Thank you everyone for the reviews. I appreciate all of them (of course, excepting the trolls)
Also, a BIG thank you to Gabby for all the suggestions and help.
Ready for Bella's first family dinner?
Edward hurried out of the house, only to stop in his tracks in the middle of the driveway. They had made the mistake to nap after eating a light lunch, which made them late for Saturday dinner at his family's house. They weren't late yet, though, they were pushing their luck.
The twenty minutes car ride couldn't be covered in only ten minutes. His mother didn't like tardiness.
Bella had somehow gotten ready faster than him, and said she'd wait with Felix.
What Edward hadn't expected was to find Felix and Bella sharing a cigarette against the hood of the Caddy. She'd mentioned the previous day she smoked, but Edward had yet to see it. She had to be doing it seldom, because he'd have noticed it earlier in their relationship. He never did, though.
"I'm ready," he said, announcing his presence.
Bella passed the cigarette to Felix, pushing away from the car. She had on a dress that he'd rather not see on her body. It didn't become her at all, but she'd insisted it was one of her most decent dresses. It was a simple black dress with a few red lines across her chest and around the waistline, which thankfully showed her slender figure, though the length of dress was over her knees. Not even his mother wore such atrocious clothes.
Edward joined Bella, taking her hand, aware the heels on her feet were her nemesis. He assisted her inside the car, before he turned to Felix.
"Maybe we could stop by the flower shop on the way," he suggested.
"I thought we were going to be late," Felix said, confused.
"Might as well do it thoroughly," Edward laughed. "Mom might forgive us if she sees us with her favorite flowers."
"Sure, sir."
Edward climbed in beside Bella, while Felix took his seat behind the wheel. When Felix pulled away slowly, almost crawling to the highway, Edward groaned.
"Our stop doesn't mean you still don't have to hurry. She said six-thirty. We'll never be there in fifteen minutes, but I'd rather not be more late than we're already going to be."
Felix nodded, shifting the gear and accelerating.
A shot of adrenaline coursed through Edward's veins, but it was the wrong kind of thrill. It was the worst kind – the one he usually got right after the accident.
Bella linked their hands between their bodies, leaning into his side. "I'm nervous," she admitted.
It was all he needed as a distraction – small talk.
"We talked about this. You've already met them," he reminded her quietly.
"Yeah, but it feels more official now."
"Stop being silly."
"Have you talked to your sister about me? Has she changed her opinion?" Bella chewed on her lip.
"Bella, they'll get to know you tonight and whatever preconceived idea they might have had…it will be gone." Edward rubbed her arm, kissing her head.
"Should I buy the flowers, sir?" Felix's question pulled Edward from his thoughts.
They had already arrived at the flower shop, which meant, he was better left in the dark at how fast Felix had driven.
"You know what she likes," Edward answered. He handed Felix his credit card. "Make sure they wrap it up nicely."
Bella moaned in protest. "We're already late. You think flowers would absolve us of the trouble we might be in? She'd probably blame me."
"Hey, I want you to stop worrying about this. I have a pretty good feeling that my parents already like you. Rose…she'll warm up. She never made friends easily."
Bella mumbled something under her breath, which amused Edward. He could only guess the dislike was mutual. He'd have to team up with Emmett and make sure the girls got along.
Rose was worse than his mother when it came to the girls Edward dated. She had always criticized them, finding them not good enough for her little brother. While, his mother had been understanding and trying to talk sense into Rose that it was Edward's life.
Truth to be told, they had met only a handful of the girls he'd had in his life. All the encounters had been a mistake, starting from his first girlfriend in high school, following through some unfortunate events that led either his mom or his sister visiting him while he was walking out the Sub of the weekend, and ending with how they had found out he was dating Angela. They had thought her nothing more than his assistant, until Rosalie had dropped by at his office. She had walked in on them kissing on top of his desk.
If Edward was honest to himself, the way he'd introduced Bella to his family was the usual, normal way. And if they had something against the way Bella earned her living, he couldn't wait to see what Bella had to say about it.
