AN: Happy reading folks! Come join me on the Twilighted forum thread if you get bored at any point tonight! I'll be there most of the night as I work my way through future chapters and listen to cheesy 90's music LOL ^_^ I'm currently listening to Biz Markie's Just a Friend LMAO
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Twilight...SM owns it all!
Jake to the Rescue & My Other Mother
BPOV
Edward stood quickly, and picked me up in his arms. It felt like I had returned home, and there was no other place in the world I could have rather been. He walked us back up the trail toward our cars, giving me a sweet kiss with every few steps. His eyes were shining brilliantly with his happiness, and every time one of the filtered rays of sunshine cast down upon him, he looked as if he was glowing.
Just the sight of him as happy as he was made me feel like my heart would explode from the love I had for him. There was no better sight in the world than the dazzling smile that had yet to leave his beautiful face.
"Bella?" he asked as he put me down next to my car. I lifted my head so I could look into his eyes, and nodded for him to continue. His expression became saddened and I immediately raised a gentle hand to his cheek. He leaned his face into my palm, and covered my hand with one of his own.
"I'm so sorry, love. I'm sorry for everything you've been through over the last few years. I'm sorry for what you went through yet again before winter break. I don't think I would have ever completely understood what those years felt like to you if I hadn't experienced it myself over the last few months. I'm so sorry that I never saw what it was actually like for you, and even more so that I didn't try to pull you from it," he said with a regretful tone. I moved my fingers over his mouth to stop him and shook my head at him.
'Don't. It wasn't your fault, any of it, and I wish you never had to go through any of it. I'm sorry that I never gave you the chance to explain your side of it to me. I made that mistake twice, but you learned from what we went through in the past. You have nothing to be sorry for. I'm sorry Edward. I'm sorry that I watched you deteriorate right before my eyes, and I didn't do anything to stop it. I hadn't learned a thing from those five years, and I'm sorry that it affected you so greatly....' I wanted to keep signing to him, because he needed to know.
He needed to know how grave of a mistake I had made, and only made because I had failed to learn from our previous experience. I wanted to keep going, but he stopped me by taking a hold of my hands.
"Bella, love. Please stop blaming yourself for this mess. It wasn't your fault that you were hurt so much by their actions. All I'm trying to say is that I see how difficult it was for you now, and why you were unable to reach out for me when you needed me. I don't want you to feel sorry for what has happened. The only thing that matters to me is that we're here right now..together. Nothing that I've been through matters to me now that I have you back in my arms where you belong. Where you'll always belong, because there's no one else that will ever fit here as perfectly as you do. As you always have," he said sincerely as he gazed into my eyes.
I felt my eyes start to tear as he spoke, and I found myself pulling him closer to me. I was finding any minimal distance between us completely unbearable at the moment, and realizing that very soon we would have to part ways to drive home was ripping me apart. When he was finished speaking, he nuzzled into my neck and placed sweet gentle kisses trailing down from the spot behind my ear.
"I love you so much, Bella. More than any words could ever possibly convey to you," he said sweetly as he pulled me in tighter and rested his head on my shoulder. I squeezed him back to show him I felt the same. I wasn't ready to let him go in order to sign it to him, as letting him go would bring us one step closer to having to get into our separate cars to drive home.
All too soon for my liking, Edward pulled away. I pouted, causing him to chuckle as he peppered my face with kisses.
"You know...a bird is liable to poop on that beautiful lip of yours if you keep sticking it out that way," he whispered against my lips as he gazed into my eyes.
It made my lips twitch as I tried to suppress a silent chuckle. I felt his wide grin against my lips a moment before his lips finally pressed down onto my own. The kiss was sweet and loving, and ended much too quickly as we were both startled by an uproar of wolf whistles and howls. I pulled away and glared at the pack of imbeciles as Edward's frame shook in my arms from his laughter.
"Way to go Bells!" Quil cheered from the line up. I blushed an impressive shade of blood red as I tried to hide my face in Edward's chest.
