A/N:

Yeah, I'm sorry, I forgot!

We had a pre-celebration of my birthday yesterday since my sister's visiting and she wouldn't have been able to stay until the 13th

Anyway, I hope you had a nice Friday and that you'll have a nice start to your Saturday with this chapter!

Title: Love is Strange

Author: MarieCarro

Beta: Alice's White Rabbit

Pre-reader: LunaEclipse

Genre: Friendship/Romance/Drama

Rating: NC-17

Summary: Bella Swan and Edward Cullen live in the small town of Ligonier in Pennsylvania. They've been best friends since they were six years old, and not much can keep them apart. Bella wants to leave small-town life behind, while Edward is fine with whatever, but that's not the only complication in their relationship. What happens when they fall in love … with each other?

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

CHAPTER 27

LOVE IS STRANGE

Bella asked Edward to drop her off a few houses down from her dad's so as not to spoil the surprise of her arrival.

"Do you need me to help you with your things?" he asked, but Bella just shook her head and hoisted the large weekend bag on her shoulder. They were only staying in Ligonier for three nights so she was more than capable of lugging her own packing.

"I'll see you tomorrow night," she said and was just about to close the passenger door when she stopped herself to lean back inside the car to give Edward a quick kiss. He had always been the sort of person who appreciated the small acts of affection, and Bella wanted to become better at giving them.

She didn't want him to doubt her or that she'd made her decision. She really wanted them to work this time, and she was adamant about doing what she could to guarantee it.

When she leaned away from him, his eyes had lit up with his happy and pleased smile.

"Can I get another one of those?"

"Only if you insist," she replied, giggling.

"Well, then I have no choice but to insist," he said and they closed in again simultaneously until their lips met in another kiss. "Mm," he breathed out when they parted. "I'll never tire of that."

Bella was surprised when she felt the overwhelming urge to say she loved him before she left. He already knew she did because she'd told him when they put their feelings on the table, but to use it as a goodbye when they separated was a step they'd yet to take.

Still, the words were unstoppable as they left her mouth in the most natural way. "I love you."

It was clear he hadn't expected it because he appeared stunned for a short moment, but then the words settled and he eagerly responded. "I love you, too. Tell Charlie I said hi."

"I will."

They didn't make a big deal out of the exchange because, while it was a huge step forward in their new and still developing, yet familiar and rekindled relationship, it wasn't a new sentiment. Saying it to each other felt right and like the obvious next step.

Once Bella had closed the door, Edward turned the car around and headed toward the hotel, and the entire way there, his heart was hammering in his chest as the most pleasant warmth spread throughout his body.

With steps that could only be described as skipping, Bella climbed the few steps up toward the front door of her dad's house and rang the doorbell. Her mouth was already twitching with a smile, beyond excited and happy that she could surprise him with a visit.

When he opened the door and saw her standing there, his mouth fell open. "Bella?"

"Hi, Dad!" she exclaimed before throwing her arms around his neck.

"Bella?" he asked again into her hair. "But what are you doing here, honey? You just said on the phone you were still in New York."

She extracted herself from the hug and gave him a guilty grin. "Yeah, sorry about that, but I was lying. I didn't want to spoil the surprise."

Charlie grabbed the bag by her feet and ushered her inside. "Did you just get here? How did you get here?"

"Edward and I drove here together," she replied, and before he could say anything, she continued. "It was actually his idea for us to come here. He invited me to the Christmas party tomorrow."

"Really? Do Esme and Carlisle know?" he asked as he was certain Esme wouldn't have been able to keep quiet if she did.

"I don't know, but I assume Edward's given them some sort of warning he's bringing an extra guest," she said and let out a nervous laugh. "You said Esme told you about me and Edward?" Charlie nodded. "Did she sound … happy about it? I wouldn't blame her if she's holding a grudge. Alice certainly is."

"I couldn't tell," Charlie said truthfully but quickly reassured his daughter. "But don't worry. She's never said a single bad word about you. Both of them might be a little cautious, but that's only to be expected."

Bella nodded. "Of course," she agreed. "It doesn't stop me from feeling guilty as hell, though."

Before the tension of the conversation could spread further, they steered toward Bella's old room—which no longer resembled the room she'd grown up in—to put her bag away. There was a new bed with generic linens and he had even painted the walls in a soft blue-gray tone. The frames on the wall were stuff she recognized as old paintings from the living room, and some shadowboxes her grandmother had created when Bella was only a toddler.

