CHAPTER 44 - BOUND
A/N: Hope you all had a great Easter and a fantastic April Fools Day! Anyone else catch the Google Nose Prank? Anyway sorry for the late update. Thank you all to the fantastic reviews. However, I should let you know that I won't be doing replies as I'm working on the next chapter which will be up very soon.
Biology had been uneventful so I focused all my attention on Edward.
His defined jaw jutted out slightly as he looked towards the front of the room. I noticed that sometimes he would reach up to rub his chin or maybe run his pianist fingers through his bronze locks, messing it up even more, although this action only made me love his unruly hair even more.
The longer my gaze lingered, the more my fingers twitched with the irresistible urge to reach out and touch him. An unfathomable desire grew but I wasn't sure how to satiate it.
Occasionally, he would turn to me and look at me with questioning eyes but I simply blushed and looked away, embarrassed to have been caught. However when I pretended to listen to the teacher, from my peripheral vision, I caught how his own penetrating gaze studying me.
Through the entire lesson, he had made me forget about the students eyes on us by holding my hand. Sometimes he would even draw circles onto my arm or just play with my hair.
After Biology we had Gym which I also regarded as being tedious. It was cross country and that was monotonous because neither I or the Cullens could use our natural speed so we all settled for a mundane jog. Edward had kept by my side the entire time, asking more question to get to know about me. Thankfully he didn't mention anything to do with Italy.
Emmett and Alice also kept us entertained with humorous stories about their travels and the more I listened to them, the more grateful I was to have this people in my life; more importantly to know that they had been in Carlisle's life.
Angela had also joined the group but was still shy around the Cullens, especially Edward. I caught how she would hide behind her hair was speaking to them. However, as we engaged her in conversation, she slowly broke from her shell and was soon offering her own stories about her siblings.
After a game of volleyball, we quickly changed and as soon as we bid farewell to Angela, Alice looped her tiny arm around mine and towed me towards the parking lot, claiming that the boys would be taking their time. Who was I to question a psychic's abilities?
Now that school had ended, I found that I was breathing a little bit easier and I felt more relaxed as I tuned into Alice's chatter. She tended to jump from different topics, before she had been talking about Milan's fashion show and now she was talking about their next family holiday trip.
"Jasper wanted us to go to Austria" she informed me with a wistful look in her eyes.
My mind was flooded with memories of my time in Vienna, "Oh you should" I piped up, finally having the ability to share her excitement, "It's beautiful there"
"You've been there?" she lolled her head to the side.
Leaning on the cherry red BMW convertible, I turned to Alice, "I've been everywhere" I breathed with a new lightness in my voice.
"You like travelling" she observed, not phrasing her words into a question.
I nodded in reply, "I loved it"
Every time me and my parents did our annually world tour, I expected to have seen everything there was to see but there was always more. I couldn't even imagine how much had changed for the past few years.
Alice's stunned me by gripping my wrists in her hands and then twirling us, "You should join us for the next winter break" she laughed as the idea seemed to have suddenly dawned on her.
If there was one thing that I had learnt, it was that Alice was a force to be reckoned with. If she wanted something to happen, she would make it happen. This explained why I wanted to appease her with my reply, "Maybe…", thankfully my noncommittal tone didn't shake her.
"Rosalie and Esme want to go to Paris but Emmett wanted to go skiing in the Alps" she finally let go of me. My answer deemed to be sufficient for the time being which was why she was set off in her own ramblings.
"What about Jasper?" I quipped, recalling how she had mentioned him wanting to go to Austria.
She seemed really pleased that I was reciprocating because her grin widened as she said, "Oh he says he doesn't mind but I know he wants to go skiing"
Not able to help myself, I inquired, "And Edward?"
Her knowing smile meant that she had read into my eagerness, "Why do you want to know?" her bright gold eyes sparkled with a mischievous gleam.
Trying to defend myself, I argued, "Well if he's going on the holiday, he should have a say. Shouldn't he?" my eyebrows rose with my question.
Alice's smirk never dropped but she did answer, "Edward likes being in the sun" there was a twinge of sadness in her eyes but it fleeted just as soon as it appeared. She didn't seem like the type of person to dwell on the negative. Her whole aura held a bright light of optimism and warmed even those around her.
Her response made me think back to how at peace Edward looked in the meadow, I nodded in agreement, "I know"
"You know?" she hitched an eyebrow but the smile was still intact so I simply nodded in reply.
Edward should be more at peace and so should the Cullens. I'm sure life in the shadows wasn't exactly appealing. It wouldn't be fair for such wonderful people to be cast into a life of darkness and my sympathy led me to my next question, "Do you ever go to sunny places?" my own sadness was evident in the lowered tone.
