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I'll shut up now.

Chapter 35

Bella

"Packing already?"

I turned around to see Garrett coming into my apartment.

"Taken to just letting yourself in, I see."

He laughed. "Alice was on her way out. She told me to just come on in."

"Ah. And to answer your question, it's not already. We're leaving in two days, and I have an entire day of exams tomorrow. So it's now or it's not happening."

I picked up a shirt and tried to fold it, only to find that talking about our trip had made me too nervous to do so. I took a deep breath and tried again, but it was no use. I was shaky, going out of my mind with worry over Edward. Us. Leaving him to deal with his mother himself. Trying to figure out how to tell him that yeah, I might be going to Chicago with him.

But I wouldn't be doing much more than that.

Worst girlfriend ever. Right here.

"Here." Garrett reached out and took the shirt from me. "Christ, Bella, why are you going if you're so messed up about it?"

A stray tear fell down my cheek, and I reached up and wiped it away with the back of my hand before he could notice it.

I was pretty sure I wasn't fooling him, though.

"Because he needs me," I answered.

"You're not going to actually be with him for it all, though, right? You're doing what the shrink said?"

I nodded. "As much as it will kill me, yeah. Emmett says I should go sightseeing or something."

I let out a bleak laugh. "Like that'll happen."

"Bella..."

"Edward still thinks I'm coming with him to see his mom." When Garrett's eyes widened in disbelief, I hurried to explain myself. "I don't think he'll go if he knows he'll be doing it without me."

"So you'll lie to him instead?"

"No. I don't..." I scrubbed at my face. "I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know how to tell him."

"I can see that," he replied, giving me a wry look.

"So, um, how are things with Kate?"

"Things?" he questioned, not fooled by my attempt to change the subject.

"You know. Relationship kind of things."

"Is that what we have?"

"Garrett, don't be an ass."

He grinned. "We're good. She's fun. I like her."

"Do you like her like her?"

"Are you fucking five?" he joked. "Going to ask me if I've gotten my cootie shot next?"

I rolled my eyes. "Way to be an idiot."

"Fine. Yes. I like her like her." When I smiled widely, he shook his head. "Don't read too much into it, Swan. I still barely know her."

"I take it that you're not the pursuer in this situation."

"Ah... No. No, I'm not. It's weird."

"Had to happen sometime."

His shoulders jerked up. "I guess."

He looked so uncomfortable that I let the conversation drop and went back to packing. I didn't know how long we were going to be gone, so I packed more than I probably would need. But I'd never been to Chicago. I didn't even know what the weather was typically like this time of year, and I definitely didn't trust the forecast.

"Don't ruin things with Edward just because you're scared," Garrett said suddenly.

"What?"

"You're scared, so you're keeping everything in," he explained. "I know how you operate."

He was exactly right. I'd done this once before when it came to telling Edward about Maggie until it'd weighed so heavily on my mind that one day, I simply exploded.

I'd nearly lost it all because of it.

With his words, as simple as they were, I knew I was going about this the wrong way, over-analyzing every little detail. If Edward chose not to go without me, it simply meant he was never ready to see Elizabeth in the first place.

As selfish as it was, I was okay with that.

"Okay," I nodded determinately, "I'll talk to him about it when he gets home."

He narrowed his eyes, trying to see if I was lying or not. Satisfied, he broke out into a grin. "I don't see any undies in here, Bella."

"You're not touching my underwear, perv. Besides, I don't think Kate would like that much."

Not to mention how Edward would react to that bit of news.

He chuckled. "Probably not."

"Definitely not."

"Okay, in all seriousness now; what can I do?"

"Just keep me company until Edward gets here."

He flopped down on the bed, sending my suitcase bouncing, with that damned grin still on his face. "Bella Swan, I am at your leisure."

God, this was going to be a long afternoon.

xx

"Baby, how long do you expect to be gone?" Edward laughed, gazing down at the contents of my suitcase.

"Just a few days. I don't... You said the weather was unpredictable," I defended.

