Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. Also, I wanted to get this chapter out on Valentine's, but well... It didn't happen, evidently.
It didn't take long for Edward to be diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder.
It wasn't a severe case by any means —for the most part it hadn't interfered with his daily life, and the truth was he'd just barely met criteria for anxiety. But it was important enough for him to agree to a doctor's appointment and to, reluctantly, accept the diagnosis.
The problem came in Edward's refusal to get treatment.
He didn't believe that he needed anything other than a positive outlook and to persevere. He was adamant about having a good support system and not needing therapy or medication, no matter how much his family and Bella pleaded with him to think otherwise. They spent two weeks straight fighting over it —it took a huge fight for them to stop arguing.
"I don't want to get pumped with meds, and I don't want to talk about my feelings with some quack!"
"Quack? You think that's what a psychologist is, Edward?"
"You know that's not what I meant, Bella."
"No, that is what you meant, and let me tell you one thing Edward Cullen. I have worked too hard in college to become one of those quacks you're so skeptical of right now, so I'd appreciate it if you remembered to respect me and my profession even if you're angry."
Bella had gone back to her dorm, leaving Edward in the crowded restaurant.
It had taken four days, but they'd made up eventually. Edward had shown up at her door with the newest issue of one of her comic books, and she'd cried that she'd really been hurt by him belittling what she was going to do for the rest of her life. He'd apologized profusely, feeling like some narrator had called 'Strike two!' in his fight against anxiety, the first being his insecure outburst.
Strike three had come the last day before spring break started in the form of an F in one of his most beloved classes. His head had been too fuzzy for well over a month now, and now his academic life was starting to suffer.
So he called Dr. Cope, the psychiatrist who had initially diagnosed him, and told her he'd be entering therapy.
They started him out with a low dose of some pill called Paxil, and upon analyzing Edward's case, cognitive-behavioral based music therapy. Dr. Cope asked Edward if he wanted to be part of a six-month trial she was conducting upon learning that he played the piano (which had been a shock to Bella since he'd never mentioned it); it was a small-scale trial, Dr. Cope explained, and he was free to pull out at any time for whatever reason. But she wanted to analyze the effect that the mere act of playing music twenty minutes a day had on anxiety patients, especially those reluctant to go to therapy. He agreed and, after an intense moving day, brought his piano from his house to his apartment.
The change in Edward was staggering.
Honestly, most days Bella swore the piano had more to do with it than the pills, but whatever the case, it felt like Bella had her boyfriend back —and better than ever. It took a while for the effects to start showing themselves, but Dr. Cope explained that the pills were slow-acting. Though Bella always wanted to hear Edward play the piano, he never let her —which had her throwing tantrums any time she could. She didn't care if he sucked; all she wanted was piano se... to be a part of his life.
This wasn't to say he didn't have times of anxiety; everyone has worries sometimes, moments where they can't get a thought out of their heads. But those times are meant to be kept at a minimum, and so it was for Edward. The week of his birthday was especially good; he and Bella took a break from their part time jobs (same as last summer's) to party in Las Vegas. He bought her beer since she wasn't yet 21 and she gave him an architect's watch; it had a ruler and a pen pointing to the time. He loved it, but he loved more the girlfriend who knew him so well.
Then it was time for Bella to deal with drama in her life.
One day in July Bella went to Edward's house for BBQ. She was having a blast —Seth was teaching her all about some YouTube dude called PewDiePie or something and all about his controversies, Edward was helping Carlisle clean up the grill and Esme was bringing out the ice cream for dessert. Bella'd helped already setting up the clean plates, and Esme had refused to let Bella get the ice cream. Which had suited Seth, Bella Fan #1, just fine.
Then she got a call from her mother.
"Hello?"
"Baby? Where are you? My texts haven't been reaching you."
"Oh, I'm at Edward's house. Signal's a bit wonky here," Bella explained, thinking of how much the line was cutting even now; it worked just well enough for her to understand her mother, though.
"At Edward's? Bella, can you... come home now? Sorry to do this baby, but your... here." Then the line went dead.
"Who was that?" Edward asked, glancing back from the grill. Bella frowned.
"My mom. She wants me to go home now. She never asks that, so I should head back now and see what it's about," Bella explained, and Edward pouted back.
"Alright, give me a second and I'll drop you off."
It wasn't as if Bella depended on Edward for transport, but he liked driving her around and she lived relatively near enough that she didn't feel it was an inconvenience. Their houses were nearer to each other than to the school —Edward lived twenty minutes away from campus, and Bella forty. At his speed, he lived from ten to fifteen minutes from Bella.
After saying goodbye to the Cullen family, Edward drove Bella home.
The only problem?
Bella recognized the car parked out front.
Instantly tense, Bella grabbed Edward by the forearm.
"Please come in with me."
Edward frowned, not used to seeing his girlfriend so jumpy.
"What's up, love?"
Bella swallowed hard, then pointed to the Honda parked on the curb.
"That's my father's car. I can't... I need someone inside who knows what happened. Who'll have my back."
Logically, Bella knew her mom would have her back if she knew what had happened. However, given that she hadn't yet come clean to her mom and step-dad... things were complicated. In this world, other than the perpetrators, the only person who knew her darkest secret was Edward Cullen. Quil... he'd died a year after the incident. He'd gone surfing one stormy day and did not return alive. Bella missed him dearly, but she was glad that if he had to go he went doing what he loved most.
"What do you think he's doing here?" Edward asked, flicking his eyes towards the house and back to his girlfriend. Bella shrugged.
"Probably just visiting, since I told him I'm never going back to Forks." Bella unbuckled herself, turning to her boyfriend with a somber face. "I'd call Emmett for backup, but he's at that stupid summer camp of his, disconnected from the world." Nervously, Bella turned to face Edward completely. "How do I look?"
"Scared," Edward answered honestly, reaching a hand out and twining his fingers with hers. "I'm in your corner. No matter what happens." He brought their hands to his mouth and laid a kiss on hers. "I love you. Always."
It was strange, but Bella felt like her heart hiccuped in her chest. Then she felt peace —overwhelming, blinding, pure —and she felt like she could face her father calmly. Like she could say hello to a man who shouldn't be called 'dad' with a half-smile because... Because at the end of the day, her heart had a place to seek refuge in.
"I love you so much, Edward." Bella whispered, and the two met in the middle to give each other a sweet, soft kiss.
They went inside the house hand-in-hand. Phil and Renée were in the living room, sitting together on the couch. Charlie was sitting by himself in front of them, which made Bella incredibly relieved. She wouldn't have put it below him to invite Sue along.
"Hi, Charlie," Bella greeted once she made eye contact with her father. Out of spite she wanted to greet the other two as Mom and Dad, but it felt too fake for her to do that.
Charlie flinched but stood up nonetheless.
