The Painter

Chapter 19

The more I think of it, the more I realize there are no answers. Life is to be lived. - Marilyn Monroe

~O~

Edward couldn't help the slight smile adorning his face.

Bella didn't notice. She was concentrating on the loops that she was drawing on the paper in front of her.

"What is on your hands?" Bella looked at Edward with confusion; his usual musical voice was stoic with his whisper.

Edward gestured at the blues and black pigment that stained the pale cream skin.

"Oh," Bella saw the smudges of paints and smiled. Her hands and arms were an ocean of colors, pinked from her blush. "Paint," she whispered, embarrassed.

The words light and airy, like her, he thought.

"You're a painter, an artist." He said, knowing that already but he wanted to see her react. Bella flushed face deepened red, as blood rushed to her face.

"I try,"

"What do you paint?"

Bella looked at Edward, really seeing his radiant face. The sharp lines of his jaw the way his eyes hinted the slight bruising purples from lack of sleep. The grassy green bordered long lashes.

"Everything."

He smiled at the word.

"Want to paint me?" He chuckled, words teasing but he was serious.

"I already have." Bella cupped her mouth with her hand since the words slipped out and Alice turned toward her with knowing eyes before they all faced forward. "I mean- I think it could be?"

Edward tensed, his body reacting on its own volition. He clutched his hand under the table as her deep blush punished her for her words.

He could smell the blood on the surface of her skin. Sweet, warm, fragrant, and succulent, the smell coated his nostrils and throat instantly that he had to hold his breath. He looked at the teacher as a distraction, even though he was uncaring to the teacher's monotonous tone.

"I'd like to see it," He whispered, still facing forward, and barely seeing her nod her head.

Of course he did.

But Bella just nodded with a soft smile.

.

The bell rang as students milled around.

Edward waited as Bella put her notebooks in her bag and draped it over her shoulder before he rose from her seat. He could hear Newton, antsy, just outside the door.

He looked to Alice, seeing her shrug.

"Bella," Edward sighed, "Can I walk with you for a minute?" Lyrical notes from his voice danced through the air toward her, causing her to smile. It was as if she could see his music the way she could see the colors in her paint; both colorful and beautiful.

She absently wondered if he could play something for her someday.

"Yes," she smiled.

Mike Newton peeked in the door and saw Edward grabbing Bella's bag before he draped it over his shoulder. Bella was smiling at him, hidden behind her hair, as he wrapped a protective arm around her torso.

Mike grunted with anger as he moved from the classroom, already planning how he was going to intercept Bella at lunch. Then he could warn her on how she should stay away from the Cullen's. Sticking with him would be best for the new girl, since she had no idea who was who. She didn't know better, yet.

Alice stood next to Bella as they walked, sandwiching her between them, protectively, as she eyed Mike Newton. She frowned, as possible scenarios passed through her mind and right into Edward's.

"After school, do you think we could come over to see your artwork?" Edward asked rigidly, trying to dislodge the anger he was feeling regarding Mike. He looked to Alice and saw her nod with a smile, knowing full well it would happen. He bit back the smile teasing his lips.

"I suppose," Bella stepped faster, feeling anxious as students started exiting their classrooms.

"We can make plans at lunch! Please say you will sit with us!" Alice beamed, already knowing Bella would agree.

Bella did agree, happily.

.

Bella unlocked the door of the Swan house with shaking hands and a chill down her spine.

She was being brave, more than feeling it.

Without embarrassment, she turned the knob and opened the door into a dark and shadowed living room. The musky smell of mildew and male washed over them as they entered.

"My room is upstairs." Bella said simply, the anxiety just lingering on the edge as Alice and Edward followed her. Edward closed the door as Bella switched on a lamp, casting shadows on the walls. "My dad is at work."

She had no idea why she was sharing such information.

"We won't stay long," Alice smiled, trying to comfort.

Bella nodded as she tilted her head towards the stairs for them to follow before she turned and ascended.

"This is pretty," Alice grinned, as she pointed toward a painting on Bella's wall. It was a butterfly midflight. Looking around, Alice saw several paintings of butterflies.

"I just finished this last one," Bella smiled. "They remind me of my mother."

"How is that?"

Bella turned toward Alice, "She's whimsy and flighty... You think she'll go one way and she goes another. You think she'll find something to land on and she sits for a minute and is off again."

"She moves a lot?"

"No, she's just a busybody." Bella's smile didn't reach her eyes, but Alice didn't push. "Maybe it's my fault she's like that. She's always trying to buffer my anxiety."

"You have anxiety?"

"Yeah," Bella sighed.

"I do too!" Alice beamed.

"Really?"

"Very much so," She nodded. "All of us Cullen's came from other families except for Edward." Alice explained.

Bella looked at Edward who was being too quiet. He was looking at the various paintings that adorned the walls. The purple pearlescent butterfly kissing the water made him lean forward for a closer look.

"I'm terrified of the dark," Alice blurted. "I'm claustrophobic, too. Put them together and I basically lose it." She laughed without humor. "Jasper has social anxieties; mostly regarding people and the like. He has come along so far but struggles with being antisocial."

"Huh," Bella didn't really know what to say. She didn't really know Jasper as of yet but she was sure she would meet the other Cullen's soon.

Lunch had been a quiet affair at a round table in the corner of the cafeteria. The other Cullen's opted to work on their assignments in the Library and skipped their lunch.

"You paint beautifully," Edward said simply as if it was a fact and not an opinion. "The way the colors flow is captivating."

"Thank you," She breathed out, apprehension she didn't realize she was holding in, rushed out.

"Who's the purple?" Alice asked, pointing towards an abstract painting.

"What?"

"It's just that you can see people's personalities in the paint. Like the purple butterfly kissing the blue water…"

"I am surprised you see that," Bella moved toward the painting as Edward walked around the room. He stopped at another painting while Alice and Bella looked at the butterfly picture. "I guess my mother is the purples and I would be the blue in this painting. That's odd. I usually paint my mom as the water" Bella's voice became a whisper of contemplation as she gave a slight smile. She'd have to think about what that meant to her- if anything.

"So you're mom's kissing you! Oh, I love that!" Alice squealed with excitement and clapped her hands.

"If you're blue," Edward interrupted, "Then who is green?" He gestured to one of two paintings that hung over Bella's bed. It was a marble colored hand coming out green leaves, reaching out from the shadows of blues and indigos.

But Bella didn't say anything; she just blushed as she looked at the verdant eyes of the boy before her. Her eyes trailed over his face landing on his mouth, down his necks, over his broad chest, stilling for a moment over his muscular arms and landing on his hand.

Edward's hand twitched under her scrutiny but enjoyed the feelings that it gave him. He loved the way she made him feel alive.

"It's Edward!" Alice giggled. "I'd know that hand anywhere."

Bella's blush reddened as she turned her head to hide behind her hair.

Edward glared at Alice but she just grinned.

Best to make sure they both knew who was who in this little world of theirs, Alice thought.

.

A/N: Thank you for reading!