night of his murder should be the worst night of my life, but it wasn't. The worst night was discovering that my entire life was a lie. And that I wasn't worth the truth.
There's a knock at the door, so I finish pulling the last glass from the cupboard and answer. Two police officers stand in my doorway, and one of them is Edward.
"Mrs. Volturi, we just had some follow up questions. Is this a good time?" The officer asks. I glance at Edward and he smiles sadly.
"Sure. Come in. I'm just packing."
"Happy to hear it sold so quickly. I'm sure it'll be nice to get out of this house," he says, stepping inside. Edward follows, quiet. "You staying in town?"
"Of course." I nod. "My sister is here, my dad isn't far away. It's home." The second office is watching me with a strange expression that I don't quite understand. "Got a little apartment right downtown."
"Great."
We enter the kitchen. Alice smiles at the men. "Hello," she says, paying special attention to Edward. "Hello, Officer Cullen."
"Hi, Alice," Edward says.
"What's going on? Break in the case?" She asks.
"No, no unfortunately not, ma'am," the other officer answers. "Just some additional questions for Mrs. Volturi. Standard procedure. We just want to make sure we're not missing anything." He gestures to the boxes. "Please continue, I don't want to disturb your day."
I go back to packing the glasses.
"I'm sorry to have to ask you again, but can you please recount the details right before your husband was murdered?" The officer asks.
"Sure." I swallow hard, but try to look as calm as possible. "He got home late. We were in the kitchen talking and I heard the back door open." I see Rosalie standing there in my head, raising the gun. "Then the gunshots. James tried to shield me and got hit, a stray bullet hit me in the leg."
"And the assailant?" He asks, making notes.
"Gone in an instant the way they came."
"Were there any identifying features? Hair color, height, tattoos, birthmarks?"
I shake my head. "No. No, they were covered completely from head to toe. I don't even know if it was a man or a woman."
"And you say you kept a spare key in the back?"
"Yeah, for friends and family. We trusted everyone."
"Are you able to make a list of those people for me?" He asks.
"I can, but I don't know how complete it will be. I don't know who James may have told about it."
"That's okay, Mrs. Volturi. You never know how helpful any bit of information may be." The officer smiles. "That's all. Good luck with your move and we'll keep you updated on any developments."
"Thanks." I close up the box I'm working on and struggle to lift it up. Edward rushes to help me, brushing his hand against mine as he takes the box in his arms.
"Let me. Where is this going?" He asks.
"My car. It's around back," I say.
"I'll meet you in the cruiser," he tells the other officer.
I grab a smaller box, and Edward follows me outside to my car. The back is open, jammed packed with odd items.
"Excited to move?" Edward asks.
"Yeah." I slide my box into the back. "It'll be nice to have my own place. Not so big. Not so many memories."
"I bet." He loads his box behind. "You been doing okay?"
"I don't need another intervention if that's what you're asking." I laugh. "You're off the hook."
He bites his lip. "I never felt on the hook," he says, shrugging. "It was fun."
"I'm sure it was very fun watching me struggle for breath while you jogged along like it was nothing."
"How's everything going out here?" Alice asks, bringing a load out. "Edward, are you busy tonight? We're having a painting party at Bella's new place. You should come." She doesn't pause between questions or wait for his answer. "Well." She looks at me. "Give him your new address."
"Sorry," I stutter, once she's gone. "You don't have to come."
"Are you actually uninviting me to your party?" He cocks his eyebrow.
"No! No, not at all. It's just going to be lame, I didn't want you to feel like you had to come."
"Thankfully, lame is just my thing." He smiles.
"Okay." I grab a piece of newspaper from one of the boxes and scribble down the new address. "See you at seven?"
"See you at seven." He nods and retreats back to the cruiser, where the other officer is waiting.
After two trips across town in my car, and one using my dad's truck, we have everything moved in. Boxes and boxes stand in mountains in the dining room and living room. My clothes sit in piles on my bed, waiting to be hung up and folded.
"I'm exhausted. Remind me why we decided to have a painting party my first night here?" I plop down on a free spot on my chair, pushing a curtain rod over.
"You're nesting," Alice says.
"I'm not pregnant!"
"Well, you're nesting for yourself. You've never really lived alone, Bella. You went right from college roommates to married life. It's important that your space is your space."
"But couldn't my space be my space tomorrow?" I sigh, closing my eyes. My entire body feels like it's filled with concrete. My feet ache, my head hurts, my back is killing me...
"I guess we can call everyone and cancel. I'm sure Edward will be very disappointed."
"I'm fine." I force myself up and rub my back. "It's probably better this way anyway. Then I won't have to move everything away from the walls again."