Somehow, he wasn't what Edward had expected. He hadn't imagined anything concrete, but somehow this hadn't been it. Charles Swan was a man in his fifties with a thick mustache, thick eyebrows and black eyes. He was on the small side —Rosalie was probably taller —and quite thin.
"Bella, Edward, did you have a nice time?" Renée, who was now set on her daughter marrying the redhead, asked. After that mishap in January, Edward had gone back and they'd officially met. Since then, he was constantly texting with the Dwyer couple, much to Bella's bafflement. Not that she minded; she felt like ever since Renée had fallen in love with Edward, she'd become closer than ever to her parents. Edward was only too happy to indulge Mrs. Dwyer in sending her memes and little status updates on Bella, since she was so bad at doing so herself.
"We did. Bella brought some of your apple pie Renée, it was delicious," Edward said, for once not lying about Mrs. Dwyer's cooking. He thanked his lucky stars all the time that Bella wasn't as creative in the kitchen.
"Oh, really? I'm glad. I should send your mom my recipe, then," Renée grinned, showing where Bella got her smile from. Suddenly remembering there was company, Renée started introductions. "Oh heavens, I haven't introduced you two. Edward, this is Bella's father, Charlie. Charlie, this is Edward Cullen, Bella's boyfriend."
A man of few words, Charlie only nodded in Edward's direction. Edward waved awkwardly.
"Sir, it's nice to meet you."
"Charlie's fine, kid." Charlie mumbled. "I've heard an awful lot about you from Renée. You keeping my daughter happy?"
Edward blinked.
"I hope so." Edward turned to face his girlfriend. "Am I?"
Bella blinked at him cheekily.
"The happiest." She squeezed the hand she was still holding before turning back to her father. "How long will you be in Phoenix?"
"Um, just until tomorrow. I couldn't get much time off after the honeymoon's vacation period." Awkward, Charlie sat back down. "Why don't you two take a seat?"
Edward felt like he was in the Twilight zone, but the young lovebirds sat down on the free loveseat.
Pregnant pause.
Charlie cleared his throat.
"Uh... How long have the two of you been dating?"
Edward scratched his chin, thinking back.
"Officially? Seven, eight... Nine months, I think."
Bella shook her head.
"Eight months, nine in August." Bella said, knowing that Edward wasn't all that great at mental math. Not to mention, they weren't the type of couple that celebrated every month they'd been together; they were firm believers in the whole 'it's an anniversary because it happens once a year' thing. Well, mostly Bella; she was still, at heart, a Debbie Downer. Edward wouldn't have minded celebrating their first six months together, though what they'd lacked in gifts they'd made up for in sex.
"How'd you two meet?" Charlie asked.
"High school, but we were just friends then." Edward blushed, looking down at the woman he loved. "I'm kind of thick headed, so it took until last year for me to ask her out."
"I see. I'm glad you did, Edward. You seem like a nice kid."
Edward smiled at Mr. Swan. It was hard not to; he was his girlfriend's father, and he didn't seem like a monster.
"How's Sue, Charlie? I haven't seen her in... Oh, like eighteen years? How's Leah?"
Renée Dwyer, you have an ability to stick your foot in your mouth that surpasses even Edward.
Charlie flickered his eyes towards Bella, seeing her as he answered.
"She's doing well, Renée. Leah is... Well, on the run, frankly put. She got caught dealing drugs and fled the country; she faces up to twenty years in prison if she returns to the States."
Bella didn't let up on her poker face, although she was intrigued.
"No! How long ago was this?" Renée couldn't help her shocked face, and though Edward tried to hide it, his smug smile wasn't wiling to stay put. Good; that harpy got what she deserved.
"December. Sue was devastated, but also free. Ever since Leah's divorce... Well, things had gone downhill pretty quickly."
There was something in Charlie's face... Bella couldn't say for certain what it was, but she was sure of one thing thanks to her knowledge of micro expressions: Charlie was hiding something, and he was proud. But what about?
"Well, how'd they catch Leah?"
Charlie shrugged, but the smugness on his face only grew.
"Anonymous tip. She must've crossed the wrong person."
A lie, but the truth. What was he lying about? Bella frowned. She suddenly stood up.
"Charlie, can I talk to you outside for a moment?"
His face became a blank slate again, guarded and unsure. He nodded, slowly getting up.
Bella squeezed Edward's hand when he threw her an inquisitive look.
It's fine, Bella mouthed. She had a gut feeling.
"Well, want to check out Bella's baby pictures? I just realized I haven't shown you," Bella heard her mother say, and then she and Charlie were in the backyard.
There was a picnic table, and Bella led her father to it.
They sat down facing each other, and with her poker face, Bella began her inquisition.
"What are you hiding?"
His mustache twitched.
"I'm not hiding anything, baby girl."
Utter bullshit
"Don't lie to me dad. Tell me what it is."
Charlie pressed his lips together.
"Even if I tell you, you'll think I'm lying."
"I won't, if you're telling the truth." Bella countered. She waited for her father to say anything, but it took such a long time she pulled out her cell phone. She'd just double-tapped a Bob Ross meme when her father began talking.
"Six years ago... I very nearly killed Sam and Leah. When Quil called me, panicked, telling me they were trying to hurt you..." Charlie clenched his hand into a fist. "I was about to leave the station knowing full well I might never come back a free man."
Bella didn't say anything. She couldn't.
"When I picked you up and saw you so heartbroken I... told you those things... because I needed you to believe everything was fine. That I wasn't interested in retribution. Because baby girl, I... I was going to kill those two and make it seem like an accident. Seeing you so scared, so afraid... I behaved like a criminal, not like a father. I was so set on killing those two that I forgot the most important thing was making sure you were ok afterwards. I thought... there'd be time for that later."
Charlie let out a shuddering breath.
He took a moment, then continued the tale.
"I know, everything from the planning to the execution was flawed. But you're my daughter, Isabella, and those two animals laid their finger on you."
The rage was real, Bella realized. She couldn't see the trace of a lie.
"But a couple of days later, when I got Quil's statement and one of my buddies... remember Officer Jenner?... saw it, he told me, There's no way you'll win in court. I realized he was right: even if we managed to bring justice to you the right way, what would be the sentence? A few months in prison? The punishment wouldn't befit the crime. Remember the case of that creep, Brock Turner a few years ago? He was caught, and he still got away with a miserable sentence. Happens more often than anyone would like to think. Anyway, by that moment, I'd rationalized that perhaps I'd be of better use to you a free man than in jail, and that even if I did kill those two, you and I wouldn't feel happy about it. I went over Quil's statement over and over, until I decided to poke around. I'm no detective, but I needed to become one for you."
Still no lies, Bella thought.
He continued.