"Love, please don't hide that blush from me. It's one of my favorite things about you," Edward murmured as he tried to tug my chin upward. After fighting against it for only a moment, I finally relented and let him guide my face into his view. The smoldering look in his eyes only served to make me blush even more, and his quick chuckle alerted me to the fact that he noticed it as well.
Our gazes were locked on each other for a series of moments before the sound of someone clearing their throat forced us to look away.
"I realize that you two probably need a healthy dose of private time together, but I'm not sure either of you really want an audience that consists of a bunch of immature dogs," Jake chuckled as he shook a thumb in the direction of his friends. I chuckled silently and shook my head at him.
"Gimme your keys, Bells. Ride home with Edward, I can see how much neither of you wants to separate yourselves right now. Leah can drive your car back to your house and Sam can follow us to bring us back home," he offered gently and sincerely. I quickly pulled my keys out of my pocket and practically thrust them in his direction. Both he and Edward laughed heartily at my immediate acceptance.
Jake took the keys and bid us both farewell before attempting to chase off the audience that we had acquired. His attempts were fruitless however, as they just kept darting out of his reach and yelling at him that they wanted to stay and watch. I shook my head at them as Edward led me over to his car.
He opened the door and guided me in as he held my hand, smiling at me the whole time. Once I was in and he had shut the door, he jogged around the car and slid into his own seat where he turned to me once again.
"Not willing to let me out of your sight for even a few minutes huh?" he asked with an amused tone. I quickly signed to him as I smiled like an idiot.
'Never.'
"I'm glad you feel that way, because honestly, I was getting ready to leave my car here so that I could go with you. I wasn't about to let you out of my sight either, love," he said sincerely as he slowly leaned toward me. He brought his hand up, and with one finger he motioned for me to come closer.
"Come here," he whispered as I leaned toward him. He placed his palm against my cheek and whispered as he caressed it with his thumb while gazing into my eyes.
"I love you, Bella. There isn't a single force on this Earth that has enough strength to ever keep me from you." I mouthed a silent 'I love you, too' to him before closing the distance between us.
Our kiss wasn't desperate and needy, or rushed and fervent. It was slow and sweet. It was the kiss that two people could share once they realized that neither of them were going anywhere any time soon. When they knew that they could just enjoy the moment, and each other, without having to worry about when the other would change their mind and leave, or about something that could drive them apart. It was the kind of kiss that two people shared when they realized and accepted the fact that they were the other persons's forever.
I traced his face gently with my fingers, and slowly ran my fingers through his hair as our tongues gently caressed each other. I could have gone on kissing him that way for all eternity if it were possible, especially when he would sigh or moan, alerting me to the awareness that he felt the same way.
We eventually pulled apart from one another, and he kissed me chastely one last time before starting the car. I don't think I had ever been as completely at ease or worry free as I was at that moment. I leaned against him as he pulled out of his parking spot, and rested my head against his shoulder. He kissed the top of my head as he put the car in gear and laced his fingers through my own as he drove away from the parking area in front of the trail head.
We both waved at Jake and Leah as they made their way toward my car, and they smiled happily as they waved back. I was extremely grateful to Jake at the moment for making it possible for us to ride home together. I didn't want to spend a second more away from Edward than was absolutely necessary.
As Edward drove, I became aware that he wasn't driving toward my house anymore. I looked up at him with a confused expression and he chuckled and raised our hands to caress my face with the back of his hand.
"Is it alright if we stop by my house for a bit?" he asked gently. I smiled and nodded to him as he brought our hands to his lips and kissed my fingers.
I relished in the feeling of it and rested my head back against his shoulder for the remainder of the ride. He kept our hands by his lips and alternated between kissing my fingers and playfully nipping at them. Each time he nipped he earned a silent chuckle out of me. I hadn't seen him this playful in a long time, and it warmed my heart to watch him be so naturally care free.
We pulled up into his driveway and he got out. Not a moment later, Liz came running out of the house.
"Edward! Bella stopped by here..." she called out rapidly as she hurried her way toward the car, but she stopped and halted her movement immediately as her sight finally landed on me in the car.
I smiled happily and sent her a cheeky wave. She laughed as she started walking toward the car. Edward opened my door and held his hand out for me as he chuckled. I took it and got out of the car, immediately making my way toward his mother. Liz wrapped me in her arms and sighed as she swayed us back and forth.