"That's what I thought." Alice smiles. "You know it's okay to at least think about starting to date again. I'm not saying rush into anything, honey, but you don't need to mourn for the rest of your life."
"Alice," I moan. I hated talking about my dating life when we were teenagers and I hate it just as much now. "Please."
"Okay, okay, fine." She turns serious. "I just want you to know that it's okay, honey. Whenever you're ready."
"Okay," I say, just to placate her.
"Okay!" She claps her hands together. "I'll order the pizza. You go get the booze."
I head down to the nearest grocery store and pick up some beer, since we promised Jasper and his friend Emmett alcohol and food for helping me out.
By the time I get back, there are three more cars in the driveway than when I left. One for Jasper. One for Emmett. And one for Edward.
I carry the beer inside and into the kitchen.
"Hi, everyone." I set them on the counter.
"Hi, Bella!" Emmett and Jasper say, opening the pizza box. Edward's leaning against the counter with his hands in his pockets.
"Hi." I smile, sliding next to him.
"Hi. How are you?"
"Fine. How was work?"
"Got called down to the park about a man sleeping on the bench with no pants on." He nods.
"Sounds like a rough day in the office."
"Unbearable."
I eat exactly two and a half pieces of pizza, and then we start painting. Two navy blue accent walls in the living room later, Emmett and Jasper have finished off the beer and start slapping paint hand prints on each other's backs.
"Boys!" Alice scolds. "Do you ever act like adults?"
They respond by putting two handprints on her back.
"I should probably get them home before they ruin something that costs more than clothing." Alice sets her paintbrush down. "Rain check?"
"Of course." I nod. "Thank you for your help."
She eyes Edward, who is still double coating a portion over by the corner. "Bye, Edward."
"Bye, Alice." He looks over his shoulder. "It was nice to see you again."
"You too. Enjoy the rest of your night."
Alice wrangles Emmett and Jasper out the door. Two minutes later, her headlights splash across my newly painted wall.
I pull my hair up before I crack open the next color, a deep purple for one wall in my bedroom. I pour some into the pan and start towards my room.
"This wall is done," Edward says.
"Oh, great. Thank you."
We both stand in silence, unsure of what to do now. Does he want to leave? Is he done? Do I want him to leave? Do I ask him to help?
"I should go, I don't want to keep you up." He wipes his hands on a towel tucked into his back pocket.
"You're not. I'm actually going to do a wall in my room."
"Oh." He shifts his weight, hovering halfway between leaving and going. Please stay.
"Do you want to help?" I ask. "I mean, you don't have to." I quickly backtrack, not wanting to look too desperate for his company. "But you're not keeping me up. You can stay if you want to."
"Okay." He smiles. "I'll stay."
We move to my bedroom, where my bed is literally in the middle of the room, hidden under a mess of clothes. My tiny TV, its bunny ear antenna almost larger than it is, is nestled on top of a shabby dresser that my father gave me when I left for college.
Edward starts cutting in around the corners and trim, as I roll the rich, dark color onto the wall. The silence is a little awkward. Okay, really awkward.
I set my roller down and flip on my TV. One station comes in, playing a movie through the static.
"Say Anything," I whisper.
"Huh?" Edward asks.
"Say Anything. The movie."
"I gave her my heart, she gave me a pen."
"You know your classic 80s movies."
"Only the good ones."
We finish about half of the wall before we find ourselves completely distracted by the movie, leaned up against the unpainted wall.
"This is my favorite part," Edward says, his eyes droopy.
"This is everyone's favorite part." I smile.
"Nothing like a grand romantic gesture to sweep a girl off her feet."
I turn towards him. "Grand romantic gestures are not always needed."
"Is that what I've been doing wrong this whole time?" He jokes. He's funny even when he's half asleep. "I'll take that off my list."
We fall quiet just in time to see John Cusack hold a boom box over his head and a moment later, Edward is snoring louder than that Peter Gabriel song.
I pull a blanket and a pillow from my bed. I set the pillow behind his head, and he surprises me when he slowly lowers himself to the floor, still fast asleep.
I cover him with the blanket and head to the living room to sleep on the couch because I'm too tired to clean off my bed right now.
Edward's snoring echoes out from my bedroom and I can't help but smile. Grand romantic gestures be damned, that man is like a riptide and if I'm not careful he's going to pull me under. The problem is, I'm not so scared of drowning anymore.
A/N: Apologies for the long wait with this update. Multitude of things, but I'm hoping this will be the longest between updates. Thank you for your patience.
If you are unfamiliar with Say Anything, I recommend googling the Boombox scene for reference, just because in the book of grand romantic gestures, it's one of my favorites :)
Thank you for reading!
