I Do Not Own Anything Twilight

Chapter 26

Edward's Point Of View

Gone, my Bella was gone; the wedding cancelled, our relationship laid in shredded taters at my feet; me with broken bloody fingers, unable to pick up the pieces to put them back together.

No one moved from their positions all night; we all hoped in vein that Bella would change her mind, come bursting through the front door at any moment—she never did. Carlisle called the hospital in the early morning hours to book two months off work for personal reasons; Esme also called the restoration house to notify them that she would be unable to come in for some months to come.

Distraught parents, grieving siblings, and a hurting human child would the pain ever end?

Esme and Carlisle flew to their room to grieve privately, Jasper and Alice cowered alone in the darkest corner of the basement, Rosalie and Emmett retreated to the living room to cuddle together on the couch; I didn't dare move—if I did move, the first place I would go was to Bella's or any place she was, to find her.

I was willing to do anything to gain her back; I would beg on my knees for days, months and years, if I had too. I would light myself on fire; let the flames eat away at me, until I was begging for Bella to put them out. If it were at all possible, I would go through another vampire conversion, burn flameless for three days; waiting for the pain to subside to be with my Bella again. Deep inside me, I knew none of those things would ever happen; Bella would never ask any of those things of me, nor would she allow me to stoop such levels—I was willing to do all this and more.

But I made a promise not to follow; let her lead her own life.

The irony was not lost to me; all I ever wanted when I left was for Bella to live out her life as a human. And now here I stand, for who knows how long to grieve the girl—the woman—that left my house, to get away from me, because I wasn't making her happy; because all I ever did was lie to her, cause her pain.

It made me wonder what Bella walked out the front door; was it angry and spiteful Bella, or was is it unloved, misjudged and mistrusted Bella. Did the Bella I fell in love, even enter the house after being away for two days? What was she doing now, did Charlie know what was going on—I ached with every fiber of my being to seek out Alice, to get her to search the future for Bella, to ask her to check in on her; but I could not, it was just another promise I had made to Bella—would Bella ever return to us again?

Hours turned into days and days turned into weeks, weeks into a month; no one ever did anything, no one talked to each other; we hunted together, utterly silent, just to return home to retreat to our confined spaces. The light of our lives had disappeared, the heart and soul of our family was nowhere to be found or heard of; three months and no phone calls, no letters or emails, no knocks on the door and no sound of a heartbeat.

Esme and Carlisle, finally coaxed me out of my statue of pain; claiming that Bella would be disappointed, if I didn't do anything to better myself. I did need to better myself; I needed to be the man Bella deserved—not the monster she had walked away from. I flew up to my room, locking myself away from the world, desperately trying to think of a way improve what I already was. How I was going to accomplish that was a mystery to me; I needed help.

Seeking out my brothers and father, I asked them to accompany me on a male bonding hunt; let the girls have time with one another. I knew this would be particularly hard on Alice; she understood my needs and encouraged and supported any way she could.

"So what's with the all-male hunt?" Emmett asked running alongside me; trying to figure out my motives, for asking them all of a sudden. He was hopeful for the most part, which helped me quite a bit.

"I asked you to come, because I need your help; all three of you." I admitted, feeling slightly embarrassed; Jasper sent me a dose of confidence, and I nodded to him in thanks. "I need to become...better...for Bella."

"You really don't listen to her, do you?" Jasper snorted, much to my surprise "All you have ever had to do was love her, Edward. All she has ever asked for was, for you to love her."

Both Carlisle and Emmett nodded in agreement.

"Stop trying to figure her out all the time; her mind is silent for a reason—what that reason is, we may never know—stop trying so hard to read her, and start loving her; and just for the record...smothering her by being so over protective all the time, isn't helping your case either."

"Jasper is right" Carlisle agreed "you rely on your gift too much; though it is a constant thing. Have you ever just enjoyed being alone with Bella, surrounded by nothing but silence; have you considered that it might be a gift rather than a curse, Edward?"

I had never looked it like that before; I always thought it was some fucked up way of the world. That some comical joke had been pulled on me; that fate was waiting for me to screw things up and kill her myself. It would have been my given karma for all of the lives I had taken in my human hunting days.

"No, I had not thought of it that way" I admitted feeling sheepishly; I could feel my face turned down, into a frown. "I always thought of it as some reckless angel throwing Bella in my path, just waiting for things to go wrong; waiting for me to kill her myself."

"You can't be serious!" Emmett snapped furious "No wonder why she left you; you are even more of an idiot then I ever gave you credit for!" I recoiled; hurt by his words. "Edward...for someone that can read minds, you are so incredibly stupid; love is a gift! A very rare and permanent gift—to our kind especially—and you are, just letting it slip through your fingers."

"I am not throwing anything away!" I retorted angrily.

"By not giving Bella what she wants...can you imagine what the house would be like on a constant basis if we only gave our wives only half of what they asked for?"

