Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise, I just use their creations to have my wicked way with them. No copyright infringement is intended.
Many thanks to Jadsmama and Ladysharkey1, my amazing beta team for this story. You ladies rock!
I updated the blog with Bella's outfit for this chapter. You can find the url on my profile.
20.
The deception.
"I can't believe I get to see you in just two more days!" Edward held the phone a little further away from his ear as he chuckled even in spite of himself. Alice. It was impossible not to be infected with her bubbly enthusiasm.
"Simmer down, Ally," he fake-growled, not wanting her to know he was every bit as excited for her to see the life he was starting to build on the ruins of his old one. There would be no stopping her if she did and somehow he didn't think he or the world, for that matter was ready to face the full force of Alice Masen. "What did Carmen tell you about talking in a frequency that even bats can hear, again?"
"Oops!" she giggled. "Sorry, Edward, but I'm so excited to see you again! After everything you told me about the place, I can't wait to get down with the rest of the rednecks."
"Alice!" Edward groaned. "How many times do I need to tell you? Forks is hardly Deliverance-material."
"But it's like, the end of the world!" Alice reasoned. "I don't even know what to pack."
"Clothes?" Edward offered. "Make that warm clothes. The weather's been pretty cold lately. Remember to pack enough rain stuff as well since it pretty much always rains or snows here."
"Got it!" Alice squealed, happy to at least limit the pick from her massive wardrobe. "So how's it going? What are you going to do today?"
"You know…just the usual." He shrugged, though he realized his sister couldn't actually see the movement. "I'm going out for a run later and then to work. Nothing too glamorous." It wasn't a complete lie because after all, he was getting ready to go out for a run. He just neglected to tell his sister who he was running towards.
"So no hot little nurses eying you as you saw away at the sick and wounded of Forks?" Alice teased.
Edward groaned. Damn television series! "How many times have I told you not to believe the crap you see on the TV?"
For some reason or the other, screenplay writers seemed to think hospitals had interesting cases and major traumas lined up at the front of the door while most of the staff was busy screwing each other in the on call room. And what was even worse was that as far as the latter went, they weren't too far off the mark. With doctors, nurses and other hospital staff working irregular and very long hours, most of them were limited to the hospital as their main stomping ground for picking up dates and hooking up. They simply didn't have the time, or the energy, to look elsewhere.
As far as the job went, though, reality was a lot less exciting than what Hollywood would have wanted people to believe. Most of the cases he saw on an average shift still consisted of run-of-the-mill trauma consults for heavy concussions, rule-out brain damage after car crashes and the surgical removal of tumors and the odd imbedded foreign object.
And a lot of the boring stuff, of course, such as getting a patient's medical history, pre and post-op checkups and doing paperwork. Somehow they never really included that in those flashy TV series.
"You're not going to lecture me on the boring stuff again, are you?" Alice complained. "I just want to know if my big brother is having fun at work, ya know? I'm just looking out for you."
"Then you can relax, Ally," Edward chuckled. "I'm having all the fun I can handle."
"Good," she replied firmly. "So… no naughty nurses in the on call room?"
Edward cringed, remembering how close he had come to it being just like that. "Nope."
"But there is something…" Alice's voice trailed off as she pondered, while on the other end of the line her brother quietly cursed for not being stealthier.
"There's nothing, Alice." He tried to laugh it off but between his tension and the shock it sounded more like the sound a hyena would make. "I mean…I don't even have time for anything else. Life around here is pretty boring. It's just work, home and the occasional run through the forest or a church visit."
"I heard about you going to church!" Alice grinned. "Almost couldn't believe it at first. You're not changing the subject on me, though. Spit. It. Out."
"How many times do I have to tell you, Alice," he groaned. "There's nothing to say."
"I know there is and I'm going to find out, whether you tell me now or make me snoop around this weekend," she replied, her voice fast and snappy. "You know how it is."
