So third and final posting for the day. The chapters will keep posting as fast as we get them back.


Chapter 12: Bella's Birthday

13 September

Today is Bella's birthday, she is seventeen now. It took me weeks to come up with the right gift for her. Not that she will complain, I just want to get her something special. Her grandpa and Uncle Martin are taking her out for dinner. They ask if I would like to go, but I decline giving them a chance to celebrate with her as a family. I will be giving her the gift I have for her tonight, when she gets back home.

I am just about ready to get on my bike to go to school; Jasper is coming to get Alice today, thank God! Alice has another four weeks of driver's education to go. Dad says once she completes the course, she will get her car and credit cards back. Alice has almost paid off the two thousand dollars worth of fines she got for her traffic violations.

Dad is not too happy about me taking her shopping, but did not say anything, because I pay for my own charge cards.

I send Bella a quick text before heading off to school.

Hey, baby girl, happy seventeenth birthday. Hope you have a good day. See you at school. X, E~

X? I never put x in my texts.

Yeah! But it's Bella! You may not always put an X on her text messages, but you kiss her every chance you get.

No, I don't, that is you that do that.

What? No, it's you.

Shut up, fuck, I need to get to school.

Hate arguing with myself, I never win!

When I arrive at school, I see Bella parking her car. She gives me a quick nod and a smile, her way of thanking me for the text. I watch her walking into the school and make sure she's okay.

No, you're looking at her ass, you shithead. Making sure she gets in! Okay, yeah, right.

Thought I told you to shut it.

I see Tanya, Lauren, and Jessica make their way to me and my bike.

OH, YAY! At least both voices agree with this.

"Hey, Eddie, when are you going to take me out on that fuck hot bike of yours? I would love to feel your power between my legs," Tanya says in what I am sure she thinks is a sexy voice.

"Tanya, once again, my name is Edward. By the way, no one gets on my bike, but me. I have also told you thousands of times – you will never, ever, be with me in that way, or any other way. Do you understand English?" I ask in my fuck-off-or-I'll-hit- you voice.

"Well, today is your lucky day, Eddie."

How thick is she?

"You see, me and my girls have been talking, we know you want us. Since we want you, too, we decided it is unfair to make you choose just one of us. We thought you can have the three of us together. We will even show you some girl-on-girl action."

I think…no, I know, I just vomited in my mouth a little.

"Fuck! No! I. Do. Not. Want. You. Or. Them!" I say, through clenched teeth.

"Tanya, why don't you take your skanky ass, and get the fuck away from me? Fuck! Both of you two," I point to Tanya then Lauren. "As the town whores, I think I'm the only guy you have not fucked yet, and it will NEVER happen."

"Oh…Eddie—" Tanya starts to say, but I cut her off.

"Maybe I should just tell you how I really feel about each one of you." I look Tanya in the eye. "Tanya, you look like an Oompa Loompa, lay off the fake tan. You should bleach your hair professionally, because it's turning green. You've got more makeup on than a clown wears, and you have the personality of a piranha."

I look Lauren in the eye next. "Lauren, you are an evil bitch. The fucking things you do to people are past sick; it's borderline sadistic. Much like Tanya, you should lay off the fake tanning; you look like an Oompa Loompa, too."

Turning then to face Jessica, I take a deep breath. "Lastly, Jessica, what the fuck happened to you?"

I wait for a few seconds to see if she will answer me. When she remains silent, I decide to just tell her off.

"I mean, fuck, you used to be bullied everyday by these two worthless witches. They made your life hell until Mike said he'd help to get them to stop if you'd blow him and fuck him. Seriously, what the fuck were you thinking, girl? Sad thing is, you used to be an all right girl, but this pair of whores has turned you into a worthless bitch. I remember when you used to hate them; grow a fucking spine. Tell them to go fuck themselves; as for Mike, you can do a lot better than that little shit. But, mark my words, you stick with them much longer and you may never get back to that girl you used to be. I know both Alice and Angela miss you," I say.

Jessica is looking down by the end of my rant; fuck, maybe I went a bit far with her. Jessica is friends with both Alice and Angela right from the first grade. Tanya and Lauren bully her all the time, but Alice and Angela stand by her and stick up for her. Then Jessica's dad left her mom for a twenty-one-year-old. Tanya had a field day with that, and really started torturing Jessica. Jessica started shutting everyone out. Jessica's father started giving her a lot of money, after he moved to New York with his new bimbo. He is a high-priced lawyer, and since he only sees her four weeks a year, he just hands her money. Tanya sees Jessica in a new light; she comes up with a plan to get Jessica in her group. Mike, the slime, goes along with Tanya, and that is where his protection offer comes into play. Then the next thing is, he will date her if she lets him fuck her however he wants. Of course, sick of being picked on, she agrees; it helps that she has always had a crush on that punk, Mike. Mike treats her like a whore, and Tanya – well, Tanya loves the black Am-Ex card Jessica has.

