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Chapter 26 - I'm Telling

EDWARD

Telling Bella was going to be harder than I thought. The more I ran the conversation through my head, the worse it sounded. It never came out right and never in my favor, either. If I found myself stranded on an island with a complete stranger, and they'd told me what I had to tell Bella, I would move to the opposite side of the island. Especially if I was a woman that had been sleeping next to me for the past several months, I would definitely move to the opposite side of the island.
Fucking Alice and her "tell Bella first" shit!

She was totally going to know I didn't tell Bella first, too, if I didn't. I'd definitely catch shit from Bella, not to mention Alice. She might have been tiny, but I'd seen her fight off some bat-shit crazy people for the last Jell-O pudding cup. You didn't mess with Alice. That girl was scrappy.

I watched as Bella cleaned up after dinner. I was holding Jacob in my arms, getting him to sleep for the night, but unlike last night, I wasn't in a hurry to be alone with Bella. I really didn't want to see her reaction to what I had to say.

Oliver was hanging off the back of Bella as she washed the dishes. He was nodding off as she rocked back and forth between the two washtubs I'd made for her out of some of the scrap metal, washing and rinsing the dishes. Sam had already retired to the mattress in Jake's room. I think he liked having a soft bed to lie on. He was spoiled for a wild dog, and he knew it. I think that was why he was so patient with everyone, especially Jake. I couldn't have ever asked for a better dog.

If we were ever rescued, I'd want to take him with us, but I knew I couldn't keep him. I wondered if Emmett would be willing to take him. I wondered what the hell I was going to do when I got back. I didn't want to go back to that fucking loony bin, but at this point, I didn't have a choice. What sucked worse was the one doctor who knew I was sane was dead. I didn't know what the hell I was going to do. How the hell was I supposed to tell Bella all this shit?

I looked down to see Jake sleeping in my arms. When I stood up, Bella looked over at me. She smiled when she saw the sleeping baby in my arms and followed me with a sleeping Oliver.

We tucked them both into Sam's side, and he didn't even raise his head when they snuggled into him. He really was a good dog. I'd have to go hunting and get him some good meat treats soon.

To my surprised, Bella grabbed my hand and pulled me out of Jake's room and started toward our room. I had started something with her at the falls this morning, and I knew she was expecting me to finish it. Freaking Alice!

We stripped down and dressed in our bedclothes. Bella lay down and waited expectantly for me to join her. I just stood there nervously, trying to think of how to start this conversation.

"Bella, Alice wants me to tell you everything, before we progress our relationship any further," I said and waited for her response. She didn't say anything.

"Did you hear me?" I asked.

"What is there to tell?" she asked, and I could hear the anxiety in her voice. "Are you married?"

"No, I can't stand women!"

"You're gay?" she exclaimed shocked.

"No, why do you always assume I'm gay?"

I could see her shrug. "You're kind of pretty for a guy, even all scruffy with your beard."

"I'm not pretty!"

She chuckled. "Edward, what were you going to tell me?"

I sat down, but not close to her. I didn't want her to feel uncomfortable when it all came out. "Um, I'll start with something easy." Well, it was the easiest of all the things I had to tell her. "I'm not a practicing doctor anymore."

"Okay," she sounded confused.

"I lost my license to practice a little over a year ago."

She cleared her throat nervously. "How, what, um, can you tell me why?" she finally stuttered out.

"I was convicted of a crime and banned from practicing." I really didn't want her to ask what crime, and I really didn't want to tell her.

"So, you were caught doing something bad?" she asked.

"No, I took the fall for my brother. I knew he was innocent. I thought I could help, you know, give the jury the benefit of the doubt, but it didn't work out that way."

She was sitting quietly. "So you were convicted of a crime your brother was charged with?"

"Yes," I muttered.

"What was the crime?"

I rubbed my face. That was the bad part. Once she heard it, she'd want to run away. I'd want to run away. "I can sleep in the meadow tonight. I understand if my presence makes you uncomfortable."

