Chapter 21- Complications

Edward and I stare at each other, frozen.

Did we really just get walked in on by Uncle Rick?

Slowly, Edward climbs off of me and walks toward the door.

He locks it, and the clicking sound rings throughout the room.

He turns to give me a look of disbelief that I can only return.

"Did he see me?" I ask, afraid. Edward had all but shoved my face into the couch, but I still have my worries.

"I doubt it," he responds, hands on his hips. "He was behind me, he probably only saw your legs and feet…"

I sit up, patting my hair in place. "So, now he knows you're seeing someone. He won't, like, tell on you, will he?"

Edward is deep in thought. "No, Rick's not like that. He probably realized that I don't want anyone to know. Shit. I need to talk to him…"

"Wait," I stop him before he can touch the doorknob. "Don't you think you'll make it a bigger deal than it is if you go to him and try to explain yourself?"

Edward's face is completely serious when he says, "I knew there was a reason I kept you around."

A brief smile flits across my lips before I fill my cheeks up with air and let it out slowly.

Complications…

I wasn't expecting them to come around so soon.

"You need to make a habit of locking that goddamn door," I point out.

He nods, frowning, before tiredly sinking down next to me. He pulls me over to him until my head his resting against his strong shoulder and my arm is around his chest.

In my head, I'm counting the amount of people that know about our relationship.

Alice, Jasper, Jacob, Rosalie, Emmett, Felix, Stella, and now Rick.

Shit, that is a dangerous number.

"It's starting," Edward mumbles, and I glance up at him in time to catch the glazed over, distant look in his eyes. His voice is low, monotone, almost robotic.

"What's starting?"

"Too many people know about us," he says, brows furrowing. "I didn't think it would happen this soon, the infiltration of our secret through the manor. Christ."

"I was thinking the same thing," I mumble ruefully. "How much longer do you think we'll be able to go before this reaches your parents… or Aro?"

Edward grimaces. "I don't like to think about that."

"Are you sure your uncle can be trusted?"

Edward doesn't hesitate. "Yes."

A dreadful thought occurs to me.

"Edward, he must know I'm a servant. Who else would I be? He doesn't just know you're getting it on with someone, he knows you're getting in on with a servant. Or an employee, at least."

Edward's shaking his head before I'm done.

"Bella, Bella, listen," he says, taking my face in his hands. "This is Rick we're talking about. The black sheep of the family, the prince that gave up being a prince before he was old enough to even know what a prince was. He'd rather travel the world than be stuck in this place. Don't you see? He's completely unconventional. This-" Edward gestures between us. "-wouldn't bother him in the slightest."

I eye hum dubiously, not as comforted by his words as I want to be. Yeah, I get that Rick has probably rejected the royal way of life, but I feel like I need proof that he won't tell anyone. I feel like I need to hear him say it, or sign a contract in his blood or something.

"In fact, I think he'd be quite proud," Edward adds.

The more I think about it, the better I feel.

Okay, so maybe Rick won't be a snitch.

Still, I don't want to let my guard down for anyone.

The following day, I'm glad that Edward doesn't have any 'princey' duties. However, he's working out in the manor's gym and then having lunch with his mother, so he'll still be scarce.

According to my schedule, I'm supposed to be serving lunch to Rick.

After the dinner the night before, this wouldn't be awkward, right?

Rick's room is on the fourth floor, a room that I've never been to before.

I don't know why, but I'm feeling nervous.

Hopefully I won't have to talk to him.

I knock on Rick's door and hear him yell, "It's open".

Taking a deep breath, I turn the knob and push the door so that it's open wide enough for me to push the cart through.

Rick sits on the couch of his suite, wearing nothing but lounge pants and a wifebeater, his legs stretched out on the coffee table in front of him.

The place… is a mess.

"Hello," he says cheerfully, pulling his eyes away from the TV. "That for me?"

No, it's for me.

"Uh, yes sir," I reply, and he immediately waves a hand in the air.

"None of that," he says just a little irritably. He gets up and comes over to the cart, lifting the lids off the dishes. "I don't understand why you workers are so formal all the damn time. Do they beat you if you aren't polite?"

I snort so hard that I almost choke, and I end up coughing a little.

I feel myself blush crimson as I clamp a hand over my mouth.

How very classy and ladylike of you, Bella.

Idiot.

Rick looks at me, surprised, and then flashes a big, toothy grin.

There's something about his smile…

"You're not still texting on the job, are ya?" he asks with a smirk. He pulls the cart away from me and brings it over to the couch, already eating with his hands.

