30

Once again, Bella awoke before Edward, slipped on a pair of panties and his shirt, and walked out into the balcony. There was a peacefulness to the morning that she envied. That brief moment before the day started and things got hard. When she could just be a girl in love with a boy. When she could almost forget that she was dying, that her hope for a future lay in the hands of the woman who walked out on her because being her mother wasn't enough.

There were only three tournament days left, and then she would subject herself to several tests to see if she even qualified for a trial that she wasn't convinced would save her life. And she wanted it to save her life more than she wanted to admit. She wasn't ready to leave Edward.

How things had changed for her over the last ten days. She had been convinced that covering PV would be the worst two weeks of her life, but they hadn't. If she were honest, the last ten days of her life had been amazing, yet terrifying at the same time. She hadn't realized how guarded she kept her heart, even before she got sick. She had longed for someone to love her the way Edward loved her, the way she loved him.

"You know," Edward said from behind her, causing her to look over her shoulder at him. "This is starting to become a habit."

"What is?" she asked with a laugh.

"Waking up and finding you standing out here, looking sexy as fuck in my shirt," he explained with a smirk.

Biting the inside of her lip, she turned and faced him, her fingers reaching up for the button on his shirt. "This shirt?"

Edward inhaled a deep breath as she pushed the button through the hole, letting it fall open just enough to showcase the swell of her breasts. "Yeah, yeah, that's the, um, shirt."

"Hmm," she hummed, pulling it down over her shoulders, but keeping her breasts covered. "Maybe I should take it off."

Edward groaned and closed the distance between them, yanking the shirt down her arms, but keeping their chests pressed against one another's. "That's an excellent idea."

Edward slid his hands down her back, grabbing her ass and lifting her off the ground. Bella threw her arms around his shoulders, her legs wrapping around his waist as he carried her into their room, laying her on the bed. He hovered over her, and she felt beautiful and wanted. Needed and loved. Tears filled her eyes, spilling over before she could stop them.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked, holing himself up with one arm while wiping away her tears with his other hand.

"You love me," she whimpered.

Edward smiled. "More than you know."

"Don't ever stop. No matter how hard it gets. Please?"

"I'll never stop, sweetheart. Never."

"Show me," she whispered, placing her hands on either side of his face. "Show me how you love me."

Edward moaned before pressing his lips against hers, his hand falling to her hip. She lifted as much as she could with him over her, allowing him to slide her panties off. Moments later, he had his own shorts off, the feel of his hard cock pressing against her. Edward kept his eyes locked on hers as he pushed himself inside her.

"Oh, my God," she groaned, hooking her legs around his.

"Do you feel how perfect we are together?" he murmured, pulling out just to push back in harder than before. "You're pussy was made for me, just for me."

"Only you," she agreed, her hands clutching at his shoulders.

Edward set a slow but steady pace, taking his time as he used his body against hers. She could feel their hearts racing against one another's, their bodies covering with sweat. The sensation of him inside her had her needing more, yearning for more.

"Don't stop," she mewled, clutching onto him as much as she could.

"Never going to stop," he growled, which only turned her on more.

Edward slid his arm beneath her back, lifting her off the bed as he pounded into her. She could feel her orgasm starting to build, and though she wanted to hold off, she knew she wouldn't be able to. The feel of him inside of her was too intense and her body shook as she tightened around him.

"Oh, fuck," he cried out, stilling his hips as he found his own release. Edward rolled onto the bed next to her, his head flopping to the side as he looked at her. "Sweetheart, I'll never get enough of you."

Bella laughed and climbed off the bed. "Good, because I'm never letting you go." She held her hand out to her husband. "Let's take a shower before we head down to breakfast with your parents."

Scowling, Edward followed her into the bathroom.

—BDBH—

An hour later, Bella and Edward were seated in the hotel restaurant, waiting for his parents to arrive for breakfast. If she were honest, she would admit that she was nervous. Charlotte and Peter seemed sincere the night before, yet she couldn't help but fear that when things got hard, and things were going to get hard, Charlotte and Peter would bail on their son again. She wasn't sure Edward would blame her, or not.

"Did you bring your meds?" he asked, shifting in his seat so that he was facing her.

Bella nodded. "They're in my bag. I made sure I got my lunch meds, too." She paused. "Are you nervous about your match?"

"A little," he confessed. "Whitlock and I are pretty much a shoe in. We'd have to lose twice today to not make it into the finals, but this team is pretty good. With Mitchell and Cheney already into the finals, Whitlock and I will have to really work for it today."

Bella bit her lip, but before she could say anything, their attention was drawn to the entrance of the restaurant where Charlotte and Peter stood. Her shoulders tensed as they made eye contact with them, said something to the young lady at the hostess podium, and started toward them.

"Here we fucking go," Edward murmured under his breath before standing up and reaching for his mother, pulling her into a hug. "Morning."

"Good morning, darling," Charlotte crooned, her eyes shifting from her son to Bella. The smile that slid onto her lips could only be called pity. "Bella, how are you this morning?"

"I'm fine," she replied, unsure what the woman was expecting her to say. Was she fine? No. Her head hurt, her body ached, and she was dying. "Did you get some rest?"

"Yes, yes, our room was lovely," she lied. Everyone knew it, even if they didn't want to admit it.

"Well, shall we sit?" Peter said, drawing the attention to him as he placed his hand on Charlotte's back.

"Of course."