"What was it, Edward?" she demanded.

"It's bad."

"Are you going to tell me?"

I let out a huff.

"You're innocent, though, right?"

I nodded my head quickly in the darkness. "Yes."

"So, it's no big deal, just tell me."

I took a deep breath and finally said, "Child rape."

"What?" she practically screeched.

"She was fourteen and accused my brother. I read her mind, Bella. I know he didn't do it. Not to mention I don't even believe my brother is capable of doing something like that. I mean, he gets plenty of action on his own, he never needs to take it by force."

"How the hell did you get roped into it?"

This was where things got crazy. I pinched my nose and took another deep breath. "She works for her parents at a hotel my brother stayed in with some chick he'd picked up at a bar. He threw the condom in the trashcan, and as sick as it sounds, Tanya, the fourteen-year-old, pulled it out and doused herself with his sperm. Then she cried rape. They took what they could, but the sample was old and degraded. They could only do an eighty percent match, meaning they wouldn't be able to differentiate between family members. I thought if I threw them off and said the DNA was mine, my brother would get off.

"The problem was she decided that she'd pin the whole thing on me. She figured out that college ball wouldn't pay out like my being a surgeon. They settled out of court. I was given a deal. I was furious, because I knew she was lying, and I told anyone that would listen. But the thing is, once you're accused, everyone automatically sees you as guilty. It didn't help that I had confessed to it being mine at one point. I got my brother off, but hung myself."

"So what, you were in jail? What were you doing on the plane?"

"I was on leave, so I could perform a surgery for a friend of mine. His wife needed a surgeon that was practiced in a method I invented. The problem was…" I sighed again, "Everyone thinks I'm insane, so they don't practice my method. Ben received special permission for me to go to Florida to perform the surgery on his wife. I hope she's okay."

"Why would they all disregard your work?"

"Bella, I didn't go to jail. I came out and told them I could read minds and that I knew Tanya was lying. I was sent to a mental institution instead of prison." I leaned back against the wall, waiting for her to respond.

"Huh," she said and flopped back on the bed.

Huh? That was it?

"So, is that where you met Alice?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Must be some pretty cool place if they have mind readers and psychics," she said fluffing the top of the mattress and laid down.

"I, um, what?" What the hell? I wished I could read her mind, because I totally didn't understand her reaction. Was she really okay with everything, with me?

She snuggled down into the bed. "So, are you coming to bed? I'm pooped," she said and yawned.

"Monkey pooped or baby pooped?" I asked teasingly.

She chuckled. "How about a monkey throwing baby poop," she snickered, thinking of the morning escapades of our twisted family.

"I think that would qualify as both," I answered her seriously.

"Fine, I'm both," she said, finally settling down again and yawning once more.

"Sleep well, Bella," I whispered.

"Edward?"

"Yeah?"

"Is that why you didn't want my cookies?"

I chuckled, remembering her crazy outburst. "Yeah, I didn't want you to come to the mental hospital and see me there."

She yawned again. "Okay, but I'm still bringing you cookies."

I wrapped an arm around her and pulled her against my chest, "As long as they're not coconut."

She snickered at me, "Definitely not eating coconut after this, or banana, either."

"You know they're plantains, right?"

"Edward?"

"Yes?"

"Shut up."

I couldn't help the laugh that snuck out of my chest as I pulled her against me tighter and buried my face in her hair. "Goodnight, Bella."

"Night," she mumbled.

I felt amazingly light and giddy. My secret was out, and Bella had not reacted anywhere near like I'd thought she would. She really was amazing. My chest tightened as I held her in my arms. I didn't want to ever be away from her. I thought that I might be falling in love with her. She turned in my arms and nuzzled into my chest. Yes, it was a definite possibility that I was really falling for her, because I had never felt this comfortable with anyone in my life. God, she was perfect. Okay, maybe not perfect, but aside from her death wish and tendency to befriend wild animals, she was pretty near perfect, at least for me.

A/N: Thanks for reading and please review!