Stolen Dreams
Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight. I own this. Please do not use without permission.
A/N: ::Peeks out from behind the screen:: Is anyone still there? I am so sorry that this has taken so long. I wish I had a good excuse other than not really knowing where to go with it. Now, though, I think I've got my flow back (crossing my fingers . . . and toes). Thank you so much for being patient with me and checking in without hounding me. I appreciate that more than you can imagine. Thanks also to Jenny Cullen for betaing this so quickly when I asked.
I'm going to stop now. Please read below.
Chapter 37
After forty-five minutes of pictures, I was more than ready to get back to the Cullens' house and to the rest of our family and friends. Mom had insisted on so many pictures that I'd completely lost track. It was a good thing that the photographer's camera was digital because I didn't want to imagine how much film he would have wasted.
Esme had outdone herself. White swaths of fabric and white bows were draped along the tree branches, creating a clear pathway up the drive and into the backyard. In the natural shadows, I could see the twinkling of tiny Christmas lights embedded in the material and in the dark green leaves.
The backyard was gorgeous in its simplicity. Round tables covered in white table cloths and dark red satin ribbon surrounded a dance floor, and the long banquet tables sat underneath a tent along the back of the house.
Most of our guests milled around the bar as they awaited our arrival, and more than one looked relieved when the DJ switched off the music and called for everyone's attention. "May I have your attention for a moment, please? It is my great honor to welcome Mr. and Mrs. Edward Masen."
As we stepped around the corner of the house and onto the dance floor, we could hear the cat calls and hollers of our friends. I flushed but maintained my composure until Emmett's voice rose above the rest.
"It's about damn time, too!"
Rose smacked him on the back of the head as both Edward and I laughed. He was right, after all. It was about time.
We went through the stereotypical reception things: first dance, toasts, cake. As wonderful as it was, though, every time I looked at Edward, all I wanted to do was get him alone. Things had been so off-kilter through the summer, but especially these last few weeks, that I felt like we hadn't had any time just for the two of us. Tonight, I was determined to make up for that lost time. And by the look in his eyes, I had a feeling that Edward felt the same way.
Ryan laughed with our families, and he'd charmed my mother by the end of the night. It wasn't hard for him, after all—he was pretty loveable.
"Are you ready to go?" Edward whispered into my ear as he wrapped his arms around me from behind. I was standing on the edge of the dance floor, swaying slightly as I watched Rose and Alice dance to some pop song I'd never heard.
"Mmm-hmm," I hummed, nuzzling into his neck. "Where are we going?" Edward had refused to tell me where he'd settled on for our one-night honeymoon.
I felt him smirk against the top of my head. "Nope. You'll see when we get there. Personally, I'd like to get there sooner rather than later. In fact, I've already got your suitcase in the car."
His huskily-spoken words sent a thrill through me, and I could feel the neglected parts of me come back alive. I was pretty sure that I hadn't moved that fast in a very long time—not even when I'd been late getting up in that morning.
I hugged my mother and Phil and thanked them both for coming.
Dad hugged me tightly and then shook Edward's hand. "Take good care of my little girl, Edward," Dad said, his throat suspiciously tight. "It won't matter where you go if you hurt her again. I'll hunt you don't myself."
"That won't be necessary," Edward assured him. "If I hurt her like that again, you'll find me on your front porch waiting."
While I appreciated the sentiment, it wasn't the time for them to remind me of the worst period of my life. I rolled my eyes and turned to my new in-laws.
"Bella," Elizabeth murmured as she hugged me. "I'm so glad that you are truly my daughter now. Nothing I say or do can ever make up for abandoning you, but I'll do my best to make sure you know how much I love you for rest of my life. And whatever the two of you need, we'll be there to support you."
"Thank you, Elizabeth," I whispered. Her genuine remorse would never erase our past, but it at least gave me hope that we could move on.
Ed hugged me as well just before Edward and I were accosted by our son.
