Chapter 42: Leaving
The pictures Elizabeth showed Bella were hilarious. She never thought Edward was such a cute baby. Bella had only seen a few pictures in his room, but these pictures were too funny.
Elizabeth had a light smile all the time she talked about every picture. There was pure adoration in her eyes and Bella could see memories flying behind her eyes.
"This is his first day home," she whispered, stroking a picture. Edward was so small Bella barely realized it was him. He was in Ed's arms, in the hallway, looking amazed around him. His eyes were the same shocking green as she knew them.
"His eyes never changed," Bella mused.
"Yes, although we'd been warned countless times that they would darken." She nodded, turning the page. She explained every picture. When Bella arrived to a compromising one, Edward appeared next to her, sitting on the armrest of the couch.
"For not taking embarrassing photos of me," he said softly, looking at him mother. Bella already hated his power. He liked to answer unasked – out loud – questions. Then he saw the picture she was looking at. "I take it back," he mumbled.
He was just adorable – about three years old – sitting in the dirt in front of his house, naked and surrounded by toys. But they didn't hold her Edward's interest – he had another toy of his own. His little penis. He looked fascinated by it.
Before Bella could admire the picture more, Edward turned the page, clearing his throat, shooting her a venomous look.
"Oh, come on, you were a cute child."
"I really wish I could see pictures of when you were little," he muttered.
"I have a few. I promise to share them on the first occasion," she told him. His eyes lit up and he nodded quickly.
They turned their attention back to the album on her lap. Every picture spoke a little story and Elizabeth loved to tell it. Sometimes Ed helped her, and only if Edward liked it, he decided to say his part.
They got to a section where he was a little older, surely at elementary school. He was on the beach with three other kids.
"Do you recognize them?" he whispered, moving one finger in circles on her back.
"Should I?"
He chuckled. "They're Jake, Leah and Seth."
"No way!" Bella exclaimed, looking more attentively at the picture.
She recognized them from the next picture. They were playing something in the water. Leah was on Edward's shoulders and Seth was on Jake's, grinning and about to throw the ball at his sister.
Edward laughed. "She never caught that ball. I saw a crab and panicked and lost my footing. We fell quite badly," he whispered.
"Yeah, Harry banned him from La Push for a month. He nearly killed Leah."
"It's not my fault she didn't know how to swim!" Edward defended himself.
"You were banned?" Bella asked, choking up. She couldn't stop laughing.
He narrowed his eyes at her. "Yeah." He pouted.
"How did you get back in their good graces?" she wondered, still stifling her giggles.
Ed chuckled, making Bella turn her attention to him. "In that month came Edward's birthday. So of course, they were here. We trusted the kids to play nicely so we allowed them to play in the back yard."
"That has a bad ending," Bella deduced.
Edward shoved her with his shoulder, probably happy he could do it for a first. She shoved right back.
"It was dusk when Seth and Jacob came to us, panicked. They rushed into a confusing explanation about playing hide and seek and counting until fifty and forgetting numbers so they had to start again… until I asked where Edward and Leah were." Elizabeth laughed at the memory, shaking her head. "That triggered more talking at the same time until Jake covered Seth's mouth and told us that they hid in the forest. It was off limits and Edward knew it."
"I swear I didn't want to go far," Edward mumbled.
"Anyway, when we finally realized that they were probably lost and it was getting dark…we grabbed flashlights and started our search. And searched and searched and found nothing. It was impossible for them to go further than where we were," she said, looking amused at Edward.
"Let me guess, they were in the house already?" Bella asked.
"Oh, that's what I had hoped when we returned home. But they weren't," she said softly.
"Before we could call the police, the phone rang and Benjamin, Ben's grandfather, who owned an ice cream parlor called to announce us that he had something that was ours," Ed laughed. "We pilled in our cars and went there. They were so cute, we couldn't even be mad at them."
Edward looked smug. "I found the way out on my own, but not the right way out," he added sheepishly. "When we crossed the street, I even held her hand and then Benjamin saw us and invited us inside."
"So many bad things could have happened," Bella said in a scolding tone.
