The Painter

Chapter 34

"With freedom, books, flowers, and the moon, who could not be happy?" ~ Oscar Wilde

~O~

"What did Alice want?" Bella asked, biting her lip. Edward turned to her and grinned.

Bella pulled her napkin from her lap and used it to wipe her mouth. Edward rose and took her plate to the sink, rinsed it and had the dishes put away in seconds flat.

"Follow me," He said and grabbed her hand pulling her into the back room of the cabin. They stopped in front of a bookshelf and Edward pushed on the side of it. It opened slightly, causing Bella to gasp as they both moved into the room slowly.

"She was reminding me of something I forgot with all the other things going on."

"Oh,"

"Alice and Esme made this room with you in mind," he said softly, gauging her reaction. But Bella was too interested in the jars of brushes and various sizes on canvas that lined the walls. Every kind of paint was displayed on the shelves and Bella's fingers touched them reverently. "It was supposed to be a surprise someday… I guess today is that day, although I do believe today is sooner than we all expected."

"It's perfect," She grinned. Her hands were itching to feel the paint on her fingers, the brushes in her hand, and smell the solvents in the air.

Edward chuckled, "Go ahead." He pulled Bella towards him for a quick kiss but she wasn't having that. She gave him a lengthy and gracious kiss with her hands on either side of his face.

Bella pulled away, her eyes darting between both of his, "How did they know?"

"Alice's psychic, remember?"

"Oh, that's right," Bella frowned as she looked around the room, pulling away from him.

It really was quite spectacular.

The room seemed to glow in dark purples with the setting sun filtering through the windows. Glasses of every shape and size each were filled with every paintbrush imaginable. There were hundreds of them lined up and vying for her attention.

There were even pigments that needed to be mixed with the various kinds of solvents and oil before they became a viable paint, watercolors, and acrylics. There were inks and jars of pigment in large jars with scoops. And everywhere she looked there were plants lining shelves, tables and hanging by hooks. It looked like a greenhouse.

"Helps with the smell."

"Yeah." Bella grinned. "I know." She swallowed, her voice course, with emotion.

Edward shook his head with a small smirk. He knew that he had already lost her to the canvas and paints and he was okay with that. He released her and moved toward the door, shutting her within the hidden room.

Bella stared at the paints as her warm, salty tears fell as over her warm cheeks. Her fingers felt the brush fibers, as pictures moved through her mind on what she could create with each brush. Her chest swelled with the trapped air as she held it captive for too long.

It was overwhelming how kind and understanding the Cullen's have been; more than anyone ever had been before. Just thinking about it made it hard to breathe.

It was as if they took all of her sensory and anxiety issues in stride, not even really acknowledging or judging it. It was as if every issue was a part of her and they were fine with it.

So why couldn't all people be the same way?

Perhaps she would never know.

Bella chose the black canvas and put it on the easel. She picked up her palette and started to add acrylic paints to it, including pearl. She smiled as the colors spread over the plastic.

She chose a soft brush and dipped into the gel medium and spread it over the black canvas. She wanted to make the black stay wet longer so she could use it to blend the background with the foreground.

Then, picking up the stiff brush, she dipped into the dark purple, grey and white, pushing it up and into the black, and then drug it down for the rain.

Over and over, with slight twists of her hand, Bella created the picture that was in her mind. She painted the still, quiet moonstone lake that held the moon in its watery depths, framed with thick, dark evergreens that forever stood watch.

"I love to watch you paint," he says softly trying not disturbing her as he moved back through the room and sat on the sofa hidden off to the side. But Bella startled anyway, looking away from her painting and toward Edward.

He was handsome with his maroon sleeves pulled up to his elbows. His jeans sat on his hips lazily and he was barefoot which made her stare for a moment more before she caught herself.

Edward moved slowly, balancing her plate and drink in his hands before he set it close to her.

"Dessert?"

She smiled, thanking him shyly but he had already looked toward her painting, seeing how she let the moonlight etch out the trees and bushes. It was ethereally beautiful.

"Someday, I will take you to the Louvre. It's something everyone should experience at least once."

"I'd like that," she grinned, eyes dancing over him. "I can't compete with the masters, though. I won't even try." She chuckled as he sat down.

"You don't need to compete with the masters or anyone else, Bella. You just need to create what you want, how you want," Edward said seriously. "If everyone made the arts a competition, there could be no winners, only losers."

"I was just saying-"

"Has anyone told you how amazing you are?" He interrupted and it made her breath hitch. She watched as he moved closer to her, pulling her chair close. "You are brilliant, Bella, you should know that."

"I've always been told that I am stupid or dumb," Bella was serious, too. It's something she's heard her entire life. Her sensory issues to the world around her made people think she was weird or dumb or worse. When you hear the words enough from so many different people it gets etched into the psyche over the years.

But Bella did her best to ignore them.

She always knew she saw the world differently than other people. People see what's in front of them. They don't see the layers, the tension etched in their soulful eyes, their pain.

That's why Bella liked painting. She didn't like painting what she saw in people.

Bella took in a deep breath, "I was at my neighbor's house and she was watching a little girl. The girl was always too smart for her age and often would speak without thinking. She came up to me and she said that she always thought I was really stupid... like I say stupid things. She said she was surprised listening to me talk with my neighbor that I was probably actually really smart even if I don't show or act it."

"You can't fault them for not seeing what is right in front of them. They missed out seeing the real you, Bella, and that will forever be their loss."

Bella scoffed, "I've never been known to be a beauty, Edward."

"Well, you are. You don't see yourself clearly. Others made a similar mistake because you are as beautiful on the inside as you are on the outside."

She blushed and looked away, not knowing what to say. She looked at the painting and gave a small smile. It wasn't a Monet or a De Vinci, but the beauty of the moment was truly there. That's all she could want.

"Please eat," He gestured to the food Bella had already forgotten about. "We're expecting company soon."

.

Jessica sat on her bed staring at her phone. It had been hours of no contact from Alec and she was going through their entire conversation trying to pick it apart on where she had gone wrong.

Was it something she said or did?

It didn't seem like it... They mostly talked about things they liked and the movies she has seen. They talked about their date coming soon and what kind of things they could do together in the future since he was so sheltered and hasn't done much of anything.

There was a giddy excitement to her that she's never felt before ever since she met him, but that was overcome with bouts of worry, anxiety, and anger.

She looked at her phone and there was nothing.

When she called, it went straight to voicemail.

What could have happened to the guy?

She didn't want to seem needy, sitting on her hand so she wouldn't call or text again.

It had been minutes or hours, she didn't know, but she was going a little insane and she needed to get out of the house.

She needed to get to Alec any way possible.

.

A/N: So Bella has a studio and I am jealous. She gets everything I want. Jessica is on the prowl; Alec best watch out. Thank you for reading and your kind reviews.