hiiiiii im so sorry this took so long-as the semester is coming to a close i am realizing that procrastinating on all of my research papers was the worst idea i've ever had. anyways, thank you for reading, thank you for reviewing. you're all amazing.
chapter thirty seven
seattle, washington, 4:46 pm
mixtape: dead fox by courtney barnett
"So when will you land tonight?"
"12:15," Edward tells me for the millionth time. I've been calling him over and over during the last few weeks, memorizing his thanksgiving travel plans. After his plane lands in Port Angeles, Emmett is going to pick him up on his way to Forks. Emmett's parents live out East and he claimed he didn't want to spend the money on a flight out but I think he just wanted to spend more time with Rose. So he's staying on the Cullens' couch and joining us for dinner tomorrow.
"When are you leaving?" he asks, his voice fuzzy over the phone. He's sitting at the gate for his flight and should be boarding any minute now.
"As soon as Alice gets off work, so hopefully by six. Traffic is going to suck," I tell him, sighing. Rose and I took off early from work today and we don't have to be back until Monday, so we're spending the weekend in Forks.
"I wish I was stuck in traffic with you," Edward sighs and I laugh out loud. "What? It's true. They're about to start boarding, I'll let you know when I land for my connection in Denver."
When I hang up, Rose is standing in my doorway, arms crossed over her chest, her blonde hair braided over her shoulder.
"How's the boyfriend?" she asks casually.
"He's good, but also not my boyfriend," I tell her, looking around my room to see if I've forgotten anything.
"You guys are in love and talk constantly. Plus I don't see you going after anyone else. You're dating," she says, vaguely annoyed.
"We haven't talked about it though, like there hasn't been a conversation saying we're dating."
Rosalie rolls her eyes so dramatically I'm surprised they don't fall out of her head.
"You're an idiot. Define the relationship and stop with this insecure bullshit. He wants to be with you, move on," she says.
"You always let me down easy," I mutter sarcastically.
"Tough love, baby, tough love."
"Jasper, please change the station," I beg. Alice is asleep in the passenger seat and Rose is drifting as we make our way down the dark highway. We're an hour outside of Forks and Jasper's taken control of the radio. All country all the time.
It's not my favorite.
I can only take so much southern sadness.
Plus for some reason it's making me ten times more anxious to see Edward. He's supposed to be calling me soon to say he's in Denver but it's taking too long for my liking.
Jasper sighs from the front seat but a minute later classic rock is coming softly through the speakers. He taps his fingers on the steering wheel to Journey.
"Thank you," I say quietly and Jasper smiles at me in the rearview mirror.
"Are you excited to see him?" he asks, making casual conversation.
"Yes," I say too quickly and too enthusiastically. "Are you?"
"He's my best friend," Jasper says simply.
"Mine too, I think."
Edward calls right when we reach the town limits, just to say that he's about to board in Denver and that he'll see me tomorrow. The call is quick but it leaves me buzzing with excited energy. Jasper drops me and Rose off at my parents' house and my mom throws the front door open before we even get our bags out of the car.
"Girls!" she calls brightly and Rosalie throws me a tired, but amused glance.
"Hi, mom," I say, giving her a hug when I reach her.
"How was the drive? Are you girls hungry? I can send Charlie out to the diner," Mom says, her mind (and mouth) going a mile a minute
Rose and I look at each other.
"We can go grab something," I tell her. "Dad's probably already in his chair with a beer."
Mom looks torn but gives us the keys to her SUV after we put our bags inside. I stop into the living room to give my dad a quick peck on the cheek. He's got a game on the TV and a beer in his hand.
We end up getting take out from the diner, nothing fancy, just club sandwiches and sweet potato fries. We eat in my parents' living room on the floor, listening to my mom list everything she needs to do for tomorrow while my dad nods absently in response, his eyes never leaving the television. Even though I know he won't land for another few hours, I check my phone constantly for a message from Edward.
By eleven, Rose can't keep her eyes open and my mom tells us that we have an early day tomorrow so we make our way upstairs to my room, changing into our pajamas. Rose climbs into the far side of my bed, smiling at a text on her phone before putting it down and falling almost instantly asleep. I want to ask her if it was from Emmett and get some dirt on how that's going but I don't want to wake her.