"Yes, but I didn't mean you needed to pack your whole closet," he snorted.

I huffed. "What do you suggest I take out?"

"Well, you're definitely not going to need this... There's a cold front moving in early next week."

He pulled out a sundress and tossed it aside.

"But not even with a sweater?"

"It's early March. In Chicago." He looked at me seriously. "No."

"But-"

"It's called the Windy City for a reason, you know."

Another huff. "Damn, I really love that dress."

"I love it too. And I'll admit, I would love to see the wind catch it and give me a peek, but you'd bitch me out for not warning you about it in the first place, and I'm not interested in that kind of shit. So Bella..." He paused for effect. "Don't bring it. It's not practical."

I rolled my eyes.

He dug through my suitcase, removing various things here and there until it was merely half way full.

"I need a smaller bag," I muttered.

He chuckled and tugged me to him. "I will take you someplace this summer where you can wear all that. And less, if you'll finally fucking get over this."

I closed my eyes as his hand ran over my scar. "You don't have to take me anywhere."

"But I do," he returned adamantly. "I've told you so many times… I want to give you the whole, goddamned, clichéd world."

"Edward..."

"So I thought I might show you around a little when we get there. Take a day to... I don't fucking know. Gather my thoughts? Grow a pair?"

I giggled. "What are Emmett and Jasper going to do?"

"I don't give a flying fuck what they do, to be honest."

"You don't want them there."

"I... I want them there to make you happy," he admitted. "It's shitty. I know. But there it is."

"It doesn't make me happy. None of this does. I just want someone there for you in case... In case-"

"Shh." His eyes latched on to mine, dark and sincere. "Nothing's going to happen to me."

"You don't know that."

He sighed. "I don't. You're right. But Bella, I'm not worried about myself. As long as nothing happens to you-"

"Nothing's going to happen to me," I echoed to him softly. And my eyes closed again. "Because I'm not going with you to that neighborhood. I'm not going to see your mom."

He took a step away from me. I couldn't look at him. Couldn't see the hurt. Confusion.

"What?" he rasped. "You don't want to?"

"Yes, I want to," I nearly cried. "You have no idea how much I want to."

"Then what the fuck, Bella? I- Goddamn it, I need you there."

I shook my head and finally opened my eyes to let him see how horrible this was for me. "I can't go with you, Edward. I can't."

Involuntarily, I rubbed at the ache in my chest. His eyes darted down, widened as he processed the meaning, and then he took another step away from me.

"Shit," he breathed. "Shit, shit, shit."

"I'm sorry," I said on a sob.

"Explain it to me." He dragged his hands through his hair. "Stop fucking crying for a second, please, and explain it to me."

I took a deep breath, working to stifle my tears. "I talked to Dr. Banner."

"When?"

"A couple weeks ago. I was freaking out and didn't want to hurt you-"

"You're not hurting me. Bella, I'm the one who keeps hurting you over this. It's exactly what I was-"

"Don't. See, that's what scares me. That you'll do just that."

He took a breath and nodded. "Fuck."

"So I showed up for a session of ours early so I could... Not get information out of him. I guess it was my own private session. I just wanted him to ease my mind. Tell me that you weren't going to push me away."

"Did he?"

"Yes. But he brought up a really good point... About how much you depend on me."

"Fuck," he uttered once more.

"He thinks you should go without me."

"Why?" he ground out.

"Because I may not always be here."

The way his face contorted, his body twisting away from me to hide his reaction...

I steeled myself against it and continued.

"You need to figure out how to get through stuff like this without me. I need to know that if something does-"

"Don't. Just fucking don't," he whispered.

"Babe... You can't hide from it forever."

"I absolutely can," he snarled back.

"I need to know that if something happens to me you'll be all right. You won't shrivel up and let it consume you."

"I wouldn't want to be without you."

I stayed silent. Because to tell him anything in return would be hypocritical.

"You know what pisses me off the most about this?" he finally asked.

He turned toward me, his expression resigned.

"What?"

"I can't argue with you. You do that thing with your hand, and I can't argue with you."

