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 32

OBSESSIONS & CONSEQUENCES

The days that followed the break-in were tense and both Bella and Edward could feel the stress tearing at them. They did their best not to lash out at each other when it became too much, and they agreed to absolutely never go to bed if either of them were angry or irritated with the other.

Those evenings, they remained up until they'd talked it all out, but no matter how much better they were communicating now, it was clear the honeymoon period of their relationship was over.

Bella mostly blamed George for that, and the more time that passed, the angrier she became with him. She sympathized that he was hurting because they'd broken up, but nothing gave him the right to act the way he now did.

The police cleared her apartment and gave her the green light to go back there if she wanted less than a day after she first spoke with Detective Carmichael. However, her landlord said a completely new front door had to be installed as the damage to the frame was too severe for a simple lock replace. During the holidays, it was impossible to find an available handyman, so they agreed she'd stay with Edward until that could be fixed as well.

New Year's Day came and went and with it came the day Edward took his bar exam. Fortunately, he had no problem passing, but that meant his bosses immediately jumped on the chance to assign him cases.

While Bella didn't mind that he was busy—after all, she was quite busy herself—she didn't enjoy being all alone in his house during the nights when he had to work late. It was so much larger than her apartment, and she found herself seeing things in the dark corners, almost jumping out of her skin even when she realized there was nothing there.

More than once, Edward would come home and he'd find Bella asleep on the couch where she'd been waiting for him. Every time, he'd take her in his arms and carry her upstairs despite her exhausted protests about how she was too heavy.

"Just shut up, Swan," he said with a chuckle. "I'm not old and frail yet, but I'll let you know when I need you to use your own legs."

Having Bella live with him was close to paradise for Edward, but he knew it was short-lived. She wasn't comfortable with the situation so early in their relationship, and he respected that, but he still enjoyed going to bed with her, and then waking up next to her every morning.

When her door was finally fixed and she readied herself to go back home, Edward offered her a key to his place.

"I want you to know you have a place you can go to and feel safe," he said. "Even when I'm not home, you can always come here."

She kissed him deeply to show her gratitude, and then promised him she would use it if she needed to.

Since she hadn't been back at her apartment since before she and Edward left for Ligonier, a part of her believed she'd find the place in disarray even though she knew there had been a cleaning crew there, so when she walked through the front door and saw the impeccably clean floors and the folded blankets on her couch, she felt weird.

For some reason, even though she was surrounded by her own stuff—baubles and furniture she'd painstakingly picked out herself—it didn't quite feel like her home anymore. It didn't hold the same warm feeling it used to, and she felt a constant presence in every room, as if someone was watching.

In a vain hope to rid herself of that feeling, she put on some music and started to unpack her bag, silently singing along with the lyrics and forcing herself not to look over her shoulder every five minutes.

Eventually, she gave up and asked Emmett if he was available to Facetime while she sorted her laundry and placed stuff back in her closet.

"Belly, I know you're independent and all of that, but should you really be back there on your own?" he asked as she propped her phone up on her nightstand, giving him a good view of her while she busied herself.

"I can't let him control my life, Em," she said and sighed. It sounded stupid in her own ears. Allowing her stubbornness to take precedence over her own safety. "That's what he wants." She gritted her teeth and changed the subject. "How's Rosalie? Are you handling her cravings?"

Emmett rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Her cravings aren't the issue. Her constant tossing during the night is," he said, but his lips were still stretched into an affectionate smile. "We're gonna find out the sex next week."

"Good! I need to start on the baby banners, and it's crucial I know if it's an Isabella or Isaac." She looked over her shoulder and grinned at the camera.

"You'll never let that go, will you?" he asked and raised one brow in a slightly annoyed manner.

"Never," she proclaimed proudly, still sporting her grin. "You, sir, made me a promise, and I very much intend to collect." She guffawed and turned back to her wardrobe, but then froze.

"Bella?"

She started to dig through the drawer as a feeling of absolute dread spread through her extremities.

"Bella, what's wrong?"

"They're not here," she said to herself. She turned and contemplated going through her laundry even though she knew they wouldn't be there either. She hadn't worn that particular underwear for weeks, but they'd always stood out like a sore thumb in her drawer, impossible to miss because of their bright red color.

They were always the last pair she used before she absolutely had to do her laundry because they were too raunchy for her personal taste. They were part of a set, and she immediately set out to search for the sheer bodice bra, but it was also gone, together with the thigh-high stockings.