Hopefully, Bella would be herself that evening, even though, everything pointed out that she was trying the tame kitten act to impress his family.
Felix returned, placing the large bouquet of lilies on the passenger seat. He handed Edward his card, before pulling out in the light evening traffic.
"How late are we?" Bella whispered, staring at the flowers. "Is your mom usually mad if you show up late?"
"She's not a fan of tardiness. I might make this bigger than it is, or maybe it's me not liking to be late somewhere." Edward shrugged. "I did show up thirty minutes late one time, but I had a good reason. My plane had been delayed. I was visiting from college, back then."
Bella nodded, turning her head away. Her shoulders were tense, and her hand clutched his tightly.
"Relax, please." He rubbed his thumb over the top of her hand.
"They'll hate me. Look at you – accomplished business man with a college degree, and look at me." She scowled, turning to stare at him. Tears pooled into her eyes. "I didn't even finish high school, Edward! I work in a bar."
"Stop this," he hissed. "If you think any of that matters…"
"It does to me. I think it bugged me from the beginning, but I tried to forget it."
Edward held her face between his palms, pressing his forehead against hers. "It doesn't matter to me. Not having a degree doesn't disqualify you from being smart and still having an honest job. Please, Bella. Stop thinking like this."
A tear slipped from her left eye, rolling down her nose. "It's how I think…how everyone thinks."
"Stop," he demanded, narrowing his eyes at her.
Bella pulled away, wiping the heel of her palm under her eyes. "Is that an order?"
"Is that what you think? That I'm going to order you to not think so lowly of yourself?"
"You can't change the way I think. So, let me ask you again: are you ordering me to stop thinking rationally? Because, I know what everyone you know is going to think of me when they hear I'm a drop-out and a bartender."
Edward curled his hands into fists, a surge of anger coursing through his veins. It was only that asshole of her brother's fault she was thinking such things of herself.
"You wouldn't have dropped out of high school if your life had been different. You handled things the only way you knew at that age with no one else around to help you. You aren't a mere bartender, Bella. You own that pub. You kept the business going, even though you could have sold it and moved away with the money you got. You could have started new. But you didn't. You kept fighting," he spat.
Bella watched him with wide eyes. It was clear that she finally saw herself in a new light, because there was a spark of confidence on her face.
Edward took one of her hand, squeezing it. "So, please, stop putting yourself down. You didn't deserve anything that happened to you, but you kept on fighting."
"I guess you're right," she whispered.
"So, if my sister or mother say anything to you, I want you stand up for yourself. Trust me, you don't want me to get into that argument with them."
A small smile appeared at the corner of her mouth. Edward leaned closer to kiss her.
"We're here," Felix announced to them, breaking the spell.
"Shit!" Bella cried out. "How do I look?" She dug through her clutch, retrieving a small mirror. "Go on. I'll join you in a minute."
"Are you sure? You look fine," he insisted.
"My eyes are blotchy and a have mascara lines on my nose. I'm not fine."
Edward frowned. His Bella wouldn't have cared what she looked like, but he understood that she was trying to win his family. He liked to think that she'd already won his parents, at least, at the wedding.
Edward grabbed the flowers from the front seat, meeting Felix's eyes. "Bring Bella inside when she'd ready," he whispered. Felix nodded, with a concerned look in his eyes.
Edward could only guess what Felix must be thinking after hearing their argument, but he wouldn't judge. Edward knew for a fact that Felix could have a talk with Bella about how far high school drop-outs got, since he was one himself. Felix's background was shadowed by wrong decisions at every turn, until he'd enlisted his name as bodyguard for the agency Edward usually selected his security. It hadn't taken long for Edward to hire Felix as his personal driver and bodyguard.
Edward stepped into his parents' house, checking the kitchen first. His mother was at the stove, but her eyes were out the window.
"Good evening, Mom," he said in greeting, offering her the flowers.
She turned to smile at him. "Alone again?" She frowned, glancing back at the car.
Edward cleared his throat. "Bella will join us in a minute."
