Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Twilight except the books, my fan art, and soon the DVD.
A/N: Sorry this chapter took longer than I wanted it to. I've been in procrastination mode and then for a few days my beta had real issues that came over fan fiction. Sucks when that happens, doesn't it?
Legacy was nominated at the Lion and Lamb Awards for Best Crossover and Best Work in Progress. I don't know who nominated me, but thanks. I know I don't have a chance in hell in winning (especially in the WIP category), but it's great that someone thinks enough of my story to take the time to do that. According to the website, nominating ends on April 2nd, so sometime aftter that voting will begin.
Shout out to neveryoumind for the adorkable comment and Paige and Jaslyn from SBM. You last two need to go read a book and stop rotting your brain with fan fiction!
Chapter 21: Surviving Life, Legalities & Charlie
I continued to hold Bella in my arms until she cried herself back to sleep. Carefully, I placed her back down on my bed. Unsure of what else I should do, I sat there, staring at her for a few moments, and watched her sleep peacefully. I brought the covers up over her, gathered some more clothes that I borrowed from Jasper, and went into the bathroom to take a shower.
Bella's past was something I didn't expect to hear; however, I was glad that she felt comfortable enough to tell me. It was an important bit of information about her life that, no matter how she disliked the fact, still affected her. I didn't know if last night's activities brought on her nightmare, but the thought had crossed my mind. Something we did could have jogged her memory after all. Now I was nervous that if I touched Bella in a certain way that it would trigger something in her mind. I really hoped that she trusted me enough to tell me when and if that ever happened. It wasn't fair for her to try to deal with those feelings on her own. When I was done in the bathroom and opened the door, I found Bella laying down and rubbing her eyes. I went over to her and sat on the edge of the bed.
"Feeling any better?" I asked.
"A little." Bella rubbed her face with both of her hands and removed those little sleep boogers from her eyes. Those suckers weren't sexy, even on her. "Thanks for not running out of your room screaming."
"Um, hello, who spent a few hours in a jail cell with me the other night?"
"Oh, that? Pft," she said with a wave of her hand, like she spent every night comforting someone in a jail cell.
"No, seriously, I'm glad you opened up to me about it," I confessed. "I'd hate to do something that made you feel uncomfortable and not know why. Thanks for having enough trust in me to share your secret."
She grabbed my hand and squeezed it. "Thanks for being so damn understanding."
Yeah, that was me, Mr. Understanding. Mr. Horny. Mr. I-don't-know-what-to-do-with-my-life. Mr. Confused. Mr. Reunited-with-his-family. At least I didn't resemble Mr. Clean.
"Why don't you take a shower and then we'll go downstairs and get something to eat?"
"Yeah, sounds like a plan," she said. "I'm hungry."
I turned on the television and flipped around the channels while I waited for Bella to shower and get ready. Surprisingly, she didn't take as long as I thought she would. I didn't know if she rushed or what, but fifteen minutes later she opened the bathroom door and stepped back into my bedroom wearing a pair of snug fitting jeans and a dark green long sleeved t-shirt.
"Holy crap," I said, turning off the television. "I thought you'd be at least another forty-five minutes in there."
"Doing what?"
"I'll be damned if I know," I said. "What the hell do women do in the bathroom that takes so long?"
Bella leaned across the bathroom doorway and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Try to make ourselves pretty for the men in our lives."
"You look gorgeous and you took only fifteen minutes, so why the hell would you need another forty-five minutes?" She stood there, staring at me with a slight smile on her face. "What?! What did I do?"
"Nothing," she said. "Everything."
Huh? The female species continued to confuse the hell out of me!
"Edward, I have to ask something of you before we go downstairs."
Once again, Bella seemed nervous. "What is it, love?"
She blushed at my words. "Please try to give Esme a break. I know this is all really weird and awkward for you. Esme has been there for me through the years when my own mother wasn't. She, um, was the one that had to, ahem, explain some things to me before I learned them in school. Can you seriously see Charlie explaining to me what a period is? I know Esme's a great and loving person and if you give her a chance, you'll find that out too."