"Oh, trust me, Bella. I gave him a lecture I'm sure he never forgot after his stunt," Elizabeth told her. She turned the page. "Here. Look at them."
They had an ice cream cone in hand and smudges of chocolate all over their faces, grinning at the camera. Edward looked proud of himself, while Leah looked a little scared.
"You were like the wannabe bad boy?" Bella teased.
He scoffed. "I was just trying to have fun."
"But your idea of fun was different from the explanation in the dictionary," Ed interjected.
There were many pictures of Edward with his friends, some of him in his room or outside – unaware he was being photographed, and they finally arrived at the ones his mother had taken of the two over the past year. Bella was glad they didn't ask why she showed.
A picture was of them on the couch, working on homework – or Bella was trying to do so while Edward was busy sticking his finger in her ear. Bella had been so annoyed that day. He chuckled from beside her before leaning and kissing her ear. "Sorry," he murmured. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it.
The next photo was of them in the kitchen. She didn't know they were having an audience. Bella was heating up his food and he was staying behind her, squeezing her in his arms, dry humping her actually, whispering dirty things in her ear. She prayed his parents hadn't seen the humping part. When the flash of light had caught their attention, they looked shocked and Edward's face was red.
A few photos later, there was senior prom day. They had worn the same clothes as the previous year – Bella didn't care about what Jessica thought. Or Alice, for that matter. She nearly had a coronary when she heard Bella had worn the dress before. They were at the foot of the stairs in the picture. Edward had an arm around Bella and her head was tucked under his chin. Her eyes were a vivid amber color.
"I have something else. It's yours," Ed said, coming with his laptop and putting it on the coffee table. Bella knew what came next, but Edward didn't. The short movie from the party after graduation.
Edward looked confusedly at the laptop and then at his father. Bella hoped he was concealing his thoughts. The surprise wouldn't be the same if he leaked something. When Ed pressed play on the movie, Edward gasped loudly.
"When did you do that?"
"Graduation party. You were so cute," Bella whispered.
"Please, do not ever allow Emmett to see it. Never," he begged.
Movie Edward giggled and kissed Bella's cheek soundly. "I love you." Then he tugged on his mother, kissing her too then his father, declaring his love for them. Lastly, being in the wrong place at the wrong time, he snatched Ginger off the floor making the cat mewl loudly, probably scared. He kissed his head. "And I love you, too."
"Oh my God!" He groaned from beside her. "Where was the camera?"
"On the mantle place."
He muttered something about being punk'd by his own family before they focused back on the movie where he was telling them about what animals he liked and didn't like.
"Yes," he said seriously. "Snails are really scary. I mean, seriously, four eyes? Carrying their house?" He shuddered. "And bats, no offense, Bella, but they are horrible."
Bella laughed remembering how hard it was too keep a straight face at that moment.
Movie Edward turned to his mother. "Can we buy another parakeet? I swear I won't kill it."
"Afraid we can't, sweetie. You won't, but Ginger will love to have a taste," Elizabeth told him.
"Oh, bummer! Stupid cat! You have your own food!"
Bella pressed her face in his shirt trying in vain to stop laughing. She could feel embarrassment and mortification rolling in waves off of Edward. He stayed still as a statue next to her, gaping at his movie self.
Movie Edward turned his attention to Bella. After countless kisses and silly words, he became rather serious. Bella remembered fearing he was going to throw up.
"Next time we go to our medh-ow," he hiccupped, his nose burning bright red. "We're going to swim butt-naked."
Bella nodded, agreeing to every crazy idea he had, knowing he wasn't going to remember anything in morning. She had been right.
"Jesus! Can we stop this thing?" He moaned.
Ed handed Bella a CD. "It has this movie on it and pictures." His voice was thick with emotion. This was really goodbye.
"I'm so going to piss," movie Edward said from the laptop. He got up and went straight into the doorframe. Bella moved fast to get to him, but no one really paid attention.
Edward snapped the laptop closed. "We are trying to say goodbye, not embarrass me to death!"
"Oh, but you were so amusing, sweetheart," Elizabeth told him.
"I'm glad I amused you, Mom."
