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The tension as Bella stood in the doorway and looked between her husband and his parents was thick and made her feel uncomfortable, yet she couldn't seem to move. She'd already confronted her own mother for abandoning her as a little girl, and it looked like they were going to have to deal with another set of contentious parents.
"Mom?" Edward gasped, scrambling off the bed. "What are you doing here?"
"What do you think we are doing here?" she scoffed, gesturing to Bella. "Meeting our new daughter-in-law, of course."
"Mom," Edward groaned, dragging his hand through his hair. "I was going to tell you."
"We should have been told before you married her," she snapped, her eyes flittering to Bella. "Aren't you going to let us in, dear?"
"Oh, um," she stammered and looked back at Edward, who nodded. She took a step backward, pulling the door open more. "Come in, I guess."
His mother gave her a snooty smile while his step-father looked down at her with little emotion as they walked into the room. Bella let the door close, taking a deep breath, and wishing she could yank it back open and make a run for it. But she knew she couldn't. Edward had proven over and over that he was in this for the long term, so she would be strong for him.
"Well, this is nice," his mother chirped, tossing her purse on the bed. She sighed and looked at her son. "Aren't you going to introduce us, Edward?"
"Doesn't seem like I have much of a choice." Edward walked over to Bella, sliding his arm around her waist, his fingers curving around her hip. "Mom, Peter, this is my wife Bella. Sweetheart, my mother and Emmett's father, Charlotte and Peter McCarty."
"It's lovely to meet you," Bella said, trying to sound polite.
"Is it?" Charlotte asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes?" Why she made it sound like a question, Bella didn't know.
Charlotte snorted and shifted her eyes to Edward. "You look good."
"Why are you here, Mom?" Edward asked again.
"I told you," she said, gesturing toward Bella.
"No, I know what you said, but why now are you so interested in my life?" he asked. "It's been almost five years since you cut me off and told me I was on my own if I was going to be a loser. You know, like my father."
Charlotte inhaled a sharp breath. "And I've apologized numerous times."
"Through text messages and emails. So fucking sincere, Mom."
Putting his hands on his wife's shoulders, Peter said, "We're making an effort here, Edward."
Before they could say anything else, someone knocked on the door. Edward turned and yanked it open, finding a server from room service standing in the doorway with a push tray filled with two plates covered with a metal cambro over them, two smaller plates with chocolate cake wrapped in clear wrapping, and two glasses of ice tea. Looking back at Bella, Edward took a step backward and waved him in.
"You can put it right there," he said, gesturing toward the table in the far corner.
Once the young man, who couldn't have been older than nineteen, placed their dinner on the table, Edward dug some cash out of his pocket and shoved it into his hand, muttering a quick thank you before ushering him out of the room and closing the door. Bella was about to suggest she go down to the lobby and let him have a few minutes alone with his mother and step-father, but before she could, the alarm on her phone went off to remind her to take her evening meds.
She looked at him, prepared to wait to take her meds, but he put his hand up and said, "Don't even think about it, Swan."
Edward pointed toward the table before he walked into the bathroom and grabbed her meds, shoving them into her hands. "You need to eat and take your meds. Don't argue with me, or I will call her."
Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, knowing he would call her sister, Bella walked past Charlotte and Peter, feeling them watching her every step. Her hands were shaking as she sat down and started adding the pills into the palm of one hand. The shaking had little to do with the disease attacking her nervous system and everything to do with the watchful eye of her new in-laws.
She had just popped them into her mouth when Edward said, "He told you, didn't he?"
Looking at Edward, she grabbed one of the glasses of iced tea and chased her pills down, understanding immediately who he was referring to. Emmett had been the one to call Charlotte and Peter. Had he told them about her health? Wasn't that a violation of her HIPPA right or something?
"Emmett might have mentioned that you might need us to be here for you, to support you," Charlotte said, her tone softer than it had been. "Both of you."
Of course, Bella knew why. The handful of pills she had just choked down had earned her their pity, as well. Biting the inside of her lip, she looked away from them, uncovering one of the plates and finding grilled opal and steamed broccoli. She would have smiled if the situation was so fucking pathetic.
"He did, huh?" Edward scoffed and when she looked back at him, he had his arms folded in front of him. His eyes caught hers and he winked. "Eat, sweetheart."
"I can wait," she said, quietly.
