A/N: Welcome back. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. :(

(Edward POV)

"Shit. Stop. It's Crowley. Tyler Crowley. Now tell me where Bella is."

My breath catches in my throat. I don't know what I exactly say; all I know is a slur of cuss words fly from my mouth. I know for a fact if this were a face to face confrontational, I'd pound the guy to bits. I hang up angrily.

"Edward?" Bella rounds the corner and comes up behind me. She's wiping off her hands with the dishtowel. "Who the hell was that?"

"Crowley." I want to spit. Vomit. Tear the guy to shreds. First for being an ass about my dad's death and now for all the shit he's causing…

"How'd he get my number?" Bella asks and taps her chin. "Oh… my dad probably. Crap."

Why can't I have just one nice night? What did I do wrong? I have an angel, but we're right smack in the middle of hell.

Bella's phone rings in my hand a few minutes later. My breathing is still heavy. Bella takes the phone from my hand and answers it. "Hello? Oh hi Dad… No. No. No. No. No. No."

The voice on the other end starts to get louder and my fists clench again. I turn to face Bella and she's biting her lip so hard I fear it might bleed. I place my hands on her hips and pull her close. Nothing will tear us apart. We promised each other that. I won't let anything happen.

Deep breaths.

Happy thoughts.

"Dad…" Bella sighs. "Charlie. No, I'm not. I know, I really needed out ya know? No. I mean, ugh! Okay. What? When. Thursday. Why do I have to go? Okay then. Fine. Yeah. No. I'm hanging up. Don't talk to Tyler." She hangs up and lets out an angry sigh against my chest.

"How'd that go?" I ask but instantly regret asking.

"How do you think?" She mumbles and wraps her arms around me, the phone still in her right hand. "Tyler called my dad. Apparently they were looking for me. Dad went to my apartment and he could tell it had been empty for a while. Tyler told him you picked up the phone."

"Lovely." I groan. "I already worried your dad wouldn't like me, but Tyler ending up being the one to give your father details on me is far worse."

"Why does Tyler not like you that much?"

"He kind of helped his dad on the case. I overheard them talking before a courtroom session. Crowley said 'Son, if you help me pass this case I know you're perfect guy to take over the business'. He had to win. He didn't. So he had to prove a lot to take over, I'm sure."

"Wouldn't it have been practically impossible for him to win? He was on the killer's side and the guy was a wanted criminal in the first place!" Bella exclaims.

"Exactly." I sigh. "I guess for some reason, Crowley really needed another win on his side."

"When I first got with Tyler he and my dad would talk about. They agreed that together they would easily get more work. My dad brings him the criminal's victims and he'd have them referred to Crowley Law firm. Tyler really needed the work, I suppose and his dad wasn't doing well with the business. They needed more clients. They still do."

"That must have been why Crowley agreed to fight my dad's case." I mused. "Hmm… I don't get it though. How would that benefit your dad?"

"Me." Bella replies. "I could link it all easily. Just place me in, like the cheese in a sandwich. I'd top it off." She huffs. "That's all I was ever good for. He was so pissed when I told him I hated Tyler's guts. Is it bad that I hate my dad just as much?"

"No. He couldn't see how much of a gem you are. His loss." I place my head into her hair. "IS he mad?"

"About?"

"Everything."

"Yeah." Bella sighs. "I guess so. I mean he was pissed he couldn't get a hold of me. Apparently to make it up to him I have to go out to dinner with him Thursday."

"That was my next question. I heard you mention Thursday." I admit.

"Yeah, apparently Officer Pete is retiring. He's having a big get together at the lodge. I don't want to go… I don't know why my dad is making me." Bella pulls back and looks at me. "Do you have any ideas why?"

Bella. Charlie. Officer Pete. Retiring. Together. The Lodge.

"Who's all going?" I question.

She shrugs. "Anyone that was part of his life. Career wise."

"Any lawyers."

Bella's face pales. "Only Crowley Law firm."

I growl.

Who calls this late anyways? It's midnight for crying out loud. Midnight! I understand that Bella's dad might have been worried-

No. I don't understand actually. He never cared for her the way he should - the way she deserves - and when she's finally happy and starting to settle down, he rams into her life and messes things up.

...

Bella's in bed, but I had too much pent up anger to crawl in with her. I laid her down and kissed her softly before I went out for a quick run through the park down the street.