"World war three" Jasper mumbled under his breath "on a daily basis; you could say goodbye to having sex and hello to the dog house." All three of them shuddered, picturing different scenarios in their minds; it was my turn to shudder.

Each of them gave me advice: Stop over protecting Bella so much, give in to her demands to become immortal, push our boundaries on an intimate level, I needed to learn how to swallow my pride, also learn how to let Bella in; how to stop shutting her out, no matter what the reason was—Bella was my mate, and I needed to start treating her as such.

It had been a week since then; I worked with my sisters and mother as well; gaining as much information as I could possibly retain in such a short amount of time. We had no idea when or if Bella would ever return to us; we all hoped she would come back to us.

It was exactly twelve hours until, I was supposed to be getting married to the most perfect, beyond beautiful, loving, caring, trusting and selfless woman in the world—my world—but alas I had driven her away.

Then at nine in the morning on August thirteenth a black, sleek SUV pulled into the driveway, a shadow of a woman was hidden behind darkly tinted windows—dare I hope it to be my Bella—darting down the stairs to the front foyer, I was suddenly hit with the most beautiful heart beat I had ever come to know.

"Bella" I whispered relieved that she had finally come home to see us—I would dare not think that she would stay or even forgive us for what we had ever put her though—l hoped she would stay.

Unable to rein in our excitement and relief we rushed outside to the front porch.

Shock, disbelief, relief, and so many other emotions flitted through all our thoughts; but nothing was more shocking than the dark haired beauty that exited the SUV.

Sheathed in skin tight dark wash jeans with gold stitching, a dark pink satin top, and heeled boots, that looked to be over three hundred dollars in price, Bella shut her car door.

Something was different about her; her posture was more confident, and more mature, she looked the same and smelled the same—a sweet torture, a blissful torture.

And of course Emmett had to do the most inappropriate thing and 'wolf whistled' at Bella. "Damn Bella, I don't ever remember you being this hot before; I bet you are beating them off with sticks!"

"Sticks break" Bella laughed "Baseball bats work so much better; hurt more too."

"Ha, the woman gained a sense of humor; hell has frozen over!" Emmett barked running off the porch towards Bella. Capturing in his huge arms, he spun Bella around in a circle and kissed her cheek. "I've never noticed what Edward was talking about until now."

"Huh?"

"Your heartbeat Bella" Emmett admitted sheepishly "I didn't ever think I would have missed as much as I have."

What Emmett said was true; but no one missed it more than I had. It was like the most beautiful symphony of musical notes ever created.

"Awww…I missed you too Emmett, so much; and if you really missed me that much….I guess I could hang around through a couple of centuries."

Centuries? Did I hear her right? Bella was coming home; Bella was going to forgive us—forgive me—my heart felt like it had begun to beat in my chest. I was so happy, I could have cried; if it was at all possible.

Walking hand in hand Bella and Emmett reached the porch; Esme threw her arms around Bella sobbing with joy.

"I missed you to momma, more than you will ever know; I'm so sorry I had to leave you for long, but I needed the time away."

"No!" Carlisle hissed furious "You have nothing to apologize for Bella." Carlisle was not going to have Bella apologize for something that wasn't her fault. "Now, that is out of the way, if Bella has time; we should catch up in the living room." Carlisle was eager to have his newest daughter finally home, but did not dare hope to think that things had changed too much.

"I wouldn't be here, if I didn't have the time" Bella said, wiggling her way out of Esme's still sobbing frame "I do need to be able to move momma; some of us can't stand still forever." Bella chuckled.

Esme had a hard time letting go; Esme kept Bella's hand in her own, as we all made our way to the living room. Esme wasn't going to let Bella go, for anything.

"So…"Alice started "What have you been up to these days?" Alice was itching for new information on her best friend.

I didn't dare get too close to Bella; I would die even more if she shoved me away from her again. It was hard enough to not throw myself at her feet and beg her to take me back, forgive everything I had ever done to her.

"Well, I just moved back to Forks, yesterday" Bella's voice floated towards me like the most beautiful musical composition I had ever heard. "I moved to Jacksonville after that day; I needed time with my mom. I wanted to work on me; so I started to go to a therapist." Bella admitted smiling slightly; so beautiful, my heart nearly broke; she was so beautiful when she smiled like that.

"Therapist?" Jasper echoed.

"Yeah, I needed to work on some thing's that had been bothering me over the years. I needed to work though my trust issues, my parental issues and so much more; long story short, I can now accept gifts." She chuckled pointing to the SUV thought the window "My mom and Phil bought it for me, and I love it…so much; it's exactly what I need for my life."

Bella needed an SUV? Bella accepted extravagant gifts? My hopes sky rocketed three fold; then like a bird getting caught in the turbine engine, I remembered all of the things I had learned over the last three months. Bella had to be willing to accept these gifts—not have them shoved on her; unwantedly.