"Yes, you can."

He laughed once. "No, I can't. That thing is what brought you to me. It's been what has made me - us - better every fucking time. As much as I want to, I can't argue with it."

On cue, the ache flared.

He saw me grimace, and let out a frustrated sound.

"Come here. You're too far away from me," he mumbled.

"If I recall correctly, you're the one who backed away from me."

He pulled me against him and buried his face against my neck. "How am I going to make it through that without you?"

"You'll be fine. You're ready."

I suddenly realized the truth in that. How blind I'd been by my own issues that I didn't see it until right at that very moment. How - even though I'd mentioned to Jacob once before that I knew he'd be okay - I'd been so wrapped up with what was going on with me that I'd managed to lose my faith in him at some point. But my faith was renewed now. He might not come out of it unscathed, but he'd get through it.

He got through everything.

He was the most amazing person I'd ever know.

Edward, as usual, was quick to deny it. "No, I'm not."

"You are. And if there's a second that you feel like you can't handle it, Emmett and Jasper will be there to help you out. You just have to let them in."

"I don't want them there."

"I know." I pushed my fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck, having nothing else I could possibly do for him. "But they'll be there. You don't have to talk to them about any of it. You can rant and pace and freak out all you want when it's over to me. Because I'll be waiting for you on the other side."

He lifted his head to stare down at me. "Yeah?"

"Edward," I chastised softly, standing on my toes to press a kiss to his lips. "Where else would I be?"

"I don't know, Bella. You've been kind of weird lately."

"I'm sorry," I replied earnestly. "I've been stupid about everything. I've put my issues about this whole thing in front of yours, and that's not fair. This trip isn't about me."

"Are you calling yourself selfish?"

I shrugged.

"Bella, baby, you're the least selfish person I can think of. Take it from someone who knows firsthand what selfishness is. Self-preservation, or whatever the fuck you've been doing lately, is not."

I narrowed my eyes up at him, stunned to hear those words come out of his mouth. "When did you get so smart?"

"Some little brunette's been rubbing off on me lately."

"Hmm."

"I know someplace else she can rub too," he murmured playfully.

My lower lip slipped in between my teeth, and I gazed up at him coyly. "Where?"

He inched us closer to the bed. "Come here. I'll show you..."

"When was the last time I was on a plane?" Jasper wondered to Emmett from the adjacent row. "Hell, I can't remember. Can you?"

"Dude, I don't pay attention to what you do," Emmett said with a snort.

"Well, when was the last time you were on a plane?"

"When I came home with Mom and Dad."

Jasper's response came just a beat too late. "Really?"

"Yep. Rosie and I drove when we went on our honeymoon."

"Oh, right. She didn't want to go far."

Emmett's jaw clenched with the memory. "Neither did I. I was freaked the fuck out."

"Speaking of sex, you get her pregnant yet?"

"Are you questioning my abilities here, Jasper?" Emmett returned.

"Possibly."

"Seriously?"

Jasper grinned. "Yep."

"It's been two weeks!" Emmett replied, not bothering to hide his offense to that. "I haven't had a chance to really do anything yet."

"Two weeks is enough time, Em," Jasper teased. "Take it from the doctor here."

"Almost doctor, ass."

"I have nine weeks left. It's close enough." Jasper kept the smile on his face. "And it only takes once. One really well-timed fuck. Right, Edward?"

"Shut the hell up," he seethed from beside me. "Just shut the hell up. No one wants to hear this shit."

I put my hand on his bouncing leg and gave him a look.

He groaned and threw his head back. "Fuck. Sorry. I just- Sorry."

Emmett and Jasper shrugged his apology off, unconcerned with his attitude. We'd expected it. In fact, had Edward acted any differently today, we'd have all been lost.

"Where did you get matched up again?" I asked Jasper.

"A couple of places. I'm staying home, though. With Alice."

"You'll be in Seattle?" I asked hopefully.

He nodded. "You're looking at one of Harborview's newest residents."

