New Year, New Me

No copyright infringement intended. Twilight is the property of Stephenie Meyer. I'm just playing with her characters for some fun.

o0o

Chapter 29

We've only been back in Seattle a couple of days when Charlie calls. "Hi, Dad. Is everything okay?" I hadn't expected to hear from him so soon.

"Hi, Bella." He pauses to clear his throat. "I have some troubling news."

God, what now? I grip my cell tightly.

"It turns out that Peter used to be a locksmith working for a company in Seattle."

"A locksmith? So he can basically let himself in anywhere?" My voice is high pitched and my breath is unsteady.

"We knew he worked for the company but not his job role until now. We thought he was a driver like he is now." I hear a door shut, and I imagine my dad closing the door to his little study and sitting at his desk. "Jenks has tracked down the existence of a closed file."

"That sounds ominous." I close the laptop in front of me. Looking up, I see Stella and Edward rough-housing in the back garden.

"He was fired from the job, and there is a sealed file about the incident. It suggests something untoward, and the company paid someone off." I can hear the strain in his voice and the ruffling of papers. Dad hasn't made it into the digital age yet. His desk will be strewn with papers and handwritten notes in the notepad he still carries. I'm not sure whether it is merely habit now, or whether he still feels that he needs it.

"What kind of incident?" I ask dubiously. The muscles of my face are drawn tight, and the tension in my head warns of a headache to come.

"We don't know yet, but they've identified a woman who's involved. Jenks is sending someone to talk with her. She's probably signed a non-disclosure agreement if there was a payoff, so she might not be chatty, but I think we can do the math."

The air leaves my lungs in a gust. Of course he's done this sort of thing before. Is tormenting Charlotte not enough for him? He needs to get additional thrills too? Surely he's some sort of sociopath. I should talk to Jasper about it. He'd have some insight in his line of work.

"So be careful, Bella. Don't go back to the apartment on your own. Don't go at all if you can help it. I know the locks were changed, but that won't stop him. The alarm might, but who knows."

God my apartment! "I'll need to go get things to pack for my trip with Renee."

"Edward will go with you, surely?"

"Yeah, course. But the idea that he's been going inside…" It's bad enough that he's been hanging around outside the apartment. Worry colors my voice and I don't like it. I don't like that he can scare me.

"I don't know, but I am damn grateful that you're staying at Edward's. I owe him one. I talked to Jenks, and we think it best that he check out the security system at Edward's too, and he has a panic alarm you can have."

"A panic alarm?"

"It's a button that alerts Jenks and his team immediately, like an SOS signal. No need to unlock a phone or dial a number. It would make me feel better."

"Okay. Sure." How is this my life?

"I'm doing better now, Bells. I could come stay with you for a while, if you'd rather be in your own apartment." He clears his throat again. "Though you and Edward seem to be…" he pauses as he searches for the right word, "serious."

"No, I'm fine here at Edward's, honestly." I don't like the thought of my dad in danger too, especially when he's been unwell. It's been a sharp shock to realize that my dad is getting older. His skin has lost its elasticity, and it looks somehow thinner on his face. I always thought my dad was invincible, but of course he's not. I shake the thought away. But aside from that, the reality is that I don't want to go home.

Garrett comes around the following evening. He is impressed with Edward's security. "The house is secure. Your main weakness is if you're leaving the door open for the dog, but I've seen that she's a good early warning system." Stella barked like mad at him earlier. Edward smirks.

"Yeah, she is," I say bending down to pet a now more docile Stella. Though I am not sure docile is the right word, even stationary and tongue lolling out of the side of her mouth, she has an energy about her.

"Good to know she doesn't like strange men wandering into the house," Garrett continues. He turns so that he's facing the rear doors that are currently open. "The wall isn't that high that it can't be scaled, but I think its presence is a good deterrent."

"Is there anything to suggest that he knows about this place?" Edward asks. His arms are folded in front of him and his brow knits into a frown.

