Author Note/
Hope you're all still with me.
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.
The second I closed my mouth I realised what I had just done. "Oh shit," I breathed, staring wide eyed at the people sitting around the table. The only logical action I could think of was to bolt out of the dining room altogether, dashing up the stairs to where Edward and I slept last night. I slammed the door, undecided on whether or not I cared if they heard me and went straight to the closet, suddenly realising Carlisle might not have been all about playful banter when he mentioned the panties from past lovers earlier this morning. Maybe it was his intent to get me all riled up. Seriously? Did he think a pair of panties would make me want to leave Edward?
Officially frustrated, I slammed the closet door shut and flopped onto the bed, knowing a good yelling into a pillow would do me good.
How could I do that? Scream at a highly trained killer, not to mention the father of the man I wished to marry? God, Bella you are so stupid sometimes! But I had good reason to yell, didn't I?
"Ahhhh!" I screeched into the pillow, ignoring how ridiculous I probably looked and sounded. I was moaning and crying so loud around my ears that I didn't notice the door opening and the mattress shifting under me, causing me to gasp.
"Jesus!" I cried, wiping away the tears at my eyes. I could only imagine my face was bright red and soaking wet. Edward stared back at me, his eyes sad and concerned. The expression on his face only made me want to cry harder.
"I'm sorry," my bottom lip quivered and it was enough for him to take me in his arms.
"Hush, you didn't do anything wrong," Edward kissed my hair as I cried into him. "In fact, I'm quite proud you stood up for yourself. It takes a lot of guts for people to contradict my father."
"He's an ass," I grumbled and Edward chuckled.
"He's doing what he thinks is best for me," he amended.
"Then why not shun me when he first met me?" I demanded. "Why did he welcome me with open arms if he never intended for me to stay?"
"Maybe he thought what we had on the island was just out of convenience," Edward suggested. I sniffled and wiped at my nose, moving away from his touch.
"What do you mean?" I asked, unsure.
Edward released a breath. "You were stranded alone and so was I… Maybe Carlisle thought we got together out of boredom or lack of choices, I don't know."
"I don't choose who I fall in love with out of boredom," I hissed, blanching at the very thought. "How dare he?"
"Forget about him, Bella"-
"How can I when I'm staying under his roof?" I was starting to lose it again. "Maybe I should leave once Charlie gets here."
"Don't even think about leaving without me," Edward stood, glowering down at me. "If I've to marry you this day to prove you're not going anywhere then I will."
"Don't be absurd," I said, my voice shaking with excitement and nerves. "I'm just saying it could be easier if I left you to deal with your father and whatever business you need to attend to before you start your life with me."
"I have started my life with you," Edward threw his hands up in the air and joined me back on the bed. "The moment we got stuck together I knew you were the one. Didn't you? My Da means shit compared to what we have and what we will have. What's relationships and marriage without a little family drama?"
"You talk about marriage like it's already happened," I hinted, staring at him accusingly.
"I do plan on making you mine forever, Miss Swan," Edward winked, making my heart stutter. The man had an unbelievable effect on me. He moved in to place a kiss on my neck and my breathing faltered slightly. "I just want to do it right. And with my father being an unnecessary burden, right now isn't the best timing."
"True," I said in a rush, his lips moving further down my neck. "What are you doing?"
"I'll stop," Edward sounded regretful. "Just let me be close to you before Ma comes to steal you away."
"Do I have to go?" I whined, momentarily distracted.
"Would you like to stay here with Carlisle?" Edward's mouth left my neck.
God no. My expression told Edward exactly what he expected to hear. "I thought so," he nodded hard. "Now let's find you proper clothes."
A knock sounded on the already open door and Carlisle stood leaning against the doorframe. The very presence of him made my blood boil. To think I was feeling butterflies the first moment I met him. "Can I have a word with Isabella, son?" He asked, looking in every direction but me.
"It's Bella," Edward amended, looking at me warily.
"No. It's Isabella to him," I said curtly, throwing a dirty look in Carlisle's direction. I was playing with fire but I didn't care in that moment.
"Isabella, please," Carlisle said. "I'd like to apologise."
"Then apologise," I shrugged. "Whatever you've to say to me you can say with Edward here."
"Bella maybe I should lea"-
"No," I cut Edward off quickly. "You're staying."
There was a chuckle from the doorway and before I could yell about Carlisle mocking me, he spoke up. "You picked a hellcat, I'll give you that much, Edward. But leave the room son and wait for me in my office downstairs. We'll talk business once I'm finished here with Isabella and then Esme will be here to take her away."
"Away?" Edward repeated warily.
"To shop of course," Carlisle said, tight lipped. "Alice is already getting ready down the hall. Ball of energy that girl is."
"You've taken well with my best friend, I see," I snapped, rising from the bed, bringing Edward with me. I felt his lips on my hair and knew he was going to listen to his father instead of me.
"Hurry Edward, before your Ma comes up," Carlisle pleaded.
"I'll see you before you leave," Edward whispered to me before leaving the bedroom. I was left with Carlisle, ready to talk business but on a much smaller scale compared to what he usually dealt with. The door was even shut. I gulped.
"I don't want you think I hate you, Isabella," Carlisle began, taking a careful few steps towards me. I took a hesitant step back, unsure of what his next move was going to be. "I won't hurt you either. Whatever thoughts you're thinking about me are foolish because I would never hurt family."