"Seriously, Bella, you need to tell me what's going on right now or I'm coming to your place," Emmett continued to call for her, but Bella couldn't reassure him.

The set had been a gift, and she'd worn the entire getup once because she didn't want to seem ungrateful when all she had wanted to do when she unwrapped it was grimace and cringe.

Her mind exploded in a sudden fit of rage. "You fucking psycho!" she screamed and crouched down on the floor.

"Bella!"

Tears blurred her sight and rolled down her cheeks. She forced herself to stand up and ran to the bathroom to splash her face and get some clarity back. However, the second she got a closer look, she noticed stuff missing in there as well.

The extra bottle of her favorite perfume, the refill of her shampoo and conditioner, her half-full tub of body moisturizer—everything that came together and created her signature scent.

There was no longer a single doubt in her mind who her stalker was. The underwear set had been from him, and he always took every opportunity to compliment her on how fresh she smelled.

She sank down on her toilet seat and started sobbing like she hadn't for years. Her heart was beating a mile a minute and her breath came in shorter and shorter gasps with each sob. She didn't want to start hyperventilating and did her damnedest to get her breathing under control.

Just as her heart started to calm down, there was a violent banging on her front door, and it jumped right back up into her throat again. She left the bathroom and was about to search out a weapon when she heard the voice.

"Bella, open this door right now!"

She wrenched it open and flew into Emmett's arms, instantly feeling a blanket of safety wrap around her.

"You scared the shit out of me, Belly!" he complained. "What the hell was that?"

As he led her to her couch, she told him what she'd realized and how it made her want to crawl out of her skin.

"Every memory of him gives me chills now," she said and raked her fingers through her hair. "But I still can't see it. Was I just blind or did I really break him that much?"

Emmett shook his head and sighed. "Looking back at some of his actions now, knowing what he's capable of, I can see there were hints of obsession early on, but you're right. I never would have thought he'd do something like this." He took in Bella's distraught expression and pulled her to his side, allowing her to crawl close to find whatever comfort she could in his large frame. "Have you called Detective Carmichael yet?"

"No," she sighed. "I was too stressed when I found out, and then you showed up. But I really should, shouldn't I?"

"Yes. And I have to tell my wife her older brother has gone off the deep end."

It was impossible for Bella to sleep that night. She couldn't get comfortable, and every time she closed her eyes, she saw George in front of her, trying to smile innocently, but there was something sinister in his expression.

The next morning, the bags were dark and deep under her eyes, and no makeup could conceal them completely. After several tries, she gave up.

Edward called her while she drank her coffee and hearing his voice instantly made her feel better.

"I wish you would have let me come over last night," he said. He wasn't happy she'd insisted on sleeping alone in her apartment after rejecting his offer to go back to his house.

"I can't rely on you for everything, Edward," she said. "I'm an adult woman, and I should be able to sleep alone in my own apartment."

"But you didn't sleep," he reminded her. "And it's okay to be afraid and need the comfort. It doesn't make you any less of an adult or any less independent." He sighed and she could practically see him rub his eyes in frustration. "Bella, I love that you're self-sufficient and want to stand on your own. I respect you so much for that, but I don't want you to put yourself in harm's way or feel unsafe just to prove a point."

She didn't reply because he had once again understood the core of her feelings, and it was almost as if he could read her mind. She was trying to prove a point, but not to him, or even herself. She wanted to prove to George that he could try to intimidate her as much as he wanted, but he wasn't controlling her.

"Please, Bella, don't be reckless," Edward pleaded again. "I know you don't want us to live together yet, but would you be willing to compromise?"

"How?"

"Alice has a small bedroom at her office. She uses it when she works late on her new collection, but she's offered it to you. You're welcome to live there until they've caught George."

"But who knows how long that can take," she said, not completely averse to the idea since Alice's office wasn't far from Edward's house. She would feel safer closer to him, and she'd still have her space when they needed to recoup from too much quality time.

"Hopefully, with this new evidence, they'll put surveillance on your building. If he goes back there, they should be able to bring him in for questioning."

"Questioning isn't an arrest, though." She grabbed her purse and started to put on her shoes. She was working at the Chronicle today, but she had warned Jasper she'd take less shifts now because she wanted to focus on her freelancing. She had even started glancing at potential studios for rent where she could open her own business.

"No, but you know why they can't arrest him. You haven't pressed any charges."

Bella sulked. "I'll have to settle for a restraining order fi—Aah!"