I lay awake in the dark next to her for a really long time, tapping my fingers on my thighs for at least an hour, trying to stay awake for Edward's call saying he's landed, but I lose my battle to sleep sometime around midnight.
My mom comes into my bedroom at eight the next morning, singing that she made pancakes before climbing onto the bed between me and Rose, grinning at both of us.
"I'm so glad to have my girls home," she coos and I roll my eyes but I'm smiling. My mom's like one of the girls and while it's sometimes a little much, I love her and I really did miss her.
"I'm so glad you have pancakes," Rose mumbles and my mom pinches her arm before getting out of bed.
"We're going over to the Cullens' at one, I need your help with some food prep so let's get a move on," she commands teasingly.
At the mention of the Cullens, I reach for my phone, seeing that I have a voicemail.
"Is that Edward?" Rose yawns as I press the phone to my ear. I nod.
"Hey, you're probably asleep, I just wanted to let you know that I'm in Washington and I'm in the car with Emmett now. I'll see you tomorrow."
I'm anxious all over again, practically jumping out of bed and going straight into the shower. By the time I'm done, Rose is in the kitchen; slowly chewing pancakes and watching my mom preheat the oven. I grab a pancake and dunk it in the syrup on Rose's plate, stuffing it in my mouth. She stares at me.
"You're an animal," she tells me, her tone slightly disgusted.
"Shut up," I mumble through the food. "Mom what do you need me to do?"
My mom laughs at my frantic state.
"We're not leaving early so you might as well slow down, crazy," she says and I try to keep the disappointment from showing on my face. She tsks.
"Start on these pie crusts," she orders and I do, grateful for something to keep my hands busy. Rose disappears to get ready and my dad wanders in at some point, sticking his finger in the pie filling my mom is stirring before she swats him away. When the pies are baking, I follow Rose upstairs. She's sitting cross legged on my bed in a pair of dark jeans and a big, soft pink cardigan. Her hair is half curled and she's typing furiously on her phone.
She jumps a little when I come in the room.
"What's up?" I ask, a little suspicious.
"Jesus Christ," she breathes, hand over her heart.
"Who are you texting?" I ask, opening my suitcase.
"Just Emmett," she mutters, going back to typing.
"And?"
"And what?"
"Well what are you guys talking about?"
"Nothing, really," she says, a small smile on her face.
"Has he asked you out yet?"
"About twice a week since Royce and I broke up," she laughs.
"Are you serious?" I ask, my eyes wide. "Why do you keep turning him down?"
"It's kind of like our thing now? He asks me in some weird way and I turn him down and he says he'll come up with something better. To be honest, I just like seeing what he comes up with. The last time he asked me out, he showed up at the apartment with a big sign that said Prom? It was funny."
I watch the way she seems to glow when she talks about him. She looks so happy and almost younger somehow, like she's got a high school crush on him.
"Say yes sometime, Rose."
"I will."
I'm nervous when we pull up to the Cullen's house. I think about the Thanksgiving we spent here when I was thirteen, how I was so excited to see him and how badly everything went after that. I feel like the holiday might be cursed for us and I smooth out my sweater for no reason. It's an old one of my dad's, a red wool cableknit that I dressed up with a pair of my mom's pearls. My hair air dried after my shower this morning so it's pretty wild, only getting worse in the cold wind as we walk up to the front door. It swings open before I can even knock; Alice is in the doorframe, grinning hugely at me.
"They're in the living room," she says, grabbing the wine I was carrying out of my hand. I try not to look too eager as I follow her inside, greeting Esme in the kitchen briefly before turning the corner to find Emmett and Jasper shouting at the television over whatever football game is on. Before I can even step into the room, Edward is in front of me, hair shorter than it was the last time I saw him. He lets out a breath when I reach out to him, my hand closing around his shirt sleeve.
"Hi," he says, at almost a whisper.
"Hi," I say back and it takes everything in my power to not launch myself at him in front my family.
"How are you?"
"Edward," I say, like I would say, I've missed you, I love you, I can breathe again, I want to hold you, I want to be alone with you, never leave my side.
"Yeah," he says, like he knows exactly what I mean.
That he's thinking the same thing.
weeeee more thanksgiving to follow. okay we're nearing the end, i think. like five more chapters at most. the semester ends on tuesday so after that i'm hoping to crank the rest of this out before i leave for austria.
auf wiedersehen!
meg