"Turns out, Sam was on drugs the whole summer, and Leah was much more his drug dealer than his girlfriend. It made sense: Leah had always been a troubled child, and one of their old classmates, Embry Call, came clean to me about it. He said he was worried about what Leah might convince Sam to do. So I... Decided the one who really deserved hell was Leah Clearwater. Not because Sam hadn't done anything wrong, but because he was probably drugged out of his mind, and in my heart the culprit would've been far more the mastermind's fault than the hitman's."
Charlie looked down, and Bella saw shame flash across his face. Shame at what? There was so much going on through her head she didn't know where to begin obsessing over.
"After Harry died, I knew it was the time to get information on Leah. I... started dating Sue for the sake of finding out information. I managed to poke around enough to find out everything the prosecution would need to convict Leah for a long-ass time on drug charges, then sent it as a whistle-blower. The only guilt I carried was over using Sue that way, especially when I fell in love with her for real. The most staggering thing of all was when I came clean about it in December she forgave me, telling me she understood and thought Leah needed a wake-up call. That she loved me anyways, and that she'd actually kind of suspected my poking around for a while. Sue's a good woman, Bella, but Leah has stolen so much from her, money-wise and in happiness. So I decided to marry her. That's it, Bells. The whole story."
How was she expected to believe all this? After so many years?
"Why did you go through all that trouble?"
He seemed baffled by the question. It didn't seem like such an obvious answer to her.
"You're the person I love most in the world, Isabella. And you were a baby, not even fifteen, when those monsters did what they did to you. Of course I did all that. Any father who loves his daughter would. The only thing I'm eternally sorry for is that I didn't know how to react in front of you. It was only later that I realized I wasn't verbally supportive, and by then... You know I'm not great with words."
It was too much information given to her much too quickly. Even if she saw no deceit on her father's face, he was asking her to believe an incredulous story that had taken him too many years to come clean about. Was he just that good a liar? She didn't know how to believe otherwise. Here he was, looking at her with sincere eyes and a body language that did not lie, asking her to believe that he'd always cared about her near-rape. That he'd never blamed her.
He must've seen the barrage of emotions running through her, because he suddenly stood up. He cleared his throat and let his gaze rest on the top of her head.
"I'm going to stay at a hotel for tonight, baby girl. My flight is leaving at three, but if you want to see me, just say the word."
Bella frowned.
"Didn't you drive here? Wasn't that your car out front?"
Charlie shook his head.
"I was in a cop thing all week in Gilbert, and one of my buddies lent me his car to come see you. He's meeting me in the Mesa airport, actually, so I can give him back his car. It was actually a funny coincidence that it happened to be the same model." Charlie let out a brief, gruff laugh. "You do realize it's a one-day drive, right honey?"
Bella blushed.
No, she wasn't aware; geography wasn't her forte.
Charlie looked at her fondly.
"Your mom always had the same problem, you know. Though she got better with time." Charlie knocked twice on the picnic table. "I love you, Bella. I hope I can talk a little more with Edmund sometime."
Bella's lip twitched, though she just scowled.
"It's Edward." Back when she got along with her father and she used to tell him about Emmett, he always got his name wrong, too; Renée had told Bella that Charlie was just jealous and thought she liked Emmett. It gave her a small measure of comfort to see this habit of his hadn't changed. "And… Even if I've been angry for so long, and even if I don't know wether or not to believe you… You'll always be my father."
She didn't have it in her to tell him she loved him, but from his eyes, he understood.
Charlie coughed, and that was how Bella knew his corny time was up. Charles Swan wasn't a feelings person even on his best day.
The father and daughter duo went back inside to the living room, where Edward and Phil were animatedly talking about baseball. Renée seemed too interested in her magazine for how quickly she put it down when Bella went in.
"Everything alright?" Renée asked anxiously.
Truthfully, it had been hard for her to see Bella grow distant from her father. It had also made her feel guilty; like if she had stuck it out with Charlie, Bella wouldn't have gone through this rough patch. She wouldn't have to split the holidays, she wouldn't have a life apart from one parent. And Renée felt most sorry to Charlie, who'd always been a good sport; he'd accepted Renée having custody of their daughter even though she knew how in love Charlie was with Bella ever since she was born. He hadn't said a word when Renée had informed him she was getting remarried and bringing a step-father into Bella's life. He hadn't even said more than a disappointed "I understand" when she'd told him Bella wouldn't be going to his wedding.
"Yeah, everything's ok," Bella said, and to her surprise, she meant it. Things hadn't been ok for a long time, but right then, they were. Even if she determined he was lying to her —she'd be ok. "I was just telling Charlie that Edward and I wanted to take him out for some ice cream."
Charlie and Edward were quite surprised with the news, but neither protested. Edward was baffled by the offer, but he figured the two must've discussed something that had made Bella propose such a thing.
Edward drove the two to a nearby ice-cream parlor, mostly along for the ride than to eat; he still felt lunch being processed, and he'd stopped being amazed by how quickly Bella had an appetite again. She'd always had a high metabolism, but the last couple of months she claimed to have gained four pounds. Honestly? It didn't surprise Edward if she had (she'd abandoned running pretty early on in their relationship and she ate like an endurance athlete), but at the same time, he couldn't for the life of him tell where the weight had gone. He hoped it was her ass.
The outing lasted less than an hour —Bella and Charlie weren't big talkers, not to mention things weren't resolved between them. And Edward didn't want to put his foot in his mouth, as was usual, so he contributed as little as he could to the conversation. Not to mention, he didn't know how to feel about Charlie; he'd hurt Bella an awful lot, and he didn't know yet what had transpired between them in the short talk outside.
When Edward drove them back to the house, Charlie said he needed to check into his hotel, so he quickly got into his friend's car and drove away after a brief goodbye.
Edward and Bella stayed in the car a little while more.
"So, what was that about?" Edward finally asked. He and Bella were completely turned towards each other, both needing to talk about the past few hours.
"Oh, I kind of… Heard him out," Bella said, then proceeded to repeat the conversation she'd had with her father.
Edward listened intently, shocked about the turn of events. It did seem kind of far fetched, but at the same time, he felt like he understood what must have went on in Charles Swan's head. More than that, he'd seen the way Charlie looked at Bella, and he'd never heard her say that, besides that incident, her father had made such comments. He could understand sticking your foot in your mouth, and he could understand having the wrong reaction to a problem. Bella said she still needed time to analyze wether or not her father had been truthful, but he honestly doubted she'd determine he'd been lying; she seemed willing to believe him, and Charlie seemed willing to do whatever he could for his daughter to give him a second chance. Edward was glad for his girlfriend; she'd spent too long thinking that her father had blamed her for something that had been out of her control, thinking that he hadn't cared that she'd been nearly violated by a college student when she'd barely even gotten her period. He saw how much relief their conversation had brought her; probably more than she currently realized.