"I can't see Charlie explaining a period at the end of a sentence," I said. "So I can't see him explaining to you what a menstrual cycle is."
"He'd be so flabbergasted, he'd explode," Bella laughed. "Seriously, will you try with Esme?"
"I am trying," I said. "You don't understand how close I was to Peter and Liz. It's hard for me to stop and redirect those feelings."
"Charlie's not my biological father, but that doesn't mean I stopped loving him when I learned the truth."
I simply nodded. "And now, I need to do the opposite of what you did years ago."
Bella walked over and stood in front of me. "Funny how everything works out, huh? I guess your circumstance is a little different than mine was though. Come on and let's go get something to eat." Grabbing my hand, she dragged me off of my bed, out of my room, and into the hallway.
Bella continued in the lead, holding my hand and leading our path to the first floor. No one seemed to be immediately around, so we started looking through the refrigerator and cabinets, checking out what there was to eat. Being that it was already ten o'clock, we decided on some cereal to tide us over until lunch time.
We were sitting on the stools at the island in the kitchen when Esme appeared. She must have been in the laundry room.
"You're having cereal?" she chastised us. "Let me make you the two of you something."
"Don't worry about it, Esme, we're just munching on something until lunch." I told her. "Where is everyone?"
"Carlisle went into work and Emmett and Alice went with Rose and Jasper to their parents," she said. Esme stood against the counter and watched us eat. "I think they were going to go to Port Angeles to catch a movie. They didn't want to wake you, but you should call them to see where they are if you want to catch them before they leave the Hales."
"I should make dinner for Charlie tonight and spend some time with him," Bella explained. "He's been working a lot, and he's a horrible cook."
"Ketchup sandwiches, still?" Esme asked with amusement.
"Gross, are you serious?" I asked. "Does he literally just put ketchup on bread and eat it?"
Bella laughed between bites of her cereal. "Yes, he does."
"He doesn't know how to fry an egg and make some bacon or something?"
"The last time Charlie Swan tried to cook, the fire department showed up at your house, isn't that right, Bella?" Esme sat down next to me at the kitchen counter, which left Bella on my other side.
"You are correct, Esme." Bella said. "I will not let him live that down either."
"So, Edward, can you fry an egg and make some bacon?" Esme asked curiously.
"Yes, and toast some bread and slap a slice a cheese on that baby and you have yourself a breakfast sandwich."
She patted me on the back. I knew she wanted to do so much more. "Congratulations, you know how to cook more than Charlie."
"I should feel triumphant, but Charlie's not here and I can't gloat and throw it in his face." Bella took our bowls and went to the kitchen sink to wash them out.
"Can you cook anything else, Edward?" Esme asked me. Maybe this was her way of trying to get to know me better.
"Just the man basics, you know?" I said, and they both tried not to laugh at my admission. "Like boxed macaroni and cheese, hot dogs, sandwiches, canned soup, ramen noodles, and grilled cheese. I can boil water without burning a pot! I wouldn't starve, but I'd have a very limited menu selection."
"You'd be bored with it in no time, I bet." Esme suggested. She was trying not to stare as much and, so far, was doing a better job than yesterday.
"Oh, I almost forgot! I can make a mean hamburger!" I started laughing as soon as I finished the sentence, realizing how stupid I sounded.
Bella sat back down next to me. "Esme can make a mean homemade macaroni and cheese. You two should team up and make dinner some night." I wasn't dumb, and I knew what Bella was up to.
"You'd let me invade your kitchen like that?" I asked.
Esme's eyes darted between Bella and me. "Only if Bella makes her mean salad."
"Sounds like it will be one mean meal," I said. "Wait, Charlie can't even make a sandwich with cold cuts?"
"Edward, this is what Charlie is skillful at in the kitchen." Bella got up and went over to the refrigerator. Opening the door, she took out a single can of soda, shut the door, and walked out of the kitchen and into the living room. She flopped down into a chair, grabbed the remote, and turned the channel to a football game. I watched as Bella opened the soda and took a swig of it. "Only imagine this is a beer!" she said, holding the soda over her head and turning in my direction. "That is my father's single skill in the kitchen."
