A/N: My PC blue-screened the other week and I had to rewrite this one. Didn't take me too long, considering rewriting anything is usually guaranteed to smoke all my mojo.
Anywho, I'm still standing, and I hope you enjoy.
Footprints in the Sand
Chapter 24
"Rose said something that upset you, and I want you to tell me," Edward utters breathlessly, and it's honestly the last thing I expected him to say.
After what he just did to me, I'm surprised he's capable of coherent thought. Not to mention, the last week he's been seriously under the gun with work and has barely slept. It still didn't stop him from coming over today for what's quickly becoming our Monday downtime before I'm thrown headlong into fifty hours on the Labor and Delivery ward.
"I already told you," I lie, and pretty unconvincingly.
"There's more," he asserts.
"How do you know?" I ask, turning to him on my hopelessly crumbled sheets and running my thumb along his chin. I'm struggling to rein in my breath just as much as he is, and the flame he lit has still yet to completely dim within me.
"Remember when I said I'd figure you out?" he reminds me, his eyebrow raised in emphasis, and before I can nod in admission he continues. "I know you well enough to know when something's bothering you."
Chewing on my bottom lip, I deliberately sever his gaze. He's right; he promised me he'd work me out and he did. This man is so damn perceptive. "I'm... I mean, it's nothing," I mumble, pulling out all stops not to subconsciously blurt out I'm fine.
"Bella." He sighs in evident weariness, speaking my name without context. At least not one that I can decipher.
"Hm?" I say, meeting those sharp, albeit bloodshot, eyes of his again.
"How long are we going to play this game?" he asks sounding distracted as he runs the back of his cool fingers along my breast, causing my still-warm flesh to break into goosebumps.
"...What game?" I ask, unsure of his meaning as I grab his hand before he can decide on round two.
"The game where I ask what's bothering you and you keep insisting it's nothing."
He's perceptive and persistent.
"You... you said you don't want to talk about your wife," I stammer quietly as I hastily wrack my mind for what to say to placate him in the likelihood that he refuses to let this go.
"When I said that I didn't mean for you to use her as a clause to get out of talking to me," he points out, but in a battle of wits, I'm no match for him.
I huff shortly, meeting his smirk head-on this time, but I'm not angry and he knows it. "Stop doing that."
"Well, tell me, woman," Rolling his hot and heavy body over me, he runs his nose and lips along my throat, "or do you want me to drag it out of you?"
"That's really not the threat you think it is," I reply ruefully, allowing him to settle himself between my legs.
He groans, and again the context is lost on me. He sounds as exhausted as he does aroused. "Bella..." he complains.
"I told you, she just gets under my skin," I reiterate the same answer I've given him all week.
"Did she mention how she talked me around?" he surmises, pushing himself up and over me on his arms and sandwiching me beneath him.
"She did," I disclose, and while it's not the main reason, it still bothers me. I hate that he's working with her at all.
"I've got her exactly where I want her," he alludes as his expression slowly becomes shrewd.
"How so?" I tilt my head, my curiosity immediately piqued.
"The contract she signed? If she breaches it, she loses everything," he answers simply, relaxing himself beside me again.
I shake my head slightly in confusion. "What are the conditions?"
"If she makes a pass at me again, comes to work drunk, or behaves inappropriately around me or any of the staff, I'll have her escorted out of the building and she'll only be entitled to ten percent of her share in the firm."
"Wow," I assert, because this is definitely a new side of him I'm seeing, and I'm not at all averse to it. "Won't that upset Emmett?"
He raises a single shoulder dismissively. "Whether it does or not is not my concern."
"How long do you think she'll be able to hold out?" I ask after a moment of contemplating it. While he gets along with his brother, they mustn't be as close as I first presumed.
"Not long. She won't be able to help herself," he continues after breaking into a full grin, and it's obvious he's quite pleased with himself, "so it's only a matter of time before I'm rid of her, and I won't have to remortgage my house to do it."
"You are ruthless," I state, unsure whether I'm more impressed than I am turned on.
"Yes, I am," he practically growls against my skin, planting his lips to me repeatedly, before easing himself back; his groan languid with frustration. "I need to get back soon. I have pre-trial at two, but..." He gazes at me for a moment, his frown threatening to deepen.
"But...?"
"Tell me," he insists.
I sigh heavily—just when I thought I'd successfully veered him off topic. "She said we have nothing in common," I admit; it's not the half of it, but it's all he's getting.
He almost scoffs, his expression rapidly turning cynical. "And you believed her, did you?"
"No," I mutter. "It's just her... audacity, I guess."
"Don't let her undermine you. Or what I feel about you," he says, and his eyes this time are serious, I realize.