She had distinct memories of wanting to help put them together, but since she was too small to handle anything with care, her grandmother had to distract her with crayons.

Another frame held both her graduation photos, and it fascinated her to see how much she'd changed in those three years. Looking at them made it clear to anyone that it had been a very pivotal time of her life, yet the changes had very little to do with her hair and her appearance slowly becoming that of an adult woman.

It was her eyes that were so innocent albeit somewhat sad in the first one as she remembered being heartbroken at the time the photo was taken, and in the second, they were hardened and cautious underneath the smile.

"I know it must be bittersweet for you to be back here," Charlie said from the doorway. "The last time was—"

"I know," Bella said before he could finish. The last time she had been home, she had told Edward about the miscarriage and broken his heart over the phone, and the memory left a sour aftertaste in her mouth.

"Have you two talked any more about … that?"

"Yes, we have." She sighed and turned to face her dad. "He really wants kids, so I had to tell him why I'm terrified of starting a family. He deserved to know that before he made any commitment to me."

Charlie walked over to her, ready to give comfort if he had to. "And what did he say?"

She smiled and Charlie was relieved to see it was a genuinely happy one. "If it turns out biological children aren't in our future, he's fine with that. What else can you expect from a man as sweet as him?"

The relief within Charlie was so great he could do nothing but smile, and it took a moment for him to speak again. "I'm really happy for you, Bells. I have to be honest and say the history the two of you have made me a little skeptical at first, but it seems you're finally on the same wavelength."

"Yes, I think so, too."

"Where is the boy, by the way? Why didn't he join you to say hi?" he asked and looked around as if Edward would suddenly appear out of thin air.

Bella laughed softly. "You'll see him tomorrow at the party. He wanted to give us as much time by ourselves as possible so we could have our own Christmas." She took a deep breath and prepared to let her dad know about the hotel room. Naturally, she felt nervous because no father wanted to know about the possible reasons their daughter wanted privacy with her boyfriend. "He's got a room at Thistledown, and after the party tomorrow, I'll stay there with him."

Charlie opened his mouth as if he were about to say something, but then she could see how the realization slowly dawned on him, and he closed it again. He settled with a simple nod instead, and it was clear the thought made him uncomfortable, just as Bella had expected.

They quickly left that topic and went to the kitchen to start preparing dinner.

Because of the role Charlie had been forced to take on as both mother and father after Renée's suicide, he had picked up quite the skills in cooking, and it was thanks to him Bella even knew how to boil an egg. Together, they had a pleasant time chopping, frying, and boiling while talking about everything and nothing in the way only parents and children could talk to each other.

However, not all topics were of the happy kind. Bella couldn't keep the truth about George from her dad any longer, and she told him everything that had happened from the moment she arrived back in New York from Vermont.

"Bella, I don't like the sound of this. I hope you're being safe," he said with a concerned frown.

"I'm doing what I can, but I can't expect Emmett and Rosalie to allow me to live with them forever. They have a child on the way and other things to worry about," she said.

"Then what about Edward? I'm sure he'd let you stay with him until you know for certain George isn't a threat to your life," Charlie pushed.

Bella turned her back to her dad and checked the potatoes, but they weren't quite done. "Of course. He offered his guest room right away, but can you imagine what would happen to our relationship if we started living together so soon? And besides, I still can't confirm or deny that it is George doing this."

Charlie gave his daughter a stern look. "Which makes the threat even more dangerous." He shut his eyes tightly and rubbed his face with the palm of his hand. "Honey, you need to understand how serious this is. Even if it isn't George, this … stalker knows where you live and has your phone number. I'm not saying you can't take care of yourself because I know you can, but if this escalates, you might not be given the chance to defend yourself."

"I know that," Bella said quietly and wrapped her arms around herself. "Edward has already given me the speech. And he's instructed me on everything I need to do until we know who it is." She gestured toward his uniform jacket hanging in the hall. "You know there's nothing the police can do before that."

He did know that, but it still pained him since it was his own daughter in danger. "Right." He sighed, but then he left the kitchen for a moment. When he came back, he had a small canister of pepper spray in his hand, which he handed to her. "Just take this. It'll at least give me some peace of mind when you go back."

Bella immediately took a step forward and hugged him. "Thank you, Dad."

Just like Christmases in the past when Bella was a teenager, the rest of that day and evening came with no fanfare, and yet she found how much she had missed spending that holiday with her dad. Despite it being quiet and doing the same things they'd done every year when she grew up, she was as happy as she could get when they were sitting in the couch and each were nursing a hot cocoa while watching the clichéd Christmas movies being shown on TV.