"Ma, Dad, are you leaving already?" Ryan asked incredulously. "Your party is just getting started!"
Jasper, who was standing just near enough to hear him, snorted. "They've got a party for two waiting for them," he said under his breath.
Edward heard him and smirked. He leaned down so his face was level with Ryan's. "Yeah, bud. Remember, we've still got to drive tonight." Edward winked at him, and Ryan's grin was huge. Clearly, he was also in on the honeymoon-night surprise.
After so many hugs and promises by my dad, Esme, Carlisle, and Tanya to see us the next day for the show, Edward and I packed into his car and pulled away with a wave.
"Are you going to tell me where we are going now?" I asked. I'd been pestering him about it since he told me he wanted it plan it as a surprise.
"Nope. You'll see when we get there," he told me. "I couldn't make the flight times work for a trip to Bermuda. We wouldn't get back in time for the airing tomorrow."
I laughed. It would figure that he would remember. At sixteen, I'd thought Bermuda sounded like the most beautiful and exotic place in the world; Edward had kissed my hand and told me he'd take me on our honeymoon. "No, I don't think Bermuda is going to work."
"I promise I'll still take you there someday," Edward vowed solemnly, lifting my hand and kissing it. "For now, though, we're here."
While I was focused on our conversation, Edward had pulled the car down a long, tree-lined drive. At the end, in a wide clearing, stood a Victorian-style home with a wide covered porch and its own porch swing. Several of the windows along the front were open, and their curtains were billowing slightly in the light breeze.
"Where are we?" I breathed in shock.
Edward turned toward me after parking off to the side in what was clearly a designated parking area and took my hand. "I found this bed and breakfast—actually, Emmett told me about it. His mom used to come up here when she wanted to get away for a little while. I thought it would be perfect since we only have tonight." His expression was a mixture of hope, ruefulness, anxiety, and sadness.
I knew how he felt—the emotions warred within me every time I thought about it. We should have had a week to spend solely on each other, devoting our time to our love and new marriage. Instead, tomorrow, we would be thrust back into the craziness of our life. We would watch the interview about Ryan's kidnapping with his adoptive parents, and then when we returned home, Edward would go back on active duty for God knew how long.
I locked those thoughts away because we did have tonight. I was determined to make the best of it and enjoy every inch of my new husband.
"It's perfect," I reassured him with a smile. "We aren't waking them up, are we?" It was after ten at night.
He laughed as he opened his door and swung his legs out of the car. "No, sweetheart. I did tell them we would be late."
Edward unloaded our luggage, helped me out of the car, and within minutes, we were standing on the doorstep. A thin, older woman with styled gray hair opened the door with a wide smile.
"You must be Edward and Bella. I'm Lena Marston, the owner of Pine Grove." Her voice was soft and kind, the perfect salve to the hectic day we'd had. "Come on in, and I'll show up to your room. I'm sure you're tired after a very long day." She winked and smiled before turning for the stairs.
The house was beautifully appointed, but still cozy. At least, that was my impression of the darkened house as we passed through. "Don't we need to check in or something?" I whispered to Edward.
"No," he answered with a smile. "I checked in before the wedding. I knew it would be late, and I didn't want to hold things up any longer than necessary."
"Smart man."
"Horny man," he responded with a snort, so low that only I could hear him. I laughed in response and shook my head.
Lena stopped in front of the last door at the end of the hallway. "You're the only guests here tonight. Your bathroom is attached, and breakfast will be served at ten, as requested. If you need anything, my husband, John, and I will be downstairs on the other side of the kitchen."
"Thank you, Mrs. Marston," Edward said. I was too awestruck at his planning to respond. "We'll see you in the morning."
She smiled her sweet, grandmotherly smile again, patted my arm, and strode back down the hall. Edward took a deep breath and turned to face me, the door in front of us still closed. For some inexplicable reason, nerves fluttered in my stomach like butterflies. Judging by the look on Edward's face, he was feeling them, too. It was completely ridiculous, as it certainly wasn't our first time—we had a ten-year-old for Christ's sake.
