27
EPOV
When I crawled out of bed the next morning, the first thought I had was of Bella. Did that make me whipped? Probably, but I was worried about her. She had been so upset last night. Even though she didn't say anything, I knew she was missing her parents. Thankfully, my parents seemed to understand that Bella needed me. When I got home last night, they just asked me how she was and left it alone after I assured them she was fine, even if I was worried, too.
I crawled out of my bed and headed out to the kitchen. My mother was sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee in her hand. She was staring that the table with a vacant look on her face. I knew that face. That was her mom face.
"What are you doing up so early?" I asked, heading over to the fridge. I poured myself a glass of orange juice and sat down across from her.
"Couldn't sleep," she said, softly as she looked up at me. I cocked an eyebrow at her. She never had trouble sleeping. "Ok, I'll admit it. I'm worried about Bella."
"Oh," I said, tensely. "Do…do you not like her?"
"Of course, I do, Darling," said Elizabeth, quickly. "That's not what I meant. I just meant that she was so upset last night. I'm afraid I may have upset her somehow."
"Mom, you didn't do anything," I said, trying to reassure her.
"I don't know," she said, warily.
"Bella's parents are gone," I said, softly. Elizabeth looked up at me.
"Where are they?" asked Elizabeth.
"Mom, they died," I whispered. Elizabeth gasped as she brought her hands up to her mouth. "A couple years ago and she lives with her brothers."
"Oh, dear," she muttered.
"Bella has really struggled with their death," I explained. "I can't go into details because it's not my story but she hasn't had an easy time. She thought you and Dad were going to take me back to Italy and it scared her."
"Didn't you tell her that we weren't going to?" asked Elizabeth.
"Numerous times," I said, nodding my head. "But she's afraid that she's making a bad impression on you and that you are going to take me away."
"Hmm, well, what do I do to make her understand that I will not be doing that?" asked Elizabeth.
"I don't know," I said, shrugging my shoulders. My mother leaned back in her seat and gave me a penetrating look. "What?"
"Are you and Bella having sex?" she asked, bluntly.
"Mom," I whined, standing up.
"Don't Mom me, Edward," laughed Elizabeth. "She made comments last night about…Well, I was just wondering."
"No, we aren't having sex," I muttered. "For christ sake, Mom, we've only been seeing each other a few weeks."
"Ok, ok, I'm sorry. I had to ask," said Elizabeth, smiling at me. "Are you in love with her?"
"Mom," I grumbled, putting my glass in the sink.
"Do you, Edward?" she asked, again. "Do you love her?"
"Yes," I muttered. I turned and looked back at her. "I'm so in love with her."
"Have you told her?" asked Elizabeth, smiling at me.
"Yes," I murmured.
"Does she love you in return?" she asked.
"Yes," I sighed, nodding my head.
"Aw, my darling boy," sighed Elizabeth. I rolled my eyes and headed out of the room. "Don't be embarrassed, Edward. I think it's cute."
I merely groaned as I went into my bedroom, shutting the door behind me. I heard my mother laughing. Oh, yeah, she thought she was so funny. I stripped out of my pajamas and changed into my running clothes. I grabbed my iPod and headed out of the apartment, waving my mother off when she started laughing again. Just as I knew she would be, I caught up with Bella as she was running downtown.
"Hey, you ok?" I asked, pulling her to a stop. She looked up at me with heavy eyes.
"I didn't sleep much last night," said Bella.
"Nightmares?" I asked, frowning. Bella simply nodded her head. "Why didn't you call me? I would have come over."
"You know why," muttered Bella, looking away. I gently pulled her face around so she was looking at me.
"Bella, I promise you that I am not going anywhere," I said.
"But after…" she trailed off and looked away. "She's going to think I'm fucking crazy."
"No, she doesn't," I said, moving in front of her again. "I told her about your parents being dead."
"What?" she asked, snapping her eyes up at me.
"I didn't tell her details, just that they were gone," I said, quickly. "I would never break your trust like that."
"Oh," whispered Bella, pulling her bottom lip in between her lips. "Sorry, I just… Thank you."
"Don't thank me," I smiled, pulling her as close to my body as I could. "I love you, Bella, and I will never do anything to purposely hurt you."
"I love you, too," she murmured.
I kissed Bella softly before we finished our run. I left Bella at the gym and headed back to the apartment. I was almost there when a black luxury car pulled up next to me. The windows were so dark that I couldn't see inside of them. As it came to stop, I took several steps back. What if it was some kind of crazy, pervert?
The door to the car opened and out stepped Aro Volturi. He was looking smug, almost proud that he had caught me alone.
"Well, you look scared," he commented, raising an eyebrow at me.
"Gee, I can't imagine why," I muttered, tersely as I took another step back.
"I'm not going to hurt you, Edward," chuckled Aro, putting his hands up. "I would just like to talk to you for a minute."
"I don't have anything to say to you," I snapped, turning away. He reached out and grabbed my arm. I turned and raised my fist but he caught it in mid air.