"So, are you going to visit him again?" Edward asked. Bella made a surprised face, as though she hadn't thought about that.
"No, I don't think I will. Just because I don't want to risk running into Leah; maybe once they catch her, but until then… Dad's gonna have to come see me. I wouldn't feel comfortable going to Washington any time soon," Bella confessed, picking at a thread from her shirt. "I mean, I know she's on the run and everything, but what if she goes back to seek refuge with Sue? I wouldn't be able to take it."
Edward nodded, clasping the hand that was picking at the thread. He raised it and kissed the back of it.
"I understand, love," Edward said, and he really did understand. Bella was the strongest woman he knew, but she was still human, and people had limits of what they could and couldn't take. It had been hard for him to understand this concept when it came to his fight against anxiety, but once he had, he'd felt a lot of relief; he wasn't weak for being anxious, it was simply the battle life had given him. "I'm still really proud of you for how you're handling the situation. And you know that if any of this ever bothers you, you can tell me, right?"
One of the things he loved most about Bella was that even when he was diagnosed with GAD, she hadn't stopped confiding in him and talking through her own worries. She told him of the times school got too hard, of when a professor had made a rude comment, of when she wanted to go to a conference in LA but was worried about missing class. She never stopped confiding in him, and this he appreciated more than she would ever know; she never saw him as someone who couldn't handle stress, or as someone who couldn't be a partner. He helped her work through her own anxieties the same way she helped him work through his; honestly, he thought she did a much better job than he did, but he chucked it up to their different professions. This wasn't even mentioning what a good sport Bella was when it came to dealing with his monthly emotional breakdown over the sheer amount of projects he had to hand in; architecture was a lot about making models and sleepless nights, and he was eternally grateful that she was there to help. It was in the small things, usually; whenever he had big projects going on, she'd sleep at his place so she could make him dinner and breakfast, be sure he had clean shirts and underwear, and drive his sleep-deprived butt to class (the models were sometimes too big to carry all the way to campus). In other words, she helped him lessen the sure-to-come anxiety. It was hard to explain how grateful he was, even if he did what he could to show it.
Digressing.
Bella smiled, thankful for the offer. And she did know; Edward always had her back, and it gave her the peace of mind few things could.
"I know, Edward. Thank you. And thanks for driving me around today, and for being so nice to my father even if you didn't quite understand yet," Bella leaned closer and gave him a soft kiss, trying to pour her gratitude into it.
Edward kissed her back, swiping his tongue along her bottom lip. He would've gotten further, too, but then Bella flinched and pulled back.
"Much as I love you, I can't stand the heat anymore. I need to go back in." Bella said. Arizona was brutal in the summer, and what little wind there was prevented a heatstroke. They didn't have the AC on in the car since Edward chose to roll down the windows and turn off the car; apparently, he was running dangerously low on fuel and needed to be sure he'd make it to the gas station. This meant that they'd both been showing each other their love by sitting in a burning car for far too long.
"Fine, leave me to this miserable oven by myself. Save yourself," Edward sniffled dramatically, making Bella chuckle and shake her head.
"I love you," Bella said, bending to give him one last peck.
"Love you more," Edward replied, watching as Bella opened the door and unstuck herself from the leather seat. She bent down with a mischievous look in her eye.
"Finally," she teased, walking over to the driver's side. She bent down again, smirking. "Something that makes sense."
They both laughed, and then Bella went back inside the house. Edward left, marveling at the luck he had with having fallen in love with this woman.
Near the end of July, Bella and Edward attended a wedding.
It wasn't just any wedding, although to Bella it might as well have been. One of Edward's cousins, Riley Biers, was getting married in Chicago, so the whole family was flying out. By that time, both Edward and Bella had quit their respective part time jobs and were riding high on their last paycheck. This meant Bella was able to buy a pretty cocktail dress; it was a royal blue dress, off the shoulder and the front of it just barely reached her knees while the back went a good few inches lower. Honestly, she just loved her dress, and she was thankful it was a day wedding instead of a night one. As for Edward, he dusted off his usual tux, bought a blue tie and called it a day. The Cullen family was staying at a hotel (Grandma Cullen had a full house, and Grandpa Platt was living with one of Esme's brother, who had a small apartment). This meant that Carlisle and Esme slept in one suite with Seth, while Edward and Bella had their own room. Initially, Bella had been beyond mortified at the prospect of Edward's parents knowing she was probably doing dirty things to their baby boy, but Esme had sent a message via Edward that went something like "You kids don't fool anyone". So, Bella had resigned herself to the shame. She might've been nearly twenty-one, but she in no way felt like an adult.
So, the Cullens (plus Bella) arrived to the hotel the night before the wedding, and everyone pretty much fell dead on their feet asleep. Edward tried convincing Bella that they could have a quicky, but he fell asleep halfway through giving his argument.
The next day, he woke up to a very pleasant feeling. It was early morning, judging from the light, and he realized there was a weight on his lower half. Moaning, he realized it was Bella, who was kissing up his thighs and laying open mouthed kisses on his groin.
"You up?" Bella asked, then giggled at her own pun. He was up the moment he realized what was going on.
"Yes," Edward moaned when Bella encased him in her hand. She laughed again, though this time she followed that up with kissing the tip of his dick; his heart stuttered in his chest, as it always did whenever she... well, existed in his general direction.
It was only a few minutes, but then Edward was pulling Bella onto his lap and letting her sink down on him.
"You feel so fucking good," Edward bucked his hips up, wanting to bury himself to the hilt. Bella gasped, feeling him reach deeper than he usually did.
"So do you," Bella managed out, lifting herself up and then going down.
They didn't last more than ten minutes —mostly because they were aware of the time constraint— and when they came, they had a hard time remembering why they had to hurry. When they finally did, they rushed; they needed to shower and get dressed, but Bella also needed to do her makeup. She wasn't a person who usually paid so much mind to looking pristine and dolled up, but she wanted to leave a good impression on Edward's family —she'd understood from watching the Cullens that they came from a traditional family and that the Cullen side of the family was concerned about appearances (without reaching soap opera levels of concern).
By the time Edward was suited up and Bella was all done with her routine, Edward was ready for a long love-making session. Bella looked lovely, the dress contrasting against her porcelain skin and making her shoulders look delicate; she looked like a woman who knew fashion instead of the hipster (not really, just a slob) almost everyone knew her to be. When she walked out of the bathroom and did a twirl, Edward choked up.
"You look…" Edward cleared his throat, blinking away his tears. "Like you walked out of my dreams."
And damn if that didn't downright melt the panties off of her. She was glad she'd decided to spend a few more minutes than usual on her makeup; honestly, she wasn't the best at applying it, but she'd been watching YouTube tutorials lately on how to do her eyeshadow and she was confident with her job.
