I do not own Twilight.
So sorry for the long break…again. I have a couple of chapters to post and then a few future chapters and then that's it. SO SAD. This story has been my life for the past few months and I know I'll jump into another one soon, but it's always a little heartbreaking to leave one.
Esme waves me into the kitchen when I wake up in the morning by myself.
I follow her to the screen door that opens to the garage. She's grinning ear-to-ear. I look in, confused, until I see Edward and Peter. Together.
They're standing over Peter's truck, looking over the engine. I watch, surprised, as Edward bends down to lift some lever, glancing at Peter, and Peter nods in recognition.
I turn, raising my eyebrows, and Esme shrugs. "His truck wouldn't start this morning," she says. "Edward offered to take a look."
I watch her watching them for a while. She looks happy, but there's something behind her eyes. It reminds me of Edward, of hidden emotions and I know what it means the longer I stare. He still hasn't spoken to her and she doesn't know what to do.
I only smile when she looks at me, because I don't know either.
The week went by a lot faster than either of us wanted it to.
Edward took me around Portland. He showed me his school, the field where he plays, we even ran into a few of his teammates. They were nice and didn't seem too surprised to be introduced to me. I figured they were expecting me. It made me smile later on when we drove back to his house.
It took a few days, but he started warming up to Esme again. It was baby steps, but by my last day, he was rolling his eyes when she nagged him for finishing off the orange juice.
By the time I finish packing, he hasn't brought up the letter again.
"I'll be up in March," he reminds me as he pushes my suitcase into the trunk. I stand with my arms crossed, my expression and outlook solemn. I don't want to leave Portland. I don't want to go back to Washington without him. He looks me over when I don't answer. "Come here," he whispers.
I let him wrap his arms around me. "It's only two months," he says. "I'll be on break. I'll come home for the full week, okay?"
I nod and he kisses me softly. I ask, because I know he won't bring it up.
"Do you want me to say anything to…?" I don't have to finish the question; he knows who and what I'm referring to. His jaw tightens.
"I'm gonna talk to Emmett first," is all he says. I nod and kiss him again.
He doesn't let me go until I'm breathless.
Charlie and my mom are full of quiet curiosity when I get home, not about my visit—though my mother has asked me countless questions—but about the letter. I don't tell them much because I don't think it's my place but I'd be lying if I said I didn't check my phone a hundred times since I got home with hopes of finding a text from Edward or Emmett.
It doesn't come until two weeks later, and it's not in the form of a text, but Rosalie.
She shows up at my house how she shows up everywhere; like she's expecting to be expected. Her eyebrows are practically permanently raised as she watches me read over the letter Emmett received. It's similar in content to Edward's, though a bit more personalized. Emmett and Mr. Cullen had always been closer, if you can even say that.
"He's trying to make amends," Rosalie says, folding the letter back into its envelope.
I chew on the corner of my thumbnail. "Did Emmett read it yet?"
She stares at me incredulously. "Of course he did. He gave it to me to show to you."
"Does he know Edward got one?"
"Yeah. I think they compared notes or something." She snorts and I can tell this is kind of rolling off of her. I have to remind myself that she wasn't there when Emmett and Edward lived with their dad. She wasn't there when Esme lived with them, either. She doesn't know how bad it was, despite anything Emmett may have said to her.
I hadn't spoken to Edward about the letter since I was in Portland, but I'm sure his plan of action hasn't changed: ignore, ignore, ignore.
"What are they going to do?"
Rose shrugs and throws her head back against the couch. "Visit him, I guess."
"In March?"
She nods. I'm stunned. I want to call Edward and ask, but I don't want to press him.
When Rosalie leaves, I'm glad she stopped by. It's nice to be in the know so that I can be careful with the way I take information from Edward. I'm sure he didn't want to bring this up unnecessarily until he's here in March because he wouldn't want me stressing over it.
Like I'm doing right now and will be doing until the day comes.