Emmett coughed. "Intern, dick."

Jasper smacked him.

"That's... that's awesome, Jazz."

He beamed across the aisle at me.

I gave him a quick smile in return, and then turned my attention to Edward.

"You all right?" I whispered.

He lowered his eyes to mine. "No."

"Is there anything I can do?" It was a ridiculous question, but I had to ask it anyway.

He shook his head once, and then faced the window.

"Okay, then," I said to myself.

He heard me and silently took my hand.

The flight was long. Longer than I'd anticipated. Maybe because we were all on edge. Jasper and Emmett kept glancing over at Edward after his outburst, and I had to sit and feel him fidget against me. See his legs bounce, ankles cross, out of the corner of my eye. His book shook in his hand; his Coke sat untouched on his tray.

But not once did I let my hold on his hand go.

It was the only thing I could do for him.

Once the plane landed, Jasper and Emmett retrieved their phones to call Rosalie and Alice. I pulled my own out and hurried a quick text to Carlisle before Edward could notice. He'd been so adamant about keeping his parents out of this, mostly out of fear of hurting them. But I didn't think he realized just how understanding they were of what he was doing. They'd always known his past ate away at him, and now that he had slowly come to find himself again, they'd support anything he did if he thought it would better himself further.

My text, however, didn't go unnoticed.

"Who was that?"

"Dad," I lied.

"Your father texts?" he asked, frowning. "Since when?"

"Since now?"

He blinked over at me, seeing my words for what they really were.

Thankfully, though, the crew chose that exact moment to open the door and let us all out.

Edward paced around the luggage carousel while we waited for our bags to resurface. He grabbed Emmett's and threw it to the side, and then did the same with my bag.

"Easy, man," Emmett laughed. "You're going to break someone's foot acting like that."

Edward glanced around, flushing immediately. "Shit. I don't-"

His hands shook when they came up to run through his hair, and I immediately intervened.

"Let's go outside for some air, huh? Let them take care of the rest?"

He let out a breath and nodded.

We were silent until we stepped outside. Once he was away from prying eyes and ears, from his brothers, it was like the dam burst, and everything came pouring out.

"This was a mistake. I can't do this, can't be here. I don't know what I was-" He choked back some kind of emotion and started running his hands over his face, arms, everywhere he could touch.

I'd seen this before. Right when I first started to get to know him, when conversations took unexpected turns and the world he'd fought so hard to build up around him threatened to cave in.

My carry-on weighed heavily on my shoulder, the knowledge of what it held inside it suddenly pulling at me. I carefully maneuvered it around my body so I could reach inside it and pulled out the journal, a bottle of water, and the bag full of meds out.

Mixed in with mine was the anxiety medication Dr. Banner had prescribed Edward. The prescription I made him fill before we left.

"I don't want any of that shit," he ground out upon seeing my intent.

So stubborn.

"You may not want it, but you need it."

"I don't."

I arched my brow in return.

"God- Fuck, Bella. What good am I if I can't even get through being in this fucking city without medicating myself?"

"It's just a city, Edward," I reminded him softly. "One I hoped you'd show me a little of. If it takes half a freaking Xanax to get you to do so, then so be it. You need something good out of this trip, baby."

"What's good about it?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. Shedd Aquarium? Soldier Field? That damn Sue thing?"

His lips twitched with a smile, and I instantly felt relieved. "You've done your homework."

"I want to know more about where you come from. Is that wrong?"

"You know where I come from. This place doesn't matter because it's not home."

He blanched suddenly with his words.

"God, I'm a fucking dumbass."

I barely managed to keep from laughing at his sudden epiphany. "No, it doesn't matter. So let's not let it, okay?"

"Yeah." He pointed at the stuff in my hands. "Now put that shit away so I can touch you properly."

"Touch me, huh? In public?" I teased, obeying his command and slipping everything back into my bag.

"Yeah. You know. Clingy shit."

I giggled until he had his arms around me and put his forehead on my shoulder.

"I smell like plane."