"I won't," I promise him.
"Good." He kisses me, and then again, accompanied by a third groan against my lips. "I'm going to miss you this week."
"We can have lunch here on Friday," I suggest, since lunch at my apartment is now a euphemism for sex.
Burying his face against my neck, he hums in compliance and for a moment I'm almost positive he falls asleep.
"Edward?"
"Hmm?" he says drowsily, curling his arms further around my waist and pulling me flush to him.
"Try and get some sleep tonight," I say attempting to ease him off me. He's so heavy it's practically suffocating.
"If these bastards would just offer a reasonable settlement..." he grumbles, begrudgingly rolling to his side and taking me with him.
"What do you want them to offer?" I ask, running my fingers through the front of his hair and inadvertently lulling him to sleep in the process.
"Three hundred. Bella..."
"Hmm?" I tug his earlobe in a belated effort to rouse him.
Taking a heavy breath, he expels it in obvious irritation and pulls himself off me; kissing my lips clumsily as he does. "What time is it?" he asks, reluctantly getting to his feet and zipping himself into his suit pants.
"Almost one-thirty," I reply, wrapping myself up in my blankets, but in the absence of his sultry skin against mine, I'm immediately cold.
He sighs shortly, and I watch as he meticulously dresses himself, focusing on his long fingers buttoning his shirt and vest; I could do it all day. When he's done, he turns to me and offers his hand.
With my smile returning in tandem with his, I quickly throw my robe over my naked body and allow him to draw me to him.
His tie's loose, I straighten it out as he straps his watch to his wrist.
"Okay," he says behind a heavy breath, bringing my knuckles to his lips. He's exhausted and looks every bit of it. My heart absolutely bleeds for him, but he's such a workaholic there's not much I can do to get him to slow down, "I'll see you Friday. Are you sure you're—"
"Positive," I interject, knowing exactly where he's going with this.
Friday is the eve of Alice and Jay's wedding, and I'm taking Addie to Alice's parent's house in Olympia with me. Edward's already a basket case over it.
"I'd feel better if I drove you," he says, and it's sure as hell not the first time he's expressed this to me.
"Do you really have such little faith in my driving?" I tease him, jerking his tie playfully.
He almost manages to smile. "It's not you I don't trust. There's a lot of idiots on the roads."
"It's an hour's drive. We'll be fine," I reassure him for the infinite time.
"Fine..." he draws attention to that word he has an unusual aversion to, and he seems less and less tolerant of it these days. "You're taking my car," he decides.
"Your... Mercedes?" I struggle to articulate, but I'm not sure how I feel about driving such an expensive car that doesn't belong to me.
"It's safer."
"What do you think my car is? A horse and buggy?" I put to him dubiously.
"Either you're taking my car, or I'm driving you," he lays down the law with a definite finality behind his voice, and I realize arguing with him will be futile. Besides this is his little girl we're talking about. I really do need to find a compromise. "Do you yield?" he asks, sinking both hands into his pants pockets as his smirk returns.
"Yes, councilor," I play along as his laughter erupts from beneath his breath.
"So, which is it?"
"If I'm taking your car, you're taking mine," I bargain, and apparently, he finds this just as amusing.
"Deal."
"You are such a lawyer."
"You are such a nurse," he leans down and imitates me against my ear, the innuendo behind his tone overt.
I really need to get him to leave before he ravishes me a second time.
He kisses me at the door, and then gropes me in front of my elderly neighbor, Mrs. Cope, and while I burst into flames and hastily retreat back to the safety of my apartment, he whistles to himself as he makes his way down the stairs.
"That man..." I mumble to myself, tightening my robe further around myself even as my smile grows broad.
. . .
My first shift of the week is an absolute nightmare, and one every nurse dreads like the plague. A newborn codes from meconium aspiration, and in between calming her very distressed parents, I scribe the events with trembling hands—while praying to every god in existence for a positive outcome—as several doctors attempt to resuscitate her.
Fortunately, she's stabilized and only spends forty-eight hours in the N.I.C.U, but it's one of those days that will stay with me for years to come. Not to mention, it draws unknown parallels with Edward, and I'm left wondering again exactly what he went through.
It's not like I can just come right out and ask him.
My second shift is somewhat better, but we're short staffed, and I'm expected to be in several places at once. I don't get a break and am forced to shove a vending machine sandwich down my throat on the go.
The third ends with three emergency caesarians, and a mother who has a dangerous post-partum hemorrhage that leaves me covered in blood. I arrive home in the early hours of Friday morning and cry myself to sleep, and it's not the first time by any stretch.
