Chapter 37

After pulling Bree aside so Edward couldn't hear, I reassured her that her parents were always going to be with her, and that seemed to calm her down a bit.

"But what if I get big and I can't see them anymore?" she questioned worriedly.

So I told her exactly what Alice had said about dreams, and she felt much better after that, but because of the late hour she was beyond exhausted…

"I wanna try to dream of my mommy now," she said with a big yawn.

I smiled at her. "Okay, let's all get to bed."

Bree's room didn't have any furniture yet and Alice was sleeping on the futon in the guest room, so instead of making Bree sleep on the couch, the three of us all climbed into my bed together and I couldn't help but think of my own childhood when I used to sneak into my parents bed in the middle of the night. It was a good feeling.

Bree was between us and fell asleep quickly, snoring and all, but Edward and I were both still wide awake…

"I don't know what you said to her, but thank you," he whispered over Bree's head. "I don't think I would have been able to get her through the night without you."

"I think the key is sticking together; as long as we can do that we'll be able to handle anything."

"Sticking together, huh?" he said with a smile. "I guess that means throwing the step program out the window."

"Maybe you don't need space from me to fix your issues, maybe you actually need the opposite," I suggested.

"But being with you all the time is what sparked my obsession in the first place. We lived together, slept together every night, and when our parents separated us I just couldn't handle it."

"And what would have happened if they never separated?" I asked him.

He thought about it for a moment, and then he smiled. "We probably would have ended up having a kid when we were in high school."

I giggled quietly. "I guess that would have made it hard to hide our relationship."

"Yeah, I think our parents would have freaked. They honestly thought we had a traditional brother/sister relationship…Actually, I bet they still think that."

"They probably would have ended up separating us anyway. I doubt they would have been comfortable with us living together if they knew we had a physical relationship going on…But that's my point, they separated us…it was out of our control, but now we get to decide what we do and who we do it with. There's nothing anyone can say or do to break us apart."

"But what if you want to leave?" he asked anxiously.

"I won't."

"But what if you do?"

I huffed. I knew he wasn't going to stop until I gave him an answer…so I did. "Then I leave. Edward, if one of us chooses to go somewhere down the road, then we'd be separated…which is basically what we have been all this time. So either we risk future separation, or we stay separated now…what's the difference? At least if we risk it we're guaranteed some time of happiness. If I had to choose between just a moment of pure joy verses a lifetime of mediocrity, I'd choose the moment…even if the rest of my life sucked after that, it would be worth it."

He was quiet for a long time as he thought about everything I said, and because it was dark I thought he may have fallen asleep, but then I felt his fingers weave into mine. "I love you," he told me emotionally.

"I love you too," I said back.

….

Before long, the morning light was seeping through the blinds, and first thing I thought about was the extreme accomplishment we just had; Edward and I made it through the night without any form of intimate connection. Sure, with a child in the bed sex was the furthest thing from our minds, but still… It had been a stressful, emotional evening, and we found comfort without really touching. It was enough to just be close to each other, to just talk and hold hands; it was more than a big deal for us…it was a breakthrough.

Bree was still sound asleep, but when Edward and I locked eyes, we both understood the gravity of the moment and we shared a smile that seemed to stretch from his mouth all the way to mine.

"It's morning," he whispered.

"It is," I agreed.

"Why does everything suddenly feel different?"

I squeezed our still attached hands. "Because everything is."

"We still have a long way to go," he said solemnly but hopeful at the same time.

"We'll get there."

"I know…as long as we stay together."

"Exactly."

Bree woke up a little while later, and the three of us went to the kitchen to make breakfast.

"Anything you want," I told her. "Pancakes, omelets, oatmeal…"

"Can I have a cheese omelet?" she asked in her little voice that was still raw with sleep.

"Of course," I told her with a smile.

While I started cooking, I looked at Edward curiously as he got up from the table and began looking around the apartment. I didn't realize until right then that he had never been there before, so I suppose it was normal for him to want to explore it a little, but suddenly I became nervous - What if he found something he didn't like? It was a silly feeling, but the more he looked, the bigger it grew.

"This is a big apartment for just you," he said as he came back towards us from down the hall.

"Well, I have a roommate."

"You do?" he asked surprised.

"Yeah…Alice."

He rolled his eyes. "Alice is so melodramatic. I'm sure she'll be back at Jasper's by tomorrow."

"Hey, I resent that," Alice said as she came up behind him, toting her things behind her. "I'm actually going back right now," she added sheepishly. "Wow, this place got crowded overnight."

"My mommy died so Edward brought me here," Bree announced.

"Oh, I'm sorry honey," Alice said while going over to give her hug. "But I'm sure she's much happier now than she was before. I mean, she was really sick for a long time and now she's finally better."

Bree smiled by her comment, but Edward scowled and mumbled something under his breath.

"You know, it's ironic that you, of all people, are not a believer," Alice chided him.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked with a mix of being offended and amused.

