Time was a strange thing, some moments it just seemed to fly by and others it dragged by so slowly that you are left wondering if the world stopped turning and time frozen.

And waiting for Bella's response was like time had stopped totally and all were frozen except me, leaving me to live through the immeasurable amount of time in silence.

When the shocked expression finally fell from her face and her body seemed to unfreeze from its current position, unease began to shift through my stomach tying it in knots.

I mean we were only 17, and I had hurt her so much once already but if she truly felt for me the way I felt about her then the answer was obvious……or at least I hoped.

"Edward, I know that you are worried about the move because I am too but marriage? We are still in high school and if Charlie didn't hate you before then he would now. Edward I love you, more then you may ever know, but we can't get married…..we are just too young."

Her hand fell from my face and her eyes shifted to her lap allowing her hair to form a long brown curtain around her.

My heart felt like it was going to stop. The pain ripping through it was unimaginable, not because she had said no but because she thought I wouldn't love her anymore because she didn't want to get married.

I tilted her face to gaze into my own eyes, causing the pain to only grow worse because what I saw was a look of disappointment directed at herself.

"Oh Bella, I understand. We can wait for as long as you like, even if it takes 50 years. I guess I just asked now because I don't want to lose you to the Mikes of the world. I want you to be mine, forever."

Which was true but I had also asked because I knew that no matter what she was the one that I wanted forever. I was ready to marry my angel right there on the spot but I wouldn't force her into something that she didn't want.

I leaned in and captured her lips in an unbreakable kiss that was only interrupted by the sound of her cell phone playing a western theme song signaling Charlie.

He was angry at first. A lot of yelling and placing blame on me but it soon settled when he figured out how close he had been to losing his daughter.

And we decided to not tell anyone about my break down proposal, thinking that would only fuel Charlie's hate towards me.

When I talked to Bella later that night after she had been returned home just like I promised, no running away to Vegas to elope or running to a foreign country and adopting new names and accents, she seemed more at peace with Charlie.

Apparently he was willing to give me another chance but in his words I was still on 'parole' and Bella was grounded till Christmas for attempting to run away.

The time, however, seemed to fly by as the move approached, and as the boxes began to pile up in my room it just made it that much more difficult to think about.

The only things that had not been packed up yet by the time that Christmas rolled around was my bed, some clothes, and Bella's Christmas presents.

We had talked our parents into a big Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve at our house and now as Esme ran around franticly trying to get everything into perfect order I regretted it. I couldn't help but to think that we should have just gone out to eat, and save ourselves this hassle.

"Edward, they're here!" Shouted Alice from the bottom of the stairs. I quickly stuffed the cleaning products that I had in my hand into the nearby closet and straightened out my hair in the hall mirror before flying down the stairs.

Bella looked amazing, in a simple forest green dress that sat off the shoulder and flowed out around her knees. Her soft brown hair was pulled back on one side by a small silver pin, leaving the rest to lie on her shoulders in soft curls.

"Merry Christmas Charlie…..Bella." Said Esme as she kissed each of them on the cheek politely, before ushering us into the dining room. I hurried to Bella's side, wrapping my arm around her waist, and leaning my lips to her ear.

"You look stunning tonight, love." She turned her head away trying to hide the gorgeous blush that spread across her cheeks. I chuckled and pulled out a chair for Bella to sit in before taking my seat next to hers and resting my hand on her leg intertwined with her own.

Dinner was interesting to say the least. Emmett and Alice felt the need to tell embarrassing stories about me when I was a boy, while Esme bragged about my piano skills which caused me to understand why Bella likes to hide her face when she was embarrassed.

And multiple times throughout the dinner, I saw a smile crack across Charlie's usually stone face and soft chuckles escape his lips.

I couldn't help but feel excited, because I could see this happening all the time. The nine of us gathering for family dinners during the holidays and special occasions. I could picture us a family, forever.

"Well now that we are all stuffed, I say it's time to open some presents!" Alice jumped from her chair squealing and leading the way to the family room where the presents all sat neatly. "Now who is first……"

AUTHORS NOTE-

I KNOW MANY OF YOU WILL BE ANGRY ABOUT HER SAYING NO BUT I WILL HAVE MY REASONS FOR IT LATER IN THE STORY. NEXT CHAPTER CHARLIE, BELLA, AND EDWARD WILL BE RECEIVING SOME BIG SURPRISES. SO STAY TUNED. THANKS FOR READING AND REMEMBER TO REVIEW. THANKS WISH-ELEVEN.