Title: Gloaming
Author: Readingmama/Vampiremama
Beta: AcrossTheSkyInStars

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. No copyright infringement is intended.

Continuity: AU
Rating: M for sexual situations and violence.

A/N-Thanks to my wonderful beta Tanya.

I was the guest reviewer on the 30th for the Little Known Fictster, go check it out. http:// thelittleknownficster . /

Also thanks to Chartwilightmom who allows me the pleasure of being her Fic Mistress, which is a lot more fun than being a ficwife. Just saying.

Chapter 25

BPOV

I sat on my bed waiting for Edward to arrive. Once I had fallen asleep to the sound of Edward's humming, it seemed that I couldn't find rest without it again. Like clockwork, he slipped through my window at five past eleven, and right on cue, I felt guilty for using him as a crutch.

"Hi," I said but he only frowned back at me.

"Bella, we have been over this. It is really my pleasure to come and sing you to sleep," he replied.

"I thought you couldn't read my mind."

"No, but I can read your face."

I harrumphed but scooted over in the bed, allowing him room. Just like in the nights that preceded it, Edward climbed gracefully into the small bed. He was careful not to touch me but his body lay close enough to make me dizzy with his aroma.

"I'm not tired yet," I said.

It had been a month since the funeral, and my and Edward's friendship was becoming one of the most important things in my life. He was there for me to talk to when Rebecca had finally had her meltdown. She hit her breaking point when John transformed in front of her for the first time. I wasn't much help to her as the thought of him hurting my baby had me panicked into silence. Later, Edward had talked me through my fears, and while it was clear that he wasn't a fan of the wolves, he leant me a great deal of emotional support.

Truly, Edward was a gift. He never pushed and I was beginning to think I had read the situation wrong. Maybe when Carlisle had told me that Edward never took notice of a woman before, he meant in any way, for if Edward was attracted to me physically, it never showed. He remained a gentleman always, and even though it made a small part of me disappointed, I was grateful for the space. I was, after all, still mourning my husband.

"I'm glad, there is something that I would like to talk to you about," he said, his voice never ceasing to soothe me.

"What's that?"

"Well I had mentioned before about you meeting my family. I was hoping maybe I could take you home tomorrow."

"Oh," I said. I knew I had agreed to meet them but there were moments that Edward seemed to dazzle me, leaving me agreeing to things that I normally wouldn't. I was still leery of meeting the vampire coven even though Edward had assured my safety.

"I mean you don't have to. I never want you to feel uncomfortable, Bella," he said, but even with his unwavering voice, I could hear the uncertainty in it. He wanted me to meet them, and I had promised.

"Okay," I said before thinking too much.

"Really?" he asked smiling.

"Really." I reached out and touched his hand with mine. The hard, icy sensation felt good against my always warm hand. He looked surprised for a moment but didn't move away.

I kept my hand on his as he hummed me to sleep that night.

I bustled nervously through Charlie's kitchen the next morning. Edward was gone by the time I got up and I was grateful because Rebecca came charging into my room and jumped in my bed.

"John wants to take me surfing," she said, putting on a huge smile.

"That's nice, not going to happen though," I replied.

"Mom," she whined, making my name several syllables longer than it should have been. "John won't let anything happen to me…he couldn't even if he wanted to."

"John is not Superman, Rebecca. There are things he might not be able to foresee."

"Come on, dad would've let me go," she said, low and sad. I knew that she was using this as a tactic to get me to cave. The problem was that it worked. I felt horrible, and even though I shouldn't have let her play me against her dead father, she was right. He would have let her go.

"Okay, but I want you home by supper," I said and then regretted it. I had no idea when Edward was coming to take me to his family's or how long we would be.

"But Leah and Sam are barbequing."

"Let me call them and make sure," I said breathing a sigh of relief.

Of course, they were happy to have Rebecca. They had been hosting Quil a lot as well and I was eternally grateful for the updates they provided me. Leah told me that Quil had been happier lately, lighter almost. I hoped that meant that I would be able to talk to him soon. I needed to fix things with my son.

Rebecca left not long after that, Sam came and picked her up. He was driving the kids back down to La Push and I wondered if I would ever be allowed back.

"Morning, Bells," Charlie said as he came into the kitchen.

"Hey dad," I replied, pouring him a glass of orange juice.

"What's your plans for today?"

"Uhm, I'm going out with a friend. Rebecca won't be back until after supper so I will probably be out until then as well."

"Sure," he replied picking up the paper.

Charlie didn't know about Edward. It wasn't something that I could really explain. I was thirty-five and Edward was claiming to be fifteen. Telling anyone would raise huge red flags.

I wondered if Edward would call or just come and pick me up. I wondered what I should wear, if there was a dress code to meeting your friend's vampire family. The problem was, with everyday that passed, I was beginning to think of Edward less and less as a friend and more like a potential suitor.