"Well…" She paused, and I cringed to brace myself because I was sure that she was going to tell him about his out of body experience and I knew he wasn't going to handle it well, but then Alice thankfully went in a slightly different direction. "Bree sees spirits…and Bella has had close encounters as well. With all the semi-mediums around you, you'd think you'd be a little more open minded."

Edward smirked at me. "You've seen aliens?"

"Not close encounters with aliens!" Alice shouted at him frustrated. "Ghosts, spirits…loved ones on the other side and caught between." When Edward's smirk turned into a full disbelieving smile, Alice lost her patience. "UGH! You make me so mad! You know, there's no point in trying to convince you, at least Jasper just told me that he's willing to try to believe." Then she turned to me. "Good luck with him, you're definitely going to need it."

"Hey, whatever happened to you helping me?" I asked her.

"There is nothing I can do for him, I've been trying to convince him for years," she said with a huff.

"Well, what about everything else?" I asked her.

She looked between us, and then gave off the tiniest smile. "You're going to be fine." She kissed Bree on the cheek and told her to "stay strong" and then she headed for the door.

"Are you sure you have all your crystals and cauldrons and Ghostbuster packs?" Edward asked her playfully as she was about to leave.

She paused and turned back to him with the most evil look I had ever seen on her before. "You know, I really liked you better as a spirit…And I bet Bella did too!" With that, she walked out of the apartment and slammed the door as she went.

"What the hell was that about?" Edward mumbled to himself.

Bree got up from the table and then walked over to where Edward was, and grabbed his hand. "Don't listen to her, Edward, I like you better in your body," she told him innocently, and then she kissed his arm before skipping off towards the bathroom.

Edward scratched his head and looked completely perplexed, but he didn't question it. He simply shrugged and then continued to discover little things about my apartment. "So…where am I going to put all my furniture?"

I smiled. "My stuff is all junk; we can throw it all away and use your stuff."

"Really? Well, I kind of like this," he said as he sat in my broken holey Lazyboy.

"I do sort of have a soft spot for that chair, it was my dad's."

"Well, we have to keep it then. I'm sure it would go perfectly with my bachelor pad crap."

I giggled. "Your stuff isn't bad; at least none of it is cut up or stinks. All of this was in storage for a while and now it all has a rough musty smell."

He got up and walked over to the couch to smell it. "Yeah, that's not something we can get out with Fabreeze."

We both laughed, but when we heard Bree laughing down the hall, Edward froze. "What is she doing back there?"

"I don't know…maybe she's just playing," I suggested. The truth was that I was fairly certain she was currently seeing one or both of her parents, but I figured it was best not to mention that to Edward.

He wasn't satisfied by my guess, so he walked towards the sound of her laughter and I followed. Unsurprising to me, we found her in the empty pink room…talking to the wall.

"Uh…what are you doing, honey?" Edward asked her slowly.

"My mommy said this is going to be my room!" she said excitedly.

"Bree, uh…your mom isn't with us anymore," he told her as gently as possible.

"Yes she is, she's right here with my daddy."

"Look, sweetie…"

"Just because you can't see them doesn't mean they're not there!" Bree cut him off, suddenly becoming defensive. "Bella's talked to them before. Tell him Bella, tell him that you talked to my mommy and daddy the other night."

Edward looked at me confused, and before I even had a chance to collect my thoughts he turned back to Bree. "Bella has never met either of your parents," he told her.

"Yes she has, my mommy told me they talked to her. She said we're going to be a family now!"

"Bree…"

"Edward, she's right," I told him. "I did talk to them."

"See! I told you."

"Okay…Bree, why don't you go out there and eat your breakfast so I can talk to Bella," he instructed her.

She crossed her arms and then huffed, but as she walked past us she paused. "You do remember…you just pretend like you don't." And then she sulked towards the kitchen.

When we were as alone as we were going to get, Edward and I just stared at each other for a minute, and then he subtly shook his head. "Why are you encouraging her delusions?" he asked me quietly.

"Encouraging her delusions?" I asked incredulously. "Edward, she's not crazy. I know it's hard to believe, but she really does see her parents."

"Bella…" He reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose as he squeezed his eyes shut tightly. "Please don't tell me Alice has convinced you that all her mystic bullshit is real."

"She didn't convince me of anything. I've seen it firsthand."

"There's no such thing as ghosts," he said frustrated.

"Bella!" Bree shouted unexpectedly, prompting Edward and I to run to her aid.

"What, what's wrong?" Edward asked her anxiously.

"Nothing is wrong," she said with a huge smile on her face. "My mommy said I'm going to be a big sister!"

Edward stared at her dumbfounded for a moment, having no idea what to say or even think of Bree's comment, but then something must have clicked because then he turned and looked at me questionably.

Uh… I had no idea how to respond to that, so I did the only thing I could; I smiled and said - "Surprise!"