Realization
Chapter 10 – Reception

Summer vacation is finally here. I close my eyes and bathe my face in the odd sun on the last day. It's a nice day for such a perfect occasion.

Not to mention any nice day always puts a smile on my dad's face and I'm going to drop another bombshell on him, so I guess it's fitting.

I look around the parking lot for Alice's car and spot it sitting at the far end of the lot, idling. I take my time walking over, not wanting to trip over my feet.

It's been 3 weeks since Alice asked me to marry her, it's been 2 weeks since I've told my dad and Alice is getting mighty impatient, she's already told her family… minus Edward.

And now I feel bad about getting married. Edward appeared in my room a week ago, looking morbid… well, morbid for a vampire.

He said he was leaving, he still loved me and he really couldn't bring us down. I deserved to be happy, so he was leaving, to compose himself and find another meaning for life.

Then just left. I had to be screaming his name out the window for at least 10 minutes, when I realized that's the last time I'd be seeing him for quite awhile.

Charlie came pounding in, wrapping his arms around my waist. 'He left because of me.' I cried into his shoulder.

I shake my head to get rid of the thought and open the door to Alice's car. I got in without looking at her, putting my bag on the floor and buckling up, then crossed my arms and stared out the window. When the car didn't start up in the next minute, I looked at her.

She was smiling from ear to ear. I slammed my head against the car seat, sighing loudly.

"I really wish I could just surprise you for once." I heard the click to my buckle and before I could look down to see what she was doing, her hands grabbed handfuls of my shirt and her lips were on mine. I was panting when I pulled away for air. My eyes were wide with shock. I shivered when her cold hand traced my jaw line, putting a strand of hair behind my ear. I meant to turn my face to look at her again, but once again her speed made my eyes grow wide.

"Thank you, Bella." She whispered in my ear. I shut my eyes and buckled up again, leaning against the seat.

"Your welcome?" I meant to state, but asked instead, my heart still pounding. She started the car.

"I'll be waiting for you outside. You already know I told my family already, so I want you to come to my house tonight."

"That's probably a bad idea, Alice. Not after I drop this bombshell." I looked at her and she smirked again and I sighed again.

"That's right, they're throwing a little… reception, I guess for us, so Charlie has to be there."

--

I was watching Charlie glare at Alice, arms crossed and foot tapping. Alice was smiling. I rolled my neck and leaned back into the back seat, where I was sitting.

Charlie was sitting in the passenger seat. He agreed to coming to the 'reception' with a curt, 'fine.' You should've seen his eyes grow wide when I told him about the proposal, I swear they were going to fall out of his socket. He stuttered a few times before yelling, 'what!' I backed up a few steps and told him how much I really loved her and nothing he was going to say was going to change that, and then I went on to saying, but I want him to be there, for support and to walk me down the isle. He crossed him arms and sighed before asking if Alice was outside, then he spun around on his heel and walked out to her, giving her a good 10 minutes speech about treating his daughter right, and if you do anything to harm her, you'll regret it for eternity and I swear steam came out of his ears when we asked him, holding hands if he wanted to go to the 'reception' tonight.

We pull up to their house, Charlie mumbling something incoherent under his breath, unbuckling his belt and getting out of the car before she even turns of the gas.

My heartbeat speeds up rapidly and I shakily unbuckle my own belt. I glance Alice smiling at me in the rearview mirror before she gets out and walks towards her house. My door is yanked open and Charlie holds out his hand, face full of anger. I grab it and he practically yanks me out of the car. He walks me protectively into the house, his hand lightly gripping the back of my upper arm. His anger seems to dissipate as the door is opened by Carlisle, flashing a beautiful, heartwarming smile.

"Welcome, Mr. Swan." He blinks, apparently forgetting how polite the Cullen's really are, maybe thinking they were some kind of different people for stealing away my heart and marrying at a young age.

We both stopped dead, mouths falling agape, eyes going wide, when we spot the long table, filled from one end to the other with food and all the Cullen's sitting in chairs, laughing and chatting. Alice pulled a chair out for me and I moved forward in a daze, not believing my eyes. Alice sat on one side of me, Charlie on the other, striking up a conversation with Carlisle. Alice squeezed my hand and whispered in my ear:

"Everything will be just fine, love." My lips curved into an extraordinary smile. Emmett and Rosalie excused themselves, pushing their plates away and looking like they were full. A laugh erupted from my father and I turned to see Esme and Carlisle both laughing too. Esme winked at me and I nodded my head. It didn't take long for Charlie to start stuffing himself. Alice got up beside me and held out her hand. I smiled and let her pull me up. I followed her up the stairs and into her room. She pulled me into a hug, wrapping her arms around my waist and resting her head on my shoulder.

"He muttered something about there being good food, didn't he?" She laughed, then kissed my neck. I wrapped my arms around her own waist. "I thought that was your knowing smirk." She leans back, smiling at me and staring straight into my eyes before grabbing my hand and kissing my ring finger. I put my hands on either side of her face and leaned in for a kiss.

It was a good thing she was holding me, because when she slipped the ring on my finger, my knees wobbled.