"You look like the star of a blockbuster," Bella observed, giving her boyfriend her version of moonstruck eyes. Because he really did, with his light brown tuxedo and tie that matched her dress; he was also wearing contacts for once (Esme's orders) and his hair was styled messily instead of his usually gelled version. Now, Bella loved how her boyfriend usually looked, but this… Just about made her want to say fuck it to the wedding and have her wicked way with him the whole day.
"Do I?" Edward smiled, running a hand back through his hair. "I feel weird, like this isn't me."
Bella considered it. Hot as she felt her boyfriend was, she didn't know if she would've been as attracted to him without having known him; she probably would've thought he seemed like a playboy. Although, if the inside remained intact, she still would've fallen head over heels for him.
"Do you want to at least take your glasses? In case you get tired of the contacts. I can carry them in my purse."
Edward walked the remaining steps towards his girlfriend and scooped her up in a hug.
"I love you, Bella Swan," he sighed into her neck, making her giggle.
"I love you too, Edward Cullen. Now let's go before your mom kills us."
Together they walked down to the lobby, where Carlisle, Esme and Seth were waiting for the young couple to walk down. Thankfully, it didn't look like they'd been waiting a long time.
"My God, dear, you're a vision," Esme, who looked like a goddess, hugged Bella. Blushing, Bella accepted the compliment and gave her own.
"Bella, are you sure you like my brother? I think you should go for someone younger, more handsome or something." Seth mumbled, his own lovestruck eyes taking in his brother's girlfriend. He was mostly joking, but a part of him hadn't yet gotten over how his geeky older brother had charmed the most popular girl in high school of her year.
Edward slapped him upside the head.
"Now you listen here you little duck-faced runt," Edward began, and Bella nearly burst out laughing. He was referencing a YouTube video from a channel called Epic Rap Battles; Edward could get really obsessive sometimes and start memorizing lines left and right from how often he watched a single video. "You're not more handsome than I am, alright? And also, if Bella liked you, that'd be a crime."
"True," Bella shrugged teasingly. "But as soon as you turn eighteen, let's meet up if things didn't work out between your brother and I."
Bella burst out laughing when Edward pushed her, an adorable scowl on his face. She righted herself and latched onto his arm, blinking innocently up at him. She blew him a kiss and winked, giggling when he blushed and looked away.
"So long as you end up our daughter-in-law," Carlisle carried on, egging on his sons.
"Oh Carlisle stop it, you might end up making them think you're serious," Esme rolled her eyes and looked outside from the lobby. "Oh, that's our taxi. Come on, chop chop."
They got in one of those wider taxis, since they needed one extra spot from the conventional taxi. If it had been up to Bella she would've been fine going on Edward's lap, but somehow she wasn't sure it was either legal or a good first impression for when she arrived at the Church.
It only took them about fifteen minutes, and then they were going inside of a beautiful cathedral, the decorations delicate and tasteful and the pews packed with elegant-looking people.
Bella was thankful she'd decided to splurge a little on her dress. It wasn't designer or anything, but she was also not someone who'd feel self-conscious over not wearing a brand name. She was a lucky person, starting from the fact that she'd never wanted for anything, and Renée had never raised her to place value in clothes. Rather, Bella had always been encouraged to save up so she could travel —and this she did, whenever she could. So while she admired the people surrounding her, that was the most she felt; admiration, but also, an unwillingness to change herself to fit the crowd. She was fine as she was.
"Oh, Esme, you look beautiful!" A blonde, statuesque woman came up to Esme, smiling warmly. Esme smiled back just as big.
"Thank you, Maggie, you look absolutely stunning," Esme and the other woman exchanged an air kiss, then separated. Bella looked on. "Maggie, may I present to you Edward's girlfriend, Bella Swan? And, Bella, this is Carlisle's little sister, Maggie Cullen."
Damn she could totally see the resemblance, now that she mentioned it.
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Bella smiled easily enough, fighting down her nerves. This might've been a nerve-wracking situation, but she was a confident woman for fuck's sake. The moment she doubted herself, people would see it on her face. "You look just like Carlisle, but pretty." Bella finished with a broad smile so they could see she was joking, if Carlisle's mock-offended face didn't give it away.
Maggie, with her piercing blue eyes, stared down at Bella for a moment; she had to be at least five foot nine, and she was wearing heels. Intimidated didn't begin to cover it.
Finally, Maggie snorted loudly.
"Eddie, you've caught quite the lady here. Bella, is it? Take care of my nephew, and I'll make sure he takes care of you." Maggie laughed, pulling in Bella for a hug. "But don't tell my sister that joke. She doesn't have a good sense of humor when she's as high as she is now."
"Lisa is high?" Carlisle's eyes bugged out, and Maggie pulled back, sighing.
"In a manner of speaking. High on something like Xanax I mean. You know how she gets when one of her kids marry off."
Melissa Biers was the mother of five children, and the groom was her youngest —as well as the last to marry. Edward had gone to more weddings in the last five years than most people did in half their lives; his Aunt Melissa had a litter of children, and his Uncle Rufus had gotten married and divorced three times, which had given him a whopping seven children; two of his kids were still unmarried, and it didn't seem like it was about to change any time soon. In any case, Edward had a big ass family, and he really loved them —he loved even more the fact that they were all in Chicago while he was all the way down in Arizona. It gave him time to miss his family in between every holiday they gathered.
But digressing.
They said hello to all the people they knew quickly, having gotten in at the nick of time. The family of four plus Bella rushed into the first free pew they saw when they heard the hush starting to fall over the invitees. Soon, the ceremony started.
Bella would've liked to say that it went by in a flash, but it didn't. It felt like an eternity.
Renée had never been a religious person, and for all the time she spent at the McCarty's, Bella had never caught the devout bug Emmett's parents had (Emmett had fiercely fought back against it). This meant that, except for that one time she toughed out a Christian Mass (Edward's family was made up of Catholics, thanks to their Irish blood) for Angela's sake, she'd never stepped foot in any religious activity. Oh, also when she went to Jason McCarty's wedding, but she'd been sick out of her mind so she'd been high on cough syrup. And even though Jason was engaged, he and his fiancée were doing the long-engagement thing… like two-years-long kind of thing. So she only had less than a handful of times she'd ever participated in a religious activity.
In other words, Bella was bored out of her mind.
Even with how absolutely out of it she was, Bella had enough respect in her body to at least not pull out her phone in the middle of Mass. However, she did start playing with Edward's fingers and playing tic-tac-toe on his pants (by herself), even going as far as taking the Bible in the pew and searching out an interesting passage.
Edward, on the other hand, found the whole thing to be riveting.
