Chapter 34 – Finally
Bella
"Hey," Jake said surprised as I walked into the café's kitchen from the back entrance. "That didn't take long."
"There wasn't as much to go over as I expected," I said mechanically.
"Bella, what happened?" he asked me slowly. I turned to look at him and tried to think of a way to sum it all up, but I ended up just tearing up, and he ended up getting the wrong idea. "Oh honey, I'm so sorry. I knew that stupid lawyer of yours was going to screw it all up. But don't worry, we'll appeal the decision or something…"
I shook my head. "No. The judge granted my petition for custody," I told him as a tear rolled over my cheek.
"Oh, my god!" he shouted excitedly, but then he calmed right down. "That's amazing news, but Bells, why are you crying then?"
"Because… she's been living with Edward."
"What –who–huh?" he stuttered before comprehension hit him. "How?"
"I don't know. Somehow he has her. I don't understand any of it."
"So… he was there? The hearing was the reason why he needed to leave so quickly?"
I nodded. "He was there, but his lawyer must have told him I was Bree's mother, and he looked so… so upset. Then he just left. He didn't stay for the hearing."
"My god, this really is like a Lifetime movie," Jake mumbled. "So, the judge just granted you custody because he wasn't there?"
I nodded again. "Oh Jake, what is he thinking right now? He's got to be even more confused than I am. I mean, does he even realize that he's her father?"
"Why would a rock star foster a ten year old girl?" Jake asked, lost in his own thoughts.
"I don't know. I didn't even get the chance to talk to him."
"Well, what did they say about you getting physical custody of Bree? When is she coming to live with you?"
I shrugged. "It was supposed to be today, but now I'm not so sure."
"What do you mean? Why aren't you sure?"
"They said they were going to contact him and give him two hours to bring her back to the courthouse…. but I told them it wasn't necessary."
"You told them what?" Jake asked incredulously.
"She's with her father. I'm not going to demand that he bring her to me right away. I'm sure he needs time to explain everything to her."
"How is he going to explain anything if he doesn't even know the whole truth yet?" Jake asked.
I swallowed hard. "How much of any of it could she possibly understand anyway? The case worker said she's thriving with him. How can I take her away?"
"Bella, you already knew she was thriving where she was at before you pursued custody," he pointed out.
"Yes, but that was different. I thought she was with strangers. Strangers who could end up hurting her when she had been hurt so much already."
"Technically, Edward is still a stranger," Jake mumbled.
"No, he's her father, and he has just as much of a right to her as I do – more, actually. He's had her with him for over a month. They said she's thriving," I said again. "Thriving with her father."
And then Jake did something I wasn't expecting - He grabbed a cup of water, and splashed it on my face. "Snap out of it!" he yelled at me. "He is her father and you are her mother, but now you have custody, which means it's time to start acting like her mother. You need to talk to him and figure out a way to raise her together as her parents."
"It's that simple huh?" I said, realizing that it could actually be that simple. Of course we needed to raise her together; I had absolutely no idea why I was getting so worked up.
But I was haunted by the image of his upset features as he learned who I was to Bree. What if he didn't want to co-parent at all?
"Um… Bella?" Jake said, bringing me out of my contemplations.
"What?" I asked as I looked at him.
He didn't answer me verbally, he simply jerked his head towards the back door, so I followed his line of sight. There, standing in the doorway, was Edward.
"You're here?" I murmured.
"I said I'd come back," he answered evenly. "I usually follow through with things like that."
It was obvious that his comment was a dig at my history of not meeting him when I said I would. He was angry, and he had every right to be. There was so much tension in his stance and in his voice that I knew it was going to be far from simple, but I was also so incredibly relieved he was there. I would not let him leave again until I told him everything.
"Is Bree okay?" I whispered as more tears rolled over my cheeks.
He stared at me for a moment, and then he nodded. "She's fine."
I nodded in return. "Edward, I can't imagine what you must be thinking about this…"
"Why did you give her up?" he interrupted me, getting straight to the point. "I honestly can't understand why anyone wouldn't want her."
"I've always wanted her," I told him slowly.
I was about to explain, but he needed to ask me a question first. "Am I her father?"
I bit my bottom lip, and then nodded as even more tears spilled.
He didn't seem surprised whatsoever. It was as if he already knew but was just seeking conformation.
"Let's go for a walk," he said abruptly, though I wasn't sure why I was surprised. A busy café kitchen wasn't the place for that conversation.
So we walked, but for whatever reason, neither of us spoke. I wasn't sure if I was leading him or he was leading me, but somehow we ended up in a park – A very familiar park.
"Is this?" I asked.
"Morningside Park," he confirmed. "I thought it would be fitting to have this conversation here. It's funny; this park, your café, even the courthouse are all within walking distance."
"Edward, you will never know how terribly sorry I am for not meeting you that day," I said emotionally. "This has all been… one terrible mistake after another."