Her smile fell slightly as she shrugged, "Sometimes" she nodded and I knew she missed it too. Like I had suspected, she didn't dwell on it too long because within seconds she perked up, "We own some land"
"You own land?" I gaped at her, not sure how to process this new piece of information.
She nodded, "Some land" she placed emphasis on the word 'some' in hopes of calming me down but I was till frozen in shock.
"How much land?"
Alice remained nonchalant about this as she casually answered, "Just a few islands, here and there" her fingers playing with the silver pendant necklace.
"Just a few?", I let out a half-hearted laugh, still stunned with her statement.
"We only bought the sunny places so that we can have our own privacy" she explained and I finally understood. I was happy to know that they didn't miss out on having days where they could simply lie under the warm rays.
"Which place does Edward like best?" this tumbled out before I could stop it.
Another slow devilish grin crept up but I rolled my eyes this time. This made her giggle but she still managed to answer my question, "Isle Esme"
"Isle Esme?" my eyebrows furrowed as I racked my brain for any memories of that place. However I came up short and I wondered how I had missed it in my geographical studies.
Maybe it was new discovered land?
Alice laughed at my bemused expression but elaborated, "Carlisle bought an island for Esme but sometimes Edward visits" there was a forlorn look in her eyes.
"By himself?"
A grimace stormed her features and I regretted my insistent prodding. Before I could apologise, Alice already answered, "I think he left because he wanted to give us our privacy" she murmured in a melancholy tone, the guilt furrowing her eyebrows and creasing her forehead.
"I've never heard of it" I tried to distract her.
My tactic worked because she snapped her gaze away from her hands and onto me, "It's off the coast of Rio de Janiero" she informed me but all too soon, tension was drawn between us. Uncomfortable silence accompanying us and I awkwardly rubbed my hands up my arms, my eyes searching the deserted parking lot.
"Edward…" Alice's gentle voice snapped my attention back to her. She still had her eyes on her palms, "….he left because he felt lonely" she despondence saddened me and I could see how much this hurt her, "He's never admit it and we never really spoke about it but we all knew" she whispered but at long last, her gaze whipped up to me and the smile that I wished for returned. "Now…" she paused, taking my hands back in hers, "Now, he doesn't have to worry about being lonely" she grinned.
I didn't have time to process that either because Edward's jovial voice joined us, "What are you two talking about?" his arm automatically going around my waist and pulling me close to him.
Blinking away my surprise, I spun around and leaned into his chest as I teased, "You"
"Don't believe anything Alice says" he looked over my shoulder to glower at Alice, who was now twirling her way towards the car, Jasper following closely behind her.
Oh…but I do.
-XxxxX-
"You really should come back with me" Edward continued his argument which had been going on for the last five minutes, right after he found out that I was not going back to his house again.
"No" I argued, crossing my arms over my chest and jutting out my chin in defiance, "I really shouldn't"
Slumping his shoulders, he dropped his hands away from the steering wheel and turned to me with a wounded expression, "Why?" he moaned.
His pout made me want to laugh but I knew I needed to maintain a firm expression, if I was to get my way, "Because, once I'm there, I won't be able to get out" I explained like it was the most obvious thing – which to me, it was.
"Is that such a bad thing?" he challenged.
Placing my hand over his, I met his eyes and gentled my fierce tone, "You know I love spending time with you and your family…"
He didn't give me a chance to finish because he hastily interjected, "Then, what's the problem?" his topaz eyes were now bewildered and had darkened two shades.
"You have all done so much for me already", I squeezed his hand tightly, silently pleading for him to understand.
His expression softened and he reciprocated by covering my hand with his, "You know they don't mind" he breathed, his eyes still hopeful as he continued to urge me into giving into him. I was beginning to realise that this persistence seemed to run with everyone within the Cullen family.
Still I had to finally take a stand and not continue giving into them, no matter how much I wanted to.
Placing a gentle hand on Edward's cheek, I locked eyes with him before raising my argument, "That may be so, but I do"
Finally I caught the wavering resolve when he frowned at my response. His head fell so he could drop his gaze to his hands and I almost relented with the disappointment radiating from him. Thankfully I didn't get a chance to give in because he breathed another defeated sigh, "Is there anything I can say that will change your mind?"
"Nope"
There was great hesitance as he finally gave in to me, "Fine"
Feeling guilty for being the root cause of the look on his face, I decided to distract him by teasing him, "Will you stop pouting if I invite you inside?" inclining my head towards the cabin situated a few feet away from where we were.
"Maybe" he grumbled but the smile playing in both his voice and lips did not go unnoticed.
"Well then…" using my index finger, I titled his chin up so I could take in his expression when saying, "Mr. Cullen, would you like to come inside?"
His eyes lit up with excitement, clouding the troubles that had roamed them, "It would be my pleasure" he grinned and before I could make out another word, he was already out of the car and had flashed to my side, opening the door for me. "Ms. Swan…?" he held out his palm, waggling his eyebrows at me.