I stand there awkwardly, kind of wanting to leave, but wanting to stay at the same time.

"Um, no…" I trail off, eying the cluttered living area.

There's shit all over the place. He's got clothes lying here and there, mostly clothes that look foreign. There are little trinkets that I've never seen before, along with books, pipes, CDs, hats, scarves, sparkly things, shiny things, colorful things…

It's crazy. It's like a store that sells nonsense blew up in here.

"I just unpacked my suitcases," Rick says with a shrug.

"Unpacked or blew up?" I blurt.

Rick raises a brow at me, surprised by my little outburst.

I flush.

Then, he laughs.

He throws his head back and laughs boisterously, a loud, booming sound that reverberates off the walls.

I can't help but smile and he looks at me fondly.

"This is a pigsty," he says. "Point taken."

I glance around at all the random objects and I have the sudden urge to examine every single thing and then put them away somewhere nice and neat.

Working at this place has turned me into a clean freak.

"The only reason I come back to this place is for storage," Rick explains. "If I don't give a kid in Kenya something from Wales and an old lady in China something from Greece, I bring the rest here and just give it to people. Edward has a bunch of my junk."

I look away at the mention of Edward and glance around the rest of the room.

Urge to clean is back.

"Do you mind if I clean up a little?" I ask tentativevly.

"Yes," he replies curtly.

I hover confusedly. "Yes as in I can, or…?

"No, you can't."

"Why?"

Maybe I shouldn't question him…

"I like my clutter," he states with a shrug.

"Fine," I mutter. "God, this place makes me OCD."

I'm talking to myself and turning to leave, but he stops me.

"What's your name?" he asks, sounding curious.

"Bella…"

"Bella," he repeats, like he's testing the name out.

"Have a nice day," I tell him politely, but he stops me once again.

"Wait!" he yells, and it makes me jump.

Rick is sitting up straight, his gaze practically boring a hole into my head.

"I think I know you…" he says, tilting his head and narrowing his eyes.

Um.. what?

I swallow and blink at him, furrowing my brows and feigning confusion. I can't find it in myself to speak, though.

"You were the girl that crashed the masked ball, right?" he asks, a slow smile spreading across his lips.

Oh…

I blush again, chuckling nervously.

"That's me…"

Rick gets on his feet and claps his hands together once before reaching one hand out to me.

"I've always wanted to meet you!" he says excitedly.

Taken aback by his enthusiasm, I shake his hand incredulously.

"I thought you didn't go to the ball," I say, remembering what he said to the queen at dinner.

"I didn't need to go," he says exuberantly. "Thomas, the guy I usually travel with, was at the ball before he caught up with me in Iceland. Balls, my dear. You've got em'."

Aw, jeez.

I chuckle and look away. "If I had a nickel for every time someone's said that to me, I wouldn't have to work here."

"You should be doing something else, kid," Rick says, walking back over to the cart of food. He grabs something that looks like shrimp and shoves it in his mouth. "What are you? Eighteen? Nineteen?"

"Nineteen," I mumble, shuffling my feet.

He nods in understanding. "There's so much to see out there, so much beauty and life and ridiculousness. This ain't no place for a kid."

I don't quite know what to say to that.

He's right, I know he's right, and everything he has cluttered in his suite only emphasizes that fact.

Still, I know I'm stuck here for the time being.

"Rick…" Edward's voice makes me whirl toward the doorway, and I need to resist the urge to throw myself at him.

For one thing, he's really sweaty. His damp hair sticks to his forehead and the neck of his dark gray tank top is dark with perspiration. He's wearing basketball shorts and a towel rests at the back of his neck, hanging over his shoulders.

Are you trying to kill me, Your Royal Sexiness?

I look away from Edward's delicious self and stare at my feet. He wasn't even looking at me, his eyes only for Rick.

"Oh hey, Edward," Rick says, picking his teeth with his fingernail. "Good workout?"

"Yeah," Edward responds smoothly, completely calm. "Garrett was wondering if you wanted to grab a quick lunch but, uh…"

Rick looks around at the plates on his cart. "I could go for more."

A quick glance at Edward shows him raise a brow and then shrug. "All right, I'll let him know. He wanted to see you."

"Why, so he can tell me how out of shape I am?" Rick laughs, walking over to the bar area of his suite. "Okay."

I feel awkward, knowing I should probably leave.