And that was all it took for her to come to him and hug him tightly. Bella rubbed his back, whispering – too low for his parents to hear – that he was doing wonderfully. After they said their final goodbyes, Edward grabbed the suitcases and went to the door.
He had just opened the door when Ginger rushed to Edward, rubbing his little head on his shin, mewling loudly. It broke Bella's heart to see the small furball crying.
"Oh, take him with you!" Elizabeth decided when she saw the exchange.
Edward rushed upstairs and returned with Ginger's things in under a minute. "Thank you," he whispered before leaning toward his mom. Bella grasped the back of his shirt, worried.
He groaned, shaking her off him and kissing his mother on the cheek. "I'm going to miss you." He looked at his father. "Both of you."
"We'll miss you too, but the distance is bearable. We will talk over the phone. We know you aren't…dead," she whispered, stroking his cheek.
"Technically, I'm dead," he said dead-panned.
"Come on, jerk. We have to load our cars!" Bella groaned loudly.
"Bye," he whispered again before picking up the suitcases again.
"Goodbye," Bella told them both, hugging them. "I promise to take care of him."
"Goodbye," they said, staying in the doorway of their house as they walked toward the forest. Before they disappeared into the woods, Edward glanced behind one more time, smiling before continuing the walk.
"Are you okay?" she asked, sensing he was on sensory overload.
"This can't be the last time I see them."
"If you want, we can come back in a few years. But we have to be sneaky. Everyone knows we're dead."
"I'd like that very much."
When they arrived in front of the Cullens' house, every car was in the driveway and it was a flurry of activity around there.
"I nearly called you. We're going to be late!" Alice moaned.
"Late where?" Bella asked.
"We'll catch the bad traffic," she went on, whining.
"What are you doing with the cat? Light snack for the road?" Emmett asked, carrying his box with video games.
It was the wrong thing to say to Edward, especially in his fragile state of mind. He jumped on Emmett's back, wrapping his arms around his neck. Emmett shouted in surprise before turning on Edward. They fell to the ground with a loud crash and started wrestling around.
"Are they going to be okay?" Bella asked Alice.
"Yeah." She rolled her eyes, going to the Jeep.
"Boys!" Esme yelled. They froze mid-punch. "Is everything loaded in the cars?"
Emmett shot up, picking his box and zooming to his car. Edward picked the suitcases and turned around slamming into Bella before apologizing, flustered, rushing to his car. She stared after him amazed by what had just happened.
"That's how you should handle men if you don't want trouble," Esme told her. "God knows for how long Emmett has waited for someone to pick on."
"He's found his match in Edward," Bella replied amused when her suddenly neurotic husband appeared next to her, scooping Ginger from her hands, kissing his head soundly before carrying him to his car.
"I hope you're putting him in the cage!" Bella called after him.
"Naturally."
An hour later, they said goodbye to the white house in the forest and to her cottage. After having to play rock, paper, scissors with her kid a.k.a. Edward, he was to drive for the first half of the way to Alaska. They were on the main road of Forks when he took a wrong turn.
"What are you doing?" Bella asked, worried.
"You'll see," he whispered. He stopped the car at the sign that read Welcome to La Push.
"Edward, they don't know…"
"I'm sure Leah told them."
"How do you know that she was there?"
"I could hear you all the time. And besides, I could hear her thoughts." He dialed a number on his phone, waiting. Meanwhile, Bella texted Alice to tell her that they had a little delay. She understood.
"Hello?" Jacob answered the phone tentatively. Poor kid. The dead was calling him.
"Hi, Jake," Edward said softly, tracing the steering wheel.
"Holy fuck! You are alive!"
"Sort of," he mumbled. "Listen…can you come to the sign that reads La Push?"
"Sure thing. When?"
"Now? And bring Lee with you."
Lee? Bella glanced at him, surprised. Who was Lee?
They stepped out of the car, waiting for his friends. She didn't ask about Lee, having a nagging feeling that she already knew who she was. And Bella was right. Not ten minutes later, Jacob and Leah appeared in a small red car.
They walked warily to them until they stopped mere feet away.