Charlie left for work around eleven and I was left pacing the floor. When a knock came on the front door at quarter after, I had nearly worn a path in the carpet with my feet.

"Hi," he said casually smiling on the other side of the screen door.

"Hi," I replied. My heart was pounding, but for once, it wasn't at the thought of meeting Edward's family. It was because of Edward. He was dressed in light tans and white and he looked nearly angelic.

"Don't be nervous, I promise they won't bite," he chuckled. I stood paralyzed, still basking in his beauty. "Sorry, was that in bad taste?"

I had to laugh at that. "Bad taste, Edward? I thought I was delicious."

He scowled and stepped towards me, stalking me, not unlike he had the first time we had met. Only this time, I wasn't scared. I was excited.

"You," he started, "are the most delicious creature I've ever met." For a moment, I thought he might kiss me, but instead he composed himself and offered me his arm. "Shall we?"

"We shall," I replied unwilling to show him how much he affected me.

He held his car door open as I climbed in. In a flash, he was sitting in the driver's seat next to me, causing me to jump.

"I think you like scaring me," I said with my hand over my heart.

Edward looked at me with a serious face. I felt studied as he stared without speaking. His gaze only caused my heart rate to climb. He let out a sigh before talking, "I'm sorry, Bella. I don't want you to be afraid of me. But the truth is I'm terrified of you, so I guess sometimes I like to even the playing field a little."

"You're frightened of me?" I asked incredulously.

"Yes," he replied simply.

"What on earth for?"

"Don't you know, Bella? You are the only one who could hurt me." With that, he turned and put the car in drive.

I took in Edward's words as he drove. Every time he would say something like that, my brain would try to make sense of it. What on earth would he want me for? I mean, it was easy to want him. I wanted him. It was the first time I had acknowledged it. I had a small feeling of guilt that came over me about Jake. But I know that Jake loved me and he would want me to be happy.

What if it was Edward who could make me happy? Would he want that? I had to think, yes.

"So you are sure this is safe?" I asked one more time.

"Yes Bella, I promise."

"But what if I'm like everyone's singer? You won't be able to fight them all off. You'll be lucky if you get a taste," I said jokingly but my fear slipped through.

"Bella, do you know how rare it is for us to find our singers? And then to have the same one as another of your coven, I'm not sure it's even possible."

"Well if it's possible, it would be me," I said alluding to my monstrously bad luck.

Edward looked at me nervously for a moment as if considering what I had just said very somberly. He then shook his head and gave me a smile.

We pulled up to a beautiful house nestled in the woods. I looked at it with wonder. It had to have been no less that a five-bedroom home. I immediately chastised myself for not taking up Edward's offer to stay with him.

"With my mind reading, I think I'd still be able to get you out. You'll be safe."

"Very reassuring, Edward," I said squishing my face up. He laughed before pulling off down a dirt road.

My door opened before I even knew Edward had gotten out of the car. He held his hand out for me and I took it, sliding my legs out as gracefully as I could. He placed his hand on the small of my back and whispered the word, "breathe," into my ear.

I did my best to follow his instructions, but with the chill of Edward's hand and the foreboding feeling of walking into a house full of vampires, my basic functions were not working well.

The house on the inside was as stunning as the outside. White furniture littered the main room, as well as a piano and a glass coffee table that looked like it cost more than my yearly salary, which wasn't much, but still.

The back of the house was made up entirely of windows; I raised my eyebrows as I appraised them.

"It's the one place we don't have to hide," Edward said, explaining.

"It's beautiful," I replied.

A soft clearing of the throat brought my attention to the archway on the East side of the room. Carlisle was standing there with his arm around a ravishing woman with caramel colored hair. She had a small smile on her face and I knew her right away.

"Hello Bella," Carlisle said.

"Carlisle," I greeted, "and you must be Esme, I've heard so much about you." I walked up to her and extended my hand. Edward said I would be safe and I trusted him.

Esme quirked her perfect eyebrow at Edward, earning a shrug from him, but then returned her gaze to me. "It is very nice to meet you too, Bella."

Once Esme released my hand, Carlisle took it and shook it as well. Edward came up behind me and I reveled in his closeness. His scent had a way of giving me tranquility. If I could bottle it, I would make a fortune with it at my yoga classes.

"Have you eaten?" Esme asked.

"Uhm no, have you?" I squeaked wondering how I could be so dumb as to not eat lunch before coming to a house with no food.

Carlisle let out a boisterous laugh and Edward just shook his head. It was the second time I had made a joke like that with Carlisle around. I worried that Edward's father might think me a bit strange but then I remembered that they were all vampires: they were the strange ones.

"It's ready," a loud voice boomed through the house.

