Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No copyright infringement is intended.
A/N: There is a super mushy love note to my readers at the end. If you don't want to read it, I still love you! Happy Reader Appreciation Day!
Edward's eyes opened just enough to see the tiny bit of sun shining through his bedroom curtains. Long limbs tangled in sheets stretched and relaxed. He closed his eyes and took in the glorious silence that covered his house.
No screaming adults.
No crying children.
Just the sweet sound of silence, until his phone beeped.
It had been like this for about two weeks. Bella was very quickly wiggling herself into a place in his heart that he didn't think existed.
They had fallen into an easy pattern of good morning texts, long goodbyes, and comfortable silences.
His phone beeped again, and he huffed in phony annoyance. Her texts always made him smile, though he pretended to be put out by her waking him up.
I waited until after 9:00, you should be proud. Now hurry up! -Bella
He wasn't entirely sure why he liked her so much. She was opinionated, irrational, and naive. She was also a morning person, and that took away the majority of her cool points. Outside of her irritating qualities, she was kind, caring, and he could talk to her for hours. She never wanted to give him advice or try to make him talk it out. She just listened, and typically would do something totally ridiculous just to make him smile. She was selfless, and before meeting her he hadn't thought that actually existed in humanity.
They had been meeting in the clearing almost every day. They would spend hours there talking, or he would lay there and she would sing. They would begin their goodbye ritual hours before they actually left each other. Lingering touches on the back of her hand or that little spot between her shoulder and her neck. Moments would go by without speaking, but words just weren't necessary. It took that long for his body to settle into the fact that she would be away from him for hours, and this scared and thrilled him equally.
He dressed quickly because he knew she was probably already waiting for him. She was impatient as well, but that didn't bother him because he could be impatient, too.
With his shoes tied, and the subtle prickle of sleep leaving his muscles, Edward headed downstairs. The rustle of papers startled him, and the voice made his heart leap into his throat. He thought he was alone.
Esme was sitting at the table in the breakfast nook thumbing through papers. Her reading glasses had slipped down to the tip of her nose, but she didn't seem to mind. Her straight brown hair lay just below her shoulders. Her brown eyes seem clouded with years of doubt and lost adoration.
"Where are you going so early?" Edward noticed that even as she asked the question, her attention wasn't completely focused on one particular thing. She rifled through papers, pushed her glasses back to the bridge of her nose, and bounced her heals on the tile floor.
"Out."
His mother barely acknowledged the response. She simply nodded her head, and he wondered why she even bothered asking if she didn't care.
"Well, be careful."
"Whatever," he said just to test her. Most teenagers would get a solid reprimand for a response like that. Edward got nothing. No death glares. No groundings. Just nothing.
"Love you." Esme's voice was distant, and emotionless.
Edward moved silently to the door and grabbed the keys to his truck off of the hook, but his thoughts were screaming in his brain. For once, he wanted her to do something that showed an ounce of feeling. His mother was a shell, and sometimes he would lay in bed and try to remember what it felt like when she said she loved him and really truly meant it. His heart sank when he realized that he couldn't remember.
The drive to the clearing was peppered with feelings of emptiness and text messages from Bella. She was giggly and eager. When he finally pulled into the clearing, she was sprawled out in the grass. She turned her head, and her face was glowing. Her smile held the promise of sweet conversations and warm company.
He sat cross-legged in the sun warmed grass, and her head rested on his thigh. The discussion of the day was whether or not love exists. It was a conversation they had constantly. He listened to her argument, and then gave his rebuttal. They could go for hours, but regardless of what was said, light gentle smiles played on their young faces. Their eyes shone bright with a feeling that they knew nothing of, a feeling that was so far beyond their realm of understanding, but would haunt them for lifetimes. Once it was acknowledged, they would never outlive it.
"You believe that love can find you, and last forever. I don't believe love exists. It's a word we created to explain the feeling in our pants when we find someone attractive."
"Speak for yourself. My pants feel just fine."
"I'll bet they do," he replied with a wink.
"Ugh. Cullen, you disgust me."
"Sunshine, have you ever been in love?"
Bella gave a solid sigh and a whispered answer. "No."
"Then how do you know? I mean if you've never felt it, how do you know it exists?"
"You know," she said with a smile, "that question sounds incredibly similar to the one about the tree falling in the forest."
"Great minds think alike," he said with a smirk.