"Um, I'm gonna go," I mumble to Rick. "Enjoy the rest of your afternoon, sir." I grimace, catching myself. "Sorry. I meant Rick."

Rick takes a big gulp out of a bottle of something alcoholic, and gives me the thumbs up.

I guess that's good-bye.

I glance at Edward and he doesn't acknowledge me other than stepping aside to let me pass.

Damn, he's better at this than I am.

As I walk away, I hear Edward tell Rick that he needs to invest in a cell phone. It's hard being around Edward in front of others and not being able to touch him. He is, unlike me, skilled at hiding his true emotions.

I use the stairs to get to my floor, wanting to take a short break in my room before I have to help out with the horses.

I'm just a few steps away from my door when I'm attacked.

I'm shoved against a wall, hard, and my scream gets stuck in my throat when a sweaty someone covers my mouth with his hand.

"Shhh," Edward says. "It's just me."

I shove at his arm and he lets go of my mouth.

"Jerk!" I hiss. "You scared the shit out of me!"

Edward's only reply is to kiss me hard, his soft lips working furiously against mine.

His mouth his warm and wet and he tastes like something… fruity. Cherry? Strawberry, maybe? He must have had candy or something.

He pulls away. "I'm sorry for scaring you, but I wanted to do that really badly over the past few minutes."

Oh, my heart.

I wrinkle my nose and shove him a little. "You're sweaty and gross."

Edward leans closer. "Does that bother you?" he teases.

"Yes. Go shower."

"Can I borrow yours?" he asks, smirking.

Hell yeah!

"You know I'm not gonna say no, but are you teasing me?"

He frowns, but it's exaggerated, complete with pouty lower lip. "Yeah. Maybe some other day, then. I have lunch with my mother."

I grab the front of his tank top and pull him towards me so I can kiss his pout away.

"You should work out more," I tell him.

"Hey, what are you trying to say?" He pretends to be offended.

"That it obviously puts you in a good mood."

"Stress reliever," he says, smiling.

He kisses me one more time, chastely, and gropes my butt in the process.

"See you later, beautiful," he whispers, and he turns to walk away.

I smack his ass and he freezes, looking over his shoulder at me with a smirk and a raised brow.

"Oh yeah?" he says.

"Yeah, dude."

He nods and bites his lip. "I see."

With that, he turns and walks away.

I have no idea what the hell that was, but I don't care.

His Royal Sexiness will be the death of me.

Three days later, I'm having the worst fucking day ever.

First, I get my period and can't find any ibuprofen to ease the pain.

Second, I get a fucked up schedule that involves horse shit that I may or may not have slipped and fell in.

Third, I lose my cell phone and run around the manor like a crazy person, panicked out of my mind. A worker ends up finding it before I do and gives it back to me when she finds me.

On top of that, Edward doesn't reply to any of my texts. He's spending the day out with Rick, and I'm worried for some reason.

I know I'm overreacting but it's not like Edward to just ignore me. It reminds me of when the engagement was looming and Edward was trying to get rid of Tanya without my help.

Just thinking about Tanya makes me even more annoyed, and my whole day has just gone to shit.

All of that, however, is not the best part.

I leak.

I leak, and everyone sees.

Okay, not everyone, but enough people.

Because of my shitty luck, I'm wearing the gardening khakis and not the black pants that I usually wear.

Someone is kind enough to tell me and I all but trip on my way out, pulling my shirt down over my ass in the process.

So. Fucking. Humiliating.

When I discover that we're out of tampons and I'm stuck with giant pads that might as well be diapers, I want to cry in frustration.

It's too early for bed, since it's only half past five, but I change out of the uniform and crawl under the covers anyway.

This day needs to end now.

My head is buried under the covers and I force sleep to come to me.

No such luck.

Then my phone buzzes and lights up my cozy little cave.

It's a call from Edward.

Yay.

"Hello," my voice sounds dull and emotionless.

"I'm so sorry, Bella, my phone died," Edward is apologetic, and I don't know why, but just hearing his voice makes me tear up.

"The battery was low while we were talking last night," he continues to explain. "I forgot to put it on charger and this morning I was running late so I just grabbed it and left."

"It's okay," my voice comes out as a shaky squeak as I try not to cry.

Get it together, woman! Stop being such a goddamn baby.

I can't help it, this day has been terrible and I'm humiliated as hell!

Damn hormones, making me irrationally emotional.

"Bella?" Edward distracts me from berating myself. "Are you okay?"

No.

"Yes."

"Bella." Edward is not buying it.

I take a deep breath.