"You smell like you," he insisted. "Warm and girly and... Well, like coconuts."

"It's my shampoo."

"Don't fucking change it. It's one of the first things I realized I loved about you: your scent."

"You're supposed to mix it up to keep your hair from going flat, you know."

"Bella."

I laughed, grateful that the man verging on a panic attack had seemingly vanished. "Okay, okay. I'm not changing it."

"Thank fuck." I could have sworn he sniffed at me. "But you do sort of smell like plane."

"Thanks," I said dryly, pushing him away.

His eyes danced over me, concern etching across his features. "You feel all right?"

"You're freaking out about me now?"

He simply smiled. "It doesn't just fucking turn off, baby. You know that."

I opened my mouth to argue, but found that I couldn't.

He was right.

"I'm fine." At his skeptical look, I continued. "I promise. I took all those vitamins and Echinacea you gave me. Nothing to worry about."

"You're sure?"

"I was fine when we got home from Phoenix, wasn't I?"

He nodded, another smile tugging at his lips. "Feel free to tell me to shut up at any time, Bella."

I grinned back at him. "Shut up."

It had been dark when we'd arrived at our hotel - and we were exhausted from travel - so the four of us had gone into our designated rooms and shut the world away. Well, I'd let Edward shut the world away. I discreetly gave his brothers and the rest of our family back in Washington updates on how he was handling everything.

He seemed to be well. He fooled around in the shower with me, ate dinner, and was relaxing against the headboard as the movie played on TV...

"You're staring at me," he said with a sidelong glance. "It's sort of creepy."

"Oh."

I immediately turned my focus back on the TV.

"I'm okay," he said lowly. "I'm... fuck, I'm kind of tired."

"Want to turn off the movie and sleep?"

"No."

"But you just said you were tired," I replied, turning to him in confusion.

The apprehension, the fear that was staring back at me nearly ripped my heart out.

"Baby..."

"I think if I fucking fall asleep, I'll dream. And I can't fucking dream before I see her. I can't have all that fresh in my mind when I go. I'll... I'll lose my shit if I do."

I scrambled on top of him, holding his face in my hands and pressing kisses on his forehead, nose, lips...

He grabbed me and pulled my tight against him, shifting me in the most delicious of ways.

"Take one of those pills," I gasped into his mouth. "You need to sleep."

"No. Just make me forget, Bella."

"Edward..."

I groaned when his hand came between us and cupped me, rocking into his palm as heat seared through me.

"Make me forget. Please. Just for a little while."

His words were painful, desperate, making it impossible to refuse him.

So forget we did. Over and over again, in every way we could think of, until we were too exhausted to hold our heads up. And even then, we never let go of each other, never stopped talking about inconsequential things, never stopped making plans for our future.

Our future was bright, stretched out endlessly before us.

We merely needed to bury the past so that we could live it.

xx

"Oh, my God," I gasped from the window, "it's beautiful. It doesn't look like a lake at all. It's like... It's like I'm looking at the ocean."

He came up from behind me and wrapped his arms around me, holding me to him as he stared down at Lake Michigan.

"You're prettier," he argued against my skin. He pressed a kiss to the hollow behind my ear, and I shivered. "So much prettier."

I scoffed. "Come on. That is gorgeous, Edward. Don't even try to deny it."

"I'm not. I'm saying you're better looking, that's all."

I rolled my eyes.

"I wish it was warmer. I'd take you out on it."

"You don't have a boat."

He chuckled. "Don't need one. They give tours. I'd just take you on one of those."

"Tours? Of what?"

"Like skyline viewing at sunset kind of things. I hear the view of downtown's nice at that time of day."

"Sounds nice."

"Maybe next time," he said pulling away from me.

"You think you'd ever come back?" I asked him.

He was quiet for a moment, not answering until I'd twisted away from the window to face him.

"I could," was all he said in return.

The meaning wasn't lost on me. He could... if I ever wanted to.

And I was pretty sure that given his history here, I'd never want to.