Unfortunately he did. Growing up around her he'd soon found out that his darling half-sister had some weird kind of sixth sense for sniffing out the secrets of the people around her. Even more so than his mother, she had a knack for picking up on all the stuff he wanted to keep a secret. It was almost like she was a damn clairvoyant at times."Drop it, Al," he growled. "I'm serious."
"Fine," she huffed. "For now."
"Forever," he pressed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he breathed out. It wasn't like he didn't want Alice and Isabella to meet some day or that he thought of Isabella as a dirty little secret he didn't want his family to find out about far from it, in fact. It was just everything was still so new between them that he felt he wasn't ready to share it her with the rest of the world yet, even if the consequences of their secret being put out in the open wouldn't have had such a destructive effect on both their lives.
With that thought in mind, he was quick to steer the conversation back into safer waters, counting on Alice's short attention span to help him out. "So how are things going over there?"
"Great!" Alice chirped, her usual liveliness growing leaps and bounds. "Mom and I went shopping yesterday and she got me these amazing Chanel boots. You should see them."
"Right," Edward chuckled. "Ally, I'm a guy, remember? Pretty boots and overpriced clothes aren't really my territory."
"Yeah, yeah," she grudgingly acknowledged. "Anyway, Mom and I are this close to talking dad into letting me study art history after I graduate. I'm so excited!"
Edward frowned. "I thought you wanted to go to art school?"
"I still do," she answered, "but I know studying art history is probably as close as dad will let me get to it."
Edward huffed. Yeah, he could totally see why his father might be on board with her studying art history where he was vehemently opposed to art school. After all, in his eyes it was the difference between having your daughter work in some swanky, high end gallery and having her skulk out in some crack house with a bunch of other lowlifes painting stuff nobody wanted to buy. His vision, not Edward's. As far as Edward Sr. was concerned, no matter how crazy talented she was, no good could ever come out of his daughter being an artist whereas selling art…
"Besides," Alice went on, "art history may not be so bad in the end and maybe just maybe if we can get Dad to warm up about the idea of me studying art, he might not be so difficult about me creating it in the end."
"Smart thinking," Edward nodded.
"But…" Alice knew it was coming, her eyes closing as she prepared for the blow of her brother's realism. They both knew their father too well.
"Don't get your hopes up." It pained Edward to say the words and he wished more than anything that he could do something to make his baby sister's dreams come true but they both knew it was virtually impossible. Their dad held all the reins and all the purse strings.
They talked some more before Alice had to go, her driver ready to pick her up for a day at school; the second to last before her trip to Washington. Edward couldn't even begin to put into words how exited he was to have Carmen and Alice visit him, though he lacked Alice's exuberant way of showing it. He'd missed them, both of them, and though he knew it would be extremely difficult to keep his secret from his family, he couldn't wait to see them again.
His secret. He smiled, pulling on his gym shoes and sweats as he got ready to head out the door. Only fifteen minutes until he gets to see her again.
"You heading out for a run?" His sister looked up from her newspaper as he flashed by, her eyes following him until he nodded. "Breakfast later?"
He had the feeling it wasn't so much breakfast as the opportunity for some quiet conversation, while the rest of the family was either at school or work, that his sister was after but, for the sake of being agreeable, he didn't push the matter. "Sure. I think I'll be back in an hour or two." Two hours, that should be enough, right?
He knew it probably wouldn't be but given the fact that he had to eat and shower before his shift started, two hours was all he was going to get. It would never be enough; no amount of time in the day would ever sate his desire for Isabella his Bella, which made accepting the fact that they were on a very restricted schedule all the harder.
It was their life together, though. He would just have to accept it and make the most of the time they could find. It was the only way to be with her, she'd made that pretty clear from the start. And besides, as long as they cloud sneak in regular secret meetings, much like the one he was rushing towards, and talk on the phone at least once every day he found the separation to be just about bearable.
But only just.