I started laughing so hard I nearly fell off the stool. Resting my head against the counter, I let the laughter wash over me because it felt fucking good.
"He's that bad?" I asked seriously, still trying to regain my regular breathing pattern.
"Ketchup sandwiches remember?" she said. "Your cooking would be considered a gourmet meal over his."
"All this talk about food has me hungry for some real food," I said.
"Let's see what we have that you might like," Esme said, getting up off the stool next to me and making her way to the fridge. "With all the talk about sandwiches, do you want one? There's roast beef, turkey, and cheese-wise we've got provolone and yellow American."
I was more than willing to make myself a sandwich, but Esme insisted on making them for the two of us. We sat at the counter while we ate our sandwiches (I chose roast beef and provolone with lettuce and mayo on wheat bread while Bella opted for turkey and yellow American) and made small talk with Esme. When she wasn't staring, it was fine. It was during those times that she forgot what she was doing and kept her gaze on me that drove me a tad nutso. Our conversation never steered into territory that was too personal either. I wasn't ready to talk to her as freely as I could with Carlisle. I wasn't sure if either one of us could handle that much honesty yet.
I left the house with Bella in her truck, and we stopped at the Thriftway before heading to her house. There were stares and gawkers while we shopped for groceries for Charlie's dinner. I saw Cameron and picked up my last paycheck. He seemed a little befuddled over my situation and what to do with me. While I had previously told Emmett that I wanted to keep my job, I didn't see how I could at this point. Not without going postal on someone and having Charlie locking me up. Everywhere I turned in the store someone's eyes landed on my face and bore into me.
I fucking dealt with that at the house. I knew I was going to have to deal with it at school. I didn't want to have to go to work and deal with it too. Then there was the thought of having to go to work where I had memories of Liz. Everywhere I looked, I had a memory of her. Her presence was everywhere in the store—from the registers at the front to the break room in the back.
I quit.
Cameron did tell me that if I ever needed a job and if there was an opening he'd be happy to hire me back. He even said that he'd give me a good recommendation if I needed one because I was a good, hard worker. Ain't that fuckin' sweet.
I wasn't even sure if I was still able to cash my damn check. It was made out to Edward Masen and, technically, I was no longer Edward Masen even though my identification still said I was. Shit, I had practically just got my license! I was going to have to figure out the legalities of changing my last name and figuring out how to explain that to the DMV. What about my social security number? Shit, mental note: talk to Carlisle again tonight if he was available.
When we reached the house, Bella found a note on the kitchen table from Charlie. He was out fishing with a friend over in La Push and would be home in time for dinner. I helped Bella with some laundry and cleaning even though she told me to sit down and relax. Bella had a load of her clothes in the washer down in the basement and we ended up on the couch in a heated lip lock with our limbs intertwined. I heard Charlie's cruiser pull into the driveway, and we scrambled to straighten our clothing and at least appear that we weren't doing something we shouldn't have been doing even though we were. When Charlie walked in through the front door, Bella was sitting ridiculously close to me (with one of her legs thrown over my lap!) for two people who were trying to appear innocent but had knocked their halos off when they were running their hands through each other's hair in a mad make out frenzy.
Actually, I probably lost my halo down in the basement when I playfully grabbed and rubbed Bella's ass when she was bending over into the washer. Oopsie.
Charlie looked at us suspiciously and I tried to change positions, but Bella wouldn't budge. "How you two doin'?" he asked casually.
"We're good, Charlie," Bella responded, still slightly out of breath.
"Still a Cullen," I said seriously and unsarcastically as I could. Damn it, we must have rolled over onto the remote and changed the channel at some point because there was an infomercial on. I moved slightly, and the channel changed again. Shit, my ass just changed the channel! Charlie's eyes shifted between the television and where we were on the couch.
"What's wrong with the TV?" he asked and then started up the fucking eyebrow dance.
"I don't know, maybe it's going on the fritz," Bella said, not knowing that my talented ass had managed to change the channel. In order to not raise any more suspicion, I tried not to move, which, of course, made my body nervously twitch on its own more than it ever had. The screen went from the infomercial, MTV, TLC, TBS, Hallmark (ooh, M*A*S*H*!), NBC-News (hey, was that me?), Home Shopping Network to a scrambled channel that sounded like PlayBoy within thirty seconds.