"I'm so happy to see you two back together, honey. We've missed you terribly," she whispered to me as she swayed us. I hugged her tighter to me in response.
She pulled back after a few moments and smiled at me with nothing but adoration in her eyes. I smiled back at her as she led the way into the house with her arm around me. I looked back to Edward and smiled as I saw him smiling appreciatively at the sight of his mother and I. He winked at me and I blushed as we made our way through his front door. Liz led us into the kitchen and then started moving around the kitchen at a frantic pace. I furrowed my brow as I looked to Edward, wondering what she was doing or looking for.
"I believe she's looking for paper and a pen," he chuckled as he went straight for a drawer on the far side of the kitchen. He pulled out a small note pad and a pen and handed it to her. She seemed relieved as she smiled at him and patted his cheek. Liz turned and put the pad down on the counter and started writing on it. When she was finished she passed it over to me and I smiled at her as I took it.
Honey, I can't even begin to tell you how happy I am that you're here. I don't even think I can begin to explain how very hard it was around here without you. I felt like I had lost one of my own children. I'm so sorry for how they deceived you. If Edward and his father hadn't been able to hold me back that day I probably would have beaten them all senseless for hurting you the way they had. I have no idea what they were thinking when they did that, but it doesn't matter. It doesn't make it right, and it doesn't take away what happened because of it. I'm just happy to see you doing well. I've worried tremendously over you these last six months, and it's unbelievably relieving to see you smiling right now.
I frowned as I read her note. She was telling me in her own words what Esme had tried relaying to me repeatedly over the last few months, and only managed to get through to me this morning after I spoke with Rosalie. I had never stopped to think of how all of this would have affected Liz. I had always known she thought of me as a daughter, and it never occurred to me how much it would devastate her to know what I was going through, and to know that there was nothing she could do about it. I wrote her back quickly and passed it to her.
I'm so sorry you had to go through that, Liz. I never meant to hurt either you or Edward...it was just hard for me to see beyond what I was going through, both over the last six months as well as the all of the years prior to that. If I could take it back, I would in a second.
I'm sorry that what they did had such a huge impact on you as well, and I only hope that they are aware of that. It just seems so unfair that the only ones hurt by all of this are the ones that had nothing to do with it. I don't understand how any of them ever thought that what they were doing was the best way to handle the situation. Regardless of their intentions...it was the worst thing they could have ever done in that situation.
I admit that in the beginning, I was tremendously hurt by their deceiving me, but I'm not hurt by that anymore. I kind of understand why they may have felt it was necessary. What hurts the most now is knowing that they didn't have any faith or trust in me to be able to handle it.
This whole situation has however, made me realize that even though I may find myself in difficult and painful situations from time to time, it's not okay for me to shut down and block everyone out. I think I failed to learn that from the first time, and it's greatly affected all of us. Your family, as well as my own, has suffered tremendously because of my inability to learn that lesson the first time around, and for that I'm incredibly sorry.
She read the note quickly, as did Edward while I was writing it. She wrote her response and passed it back to me as she smiled sadly in my direction.
Bella...with everything you have been through over the years, it's understandable. None of us, not Esme, Carlisle, Ed, Edward, or I have ever blamed you for any part of this.
Everything happened so very quickly over those first few months, and it would have been impossible for you to comprehend all of it at the speed in which it took place. It is unfair that all of us have been hurt, and I truly do agree with you in that they need to realize how many people their actions affected, but please don't hold onto the anger or hurt that you feel.
Let it go, sweetheart. It isn't yours to hold on to, it's theirs. Let them carry the burden of their actions, as it's the only way they will ever learn. Can I ask you something though?
I read through her note quickly and responded eagerly.
Thank you for your understanding. I truly don't deserve it after how I've acted all this time. I've been trying to let go of the hurt I feel, but Alice has made that somewhat difficult for me over the last six months. It's only been recently that she's backed down some and attempted to give me some time to get over it. Her relentless determination was suffocating me and inhibiting me from moving past any of it, and I can't help but think that it only caused me to push myself away even further.