I love my job, but its occupational hazards can definitely be harrowing.
. . .
I wake Friday midmorning to a Facebook alert that immediately erases the memory of the last three days and instantly brings a smile to my lips.
Edward tagged me as being in a relationship with him.
I immediately accept while Alice is the first person to like it with a love heart reaction.
I'm still grinning to myself like a loon as I'm strapping my sneakers to my feet when there's a knock on my front door.
I open it to Mrs. Cullen and Addie.
"Hi, Bella!" Addie bursts brightly, hugging my midsection and throwing herself into my arms.
"Hello, Miss. Addie. You're early," I reply, returning the kiss she plants to my cheek.
"We're headed to Target to get Addie a few things for tonight, and thought you'd like to join us," Esme explains her unexpected presence before a frown mars her expression. "But, I can see you're about to go running."
"That's fine, I can go later," I quickly assure her.
"Yay!" Addie cheers as I place her back to her feet.
"Just give me a moment to get changed," I quickly add, holding the door open wider for Mrs. Cullen to enter. "Would you like a coffee?"
"I'm quite alright, dear," she politely declines, stepping inside and peering around curiously.
Despite Mrs. Cullen's objections, Addie follows me into my bedroom, and while I hastily dress, attempting to conceal as much skin from her as possible as I swap out my sports bra, she gazes out the bay window onto the street below.
"I like your room, Bella," she concludes.
"Do you?" I tease her, wrangling a white knitted sweater over my head, and slipping into a pair of Converse.
"Uh-huh, you have a big bed, and it smells like Daddy's aftershave." She turns to me and holds up a hair tie while my heart momentarily pauses, hoping Mrs. Cullen isn't eavesdropping on the other side of the door. "Can you braid my hair?"
"Course I can," I say, holding my hand out and leading her into my bathroom.
Two Dutch braids later and the three of us are descending the stairs to Mrs. Cullen's house. Her car's parked in the drive, and after helping Addie into her car seat, she opens the passenger side door for me and we set out to the nearest Target on 2nd Avenue.
Mrs. Cullen buys Addie a new robe and pajamas—Disney themed of course—along with underwear and various toiletries. Apparently, it's the proper etiquette when staying over someone's house for the first time. Afterward, Addie drags us to the toy aisle and buys a multi-colored Slinky with the money Edward gave her this morning.
As we're checking out, the cashier tells me what a beautiful little girl I have. I half expect Mrs. Cullen to correct her, but while I'm stammering to answer, my mouth open and closing like a gold fish, Esme only smiles and agrees.
"How old are you, sweetheart?" the cashier asks after Addie hands over her twenty-dollar bill.
"I'm five," Addie answers, holding up all five splayed fingers on her right hand. "This is Bella. My daddy's gonna marry her," she introduces me.
"Is he?" The cashier makes a huge show of excitement, while Addie joins her.
"Uh-huh and tomorrow I'm gonna be a flower girl!"
The cashier mistakenly believes it's my wedding Addie's a flower girl for, and then proceeds to congratulate me. For the second time in as many minutes I'm lost for words, and as Addie skips happily beside me, her hand clutching mine as we head toward the parking lot, Esme actually chuckles.
"It's always an adventure taking Addie out. You never know what she's going to say," she notes warmly.
"I'm beginning to realize that," I acknowledge, laughing lightly to myself.
. . .
Esme insists on buying lunch, and I know I'm not going to be home in time for her son's version ofit.
Can we reschedule lunch? I hastily text him beneath the table as the three of us are seated at Lunchbox awaiting our order. I'm eating out with Addie and your mother.
Not a problem. Around 2? I have the afternoon off. He replies almost immediately, sounding a little too formal, but he often comes across this way when I catch him in the middle of work.
Sounds good. Finally settled?
Finally settled. He echoes.
Glad to hear it.
You and me both. What time are you leaving this afternoon?
4ish.
Ok, sweetheart, see you soon.
"Who are you talking to, Bella?" Addie pipes up after noticing my distraction.
"Um... Alice," I completely lie, and judging from Mrs. Cullen's expression, she's not buying it.
As Alice often says, my face lights up like a Christmas tree when I'm talking about Edward.
I guess I'm obvious.
"How's work, dear?" Mrs. Cullen enquires after our meals arrive.
She ordered a Caesar salad, while I ordered a vegie burger—sharing Addie's ginormous plate of fries at her insistence.
"Pretty good," I answer casually, before opting to be more candid. "Tuesday, not so much. We almost lost a baby."
"Oh, that's terrible," she says with a genuinely pained expression as she gazes discreetly at Addie. It appears to be subconscious, but then, I can't be sure. "Darling, you're getting ketchup everywhere," she reproaches her with a small sigh.
