Title – You Found Me
POV – Edward
Setting – Killeen, Texas (near Fort Hood, Texas)
Mortality – All human
Time Setting – Sometime in the Future.
Summary – The worst part of being an army wife is not the wait, it is when the wait is over and you find yourself with no husband and son with no father. That's the hardest part and at that point you can only find comfort in a certain person, when does the comfort become something else? Bella is what we call an army wife. She is married to Sergeant Black. He has been in the army since he was 17. He is best friends with Edward Cullen, a guy who is dedicated to the army but doesn't realize that it's taking a toll on his life. Tragedy strikes and soon there are two people left and they must depend on one another to get through it. Can they get through it without making a sinful mistake?
A/N –
And after what you are
So time must still stop
So I waited here all day by your side
It's starting to wear on my pride
So go do what you want
And I won't ask why
'Cause I'm leaving all this by my side
And I'm starting to wear on my pride
–This is Your Life, Low VS. Diamond
(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)
Your Life
EPOV (Edward)
Late that night after the gallery was over I drove Aimee and Charlie back home. The driveway was empty as usual, she wasn't home yet. Okay, you're that guy the words from the waitress rang in my head. She was probably right. I was that guy who took all the crap. I guess I was trying to pay her back for what she put with all the years it took me to recover from the war. I guess this way we'd be even.
"Daddy." Aimee asked. My sweet little girl, she was beautiful she looked just like me except for her hair, her hair had a tint of chocolate brown. She was the youngest of the three. Charlie was 9 and she was 8. "Where's mommy?" I dreaded that question.
"She's working." It was the only answer I had to give.
In the rearview mirror I saw her face drop. "Come on, let's got get your brother so we can go out to dinner."
As a gift from above Jake complied, he agreed to go out and have dinner with us. We went to a nearby restaurant. It was pretty silent except for Aimee and Charlie. Before dinner was served I told the little ones to go wash their hands.
"Hey, dad?" My eyes shot up. "It's not just me is it? I can't possibly be the only one that sees this." It was the most I've hear from him in a while but I wasn't sure what he was saying to me.
"What are you talking about?"
Suddenly he became angry, I knew that face. It had been 16 years, I knew him very well. He was about to make a very strong statement and he was sure he was right. I prompted his initiation. "You're completely blowing off the fact that she's never home. You act like it doesn't matter but you're so good at lying that you don't even know what's true and what's not. You don't see that you two are falling apart and I'm not saying this for me because I'll be leaving in a few months but Aimee and Charlie won't be. You think they don't know what's going on? They're witnessing you two fall and I'm not going stand at the sidelines and watch you let it happen. You haven't done anything, you don't tell her a damn thing, you're so passive it makes you worse than she is. She is oblivious to this but you're not, you're ignoring the whole situation and that's your fault. So when you two get a divorce do not blame it all on her and do not act like you never saw it coming."
When two people tell you off about your wife, it's certain they've got something going. One was a complete stranger and the other was your son. You've got to consider the odds. "You really think that?"
"I don't think a damn thing. I know it because I see it. The worst part is that you don't seem to care."
"Jake, what do you want me to do? What would you do? This is all she's ever wanted."
"Don't give me that. You're her husband. You should know what to do but if you're willing to sacrifice your marriage for her happiness then you really don't care about Charlie and Aimee." It was like a hit below the belt. It just so happens that he's right and I'm just not.
Jake got up and went to check on Aimee and Charlie. They returned and we had dinner but when I saw their faces I decided, that I love them most of all and I won't let this persist. I'll do whatever it takes.
I couldn't talk to Bella that night because she came home extremely late so I settled for the morning. I went down and poured me a cup of coffee. I waited for her to come down. Eventually she did, she looked at me confused. "You're up early."
"We need to talk, Bell."
"About what?"
"About our so called marriage."
"What's that supposed to mean?" She demanded
"Take a look at us."
"So now there's something wrong, but yesterday we were magically fine. I asked you, Edward."
"What did you want me to say, Bella?"
"The truth, that's all I ever wanted."
"You really want the truth?" I asked and she nodded. "The truth is that you've become a ghost in our lives. I'm fine, I can deal but your children can't. You're ignoring them and they will resent you for that."
"That's not fair."
"It's not fair to me. I have to tell them everyday that their mother is at work, she's busy, just a little bit longer. Now that's not fair. Jake hates me for letting this happen to us so you know what, you figure out what matters the most before it's too late."
"Is that supposed to mean that we're getting a divorce if I don't quit my job? Are you threatening me?"