Charlie walked over to the TV and turned it off after a distorted image of a breast appeared. Two seconds after he pressed the button to turn it off, my ass turned it back on. "What the hell!" he exclaimed in confusion. While his back was turned I quickly got up, flipped the couch cushion up, grabbed the remote, and threw it in Bella's direction as she started laughing hysterically. I fixed the couch cushion and sat back down in a flash before Charlie turned around to see what Bella was laughing about.
"Sorry, Charlie, I must have been sitting on the remote by accident," she explained through her fits of laughter.
"Oh, okay," he sighed. "I'm glad we don't need to get a new TV."
"No, we don't need a new TV." Using the remote, Bella turned the television on and off. "And my big butt didn't break the remote."
"Your butt isn't big!" I said.
Charlie's head whipped around to me, and his eyebrows did the equivalent of the Samba. "Don't be looking at her butt!"
"He's my boyfriend and he can look at my butt all he wants, right Edward?"
"Oh, don't drag me into this!"
"Don't be looking at her butt!" Charlie repeated.
"Hell, he can touch my butt!" Bella said with a raised voice. Dear God, was she trying to get me killed?
Charlie pointed an accusing finger at me. "Don't be touching her butt!"
"I'm not!" I said innocently, even though I had touched Bella's wonderful, curvaceous backside on numerous occasions. For some reason, I had raised both of my hands in the air in an odd attempt to prove my innocence. Like that was going to do me any good.
"Oh, yes you have!" Bella said and then clamped her hand over her mouth.
Shit, I was dead! What would my obituary read? I could see it now Anthony Edward Cullen (nee Masen), 17, was killed by her girlfriend's father after she admitted that he had touched her ass in the presence of her father, the town's police chief, Charlie Swan. Swan is free on bail after pleading guilty in a temporary insanity plea.
It was easy to see that when Bella got into an argument, she acted before she thought. The timer in the kitchen went off and interrupted our exchange. "What's that for, Bella?" Charlie asked.
"The dryer should be done," she explained. "I did a few loads of laundry."
"Go down to the basement and fold your laundry down there," Charlie said. "Edward and I need to have a talk."
Charlie was sending Bella away so she didn't have to witness my murder. She was scarred enough. My life flashed quickly before my eyes. Fuck, the majority of it was a snooze-fest!
"Oh, I don't know if that's such a great idea," I said nervously. "I'd like to live."
"Bella, go down to the basement," Charlie instructed. "Edward—kitchen."
Bella stomped her foot and headed toward the door near the kitchen that led down to the basement. Charlie turned toward me and nodded in the direction of the kitchen. "It's been lovely knowing you, Bella!" I said while walking to my doom.
Opening the door to the basement steps, Bella yelled at us. "Charlie, don't be too much of an ass, please!"
"Ask Carlisle and Esme to bury me near a tree!" I said before Bella closed the door and headed downstairs. I hoped she heard my wishes for my final resting place. The thought of being buried near a tree always appealed to me for some reason. It wasn't like I'd actually know I was there, but it seemed like the perfect spot to spend eternity. Or until some developer bought the land and decided to build a mall and dug up your bones.
When we reached the threshold of the kitchen, Charlie sat down at the table and instructed me to do the same. "What are you intentions toward my daughter?"
Wait… what? I wasn't expecting that. "Huh?"
"I am trying to look out for Bella's best interests, even if she doesn't appreciate it," he explained. "I don't want to see Bella heartbroken by some stupid teenage boy who follows his hormones, talks her into something, and then brags to the entire school about it."
"We're not having sex, if that's what you think."
"Where did she sleep last night at your house?"
It took me a minute to realize that he meant the Cullen house, which was, um, yeah, by extension, my house. "Do you any guns here in the house?"
"Shot gun in my bedroom upstairs," he replied quickly.
"Shit."
"I'll give you a warning and a two minute head start," he said with an uneven smile. What a generous offer; however, I was without a car or a cell phone to call for help. I could make a beeline for the trees and hide in the thick woods. It was my only chance for survival.