"Bella, are you okay? What happened?" Edward almost crushed his phone when he tensed up at the sound of Bella's scream.

"I'm okay. I'm okay," she quickly assured him, and he relaxed ever so slightly. "Sorry for screaming in your ear."

"What happened?" he repeated without acknowledging her apology as he found it absurd.

"He's been here," she breathed out. "There's a bouquet outside my door."

"I'm coming over."

"No, you're not," she ordered. "You're at work and your bosses would kill you. Besides, I'm leaving anyway. I'm going to the Chronicle and I'll call Carmichael on the way." With shaking hands, she reached out for the card nestled between the—thankfully alive—wildflowers.

I'm sorry about your door. I've missed you. Where have you been?

"I'm ending this, Edward," she said and clenched her jaw. "I'm going back to the police station after work."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

Bella's first instinct was to say no, but before she got the word out, she decided otherwise. "Yes, please."

"Then I'll come get you at the Chronicle. Wait for me there."

"I will."

~~LiS~~

A couple of weeks went by, luckily incident free, but Bella remained on her toes. The official report against George had most likely reached his knowledge, and she doubted he was particularly happy about it.

Still, she spent half her nights at Alice's office, and half at Edward's house. The apartment she'd loved so much became a shell and she only went there to change out the clothes in her bag.

George had effectively chased her out of her own home, and she hated him for it.

And then, in the middle of the shitstorm that was her life, another consequence of her actions reared up, and she could have banged her head against the wall over her own stupidity.

When Edward came home that night, she was sitting on his staircase, holding the offending piece of plastic that had promised to change both their lives.

"Bella?"

She hadn't told him she was coming over so his confusion wasn't unexpected. Yet, she couldn't get anything else out but a sigh.

"What's wrong?" he asked and sat down next to her after he'd hung up his coat. His hair was glistening from the lightly falling snow outside, and it made her smile for a moment. But then, she offered him the stick, and he looked at it for a long time. "Is this?"

"Yep," she confirmed and got up. Her feet steered her toward the kitchen and Edward followed hot on her heels. "That's me getting the award for most irresponsible person of the year."

Edward looked back at the little white stick and the two lines that now meant everything to him. "This isn't all your fault," he said, but Bella immediately held up her hand to stop him.

"Don't do that," she asked and shook her head at him. "You don't have to take any blame off me to make me feel better. I know this is on me."

"We both made a choice," he reminded her. "And we both knew this was a risk," he said and held up the pregnancy test in the air.

Bella poured herself a big glass of water and sat down by the table. "Yes, I just didn't take your super sperm into consideration."

"Super sperm?"

She rolled her eyes at his amused expression. "How many other guys can say they didn't just get their girlfriend pregnant on the first go, but the time before that, they managed to do the same despite a condom?" She took a sip of the water, trying to quench the parched feeling in her throat. "I'm telling you, your sperm aren't normal."

Edward sat down opposite her and took her free hand in his. "I know this isn't ideal. We've only been back together for a little over two months, we don't live together, and we're a long way from marriage, but just like you said that morning, I will be with you every step of the way. This won't be like last time."

"So you don't want me to remove it?" she asked and squeezed his hand. The thought of an abortion scared her, but she also knew that if they wouldn't be able to work it out, the best course of action would be to terminate the pregnancy.

She would never be able to go through an adoption process.

He kissed their entwined fingers. "Absolutely not. No matter how inconveniently it was conceived, that little clump of cells will become our baby. And I know I've wanted a family with you far longer than what might be deemed healthy, but weirdly enough, this feels right. Doesn't it?"

She smiled at him. "Weirdly enough … yeah, it does."

Edward rose from his seat and used their still connected hands to get her to stand up as well. Then he pulled her into his embrace and buried his nose in her hair.

"We'll work it out. I promise you that."

At that moment, being enveloped in Edward's warmth and feeling happier and more content than she'd been since Christmas, Bella could almost forget the threat named George.

Almost.

A/N:

This is the last update for a while!

Those of you who read the last update's AN know why as well as those of you who follow me on Facebook.

My group, MarieCarro's Creative Corner, will be managed by Steph B. Harpy (BitterHarpy) and Sally Hopkinson (Alice's White Rabbit) in my absence. I trust them wholeheartedly.

I will miss you, and I will miss this fandom while I'm gone, but I can't allow any distractions right now and I thank you so much for understanding.

Until I see you next time,

Stay Awesome!