CHAPTER 50

Lisa: *waves* hi dear readers. We're sorry for the delay - we've been such busy bees! We hope you enjoy the next chapter. Not too many more to go now! To Mandy1962 - we couldn't see your email to respond to your question.

Penny: Thanks y'all for your patience, love and support for this story *hugs*. Huge squishy hugs also go to Harrytwifan for betaing this for us, and Kerrfrano for pre-reading.

Lisa: And kisses as well all round! Enjoy the chapter. Oh and we don't own Twilight, we just fiddle with the characters.

JPOV

Monday evening, I came home to an empty house. I walked everywhere, looking for Matthew and Edward. Finally, when I went out onto the back porch, I saw movement in the shed and knew that's where they were.

While Edward had Matthew with him, I took the opportunity to have a quick shower. It was the last day on my current job, but I had made the offer to Esme and Carlisle to do some work in their gardens, so that's where I would be spending the rest of the week during the day.

Once I was clean and dressed in comfy sweats and a tee, I headed out to the shed and knocked lightly on the door. Edward opened it, but only a crack, so I couldn't see inside.

"Aah." I smirked. "A secret?"

"Yes." He grinned, sticking his head out the door just enough to peck me on the lips. "We'll be right in."

Nodding, I left him to his work and went to start dinner. Edward and Matthew didn't come in until I was mashing the potatoes. The chicken and green beans were already done. I didn't mind that he was so late coming back inside, because he was fairly glowing with excitement.

"I take it it's going well, eh, Dali?"

"Very well," he replied as he set Matthew in his high chair. "Be right back."

He took off out of the room like his ass was on fire and the rest of him was catching. He seemed so lost in thought yesterday, and today was all excited. What was going on with him? I tried to talk to him the day before, when he was so quiet, but he just told me he was thinking of how to do a painting, so I left it alone.

Taking plates out of the cupboard, I started putting the food on them. Matthew made noises at me from his highchair, and I knew he was ready for his supper.

"It's on the way, little man," I said, and put the plates of food on the table. All Matthew'd had was some mashed potatoes, but I grabbed a jar of green beans and a jar of fruit for him, too.

Just as I sat down and began to feed him, Edward walked back in, cleaned from all traces of paint, and slid into his chair.

"Thank you, love," he said as he looked at his plate. "This looks wonderful."

"You're very welcome." I smiled as he started eating.

"Did you hear from Emmett today?"

"Yeah. He went to the doc with Alice and she is definitely pregnant. Six weeks, I think. Maybe seven."

"Wow. Was Em still freaking out?"

"That is an understatement." I chuckled, then tried to duck out of the way as Matthew sneezed, most of his mouthful of mashed potatoes landing on me.

Edward busted out laughing and I grabbed a napkin, attempting to wipe off the side of my face.

"Sucks when that happens," I said with a pout.

"Wait until it's oatmeal." Edward grinned.

"Oh no, it's okay, angel. I'll leave you to have that fun." I laughed.

Matthew squealed at me, obviously not pleased I had stopped feeding him. We were quiet for a few moments, me stealing bites of my own food while continuing to feed our son.

"You're starting at Mom and Dad's tomorrow?" Edward asked.

"Yeah, just me and Em. Your mom didn't sound very well on the phone this morning."

"I know. I talked to her around lunch time, and she didn't feel good then."

"Hopefully, the sickness won't last too long," I commented, while trying to get Matthew to eat another bite. He was clearly full, though, squirming away from me. I handed the spoon to him to play with so I could finish my own dinner.

Edward, already finished, stood and took his and Matthew's dishes to the sink.

"I'm going to go get his bath ready," he said, and left the room.

What the hell was with him? He usually sat with me until I was finished. I didn't like how he was acting, and it would be a lie if I said I wasn't a bit nervous about the behavior.

All of a sudden, I wasn't hungry anymore, and I got up to load the dishwasher. I was so absorbed in what I was doing, I didn't even notice when Edward came back in the room to get Matthew. I turned from the sink to wipe down the table and highchair, and the room was empty.

By the time I had everything cleaned up and had the dishwasher running, I could hear my two men playing in the living room. Walking in, I sat in my usual place on the couch and watched them. Edward was stacking blocks on the floor and letting Matthew knock them down. He seemed oblivious to my presence.

Flicking on the TV, I pretended to watch it until Matthew started to get sleepy. Without a word, Edward went into the kitchen to grab a bottle and I took the baby for a cuddle. Holding him close, I breathed in his freshly washed baby smell and closed my eyes. I loved this little guy so much, and I wondered if I was in danger of having to go to court to fight for him, if the way Edward was acting was any indication.