"Sorry, Grandma," Addie says innocently, as I quickly wipe up her mess with a paper napkin. "Bella?"
"Hmm?" I turn to her, taking the fry she offers and munching on it.
"How'd you almost lose a baby? Did the mommy leave it somewhere?"
"Um..." I begin, unsure how to answer when I burst gently into laughter. "Not quite, sweetie."
"I left Gooby at Chuck E Cheese last week, and you know what Daddy said?"
"What did he say?" I ask, failing to keep my grin at bay.
"He said—" she lowers her voice in comical imitation of him—"'you're killing me here, kid. You'd lose your head if it wasn't attached to your body'. Daddy's so silly."
Mrs. Cullen joins me in laughter this time as I tug playfully on Addie's braid. "You're adorable, Miss Addie."
She giggles, smearing ketchup over her face as she covers her mouth in her palm. "Did you find the baby again?"
"Oh... uh, she wasn't that kind of lost, sweetie. She got very sick and the doctors needed to look after her for a couple of days before she could go home with her mommy and daddy."
She tilts her head and contemplates it for a moment. "Did they have to give her yucky medicine?"
"They gave her bubblegum flavored medicine and it made her better really fast," I ease her fears as I gingerly take her chin and wipe her face clean.
"Like me!" she says happily.
"Exactly like you."
"You know what, Bella?" she continues on without pause.
"What?" I play along.
"Before Christmas, Aunty Mary went to Heaven, and you know what I heard Daddy say to Uncle Emmett?"
"Oh... What did Daddy say, sweetie?" I ask, glancing apprehensively to Esme who only shakes her head minutely to herself as she continues eating her salad a single lettuce leaf at a time.
"He said 'six foot down, dead and buried and she's still a better woman than her mother ever was'."
For a single moment I'm unsure how to respond. Knowing who Addie's mother was, a very significant part of me wants to laugh, but before I can decide, Esme takes a mouthful of food and promptly chokes. As I hastily thrust a glass of water in her hands, alarmed by the shade her face is turning, Addie jumps from her chair and proceeds to vigorously whack her back.
"Are you alright, Grandma?" she asks, her large eyes flooding with concern.
"Darling, you shouldn't tell Bella such things," Mrs. Cullen scolds her in a restricted voice. "Quickly, sit back down and finish your lunch." As Addie dutifully obeys, Mrs. Cullen turns to me regrettably. "I'm terribly sorry, Bella," she feels the need to apologize.
"It's fine."
"Mary was actually my aunt, and Edward was very close to her," she explains.
"Who was Daddy talking about, Grandma?" Addie asks with obvious curiosity, her mouth full of fries. "He told me it was Aunty Rose."
This time, it's me who comes infinitely close to inhaling my food, and as I disguise it—and my emerging smirk—behind my half-eaten burger, Mrs. Cullen roughly clears her throat.
"Addie, sweetheart, close your mouth when you're eating," she says firmly, her voice taking on an edge of exasperation. "He was talking about... erm... Aunty Mary's sister."
"Was she a mean lady?"
"Yes, she was," Esme answers curtly, before giving me a look we both understand, accompanied with a tight smile.
I return it almost as stiffly before turning to face Addie sitting opposite me loudly slurping a glass of apple juice. When she notices my attention on her, she flashes me one of her sunny smiles and offers me another fry. "I'm really excited about being a flower girl tomorrow, Bella."
"I'm really excited, too." I match her enthusiasm, even as I'm having a delayed reaction to her admissions and struggle to hold it back.
It's Mrs. Cullen who breaks into laughter first, dropping her forehead into her hand and surrendering to it. "The things she comes out with."
. . .
We arrive back home only a few minutes before two o'clock. Esme takes Addie inside for a bath as I practically bolt across the lawn hoping I make it before Edward arrives.
I don't.
I find him leaning up against the entrance, one long leg crossed over the other and both hands buried deep in his pants pockets with a lazy grin on his face.
My heart instantly flutters at the handsome sight of him, but it's the most at ease I've seen him in a while.
"Hey, sorry I'm late," I greet him, stretching on my toes to meet his kiss half way.
"I was early," he admits, brushing a strand of hair from my face with his index finger as I key in the security pin, and the instant the doors unlock, he hoists me into his arms and proceeds to carry me up the stairs.
"Edward, I have neighbors!" I protest.
"So do I," he jokes, releasing me long enough so I can let the two of us into my apartment.
While Edward's endurance needs a lot of work, he still leaves me utterly spent. Despite lasting no longer than a couple of minutes, it takes me a lot longer to properly come down, and after, we take a shower together.