"This day has been absolutely awful," I tell him, glad that my voice is stable. "It's just been fail after fail after fail after fail…"

"I'm listening."

Do I really want to tell him the whole story, cramps and leaks included?

Yes. I need someone to listen and make me feel better.

"It all started when Mother Nature paid me an unwelcome visit…" Everything just comes spilling out. I have no control over my words, and it's like the rant was just clogged up inside of me, waiting to be released.

I don't even care that I'm talking to him about my period, even though it might gross him out. Once it's out, there's no going back.

After I'm done, I feel extremely relieved. I'll admit, I have shed a few tears, but it's not like I started bawling.

"Wow," Edward says softly. "You've had quite the day."

"Tell me about it," I mutter. "I'm just in bed, ready for today to officially end."

"It's not even six yet," Edward sounds surprised

"Needs to end."

"Did you eat?"

"No."

"You should eat."

"I'm fine, Edward. I just want to sleep."

He's silent for a moment, and I can picture the thoughtful furrow of his brow.

"I'll see you soon," he says, and the next thing I know there's silence on the other end.

I stare at my phone, a little surprised.

Um… okay…

Did I scare him away with my period talk?

I'm just the tiniest bit offended, but I try and shrug it off, choosing to disappear into the darkness of my covers again.

A little while later, I'm still under the covers when I hear my door open.

"We need tampons," I grumble, thinking that it's Alice.

My mattress sinks down and I hear a deep, throaty chuckle.

"Well I don't know if I can help you with that," Edward says.

I whip the covers off of my face and blink up at him as he smiles down at me.

"I brought you something," he says, brushing my bangs out of my eyes.

"You didn't have to-"

"Shhh," he cuts off my protests by putting a finger to my lips. I bite it and he pretends to scowl.

He picks up a little bag from the floor and then starts taking out its contents one by one, placing them on my bedside table.

A little bottle of Midol, a giant Hershey's bar, a bottle of water, and one single, bright yellow daisy.

My mouth sort of hangs open and I pull myself into a sitting position.

"You…"

Edward's smiling shyly. "Uh… Growing up, Rosalie used to demand those two things every once in a while, and she was downright bitchy until she got them. Once she did, she was ten times calmer… and nicer. I just figured that they'd make you feel better, too. I had Felix go out and find the pills…"

"That is… the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me," I whisper.

"The daisy is from the garden, of course," Edward adds. "I just picked it on my way over here, you know, since it's yellow… and cheery… I thought you needed cheering up."

The stupid hormones make my eyes tear up again and Edward looks horrified until I grin and launch myself at him, tightly wrapping my arms around his neck.

He grunts at the impact and I plant one giant, wet kiss on his mouth. "Thank you. You're too sweet for me to handle."

Edward smiles bashfully, resting his hands on my hips. "I try."

I have to kiss him again, I just have to. This time I do it softly and his grip on my hips tightens.

Edward practically pouts at me as I pull away, but all I have to do is grimace at him to get him to understand.

I reach for the Midol and quickly swallow two pills as Edward sits up and watches me with a small smile.

"You wanna get out of here?" he asks. "Go somewhere else for dinner? You seem like you need it."

Oh, Edward.

"It's not like we can just leave and go find a nice little Chinese restaurant to feast in," I whisper sadly.

He smiles at me. "I know something we can do."

Sometimes, Edward takes sneaking around to a whole other level.

Sometimes he goes Mission Impossible with this shit.

It's late in the evening, but not late enough for the manor halls to be empty. There's a lot of hiding behind corners involved, along with going through door after mysterious door.

Soon, we're exiting out the same back door that I once escaped through after that horrendous dinner with the Demonic Denalis.

We're alone now and Edward pulls me away from the manor and into the bushes.

"Are we going to the fountain?" I whisper.

"Nope," he replies, and he pulls me further along.

It's like we're in a forest now, and I try not to trip over anything. I'm carrying the bag with our food in it in one hand while the other clutches Edward's tightly.

The forest isn't dense, but it's still got enough trees to make it dark and creepy. Edward seems to know exactly where he's going, though.

Soon we come to an opening and for a second I thought the ground was glimmering.

Turns out, there's a pond.

A garden pond, lined with stones, shining in the moonlight. Lily pads float on top of it and flowers grow around it.

"Wow," I gasp. "Edward this is… beautiful."

He smiles crookedly. "I thought you would like it. The property has a bunch of these ponds here and there, but I like this one because it glows just perfectly in the moonlight. It's the biggest one, too."