"Bella slept in my bed, with me." I cleared my throat. "I told you, we're not having sex," I quickly added.
"Fooling around?"
"Depends on your definition of fooling around," I said and immediately regretted it. "There was kissing, some minor groping, and yes, damn it, my hands have been on Bella's butt. It's nice, but for some reason she thinks her butt and her thighs are too big, which is insane." I was rambling because I was nervous and told Charlie more than he needed to know about our extra-curricular activities. It was easy to imagine him jumping up from the table at any moment and running upstairs to get his shotgun. I needed to change the subject, STAT! "Look, Charlie, Bella told me what happened when she was five."
If Charlie's eyebrows were doing the Samba before, they were doing the Mambo now. "She did?"
"She told me about Renee and Phil and that you basically rescued her from that situation. I think it's real big of you to have raised a daughter that isn't biologically yours because you cared enough to want her to be in a safe environment. When she told me what happened, I wanted to knock their lights out. I know she's Bella's mother, but what the hell kind of woman is Renee that she didn't believe her?" Charlie's expression had softened during my speech. I took that as a good sign. A very good sign.
"She's not who I thought I fell in love with all those years ago."
"Ain't that a bitch."
"Certainly is, Edward." Charlie smirked. "I don't want to see Bella hurt."
"I get that, really I do. We had a talk and I told her that if I did something that made her feel uncomfortable that she needed to tell me. She shouldn't keep it bottled up and hide it from me."
"That's admirable of you."
"She shouldn't have to deal with it on her own."
Charlie gazed out the window for a few seconds before turning his attention back to me. "How many girlfriends have you had before Bella?"
"None," I said honestly. "We were never in one place long enough for me to make friends."
"So, why Bella?"
"Actually, she pursued me at first and I tried to, um, decline her advances," I said. "I got to know her as a friend. Bella's a great girl, she's smart and beautiful. I like that I can actually have an intelligent conversation with her. She's not an empty headed girl." Skepticism was written all over his face. "I'm not one of those guys that are out to hurt a girl on purpose, and I don't want to hurt Bella. And whatever we might or might not end up doing… you know, in that sense, will be because she wants to and not because I pushed her into something, ya know?"
"You're too damn honest for your own good," Charlie said, shaking his head.
I was unsure if he actually liked or disliked my honesty. "Um, thank you?"
"I want Bella to be happy, even if a sarcastic, smart mouthed boy is the one that does it for her."
"Aw, shucks, Charlie." I smiled at him. "Now can we be best buds?"
"Don't press it, kid," he said. "Remember, I own a shot, gun that's right upstairs, and I'm older and can easily forget that I gave you a two minute warning."
"Oh, you wouldn't do that to Bella! You wouldn't do that to your best bud!"
Cue the eyebrow dance of the Salsa. "So now you're suddenly a wheelchair-bound Native American?"
"Say what?"
"Billy is my best friend," Charlie explained. "You… you are someone I have to put up with because of Bella."
"I'll make you love me, but not in the biblical sense."
"That's good, because I prefer the female persuasion," he said.
"Speaking of females, you're way too uptight, Charlie! What's going on with you and Sue? Maybe you need to get horizontal between the sheets, ease up on some of that tension from work and stuff."
"Bella!" He yelled toward the stairs. Maybe I had been too much of a smart ass with Charlie. "Get up here before I do kill him!"
I heard Bella running up the stairs and into the kitchen. "Oh, thank God, there's no blood."
"Not even a scratch," I smiled happily.
"Say goodnight, Edward." Charlie said. "I think it's time for you to go home now."
I called the house, and Carlisle answered and said he'd be right over to pick me up. Bella waited with me out on the front porch while Charlie parked himself on the couch in front of the television. At least that's what he said. It wouldn't have surprised me if he was standing on the other side of the door with his ear pressed against it. At first I thought it'd be better if I glossed over some of the details of my conversation with Charlie. I changed my mind, though, and told Bella the complete truth, which she was a little embarrassed over but appreciated nonetheless.
"You do realize that your lovely ass almost got me killed?"