Bella took a deep breath before sitting back down, waiting while Peter held Charlotte's chair out for her. Once she was seated to Bella's right, he sat to her left, and then Edward sat. The silence was stifling and she had never felt as uncomfortable as she did in that moment. Thankfully their waitress showed up and they gave her their orders, Bella ordering orange juice and a bowl of fresh fruits and yogurt, while the other three ordered breakfast platters with eggs, bacon, sausage, and toast.

Once they had their drinks, Bella tried to be discreet as she pulled her meds out of her bag, popping them into her mouth and chasing them with her orange juice. When she looked up, she saw Charlotte and Peter watching her with a frown.

"Do they help?" Charlotte asked, raising an eyebrow much like Edward did.

Shrugging her shoulders, she said, "I don't know."

"Tell us about yourself, Bella," Peter said, reaching over and covering Charlotte's hand with his. "You grew up here in Hawaii, right?"

"Um, yeah, I was born and raised here. My . . ." She paused for a moment, thinking about Charlie, wishing he had gotten the chance to meet Edward. "My father was a professional volleyball player for almost a decade before he retired and settled here to raise me and my sister."

"Emmett told us your father had passed from the same illness you have," Charlotte said.

Bella felt her shoulders tense once more. "Didn't realize Emmett had shared so much of my life with you."

"He didn't," Peter was quick to defend his wife. "Just said that you didn't have a lot of family around you."

"Well, that's where he is wrong," she chirped, heatedly. "My support system may not be full of people who are biologically related to me, but they have proven that they are here for me, for us," she added, reaching for Edward's hand, who wrapped his fingers around hers. "Why are you here?"

"We told you," Peter said.

"No, I know what you said last night," she interrupted him, putting her free hand up. "But why are you here now? He's needed you so much over the last few years. Why now?"

Peter and Charlotte shared a look before she spoke. "You didn't know your father, Edward. Not really. He was a dreamer. He was always coming up with some wild hair scheme to make money quick. Most of the time they didn't work, and . . . Well, we came very close to losing everything time after time. You were seven when I just had enough. I couldn't keep fighting to keep us together when he would rather take our rent money and buy five hundred T-shirts that he was going to put some silly slogan on and make a million dollars. All that would happen is that the shirts would sit in a corner and I'd have to figure out how to keep us from living on the streets."

"You never told me any of that," Edward murmured.

"You idolized him, Edward. I didn't want you to look at him as anything else. But there came a time where I had to put what was best for you over how much you loved him." Charlotte tried to be discreet as she wiped a tear from her cheek. "I never thought he would disappear from your life. He loved you so much."

Peter snorted, but didn't any anything. Bella understood his feelings though. If a parent really loved their child, they wouldn't leave them behind. No matter how hard it got, they would find a way to be there.

"If you say so," Edward scoffed, picking up his water and taking a sip. "But what does him being a loser have to do with not supporting my decision to pursue volleyball?"

"It was just so risky, Edward. I worried that you would drop out of school and never make anything of yourself."

"You don't understand, Mom. You never did," Edward argued. "Regardless of if I made it or not, I love the game. And I am damn good!"

"But I'm your mother, and I will always worry about you." Charlotte reached across the table for his hand, which he gave. "Always, Edward."

Feeling overwhelmed by the intensity of the moment, Bella murmured quick, "Be right back. Ladies Room," and bolted from the table. Tears filled her eyes and though she tried, she was unable to keep them from falling. She hurried into the restroom, locking herself in a stall and collapsed into a weeping mess. It was silly that her emotions took her over.

Bella stayed in the restroom for a few minutes, trying to calm her racing heart and stop her tears from falling. Once she was ready, she stepped out of the stall and over to the sink. She turned on the cold water and filled her hands before splashing it onto her fevered cheeks. Before she could grab a paper towel, though, the door to the restroom opened and a woman with dark brown hair and haunting eyes walked in, smiling at her.

"Bella, honey, are you okay?"

"Um, yes?" she said, taking a step away from her. "How do you know my name?"

"What?" the woman asked with a laugh.

Bella didn't understand what was so funny. She brought her hand up to her chest, looking around the room. Where was she? Eyeing the woman carefully, Bella walked past her and out of the restroom, stopping and looking around. She was at a hotel, in a restaurant, but she couldn't understand why she would be there.

"Bella, it's okay," the woman said, stepping up behind her and placing her hand on Bella's shoulders.

"Don't fucking touch me!" Bella snarled, pushing the woman away from her. She turned and hurried through the restroom, into the lobby of the hotel. She stopped, looking around, trying to figure out where she was. She could feel her body trembling, her heart racing, and her chest tightening as she panicked.

"Bella, wait!"

Turning, she saw the woman leading two men out of the restaurant. The first was a tall man with snow-blond hair and blue eyes, and the other, a strong man with wild auburn hair and smoldering green eyes. He had the look of a typical male volleyball player, a cockiness that she detested.

"Sweetheart, where are you going?" the man with auburn hair asked, reaching for her.

Bella pulled away from him, wrapping her arms around herself. "How do you know my name?"

"What are you talking about?" he asked, his face crumbling in pain. "Bella, it's me. It's Edward."

"Edward?" she questioned, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, but I have no idea who you are. Do me a favor, and stay the hell away from me."

And before the strange man could stop her, Bella turned and ran out of the hotel.

Thank you for all the reviews. Just a reminder that dementia comes with Kufs.