I finally reached out and turned the knob, revealing blue walls with white trim. Edward grinned mischievously at me and stooped, sweeping one arm under my knees and the other behind my shoulders.
"What are you doing?" I screeched, scrabbling frantically to get my arms around his neck. My dress spilled over the crook of his arm, and his smile grew even wider.
"Now, what kind of husband would I be if I didn't carry you over the threshold?"
I rolled my eyes but matched his smile with a loving one of my own. "Isn't that supposed to be the threshold of our home?" I asked as he took a step into the room.
"Eh, good enough for tonight. Don't challenge me, woman. I'll do this again tomorrow." He laughed and set me on my feet. Once he was free of me and my gown, he set our bags on a small settee near the window.
The room was perfect for a small bed and breakfast near the Pacific Coast. Pictures of various lighthouses dotted the walls, along with various shots of sea birds and waves. The quilt covering the large, four-poster bed had a red and white lighthouse in the center with oddly-shaped blue pieces of various shades surrounding it. White lacy curtains hung in the windows, and candles sat on every available surface. It occurred to me that they looked rather out of place, but all thoughts of décor left my mind when Edward slipped his arms around my waist and pressed the hard planes of his body against my back.
With an almost inaudible groan, I leaned my head back on his chest and turned my face toward him. His lips met mine eagerly. There was a charge, a spark, that I'd never felt before; it heightened the anticipation and each touch. My fingers were snaking through his shorter-than-normal hair before I'd even realized I'd moved them.
Edward clutched me tighter, and his hands began to roam across the front of my body. Each pass was like a live wire jumping and sparking through my body; I wanted, I yearned...yet, I was exactly where I wanted to be.
Our mouths broke apart, both of us breathing heavily but unable to move more than a few millimeters away from each other. "Do you need to change or anything?" he whispered against my lips.
I nodded, brushing our noses together as I did so.
"Then you'd better go do it now," he ordered softly, "or there isn't going to be much left of this fantastic dress."
I laughed and shook my head, finally pulling away. That broke the spell, and both of us headed to the connected bathroom. My bag came with me, as I had my own surprises for him.
Clearly, the Marstons had spent a pretty penny renovating the place, and they hadn't spared any expense on this bathroom. There was an enormous garden tub surrounded with candles and a double sink. The toilet sat off to the side of the bathtub, and I chuckled to myself as Edward made a beeline for it. Not even married for eight hours, and nothing was off limits—of course, it wasn't like he hadn't peed in front of me before, but still.
"Can you help me with my dress?" I asked after pulling yet another handful of bobby pins from my hair. There was a zipper down the back that I couldn't quite reach.
Edward stepped up behind me and trailed his fingers down my back as he lowered the zipper. I held the dress up in the front and watched him as he walked into the bedroom and shut the door behind him. Quickly, I shucked the dress and hung it on the hanger I pulled from my bag. Underneath my clothes for the next day were two boudoir sets. When Alice and I had gone shopping, I hadn't been able to decide if I wanted to go for the traditional pure white set or a more fun and flirty black number. We'd argued the merits of each back and forth until I'd said "screw it" and bought them both.
Faced with my wedding night and my new husband on the other side of the door, I was thankful that I'd purchased the white set. There was something about the start of our marriage and the depth of our love for each other that warranted the purity of the white gown. I slipped the thong on, muttering a bit about the discomfort, and carefully slipped the white satin and lace gown over my head.
Okay, so pure wasn't the first thing that came to mind as I stared in the mirror. The lace trim dipped low over my breasts, the satin barely concealing my nipples. Not that it mattered. The material was so thin that I could see the dark circles of my areola beneath it. It cut off just above mid thigh and had a cut out of lace in the center over my stomach. Frankly, it didn't leave much to the imagination, but it made me feel pretty, and that was all that really mattered.