Sighing, he thought back to a recently shared conversation on the phone; the small device both a God-send since it gave him the opportunity to hear from her even when he couldn't be with her but a torture since hearing her voice only made him more aware of the fact that he wasn't really with her.
"I miss you, Edward," she said honestly, the ruse she'd been keeping up throughout their late night talk finally blown out the window as she let her true feelings shine through.
Edward sighed. "Me too. I wish things could be different right now, but we know they can't. Soon, Bella. We just need to be careful and stay patient."
"I can't wait for soon to get here," she answered with a deep sigh. "It's always too long until I get to see you again."
He smiled, knowing that at least that morning it didn't have to be like that. Only a few more minutes until he got to hold her again.
Rushing through his pre-run stretch he took off, his legs as eager for the burn as his mind was to reach that spot, hidden beneath the dense trees and shrubs where he knew Isabella would be waiting for him.
And she was, his heart skipping a beat or two as her lips pulled into a smile the minute she spotted him, her skirt swishing around her shapely legs as she pushed away from the trees she was leaning against and closed the gap between them.
Always let her come to you. It had been the resolve he'd made the morning he drove back from the Harrison's after spending the night with Isabella, talking and getting to know her with James only a few feet away from them.
"You're late," she scolded, her smile eradicating all effects of her frown as she rose on tiptoes to meet his lips. He was too bowled over by her boldness in taking the initiative to kiss him instead of the other way around like it used to be, to notice the way her nose scrunched up slightly, though the tone of her voice and her words left no room for ignorance. "And you smell."
"I got held up by a phone call," he excused himself in between kisses, "so I doubled over here, hoping to make good on lost time."
"It had better have been one hell of a phone call if it made you late, sweaty lover," she pouted.
"It was. My little sister was calling from Chicago," he explained. "And is that what I am? Your lover?" He tested the word on his tongue, kind of liking how it sounded but not at the same time. He was quickly falling in love with the girl, which would make him her lover in the true sense of the word, but at the same time that word 'lover' sounded much too seedy for what he felt for her.
She merely shrugged. "Isn't that what we are? I have to admit that I'm not exactly a connoisseur of modern references, seeing as all I know of love comes from the pages of the books I've read, but all the same calling you my 'boyfriend' would be weird since you're not exactly a boy anymore."
"Are you calling me an old man?" he chuckled, kissing the shock from her lips and the blush of her cheeks as he took her hand, their fingers twining together as their feet found their way into the meadow. Their meadow.
"You're older than me." She shrugged, giggling when he playfully lunged for her, branches and leaves crunching under her feet as she ran and he chased. It was the game they had been playing from the start, only now they weren't afraid anymore to show their true feelings.
"Then take it from this very old man," he panted, his hands closing around her small waist as he finally caught her or she let herself be caught, he couldn't be sure. "I have no objections to being your lover, in whichever sense of the word."
Her blush deepened, her face flushed as she hid it in his chest, no longer repulsed by the sweatiness she'd commented on only moments before. It felt good. Right.
"How do you manage to sneak out of the house?" he asked, twirling her around the meadow as the winter sun shone on their faces. "You know? Without him noticing." It was a question that had been bugging his mind ever since they'd started meeting, sneaking in short, clandestine moments when he was supposed to be running.
She smiled, her small body falling against his as she lost her footing. "It's ridiculously easy, actually."
"Huh?" He frowned. If there was anything he'd learned about the life she was living over the past couple of weeks, it was that it was anything, but easy. "How so?"
"He might not be able to get any sleep but that doesn't stop him from arranging his schedule around nap times, or as he calls it: his regeneration sessions. It's why his bedroom is at the farthest, most quiet end of the house and he spent crazy money soundproofing it so he wouldn't be bothered by me puttering on around in the house." She shrugged, her feet halting as she drifted off into her own headspace for a while. "It's ridiculous, but hey, that's him."
"What does he do then?" Edward wondered out loud.