"My ass is lethal!" Bella swayed her ass back and forth against the railing and made shooting noises. I busted out laughing at her ass gun.
"I'm sure Charlie wanted to kill me!" I told her while trying not to laugh again. "I somehow charmed my way out of death today."
"Don't mind Charlie. He's just being his usual overprotective self. Did you want to borrow my iPod to occupy yourself tomorrow?" Bella asked. Her back was against the support beam and I was standing in front of her, our arms wrapped around each other's waists.
"Nah, don't you take it to school?" I leaned in and placed a quick kiss on her lips. "I should have enough things to keep me occupied at the house."
Bella's fingers played along my lower back, near the waist line of my jeans. "Mrs. King took Paige and Jaslyn's iPods away from them in English."
"Why?" I had never talked to Paige or Jaslyn, but I had heard of them because of Bella. They seemed like nice enough girls, but Bella pulled away and never became too close with them.
"They were caught reading Southern Vampire Mystery fan fiction on their iPods in English."
"Who and what in English?" I asked. Bella had to explain to me what the Southern Vampire novels were, who Sookie Stackhouse was, and the idea of fan fiction.
"People write stories about books?" I asked in amazement. "I bet no one writes fan fiction for Shakespeare."
Bella laughed. "You are so adorkable."
"I'm what?"
"Oh, never you mind."
Carlisle pulled up in his Mercedes, so I gave Bella one last hug and kiss before wishing her a good night. I wanted to talk to Carlisle, but for some reason, I didn't want to do it in the car. When we got back to the house Emmett, Rose, Alice, and Jasper were back from Port Angeles. Rose was in the kitchen helping Esme cook dinner while the rest of us hung out in the living room. It seemed like my life now revolved around food and waiting for it to be served.
"I checked online about the shipments for your clothes earlier today and mostly everything should be here by Tuesday," Alice said. "A few things won't arrive until Wednesday."
"Are you okay with me borrowing more of your clothes?" I asked Jasper. He was sitting on the love seat with Alice in his lap.
"No, I'm not," he said very seriously. "I'd rather you walk around the house in only the boxer briefs Alice picked up yesterday."
"Oh yeah, I'm going to walk around the house showing off my scrawny body."
"That'd be much better than you walking around naked!" Alice said.
Jasper laughed. "I don't care, Edward, borrow what the hell ever you want."
"Thank God for Jasper!" Emmett said from his position on the couch. "Love ya man, but I do not need to see you naked."
"I think you have an irrational fear of being naked around another man," I said. "You don't want to whip it out for the Cheerio dunkin' contest either."
"Emmett doesn't want to whip it out because you probably have an advantage over him. His aim leans to the right," Jasper explained.
"And you'd know this how?" Alice asked before I had a chance to. Emmett had folded his arms across his chest and was staring at Jasper.
"He told me! I don't have any literal first hand proof!" Jasper exclaimed and rolled his eyes at Alice's suggestion. "I've never held it for him or anything."
"You kids talk about the strangest topics." Carlisle added. He had been silently sitting on the couch next to Emmett the entire time. "I should be glad you don't speak of these things at the kitchen table."
"Aim and nakedidity are two subjects that I at least know are off limits at the dinner table," I said. "Your uncouth son over there, I don't know about him."
"Uncouth?" Emmett asked.
I smiled. "Guess that wasn't covered in your Word of the Day calendar. Me thinks I ought to get you a dictionary for Christmas."
"I think he already has one and it's used as a door stop in his room." Carlisle said.
Alice went over to Carlisle and gave him a high five. "Good burn, Dad!" From the expression on his face, I wasn't too sure Carlisle knew what Alice meant. He may be able to put up with us, but Carlisle wasn't up to date with our lingo and he didn't pretend to be.
During dinner I sat in my usual spot and missed Bella not sitting across from me. Esme was much better tonight and didn't stare quite as much. I wasn't sure if I was getting used to her glares or if I was getting better at ignoring her.