When the main couple persevered in the end, Bella couldn't stop herself from giving her dad a worried glance. She knew he wasn't much for dating, and the dates he had gone on had always ended in disappointment. Still, she didn't like the thought that if she hadn't been there, he would have been sitting alone.

"Dad, how are you really doing?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, when you're not at work, you're not just sitting here alone, are you?"

He gave her a perplexed look. "Where's this coming from?"

"I just don't like the thought of you being here all by yourself without company. I know you don't enjoy dating, but—"

"Bells—" he started, but she didn't allow his protest to deter her.

"No, Dad, I'm serious," she insisted. "From now on, I promise to come visit more. I haven't been fair to you by staying away, and I'm sorry. But when I'm not here, it would feel so much better if I knew you had someone around."

"What kind of someone?" he asked and huffed. He clearly didn't like the subject. "I wish there was an easy solution to it, but there isn't." He sighed and looked toward the family photo on the wall from when Bella was only a baby. "I know I've never told you the reason why nothing ever came of those dates, but I guess I need to." With a heave, he got up from the couch and walked over to the frame. "Honey, your mother was the love of my life. It's been twenty-three years, but a day doesn't pass that I don't think of her. And I'm not saying I can't ever find a new love." He looked over his shoulder at her and gave her a reassuring smile. "I don't want to. But I'm content with that. As short as my time was with her, I'm grateful for the years I got. It's more than some would even dream of."

A large lump formed in Bella's throat and it was difficult to swallow. "Okay," she said softly and didn't protest further even though she still found her dad's situation unfathomably sad.

Charlie stroked her hair lovingly. "Don't worry about me. I'm fine." He looked at the clock. "It's getting late. I'll see you tomorrow for breakfast. Goodnight, honey."

"Goodnight, Dad," she replied, and even though he'd told her not to worry, that was exactly what she did that entire night.

~~LiS~~

"Bells? Are you ready yet? We need to get going?" Charlie called from the hall, and Bella hurriedly threw everything into her bag before zipping it up.

Edward was going to meet them on his parents' driveway to put the bag in his car so the two of them could go directly to the hotel after the party. Charlie had already accepted the idea of his daughter not sleeping in his house for the remainder of her stay, but he had made her promise that she and Edward would come over for lunch the next day.

When she exited the room, Charlie froze before a wistful expression came over his face.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing," he said, but then retracted the statement. "It's just that sometimes I forget that you're not my little Bells anymore." He tried to smile, but it was forced and didn't quite reach his eyes. "You look beautiful, honey."

"I'll always be your little Bells, Dad," she insisted. "Nothing could ever change that." She wasn't certain exactly what item of her outfit had triggered his reaction, but she didn't want to contemplate it either. As long as he knew she meant it when she said she'd always be his little girl.

The familiar drive was short, and when Bella cast her eyes upon the house she once considered a second home, her heart clenched. It didn't matter that everything was great between her and Edward. She was still nervous about facing his parents, and since she knew Alice had spoken to Esme about her, she wasn't sure what had been said and if Esme was as sympathetic toward her as she'd once been.

The otherwise light-colored house's facade was lit up with hundreds of twinkling lights that made the snow on the ground glitter, and the wreath on the front door was one Bella recognized as Esme's own creation. Christmas wreaths were one of her biggest demands around the holidays, and it was clear why.

It was absolutely stunning.

The street was filled with the guests' cars so Charlie had to park a few houses down, and they walked together, huddled in their coats against the cold. Maybe Edward had been waiting, or had instantly seen their car, because he was coming out the front door just as they turned onto the driveway.

While he quickly gave Charlie a glance, his presence didn't hinder Edward from greeting Bella with a quick, chaste kiss before he took a hold of the bag in her hand.

Before he could say anything, Charlie beat him to it.

"Bella, why don't you go inside. I'd like a moment alone with Edward," he said, and although Bella hesitated, confused with what her dad could possibly want to say to Edward in private, she did as told and left the two men on the driveway.

With her heart in her throat, she entered the residence and immediately locked eyes with Carlisle. It took a second for him to register who she was, barely recognizing her in her short hairdo, but once he did, he gave her a warm smile.

She was just about to greet him but was interrupted before she could even open her mouth.

"Bella? Is that you?"

A/N:

Who do you think that is? Give me your best guesses!

Let me give you a clue, it's not necessarily a friend.

Until next week,

Stay Awesome!