You can ask me anything, Liz. I'm not sure I'll have an answer, but I will try to answer anyhow.
Both she and Edward smiled as I pushed my note back across to her. She read it, and Edward leaned in to whisper in my ear.
"Bella, understanding is just part of loving someone unconditionally. We both love you, and nothing you can ever say or do will ever change that. I also agree with you about Alice. I saw what her pleading was doing to you and we had a fight over it this past week. I only hope that she took what I said to her into consideration, and attempts to give you the space you need to forgive her in your heart," he whispered before kissing me on the cheek.
I smiled sadly at him and kissed him chastely. He wrapped his arm around me just as Liz was passing the note pad back toward me. She smiled happily at the sight of us.
Edward's right...I heard him from here. I was going to write the same thing, but he said it for me. Thank you Edward..I know you're reading this as well.
I wanted to ask you what made you come here in such a frantic state this afternoon. I don't think I've ever seen you that worked up before, aside from your birthday...but that was completely different.
I grimaced as I was flooded with embarrassment over my earlier actions as I wrote back to her.
Rosalie
"Rosalie? What does Rosalie have anything to do with anything?" Edward asked as soon as I wrote her name. I looked at him quickly and signed to him.
'You'll find out when you allow me to finish writing.' I signed as I laughed silently.
Of all the times to be impatient...
Rosalie showed up at my house this morning. She told me what Edward has been going through, and how he's isolated himself from everyone over the last six months. At first, I thought that she was only there because either Edward or someone else sent her, but when she told me that Edward asked her to stay away from me because he was afraid that she would say something to hurt me, it made me realize that she was only there because she was doing what she thought was right, and not what someone else wanted her to do.
And Edward don't you dare be mad at her! I understand that she disobeyed your request, but she did it because she cares about you.
When she left, I had a conversation with Esme about all of it, and she suggested that I read some of the notes that Edward had been leaving me every day for the last six months...thank you by the way for the river of paper that flowed out of my locker when Alice moved out of it!
By the way, Liz.. I think your reaction to your first gray hair was absolutely hilarious! I can totally see you doing something like that!
Anyway, I started reading through his notes, and even arranged them by date and time...well some of them...there were way too many to get through all of them. It made me realize that the pain I had felt during those months was nothing compared to what Edward and you had both been going through. My pain was nothing compared to that, simply because I had shut that part of myself down. Where you both felt horrendous pain every day, I just felt empty. It made me desperate to fix the mistake I had made. I'm sorry if I startled you earlier, I was just frantic and needed to get to him as fast as I could.
I watched her closely as she read the letter. Edward had elbowed me playfully when I wrote the part about the river of paper that flowed out of my locker.
I chuckled silently and leaned against him when he shook his head at me. Liz chuckled through most of it while she was reading until she gasped out loud.
"She didn't!" she cried out in shock. I started laughing silently as I nodded, knowing that she had just realized that Esme had told me about her first gray hair. She narrowed her eyes at me playfully and smiled in amusement.
"I'm so going to get her for that one!" she vowed as she chuckled and went back to reading. She nodded sadly as she finished reading and she started writing once more. Edward wrapped his arms around me tightly and nuzzled his head into the crook of my neck. I rubbed his arm comfortingly as I waited for Liz to finish writing. She passed it to me, and I picked it up so I could read it without having to move away from Edward.
I do hope that you don't shut yourself down that way again, honey. It terrifies the living daylights out of all of us. I don't think you realize how dramatic the difference is in you when you're like that. It's agonizing to see that change and not be able to do anything about it. We all hope that from now on, you'll allow us to help you through any hard times instead of allowing yourself to feel that emptiness.
We all have moments when we feel that way, and I believe it's caused by the degree of helplessness that we feel in certain situations. I think it's our way of trying to find our ways through the mess without having to subject ourselves to the pain of actually dealing with the things that happen. The only difference is your ability to prolong that defense mechanism. We are all here for you, Bella. Any time that you need us, we're all here. I hope you realize that.