"Listen, Cheeky. I refuse to stop believing in something simply because I don't know it yet."
The look on Edward's face becomes very serious, and he saw it reflected back in Bella's eyes. He could tell she was wary of what he was about to say, so he stopped the words before they escaped. They lay quietly for a few minutes before she snuck a wet finger into his ear and squealed with laughter.
The rest of their afternoon was spent giggling and whispering. The sun that had once sat high in the sky above them was sinking slowly into the trees. The clouds hung like torn cotton in the sky, and he knew that it was time. Bella's family was strict about what time she needed to be home, and they needed to start saying their goodbye's so she wouldn't be late.
"We, uh, we better get going." Bella was twirling a blade of grass between her fingers, but she gave a sad nod.
They stood and their feet took slow steps towards his truck. He climbed inside, and rolled the window down. She folded her arms and rested her chin on top of them. They sat like that for awhile. Bella staring at Edward, Edward staring out of the windshield.
"Hey," Edward said suddenly. "You wanna meet Emmett tomorrow?"
"Ummm, I don't really think he's my kinda guy." Her eyes gave a shy glance towards the grass.
"What do you mean?"
"He just seemed kinda gruff that night in the parking lot, and I'm not sure we would get along."
"He's gruff, but he's like the guy version of you, Sunshine." Edward smiled thinking of the friend who had pulled him out of every crappy situation he had ever been in just by being his goofy self.
"Well, alright then." Bella gave a little sigh, and a smile. When she did things like that he felt like his dormant soul woke just a little bit more.
"You should really go," he said as he touched the tip of her nose.
She squinted her eyes and made a terrible face. "I know."
"Say it."
"No, you say it first."
"I always say it first."
"Lies. You always talk me into saying it first with one of your sob stories. I'm not falling for it again, Cullen." She stood with her hands on her hips, as if that made her resolute.
"Did I ever tell you the story about when my dad left and I slept in front of the door…"
"STOP!!" she yelled to halt his story. "Yes, you have told me this one and if you tell me again I'll turn into the same sobbing mess I was last time. I'll say it."
Edward tapped his fingers idly against the steering wheel, as he hummed the Jeopardy tune.
"Goodnight," she said gently.
Edward smiled. He loved when she said it first, because she never actually said it. When they had first begun to meet in the field it had taken hours for them to finally say goodbye, because they got side tracked in little conversations about favorite cereals, candy, and colors. He said goodbye, and she said goodnight and they talked for hours about why. Bella thought that goodbye's sounded hollow and empty. Once they said goodbye there was a chance that they would never see each other again. She thought the sound of goodbye's were haunting echoes of the end of something, and she hated them. She always said goodnight.
"Goodbye," he said solemnly. He always said goodbye because the good things in his life rarely lasted, and he wouldn't let her go without a goodbye.
A/N: Hello, Lovelies! The beta's and pre-reader get a big sloppy kiss today. Not only are they awesome readers, but they looked over this chapter in record time. They read, edit, and make time to review. I love them something fierce. It's all heartwarming and shit.
Dear readers,
I'm about to get sappy, so prepare yourselves.
I'm just a girl who stumbled upon fanfic about a year ago. I marveled at the talent of the writers in this community, and their willingness to put themselves out there. They risked harsh criticism and scathing reviews to simply do something they loved. I never in a million years thought I would be one of them. When I finally decided to spread my wings and give this a try, I was met with unending support and boundless enthusiasm.
Today I want to thank you all for taking a chance. You hear quite frequently that it's hard to break into this community. I wasn't ever really concerned with having tons of readers or getting billions of reviews. When you have a story that really speaks to you, it's just exciting to finally put pen to paper. Each time I post a chapter I still get that jittery nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach. I wonder if you all will enjoy it. Will you laugh? Will you cry? Will you want to reach through your computer screen and smack me around a bit? Each time my nerves are unnecessary. I am always met with unbelievable support, and love.
I'm gonna stop now, because I can't have more words in the A/N than in the chapter itself (did ya notice how long Ch. 10 was?!) You are amazing, wonderful, and the best readers a girl could ask for!
*mwah*
I tweet. It's cool. We could be friends on the Twitter. If you are into that kind of thing ;)
I'm heading out for a run before church. As usual, leave me some love, constructive criticism, or tell me about your favorite fic that is up for an Indie.