Bella could see it on his face, how he was getting ideas that she had no need to indulge at the moment. He kept lacing their fingers together even though they were sticky with sweat —because of the hour, and the human heat surrounding them, Bella was suffocating. She thought she'd have a heatstroke every time she saw the gleam in Edward's eye get brighter; when it came time for the vows, Edward was silently sobbing, to the point where Bella had to grab his handkerchief and dab at his tears… then his snot. Edward was a messy crier.
Truth was, the whole time he was watching his cousin Riley get married to what's-her-name, he was picturing himself and Bella. Bella, her long hair pinned up and showing off her neck; Bella, the white dress hugging her figure, making him cry with how much he wanted to fuck her but also marry her. Bella, smiling at him and mouthing that she loved him right when Charlie handed her off to him. Him, crying like a broken water tap because he couldn't believe how happy and lucky he was.
He felt the wedding went by in a flash, lost in his thoughts as he'd been. Bella felt the hour crawl by, now bored and worried that she'd be getting proposed to before she was even out of college. She was on edge by the time the wedding ceremony wrapped up, feeling like she was about to be bombarded with questions of whether she wanted a spring or a winter wedding.
To her surprise, nothing happened.
When everyone got up, joyous for the bride and groom, Edward simply squeezed her hand and brought it up so he could kiss the back of it. They made eye contact, and Bella watched as his eyes crinkled around the corners because of how wide his smile was.
"I love you," he said, sweet as always.
"I love you too," Bella said, because if nothing else this was the truth.
The reception was at a very fancy hotel, and Bella marveled the whole time they were inside. She kept pointing out expensive-looking things to an amused Edward, and she even left her boyfriend's side at one time to go with Seth to the refreshment table.
"You know, you look really pretty Bella. The dress suits you a lot," Seth said, chewing down on a canapé. Bella blushed and thanked him.
"Thank you, Seth. You look quite dashing yourself," Bella said truthfully. He might've been too young for her, but she knew he was already quite handsome.
"Thanks. How're you liking the family so far?" Seth asked, grabbing another canapé. Damn, they were good.
"They're all so nice. Your Aunt Melissa too, even though your Aunt Maggie made it seem like she wouldn't be," Bella answered honestly.
"Well, she normally isn't. Xanax makes her quite pleasant," Seth admitted, snorting along with Bella when she laughed like he'd told a joke. He really hadn't.
"I like them. I've always felt it was a shame I don't have a bigger family, so it's a really new experience for me to see you two engage with such a big crowd that's actually related to you by blood," Bella explained, sneaking a canapé for herself. She didn't like them as much as Seth apparently did, but she felt like mindlessly eating.
"I guess we do take them for granted, a bit. Normally, Edward and I are so tired by the end of a family event we forget we like seeing them. I mean, we do have fun, but we also live far from them, so any time we do see them it can be a little too much too quickly," Seth said, then made a face like something hurt. "Oh God, I think that seventh canapé was overkill. I need to go. Can you save me one for later, when I have space again?" Seth grunted out, waited for Bella to nod in agreement, and then made a dash for the bathroom.
She was amazed by how much the boy could eat.
Not even two minutes had gone by, and then Bella was surrounded by four guys —one seemed to be slightly older than Seth, and the other three seemed to be slightly older than her. One of them stood out to her because of how much he looked like Carlisle; they could've been father and son for all Bella knew.
"Hey gorgeous, how you doin'?" The Carlisle-look-alike winked, making Bella feel wholly uncomfortable. Worse still, she'd never been good at this kind of confrontation. Especially not outnumbered as she was. "My name's Eli, Eli Cullen. What's yours?"
"Uh, hi Eli. I'm Bella. Are you related to the groom?" Bella asked politely, trying to look behind him to find anyone who could help her. He seemed particularly drunk, which she was only too aware of. She was already bad at pushing off unwanted advances, but when the one doing so was drunk, it got even harder. There was a moment where she wished she could be saved by Edward —wanted to be like a princess and wait for her knight in shining armor— but then she realized that such thoughts weren't like her. She wasn't reckless, but she could damn well try and talk her way out of this.
"Why yes I am, gorgeous. He's my cousin on my dad's side. He's also kind of been my best friend since we were in kindergarten. I've never met a greater dude than Rileykins, so I'm glad he found Bree."
So, Bree was the bride's name. Bella hadn't paid attention, and Edward hadn't seemed to know either.
Before long, Bella and Eli had hit it off —they'd kept talking about Riley and Bree, then about the crazy Cullen clan, and eventually they were talking about unrelated things. Better still, the more they talked the less he started slurring his words; not to mention, a few minutes into their conversation the other three guys had gotten bored of not being paid any attention and had gone off to dance. It was a lot easier dealing with one drunkard than with four, so Bella was grateful that her plan was working out.
"You know, I forgot to ask who you were here for. Is— My Lord, is that Eddykins I see?" Eli suddenly stood up, and on reflex, Bella stood up as well. When she looked back, she found her boyfriend —looking just a bit annoyed. Edward's eyes made a quick sweep over Bella, and whatever he found relaxed the tension in his shoulders. "Bella, here, let me introduce you. This is my cousin Eddie, our dads are brothers. And Ed, this is my future girlfriend, Bella..."
"...Swan," Bella finished, amusement the only thing she could feel over the obvious bravado the guy was putting on.
Edward raised an eyebrow.
"Bella, is this how you were planning to break up with me?" Edward asked, and snorting, Bella skipped over to his side. She hugged him around the front, careful not to smudge her makeup on his suit.
"Sorry you had to find out this way baby," Bella joked, squeezing her boyfriend. Everything felt right whenever she hugged him, and this time was no exception.
"Wait, your... Girlfriend?" Eli sputtered, and the shock on his face was enough for Edward to let go of twenty-one years of petty bullying. He hadn't meant to, but he'd accidentally pulled one over on his most popular cousin... and it felt good. "She is? Yours?"
Bella giggled, pulling away and turning around so Edward still had her enveloped in his arms.
"Of course, silly. Who else's?" Edward squeezed her, and Bella flashed an even bigger smile at Eli. "Can you believe how lucky I am?" Bella would've said more, but it wouldn't have felt real; Edward had given her a very brief rundown of his family members, and Eli had made the list of those talked about. So even though Bella had briefly forgotten about how much her boyfriend didn't enjoy Eli's presence while she was talking to the guy, she certainly remembered now. And she was nothing if not her boyfriend's ally.
"I thought you were dating that blonde chick!" Eli accused, as if it had never crossed his mind that couples broke up. Bella sighed in annoyance, not at the mention of Edward's ex-girlfriend, but at the accusing tone.
"I was, like three years ago. And you know very well that her name is Kate, Eli," Edward said, annoyed. He might not have loved Kate anymore, but she'd once held a special place in his heart —she was worthy of his respect, even though time had gone by.