I'm so going to get Esme back for telling you about that! I don't think she'll find it as humorous when I tell you about the day she found her first wrinkle! If she thinks that my reaction was amusing...she's got another thing coming because her reaction to that barely there wrinkle was absolutely hilarious!
I'm just glad that you made it back here safely. I was worried about you with the way you tore in and out of here. Seeing you sitting here safe and sound is the greatest thing I could ever ask for, so there's no need for you to apologize for it. I had a feeling that was what was pushing you earlier. Just please don't rush so much in the future...I don't think there's enough hair dye in the world to cover the gray hairs that will readily sprout from my head!
Edward and I laughed as we read the end of her note, and Edward chimed in immediately.
"We have to hear the story about Esme's wrinkle!" he crowed as he laughed. I nodded excitedly from my resting spot against him as Liz laughed.
"Alright, alright. About a year ago, Esme came tearing up the driveway after dropping Bella off at school. She barrelled in through the door and I came downstairs to see what was going on. I really thought that you had forgotten something important for school, and were rummaging around looking for it. I was surprised to see Esme clutching my phone book and frantically flipping the pages, ripping some of them as she tore her way through it," she chuckled. Edward and I laughed as we waited for her to continue.
"I laughed and asked her what she was looking for. When she looked up at me I really thought something horrible had happened. She was panicked and looked a horrible mess as she thrust her finger toward the side of her eye. I had no idea what she was pointing at and I made the mistake of admitting so,"she chortled as she shook her head.
"She started screeching that she found a wrinkle by her eye that morning. She threw the phone book at me and pleaded with me to make her an appointment immediately with whoever I needed to in order to get rid of it. She paced around the kitchen alternating between sobbing and muttering that she was getting old. I laughed as I sat at the counter watching her, which I admit was probably the last thing I should have done after my gray hair incident," she mused. Edward and I were in tears from our laughter. If it wasn't for him holding onto me so tightly I probably would have been on the floor again.
"Anyway, so I laughed and Esme darted right in front of me, frantically pointing at her eye and screeching at me asking me if I saw it. I honestly couldn't see the stupid thing, and that infuriated her even more. When she finally calmed down and started laughing about the whole situation, I finally saw it. It was only the beginning of a crow's foot and for the love of God it was tiny. I tried to tell her that it was just a laugh line, but she adamantly insisted that it was a wrinkle,"she chuckled as she shook her head.
"I made a few jokes about her getting Botox injections and losing any kind of expression in her face what so ever for hours, and that finally calmed her down. It was that day that we both realized that no matter what we did, we were going to age. There was no way around it, and since then we've both embraced it...well aside from letting the gray hairs show," she chuckled. I couldn't believe how two very refined women could act so insanely over something as mundane and inevitable as aging. It was hilarious to me, and apparently to Edward as well.
"I just don't understand how you men age so gracefully. Your father's salt and peppered hair and faint wrinkles make him look more distinguished and handsome to me, whereas my aging features just make me look like a withered old hag," she muttered with an incredulous look on her face. Edward laughed heartily as I laughed silently and tried to write. I hoped she could read my writing as my hand shook with my laughter.
"Mom, you look nothing like a withered old hag. You get more beautiful every day. Dad says so all the time, and I agree completely," Edward said sincerely when he stopped laughing. Liz smiled at him gratefully.
"I don't know what I did that taught you how to lie so impressively, but thank you," she chuckled.
"MOM!" Edward chided, only serving to make my already shaking hand shake even more with my laughter. My normally atrocious handwriting was now barely even legible to myself anymore. I quickly finished writing and passed it to Liz.
Liz, really. Neither you or Esme looks a day over 30. You are both amazingly beautiful, stunning even, and there's no reason either of you should feel that you look old or any less beautiful than you really are. I could only wish to have the ageless beauty that you both possess. Whatever features your aging have given you, only makes both of you appear warmer and impossibly more beautiful than before. A withered old hag is the last thing that could ever come to someone's mind when they look at either of you.
A tear slipped from her eye as she read my note. I wasn't sure if it was because of what I said, or because it was causing her pain to try and read my handwriting. She looked up at me and stretched her arm across the counter. I reached out and took a hold of her hand as she started to speak.