I took a deep breath before opening the door. It rushed out in a whoosh as I took in the scene that awaited me. The candles around the room were all lit, providing the only light in the room and giving it a soft glow. Edward had turned down the quilt and was lying underneath the sheets with only his bare chest visible. He was staring at me like a starving man staring at the finest steak, and I could feel my body heat in response. It was a heady feeling, being this obviously wanted, even from across the room.
"Dear God, what are you wearing?" he finally asked as I strolled closer to the bed.
"Do you like it?" I sounded shy even as I gave a catwalk turn so he could see the entire ensemble.
"Fucking hell," Edward mumbled. "Come here."
I took that as a yes and clambered onto the bed as fast as I could.
Edward wasted no time in shifting so that he was sitting up against the headboard. The sheet still covered his lap—barely—but I could see every line of muscle in his chest and abdomen. He reached out his hand and guided me over his lap. I was sort of surprised that he had me sit so far down his legs, but as his eyes raked over me, I understood. Heat flashed through my body as my husband eye-fucked me in the best possible way. It was seduction in its highest art form.
"That is . . . it's . . . I don't know enough words to describe how delectable you look right now," he murmured. "It's beauty, and innocence, and pure sex all in one."
"So, I take it you like it?" I asked, feigning shyness.
Edward huffed a laugh and then smirked as I moaned when he ran his hands up my sides and around my back. "Like it? I want to devour you." He licked his lips and looked me up and down again. "Actually, I think I will."
He flipped me over onto my back and dragged his hands over my lace and satin-covered nipples. They responded by hardening even further, reaching for him as his hands trailed even farther down my body. With Edward on his knees in front of me, I had time to admire the rest of him that was now bared to me.
The weeks that he'd been on active duty had been good to his body. Edward had always taken his physical fitness seriously, but the last few weeks had taken that to a level that I'd never witnessed. He was like a lion stalking his prey, the muscles rippling with each movement—and I was his prey. I was fairly sure I'd never been happier to be on the receiving end.
My back lifted off the bed when his lips skimmed across the juncture of my thighs. Within seconds, my world had shrunk down to simply the sensations coursing through my body. Fingers pumped in and out of me while Edward licked and sucked at the tender flesh.
"That's it, baby, come for me," I heard Edward whisper just before white spots exploded in front of my eyes and I free fell into ecstasy.
As I came down from my high, I felt Edward kiss my inner thighs reverently. I opened my eyes just enough to see him sit back on his knees and gaze at me with the most tender expression.
"I love you, Bella," he said simply. "Thank you for marrying me today and making me the happiest man on this Earth."
I shook my head, knowing that I was the lucky one to have found someone that loved me so much. When I started my rebuttal, he laid one finger gently across my lips and shushed me. "Perhaps we can agree, then, that we are both so damn lucky to have found each other again."
I nodded in agreement and took the hand he offered to help me sit up.
Edward's hands fiddled with the bottom of my slip. "As lovely as this is, it has to go. I want it to be just you and me."
I raised my hands above my head as he lifted the gown off, and then I wound them around his neck and met his lips in a passionate kiss.
Our hands roamed each other's bodies, learning, touching, caressing, as we lost ourselves in our lovemaking. When we finally joined completely, it was slow, measured, sweet, and everything I ever dreamed it would be. And though we had made love many times, both when we were young and since we'd come back together, there was something different, special about making love to my husband. It seemed impossible to me that a few simple words and a signed piece of paper could ever make this much difference, but somehow, it did.
My second orgasm wasn't as violent as the first; it crested in waves and broke over me time after time. Edward's pace faltered slightly, and he groaned into my mouth as his own release overtook him. His arms gave out, and his body sank onto mine. I knew it wouldn't be long before he worried about crushing me, but I loved feeling his weight over me, to know that I was completely surrounded and cared for by him.