"Tanya, Lauren, Jessica, why are you offering him that; I would love to fuck all three of you beautiful girls. Don't waste time talking to the gay boy," James calls over to them.

"Yeah, come over here, girls; I am man enough of for all three of you." Mike calls while winking at them; all three of the girls walk over to them.

Mike and James whisper something in their ears, Jessica starts to look around herself. A few seconds later, Tanya and Jessica have a conversation. Jessica sort of nods at Tanya. The next thing I know, James is leading Jessica over to his car. The bell rings, and I make my way to home room.

The day goes by really slow; I only manage to send Bella some texts. We never even get the chance to talk in any classes; in every class, we have a shitload of work to do. I make an improvement today – I only get into trouble in three out of the six classes. I get home and I'm tired, but I do my homework right away. We sit down for another great family dinner.

"Edward, dear, is everything okay? You have been really distracted tonight," my mom asks, with clear worry in her voice.

"Yeah, I am fine, Mom, just had a long day at school." I try and sound as normal as possible.

"I thought that we had a problem with our phone line; I went the whole day without a call from the school," Dad says.

The tone that he uses is the same he has used with me, or when talking about me, the last few years.

"I do hope this doesn't mean you're up to something, boy. Just remember, I have my eye on you; one foot out of step and I will be on you like a rash. Do you understand and hear me?"

"Dad, I am not up to anything," I sigh.

I just don't feel at home here anymore. Since spending time with Bella and Charlie, I feel even more like a stranger here than before.

It just turns eight o'clock in the evening, and I am bouncing with impatience to get to Bella's house.

"I am off to bed; I've got a migraine," I say, putting a little pain in my voice to make it believable.

"Okay, honey, take some tablets and get to bed. I will keep Alice, Emmett, and Jasper away from your room so you can have some peace. Carlisle, sweetie, when are you leaving for work? Do I have time to make you a snack?"

That is strange; she is looking at me the whole time.

"Yeah, I'm leaving in half an hour, dear. A snack will be good; hopefully, I will be back home at six in the morning. I told the hospital I need to be in Seattle tomorrow morning; don't forget we will be there most of the day," Dad shouts.

Shit, I will need to leave Bella's earlier than normal.

"You get to bed now, Edward," Mom says.

She hands me the tablets, a bottle of water, and winks at me.

Fuck, does she know?

I get in my room and lock my door. I wait until my dad has been gone for ten minutes. I scale down the wall, grab my bike, and head to Bella's. I pull into my parking spot in the garage and let myself into the kitchen. As soon as I enter, I feel like I'm home. I guess I am weird; I feel more at home here than I do in my family's home. As I turn around, I find Charlie making himself a drink.

"Hey, Charlie, how was your night?" I ask.

"Yeah, it was a good night, son, Bella had a good time. Bella loved the CD and books, thanks for the information there. It was the first time I made a home run hit, when it comes to gifts. Bella made her own birthday cake; she wouldn't let me spend money on buying one when she could make it herself. She said, besides no store-bought cake would be as good as one she makes; she got that right. Bella was sure to save you some, it's in the fridge for you."

Hmm…cake. I pick up the plate, add some cookies, and grab two cans of soda. One for Bella and one for me; I take a swift bite of the cake…fuck me…amazing, it's almost as good as sex. I let out a moan.

"Yeah, it's really good, isn't it?"

I nod, as I continue to eat the cake.

"Is everything okay, Edward? You look kind of done in; you have a rough day?" Charlie asks with a caring voice.

"I'm fine, thanks. It's just been a long day. Dad was on me; he thinks I'm up to no good, because the school did not phone him today." I take a deep breath, and I let it out. "I just don't know how to please him, everything I do is wrong. I see him with others, and he is so caring and compassionate, but with me—all I feel—all I get is his coldness. I have really screwed up my relationship with him."

I look down, not wanting Charlie to see just how much hurt's in my eyes.

"Edward, I don't know what his problem with you is. I don't even think he does; you need to give people a chance to change if you ask them to change. From what I see, he has not given you that chance at all. As far as school goes, from what I can get, Aro has it in for you, too. As I see it, not all the phone calls are your fault. He is your father; he should be in your corner. He should be going to that school and finding out what's going on. It takes two to tango, and if you're having that many issues, there has to be a reason."

"Thanks, Charlie," I say.

"I am always here, if you need me. You know you have Bella, too; she is here for you. You should think about asking Peter to have your dad come along one time. Maybe you can get all this out, let him know how you feel. You know, if you don't tell him, than he can't change, can he?" Charlie asks, while patting my arm.

I give him a smile and a nod.

"Okay, thank you. You gave me something to really think about. Night, Char…Grandpa," I say.

God, I love that old guy. Charlie is really a great person. Bella is lucky to have him, but he is even luckier to have her.I give him a wink and a smirk as I leave, knowing I have said the right thing from the smile on his face.

"Night, son," I hear him say.

"Hey, birthday girl," I say, smiling at Bella. "Baby, this cake, is fan-fucking-tastic, you've really outdone yourself."