When I get home, I shower and toss on my boxers. With one last look in the mirror after brushing my teeth, I turn out out the lights and make sure the front door is locked before going down to my room. I open the door slowly, making sure I don't disturb Bella and walk inside, closing it behind me just as soft.

The moon is out and bright, shinning through the window and casting light over her. She's such an angel, such a miracle. How is it possible that she's mine? I watch her for a few moments, before I crawl into bed behind her and wrap my arms tightly around her. Funny how I have more courage when she's asleep, for I know if she were awake, I'd probably crawl into bed on the opposite side and just watch her.

I burrow my face into her hair and breathe in deeply. Just her presence calms me down far more than my run, but I'm glad I went for a run either way; she didn't need to see me angry and I didn't want to scare her. I just had extra steam that needed to be blown off.

I kiss her cheek lightly and hum a random tune to myself. I place my face back into her hair and tighten my arms. "No one will take you from me, angel." I whisper softly to her sleeping form. "You're my everything now, you know that? You and Alice."

I feel her press herself back into me more, her back pressing firmly against my bare chest. I pull the comforter up around us better and close my eyes.

"Edward..." She murmurs in her sleep and I smile widely.

"Right here." I move to kiss her shoulder. She took my sweater off before bed and is now in just her purple tank top. "Love you." I can't believe I was brave enough to tell that to her earlier for the first time. With my buttery lips that is. It was something about the moment, her smile, her eyes, the adoration and love in them. I couldn't stop myself from uttering the words and now I'm glad I did. She said it back.

She loves me.

I love her.

Simple as that.

Now why can't people just accept that?

"Maybe one day you can move in. You know with Alice and I. That would be awesome, in my books anyways. I really need you around. I'd love to be able to know that I have this everyday." I murmur, barely audible. I squeeze her softly, emphasizing my point."Our own room. Us."

"I'd love that." She mutters and tilts her head to look at me. There's enough light casting in the room from outside that I can see her eyes. They're open. I feel the blush rising to my cheeks. She lazily brings a finger up to trace my cheek. "Just tell me when." She yawns and brings her hand off my cheek to cover her mouth.

I smile. "Get to sleep, we'll talk about it tomorrow."

...

"Gosh Edward, you have barely any food left in this house." Bella says while rummaging through the fridge. I stand behind her by a few feet and watch in amusement. "How old is this pizza?"

"I recommend putting that in the garbage." I admit and she obeys. She walks back to the fridge and bends over to look through what else is in there, which isn't much. I look away to the wall, trying to stay a gentleman and now gleefully eye her backside, but it's tempting. Very much so. With a huff she turns to face me and tilts her head to the side. "We need to go grocery shopping again."

I blink a few times. "To Wal-Mart or something," She continues. "they have more of a selection and Bob's Basics doesn't have my favourite brand of bread." Bella turns to face me. "Is that alright?"

"What, getting your favourite kind of bread?" I ask confused. "Whatever you would like."

"No, going to Wal-Mart." She says. "I hate how it's risky..."

"It's fine." I quickly amend. "Let's go."

...

We walk around Wal-Mart, this time I notice even though we're in a fairly crowded place and we should be on our toes, we aren't. It's refreshing. Of course I still worry and look around every time Bella pushes the cart around to the next aisle, but I have no problem standing closely behind her with my arms on either side of hers resting on the cart.

We definitely look like a couple.

I think Alice would squeal if she saw us. No, scratch that, I know she would squeal.

Bella and I act like we've been together years, not just over a month. I've had my best days with her and I like knowing I'll have more and more to come. The closer we get, the more we should worry it seems, but it's actually the opposite with us. We're in public and we're close. We're not shoving our tongues down each other's throats by any means, we're just being together and doing as we wish.

I look down to our cart, it's pretty full and there's lots of fruits and vegetables. Before Bella was around, I used to only have stuff that you put in a microwave and eat. "This will be different, eh?" Bella nudges me playfully. "Actually having something green in your fridge."

"Ha ha." I laugh humorlessly. "I know what you mean though. I used to always eat fruit, but as I got older I just kind of stopped caring."

"The older you get, the more you need to pay attention to your health." Bella replies.

