Assumption Chapter 10

Contemplation

BPOV:

After Esme dropped me off at home I spent most of the afternoon just wandering around the house. I ended up in Charlie's room sitting on the foot of his bed. Charlie hadn't changed anything since the last time that I was here. I was going to have to start going through everything soon. Deciding what to do with most of his stuff was going to be hard. I just didn't know where to start. Maybe I could ask Esme to help me? That was probably a good idea. She would probably know of a charity or two that could use Charlie's clothes. That was the only thing I could think of to do with them. It was the larger items that I had no clue what to do with. Like his boat, what was I going to do with a boat in an apartment in Phoenix?

I sighed, stood up, and made my way back downstairs. I still had a ton of food in my fridge but all I really wanted for dinner was pizza. I was still searching for a take-out menu when there was a knock on the door. I smiled, knowing that Edward was here. I was entirely terrified at the thought of sharing my unfinished manuscript with him, as I had never done that before with anyone besides my editor, and that was only once because I needed her office to research something for me. I couldn't explain why I felt that I could trust him; I just did and given the way we'd been with each other over the past few days made it even crazier.

I opened the door and stood there with my hands on my hips, "I'm not letting you in here or anywhere near my manuscript unless you can find me a good pizza place that will deliver," I told him with complete seriousness.

He laughed, "I do believe that I am more than capable of meeting that demand. But may I come in first or do I need to place the order from the porch before I can enter?"

I stood to the side and let him in, "Does this place you're thinking of have cheese bread? I am so craving cheese bread in a bad way right now."

"Actually, they have the best cheese bread that I've ever had."

I tossed my phone to him, "Use mine so I have the number in case I need it again while I'm here."

"Anything in particular you want on the pizza?"

"Anything and everything , except for mushrooms."

He laughed again and started dialing while I went to the kitchen to get us something to drink. I was going to be working tonight so I was going to stick with pop, but I had some beer in the fridge in case that was what Edward wanted.

"The food will be her e in about an hour," he said, coming up behind me and startling me as I poured my pop into a glass, causing me to spill some on the counter. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." he said, before walking over to the sink and handing me the dish rag.

"Do you want some pop? I have beer if you'd rather have that," I asked as I cleaned up the mess on the counter.

"Pop is good. At least with that I won't have to worry about not being able to drive home tonight and having to sleep on Emmett's couch."

"You could have crashed in the spare bedroom upstairs if you needed to."

"What spare…you mean your room?"

"Yeah. That room."

"Then where would you have slept? I would be putting you out of your bed, Bella. I couldn't do that to you," he looked at me in confusion.

"I don't sleep up there. I take that back, I slept up there one night when Mom fell asleep on the couch, but I prefer to sleep down here on the couch myself."

"Why would you do that? Or do you sleep on a couch back in Phoenix? You aren't one of the 'eccentric' authors that does weird shit, are you? You don't have five hundred cats in your apartment, do you?"

I smacked him on the shoulder, "No, I am not! I just don't feel comfortable sleeping in there, like I don't belong …hell, I don't really belong in this house at all." I poured his glass of soda and turned to walk back to the living room, "And I only have one cat. That is if Vicky gives her back to me when I get home."

I sat down on the couch and picked my laptop up off the coffee table and started to boot it up. If I was going to do this, I going to have to do it before I lost my nerve. Edward joined me a couple of minutes later, I didn't know what held him up in the kitchen, nor did I want to ask. He just sat there watching me while I pulled up the files on my computer.

As soon as everything was up I held the computer out to him. He looked from me to it several times before tentatively reaching out and grabbing it, like I was going to change my mind at any second and pull it back. It was a tempting idea. I sat there as he smiled and looked down at the files in front of him. I knew that he read my books.

I hated it whenever anyone would start reading one of my books in front of me. It made me too self-conscious. I tried to turn on the TV and find something to watch, but after the third time flipping through the channels I gave up and turned it back off. I wandered over to my bag and grabbed a book that I was reading out and tried to read it but I couldn't concentrate. It might have had a lot to do with the fact that I was back to sitting on the couch right next to Edward. I ended up sitting there and staring at him, like if I stared hard enough I'd be able to read his mind and see what he really thought of my story.

I sat there watching him for a long time before I finally forced myself to look away. It also wasn't the first time since I met him that I appreciated how handsome he was. When I just couldn't take it anymore, I stood up and walked outside to wait on the porch for the pizza to be delivered. I had only been sitting there for a few minutes reading my book when I found myself staring at a pair of men's shoes. I looked up and smiled to find Carlisle standing in front of me.