My eyes prickled with unshed tears. What the hell could I have done to cause Edward to practically ignore me? As far as I knew, we were doing alright. I knew it was irrational and there was probably a logical explanation, but without me being able to stop it, my mind wandered into dangerous territory.

Edward had way more money than me, with how successful an artist he was becoming. He could give Matthew a life I couldn't. Also, he was the baby's biological father. There was no way I could counter that. Most of all, God damn it, I loved Edward! Why the fuck would he do this to me?

Think of the devil and he shall return. Edward walked back in with the bottle. and I gave him the baby without meeting his eyes. I needed to get out of there, right away.

Who knew if he was watching as I jogged to our bedroom and closed the door. Leaning against it and closing my eyes, I felt the first scorching tears slide down my cheeks. No. This could not be happening.

Scrubbing my hands under my eyes, I opened them. There, sitting on my pillow, was a painting. What the fuck? He was gonna break us up with a fucking painting?

Pissed, I strode over to the bed and snatched up the canvas. It was an 8x10, much smaller than his usual. There, staring at me in rich color, were two champagne glasses against a light blue background. They were painted to look like they were clinking together, the liquid tilted and bubbles in fine detail.

To the side of those, painted less boldly, was a likeness of my face. I was smiling in the picture, with my hair tucked behind my ear. That simple detail caused the tears to well up and spill over again as I thought of how Edward did that to me so often. I had grown to love it so much.

Under my face were words, painted in a deep crimson. It read: 'With lips sweeter than wine...'

What the fuck did that mean?

Even though my emotions were all over the place, I couldn't help but admire the beauty of his work. But if this was going to be some kind of weird breakup, Edward wasn't making his intentions very clear. Who knew what was going on in his head? All I knew was that if I lost him, I would never be the same. My heart would be ripped to shreds...irreparable.

Setting the canvas on the nightstand, I went into the bathroom and washed my face, making sure to remove all traces of tears and the potatoes from Matthew's dinner. Like a dumbass fool, I decided to keep quiet and let whatever the hell Edward was doing and thinking play out. I would be gutted if my insecurities were proved to be true, irrational as they probably were, but I loved him, and for some reason, he needed to do this.

Tuesday happened in much the same way. Edward behaved indifferently toward me, and there was another painting. It was on Matthew's change table that evening, and again, it was a breathtaking riddle.

The background was maroon, fading to black at the edges, and had a single red rose as the prominent feature. Again, to the side, was something else, and it looked like my legs and feet, stretched out with my ankles crossed. The more I looked at it, I realized it was my legs, because Edward had painted the scar on my knee I had gotten while working.

Under that were the words, painted yellow: 'You taught me love...'

Again, I was baffled, but just curious enough not to let on, even though Edward was virtually ignoring me. Part of me wondered how he could be so cruel, while another still held onto that tiny shred of hope that when I knew what was going on, there would be a logical explanation to all of this. I decided I would ask Emmett if he knew anything about it.

As soon as Emmett and I arrived at the Cullens the next morning, we got out of the truck and something caught my eye.

"What the hell is that?" I asked Em, and he just shrugged, walking over with me.

My God, it was another fucking painting. Picking it up, I scowled at the image, confused as ever.

"What is that?" Emmett asked, looking over my shoulder.

"I don't know." I sighed. "This is the third day I've found a painting of Edward's in an odd place like this." I told Emmett what had happened over the past few days, what the paintings were, and how worried I was that Edward was becoming so distant.

Emmett, being his usual jackass self, laughed.

"Dude, I think you got it all wrong. First, if Edward was planning a breakup, he wouldn't do it like this! Second, I can see the love dripping off the fucking thing. Chill out, man. I think you're in for one hell of a weekend with the way this is going."

"I hope you're right," I mumbled as he walked off to get to work, letting me study the picture.

The background was done in a fresh spring green, with a big black bowtie showcased in the center. My eyes wandered immediately to the side, and I saw an exact likeness of my hands, in fine but faint detail.

The words were royal blue this time, and read: 'With hands gentle and strong...'

Maybe Emmett was right. Fuck, I hoped so, but what did they all mean?

When I found the fourth painting in my truck the next day, I was so shocked, I had to sit down. It was, by far, the most beautiful of the bunch.

Painted against a pale yellow background was a stark white pair of wings. They were outlined in black with the finest of lines, each feather perfectly created. My back was the chosen feature he displayed on the side, and even though it was faded a bit, like the parts of my body on the other ones, I could see my muscles shaded perfectly.

Below were words in black: 'You saved me from myself...'

I grinned. For the first time since Monday, I was kind of looking forward to the one I would be blessed with the next day.

Until next time,

Penny and Lisa.