Chapter Thirty-Six

Jake and I were all packed up and ready to move. I had put most of my stuff in storage, but I had a feeling I was going to get rid of the living room set and my dinner table. I wasn't really attached to any of it like that. Edward and I had talked about buying new stuff.

Jake's stuff was in storage too. I convinced him to just take the furniture that was already in the guest bedroom. He'd have a bigger bed and more room to play. He had his clothes and his toys, and he had Sam. Everything else just wasn't important enough to bring over.

Since all of our stuff was in storage, Edward and I could easily pack my boxes into our vehicles. Jake and Rosalie stayed at Edward's house while they waited for us.

"Alright, that's the last box." Edward said as he shut his trunk, "You ready?"

"Yeah," I said as I took a last look at my house. He wrapped his arms around me.

"You sure."

I chuckled, "Yeah I am. It's just so crazy, I've lived in this house since I moved to Arizona. I got married, divorced, and had a baby in this house. It has a lot of memories."

He kissed my cheek, "Now we can make new memories."

I turned and kissed him on the lips, "I can't wait. Let's go, the kids are probably waiting for us."

We got into our cars and drove to Edward's hou— I mean our house. I was going to have to get used to that.

"Guys come help us bring boxes in!" Edward yelled as we walked into the house.

They came stomping down the stairs, Sam following after them. It took us about an hour to get the boxes out. My first priority was getting Jake's stuff unpacked. We took his boxes up to his room and started unpacking things.

"Mom where's my Nemo blanket?" He asked.

"Uh, I think in this box," I said as I unpacked a box.

"Bella where do you want this?" Edward asked as he brought in my box of important binders.

"Oh, anywhere is fine. It's my school stuff." I said.

"I'll put it in the study." He said.

It took me and Jake about forty-five minutes to unpack the stuff in his room. He looked around and sighed. I gave him a big, tight hug.

"It'll be okay. Just wait until we're in a new house. Then we can do your room however you want it. New furniture, bedspread, décor. It'll look so good, baby." I said.

"I know." He sighed heavily.

"But hey, you get a tv in your room. Isn't that cool?"

"I guess so." He said as he looked around.

We unpacked in silence. I did my best to put things where I thought he'd like them. It looked good once everything was unpacked. Edward brought the television up and hooked it up for him.

"Looks good," Edward said with a whistle, "It looks better than it ever has."

Jake nodded and jumped onto the bed, "So, what now?" He asked.

"Well, we can do whatever you want." I said, "It's almost dinner time, I should start prepping the food. I'm going to make lasagna tonight, your favorite."

"Okay, I guess I'll just watch tv."

"We could watch the game together. Downstairs in front of the big tv. Turn the soundbar on, make popcorn."

A small smile appeared on Jake's face, "Okay. Yeah, sure that sounds fun."

"Awesome, okay," Edward said, a big smile spreading across his face.

"I'm going to go start dinner." I said, "Maybe I'll see if Rose wants to help."

I walked down the hall to Rosalie's room. I knocked a few times before she opened the door.

"Hey," I said, "Do you want to help me make dinner? I'm making lasagna and I think I'm going to bake cookies."

"Could we bake a pie?" She asked.

"Yeah, sure. If we have the stuff for it."

"Cool. I have to bake a pie for home economics."

"Okay. It sounds fun."

"It's just homework," She said, tossing her binder aside.

"It'll still be fun. I haven't baked a pie in… well actually I baked a pie at thanksgiving. It was pumpkin pie."

"My dad bought the stuff for blueberry pie."

"Blueberry sounds good."

We walked into the kitchen and I pulled out the lasagna stuff I had bought earlier. I opened several cabinets to find the rest of the stuff I needed.

"I can't find anything." I said.

"What do you need?" Rosalie asked.

"A bowl, a couple big spoons, and a pan." I said, "I'll need to get used to the layout of the kitchen."

She pulled out the items I needed and laid them on the island counter. I pulled out my notecard with the recipe for lasagna.

"You don't know the recipe?" she said.

"I know it, but I like to double check. Make sure I don't add to much salt or anything."

"We don't follow recipes around here." She said.

I chuckled, "Even the best cooks follow recipes. Now, all of these recipes are my own. After Jake was born, I was home for five months. Because he was born in March and I took my whole three months. Anyways, after he was born, I learned how to cook. Jake was such an easy baby. He slept all the time, so I needed to do something to fill the time."

"My mom never could cook. Neither can my dad."

"Well, I can teach you some things. Cooking is a very important life skill."

"My home economics teacher says that. She says that about sewing too."

"Now I can't sew worth anything." I said.

"My dad can sew."

"I hope he can," I laughed, "A good doctor should know how to sew."

I showed her how to make the lasagna. We were having a good time making it. It had been tense in the beginning but now we were laughing and joking. I really did feel confident about our relationship.

Around six, Jake and Edward walked up the stairs. They could smell the lasagna as I pulled it out of the oven.

"It's too hot. And the bread's not done yet. You guys make the salad," I said.

"You know no one is going to eat that salad." Edward said.

"Yes, everyone is going to eat some salad. It's healthy and it's good for you." I said, "Now make it. Everything is in the fridge."