His mom placed the bouquet in a vase sitting on the counter, acting peculiar. She hadn't once attempted to hug him, which was out of character.
"Okay, what's going on?" Edward muttered, leaning against a wall.
"Try not to fight with your sister, please. She wasn't pleased when she heard you were bringing your girlfriend."
"Maybe she should get down from that high horse she's riding and—"
His mom narrowed her eyes at him. "She's not the only one concerned."
"Why? Because you think it's too soon? Because you think Bella's not good for me? I'd like to hear what you have to say now, so I decide whether we stay for dinner or not."
"See, I told you, Mom. He's all defensive about her, like she's done something wrong. Which, it wouldn't surprise me." Rosalie joined them, stopping next to Edward. "If that chick is your healing band aid, you better rip it off before it's too late."
Edward turned to face his sister, glaring at her. "If I hear one more bad word about Bella from either of you," he glanced at his mom, "I'm gone." He hoped there was no need to explain that he'd never return if he left.
The front door opened, and Edward braced himself for more hatred coming from Rosalie's mouth.
Before she could do any more damage, Edward focused on Felix's voice. Something was wrong.
"Come on. Through here. You never listen, do you?"
Edward shouldered his way out of the kitchen past his sister, stopping in the entry way. Bella was leaning against Felix, her face red in embarrassment. Felix was carrying her shoes, which made Edward check Bella's feet. Her right ankle was swollen, which meant she had somehow managed to twist it on the short walk from the car to the house.
"What am I going to do with you?" Edward groaned, going to her side. He placed an arm under her knees and the other around her back, before lifting her up. "Tell Dad to come to my room," he told Rose, over his shoulder, as he went up the stairs slowly.
"I guess this is the last time I wear heels," Bella mumbled against his neck.
"Do I want to know how you managed?" he chuckled, elbowing the door of his old bedroom open. He placed her on the small bed.
"When I got out of the car. I don't know how but my ankle just slipped."
"Christ." Edward ran a hand through his hair.
There was a knock on the open door, and he turned to find his sister there. She had a bag of frozen baby carrots in her hand.
"Dad's been on the phone for a while now. It's the hospital. Until he can check her up…" Rosalie advanced into the room, handing Bella the frozen bag.
"Let me grab you a towel. If you put the bag on your skin, it will be too cold," Edward suggested.
He wanted to ask Rosalie if that had been her idea, or their mom had pushed her to do some good deed. He tried to move as fast as possible in his quest for a towel, knowing that Bella wasn't comfortable around his sister.
When he returned to his old room, Emmett had joined the girls. Bella was leaning against the headboard with her foot on top of three pillows.
"Bro, Bella's tough. Don't worry," Emmett said, probably noticing the concerned look on Edward's face.
"I know that, Emmett." He wrapped the frozen bag in the towel, slowly pressing it to Bella's ankle. "Hurts?"
"I'm used to this. But yeah, it hurts. I hope I didn't break it," she mumbled.
Rosalie rubbed her husband's shoulders, meeting Edward's eyes. "Why don't you two go and see if Mom needs any more help? I'll keep Bella company until Dad comes to check her leg."
"You don't have to. I can wait by myself," Bella mumbled, her cheeks turning redder.
"Nonsense! I'd like to get to know you better." Rose dismissed her words with a wave of hand. "Out, you two!"
Edward frowned, not one to take orders from others. He sat by Bella's side, stroking her cheek. "Will you be okay?"
"Yeah. Trust me." Her brown eyes held confidence, which eased his mind.
"Okay." Edward kissed her forehead, before leading the way out of his room.
"Rosie just wants to talk her. I saw the way she looked at you when you noticed Bella was hurt downstairs. I think she finally figured out how much you care for Bella," Emmett said quietly.
"Em, I love her," Edward replied.
Emmett grinned, then he clapped Edward's back, making him wince and elbow the oaf in the stomach. He'd never learn boundaries.
It's about time for everyone to see Bella for the strong woman she is...including Rosalie.
Before you accuse Edward of abandoning her, remember that he trusts her and she's able to handle herself. :)