"I know..." I say guiltily. "Especially now I have Alice with me, I really should be paying better attention. I just don't know... I'm still not the best 'guardian'."

"You're doing a fantastic job, Edward. Never doubt that." She says softly so the old woman close to us in the aisle doesn't hear. "She loves you and appreciates everything."

"She loves you too." I tell Bella, it's the honest truth.

"I know." Bella says with a nod. "I want to be there for her."

"You are."

"I know."

"You're her role model you could say. She doesn't have many women in her life at all." I remind Bella. "Oh," I comment as I see a big jar of peanut butter. I grab it and place it in the cart. "I love peanut butter." We push the cart further and turn the corner. Bella grabs a can of soup that's stacked in the middle of the large aisle and places it in the cart. I watch her hands as she moves them from on the cart's rail to atop of my arms. "You really don't want me in charge of the cart."

She smirks, turning her head so I could see it. "Why, are you accident prone?"

"I've been known to bump into a few things." I give her a crooked grin.

"Oh, well, I trust you." She turns back and looks ahead. Sometimes she grabs places it in the cart and I do the same. She really makes shopping a lot easier. She's not picky either, which is good since I don't have the best cooking skills and food variety isn't my forte.

As we approach the middle of the aisle, I stop in my tracks seeing someone.

Tyler Crowley. He's near the end of the aisle and he's looking at the cereal.

Bella sees him too for I feel her tense for a moment, but a second later she relaxes. I on the other hand, don't move. He looks over to us and does a double take on Bella, raising an eyebrow. Is he really checking her out right in front of me? Bella ignores him and grabs a random muffin mix box off a shelf and reads it over before tossing it into the cart and pushing my arms so I'd push the cart forward.

Tyler and I make eye contact and I narrow my eyes. I've never really hated someone so much. My mind flashes back to seeing him in the court room. How rude his was, he didn't even care my dad was dead, he just wanted to win the case. He didn't care that my mom was crying and just wanted the things off his will, just wanted a proper ending for my dad's life. The words he said, the way he tried to charm over the crowd. I swallow thickly and try to clear my head.

His voice echoes in my mind, his words from last night resurfacing. The way he demanded to know where Bella was, the way he claimed to be her boyfriend just to piss me off. He knows it's over, he does and everyone knows it, he was just intimidated that I picked up the phone rather than Bella. He wasn't expecting Bella to move on. Hell, in his mind he probably thought Bella was grieving over breaking up with him and was desperate to get him back.

He was probably even more pissed when he found out she's with me. Edward Cullen. He blames me for ruining his career, though it's not ruined. It will own the business, Bella said so herself. It was just harder for him to get it in his hands.

"Does Alice like oatmeal?" Bella asks. "Cookies and cream oatmeal to be more specific." She points her chin to the stacks of oatmeal on the shelves and I'm brought back to reality.

"Uh," I clear my throat. "Yeah." I watch Bella grab a box and place it in the cart. It's as though she's oblivious to the fact that Tyler Crowley -mine and her's enemy- is within five feet of us. She pushes the cart further and my fingers tighten around the cart's railing. I'm still tense and I know Bella can feel it since we're so close. She ignores that too, which surprises me.

I suppose we both know the risks we take going out in public. I still wish I could just shout to the world that she's mine and I'm her's. We can't though, but one day we will. I just know it.

I hear Tyler clear his throat to himself by coughing in his hand and I move my gaze back to him. He looks at Bella out of the corner of his eye. He must have saw us first, when we first came down the aisle. He must have. He zips up his leather jacket more, before running a hand through his slick hair and grabbing a box of cereal. He moves down the aisle a few steps to grab another box of sugary cereal. He seems to be done in the aisle so he turns and faces Bella and I. He pretends he's looking past us to the stuff on the shelf, but I'm sure Bella can feel his eyes boring into her.

She stops abruptly, turns and places a hand on my shirt. She pulls me down to her level by my shirt and attacks my lips with her own. It's rough and needy, desperate almost, and I'm coated by her sweet taste. I'm consumed by her this very moment. My eyes widen before shutting and I kiss her back. She pulls back a moment later, turns in my arms and pushes the cart down the rest of the aisle, before turning and resuming our shopping.

I follow her amazed.

A/N: Can I hear a woot woot? Go Bella! I wonder how Tyler's going to take that. Looks like he found out where Bella is.

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