"They made you lunch," Edward said.

"Oh, thank you," I said, stunned. "You really didn't have to."

"We wanted to," a new voice came at me as a small pixie-like girl with black, spiky hair entered the room. She didn't even pause as she walked towards me and encased me in a hug. Edward hissed beside me, causing her to let me go. I was sure that this was Alice.

She slapped his arm before spouting, "Don't worry, Edward, Bella and I are going to be good friends."

I was glad I knew about her abilities or her comment may have been a bit creepy to me. Edward kept his hand on my back as he led me to the other room. Three other vampires were standing in the stainless steel kitchen with more food than eight people could eat and it was only me who would be partaking.

The biggest one, that I was sure was Emmett, came bounding up. I willed myself not to flinch from him but my body had other ideas. It was only a small movement but Edward noticed it and growled at his brother. This didn't help my heart rate any.

Emmett backed off quickly, looking like a dejected puppy. I felt bad so I took a step forward but Edward still had a grip on my side and I bounced right back to him.

"Ow," I said under my breath.

"Bella, I'm so sorry," Edward said pleading.

"Don't worry about it. I'm okay, really."

Everyone stood quietly and the only sound in the room was my own breathing. It took a few moments but Esme finally broke the ice, asking me to sit. I felt weird sitting to eat while everyone else watched me but it was not as bad as I originally thought.

Everyone engaged me in conversation except Rosalie. The beautiful blonde was intimidating, to say the least, but I tried to just ignore her as much as I could. At one point in the lunch, Edward had reached over and tucked my hair behind my ear. I was sure I heard her say, "disgusting," and I decided I'd had enough.

"Do you have a problem with me, Rosalie?" The faces around me became paralyzed in a shocked and somber look; all except Emmett's, who had his hand over his face, covering a smile. I was acting brave but I knew my heartbeat was giving me away.

"As a matter of fact, I do," Rosalie stated firmly.

"Rose," Edward chastised.

"No, that's okay," I said placing my hand on Edward's leg, "I want to hear what she has to say."

"I think you are as dangerous to us as we are to you. I think it would be best if members of this family weren't as close to you as they are."

"I see," I said. "So then, is Edward allowed to tell you who you can be friends with?"

"If I'm endangering the family, then yes."

"So do you all feel that I am endangering you?" I asked scanning the table.

Carlisle was the first to speak, "No, of course not."

"What if she gets mad at Edward for being, well Edward, and then decides to send the pack of mutts after us?"

I stood up from my chair quickly; it made a loud bang as it hit the floor. "First of all, Rosalie, don't ever refer to my son that way again. Secondly, if I had that kind of control over the pack, I wouldn't be banished from my home."

"What?" she asked shocked.

I looked at Edward. He had told me that there were no secrets in his family so I assumed that they knew about my situation.

"I asked Alice to keep it a secret," he said shrugging. I was oddly grateful for his discretion.

"I am not allowed in La Push and maybe I'm not welcome here either," Edward made to say something but I stopped him, "I'm not sure I belong in the human world anymore either. Edward has been my only real friend through all of this and I'm sorry that you feel threatened by that, but the truth is, I love…spending time with him and it's not going to stop unless he says it has to."

"It doesn't," he answered.

"Okay then. Thank you for a lovely lunch but I think I ought to be going now."

I turned and made my way quickly towards the door. Edward caught up with me before I took two steps. My legs were wobbling as what I had done sunk in. I had stood up for myself and my son to a vampire, one that admittedly hated me. I wondered if I had a hidden death wish inside of me somewhere.

"Wait Bella, don't go," he pleaded. I looked at him, and as much as I wanted to stay with him, I knew it was best to cool off before talking with his family again. "Please. Let me take you somewhere, get out for a while."

"Okay," I said softly.

A smile lit up his face and he guided me out of the house.

We didn't talk much about his family in the following weeks, but we did talk a lot about us, and shortly after that meeting, we officially began dating…in secret. With the age difference, we couldn't really be seen out and about holding hands. Our relationship consisted of long talks, sitting in our meadow.

Edward talked to me about his rebellious period. He had left his family for a few years, thinking that he could pick and choose his prey with his abilities, however, he couldn't escape the shame and he returned home. He carried a lot of guilt over it, but as much as it pained me to think of him that way, everyone has things in their past they aren't proud of.

I told Edward about Jake. How we met, fell in love, and became married at a ridiculously young age. Edward didn't seem jealous, he made comments about being happy that I had someone to take care of me and love me before he came along.

Our relationship was really not much different from when we were just friends, but there were small touches. It was perfect; I wasn't ready to delve into a physical relationship so quickly after Jake, no matter how attracted I was to Edward. But I definitely wouldn't have minded some kissing.

Kissing would have been nice.

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