Chapter 25.

Hunter POV.

I think I finally understood why he left my mom. It didn't make what he had done right, but I think I knew he didn't mean to hurt her. He said he would have been in my life if he had known, and I actually found myself believing him. Mom was happy I was giving him a chance, and truthfully, I think I was, too. It would be good to get to know him better. We had missed out on so many years together, but there was still a lot of work to be done in building our relationship. And I actually found myself looking forward to meeting the rest of his family. They would be arriving in a couple of hours, and he had to leave to prepare their house for their return.

"Thank you, Hunter. For listening to my side, and for understanding," he said before he left.

"I don't fully understand, I never will, but I am trying to. That will need to be enough for now," I said.

"Of course. And thank you for giving me a chance. I just hope Bella will be so forgiving."

"I haven't fully forgiven you, yet. There is a lot of work to be done, but I think Bella will be okay. Yes, you lied to her, but when you explain that it was your dark time in your life, you might find that she will understand more than you think," I said. I believed she would, eventually, at least. She loved him desperately, and I thought she would forgive him of anything.

"I hope you're right. Okay, I need to go. Do you want to come over to mine later, or shall I bring the family here?" he asked.

Shit. I was going to meet them so soon? I thought maybe he would at least give them a chance to get used to the idea. I just didn't know.

"They will be fine, you know. They will love you as much as I do," he said.

How the hell can he say he loves me so soon? I didn't know how to reply to that. Oh, I hope he didn't expect me to say it back.

"No, I don't. I know you need time, but I know I loved you the moment I knew you were my son," he answered my thought.

"Edward, please stay out of my head," I said.

"Sorry. Well, I'll see you later?" he said, and he stepped in for a hug.

"Um, too soon, Edward," I said, stepping back from him, and noticing the disappointment in his eyes. I held my hand out instead, hoping to take some of the sting away. He smiled slightly, and shook it.

"See you," I said.

"Later," he replied, and left.

Mom was cooking breakfast for me, and I went to join her. I was feeling quite hungry now, and the smell of bacon was delicious.

"Hey, sweetie. You okay now?" she asked.

"Yeah, I think so. At least my head has stopped pounding. What happened to me last night, anyway?" I asked. I still didn't know why I had blacked out.

"We don't really know. We heard you scream, and then the house shook and there was a huge 'boom'. When we got outside to look, there was a cloud of smoke in the sky coming from the meadow. Edward thinks the shock of finding out about him like that made you explode. Literally. Like you were a bomb going off, or something. When we got to you, you were unconscious, but thankfully still alive. Edward got to you first. He is so fast, I couldn't keep up with him. He was really worried about you, you know," she said.

Wow. Two minutes after meeting me, he was worrying about me. Okay, so maybe he was telling the truth about loving me from the start. I shook my head. It still felt really weird to me. And me, going off like a bomb? Man, that could be really dangerous.

"Didn't anyone notice the bang or anything?" I asked.

"I don't think so. I think we only noticed because of our hearing, of course, but the house is close to the meadow, and the town is quite a bit away from it. I think we are safe."

I nodded. At least we wouldn't have to pack up and leave so soon. I really liked this place, and I wanted to stay as long as we possibly could. Talking about my explosion, reminded me of what happened to my mother.

"I'm sorry I made you so upset, mom. I've never seen you like that before. It was actually quite scary," I chuckled.

"Well, I've never been that upset before, and I was really trying to control it as best I could. I was angry with you because you wouldn't give him a chance, and I had told you he was a good man, but you didn't listen. Then I got angry with him because of the way he was speaking to you, and it just got too much. I couldn't stand it. I only wanted for you two to get along."

"Well, I suppose we will need to work on perfecting our powers a bit more, now," I said. "They are obviously a lot stronger than we thought."

"Yes. Yours especially," she said. "You scared me, sweetie. Edward said your blood pressure was all over the place, that's why you kept blacking out. Oh, and you destroyed some of the beautiful flowers up there, and you actually left a small crater in your wake," she chuckled slightly.

"Really? Oh, no. Bella will kill me," I said, putting my head in my hands. She really loved that place.

"Honey, I'm sure she will be just glad that you are okay," mom said, rubbing my shoulder. "How are you feeling about meeting the family, then?"

Oh God, I had almost forgotten. The family. My family. Jesus, will I ever get used to that?

"Um, a little nervous, actually. Did you ever meet them?" I asked hopefully, though I knew she hadn't.

"No, I never did," she said, handing me my breakfast. "At the time, there was only Carlisle and Esme, but now there are four more members. He spoke about his parents quite a lot, and they seem very nice, so please give them a chance, too."

"I will, but what if they don't like me?" I whispered. I couldn't believe I was actually worrying about this. After all, it wasn't my fault they way things were back then.

"They will love you, sweetie. Don't worry. You will be fine."

I really hoped so. I ate my breakfast while contemplating about Bella's reaction to the news. It was going to be extremely difficult for her to digest, I knew that. But I hoped her love for him, would help in her forgiveness. If I was going to have Edward in my life, I didn't want to do it without my best friend by my side. A thought occurred to me, and I chuckled out loud.

"What's so funny?" mom asked.

"I was just thinking. If Bella can forgive Edward, would that make her my mom?" I laughed again.

Mom smiled and said, "No, sweetie. I think you will find it would make her your step mom. Unfortunately for you, you only get one mother."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," I said, kissing her cheek.