"Beats me?" Bella offered. "He doesn't read because I'd know if he took books into his room. I think it's kind of like he tries to…regenerate?"
"That makes sense." Edward nodded. "Though I can imagine it's hard."
"He'll live," she snorted. "Anyway…he keeps a pretty tight schedule: in bed at twelve, rising at six, breakfast with the newspaper, reading time, nap at nine, rise again at eleven, writing, lunch, writing, tea, nap until dinner time, drinks, dinner, music and reading until midnight when it's bedtime again." She droned up their schedule with the monotony of someone who'd had to live by it for far too long. "I'm supposed to do my cleaning and most of the cooking while he's resting or whatever he's doing when he's up in his room but that's not so bad." She snorted. "In fact, if I didn't have my alone time when he's resting, I don't know what I'd do." She chuckled darkly, scraping her Vans along the forest floor. "Actually, I think I damn well know I'd either kill him or go crazy. I sneak out through the stairs leading down from the patio whenever he thinks I'm napping. It's the only real freedom I allow myself."
"Don't you ever get the urge to just keep running?" He muttered as he picked up her hand again, his thumb running circles along that soft spot between her thumb and index finger. "You know, when you go out in the mornings?"
She shook her head. "Not really, no."
"Why not?" He frowned, trying to imagine what would make her stay.
"I can't really say..." She sighed, pursing her lips as she almost visibly weighed her words. "I'm bound to the old man until he kicks the bucket."
"You mean like by a contract?" Already plans were forming in his head to get her out from whatever hold James had over her, the fact that he had a very healthy trust fund sitting in the bank for once not being such a heavy burden on his shoulders.
"It's not like that." Her lips pressed into a hard line as she shook her head. "I don't want to talk about it."
"Okay." He nodded, giving in easily as he knew resistance would get him nowhere. Her walls may have been on the brink of crumbling but, for now, they still held firm. There was no getting through them no matter how much he wanted to no matter how much he craved to see what was behind them.
"Your sister?" she changed the subject, her eyes apologetic as her hands sought him out, eager to retrieve their intimacy which had been lost when she held back from him. "She's the one who's coming over for Thanksgiving?"
He nodded. "She's actually my half-sister but I'm closer to her than I am to Charlotte."
"The oldest, right?" Isabella asked, her eyes tightening in thought as she tried to make sense of the intricacies within the Masen family.
Again, he nodded. "Charlotte….she's my dad's favorite and pretty much the female version of him, where the rest of us favor our mothers more."
"But still, Esme hates your mother." Over the days, his family had been a frequent subject of discussion; the ins and outs of the Masens both fascinating and frightening to her.
"She doesn't hate mom per se," Edward shrugged, hoping he was telling the truth, "she just hates the way our mother chooses to live. It's about as different from the life she's made for herself as can be." He chuckled. "Besides, I'm pretty sure Esme would pick mom over Charlotte any day of the week!"
"Your family is nuts." Isabella smirked, the pain in her eyes poorly masked as she quickly averted her eyes. "I thought rich people would have been happier than us poor folk!"
"It's money that made my family go crazy." He sighed, wishing once again that his parents had been born to a simpler life, or at least a less money-hungry one. "Sometimes I really wish my dad would loose every single dime he has in the bank, just so he'd notice there are more important things in the world."
"You don't know what you're talking about." She shook her head, her lips drawn together in a hard line. "Besides, I hardly think money is the real problem in your family. I think it's love."
He smiled, as eager as she was to lift the mood again. "I think you may be right."
He kissed her forehead, drinking in the sweet taste and smell of her.
"Bella."
He'd started calling her that one morning, much to her surprise. She liked it, though, her eyes were always shining and her telltale blush when he called her that.
He couldn't resist kissing her whenever she looked like that, and seeing that there were no obstacles in his way, that was just what he did; a deep groan rumbling through his chest as his tongue caressed hers, his hands bunching up the silky fabric of her blouse at the small of her back while her hands tugged at the small hairs at the base of his neck.