"Right, sorry dude. I was just kind of… shocked, I guess." Eli apologized, sticking his foot in his mouth while doing so. He continued. "I just didn't expect Bella to date a guy like you, Eddie."
Bella frowned.
"Eli. I'm sorry that you can't see what an amazing man Edward is, but please don't insult me by questioning whether or not I love him."
"I didn't—"
"You did, and I'm telling you not to. You're his cousin, and also drunk, so I'm gonna let it go this once. But next time I won't hesitate to act. Have a nice evening, Eli." Then Bella grabbed Edward's hand and stormed off outside of the reception.
"Bella, I think you're cutting off the blood flow to my hand," Edward complained, as always impressed by the sheer strength his girlfriend had. Both physically (his fingers were starting to get numb) and mentally. He was suddenly reminded of their graduation party, when he'd been confronted by Bella because he'd been trying to pin on Emmett Lauren's presence; he started chuckling, and when they reached the back of a seemingly-empty building, Bella let go of him and asked with a huff what was so funny.
"Nothing, it's just… I was remembering that time at Emmett's when you almost bit my head off for being such a dick to Em. I never thought I'd be the one being defended," Edward admitted, and a question surged in his mind. "Uh, did you… By any chance like me back then?"
Bella blushed.
"Yes I did. Why?" Her tone was accusing, as though she'd gotten caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Truthfully, she just felt a bit foolish at this point, revisiting all the times where Edward unknowingly crushed her spirits given that he didn't know about her massive crush on him. Not to mention a tiny part of her wanted to be pined over (the dramatic part that enjoyed reading romance novels every once in a while), and having a boyfriend that started dating you less than six months after breaking up with his girlfriend wasn't exactly conductive to getting that wish. There was conflict in Bella, in either case: she wanted her boyfriend to pine, but she also didn't want to have him hurt in any way.
All of this was just in Bella's over-active imagination, given that said boyfriend was already hers and he'd never pined, nor would she do anything to change that. In other words, Bella had had one champagne too many.
"I was just thinking, you know, that I must've seemed like a dick to you back then, so I'm amazed you liked me anyway."
Bella rolled her eyes.
"Don't you know girls don't like good guys?" Bella said sarcastically, snorting at her own rhetorical question. "I've never understood when people say that. I wouldn't have liked you if you'd been a 'bad boy', that's honestly such bullshit. Nobody likes being mistreated, and whoever does clearly needs my services."
Edward laughed.
"You know, you're the only normal psychologist I know. Every time you tell me about your college friends they always have some kind of issue they can't let go of."
Bella raised an eyebrow.
"I did admit to you the mess with my father as well as my short-lived eating disorder, didn't I?"
Edward chuckled lightly.
"You did, but... You don't base your whole existence on your problems. Let me see, how do I explain it? Uh... Ok. Everyone goes through things in a varying degree of difficulty, right? But some people are always hung up on the problems and never try to move past them. They're frozen in this awkward spot where they complain about being unable to be happy but being unwilling to do anything to change. That's an exhausting way to live, Bella, so I guess what I'm saying is I'm glad you don't let those issues tie you down."
Bella smiled back.
"Aw, that's sweet," she said, half joking and half serious. "In all seriousness though, thank you. It wasn't easy choosing to be happy. Although, I will admit I didn't handle things the best I could. It could've been better, and I should've gotten help back then. I'm sorry to myself that I didn't."
Whenever she thought back to those first couple of years, she remembered the unbearable loneliness she'd felt at times —she'd felt abandoned and like she couldn't rely on anybody for anything. Time went by, and the feelings had slowly melted away until they were just an unpleasant memory to be had a couple of times a year. The moment she'd spoken about it to Edward, though... her heart had felt free. She'd bottled it up for so long —had told no one— that the mere act of talking had been therapeutic. Even more than her talk with Charlie, she'd found peace in knowing someone else knew her story and shared her pain. Funny how simple people could be.
"You did the best you were able to, and I'm proud of you," Edward said, laying a kiss on her forehead. He wrapped his arms around his girlfriend, crushing the side of her face to his chest, and sighed while looking up at the stars. "I never thought I could love someone this much."
Bella's heart hiccuped in her chest.
"Jesus, you can't say that all of a sudden. My heart can't take it." Bella said, mostly joking. She squeezed him harder, happy and in love. "I didn't know I even could fall in love."
Edward ran a hand through Bella's hair, something that she loved. She'd never told him, but if she could've she would've purred.
"Nobody ever caught your eye?" Edward asked, then continued smugly. "Apart from me, I mean."
Bella thought about it.
"No, not really. I think I liked Emmett when I was six, but he still thought girls had cooties so that never went anywhere. And when I dated Garrett I knew early on that things were going nowhere with him. So it's just been you."
Edward groaned.
"Damn, I forgot about Garrett. Did he kiss you?" Edward sighed, pulling back slightly so he could look at Bella's eyes. Sheepishly, Bella nodded. He sighed again. "Shit, I'm gonna have to go find me someone pure then. This isn't gonna work out. So long then."
Gasping with pretend-horror, Bella went along with it.
"Oh yeah? Well your other conquests are too much for me to handle, anyway. A man who's kissed over two women in his life? Blasphemous." Bella scoffed, pushing on Edward's chest lightly as if to get him away from her.
"Three total, considering my first grade art camp girlfriend. Our love was fleeting, but it was real," Edward sniffled, then perked up. "Hey! This means you and I have kissed the same amount of people, doesn't it?"
Bella laughed.
"Sure, if kissing Emmett counts, which it shouldn't."
"If Clare counts, so does Emmett."
"You know this conversation degenerated quickly, right? Let's get back to how much you love me," Bella batted her eyelashes at Edward, who smiled indulgently.
"Oh yeah? You want me to tell you more? I thought you'd say I'm too cheesy and push me away."
"Never," Bella said cheekily, getting on her tip-toes to lay a quick kiss on him. "So keep telling me, won't you?"
He bent down so he could whisper it in her ear.
"I love you more with every day that goes by. When we were just friends, after my breakup with Kate, I used to rehearse in my head over and over what would happen if I were to ask you out. If you'd say yes, if you'd ask me to just be friends. The only reason why I got the courage was because I knew that even if you didn't like me that way, you wouldn't make me feel like shit, and you'd give me a proper answer. I was so sure of what kind of woman you are that I chose to put my heart out there even though I never had before. And the way you come over to my place all the time to make sure I'm alive and eating, or that I make it to class in one piece —even if I'm at the height of my frustration I can't help but think of how fucking much I love you. Even how you handled my anxiety disorder… I mean, most people would've just chucked it up to jealousy and have been fed up with me. You saw it for what it was though, and you've been with me through every step of the way. You're the partner I never knew I needed, Bella, and I'm so thankful we found each other."