He washes my hair, pretty expertly that I have to remind myself he's had a lot of practice on Addie, but he's so relaxed he's practically a wet noodle; something he reiterates by bending down to press his lips to my shoulder with a long, satisfied moan.
"Long week, huh?" I note over my shoulder.
He hums throatily and encircles his arms around my waist, squeezing me to him. "Bella..."
Just my name again as a statement that's uniquely him. I love that about him; that the simple act of speaking my name gives me a glimpse into his heart.
"Hmm." I angle my head to the side as he nuzzles my neck and kisses my jaw.
"Once more," he proposes in a murmur against my flesh.
"You're absolutely trying to kill me," I say lightly, but it's all a front as he's well aware. The sensation this man has the power to draw from me still shocks the life out of me even as it momentarily quiets my expeditious brain, and I'm yet to turn him down.
Act two takes me to the brink of exhaustion, leaving me a hopelessly trembling mess on the bathroom floor beneath him. Where he finds the energy, I have no idea. He's barely slept for God knows how long, but you wouldn't know by the way he carries me to my bedroom with the smile across his face wide.
We lay together in silence as our wet bodies both cool and dry. My mind drifts aimlessly ahead of me as I'm draped contentedly over his chest, unaware of the time as it ticks quietly by.
I promised Alice I'd be at her parent's house by five p.m., but it's all I can do to get motivated.
Edward's the first to make a move. Untangling himself from me, he pulls his tall frame into his Calvin Kleins and heads into the kitchen.
"Coffee, sweetheart?" he calls out over the sound of the running faucet.
"Hmm, yeah," I reply, struggling to raise the sound of my voice, and with a disgruntled groan, I drag myself to my feet, and make my way back to the bathroom.
I need to shower again, and as I'm hastily lathering my body in soap, Edward enters and places a mug on the vanity.
He's dressed, albeit slightly disheveled, with sex hair on steroids that he attempts to straighten out in the mirror. "I'm going to get Addie," he tells me, meeting my gaze through the reflection.
"'Kay. What time is it?" I ask, scrubbing my teeth.
"You have just over fifteen minutes if you want to leave by four," he answers as a smirk ghosts over his lips.
"Oh, shit—I'm late!" I blurt, spitting out toothpaste and turning off the water so abruptly the pipes object loudly.
Chuckling, he hands me a towel, and then assists in wrapping it around me before planting his lips to my brow. "Be back in a moment."
I'm still drying my hair when Addie runs into my bedroom and attaches herself to my leg in over-excitement.
"Are you ready, Bella?!"
"Almost, sweetie."
Edward walks in after her, an overnight bag hanging from his shoulder. "Five minutes." He holds up his watch in emphasis.
"Who made me late here?" I point out wryly, even as he grins broadly in response.
After checking and rechecking again that I haven't forgotten anything, Edward grabs my suitcase as I allow Addie to lead me down the stairs.
After piling both mine and his daughter's luggage in the trunk of his car, Edward turns to me and holds up a key. "This is my spare," he explains, handing it to me.
"Sure this isn't a bad idea?" I ask skeptically, exchanging my keys with him as I question again what the hell I'm doing even thinking about taking his car.
In response he opens the driver's side door for me and holds it out. "You're going to be late."
With a huff I slide myself behind the wheel and adjust the seat forward as he buckles Addie into her booster seat in the back.
"Don't go to bed too late tonight, Daddy," Addie lectures him after kissing him goodbye.
"Yes, boss," he teases her, tweaking her nose and reducing her to giggles.
"Okay..." he begins, leaning his forearms against the opened window beside me, "drive carefully and call me when you arrive."
"I will," I promise him, and ducking his head inside, he plants his lips tenderly but briefly to mine.
"I'll see you tomorrow," he speaks huskily against my ear.
"Bye, Daddy."
"See ya, tiger." He glances behind me and winks at her.
"Will you be okay all by yourself?" she asks in open concern for her father that threatens to turn me to water.
"I'll survive," he assures her, his expression giving him away that his daughter completely owns his heart.
"You absolutely sure about this?" I put to him one last time as I jerk the gearstick in reverse and release the handbrake.
In reply, he pulls back his sleeve to reveal the time on his watch, before taking a step back and waving me forward. "Get going."
"Okay..." I mumble over an inevitable breath.
Edward holds his hand up, flashing me a parting grin, and mirroring him, I slide the window closed, and guide his ridiculously expensive—but smooth as hell—car into traffic.
For the next twenty-four hours, Addie is my sole responsibility.
A/N: Let me know how you liked. Or not, and thanks for reading xoxo