"I have to go." Her eyes were sad and her voice breathless as she pulled away. "He can wake up any minute now and if I'm not there…"
He sighed, not needing the words to be spoken to know what his extremely paranoid patient would do when he woke up to find his companion gone. She was taking such risks to be with him already.
"Go."
She nodded, her feet scrambling only a few inches backwards. "See you tonight?"
"Definitely." For once, Carlisle's caution had been his best friend, allowing him to spend more time with his girl as they studied their patients for signs of wear and tear after his nocturnal ordeal under the ruse of 'social calls' and 'dining parties'. He knew it couldn't go on like that forever, though, not with James getting worse with every day that passed and his time in Forks slowly but surely running out. He didn't want to think about it, though, not when he still had her on his arms, though he'd spent many sleepless nights vainly trying to work out a way for them to be together more permanently without someone needing to die first. "Seven, right?"
"Don't be late!" She winked, her laughter slowly dying out as she sprinted away, his heart aching watching her as she vanished from his sight.
He made his way back to the house at a more leisurely pace, his even steps measured to still bring him the burn he craved but, at the same time, not go too fast to enjoy the scenery. Even in the winter the forest was still beautiful; the odd shapes of the bare branches standing out more as the fallen leaves created vistas that hadn't been there before.
His sister chuckled as he ran in, stopping only a second to grab a bottle of water from the fridge before making his way upstairs to shower, just as he always did. And just as had become his habit of late, his thoughts were on Bella as he stood under the hot spray, his body slowly warming up again as his hand wandered down to where he was already hard.
It didn't take him long to finish, his skin red from the heat and his body and mind thoroughly relaxed as he dressed for work and trudged his way back down the stairs, his stomach growling as the smells of breakfast wafted up from the ground floor.
"Thanks!" His mouth was watering as his sister put a plate in front of him, his hands and mouth immediately setting to work as Esme fixed a small plate for herself and sat down across from him.
She smiled, rolling her eyes at her brother's eating habits. "How's therapy going?"
Edward almost choked on the bit of pancake he'd been chewing. Wow. Talk about getting straight to the point. He took a big gulp of juice to stop his coughing, only answering her question when his throat had relaxed again. "It's going good, I guess."
Esme arched her brow, her eyes contemplative as she cautiously chewed her own food. "Good because you're letting your shrink help you deal with some of your issues or good because you've managed to work out how to cooperate with Carlisle's terms without having to actually address any of your real problems?"
He cringed. Damn, she is on to him.
He'd been good about attending his weekly sessions with his therapist in Port Angeles ever since he'd arrived but, to be honest, it was about all he had been doing just meeting the demands set by the hospital.
She shook her head, chuckling slightly. "I guess the look on your face says it all." A deep sigh communicated her displeasure even before she uttered the words. "Edward-"
"Drop it, Es," he warned her, already feeling the tell-tale pricks of panic shoot up to his skin. "I'll open up when I'm ready to. Not before."
"But will you ever allow yourself to be ready?" she challenged him. "Because it looks to me like you're determined to keep yourself closed off until this kills you. And maybe in a way it has already."
He smiled sadly at her from across the table, his hand coming to rest atop of the one she stretched out across the polished wood. "I'll be okay, sis. Let me deal with this in my own way, please?"
He could see she didn't agree with him but he could also see that, for now, she was admitting defeat, her head falling down as she pushed the bits of food remaining around on her plate. "I'll be here whenever you need me."
"I know," he replied solemnly. "Same goes for me, by the way."
She smiled, her eyes traveling out of the window to the spot at the end of her backyard where the plants faded into the tree line. "I think I may have to take you up on that offer soon. Rosalie's been behaving almost freakishly nice lately."
"Impossible!" Edward snorted. "I'll believe that when I see it."