"Calm down now, Boy," he ordered, firmly. "I told you I was not going to hurt you and I would really like to be able to keep my word."
"Let go of me," I growled. Aro smiled as he let go of both my fist and my arm.
"No need to be rude," he said, hastily. "I have a simple proposition for you."
"I don't swing that way," I quipped.
"Don't get smart," sneered Aro, dropping all sense of friendliness. "I saw you fighting in Seattle and I think you could be great. However, you are not going to go anywhere as long as you let those people continue with your training."
"Those people, huh?" I asked. "So you are offering to take over my training, is that it?"
"Not exactly," he said. "I run a private organization that could help get your name out."
"I'm sure it's legal, right?" I asked, pointedly.
"Completely," said Aro, waving me off. "I would never get you involved in an illegal operation."
"I don't think I believe you," I said, dryly. "Besides, I'm not interested."
"You haven't even considered it," pointed out Aro. "Don't you think you should consider all the options before you make a decision that could effect your future and the future of that little girlfriend of yours."
"You leave her alone," I seethed.
"I can't do that, Edward," said Aro. "I want her as well. I will have the both of you in my organization, one way or another."
"Stay the fuck away from the both of us," I snapped.
"I'll be seeing you again, Edward," said Aro, ignoring my threats. "Soon. Very soon."
Aro climbed back into his car and drove away. I stood there for several minutes, unsure of what to do. He had just threatened not only me but Bella. God, was there just no end to what this asshole would do? I'm not sure how I managed to make it home. My heart felt like it was going to burst through my chest, my legs felt like they had lead in them. My eyes were flickering around me, eyeing every sound that was there. I ran up the steps and threw open the front door to the apartment, slamming it against the wall behind me.
"Edward?" asked my mother. She, my father, and Esme were sitting in the living room. She stood up and came over to me. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," I said, quickly. I shut the door behind me.
"Something is wrong," said Ed, standing up. "You are shaking and pale."
"I'm…I'm fine," I muttered, pulling away from my mother. "I just need to shower."
I rushed into my bedroom, leaving them in my wake. I shut the door behind me and slide to the floor. I gripped my hair into my hands and yanked on it as I silently screamed. I couldn't lose Bella now. Not to Aro, or to anyone else. I don't think I could survive that. I just didn't know what to do. If I told my parents about Aro, they would certainly force me to Italy with them.
"Edward, are you sure you are ok?" asked Esme.
"I'm fine," I said, shakily. "I'll be out in a minute."
"Ok," said Esme.
I scrambled to my feet and headed into the bathroom. I barely remember taking my shower, drying off, or getting dressed. I stumbled out of my room only to find Esme, Ed, and Elizabeth waiting for me in the living room.
"I'm going to go see Bella," I muttered, adverting my eyes from them.
"We all are," smiled Elizabeth. "We are going out for brunch."
"Oh," I muttered. "Ok."
A few minutes later, Esme pulled her car up in front of the gym. The four of us climbed out and headed inside. Carlisle, Emmett, Jasper, Renee, Charlie, and Bella were waiting for us with Alice and Rose, who looked almost giddy. I went over and pulled Bella into my arms, holding her as tight as I could. I barely heard Esme introduce Alice and Rose to our parents as I had my face buried in Bella's hair. She had her hands on my chest.
"What's wrong?" asked Bella, just loud enough for me to hear.
"I…" I trailed off, pulling back and looking at her.
"Well, are we ready?" asked Elizabeth, looking around at everyone.
"Yeah," I said, shortly. "I'm riding with Bella."
"Ok," frowned Elizabeth.
As we all headed out to our cars, I saw my parents exchange a look. Bella and I climbed into her car but she didn't pull out after everyone else did. She turned and looked at me.
"What is wrong?" she asked. I buried my face in my hands as I broke down and cried like a baby. "Edward, you're scaring the shit out of me."
"Aro," I choked out. I took a deep breath as I looked over at her. Her eyes were wide and full of fear. "After I left you, he pulled up next to me."
"Did he…hurt you?" asked Bella.
"No, but he…" I trailed off. "He not so subtly informed me that he wanted you and I to fight in his 'private' organization."
"Fuck no," gasped Bella.
"That's what I said," I muttered. "But he threatened you and me. He said we won't have choice."
"Oh fuck," whispered Bella, looking out her window. "What do we do?"
"I don't know," I said.
For several minutes, Bella and I sat in complete silence. I don't think either of us knew what to say. Aro had made his intentions clear. It wasn't until Bella's cell phone rang, causing us both to jump, that we broke out of our tense silence.
"What?" growled Bella, snapping her phone open. "No, we're on our way…I know, Car….just fuck off." Bella snapped her phone shut and threw it on the floor. "We'd better go."
"Bella…"
"Me too," muttered Bella, looking over at me. "Ok, we can't tell them. If we do…"
"I agree," I said, quickly. "But what do we do about Aro?"
"I don't know," murmured Bella. "For now, we just stick together and…"
"Together," I echoed.