Bella turns, putting down her book. God, she looks so good with her glasses on, she has the whole sexy librarian thing going on.

"Glad you like it. Thanks for pointing Grandpa in the right direction for my gifts," she smiles, knowing it's me behind it.

I take off my jacket, shoes, and head into her closet to get changed. I'm glad that it's big enough for me to change into my pajamas.

"Okay, birthday girl, close your eyes and hold out your hands," I tell her.

Bella gives me a confused look; I arch my eyebrow at her. I watch her close her eyes and hold out her hand. I place her birthday gift in her hand.

"Oh…thank you, Edward."

"Bella, you don't even know what it is. Come on, girl, open it," I tell her.

Bella slowly opens the gift, and I watch her face light up. With tears in her eyes, she stutters out, "How did…how did you find this?"

"I looked at some of your old photos, and when I found one with Edwin in it, I took it to a bunch of stores. I was surprised when I found this at the Build- A-Bear. It's the closest one I could find, so I got it for you."

I hunted down a teddy bear for her, one that looks like the one her dad had given her. After we talk about Edwin the bear, I know how much she misses it.

"Here, baby, it comes with a birth certificate, too. I hope you don't mind, but I gave him the name Edwin, and today is his birthday."

"Edward, this is perfect. Thank you so much; this is great," she says.

Lifting the bear, she hugs it close to her chest.

"I missed you, Edwin; welcome back."

Bella puts the bear to her face, and holds it there, "Hmm…it smells like you."

I blush.

"Well, I kind of…sort of, slept with it every night when I was away from you. I know you have been worrying about me going to Seattle some weekends, so I thought he may help you out when I'm away and you can't come with me. Okay, time for gift two," I say with a smile.

Bella looks at me like I have grown a second head.

"Ah…what?"

"Gift two, as in a second gift. Bella, Edwin was just a small gift; here," I say, as I hand her an envelope.

She opens it and her eyes go wide, "Is this what I think it is?"

"If you are asking if it's opera tickets for Seattle Opera House for you and me, then yeah, that's what it is. I'm just sorry we need to wait until October to go, but this performance doesn't start until then. I knew you would want to see this one. I already asked Charlie if you can spend the whole weekend in Seattle with me, he said yes, and he just wants you to call to check in. We also will go to see your Uncle Martin, at least once."

"Edward, this is too much; you got us the best seats in the house. I should be giving these back to you, but nope. I will keep them, because I want to go, so thank you."

She jumps up, straddling my lap, and hugs me. She pulls back, and I'm momentarily sad by the loss of closeness. Instead of getting up, she grabs my head, pulling it down. She kisses me on top of my head, then looks me in the eye, and goes back to hugging me.

I know that I am dreaming. I'm in the middle of a meadow. I know this meadow; it's here in Forks, about a two hour hike off from the main highway. Bella is here with me; we're having a picnic. We are having a good time; Bella keeps running away from me playfully. I catch her, but this time we fall. I lean over and kiss her on the mouth, an open-mouthed kiss. For a dream kiss, this is by far the best kiss of my life. Just then, I hear myself say the words I never think I would say or hear in this way. "I love you, Bella." She smiles at me and says, "Good, because I am so in love with you, Edward." At this point, I sit straight up.

"Edward, are you okay? Did you have a nightmare?"

I turn my head and look over my shoulder at Bella; she is still half asleep.

"No, nothing like that. I'm sorry I woke you up."

I try to catch my breath.

"Edward, what's wrong, you're shaking?" Bella asks, starting to sit up. I gently push her back down, and recline back next to her.

"Bella, I just had one of those stupid dreams where you think you're falling, you know?"

Yeah, I am lying to her; I'm scared at the realization that I just got. I get it now, this need to be close to her; it's because I'm falling in love with Bella, the same Bella who is my best friend. I roll over and face her, and I look at her. Looking into her eyes—fuck no, I'm not falling, I'm already there.

"Yeah, I hate those kinds of dreams," Bella says.

She cuddles me and starts to stroke my head. After a few minutes, she curls up and puts her head on my chest; I put my arm around her and place my hand on the small of her back. The entire time, all I can think about is that I am holding the one girl I will always love. I am in love with Bella; it's a great feeling to finally understand what has been happening to me these last few weeks. But, I am scared as hell, and looking at her while she sleeps, calms me. I know that it doesn't matter if she does not feel the same for me; I will still love her. I would really like it if it turns out she has feelings for me, too. I know as long as I have her in my life, I am going to be fine. All that matters to me now is that this beautiful, smart, sexy, caring girl is happy. And I will make it my life's goal to make sure she is. I kiss her head, and rub my fingers on the bare skin of her lower back.

"I love you, my dear, sweet, sexy, baby girl," I whisper against her head.


A/N: So what do you think of his telling her while she is sleeping that he loves her? Do you think she heard him? See you tomorrow with more, let us know what you are thinking.