Edward groaned but grabbed the big bowl and made the salad. Once he was finished, everything was done. We took the food into the dining room and sat down to dinner. It was nice. All of us sitting together and enjoying the meal. I couldn't keep the smile off my face.

Later That Night

The kids were off to bed and Edward and I had retreated to our room. I was rubbing lotion on my skin when he walked out of the bathroom, only dressed in sleep pants.

"You were awfully smiley at dinner," He said, drying his hair with his towel.

"I'm just happy." I said, "I feel like today was a big step. It started off rough, but it ended great. I think the kids are really coming around to this."

Edward rolled me onto the bed, laying on top of me. I laughed as he held himself above me.

"You know, I was thinking the same thing," He said with a cheeky smile, "But in all honesty, this is the reason why I wanted you to move in," he said as he pressed his erection against me.

"Oh really?" I laughed, "Well what if I said that's the only reason I agreed to move in?"

Our lips locked together, and we rolled onto our sides. There was no need to rush, we just took our time exploring each other's body.

After finishing we redressed and drifted off to sleep. Snuggling in bed felt great, and not having to leave felt great too.

Later That Night

I was woken by the sound of crying. I sat up, looking around momentarily confused. I forgot where I was for a second before I remembered.

"What's wrong?" Edward said, his voice mumbled and deep from sleep.

"I hear crying," I said as I threw the blanket off me and got out of bed, "I'll get it. Go back to sleep."

His head thumped back down against the pillow and he drifted off. I walked out of the bedroom and walked to Rosalie's door. I quietly opened it and looked in; she was sound asleep, curled up under her covers.

Okay, it wasn't Rosalie. I shut her door and opened Jake's door. It was him. He was still laying down, but he was crying out in his sleep. Not unusual. I talked in my sleep and Jake inherited that gene. Sometimes he did this when he was stressed or upset about something.

I sat on the bed and gently shook him, "Jake, wake up hon. You're crying in your sleep again."

He blinked awake and looked around, "What happened?"

"You're crying in your sleep again," I said, "Are you okay."

He rubbed his eyes and nodded, "Can I sleep in your bed?"

"You don't want to sleep in your bed?" I said.

He shook his head, "Can I just sleep in your bed?"

"Sure."

He grabbed his blanket and followed me back to the room. Sam just yawned and sprawled out on the bed.

I crawled into bed first and scooted closer to Edward so Jake could slide in beside me. Edward's arm wrapped around my waist and he pressed his lips against my ear and said, "Round two?"

"Shh, Jake's here." I said as I patted his hand.

Edward leaned up and looked down at Jake who had curled up beside me and was nearly asleep.

"What's wrong?" He asked, scooting over to give me a little more room.

"He was just crying in his sleep. It's normal."

"Oh," He said, "Okay. Is he okay?"

"Yeah, he'll be fine. I'll talk to him in the tomorrow." I said as I closed my eyes and drifted back off to sleep.

The Next Morning

When I woke up, I had to wiggle my way out from the covers to go into the bathroom. I was pinned between Jake and Edward, who were still sleeping soundlessly. They didn't have to go into work today; it was a teacher's workday, so I had to be at school at around ten. Edward was home though so he'd be with the kids.

I walked out of the bathroom after I finished getting ready. Jake and Edward were still asleep, unbothered by the sounds I was making while I got ready. I stared at them for a few minutes, chuckling; they looked so sweet.

I walked down into the kitchen to pour myself a cup of coffee and grab a bagel. Rosalie was downstairs at the counter, eating a bowl of cereal.

"Good morning hon," I said, "How'd you sleep?"

"Fine, but Jake woke me up. He was crying last night." She said.

"I know, he does that sometimes," I sipped my coffee, "I talk and do all sorts of stuff in my sleep. Jake got that from me."

"He was loud," She said, "I wasn't sure if I should have woken you guys up."

"If he's crying it's okay. If he sleepwalks, then definitely wake me or your dad up. But it's rare for him to walk in his sleep."

Her eyebrows raised, "Wow."

"I know, we're a mess," I chuckled, "What are you guys going to do today?"

"I'm going to the mall with my friends. We're going dress shopping for the winter formal."

"Oh that sounds fun," I smiled, "You going with anyone?"

"No," She blushed, "There's no one here I like."

I smiled, "I'm guessing the boy you like lives near the beach?"

She shrugged, "We've been talking, but we're just friends."

"He's a nice guy," I winked, "A cutie too."

"Yeah," She said.

I looked over to the clock, "Oh I got to go. You guys have fun."

I dashed out of the house and went to school. A day filled with meetings, grading, and planning was not my idea of fun. By the end of it, I was exhausted. I got into my car, ready to go home.

As I was pulling out of the school, my phone rang. It was Rosalie.

"Hello?"

"Can you pick me up?" She asked.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Please, can you just pick me up now. Dad isn't answering his phone." She said, I could tell she was on the verge of crying.

"Yeah. Sure I'm on my way now. I'll meet you at the entrance."

"No you have to meet me inside the mall." She said, "At the dress store."

"Oh, okay," I said, "I'll be there in a few minutes."

She hung up the phone without saying goodbye. I knew something was really wrong. I tried calling Edward a few times, but there was no answer. I hoped he was okay. I hoped Rosalie was okay.