A blubbering mess, Bella pulled back and encased his cheeks with her hands, taking advantage of having him be almost eye-level with her.
"I found you, and you're the greatest treasure I have," Bella admitted, laying a kiss on him that melted the socks right off of him.
Sometimes it scared Bella how much she loved Edward Cullen. She'd never loved anyone before, and suddenly she had this intense feeling for someone she'd barely dated a year for. She hadn't told Edward yet, but sometimes she had to stop herself from breaking up with him —she thought she'd be better off ending things now than letting the love grow even more. But the truth was she was too far gone already, and breaking up with him was near impossible.
"Edward, why're you making Bella cry?" Seth's voice suddenly called out, and surprised, Bella broke the kiss. She looked like a deer caught in the headlights, and when she turned around, she saw that Seth was holding up a camera (his birthday gift) with a mischievous grin on his face.
"I'm not, you snotty kid," Edward retorted, wiping the tears off of Bella's cheeks. They started walking towards him. "How long have you been standing there?"
"I don't know, but long enough to take some pictures," Seth grinned, then pulled out a handkerchief when Bella was close enough. "Here."
"If your brother hadn't just melted my socks off I would ask you to be mine," Bella sniffled, laughing as she took the hankie. "Thanks, Seth."
"Damn, you weren't fighting?" Seth sighed in (mostly) mock-frustration. "What does a guy have to do to break up his brother and his girlfriend?"
Bella grinned, dabbing below her eyes.
"Seth, you'd have to be Jason Momoa," Bella said, laughing when Edward elbowed her. "What? I'd also give you up for Lily Collins."
"Hey!" Edward whined, although he understood more getting dumped for Lilly Collins than for the burly dude. In his mind it went:
Bella Lily Collins Robert Downey Jr. Edward Jason Momoa
Although right now, with how Bella had looked at him when she'd come out of the bathroom…
Bella Lily Collins Edward Robert Downey Jr. Jason Momoa
That was honestly a huge step forward for his self-esteem. Also, even though he knew if he told anyone about this 'ranking' they'd either say he was lying or whipped (he most definitely was the latter), but truth of the matter was, Bella had a staggering beauty that beat any Hollywood actress in his mind. It wasn't just him who thought this way; the first time Esme had met Bella, his mother had told him if he was sure she wasn't a supermodel. He was sure, he'd told Esme, but he hadn't told her he was also quite confident someone was always trying to scout his girlfriend. He spent so much time with her, though, that he occasionally stopped being starstruck —the times when he remembered were frequent enough, though, that he never forgot how weird it was that the most beautiful girl he knew loved him.
He was still working through that way of thinking.
Bella got upset any time he brought it up, and for good reason. Nobody wanted the people they loved to question themselves.
Digressing.
"I'm kidding, you know you're the most handsome guy I've ever met," Bella giggled, kissing Edward's cheek. Appeased, he smiled down at her.
"You've never met Jason Momoa though," Seth pointed out the technicality, and Bella jokingly glared daggers at him for exposing her.
They spent the rest of the night that way, joking and laughing and having the most fun they could.
\-.-/
"God, I'm beat," Bella sighed when they entered the hotel room. After the beautiful words Edward had given her, Bella'd been so happy that she'd gone to have a glass of wine (or four) and had then proceeded to head to the dance floor, where she insisted Edward dance. He'd indulge her for twenty minutes, get tired and go sit down; then he'd catch one of his male cousins trying to hit on his girlfriend or a family friend dancing closer and closer to Bella, so he'd be forced back on the dance floor to keep the guys away. After two hours of the same antics he resigned himself to just stepping in if anything seemed inappropriate, which thankfully, nothing happened —the last half hour of dancing Seth hoarded Bella and got her to dance some kind of move he'd never seen before. Probably from that Frotnite game or whatever it was called.
Thankfully, at around two in the morning, the Cullen family called it quits and headed back to the hotel; Seth leaning against Bella in the car, deeply asleep, and Bella leaning against Edward with a content smile.
The moment they went into the hotel though, Bella had taken off her heels and let Edward drag her into their room, saying a faint goodbye to the rest of the family.
"Well, you danced a lot," Edward pointed out, watching how Bella chucked her heels near the door and collapsed on the bed face down.
"I did. Did you have fun?" Bella asked, her face muffled by the duvet. Laughing, Edward said he had. "Good, me too. Riley and Bree make a nice couple."
"I think you and I are much cuter together," Edward retorted, making Bella giggle.
"Help me take my dress off? I'm too tired to move."
Smiling fondly, he helped her; it took a bit of maneuvering, but he finally managed after a minute or two. When he did, he laughed.
"What?"
"Nothing, it's just… I didn't realize you were wearing your Batman panties." Edward chuckled, bending over and kissing her right butt cheek. "Have I told you you're adorable?"
Bella wiggled her butt.
"You've mentioned it, although personally I think all the studying as affected you," Bella confessed, smiling to herself. Nobody else ever said she was adorable, but she liked hearing it from Edward.
"Well, you're the cutest person I've ever met," Edward declared, kissing her other butt cheek. Then he flipped her over and pulled her up, holding her pajama of choice for this trip up (which happened to be one of his t-shirts). "Arms up."
Groaning, she did, and he pulled it over.
"Stay like that. I'm gonna take off your makeup."
He went over to the bathroom to grab one of her makeup remover towels, and took the opportunity to change out of his suit and into his own pajamas.
When he went out, however, Bella was out like a light.
"What am I gonna do with you," Edward muttered to himself, getting on the bed and wiping off her makeup the best he could. The eye stuff was especially hard, but after a few minutes he managed it. It wasn't unusual for Bella to forget to take off her makeup, but whenever she did she'd break out —which was a huge no no in her book.
Done, Edward sighed and managed to tuck Bella into bed.
"Edward," Bella sighed, and burrowed closer to his warmth.
Smiling, Edward felt asleep, because somehow it felt real nice to have your girlfriend say your name in her sleep.
"Mmm… Jason."
Edward lost his smile.
Well, we finally know what happened with Charlie. You know, it was hard for me to decide what would happen -would he be a terrible father? Misunderstood? Finally, here's why I decided I didn't want him to be the villain: most of us aren't. Many of us make the wrong decision sometimes, and we disregard what's going on around us, but that doesn't make us bad guys. Often, we feel everyone is against us and don't realize how many allies we have close; in a way, I wanted to reflect this too. Issues are rarely ever black and white, and the people I know of that have true villains in their life... they're the type that desperately need help because of how bruised their heart is. Bella's isn't, so it'd be hard to make her have a truly bad man in her life (at least for me).
As always, thank you so much for your sweet reviews, for favoriting and following! :))
Leah.
P.S. Also, I might take a little longer with the longer chapter. Do not despair, my beautiful readers. I will be back.