The enormity of my emotions hit me, and tears leaked from eyes. "I love you, Edward. I love you so much," I whispered into his ear as my fingers threaded through his hair.
"Oh, Bella," he whispered back with a rueful smile as he raised up and took in my tears. "You are everything to me; you always will be." Edward leaned down and kissed my tear tracks away before pressing his lips to mine.
After several more of those kisses, Edward rolled onto his side and tucked my back into his chest. I'd told him once, many years before, that having him pressed against me and his arms around me was my favorite place in the world, and tonight, despite the sweat and musk that clung to our skin, he held me to him as we fell asleep.
Sun poured through the open window the next morning when we woke. I'd set the alarm for eight thirty so that we could take our time showering and cleaning up before we were expected at breakfast. The sun, however, was too bright for such an early hour, and a quick look at the clock showed that we only had ten minutes before our hosts would have our meal on the table.
"Oh, shit!" I screamed, jolting Edward out of an unusually sound sleep.
"What? What's wrong?" he asked, looking around the room in a panic. "What is it, Bella?"
"We overslept," I cried as I jumped from the bed and scrambled around the room. "I know breakfast is at ten, but what time do we have to be out of here?" I couldn't find the panties I'd been wearing the night before, and since I couldn't remember Edward taking them off, I had no idea where to look.
Edward's hands on my shoulders stopped me, and he turned me to face him. "Relax," he said soothingly. "I'm sure we aren't the first honeymooning couple they've had come late to breakfast, and we don't have to check out until three."
The panic ebbed as quickly as it had set in, and I felt the tension pour out of me as I deflated. "Okay," I said. "But I still don't think we have time for any . . . shenanigans . . . while we shower."
Edward snorted, and his eyes twinkled. "No shenanigans, huh? If you insist. We should still conserve water, though."
"You just want to see me wet and naked," I accused playfully.
He shrugged and smirked at me. "You say that like it's a bad thing." He swatted my ass and walked into the bathroom, waggling his eyebrows as he passed.
I couldn't resist joining him. What started out as joint cleansing turned into more meaningful touches. Needless to say, we were really late to breakfast. The Marstons just smiled knowingly and offered us fresh fruit, waffles, bacon, and sausage along with their knowledge of the area.
There wasn't a lot to do between here and Forks, but Edward had planned ahead and scouted out some spot that he was sure I would love. Hiking through the woods wasn't my favorite idea, but we took it slow and really talked for the first time in awhile. We'd both been so busy, and our lives had changed so much lately that we hadn't stopped to talk about how it impacted our future together.
We both wanted more children sooner rather than later. More than anything, we wanted Ryan with us permanently to make our family complete. This last mission had made Edward realize that his time serving our country was over.
"There's something more important in my life now than my duty to my country," he said. "I can't go overseas and fight like I need to knowing that. As soon as my bid is up, I'm done. Besides, I've already missed watching one of my children grow up; I don't want to miss a moment of the rest."
I certainly wasn't going to argue with him. Actually, I pushed him against a tree and kissed him hard.
When the trail came to an end, we were staring at a rushing creek leading from a waterfall. Huge trees towered overhead, filtering the wan sunlight into speckles across the ground. No one was around, and the only sounds were those of the wildlife. After Edward produced a blanket from his backpack, the sounds of our passion joined those of the birds.
Before I was ready, we were back at the house and packing up our bags. The Marstons wished us well and invited us to stay whenever we wished, despite our tardiness to breakfast. The last part was delivered with a wink, and I knew that I was beet red.
The trip to Forks was quiet. Edward held my hand on the console the entire way, but it was as if the enormity of what was about to happen had just set in.
"Are you ready for this?" Edward asked as he pulled into the Cullens' driveway. An odd string of lights and a bow still hanging in a tree reminded me of happier occasions here not even twenty-four hours before. Now, my entire body was strung tightly for completely different reasons. The driveway was full of cars, which I hadn't really expected. We'd said that we wanted to watch this with our family; I hadn't considered that the Masens, my mom and Phil, and Charlie would join us, as well.