"Not from our surveillance, which is good. We've placed him at your apartment on four occasions. There's no pattern, but enough to support the harassment order. I think Jenks is going to arrange a meeting with the lawyer shortly to compile your affidavit."

"Affidavit?" I ask. My voice is small and I try to stand straighter, ignoring the nausea in my stomach. Peter has been outside my apartment four times at least.

"Yes, that's how we initiate the order. I'll leave the details to the lawyers, but it's essentially a statement from you to petition for the order, meaning that he can't come within a certain distance of your home, your work, and the like. The evidence we have of Peter outside the apartment and waiting in the park will support it." He says this matter-of-factly. Of course, he's dealt with this sort of thing before. I should find it reassuring, but it disturbs me that there is enough of this sort of thing to keep a business afloat.

"Have you seen him enter the apartment?" I ask. Though I am not sure I want the answer. I find the idea of him inside my apartment so upsetting; it's such an invasion of my privacy. The idea of his mocking eyes roaming over my things, his violent hands touching my belongings turns my stomach and tears prick at my eyes.

"No record of him entering." He, too, folds his arms over his chest and stands with his legs wide. "Knowing what we do about his role as locksmith, I wouldn't rule out that he has been in there, but we don't know." He catches my eye, no doubt noticing the glaze of approaching tears. "At least we can rule it out since the alarm was installed."

Edward moves to stand nearer to me, and I take strength from the feel of his warmth beside me. He rests his hand on the small of my back and traces a repetitive pattern on the sliver of skin between my top and my jeans.

Garrett clears his throat and tucks his hand in his pocket, retrieving a small plastic fob with a button on it that he hands to me. I take it carefully so as not to activate it by mistake. The plastic feels warm from his body heat. It looks a little like a low-end car key remote.

He motions to the device. "Just press that button and you'll get a rapid response from our team. We'll locate you with GPS, send a team, and call the police too."

"Does it make a noise?" I ask as it finger the fob, familiarizing myself with the feel of it in my hand. Should I have it in my pocket? Or put it on my keys? It would look just like a keyring.

"No, not at your end. It's discreet so you can call for help without alerting an assailant." An assailant; as in Peter showing up. I feel sick; the nausea has been snowballing in my stomach to the point where I feel like I could actually vomit. I inhale a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Press it for a test," he urges. His eyes are open and his manner businesslike.

I oblige and his phone emits a loud noise; it's a negative sound, like a warning siren. "Perfect," he says. "It gives me an alert from you and your GPS location, see?" He shows me the message on the screen.

"All very high tech." I can muster no enthusiasm.

"I'll set up the forward on when I get to my laptop, so try not to have an emergency in the next hour or so." I think I see a glimmer of a smile, but his attempts to lighten the mood are lost on me. He grabs his bag ready to leave. Edward sees him to the door, and I head out onto the back deck, emergency fob thingy still in hand.

I hear Edward moving about in the kitchen and Stella's nails clipping against the floorboards as she follows him around no doubt. I stay sitting out on the deck. The sky is dull with great big gray rain clouds gathering on the horizon, and I can feel the moisture in the air, but it's not cold. I imagine the light wind, which is tousling my hair, blowing my problems away.

Edward sits down next to me and hands me a heavy tumbler full of an amber liquid. I take a large gulp, and though I don't like the taste, I enjoy the warmth of it travelling down to my stomach. He doesn't say anything and neither do I. He takes my hand, and we sit quietly in the garden, drinking what I assume is whiskey or scotch, and slowly the fear recedes and the knot in my stomach loosens. I lean my head on Edward's shoulder, and slowly I turn to kiss his neck. And that is how we christened the deck.

o0o

"You know, despite everything, I think these last few weeks have been some of the best of my life," Edward says slowly twirling his finger in my hair. "There is no-where I would rather be."