I dragged Edward down to breakfast with his brothers, insisting that he give them the satisfaction of seeing he was holding up all right for themselves. He bitched and moaned the entire way down the elevator, but was surprisingly polite when we joined them.

"What'd you guys do all night?" Emmett asked, his brows wiggling as if he already knew the answer.

"Jesus, Em," Edward grumbled. "Do you hear me asking you about yours and Rosalie's sex life ever?"

"Well, no, but see, you two weren't exactly... quiet."

My face flamed, and I diverted my eyes toward the lobby. Leave it to Emmett to make breakfast awkward.

"Then don't fucking listen," Edward snapped out.

"It's kind of hard not to when the walls are paper thin," he said with a laugh.

"It isn't hard at all," Edward protested, his entire body going rigid beside me. "Trust me. I spent years ignoring what you did inside your room at Mom and Dad's. It's a matter of respect. And that right there tells me you don't have any for Bella."

He pushed away from the table in disgust. "I'm done. I'm not hungry anymore. Bella, I'll meet you up in our room. We can leave after you've eaten."

"Edward-"

He pressed a kiss to my hair. "I just need to walk it off, okay?"

I nodded, reluctantly giving him the space he was asking for.

When he was gone from sight, I turned around and glared at Emmett.

"What the hell was that?"

"Trying to lighten things up a bit," he mumbled.

"Oh, yeah? And talking about my sex life is the way to do it?"

He didn't answer.

"Don't make me regret bringing you two."

"Hey, what did I do?" Jasper demanded.

"Nothing. That's the problem!"

Jasper threw his head back with a groan. "Fuck, B. Sorry. I wasn't thinking."

"Obviously," I replied. "Neither of you were. He doesn't need this shit."

"He doesn't need me tiptoeing around him," Emmett countered.

"But do you have to be such an inconsiderate ass?"

"Guess not," he said guiltily.

We were quiet as we ate. The second I was done, I threw down enough cash to cover my meal and got up, ignoring every last one of their objections on my way back upstairs.

I was still none too pleased with those two at the moment.

I hesitantly opened the door to our room and found Edward lying on the bed, staring up at the ceiling blankly.

"You ready to go?" he asked without moving.

"I just need to take my meds."

With that, he finally sat up and watched me as I made my way to my bag and dumped out my pills for the morning.

"Where are we going?"

"Anywhere you want. I have some things I want to show you first, though, if that's okay?"

"Of course it is," I answered immediately, giving him an odd look. "Why wouldn't it be?"

"It's..." He trailed off uncertainly. "Well, you'll see."

He led me to where he'd parked the rental in the garage attached to the hotel when we arrived and opened the door for me, shutting me in without a word. The ride was silent. I watched skyscrapers give way to smaller buildings, and then saw our surroundings seem to slowly crumble around us.

"Where are we?"

He didn't answer, too busy looking for a safe place to park the car. He found a garage and parked in a spot that was visible to the attendant then waited for me just to the rear of the car.

He took my hand, leading me once more, a determined look on his face the entire way. We rounded the corner and the wind blew, stealing my breath and causing my hair to whip around my face harshly.

"Holy shit," I gasped, turning away from it.

A brittle laugh escaped him as he pushed the hair from my eyes. "Told you the dress would be useless."

I reached up and went to zip my jacket, chilled now. "How did you stand this?"

A dark look passed over his features, and he glanced around warily. "You get used to it."

"No, I can't imagine you do."

He said nothing in return again.

I sighed.

Windows in the buildings around us were boarded up, and the sidewalk was eroding away in certain places. Graffiti was everywhere. I followed Edward blindly to wherever he was taking me, not expecting the sudden stop when we reached a highway overpass.

"I used to sleep here a lot," he said numbly, and pointed to a little cave like area in the structure. "Right there. It was hidden from sight and protected against the wind."

My breath caught, and I had to grab a hold of his arm as images of him sleeping there alone flashed through my mind. Before I could say anything, he was gesturing us forward.

