25

Bella

Edward pulls up to my house and puts his Volvo in park. Nether one of us unbuckles our seatbelts or moves. I turn to face him and catch his eye. His hand sweeps over the gear shifter to hold my hand. He rubs it so delicately.

Edward looks deeply into my eyes. "Parting is such sweet sorrow."

"That I shall say goodbye till it be 'morrow." We both smile. He leans in and kisses my lips. He begins to pull away but I grab his head and pull in for more. His hand touches my arm and caresses it slowly. Our lips move as one beat. The kiss ends with the gentle pulling of my bottom lip on Edward's teeth. Any more pressure and I will surely become a vampire right here.

Not that I wouldn't mind. Just not now. One more day, that's all.

We gaze into each other's eyes when Edward breaks the silence. "Charlie's hungry."

I sigh realizing my queue to say good-bye. I nod and start to open my door when Edward is suddenly standing in front of me, opening the door.

"You don't always have to do that you know." I say as I step out onto my driveway.

"Oh but I do." Edward leans in for one last kiss. It is not long but it lingers on my lips with so much anticipation and longing. He stares at me until he is back in his car. I wave a subtle good-bye and he smiles back. He does not leave immediately. The car idles for a few moments as is see him peering out of the passenger window at me. Soon enough, however, he's backing out onto the road and is out of sight.

Watching him leave hurts because I know I won't see him tonight. Or until I take my first step onto the aisle where I will be married. It's a weird feeling. Not that I'll never see him again, but that the next time he will kiss me, we'll be husband and wife.

And I'm not freaking out.

My heart feels so full of love and satisfaction right now, I feel like I'm walking on a cloud of pure bliss. Nothing can make me fall. Nothing.

I open the screen door and step into the kitchen where I see Charlie at the stove. Cooking. I can't move.

"Hiya Bells!" He waves to me with a spatula in his hand. Wait? Is he wearing an apron? I must be dreaming.

"Charlie…" I can't form words straight. "What…" He looks at me as if I've never seen him cooking before. "What are you doing? Better yet, do you know what you're doing?"

"Oh don't worry Bella. Its just pancakes. I'd thought we'd have some breakfast...for dinner." He gives me a big smile and points to the giant batch of fluffy, golden brown pancakes sitting beside the stove. I'm speechless. I walk over to where he's standing and inspect the batch.

Smells good. I pick one up from the bottom and feel it.

Fluffy. Charlie looks at me even more strangely. Okay so now I must taste it.

Amazing. Perfection. Melt in your mouth.

"Charlie," I try to say with a mouthful of pancake goodness. "How the heck did you learn to make amazing pancakes?" My voice gets a little squeaky with such happiness and surprise.

"Well I've always made a mean pancake. It's just that you and your mother aren't really breakfast people; always running around, grabbing a granola bar or pouring a small bowl of cereal. I never had the opportunity to make you anything." He flips one golden brown flapjack over onto its other side.

"I…don't know what to say. This is amazing, Dad, really. It's a miracle!" I hug around his middle, avoiding the hot stove. He places his hand on my head.

"It's all for you Bella. You'll always be my little girl." We look at one another and I smile. What will I do without Charlie? He'll be the hardest to say good-bye to.

I whip up some quick scrambled eggs and fry bacon on a different burner as Charlie finishes the pancakes. He's right, I've never been a breakfast type, but this is probably the best breakfast I've ever had. We sit at the table and talk all things wedding. What the flowers will be, what The Lodge looks like, the ceremony and the reception. Charlie seems just as excited as I am. It takes my mind temporarily off of Edward and the pain I'm feeling without him near.

Charlie finishes off the last of the pancakes. "Oh yeah, and that reminds me. Your mother called." My ears perk up at the mention of Renee's name. I'm so excited to see her. "Her flight was delayed until tomorrow morning, apparently there's a huge storm centered around Seattle right now." At that moment, thunder can be heard in the distance; the storm is making its way south. I laugh since Emmett will probably beg Edward for a bachelor's night playing some baseball. "But no worries, she'll be here with plenty of time to spare." He gives me his best grin and I nod. We clean up the table and Charlie sits back down at the kitchen table.

I start to make my way up to my room, ready to lock myself up and wait until morning when Charlie stops me. "Tomorrow's the big day and I want you to know something."

"What is it Charlie?" I step back down and walk over to where he's sitting.

He sighs. "That no matter what Bella, I love you so much. This is a big step, and I want you to always know I'm here for you. I feel like I'm saying good-bye to you forever, it's so weird, but I just needed to tell you that." His eyes begin to glisten.

"Oh Dad, I'm still going to be living here until college! And I'll come visit whenever I can." Little does he know I'll be too caught up with trying to resist human blood for me to be safe to visit him.

"I know that Bells. Just promise me one thing." He cups my hands in his.

I nod.

"Don't forget about your dear old Dad." He winks and I smile.

"How could I?" I bend down and give him a hug. He strokes my hair and kisses my cheek. "I better get a good night's sleep. Alice is picking me up early."

"Go ahead, kiddo. G'night."

"Night Dad." I step up the stairs and enter my bedroom. I flop on my bed and exhale loudly. I look over to my alarm clock.

Seven o'clock.

Great. What am I going to do the rest of the night? Then, something catches my eye in the reflection of my mirror.

I am not alone

My body freezes, my heart rate speeds like lightening, I can't breathe.

"Hello Bella."

I can't move. I see a quick movement in the mirror and something hits my head, hard.

Then, black.