"Looks like the gang's all here," Edward murmured. His eyes stayed trained on the extra cars in the driveway as he opened his door and swung his legs out.
I got out of the car as well, and we walked hand-in-hand to the door. Neither of us spoke; the tension of what we were here for was evident in both of our postures.
Carlisle opened the door just as we got to the porch. His smile was genuine but strained. "Come on in. Everyone's gathered around the TV in the living room. It's almost time."
We followed him into the house and turned the corner into the living room as the ticking of the 60 Minutes stopwatch flowed from the television. We waved our greetings and took a seat together on the couch next to Ryan. He sat between us and the Cullens with his eyes firmly fixed to the television.
Ours wasn't the first story—that was something based in the Middle East about which I cared little. After the commercial break, however, Lesley Stahl appeared on screen, and Ryan grabbed my hand.
We listened as she described "black market baby-selling" as an underground epidemic across the country and provided statistics to back up her assertions. Over the next few weeks, she said she would feature one family impacted by the crime and explore what steps had already been taken to ensure the safety of our nation's children and what more could be done.
Only bits and pieces of our interview made it through the editing process. America got to see Edward and me describe how Ryan's death affected us. Carlisle and Esme shared how overjoyed they were to have him in their lives and how the thought of losing him after ten years was devastating to them. Officials from various child welfare departments around the country weighed in on what standard procedure was in cases like this—most of the time, children are returned to their biological parents without delay. Psychologists that specialized in child trauma and family therapy reported that while keeping children from their biological families was never positive, uprooting older children and placing them in a unfamiliar environment could be just as damaging.
The prosecutor working with the FBI touched on the criminal charges facing Gerandy and what they hoped the outcome would be. Lesley recited statistics on what those usually charged with human trafficking and kidnapping received as punishment but made it clear that each case presented special circumstances. She finished out the piece with Ryan.
"I like having two families," he said. "I know that both sets of parents love me, and I know that I was always wanted. The only bad thing is that I feel like I have to choose between them, and someone is going to get hurt. I have to live somewhere, right? Mom and Dad tell me that they will all be a part of my life, but it has to change now. Because of what that doctor did, my real parents have hurt for ten years, and now all of us will hurt somehow forever."
Carlisle clicked off the set as soon as they cut to commercial break.
"They aren't going to just send me off, are they?" Ryan asked, panic and torment clear in his voice. "I mean, that judge said that I got to choose, right? Those people said that they just return kids to the family they were born into."
"Each case is different, Ry," Edward said patiently. "For now, the court is taking into consideration what you want to do. But would it be so horrible to come live with us?"
"No, but I don't want to," Ryan answered. My heart cracked, and my breath stuttered. "I love you, but it's too much right now. I know where I fit here and how my family works. I can't . . . I can't do this." He yanked his hand from mine and thundered up the stairs. His bedroom door slammed shut, and the sound echoed in the silence left by his pronouncement.
My mother at least had the grace to not tell us that she told us so. She gave me a sad smile and pulled me up into a hug. "I love you, sweetie. We're going to head on out of town tonight. Don't worry. It will all work out," she whispered and then kissed the side of my head.
Dad and the Masens also chose that moment to get the hell out of Dodge, not that I blamed them. The sounds of goodbyes and the well wishes filled the foyer for several minutes, giving me something to concentrate on other than the fact that my son was choosing to live with someone else.
"Jacob warned me that this could happen when I picked Ryan up the other day," Esme said ruefully once the last extra family member had pulled away and we had taken our usual seats in the kitchen. When I started to question what she meant, she clarified. "He said that Ryan was feeling very pressured and wasn't handling the changes as well as he was leading us to believe. Though Ryan hadn't said so in as many words, he believed that Ryan felt his life was out of control and said not to be surprised if he sought out something familiar for comfort. Honestly, though, I was expecting to see his baby blanket on his bed, not this."