"I started getting more active, I got over my balance issues—hence I am now able to wear heels—I took yoga, learned how to rock climb, go skydiving" Bella glanced at me when she said 'skydiving'; most likely waiting for me to freak out and scold her for doing something so reckless. "And scuba dive. I did so much while I was away…but I couldn't stay away any longer; I missed home too much, I missed my old life, and Charlie. Poor guy nearly locked me in the basement when I walked in the front door."

"You have been busy" Carlisle laughed, ecstatic his daughter was finally at peace with herself. "I am glad you came home, we missed you."

"I missed you guys too. It was one of the main reasons I came home; my therapist told me I needed to work on my family relationships—both with Charlie and all of you—I need to work on getting my personal and loving relationship with Edward worked out...slowly. He told me that he noticed a pattern in my life; I took big leaps to close gigantic gaps in my life. That getting married so young was the only way to ensure what I thought would help me get over my trust issues—issues I didn't even knew I had, by the second session I had a total emotional breakdown. I went back to my mom's place, locked myself in my old room and cried for three days straight."

"I—we—are willing to do whatever it takes to earn your trust and love back Bella." I said speaking for the first time since Bella had arrived. "I can't lose you again; no matter what way you chose to have in."

"Love was never the problem Edward; I have always known that you have loved me, even when I wouldn't let myself believe it. I admit, I was angry and confused; but now we can work on things together. No more secrets, no more lies or half-truths, and no more keeping me in the dark; I can make my own choices. I'm a big girl. And...I am willing to talk about marriage and a life of eternity—but I am not rushing into anything anymore. We also need to work on our physical relationship, no more trying to over protect me; find a way to be with me. I don't care what we have to do. I want to give you all of me, in every way humanly possible—impossible is not a word I count in my life anymore."

"I just noticed" Rosalie said, speaking for the first time "you haven't blushed once; you actually talked about sex and didn't blush!"

"Oh…yeah; I worked on that too with my therapist. It was a product of my insecurities, and since I have managed to overcome most of those obstacles, I don't blush as often as I used to—which is really nice."

I saw a quick flash of Alice's sudden vision; Bella and Alice were shopping, in Seattle, Bella actually looked like she was having fun.

"Were going shopping!" Alice screeched happily "you like shopping now. Hell has frozen over, Bella Swan, wants to go shopping!" Rushing to Bella's side; Alice threw herself lap, hugging her. "I missed you so much Bella."

"I missed you too Alice" Bella chuckled kissing Alice on the cheek "Tomorrow, if you want to…I mean if you don't…"

"Yes" Alice shouted "Yes, yes, yes and more yes…I haven't been shopping with you in ages. I am so happy to have my best friend back."

"Good, because Edward is coming too; I don't think I could be away from him any longer than I already have." Bella said smiling at me.

I nearly exploded with happiness. Bella wanted me, she loved me, she was still willing to get married and spend eternity with me; Bella wanted to have a physical relationship with me.

Unable to keep myself planted in my seat anymore, I flew across the room to kneel in front of Bella, ever so gently took her hands in mine; so warm, so soft; I was home again, I was alive again.

"Bella…my Bella; I don't know what I did in this life or my last life to deserve you, but I swear to you, I will be the man you deserve to have. I will wait five hundred years if I have to; to marry you. I will do whatever it takes, be whatever you need me to be."

Bella placed her tiny hand on my cheek for the first time. Bliss and warmth spread through my body like a wild fire. "All I have ever needed Edward, is for you to be you." I choked back the sob in my throat.

"May I kiss you Bella?"

"God, yes."

Remembering to gauge my actions to not hurt her, I pressed my lips to hers. The familiar burn flashed down my throat—I ignored it completely; I barley even noticed it anymore—Bella's soft warm skin, sent my cold marble skin aflame. The electric energy between us flickered, sending massive jolts to the very core of my body; it curled in the pit of my stomach and spread thought my body, warming me.

Breaking away from her lips unwillingly, I was panting with relief; taking one of her arms I ran my nose up across her tiny wrist, inhaling deeply. "You smell as intoxicating luscious as I remember; no memory could do it justice."

"I know the feeling" Bella mumbled into the crook of my neck; my family had vacated the room, to give us some much needed privacy. "I missed you so much, so much it hurt—the pain was worth it." Pulling away gazing into my eyes Bella laid her hand on my cheek. "I need speak with Carlisle, Edward; there are things we need to discuss in private."

"Of course Bella" I said crushing her gently to my chest; my words and my actions were contradicting one another—I knew Bella needed to leave my arms, but my body was struggling to let her go. "Carlisle missed you more than you know; he was just as broken up about you leaving, as he was, when I decided to leave him for a while, and you were only gone for three months. I was gone for a decade. Don't be too hard on him love."

It took every fiber of my being to plaster a serene smile on my face, and let Bella walk away from me; but I did it—I did it for her; always for her.

Author's Note: Hey all! Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up. I will have the next one up as soon as I can. I would like to acknowledge my wonderful Beta for this story xXxHalfBlood PrincessxXx. Please give her a warm welcome! Please review, review, review...let myself and xXxHalfBlood PrincessxXx what you think!