I share his sentiment entirely. It's my birthday on Wednesday, and Edward and I are spending some quality time together today. We are in the meadow, or should I say our meadow, as that's how I've come to think of it.

The peace here is like nowhere else on earth. I hear the twitter of birds above us, the sound of the breeze swaying the leaves of the trees overhead, the sound of the stream rushing nearby, Edward's heart beating beneath my ear, and absolutely nothing else. The sky above us is blue, and the sun shines brightly with barely a cloud in sight. The sun is warm on my skin, and the fresh fragrance of the outdoors makes me feel renewed.

It has been a difficult few weeks. Edward is adjusting to the heartbreak of Tanya's deceit. He's not been particularly talkative about it, but I've noticed moments where he is quiet and seems a million miles away in his thoughts, and I assume he's thinking about Ethan. I don't know what Tanya has called the baby boy – surprisingly, she hasn't called or texted as Edward had expected – but I've come to think of him as Ethan; the name Edward preferred. I hope that she's realized the magnitude of her actions and will let him move on.

I haven't pushed Edward to talk about it; people deal with things in their own way, and he knows that I am here if he wants to talk. Mostly, he's been focusing on the future and establishing himself in Seattle, while cutting ties in L.A. The house is on the market, and Edward has a lawyer in L.A. to communicate with Tanya and deal with the sale. He said she had enough equity in the house and enough of her own money to get a new place – even now, he doesn't want to do wrong by her. I think he is an exceptional human being.

The specter of Peter looming around every corner is finally dissipating. Jenks applied to the court for a civil harassment order. It's essentially a restraining order. You hear about them in movies and you think you know what they are, but I didn't realize that a restraining order is only used for a family or household member, and deal with domestic violence as well as property and custody issues – color me educated. A civil harassment order is the one used for stranger stalking type cases. Well, that's the case in Washington State anyway.

I had to provide information for and sign an affidavit, and Jenks submitted his surveillance evidence to court – careful to show that it was surveillance of me and my apartment with my consent, rather than the illegal following of Peter. They really do know what they're doing. The best part is that though Peter was served with papers, he didn't show up for the court hearing to contest it. The order was rubber stamped by the court. Even better, Peter seems to be abiding by it. It is merely a piece of paper, but there are criminal consequences for contempt of court, including jail time, if Peter violates it, and it has seemingly been a good deterrent. It is such a relief, though in the end it almost seemed too easy. Jenks and his team are still checking in now and then to be certain, and I still carry the panic alarm – it is a heaviness in my purse that has nothing to do with its physical weight.

But in this moment, surrounded by the perfection of nature in Edward's company, everything feels safe and full of possibility. "Me neither," I say holding him closer. "This was the best gift ever. Thank you."

"This isn't your gift. It's just a day out. I thought you would like to come back here." He continues to play with my hair as he talks.

"You're right. I'm glad you shared this place with me."

"Me, too. I think of it as ours now." He clears his throat and pauses a moment as if deciding what to say. "I came here before when we were apart. I had hoped to clear my head, but deep down, I really wanted to remember that day that we had here. Being here without you was painful. Nothing was as pretty; there was no respite from my sad thoughts, even the weather turned against me, and I got soaked on the way back to the car." I raise myself so that I am leaning on my arms on his chest and I can see his face. "I only brought you here once, but this is more your meadow than it is mine now. I don't want it without you."

I lean down to kiss him, and we are lost in the moment. I have never felt more alive than when he touches me. His effect on me is terrifying; my body reacts to him of its own volition. My heart races in my chest and my breath comes quickly; my nerves tingle and molten desire courses through me. I think that this must not be good for me, but I jump of that cliff time and again like some maddened adrenaline junky. Is this what love feels like?

It's like a dream being here with Edward. It's like nothing bad can touch us. "I can't tell you how happy I am," I say.

"I'm glad. Do you want your gift now?"

"I'm allowed it early?" I feel like a little kid at Christmas.