"Sheesh," Edward hissed. "You were right," he told Bella, scrunching his nose up.
"Edward!" Jacob exclaimed shocked. "I can't believe it!" He turned to Leah. "You knew this? You don't look one bit surprised!" He accused her.
"I'm sorry. I promised not to let anything out."
"I knew that on her part, the funeral was a bluff, but you too? Seriously, Masen! I fucking cried!"
"I'm sorry, Jake," Edward mumbled.
After several minutes of silence and extreme tension, Bella cleared her throat. "We're leaving town."
"A bit too late. You already broke the treaty!"
"You aren't going to give me that, mutt!" Bella snapped. "I had to save him!"
"You think this is saved? For me, he would have been better six feet under."
"Fuck off, Black!" Edward snapped. "I thought you were okay with this whole thing. You promised me. Do you share his feelings about this?" He snapped at Leah.
"No," she said quickly. "I remember understanding you."
Edward nodded, accepting that. "I really don't want to leave like this. Can we make a compromise or something, Jake? You're my best buddy. Or were."
"Still am, fucker. A couple of weeks ago you promised to return the favor and be the best man at my wedding."
Edward chuckled. "Yep. Cross my heart, swear to die."
"You're so full of it, Masen!" Jacob groaned, taking a tentative step toward the vampires. "Let's try shaking hands, huh?"
Bella watched, worried, aware Edward was a newborn and could hurt him without meaning. It lasted a second. Their palms touched and they hissed, snatching their hands back then laughed loudly.
"We'll keep in touch. Promise," Edward told them, rubbing his hand to his pant leg. "I don't know, Leah…."
Her eyes widened, and Bella slapped her forehead.
"Show off," she muttered under her breath.
Edward smirked. "I can hear your thoughts," he said, making it sound creepy. Bella wanted to slap him.
"Oh," Leah breathed. "But I'd like to try."
"I won't be held responsible if you get hurt."
"Okay, I won't do it," she decided. "We'll talk."
"We will," Edward agreed, waving to them and walking to his side of the car. Bella was inside when she heard Edward gasp and saw him turn around right in time for Leah to jump on him. As if in slow motion, he wrapped her in his arms, both of them shuddering. She hated seeing him restraining himself just to hug her, but she understood. Or so she thought.
"I love you," she whispered into his neck, crying.
Bella didn't want to hear his reply, but of course she did. "I'll always love you, Lee. Take care of Jake. And keep your promise."
She smiled, nodding. "I will." She kissed his cheek before jumping from his arms.
When he was inside the car, he was awfully quiet. After turning the car around, his eyes were on the rear-view mirror looking at his friends.
"Is it always so hard to leave a place?" he asked, finally tearing his eyes off the mirror.
"I wouldn't know," she said in a clipped voice. "I don't get attached to humans."
Edward snorted. "Uh…ex-human right here," he said lightly, pointing to his chest.
Bella couldn't stay mad at him. Not when he was acting all cute. "Ex-human?" She giggled.
He nodded enthusiastically. "It was that or trophy-human."
"That doesn't quite work because it hints that you were still human-"
"Which I'm obviously not."
"Shut up!" Bella groaned. "I'm curious though," she started casually.
"Yeah?" He glanced at her, raising an eyebrow.
"What the hell just happened there with Leah?"
"Fuck if I know! But it felt so damn good." His eyes widened. "Not like that. You know, it was nice to see I could hug her despite the fact that we're natural enemies now. I knew that not even nature could come in between our friendship."
"Why didn't you try that theory with Jacob, as well?"
"Are you jealous, Mrs. Masen?"
"Ah, why must you use that name?"
"It's your name now."
"You know what I mean. Are you always going to dazzle your way out of fights?"
"Do I dazzle you?" he asked, confused.
"Frequently."
"Fantastic." He tore his eyes from the road again and bore his red eyes into her golden ones. "Do I dazzle you now?"
She turned his head to the road with her palm. "Watch the road before you wrap us around a tree," she chided him.
"I have a variety of mushy green tree trunk from where to choose."
"Edward Masen!"
"Shutting up."
"Finally."