"Thank you, Bella," she said sincerely. "But Esme and I could only ever dream of having the beauty that you possess, dear. From the inside out you are by far the most astonishingly beautiful creature that either of us has ever seen, and we've frequently commented to each other about it," she said with a loving tone and a warm smile.
"There was a point in time about two years ago when she worried incessantly about how boys were going to affect you in your fragile state. She was terrified every day when she dropped you off at school, and almost every morning we would sit at this counter drinking coffee as she poured out all of her worries and I tried to reassure her that Edward wouldn't allow anyone to make you uncomfortable," she said with a comforting tone. I looked at her in shock and disbelief and grabbed the note pad.
Liz... I think you and Esme might need to see an optometrist! There's no contest between the three of us, as you and Esme take the cake in the beauty department. I'm plain and ordinary at best.
No one besides Edward and Mike Newton...when he was being vile and repulsive... ever showed that kind of interest in me, and I don't blame them. I can't even see what Edward sees in me. He's perfection personified, and somehow he loves me. I can't even bring myself to question it, because I'd never find the answer, and honestly..I don't want it. If I'm lucky enough to have him love me, I'm not going to search for an answer as to why he shouldn't, as I'm sure the answers are more than abundant in quantity.
"Bella, love. You don't see yourself clearly at all. It is I who is the lucky one that you somehow love me, not the other way around. For years I could only hope that one day you would, by some miracle, feel for me the way I feel for you. If anyone in this room is perfection personified, as you put it, it's you. The beauty that you possess inside and out is incredible, and frankly unobtainable for anyone who ever tried to somehow acquire it. There's just no way to recreate perfection, love," he said sincerely with smoldering eyes as he tilted my chin up to gaze into my eyes.
'I love you.' I mouthed silently to him. He smiled and kissed me chastely.
"I love you, too, Bella. More than should ever be feasibly possible," he whispered against my lips. I kissed him once more and turned back toward Liz. Her smile was impossibly large as she watched our little interaction. She quickly wrote something on the paper and passed it back to me.
Bella, you've always been incredibly beautiful, and you just get impossibly more so as you continue to grow into yourself. Seeing you two together warms my heart. I've always known that one day you two would come together. Your parents knew it as well.
Your mother would be beside herself to see the two of you now, and I'm sure that your father has his hands full right now as they watch over you. They loved you so very much, sweetheart, and they would be positively over-joyed to see you as happy as you are with Edward. You were made for each other. That much has been obvious since you were tiny children. With as many cheesy romance novels as Esme and I read, I don't think a single one could ever tell the tale of a love as great as the one you two will share. It's untouchable, dear.
Tears immediately began to flow from my eyes as I read her words. Thinking of how my parent's would never see me happy was weighing heavily on my heart. The guilt that I felt for taking that opportunity away from them felt like it wanted to rip me to shreds, and the only thought capable of keeping me in one piece at the moment was the possibility of them being able to watch over me from wherever they were now. I quickly wrote back and passed it to her.
Liz, do you really think that they can see me now? That they know that I'm happy? Do you think that they miss me as badly as I miss them?
I watched her closely as she read my note, and she teared up as she replied. It took her a while to respond as she fought against her flow of tears, but eventually she passed the note pad back to me. Edward had been holding me tightly and whispering his reassurances to me as we waited.
Oh, dear. I'm sure that they are watching over you. I don't think there's anything in this world that can keep them from doing that. Their love for you transcends the distance between you, and could never allow them to be apart from you.
I'm sure that they know that you are happy, and I guarantee you that they miss you just as much as you do them. I'm so sorry that you've had to experience that kind of loss, especially at such a young and delicate age.
I'll never know how you made it out of that situation alive, but I'll never stop being immensely grateful for whatever made that possible either. I don't know what any of us would have done if we had lost you as well. Sometimes I wonder if it wasn't them in some supernatural miracle that saved you from their fate. They'll always be with you, Bella. As long as you hold them in your heart, they will be with you, and no person or event can ever take them from you.