"If you want it."

"I do!"

He sits up and reaches into his pocket to bring out a small rectangular shaped box. I recognize the Tiffany color straight away. My heart flutters.

"Happy Birthday," he says, and passes me the box.

It is wrapped with a white ribbon that I slowly untie to draw out the moment. "You didn't need to do this."

"I know. But I wanted to. Go on, open it," he says and gestures to the parcel with a nod of his head. His face is expectant.

I open the box to see a beautiful delicate necklace.

"I know you already have a pearl necklace," he says as I stare at it in wonder. "But I figured since you can't find it, I'd get you a new one."

I finger the pearl and its antique-style setting.

"Do you like it?" He sounds a little worried, and I realize I haven't said anything.

"It's beautiful, Edward. Thank you so much. I don't think I've ever owned anything so pretty." I can't take my eyes from it for a moment. When I do look up, a big smile breaks out on his handsome face, and he reaches for the box.

I snatch it away, and hide it behind my back. "You don't get to take it back!"

He reaches for me, tickles my side and takes it from me easily.

"No fair!"

He plants a kiss on my nose as he does it. "I want to help you put it on."

I turn my back to him, and hold my hair out of the way. He hooks the clasp shut and places the chain against my neck. His fingers trail along the necklace, and shivers run down my spine. He drops a kiss at the base of my neck, and I am thinking devilish things. I'm not really into public displays of affection, but there's no one here, we haven't seen anyone all day, even as we made our way through the forest. I find myself sitting in his lap, my legs wound around his waist and we make out in the meadow.

What seems like a long time later Edward starts unpacking his bag. He's brought us lunch again and we eat spread out on a picnic blanket on the ground.

"How are you feeling about the offices now?" He has two to pick from and is having trouble deciding.

"I think I'm going to go with the one on Union Street. I think you're right about it being more in tune with the business."

"I liked the reception for the building there. I think it would create a good impression before they even get to your office area."

"Yeah, its high end, but I don't want to isolate regular families either. I want to do some residential work."

"Maybe you can appeal to some of the business contacts on a personal level if you have the right displays in the office? Then there is word of mouth. Did you speak to the website guy?"

"Yeah, he's building a test site. I want it to have a different feel from the current one."

"Very exciting!" I dunk a cracker in some humus. "Have you decided about the receptionist?"

"I'm not sure." He looks uncomfortable like he doesn't want to tell me. "I am leaning towards Jane, I think." He hunches his shoulders.

"Yeah? How come?" I ask when I've finished my cracker.

"Her experience, and the way she can put you at ease. Alec struck me as not so gracious a host, and I really want my clients to feel cared for."

"It's very important. People forget that the most important thing about hospitality is the way you make people feel. And she has the right credentials?"

"Definitely."

"Then the decision is made." I take another bite of my cracker. "Why do you look all sheepish? What aren't you saying?"

"Oh it's nothing. You're right." He takes a sip of water and takes more time screwing the lid back on than it warrants.

A long ago memory flits into my mind about Tanya getting jealous if he worked with women. "Edward, you do know that I have no problem whatsoever with you hiring a woman, right?"

His eyes dart quickly to mine and tighten. His frown creates a groove in between his eyebrows. "I do know that. I'm sorry. Reflex I guess." He shrugs and shakes his head.

"Do you need any help with the set up? I'm no architect, but I could help out with something."

"I'd really like that. You have a good eye, and you can make a space seem more homely than I can." His posture relaxes a little, and I think his mind is dwelling on sadder times.

"I'd love to," I say and run his arm. "Are you okay? Do you want to talk about the baby?"

His eyes tighten again, but now he is squinting against the sun. It is the set of his jaw that shows his discomfort. I trail my hand down his arm and clutch at his hand.

"I have no baby," he says after a while. "I never wanted a child with Tanya. I never really lost anything." He sounds matter of fact, but also like he is trying to convince himself.