"Eat, Bella. You don't want your meds on an empty stomach."
Sighing, she turned and started eating her food, feeling awkward to be scarfing down grilled opah while he had a standoff with his mother and Peter. She was touched, though, that Emmett was looking out for him. They had a strained relationship, but he knew Edward would need support while Bella underwent the trail that would hopefully save her life. Or when she died.
"What exactly did he tell you?" Edward asked, and when she looked over at him, she was surprised to see the anguish in his eyes. The hope that maybe his mother was really accepting of him, of me, of us.
Charlotte sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. "He said you'd met someone amazing." She looked at Bella and smiled. "And beautiful, but that you and she were about to go through the fires, that it was time we put our pettiness aside and accept that you are living your life the way it should be."
"And he was right," Peter added, sitting next to his wife, his arm wrapping around her waist. "We should have been more supportive, Edward. It's just hard to watch your children wander."
"I wasn't wandering," he groused, walking over and sitting in the chair next to Bella, his arm sliding around the back of her chair as she ate in silence. "College wasn't for me. My life was in the game. And I'm good. No, I'm fucking amazing, not that you would know, of course. You've never seen me play."
"Ever?" Bella blurted out, drawing everyone's attention to her. Her cheeks warmed. "You've never watched him play?"
"No," Charlotte replied, frowning.
"Oh, wow," she scoffed, spearing a piece of broccoli on her fork.
"But we're here now," his mother said making it seem like they should be grateful.
Bella shoved the food into her mouth to keep from saying something she probably wouldn't regret, however Edward didn't hold anything back.
"So the fuck what? It's been years, Mom. Years!" he snarled, scrambling to his feet. "I needed you then, too. I was a scared kid making the decision to quit school and follow my dreams. You should have supported me then, so show up now?"
"Because of me," Bella whispered, sliding her hand into his and standing up. She placed her other hand in the middle of his chest, causing him to look down at her. "Because they know I'm sick, Edward."
"It wasn't hard to put together," Peter said, and when they looked over at him, she saw him holding his wife who was sobbing silently. "Emmett left New York in a hurrying, saying there was a woman here who needed his help. Then we get a call saying we needed to get here as soon as we could, that you needed us, Edward." Peter shifted his eyes to Bella. "He didn't give us details, but I know the kind of work my son does, Bella. It's terminal, isn't it?"
She nodded.
"Look," Charlotte whimpered and stood up. "We've made mistakes, Edward. We aren't denying that, but we want a chance to make up for it. Be here for you now." She looked at Bella. "For both you and Bella."
Closing his eyes, Edward leaned his forehead down on Bella's, a tear sliding down his face. She understood more than anyone how hard it was to come face to face with a parent who has hurt you, who had turned their back on you. Like she had, he had to make the decision whether to allow Charlotte and Peter back into his life, into their lives, or push them away.
"I don't know that I can trust you," Edward murmured, kissing Bella's forehead before looking at his mother and Peter. "But I guess, if you can make the effort, so can I. We could use all the support we can get anyway."
"Can we meet for breakfast?" Charlotte asked. "Please, Edward?"
"Yeah, sure," he agreed.
Charlotte and Peter smiled before she grabbed her purse off the bed and walked out of their hotel room, letting the door close with a deafening click. Edward dragged his hands through his hair before he sat down on the edge of the bed. Bella walked over, standing between his legs, and placing her hands on his shoulders.
"What a day, am I right?" she scoffed.
"Is it stupid that I'm glad they're here?" he asked, tilting his head back and looking up at her. "I've missed my mom, Bella. And Peter, while might be a tool, he was there when my father wasn't. They just never understood that I wasn't interested in college or becoming a doctor like Emmett. The game was everything to me."
"Was?" she asked, biting the inside of her lip as she waited for him to respond.
"Was before you." Edward slid his hands around her, palming her ass as he shifted her so that she was straddling him. "You're everything to me now, Bella. Everything."
"You're everything to me, too," she admitted. "And if . . . if the trial fails, at least you'll have your family, right?"
Edward frowned. "I guess."
With the mood thick and filled with what-ifs, they moved to the table and finished their dinner in silence. The heaviness of the evening weighing over them. But the fact remained that there was no guarantee that Emmett's trial would be her saving grace.
Thank you for all the reviews and support. This chapter was a real bitch to write. I struggled a lot with it. This story is so intense at times.