His voice takes on a nostalgic turn as he continues to talk, "When I was in high school, I was going through a hard time. I guess you could call it my rebellious stage. My relationship with my parents was a little rocky and then every single time we'd argue, I'd come out here to calm down. So… yeah. This is my pond."

I grin at him and lean into his side. "Your pond. I love it."

Edward kisses my head and then takes the bag out of my hand. "Sit. Eat."

I roll my eyes at his bossiness.

Some things never change, but if that thing involves Edward, I don't mind so much.

Dinner by the pond is really sweet. Everything from Edward's quiet laughter echoing against the trees to the sound of the crickets to the moonlight reflecting off the pond is exactly what I need at the moment.

My shitty day has been forgotten, my cramps are gone, my belly is full, and Edward is beautiful under the moon. His smile, breathtaking. His eyes, sparkling. His jaw, lickable.

He's so fucking sweet to me, and me? I don't know.

I don't dwell on what I'm lacking and instead enjoy his company while we sit and stare at the pretty little pond. It's pretty dark out here, but the night is as beautiful as the sunset can be.

Edward and I sit with our legs stretched out in front of us while my arms are wrapped around his torso. The weight of his arm feels good over my shoulder and the damp grass smell mixes well with the scent that is all Edward.

"Thanks for this," I whisper, reaching up to kiss his chiseled jaw. "You do too much for me."

"Nonsense," he says, sounding twice his age. "You deserve more than this after the day you had."

I bite my lip, thinking about something.

I need to repay him somehow, and it needs to be good.

Hmmm….

Then, the door to the dirty part of my brain opens up a little and an idea pops out.

"What are you thinking?" Edward asks, searching my face.

I answer his question by getting on my knees and then straddling him so that I'm on his lap. He doesn't fight me when I kiss him or when I stroke the stubble on his jaw or when I run my tongue across his lips.

His hand wanders under my shirt, his fingers gently roaming my sides.

"That tickles," I giggle, and he smiles against my lips.

He moves his mouth from my lips to my jaw to my ear and then to my neck, and I swear it's like the crickets have gone silent. All I can hear is the sound of our breathing, the pounding in my chest, and the tiny whimpers and moans that escape me.

Edward skims his nose across my collarbone while his hand crawls up to my left boob.

Gently, his thumb grazes over my nipple and I'm desperate for friction, grinding my hips into him.

Oh yeah. He's so ready.

I bite my lip and stand up, holding my hand out to him. He gives me a confused look before taking my hand and climbing up.

What I wouldn't give to just fuck him already, but no. Not here and not now. Not for him.

Instead, I push him backwards while he watches. His back comes into contact with a tree and he stares at me, lips parted, eyes dark.

I'll admit, I don't exactly know how to be seductive, but the bulge in the front of his pants tells me that I'm doing okay so far.

"Let me thank you the right way," I whisper.

I give him one last deep kiss, complete with tongue, and he groans against my mouth, both his hands squeezing my ass.

Gently, I take his hands off my behind…

…and sink to my knees.

All I can hear is my heartbeat, loud and proud. All I can feel is the heat inside of me, my warm blood rushing through my veins.

I look up at Edward and he clearly looks shocked. His hands hover in the air above my head, like he wants to stop me, but I know something is holding him back.

He wants this.

Of course he wants this. What guy doesn't get turned on by the sight of a girl on her knees in front of him? The only reason Edward would want to stop me is because of the pesky gentleman inside of him.

"As far as I want," I whisper the reminder and he nods almost imperceptibly. I watch him swallow, his Adam's apple bobbing.

I smirk up at him and watch his eyes as I undo the buckle on his belt. His chest rises and falls and when I carefully pull his zipper down, his jaw clenches and his fingers twitch.

I pull his pants down, my eyes now on the bulge in front of his boxers, and I'm just a little nervous.

It's not that I've never done this before; it's just that I want to make this good.

I'll admit, I've half assed blow jobs before. It's not like the guy would know, because a mouth is still a mouth.

But when it comes to Edward, I refuse to half-ass anything.

It's going to be fun playing around with the Virgin Prince.

I reach up and grab the waistband of his boxers, slowly lowering it as I watch him.

"Bella," Edward's voice is husky. "You don't have-"

"I want to," I cut him off.

"I was going to say that you don't have to go so slow," his rough voice makes my belly clench and my god, I want him.

"Eager to fuck my mouth, huh?" I say, grinning.