"You would have if you were home more!" Esme giggled. "I swear, the first time she smiled at me I was this close to taking her to the ER. I was convinced she was coming down with a fever or that aliens had stolen her brain or something."
"Does she want something from you?" Edward frowned, trying to come up with a solution to explain the inexplicable.
"I don't know." Esme's voice betrayed that she was as shocked as he was. "Carlisle and I are completely taken aback but, of course, very happy to see this change in her. I think it may have something to do with the fact that she and Royce aren't as close as they used to be anymore."
"What?" Edward sat back, his eyes amused. "There's trouble in paradise? Don't tell me the golden couple is on the rocks!"
"Not yet," Esme smiled back, "but I definitely picked up on some bad blood between them the last time he was over. I think that ever since mother left, Rose has had her heart set on the East Coast while Royce doesn't want to leave the cushy little set-up he has here. It may even be that mom's visit actually did some good."
"Well, whatever it is," Edward remarked, gulping down the last of his coffee. "It can't be anything but good for her to get out there, though I'm sure she will have no trouble finding new shallow and viscous friends wherever she goes."
"Maybe she really is willing to change," Esme spoke, sighing wistfully. "She and Jasper have gotten a lot closer over the past couple of weeks now that they are both home a lot more. Perhaps they can both find a middle ground together."
"Keep dreaming, sis," Edward chuckled, getting up from the table to put his dirty dishes in the sink. "We're living in Forks, not Utopia. I already shudder to think what it's going to be like when we throw Alice into the mix."
Esme made a face, though Edward had the feeling that it wasn't so much at the prospect of having yet another teenager in the house as the fact that it was Alice. And her mother, for that matter. As difficult as Esme's relationship with her own mother may have been, she had been behind Elizabeth one hundred percent when their mother had been pushed aside for a 'younger model her previous friendship with Carmen forgotten as she was set up to replace the matron of the Masen household.
In Esme's eyes their father's actions had been unforgivable and, flowing from that, so had Carmen's. To Esme, Alice's very existence was nothing but a reminder of the hateful way Edward Sr. had treated their mother and because of it, she found it very difficult to treat her little half-sister fairly. Even though it's almost impossible to hate her.
"I've gotta go," Edward sighed, rubbing the still lingering remnants of sleep from his eyes. "You'll be nice to her when she gets here? To both of them?"
"Of course I will." She shrugged, looking innocent. "I'm a good hostess, Ned. At least Mother managed to smack that into me. Now go. You don't want to be late with Maggie in charge today."
Edward cringed. She's right. "I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Going to be out late again?" Esme's grin was mischievous. "You know? I'm starting to think you like them more than me."
Edward blushed. If only she knew how much he likes one of them. "Of course not, I'm merely looking out for them."
Esme chuckled as he hastened out of the room, his flustered state not evading her. "Well I hope they will be very rewarding."
Even Edward could discern the not so very subtle undertone in her words.
He arrived at the hospital well in time for the start of his shift, the routine of getting changed in the upstairs doctor's locker room before heading out to the board to see what they had in store for them already as familiar to him as it had been before, back in Chicago.
He sighed. Chicago. Every day he spent in Forks brought him closer to his date of return and every day he was dreading it a little more. He chuckled darkly, shaking his head as his eyes stared at the names and procedures written out in Maggie's elegant script, his mind on completely different matters. As reluctant as he had been to move out to the middle of nowhere, he had grown attached to Forks and, especially, to one particular inhabitant of the town. He didn't want to leave her even though he knew he had to. Too much had been invested in his career to let it all go again.
Too much money.
And too much pain.
"Hey, doc!" He jumped at the sound of Emmett's voice sounding from right behind him. "I didn't know you were working today."
He turned to see the boy in his easily recognizable volunteer clothes, his lips automatically pulled into a smile. "I wasn't supposed to but Doctor Banner asked me to fill in for him."
