A/N: Hi, guys! *waves*

Ready for a new dream? Dream on. :D

Chapter-36: Sunshine

Word Prompt: Sunshine

Audio-Visual Challenge—Imagined Image: A library

View the image and write whatever comes to you.

~*~*~*DreamWeaver*~*~*~

"Good morning, Sunshine." The sound of her voice makes me look up from the notepad I've been frowning at for a while, and I sit up straighter when I see her smile at me from my office door.

She looks happy for a change.

I decide not to let my confusion show and instead, I smile back at her. "Hey, sis. How was your weekend?"

Rose steps inside my office and softly closes the door behind her before pulling me to stand up from my chair and hugging me. "I'm free, Ed," she says—her voice a choked whisper, filled with emotion. "I'm finally free."

"Free?" Confusion lines my thought for a moment before it dawns on me.

The restraining order.

"When was your court hearing?"

She lets go of me and raises a beaming face at me. "This morning. I got it. He can't come anywhere near me anymore."

"He was a no-show?" I guess.

Shaking her head, she lets her smile fall. "Oh no! He showed up alright. He had some choice words for me too." She notices the worried look on my face and offers me a timid smile. "Unfortunately for him, so did I ... for him."

"How bad was it?" I ask anxiously, wishing that I could've been there for her.

She shrugs. "Well, by the time we were through with our Battle of Insults, all the female members of the jury were red-faced. So I think it went pretty good."

I snort at her description, and then sober up. "Rose, I'm sorry," I tell her sincerely. "I was a crappy brother. I should've been there with you today."

The smile returns to her face as she says back, "Don't beat yourself up, Edward. You've been a great brother. But you need to live your life too. I can't keep holding you back with my problems." When I open my mouth to protest, she silences me with one of her patented Rosalie Cullen bitch brows. She waits till I close my mouth and then continues. "Besides I wasn't alone. I had a friend with me."

"Pink feather boa carrying kind of friend?" I can't help but tease her, her happiness feeling infectious.

An uncharacteristic blush comes over her face as she nods. "Yes. I think he scared Royce into silence today."

Really? I wonder to myself. Royce is a dickwad, but to be scared of a drag? Who fancies prancing around with pink feather boas draped around him? Yeah, that just proves how much of a ratty asshole Royce is once again.

"Oh yeah?"

My remark comes out sounding like a question, and Rose nods enthusiastically. "Yeah. He's quite big, you see …"

With that, I reach my point of tolerance and exclaim loudly while resisting the urge to stick my fingers in my ears, "Sheesh, Rose, I don't want to know how … ahem … gifted your friend is."

I almost say the words "I'm not interested in hearing about the diameters of his boob implants". Almost. Thankfully, my brain-to-mouth filter works for the time being.

Giving her a hug, I tell my sister, "I'm happy for you, sis. And I support any choice you make."

She looks startled when I put the extra emphasis on the 'any choice' part, but smiles back anyway.

~*~*~*DreamWeaver*~*~*~

I look down at my cell phone to make sure I'm at the correct address once again.

A library? She asked me to meet her at a library?

Walking inside, I follow the instructions she had sent me in a text message about twenty minutes ago, and find myself standing at a secluded section at the upper level of the place.

From up here, I can see books upon books adorning the shelves and so many people wandering around in their midst. Sadly, none of them look like they might be her.

"I missed you," a soft voice whispers very close to my ear.

I whirl around and catch a glimpse of Bella standing in front of me, and then I can't see her anymore. Because she pushes me against a bookshelf and before I know it, her mouth is on mine, greeting me sweetly.

When she separates our mouths, I hold her in my arms and say, "Hi, beautiful."

A shy smile comes on her face as she places a soft kiss on my jaw and whispers against my skin, "Hey."

"Not that I mind the different scenario here, but why the sudden change?" I ask curiously.

She shrugs. "Just thought it'll be something different," she replies, trying to act all non-chalant.

"Bella?" I call her name quietly. "What is it, baby?"

She seems to melt in my arms as she hears me call her name. "Promise me you won't laugh?" she asks back.

Moving her hair away from her face, I hold her face in between my hands. "I promise, my beautiful

mysterious girl."

She takes in a deep breath and lets it out slowly before saying, "I wanted to tell you why I acted the way I did on Saturday …" Seeing the frown on my face, she clarifies, "When you wanted to come and pick me up for our date."

"Really?"

Biting her lip, she sighs. "Yes, and since Katarina is a compulsive eavesdropper, I thought we could talk somewhere quiet."

"Bella, you don't owe me any explanation …" I start, but she puts a finger on my lips to shut me up.

"I know I don't. But I want to do this … if we're going to have anything long-term that is," she sounds nervous as she finishes.

Without another word, I take her hand and kiss the back of it, silently thanking her for trusting me with her life … past, present … and maybe, just maybe the future?

A/N: So … thoughts?

Share them with me and leave a review.

Thank you for reading.

Tomorrow is Monday, so I'll see you on Tuesday, ok?

To those of you who celebrate Easter, wish you a Happy Easter, and to those of you who don't, have a good weekend. :)

Take care.

Ann