Her words comforted me minimally as the tears flowed continuously. Edward started humming his melody to me in an effort to soothe me, and it was helping more than anything else ever could as I wrote back to her.
I'm not sure it was them that saved me, Liz. When we were at the beach today I had a flashback of that day, and I realized that it was my thoughts of Edward that kept me hanging on until someone found us.
I'll never know how or when someone finally did, but it was the sound of my voice screaming his name in my head that made me realize it was him that saved me that day. It was unnerving while I watched everything happen as if it was happening right before my eyes.
I could see everything as if I was an extra person in the room, but everything my body felt, and mind thought, I was able to feel and hear. That's how I came to the conclusion that it was Edward that saved me that day. I hadn't remembered any part of that before then. I only remembered the events before today, not really what I was thinking or feeling aside from the pain. I know it probably sounds impossible, but that was the only conclusion I could come after having it.
I passed the note back to Liz, and looked up to Edward who had abruptly stopped humming as I wrote. His face was frozen in a mask of shock and disbelief. I waved my hand in front of his face, attempting to pull him from his frozen state. He blinked a few times and looked down into my eyes.
"Bella...that's what happened when you froze in my arms at the beach?" he asked with a painful and confused expression. I nodded nervously. I wasn't sure what had happened while I was experiencing that flashback.
"That explains why you were whispering my name. I had no idea how or why you were doing so at the time, but it makes sense now. Your face was contorted as if you were trying to scream, but it only came out as a whisper. I was so panicked by it that I didn't know what to do. The mere sound of it froze me solid, but just as I was about to rush you to Carlisle you opened your eyes and whispered my name again. Why did you whisper it that time? I'm assuming you hadn't realized you had done it twice before that," he spoke quickly as he pieced together everything that had happened. I pulled away from him and turned so he could see me.
'I don't know how I did it without freezing, but I think it was my way of accepting that it was the love I felt for you that kept me here, that kept me safe. I think it just slipped out of me as I had that epiphany. I waited for the panic to seize me up after, but it didn't come, and that confuses me. I'm not sure how I was able to get it out that second time either. It doesn't make any sense to me how I was fine one minute and then I started to panic and freeze up the next after having it not affect me the first few times.' I signed to him hastily as I tried to understand all of it.
"I'm not sure either, Bella. But we'll figure it out, I promise," he vowed before he kissed my forehead.
I nodded and turned back toward Liz who was looking at us with an admiring expression. I blushed slightly as I realized how easy it was to forget that anyone else was around when I was with Edward. It was all too easy to escape into our own little world, and I wondered if the same thing happened to him as frequently as it had to me for as long as we've known each other. Edward leaned toward me and whispered softly in my ear, earning yet another round of blushing from me.
"The whole world disappears frequently when I'm with you as well, love." He pulled back and I shot him an incredulous look as I tried to figure out how he could have possibly known what I was thinking. He chuckled and stroked my face with the back of his hand as he replied.
"It was written all over your face when you blushed as you realized my mom was still standing across the counter from us," he chuckled and Liz giggled.
"Don't worry, Bella. It happens to me all the time around his father as well," she said comfortingly.
I chuckled silently to myself in an effort to overcome my embarrassment and a moment later their phone began to ring. Liz answered it and immediately I knew that it was Esme. It made me abruptly realize that I had left my cell phone in my car and I gasped. Edward guided my face toward him and quickly started questioning me with a worried tone.
"Bella, what is it? What's wrong?" he pleaded with me.
'I left my phone in my car. Esme has probably been trying to get a hold of me for hours. She's probably worried sick.' I signed quickly.
"Mom?" he called out immediately. Liz turned toward him and raised her brow in question.
"Could you please tell Esme that Bella left her phone in her car, and that she's sorry for worrying her?" he asked her politely. Liz nodded and instantly relayed the message to Esme.
"She said it's fine, sweetheart. Jake and Leah already told her that you had left with Edward," she replied back a moment later. I let out a breath of relief and silently thanked Jake and Leah for easing Esme's worries.
Liz hung up the phone a few minutes later and joined us once again. I knew Edward would have to be bringing me home soon, and he would have to head back home in a few hours. I tried to keep telling myself that I could see him again first thing in the morning, but it wasn't comforting me very well.