"Oh, right!" Emmett nodded. "Nicky's sister is getting married today."
Edward chuckled. "Is there anything going on in town that you do not know about?"
"I doubt it," Emmett grinned, his eyes scrunching as he tried to make sense of the board. "With both my mom and sister being fond of a good piece of gossip, I think there's very little happening in town that the McCarty's don't know of."
"So how are things going?" He didn't need to explain, Emmett understanding perfectly well what he was referring to. With Rosalie and Royce apparently having hit a rough patch, he wondered how things were going between her and Emmett.
"I don't know." Emmett frowned. "I did what you told me, you know? About the homework thing." He waited for Edward to nod before he went on. "She didn't exactly like it she didn't like that at all, actually but now that she and Royce aren't as close anymore she's…different." He shrugged, his frown deepening as he tried to make sense of it all. "The other day she actually smiled at me. I don't think she's ever done that."
"Good for you." Edward couldn't help but feel happy for him, even though he had his reservations about Rosalie and the meaning behind her smile. "Just make sure to stay on your guard around her. It might be another trick to get you where she wants you."
"She can have me any ways she wants," Emmett blurted out, blushing furiously when his mind caught up to his mouth. "I mean-"
"I know exactly what you mean," Edward chuckled, patting the poor boy on the back. "Just be careful, Emmett."
"What's this?" Already Edward could hear the sharpness in Rachel's voice was fake. "A volunteer, slacking off? That's not the way it's supposed to be, Emmett!"
"I'm sorry," Emmett mumbled, ducking away before Rachel could let him know it was all just in jest.
"Too serious, that boy." Rachel shook her head as she stared after them. "So… I see Banner got you to do his dirty work just as Nicky got to me!"
"Seems like it." Edward nodded, unable to hide the awkward feeling of being around her, even though Rachel had long ago indicated that there need not be any awkwardness between them. "Haven't seen you around in a while."
She shrugged. "I've been busy. Working a lot of night shifts."
"Avoiding me?" Edward offered, knowing he had been avoiding her whenever he could.
"Maybe." She shrugged again, her lips pulling into a wry smile. "You were right. It's easier this way."
It was. Over the past couple of weeks he'd found out that, no matter how hard they both tried to battle any signs of awkwardness between them, they both functioned best if they didn't have to work together. Things were just…weird.
Evading her, however, didn't mean he stopped caring about her or even stopped knowing about what was going on in her life. The latter was simply impossible, seeing as he worked in a small hospital with a staff particularly fond of spending every free second gossiping about other members of staff or inhabitants of town. And as for the former, even though they were never supposed to be together, he still remembered the evenings they'd spent laughing, joking and just being. She was the first person he'd been able to have that with ever since he'd gotten out of rehab and probably well before that and he cherished the ease of being with her.
He was genuinely happy to know she and Paul were still dating and, from the look of it when he caught them making out in the parking lot a few days before, very happy together. She deserved it.
However, as happy as he was for her, he was even happier to spend his day up on the surgical unit while she skipped back down to the ER.
His day passed as routinely as a shift at the hospital could go, with very few patients coming in from the ER, so that by the end of it, he was able to get all his scheduled procedures done with time to spare before the end of his shift. He could only wish all of his days went like that.
At least now, he was on time for his engagement at the Harrisons; his grin wide and confident as he waited in front of their door, his hair still slightly wet from the quick shower he'd taken and his tie slightly crooked.
"Good." Isabella tried to keep a stern face but he could see the edges of her lips trembling as she stood on the threshold; arms crossed in front of her chest and her beautiful brown hair elegantly pinned back.
"I promised, didn't I?" he chuckled, his eyes ascertaining if the coast was clear before he dipped down for a quick, chaste kiss. "How's he been?"
"The same." She shrugged. "He's still all pissy about being in a wheelchair but hey, it could have been worse."