"It's okay to be sad," I offer, giving his hand a squeeze.

His face clears some. "I know." His hand goes to my face. He caresses it gently and the love I see on his face chases his demons away. "I have you. That's all that matters." He kisses my forehead almost reverentially before sitting back on his heels.

"Ready for dessert?" he asks a devilish gleam in his eye now. I nod and he reaches back into his backpack and brandishes a clear Tupperware container with a cupcake inside. He opens the lid and sticks a small candle in the top and lights it. My cheeks ache from the smile on my face.

"Make a wish," he says. I close my eyes, make a wish, and blow the flame out.

"I want to draw you like that," he says. "Will you let me?"

"You brought a sketch pad?"

"Yeah. I want to draw you here." He's already reaching for his supplies. Boy Scout.

"Okay. Just don't go getting any ideas. We're not on the Titanic, you know." I fight a smile.

He laughs. "It'll happen one day."

"No way."

"Not out in the open, no, but what about you naked in my bed? We could have a strategically placed sheet if you're pretending to be shy." That devilish gleam brightens his green eyes.

"Pretending?"

"I've been with you in bed, love. There is nothing shy about you. And you're glorious naked."

I raise my eyebrows and purse my lips. "Why do I have the feeling that something of that nature might already exist?"

He declines to answer and tells me how to pose. He's evidently changed his mind about my blowing the candle out, because I am sitting with my knees bent before me and my arms resting on top of them.

He moves away from me and settles himself on a nearby tree root. "Look at me and think about what you want to do to me next time I'm naked."

He likes his games, for sure. There is something unspeakably intimate about this, even though we're both fully clothed and feet apart. We are quiet as he draws. I take his instructions seriously and my mind wanders to sensual places. I think about riding him until he comes undone. There is little that I like better than watching him come; that rush of euphoria as he feels the orgasm coming, a split second of stillness, then his body convulsing in pleasure. It's such a thrill to have all that muscular power, pliable and bending to my will. My nerves hum at the thought, and I am sure he sees what he was looking for in my eyes.

After what feels like a long while, he snaps the pad shut and says, "That'll do for today. I got the outline I wanted. I'll finish it another time."

"Can I see?"

"I'll show it to you when it's done."

"Spoil sport! You do know it's my birthday right?" I poke him in the side and he jumps. "Oh, I think I have found a weakness!" I go to tickle him in the same spot on his side but he blocks me with his arm.

"It's not your birthday until Wednesday." He smirks at me. "Now, let's do something about that look in your eye." The thrill in my nerves intensifies, and I feel like a teenager rather than a woman about to turn thirty as we round a few bases amongst wild flowers under blue skies.

o0o

Edward wants to make me breakfast in bed before work on Wednesday. He said that if I was going to work on my birthday I should at least eat well, and who I am to object?

He sets the tray on my lap, and leans over to kiss me. "Bon appétit," he says with what sounds to me like a perfect French accent.

"Do you speak French?"

He shrugs. "Some." I think he's being modest. "Maybe we should go to Paris sometime?" His eyes gleam at the thought.

"You know how I feel about travel." I am up for pretty much anything as long as it involves a proper bed and doesn't involve creepy crawlers.

"Happy Birthday," he says handing me a stack of cards he had wedged under his arm.

"Thanks." I set them on the bed as I take a sip of my tea. My tray is adorned with a purple anemone that I recognize from the garden, and reminds me of the meadow. It makes me smile. I finger the paper-thin petals and luxuriate in their softness. I have scrambled eggs and bacon with a side of pancakes.

"This is really lovely, Edward. I don't think I've ever had breakfast made for me in bed."

"I'm happy to be your first." He winks at me with a devilish smile.

"Are you not eating?" I query as I spoon a helping of maple syrup onto my pancakes.

"I'll grab something later." His eyes watch me, and there is something unaccountably intimate about him watching me eat.