I looked up to Liz and was instantly curious as I saw her expression. She was smiling, but it was almost conspiratorial in nature. I quirked an eyebrow at her and nudged Edward who had been nuzzling his head in the crook of my neck again.
"Hmm, love?" He murmured as he lifted his head. I quickly pointed toward his mother and he readily quirked an eyebrow at her as well.
"What are you two up to now?" he asked her suspiciously.
"Nothing...what makes you think we're up to anything at all, dear?" she asked innocently...too innocently.
"Here we go again..." he sighed dramatically and then proceeded to groan as he put his head back down on my shoulder. I chuckled silently as Liz smirked at him.
"Oh don't be so over dramatic, Edward. Get off your rump and go pack a bag. We're spending the night at Esme's, and dinner is going to be done in a half hour so hurry up," she retorted with a smug tone. His head shot up and I stopped chuckling immediately as I stared at her in shock.
"Are you serious?" he asked her incredulously. She chuckled and nodded.
"Yes, now go!" she chirped. I laughed as he kissed my cheek and flew off his seat toward the stairs. I turned back to Liz and mouthed a silent 'thank you' to her.
"Bella, it's been a very long six months, and neither he nor I am ready to let this day end just yet. Esme and Carlisle are setting up the living room as we speak, and we're going to have a family night. Is that alright with you?" she said sincerely. I nodded excitedly and approached her to hug her.
She pulled away after a few moments and excused herself so that she could go pack a bag of her own, as well as call Edward's dad to let him know where to find all of us when he left the office. She asked me if I would be okay with him joining us and I readily agreed. It had been such a long time since we had all done anything together as two families, and I was excited by the idea of it. Edward came back down only minutes after she disappeared up the stairs, and his face was lit up like the fireworks of the fourth of July with his excitement. I laughed silently as he approached me.
He dropped his bag on the floor and pulled me into his arms and swung me around in a circle, causing me to laugh silently even harder.
"I can't wait to fall asleep with you in my arms again. It's the best feeling in the world to hold you while we sleep," he murmured as he put me back down and hugged me close to him. Something about what he had just said made him stiffen and pull back from me. I looked at him in confusion for a moment until he started to speak.
"Bella? Have you slept soundly at all these past months?" he asked with a worried tone. I nervously looked down to the floor as I shook my head. He curled a finger under my chin and guided my gaze up to meet his own.
"I'm sorry, love. I knew you weren't sleeping well frequently, but I couldn't stop hoping that maybe at least once in a while you were getting a decent night's sleep," he responded sadly. I shook my head at him and backed away just a bit.
'It isn't your fault. I tried to listen to your piano melody, but all it did was make me cry the whole night. I didn't try again after that. Please don't blame yourself for that, it wasn't your fault. I'm sure it will be alright now.' I signed to him quickly, hoping that he wouldn't drive himself insane with worry.
"Bella, I know that it isn't my fault, but that doesn't stop me from worrying about the affect that it has on you. Sleep deprivation isn't good for your health, and your prolonged exposure to it worries me endlessly. Promise me that tonight you'll sleep until you feel rested if you sleep peacefully. I don't want you waking up in the morning and staying up if you still feel tired, so if you do, please go back to sleep. I promise I won't leave you until you feel well rested," he said with a serious tone as he gazed into my eyes. I nodded, readily agreeing to his request of me. It was the least I could do if it would ease his worries.
"Thank you, love," he replied with a smile as he kissed my forehead.
"Mom's tapping her foot at the door impatiently," he chuckled and I turned to look. I laughed as I saw her standing in front of the door tapping her foot and flailing her arms around as if saying "Let's go already!".
"Let's go, love. I'm anxious to get you into bed," he chuckled. I laughed silently as I thought of the suggestive undertones one could gather from that statement, even though I knew his statement had absolutely nothing to do with the first thoughts that popped into my head. I looked up to him and he smirked, causing me to laugh once again.
Or maybe it did....
AN: Reviews are better than copper toned saviors! R&R PLS & TY!! ~Jersey~