I shook my head. "It's supposed to mean that you need to make a decision. What matters the most to you? The divorce is not up to me, I would never file. It's not something I would do, what would be the difference? I have no marriage eitherway."
"Edward, I'm sorry if I seem inconsiderate. Tell me what to do and I will do it, tell me how to fix this."
"No," I said. "I'm not going to tell you what to do. Remember to drop Aimee and Charlie off at Alice's, Rose can't do it today."
"Edward I'm sorry."
"I know." I muttered as I walked out the door.
BPOV (Bella)
"Bella!" I snapped my head up to find Angela staring at me. She was sort of my partner now. We both went out and worked for this agency, we'd been doing it for a just over a year.
"Yeah, sorry."
"So what do you think?"
"About what?"
"The concept."
"I trust you, if you think its good then let's do it."
"What's wrong with you?" she asked, concerned.
"I'm just out of it, sorry."
"What happened?"
"My marriage is going down the drain, that's what's happening. Jake hates me and I'm ruining what took so long to build, the worst thing is that I never saw it. I don't know what to do anymore. When I'm home I just become so consumed with work that I act as if I had no family. That's so not my intention."
He nodded. Poor girl I was spilling all my troubles upon her. "Your husband is…trustworthy and sweet. He's also adores you so much so that he sacrifices his happiness for your own."
"So what do I do?"
"Whatever you have to." She said smiling kindly.
JPOV (Jake)
I packed up my sweaty clothes and picked up my bat after practice. I had joined the local baseball team my freshmen year and I hadn't left since. Ryan, my best friend, and I decided to join and we both loved the game.
"Hey Jake, where's Kate?"
I shrugged not having an answer. I hadn't seen her in weeks. "I don't know, after she got back from her audition she just hasn't been the same. She's not really talking to me."
"What did you do?"
"Nothing." He cocked his head. "Ryan, I don't know what I did but I guess I'll figure it out eventually."
"So what are you doing once school season starts, you didn't apply anywhere."
I shrugged. "Neither did you." I reminded him. He, along with Kate and I, graduated in three years. He was school smart but not quite 'life smart,' he never really had a girlfriend, well one girlfriend. He had a a girl that he hung around for a week then picked up an other one. We were nothing alike, personality wise but in essence we kinda were alike, it's just that no one knew it.
"I have plans my friend. Do you?"
"I haven't told my parents but I'm enlisting."
"Where?"
"The army, what else?"
"You're stupid, why?"
"Why not?"
"Your mother would rather lock you up than see you in the army."
"You don't know that?"
He scoffed. "Yeah, okay because she's really going to want her son in the army after your dad died there. You're delusional."
"I'm eighteen. My mother has decided she wants to do what she wants, why shouldn't I?"
He chuckled. "You're not the type to rebel, it's more of my thing."
"The point is that I'm doing this whether she lets me or not."
"Mhmm." He muttered as I walked away.
I was definitely not going to let anyone stop me from enlisting. I was eighteen and I didn't need their permission though it would help.
I arrived home that afternoon, I was shocked by what I saw. It was 5pm and my entire family was home, and together in the same room. It left me with an irking feeling. Usually my mother is never home at this time and if she is she's doing something for work.
I decided I was not going to lose my chance. "Mom, Dad, can we talk about something?"
My mom listened and my Dad prompted me to begin.
"Can we do this alone?" They walked with me into the next room. "Okay, I've decided what I'm doing this fall."
"I'm so happy for you." My mother replied excitedly.
"It's important that I have your support."
She nodded. "Sure, what is it?"
"I'm enlisting in the army." I just said it, I didn't even think.
"Absolutely not." My dad roared, I'd never seen him react this way. "You have lost all good sense. I'll be damned if you set foot within a training camp."
He brought to life the typical teenager within me. He talked to me like he owned me and it was something I couldn't tolerate. "It's my decision."
"You're not getting my consent."
"I'm not asking for it." I hissed. I soon lost control of what I was saying. I ran my mouth and left no room for thinking. "You don't get to tell me what to do."
"I am your father."
I cannot recall what brought me into such a defense mode but I let loose. "No you're not. You don't get to control me as if I were your son because I'm not. You're not my father so don't act like you can stop me. My father died years ago and you've tried to take his place ever since. The difference is that he was first, he was my mother's husband, he was my father and you're simply a usurper, so no, this is not your decision. Just because you don't want me to is not a valid reason. You all did it before, why is it different now?"
(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)
SO, how are we liking this? Let me know! Is there something I might need to tweak just say the word.
~Toodles.