I sighed and squeezed Edward's hand. "I wish I could say that I was surprised. Even knowing that he would eventually have to let it out, I wasn't prepared for how much that hurt to hear."
We all agreed that he hadn't meant for his comment to be hurtful and that we would have to figure out ways to let him know that we all loved him regardless of where he lived right now. It was going to take more working together on our parts, but to have Ryan happy and less stressed, it was worth the effort.
Ryan still hadn't come downstairs an hour later, and Edward and I had to get on the road. We'd already loaded all of our stuff in his car and delayed our return to Seattle as long as we could.
"Go on up," Carlisle suggested when it was clear that Ryan had no intentions of responding to our yells.
Edward had been as understanding as he could be up to this point, but Ryan's behavior had pushed Edward to his limit. I could see it in the set of his shoulders as he marched up the stairs.
"Edward, please, don't yell at him," I begged. "We talked about this, knew he was going to have trouble with it at some point."
"I'm not going to yell at him," he answered in a strained voice. "But he cannot be allowed to get away with treating us this way. We have to set limits, too. This is mine." He banged on the door with his fist until Ryan swung it open.
Ryan's eyes were red, and he couldn't meet either of our eyes. He stared at his feet instead.
"We're leaving, Ryan," Edward said simply.
Ryan's head snapped up. "What? No! I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I'll go live with you if you want me to!" The words were rushed together in his panic.
Edward and I looked at each other, confused as to what was going through his brain.
"Slow down, Ryan. We're just going home. No one is going to force you to do anything. Your dad has to be back on duty tomorrow—he got a weekend pass for the wedding," I answered.
"You aren't mad?" he asked in a small voice.
Edward breathed out heavily and guided Ryan by the shoulders back to the bed, where they sat together. He appeared to be choosing his words carefully. "You have a right to feel whatever it is you're feeling. It's okay to be confused. What isn't okay is how you've treated us today. You made your mother and me feel terrible; it really hurt our feelings to hear you say that you didn't fit in as a part of our family. We needed to talk about how we're going to handle the school year today, but you wouldn't come downstairs to give us your input. It makes us feel like you really don't want to be with us at all. We love you, Ryan, and always have. We want you to happy, but we want you to be part of our family, too. We don't want to go weeks without seeing you."
"I don't want that, either." Ryan shook his head emphatically. "I didn't mean to make you feel bad. I just thought you'd be mad at me for saying I want to stay here."
I pushed off the door frame I was leaning against and walked over to Ryan, crouching down so that we could see eye to eye. "We aren't mad at you for that. It hurt to hear you say that you didn't want to live with us, but we do understand. There have been a lot of changes in your life over the last five months. It's hard for us to keep up sometimes. What we don't want you to do is shut us out. Talk to us about how you feel and what you want. As your parents, we will always do what is in your best interest, but we will always take into account what you want."
Ryan nodded. "I'm sorry, Ma. I love you." He threw his arms around my neck, and I hugged him tight. It never got old feeling my son in my arms.
Once he released me, he apologized to Edward and hugged him, too.
"We'll see you in a couple of weeks, bud," Edward promised.
I hoped that he would be able to keep that promise with his mission the way it had been, but I chose not to point it out in that moment.
Ryan followed us back downstairs and out to the car. A light drizzle had started, so we said our final goodbyes on the porch and then ran to the car. As it usually did, leaving Ryan hurt. It was like tearing a piece of my soul away. And as of right now, there was no end in sight.
Thank you for sticking with me and reading! I hope to have more for you soon. There are a lot of great stories out there to read. Check out everything by LyricalKris—she has a bunch of new stories out and they are all great.
Also, I'm looking for an Edward/Bella polygamy story. Keep in mind that I don't want a polyamory story—I want something more like Big Love. If you know of anything, please let me know!