Well, hello there, Dirty Bella. Long time no see.

Edward's eyes widen at first and then he clenches them shut. Wasting no time, I pull his boxers down so that his cock springs free.

Am I drooling? I might be drooling.

He's thick and hard and I take him in my hand, watching his face.

"Shit," he hisses through clenched teeth. He leans his head back against the tree, jaw taut, hands clenched into fists.

He doesn't know what to do with his hands, so he kind of moves them around, no place to put them.

He'll know exactly what to do once I start.

I stroke him up and down for a few seconds and he starts panting a little. His eyes are closed and the muscles of his jaw are standing out.

He's warm and throbbing in my hand, and it only takes on lick to the head for him to give in to his urges.

"Shit," he gasps again, and he grabs a hold of my hair with his right hand.

Fuck, yes!

Slowly, I start taking his length into my mouth, inch my inch. I choke just a little at first, since I haven't done this in a while, but as soon as I remember to breathe through my nose and relax my throat, it's a lot easier.

The feeling of his cock against my tongue and throat intensifies my need for him. My panties are probably evidence of that.

The deeper I take him in, the tighter his grip on my hair gets. His grip is so tight that it's on the verge of being painful, but that just turns me on even more.

I pull my head back, releasing his cock and sucking on it as I pull it out.

"Fuck," Edward says, and he bangs his head back into the tree once.

That's gotta hurt.

I wrap my lips around his length again and reach up to grab the rest of it. My other hand goes up to his balls and Edward is about to lose it.

"Goddamnit," he says, but his voice is low, guttural. He groans when I massage his balls and instinctively thrusts his hips forward.

Breathe, Bella!

I take deep breaths through my nose and I swear he's going to pull my hair out but fuck if I care. I need this, I want this, and so does he.

Edward is making some kind of growling noises as he keeps thrusting a little, but I grab onto the hand he has on my hair because he's going on pure primal instinct and I need to guide him just a little.

"Fuck, Bella," Edward rasps as I suck him harder, and he's so close to the edge, I can tell.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit," he says, and it's a rant I recognize.

I take him in deep and suck harder, hollowing out my cheeks. He warns me with an, "I'm gonna-", before I feel the warmth of his seed start spilling down my throat. He groans loudly and I immediately start swallowing, feeling him soften in my mouth.

He drops his hand from my hair and I let go of him, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.

He's gazing down at me, but I can't tell what his expression is.

I giggle nervously. "Yum."

He reaches down and pulls me up by the arm, my sore knees protesting against the sudden movement.

Okay, ow…

Edward grabs my face in his hands and kisses me hard, not just once but four times.

"You. Are. Fucking. Amazing." He kisses me after every word and I feel my heart swell.

Edward chuckles shyly and tucks himself back into his pants. "I need to find a better way of saying 'you're welcome'."

A few minutes later, we're making our way back to the manor. We're giggling and tripping over our own feet, trying to be as quiet as possible and failing miserably.

We stay close to the trees, avoiding the main part of the Garfield. There isn't anyone around, but we need to look out for the cameras that are focused on some of the main gardens.

"Shhh," Edward suddenly says. He stops walking and I almost collide into him.

He sticks his arm out and then steps to the side so that he's in front of me.

"What?" I ask, a little panicked.

"I think I saw someone," he whispers.

Those five words make my heart skip a beat and my entire body tenses up. I look around us in the darkness, but I don't see anything other than the empty field, trees, and the windows of the manor glowing in the darkness.

"Maybe I'm just paranoid," Edward mumbles, and we keep on walking.

That's when I hear it.

A click, click, click sound is echoing through the trees.

I know that sound, it's familiar, I just can't quite place what it is…

"Fuck," Edward hisses angrily, and I'm suddenly being pushed back into the forest.

"What's going on?" I ask as Edward pulls his phone out. He presses a few things on the screen before he acknowledges me.

"Paparazzo," he spits in disgust.

My heart skips a beat and my eyes widen.

"Here?"

Edward nods grimly, his expression tight with fury.

My heart starts beating a little faster, the fear crawling its way up my spine.

There's a paparazzo.

Here, at the manor.

No, no, no…

Fuck.

A/N: Uh-oh. I think Shit really wants to become best buds with Fan at this point. Yikes.

Most of the next chapter is going to be in Edward's POV. I promise I won't be alternating POV's from now on, but there's some pivotal stuff in the next chapter that Bella won't be around for.

Next Chapter: Wednesday, June 15th (at the latest)

Until next time! :)