"You mean he could have flung a salad bowl at your head and had you end up back in the ER?" Edward sighed, trying not to whine about the things he knew weren't going to change, even though he would give everything he had sacrifice everything he had to get her out of there.
"For starters." Isabella chuckled, obviously seeing humor where he saw none. "His brain is getting worse, though, I think. We've hardly been able to get any writing done over the last couple of days."
"It may be the stress from the fall," Edward offered, though not even in his most optimistic state of mind did he believe his own argument.
Isabella shook her head. "It's different. We're almost done with the book, well, with the bulk of it at least. I think he's finally slipping; he's giving up."
He took her hand in his, his long fingers folding around hers, pressing slightly to give her back some of the confidence he saw slipping from her face. "It was bound to happen."
She nodded sadly, his heart breaking for her and the situation she found herself in. "Let's just go in?" she offered, squaring her shoulders as she bit her lip, determination creeping back onto her face.
He followed her into the house, the aroma of the elaborate meal Isabella had undoubtedly worked on for the majority of the afternoon greeting him as soon as he crossed the threshold. "It smells good in here."
She smiled, her confidence growing now that she was back in her element again. "Just wait until you taste it. I've cooked my specialty today."
"And what might that be?" He couldn't resist tucking a strand of hair back behind her ear, the tips of his fingers lingering on the soft skin of her cheek for just a little longer than necessary as they hovered outside of the sitting room.
"You'll just have to wait and see." Her eyes met his, her bottom lip once more disappearing behind her teeth as each drank the other in. God, did she even know the effect she had on him? How it was taking him everything he had not to just…pounce when she did stuff like that?
"Isabella?" James' voice interrupted their moment. "Has our guest arrived?"
She sighed, pulling her shoulders back as she molded her face back into its aloof state, preceding him into the sitting room as she announced their dinner guest.
His visit went as most of his 'official' visits with the Harrisons did; with him trying to causally wheedle out as much information as he could about his patients' mental state of mind under the ruse of talking about art and music.
Bella had been right about the food, though the rich Boeuf Bourguignon, fresh bread and creamy mashed potatoes managed to still only part of his hunger; the other part remaining unfulfilled as they both tried to be stealthy about their feelings, knowing the old man was watching them. And even if he hadn't…Edward knew better than to assume Isabella was ready for any of that stuff yet. They had to take things slow…he had to take things slow.
"That went well, I think." Edward chuckled nervously, running a hand through his hair as he breathed in the fresh evening air again, Isabella's footsteps following him down the front steps.
"Edward?"
He looked up to find her eyes fierce with some kind of determination. "What?"
She looked backward, her hands closing the door a little more so that no sounds of the two of them could drift back into the house. "Kiss me."
His eyes briefly flashed to the windows that were now bathing with light. "Are you sure?"
She nodded, her hands fisting around the lapels of his jacket as she pulled him closer. "He's in his chair on the other side of the house. The coast is clear. Kiss me. Or I'll go crazy."
"We wouldn't want that to happen now, would we?" He smiled, choosing action over words as he pressed his lips to hers, a satisfied groan rumbling from his throat as he caressed his tongue with hers, both getting lost in the sensation as they gave into their almost desperate need.
In fact, they were so caught up in one another that they didn't notice the single pair of eyes staring at them from the other side of the kitchen window.
Evil cliffies are evil, I know, and this one is going to be even more evil since there won't be an update next week. I've got a good reason for playing hookie, though. This day next week I will be cycling up Alpe d'Huez (a hell of a high mountain in France) twice in one day (I must be mad) to raise money for the Royal Dutch Cancer Fund. I've been training me ass off for a couple of months now but I had to admit I'm crazy nervous about it. If you want to help my effort by donating please let me know. Since it's a Dutch charity and the whole site and donation process are in Dutch I'm going to have to talk you through it. Let's all fight together to get rid of this disease once and for all!
AS for the chapter…please let me know your thoughts. What do you think is going to happen now?