The rest of the night seemed to go incredibly and painfully slow. We all sat downstairs in the living room and watched some television shows together. It was all very Rockwellesque again. Carlisle excused himself for the night and, a few minutes later, I did the same. I thought he had gone into their bedroom, but when I reached the second floor, I noticed the door to his study was open and the light was on. Carlisle granted me entrance when I went over and lightly knocked on the door. He was at his desk, glancing at some papers and rubbing his eyes. I knew that he had worked earlier today and looked tired. I felt guilty for interrupting him.
"I'm sorry to bother you so late," I said timidly. "Do you have a few minutes?"
"Of course, have a seat."
I plopped down in the chair next to his desk. "I had a few questions pop up today."
"Okay, I'll try to answer them if I can."
"Bella and I went to the Thriftway today," I explained. "I saw Cameron and he gave me my last paycheck. Yesterday I had told Emmett that I wanted to keep my job, but while we were there I changed my mind. So many people were staring at me the entire time we were there. It was uncomfortable. I quit."
"That's okay," he said. "I know people are going to be staring for a while. Did you want to try to go to school tomorrow or would you rather stay home?"
"I think I'd rather stay home for one more day."
"That's fine."
"Can I even cash my paycheck though? It's made out to Edward Masen and that's not really me."
"Technically, it is for now until your name is legally changed over," Carlisle explained. "I don't know if anyone would give you a hard time since your story has been plastered all over the papers. Why don't you give me your check and I'll cash it?"
"Sounds like a plan." Taking the check out of my back pocket where it had resided since this afternoon, I opened the envelope, took the pen that Carlisle offered me, and signed the back of it. I handed the check over to Carlisle and dug through one of the drawers in the desk. Carlisle took out a small safe, opened it with a key that he retrieved from his pocket and handed me the cash equivalent of my pay.
"I don't know if this is too much to ask, but um, while my last name is being changed, can we just switch my first and middle names since that's what I'm used to? Or do I have to be Anthony Edward?"
"I'll call Percy tomorrow," Carlisle said. "Why go by your middle name if you can go by your first? Edward Anthony Cullen, right?"
"Yeah, I'd appreciate that. What about my social security number and my driver's license?"
"You don't have to do anything yet. Don't get rid of your license. We'll have to go to court and have a hearing to change your name. Usually it's a fairly easy process, but because of the situation, it might be a little more complicated. We also have to make sure your social security number points to you correctly."
It wouldn't be my life is something wasn't a little more complicated, would it? I had to give Carlisle my social security number so Percy could look into that dilemma. It was a good thing that I had memorized the number because I wasn't currently in possession of my card. It was at the Masen house along with my birth certificate and a few other things I really wanted. Shit, I needed to get back into that house.
"Things a little bit better with Esme today?" Carlisle asked.
"Yes, thank you."
"She told me it was brought up that the two of you might team up for dinner one night."
"The subject was brought up," I said.
"I appreciate your effort with Esme and apologize if she's overbearing," Carlisle said apologetically. "I can't blame her, but she's excited to have you back."
"I know, it's just that I'm getting the same thing from everyone."
"I think that's why it'll be a good idea for you to stay home tomorrow. I'll call the school and ask that they send home your work home with Emmett so you don't get too far behind."
"That's a good idea." I couldn't hand in one of my assignments tomorrow anyway because it was in my backpack, which was, of course, still back at the Masen house. "I want to graduate in June and not go to summer school." I noticed how tired Carlisle looked at this point. "I'm sorry, I'm keeping you awake. I'll get going."
He smiled faintly. "No matter how tired I am, I always have time for my children."
"Um, yeah," I said stupidly, not used to being referred to in that way. "Still, I'll let you go. Can't have you hacking into the wrong body part and being sued or something."
Carlisle laughed. "No, we can't have that. Good night, Edward."
I was lying in bed and unable to fall asleep. Staring at the ceiling for no particular reason, I tried to think of why I couldn't fall asleep. The first night I was here, I had cried myself to sleep in Emmett's arms. Last night, Bella was in my bed with me, and we fell asleep after a hormone-fueled make out session. It was quieter here than in town at the Masen house. In town, there were car doors slamming, barking dogs, the guy next door stumbling home late from the bar and his wife screaming at him, and the sound of traffic. Out here the crickets chirped and the owls hooted.