"What happened?" he asked as we went to sit on a bench. The park was vibrant and loud with children running about, but it actually felt like the perfect setting for the turbulent walk down memory lane.
I took a deep breath, and then I told him absolutely everything. From what I had been studying in college, all the way to my painfully lonely present, and everything in between. I told him about my dad and why I never met him that day, and how I lost Bree in the first place. And of course, I told him about the moment I found out she was still alive and the feeling of urgency I had felt about getting her back.
Edward didn't say a word the entire time, he just listened, and strangely enough, getting it all out there was more than cathartic, it was strangely easy as well. I thought it would have been so much more difficult to tell him everything; he was, after all, still very much a stranger. But just like when we first met, I felt like I had always known him. There was a level of comfort with him, almost even a feeling of home, that I had never experienced with anyone else. He was already my family; there would never be a need to talk about it or to put anything on paper. We just were.
And thankfully, he wasn't upset anymore either, or maybe he actually was. He was just as upset with the world as I was. We lost so many years together, and none of it was fair.
"It's time to make it right," Edward told me intensely. I half expected him to kiss me again, but he didn't; in fact, he seemed to be purposely keeping his distance. Even when he stood from the bench he took a step away from me so we couldn't touch accidentally. "Are you ready to meet our daughter?"
My heart skipped. "She's here?"
He smirked, and then looked towards the playground before waving at a woman standing on the other side, and she waved back. They obviously knew each other, so I assumed she must have been the one watching Bree. "I bet you can spot her," he said to me unexpectedly.
My stomach erupted in violent butterflies. How was I supposed to spot her when I had no idea what she looked like?
But then my eyes zeroed in on a particular little girl playing on the tire swing with another girl. She had beautiful long brown hair that shined bronze in the sun, and I instantly knew. Her smile was exactly like Edward's, and as she leaned back and giggled with her friend, I was absolutely sure that I'd know her anywhere.
I immediately started crying; it wasn't even possible not to. She was absolutely incredible, and as much as I ached to hold her, I also wanted to just watch her in awe for a while, which I suppose would work in my favor – I needed to get control of myself before I scared her.
Edward didn't say anything more to me, or move to try to console my sobs; he just stood there beside me as we watched our daughter together.
When my crying slowed, he finally glanced at me again and must have decided it was time. "Yo Bree!" he shouted at her, making me jump.
My butterflies multiplied as she stopped what she was doing and turned to grin at her father. Edward waved for her to come, so she hugged her little friend goodbye, and then skipped towards us. However, the moment she noticed me there, she slowed, then suddenly darted to Edward's side to hide behind him.
He squatted down to be closer to her level, and then he whispered something to her, making her nod before finally peeking up at me shyly. He stood back up, but she stayed securely by his side.
God, I just wanted to wrap my arms around her and breathe her in, but I knew she needed me to take it slow. Bree was absolutely perfect, but I had to keep reminding myself that she was unique and probably wouldn't take to anyone new right away. Heck, even average children were often shy with strangers, so I forced myself to stay where I was.
"Hi Bree, I'm so happy to finally get to meet you," I said, trying like hell to keep my emotions under control, but losing it slightly at the end.
"Can I stay with Edward?" she asked, seemingly out of nowhere.
"Bree, we talked about that on the way here," Edward told her gently. "You need to spend some time with your mom, but we're still going to see each other all the time."
She squeezed his arm tighter and glared at me, so it was my turn to get down to her level. "I would never take you away from your dad," I told her honestly. I wasn't looking at Edward's face, but I could tell by his sudden tension that Bree had no idea he was her father. I suppose he never had time to tell her, I only wished I knew the best way to handle it.
"Edward isn't my dad, but he's going to adopt me so maybe you should just go away," Bree told me harshly.
I was worried about how much she could understand and how much I should tell her, but she needed to know the truth so she could feel secure…
"Bree… Edward is actually your father," I told her gently.
She scrunched her face, and suddenly I got lost in the amazing way her little features moved, so thankfully Edward took over.
"Bella and I met eleven years ago, and you were the result," he told her bluntly.
She raised her brows in shock.
"So, she was your girlfriend and you didn't know about me because you separated before she found out she was pregnant and then she had to give me up and then I came and found you because I knew we were supposed to be together?" she said in a rush of astonishing understanding.
"Um… Something like that," Edward said with a slight chuckle.
Bree immediately relaxed, and she even let go of Edward's arm to speak to me. "So, I can stay with my dad? Maybe you can stay with us too and we can all hang out together?"
To Bree, it was simple. There was no need for some huge long explanation, or perhaps she knew there would be time for that later. She was just so happy that she'd get to stay with Edward, and everything else was just a bonus.
"We're going to figure it all out," I assured her.
She suddenly shot me the most breathtaking smile I had ever seen on anyone, and then she hugged me. For the first time in a very long time, the world finally felt right again…