With a shy giggle, I placed my hand in his, allowing him to pull me out of the car. "Why thank you, kind sir" I played on, curtsying once I was out of the car.
Hand in hand, we silently made our way up the rocky driveway, towards the porch where my cabin lay. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence – it never seemed to be with Edward.
However, I felt both nervous and excited over the fact that he would be entering my home. Up until today, it had been my own private sphere - a place of my own where I could get away from everything and everyone. It didn't feel like I was just taking a big step, it felt an enormous leap of faith but I would see it through.
I trusted Edward.
"I know this place" he murmured with a pensive look as he took in the exterior of the cabin. As he was deep in thought, his steps faltered when he made his way up the porch.
"You do?" I was surprised because it had felt like this place was completely secluded, like the meadow.
He nodded, still scanning the area to confirm his thoughts, "Yes I remember passing that lake after hun-" he quickly shut his mouth, fear creeping up into his eyes.
Once the door was opened, I turned to him with a comforting smile, "It's okay Edward" I assured him, running my palm down his arm "I won't judge you for admitting you were hunting" I vowed with another smile as I slipped my fingers back down, through his.
Everything about us felt right even though I knew it should be wrong.
He squirmed with a bemused frown, "It still feels strange"
"Well you shouldn't" my fierceness struck us both in surprise but I didn't comment on it. Whipping my head back around, I pushed the door open and pulled him inside as I made another attempt at appeasing his unnecessary worries, "In fact, I've been meaning to ask you..."
"Anything" he hastily interjected.
I paused at the doorway, turning on my heel so I could look at him, "What is your favourite animal?"
"Except that" he snorted and I found it completely adorable.
"Aw…come on" I whined, tugging at his hand so I could pull him further inside, "You know what my favourite food is" I argued even though I knew that this wasn't exactly a strong argument.
"Italiano" he quipped with a smug smirk and I smiled in return. It felt good to know that he had been listening to my pointless rambling. I had doubted that he had actually been listening because my answers didn't even sound interesting. Apparently I was wrong.
Clasping my hands together, I jutted out my bottom lip and pleaded, "Please tell me…"
"So that you can make it for dinner for me?" he asked in a dry tone and I sent him a distasteful look. This seemed to have gotten to him because he sighed and then laughed half-heartedly, "I like…"
When his words were followed with a questionable silence, I tried to gauge an answer, "Deers? Elk? I doubt there's a lot of variety in Forks"
"I like mountain lions" he finally gave in, a discomfited look clouding his features as he avoided my gaze. I didn't want him to hide from me, just like he didn't want me to hide from him. I wanted him to feel free to talk to be about this things but I also wanted to know more about him.
"Hmmm…" was the best reply I could offer.
I was surprised by the sudden panic that gripped him when he fretted, "What?"
"Nothing…" this brought some peace but it wasn't enough to overwhelm his trepidation so I continued, "…It's just I haven't seen any wandering the forest" remaining nonchalant as I began to take off my jacket.
Edward noticed what I was trying to accomplish and took it upon himself to help me, "I should hope so" his voice was so low that I wasn't sure whether he had intended on me hearing this.
Still, I couldn't help but feel somewhat offended so I defended myself; "Even if I did, I would know how to take care of myself" I jutted out my chin at him and crossed my arms over my chest in insolence.
He ignored my anger and made me forget about it the second his fingers gently caressed my jaw, "I know" he replied but the crease still lingered between his eyebrows as he cupped my cheek, "Still…" he murmured, "I can't help but worry over you" he admitted and I foolishly grinned. "Am I dazzling you Bella?" he quipped, the mischief had returned in his eyes.
Mockingly pushing him away, I pretended to push him away but this only made him laugh harder.
"Jerk" I muttered under my breath, stalking off towards the kitchen.
"Did you call me a jerk?" he laughed.
"Yes!" I replied, throwing my hands up in the air in aggravation before turning back around and prodding at his chest, "You are a jerk"
Upon spinning around so that I could continue down my path, my steps were halted because Edward's arms were holding me once again, evidently trapping me in his embrace. He also made sure to maintain eye contact so I could read into his apology, "I'm sorry I was a jerk" even his once humoured eyes were
"You're forgiven" I answered placing a fleeting kiss on the tip 0f his nose, surprising the both of us.
However, as much as I was thrilled to have done that, it didn't seem to be enough to satiate the newfound yet unfathomable desire that burned within.
A/N: Anyone enjoy the little sisterly bonding moment? The ExB moments? Bella's finally opening up – what will her next move be…?
Thanks again to the fandabbydozy reviews - Will get to those replies in the next brand spanking chapter – I promise.
Please review and help me get to the BIG 400!
*Ignore me – I'm still high on Easter egg chocolate*