Nature fuckin' sucked right now. People paid for machines to make the kind of noises I couldn't fall asleep to. I flicked on the television and flipped through the channels. The Cullens—wait, fuck, I was a Cullen—we must have had the premium cable package because it seemed as if we had fifteen million channels, but I'll be damned if I could find a single thing of interest to watch.
I was about to give up when there was a knock on my door. "Come in," I said without knowing who it was.
Emmett popped his head inside. "You okay, bro?"
"Yeah, why?"
He stepped inside, closed the door, and leaned against it. "You seemed to leave kind of suddenly before."
"I wanted to talk to Carlisle about some things before he went to sleep," I explained. "There's a lot of legal stuff I didn't think about before."
"Percy will be earning his money with all this."
"That's for sure," I said. "And now, I can't sleep. The first night you were with me. Last night, Bella was with me. To top it off, it's too damn quiet out here."
"Sorry, but I've got a lady waiting in my bedroom for me."
"Lucky bastard."
"That I am," Emmett said with a smile. "If it's noise you need, Jasper snores."
"I don't know if that'd be enough."
"Hug your pillow and imagine it's me."
"Hell no!" I sent my pillow flying in his direction and then he threw it back at me.
"Fine, then imagine it's Bella."
"Far better choice in my book." He was turning to open the door and leave. "Hey, Emmett?"
"Yeah?"
"I know about Bella, she told me and why you protect and look out for her."
He was surprised, I could tell that much. "So what? You think it's just your job now?" he asked.
"No, doofus," I said. "We're on the same page where that's concerned. She's got me too now."
"Good, hurt her and I'll have to kill you."
I laughed, and Emmett looked at me like I was insane. "I think Charlie has first dibs on me. You know, you've got Rose to look after, too."
"I know, but she's pretty damn tough in her own right."
"Bella is too," I admitted.
"I know that," Emmett said. "I trust Jasper with Alice but that still leaves me with Rose, Bella, and now you."
"Me?"
"You're my little brother, aren't I supposed to have your back?"
"Who's supposed to have your back?" I asked.
"I don't know," he said, his brow furrowed. "I never really had anybody."
"I guess that's what I'm here for, doofus."
"Shut it, moron."
"Emmett, why did you lie yesterday to Esme about where we were?" I asked. "You damn well know we weren't playing basketball at the high school."
"They don't need to know where we were," he said simply. It wasn't a good enough explanation for me though.
"Oh? Why not?"
"They just don't need to know." Emmett was trying to side step my question, but at the last second changed his mind. "We don't go up there much. I figured the cabin can be like your safe haven or something. Like our place to go to let off steam...or whatever. I dunno."
"Aw, you want it to be our place," I said teasingly. "Ain't that sweet."
"Shut it," he said, opening the door to leave. "Night, moron."
"Night, doofus."
Emmett closed the door behind him, and once again I was alone with only the sounds of nature. I don't know for how long I lay there, praying for my eyelids to become heavy so I could fall asleep. I was tired of having to adjust for so many things in my life and refused to cry myself to sleep. The thought crossed my mind to ask Emmett to pick me up a body pillow while he was in town.
To be, or not to be, that is the question. Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune or take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them. To die, to sleep—no more—and by a sleep to say we end the heartache, and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to. Tis a consummation devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep—to sleep—perchance to dream. Ay, there's the rub! For in that sleep of death what dreams may come, when we have shuffled off this mortal coil. Must give us pause—there's the respect that makes calamity of so long life.
Oh. My. God. I was quoting Shakespeare to myself to try to fall asleep. And I'll be fucked if it wasn't working.
Sometime during the night—or was it early morning?—sleep did finally claim me. Fitfully I slept, dreaming of my past and what might be in my future.
Funny really, because I knew not of what my future held.
A/N: There will be an outtake from this chapter from Charlie's POV. If you haven't done so already, go sign up for Legacy: Extras & Outtakes.
Sneak Peak of what I think will be in the next chapter: Edward asks both Emmett and Charlie for a favor. Edward goes back to school and a teacher helps him deal. Edward, Esme, and Bella bond in the kitchen. Edward runs to Alice's side.