A few blocks further, where the neighborhood seemed to have miraculously undergone a makeover, he brought us to a halt. He gazed in the store window for a moment, a shudder running through him, and then went inside. The second I walked in behind him, I knew exactly why he'd had that reaction.

We were in his music store.

"It's not much. Most of their equipment's used, but this is where..."

He didn't finish the sentence, his gaze focused on someone coming out of the back. His hair was a nondescript sort of brown; blue eyes were kind. The man stared at Edward for a moment, and then smiled widely as he rushed to greet him.

"Edward Masen!" he exclaimed. "My God, kid, you've grown!"

Edward's cheeks mottled with color, and he gave me a shy look. "Bella, this is Peter Haskins. He owns this place."

"Nice to meet you," I said genuinely. "Edward's told me a lot about bouncing around from store to store learning to play. It was good of you to not kick him out."

Peter laughed, and clapped Edward on the shoulder. Edward tensed for a split second, but it was more out of surprise than anything else.

"Oh, I nearly did until I realized he wasn't just some punk; he had talent. From then on, when he came in, I pretended to not notice him. It was nice to get someone who could actually play in here every now and then."

If I thought Edward couldn't have gotten any more embarrassed, I'd have been wrong. He wrung his hands in front of him, shifting his weight, before finally clearing his throat and asking to play the black piano in the corner.

"She's new. Well, new for me," Peter answered. "Haven't had a chance to check her out yet. Want to do me the favor?"

"Sure," Edward replied.

I decided not to follow Edward all the way back to the piano, giving him some room to figure out his feelings on his own. I waited for the music to start after he'd sat down, but he simply gazed down at the keys, an indecipherable expression on his face.

"Haven't seen him for a long time," Peter murmured to me. "Thought he was dead."

"Probably should be," I responded softly.

"Damn," he muttered. "I hate to hear that."

"He's better now for it. He was adopted soon after," I told him, struggling not to give too much away. I had no idea who I could trust around here. "And he's in med school."

The way Peter's eyes widened was almost comical. "Always knew that kid was smarter than he looked."

I giggled. "Yeah."

Edward's hands found the keys, and without thinking, I put my hand over my mouth to keep the squeal of excitement from bubbling up and out of me.

Peter looked at me strangely, but I ignored it. All I could hear was the music, the way it started out soft and smooth, how it gradually built and built until the entire room was flooded with the sound. I snuck a glance over at Peter and saw that instead of looking at me, he was gazing at Edward in awe, his mouth open as Maggie's piece echoed around us.

"Please let him finish it," I said under my breath.

Please.

I rocked on my heels, waiting for that moment that Edward got frustrated and quit, but it never came. Not once did his movements falter. Not once did he second guess himself.

When he'd finished, we were all silent.

And then I was moving, weaving my way through the pianos as fast as I could. I didn't slow down till I was almost on top of Edward. I lunged at him and peppered his face with kisses, not hiding just how unbelievably proud I was at that very second.

"How long were you planning that?"

"Not planning," he chuckled, bringing his arms down to my waist and settling me against him. "Just hoping."

"It was wonderful," I told him honestly. "So, so good."

He kissed me once, pulling back with a huge smile on his face. He turned around to face Peter, still standing there in shock, and laughed to himself.

"I have one more place to show you before we leave and do touristy shit. Is that okay?"

I nodded eagerly, more than happy to see little snippets of his life here.

Good and bad.

He lightly slapped my ass to get me off of him, grabbing my hand as we started out the door. He paused and turned back to tell Peter what I assumed would be a goodbye.

But he surprised me.

"Hey, Peter?"

Peter seemed to snap out of his stupor, blinking at Edward. "Good Lord, kid. That was incredible."

"Thanks. Hey, listen, I'm going to come back for her at the end of the week. You'll hold her for me?"

"You've got the cash?"

"I've got the cash," he confirmed. "Want any down?"

"Nah. I trust you. She's all yours."

Edward smiled and started out the door. "Oh, and Pete? She's a little flat. You might want to fix that for me before I come back."

Peter's laughter was the last thing I heard before the door shut behind us.