"You weren't so keen to use that word at breakfast," my voice broke a few times. I cleared my throat, my body almost shaking with fear. The man just exuded strength. I felt like a lamb being served for slaughter.
"I know love when I see it," Carlisle told me. "I see the way my son looks at you and you him. But its first love, it's strong and electric and all around terrifying when it's in the hands of a man destined for a life of danger. Whatever Edward tells you about his life growing up, he loves his work and won't give it up. He doesn't see himself doing anything else."
"Maybe he would have if you gave him the choice as a child," I squeaked.
"Maybe, maybe not," Carlisle shrugged. "All I know is he loves the work that he does and there's nothing either of us can do to change that. You just have to accept it and move on."
"We've been home a day, Carlisle," I gathered up the courage to say. My bravery really came from nowhere. "That's not a long time to tell you what we went through. When I'm gone with Esme, hopefully Edward will tell you what fully happened but it was the most terrifying experience. And none of this has anything to do with our argument this morning. I have to admit this isn't much of an apology."
"I am sorry for speaking so low of you," Carlisle nodded. "You know my concerns for my youngest son. I fear that if things end badly, everything Edward and I worked for would be implicated just because you couldn't keep your mouth shut. If you were to marry, maybe I'd trust you more but this is trial and error. You're young, naïve and an obvious romantic. I see too much spirit in you- something that can quickly die once Edward gets back to work."
I took another step back, truly hurt by his words. What did he mean? I was foolish to be optimistic about my future with Edward? That our whole life will be based on sleepless nights on my behalf, wondering if he'll come home from a hit. I wasn't making much of a good impression on the Cullen's, was I?
"For what it's worth, Mr Cullen, I love your son. I don't know much since I've been rescued but I've seen a lot these past few hours. You're a fake. You put on a front to get what you want in the real world but really you're just a selfish, soulless monster. Edward will have the world with me because he trusts me and I him and no matter what- if he hurts me so much that I'll never love anyone again- I'll thank him for giving me the biggest happiness I've ever known and promise to never speak about whatever he or his family told me. I'm not a little girl, Carlisle. I know what loyalty is and where mine lies and that's with Edward. Regardless of what I think of you, I'll never do anything to jeopardise his life."
Carlisle didn't speak immediately after that. Maybe he was stunned to see me speak so much. Whatever the case I seemed to have impressed him. For once.
"Well," he took a deep breath, a stupidly, sexy, annoying smirk spread across his face, boiling my blood some more. I knew he was just going to crush my speech with one little word. "That's all I wanted to hear."
Say what now?
"If my boy doesn't marry you today, I'll divorce Esme and do it myself."
How? What? Why? Huh?
"Why couldn't you say that this morning at breakfast?!" I demanded, throwing my hands in the air. I was suddenly more exhausted than I was coming home from the island.
"I was going to but you ran out on me," Carlisle chuckled. "And it was fun to get you all riled up again. I could literally see the blood boiling under your skin when I came up here. Your face was priceless. And Edward looked like he was about to shite his pants!" He chortled some more, only frustrating me further.
"I hate this family," I grumbled, storming to the door to open it, ready to kick him out.
"Don't speak to soon, you're a part of it now!" Carlisle wink and followed suit. "I'm really sorry about this morning. I hope you'll forgive me." He kissed my forehead slightly and left me to my own devices. "I'll send Esme up with fresh clothes for you."
I shut the door again, baffled by the fucked up family he now claimed I was a part of. I couldn't help but smile at the thought. Shaking my head, the door burst open once more and Esme danced in with a pretty dress I didn't think was appropriate for the weather outside.
"Don't say a word, it's sunny on Grafton Street," Esme gave me a warning look, dropping the dress on the bed. "The sun always catches the main street on days like today. And on another note, thanks to my door knob of a husband, you didn't eat breakfast. So there's left overs in the microwave and I'll buy you some brunch when we're out. Your shoes are downstairs."
She walked out again without saying another word so I decided to just head to the bathroom to shower. The family was fucking crazy. "Thank you!" I called to her before stripping and climbing under the hot spray. I smiled against the trickling water, having dreamt about this moment forever.
The bliss only lasted a few more minutes before I finally got out to dress and brush my teeth again. I looked in the floor length mirror and realised the dress was tight around the ass and hips. It accentuated my figure- not that I had much curves anymore- but I knew once my body got used to food again, I'd be back on track.
"Bella!" I recognised Alice's voice and decided to head downstairs. I'd be leaving soon with the girls anyway. "Come quick!"
I reached the foyer within a matter of seconds and spotted a pair of dolly shoes on the last step of the stairs. I popped them on before heading to the kitchen, where the loud voices were coming from.
"Bella!" Esme beamed at me. Edward, Alice, Jasper and Carlisle stood around the kitchen island with one other person I couldn't recognise. The faceless man finally turned around and I was face to face with an older, bulkier version of Edward. Only this man was ten thousand feet tall with dimples so adorable, I almost wanted to pinch his cheeks.
"Bella dear," Esme smiled, shoving the man playfully. "I'd like you to meet me son, Edward's older brother, Emmett."
Emmett's finally here! I love him already and he hasn't even spoke.
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