I open some cards in between mouthfuls. There is one from my parents, and something falls from inside. There is another envelope that Edward picks up and passes to me. I read the card then open the other envelope. Inside are two tickets for the General Jackson Showboat in Nashville. "Oh," I squeal. "This is the old steamboat that I wanted to go on!" There are two tickets for me and Renee. We have the cruise, a dinner, and a show. Sue knows me so well.

Renee said we'd celebrate on our vacation, but there is a card from her, too. I recognize the Florida post mark and open that one next. I have a nice little pile. We went around to my apartment to pick up my mail last night as well as what I'll need for my trip. It was unnerving being in my once treasured space and feeling on edge and uncomfortable in a space I used to think of as my home. I could see no evidence of an intruder, but I guess that I wouldn't. I remember that day that my bed was turned down and shudder. Had Peter been there? Or had I moved it without realizing it?

I shake the unsettling thought from my mind. Home is where your heart is, and my heart is with my family, friends, and Edward. It's not bricks and mortar.

I finish my breakfast and get ready for work. Edward kisses me deeply at the door before I leave. The drive is pleasant. The sky is blue and there are, unusually, few clouds in the sky. When I arrive at work there is a bunch of lilies on my desk and a bottle of prosecco with a card resting against it. Charlotte and Jessica both watch me expectantly from their desks. "Aw, thank you," I say. "This is so kind."

"It's from all of us," Jess says. "Happy Birthday!"

"But you two did the organizing, right?"

"We did," says Charlotte. Her eyes smile in a way I don't see often. "So tell us – what did you get?"

I tell them about my tickets from my parents, and that I'm having a dinner party with my friends on Saturday. I tell them about the meadow, and show them my necklace from Edward.

"It's beautiful, Bella," Charlotte says.

"Is it Tiffany?" Jessica asks.

I nod, and she whistles in appreciation. "You did good there, girl!"

"Well, I can't find my pearl necklace anywhere, and he knew about it, so he replaced it. Little does he know, the other wasn't nearly so valuable." I open the card as I speak.

"Sounds like a lovely day," Jess says as she turns back to her computer screen.

"It was. It was lovely." I look up to see Charlotte frozen in place. The color has drained from her already pale face, and her eyes are hollow somehow. "Charlotte, are you okay?" She doesn't react. I repeat myself, and she wakes as if from a trance.

"You know, I suddenly don't feel very well. I think that I should go home." She clears her throat. There is a hollowness to her voice, too. "I'm sorry to do this. I hope I'll be better tomorrow."

"Me too, you take care."

Jess has turned back around and rubs her arm. "Do you want me to help you home?" Jess lives in the same direction so often gives Charlotte a ride home after work.

"Thanks. No, no. I'll be okay."

"Are you sure?" I ask. "You don't look yourself."

"Yes. I better go." She gathers her things, and I notice her hands shake.

"You give me a call if you're not better tomorrow."

"Yes, yes," she says clutching the lapels of her jacket.

"Are you sure you're okay to get home?"

"I'll be fine."

She seems okay on her feet as she walks swiftly to the stairs. I wonder what changed so quickly. She seemed fine just a moment ago.

Jess wheels her chair so that it's nearer me. "Is it just me or was that super weird?"

"It seemed like something was off to me."

Her eyes narrow. "That jerk. No doubt." She huffs and turns back to work.

The day flies by and I look forward to spending the evening with Edward. We have planned to relax and get take out. I am glad that the sun still shines – I want to eat in the garden. I really need to get back into running, I am sure I must have put weight on these past few weeks. But not tonight; tonight it's my birthday, and I have very different exercise plans in mind, and perhaps a nice long soak in the tub afterwards. I put my foot down to get home a little faster.

Author's Note

Thank you so much for reading this story. If you're finding it interesting please leave me review and share your thoughts.

I can't thank Songster enough for her editing skills. Particularly for sorting out my awful comma usage!

Rhian xx