EPOV:

I stood in the kitchen after she walked out, dumbfounded by what she said. I could vaguely remember her making similar comments in the last few days but it hadn't really clicked with me until now. Maybe it was because I now knew exactly what had happened between her and Charlie and how she had felt unwanted by him that I now caught that comment for what it was. It made me so sad that she felt that way. He'd told me on more than one occasion how much he missed her and wished that she would visit. I do regret never asking him why he never visited her. That fault lies with both of them. He could have gone to Arizona just as easily as she could have come here. I never understood why he did and I always chickened out of asking him, never wanting to overstep my bounds and upset him. Besides that, she had to know that my family and I wanted her here.

I finally came to my senses and went in to the living room where I found her sitting on the couch with her computer on her lap. I sat down quietly and waited to see if she was really going to let me read her book. I had been looking forward to this all day, but at this point I wouldn't have cared if she changed her mind and we just sat there and talked all night. I hesitated when she held the computer out to me, giving her one last chance to change her mind but she didn't. I found myself sitting there, staring at the screen, unable to focus on the words that were written there. Bella was one of my favorite authors and to get this chance, to read what she was writing long before anyone else did. ..well, I could never repay her for a gift of this magnitude. This opportunity was priceless.

The book was off to an amazing start. I was a little irked because I had been hoping that she would start the book with the answer to the cliffhanger she'd left the last one on, but nope, there was not one mention of it. I was trying to read quickly, yet thoroughly, so I would get as much as possible out of it and be able to help her and give her advice. That was why she was letting me read it in the first place.

Overall, it was just as amazing as the rest of the series had been, but I started to notice that something was off in the story a couple of chapters in. The characters weren't acting like themselves at all. I reached over to the end table and grabbed the notepad that Charlie always kept there and started making notes. I had just finished writing when Bella walked back into the house with the pizza and my father. The first I was thrilled about, as I was starving, the second surprised the hell out of me. Bella sat the pizza on the table and walked off into the kitchen. I could hear her opening cabinets so I assumed that she was getting us some plates.

"Dad! What are you doing here?"

"Your Mom and I are watching Bree tonight so your brother and Rose can have a date night. They fell asleep on the couch so I wandered outside, only to see Bella sitting on the porch and your car in the driveway. I got curious so I came over to see what you two were up to tonight."

"She's letting me help her with her book."

"That's what she said." Bella walked back in the room and handed me a plate and then offered Dad one. He declined, saying that he'd just eaten dinner and wasn't hungry but he did take the beer that Bella offered him. I put the computer down while I was eating so I wouldn't accidentally get food all over it.

The three of us sat there talking about absolutely nothing of consequence as we ate. Even though Dad claimed not to be hungry he grabbed a piece of the cheese bread, saying that there was no way that he could pass that up. I had ordered from Maggie's Pizza. Maggie made the best pizza in the world. I couldn't find anything in New York that compared to it in my mind. Charlie and my family always ordered from Maggie. I would have to take Bella in there sometime and introduce them. Then I realized that it didn't really matter because Bella would be leaving town again as soon as she finished settling Charlie's estate, and then she'd never be back. That thought made me sad. Part of it was because Charlie was a great man and I never wanted to see the memory of him to dim from the people of Forks that he served so faithfully, and partly because I was sure that I might actually miss her.

"So, Bella, I see that Ben got your car fixed. What are you going to do with the truck now that you don't need it?" Dad asked her, pulling me out of my thoughts and back to their conversation.

"Actually, I am going to keep it and drive it as my main vehicle. I am trying to decide whether to sell the car or just put in storage in case I need it if the truck has to be serviced." Dad and I looked at her in complete shock. I would never have imagined that she would choose Charlie's old truck over her fancy car. Forget I might miss her; I was definitely going to miss having her around when she had to return to her life in Phoenix.

A/N:

Happy Saturday! Thanks to my wonderful beta, Sweetpea123 for being an amazing person and a great help to me. I did make a couple changes after I got this back from her so all mistakes are mine.

Anybody here reading Rowling's first endeavor away from Potter? I'm loving it. Such an amazing story.

Here's to a full weekend of school plays, fundraiser runs, orchestra rehearsals, and laundry! See you next Saturday!