Good Morning, Darlings!

I wanted to mention yesterday but totally forgot... This story is pretty much funny fluff. That being said, there will be some moments more serious than others. It's not my goal to write an angsty story here, so for those worried about that, please don't. I'll save my angst for some of my other little monsters, lol.

All mistakes are on me.


Sixteen: Bella

August 29, 2022

Los Angeles California

We've been living in Alice and Jasper's guest room for the last two weeks. It's been sort of fun, living with them again, except I didn't realize how much I appreciated living with Edward on our own. Day one, and I was grumpy when it occurred to me I couldn't walk around completely naked anymore.

All that being said, I am surprised by how sad I am to be leaving them already.

Jasper had to work, so Alice offered to drive us to the airport. She told us months ago she had blocked out the day in her shooting schedule to be able to do this for us.

I'm grateful to have her until the very end.

"Anyone remember that time that woman went crazy on that flight and tried to open the doors mid flight and then attacked a bunch of people?"

The words are out of my mouth before I can stop them. Alice glances at me with a frown, and behind me, Edward leans forward in his seat.

"Babe, everything is going to be fine," he says gently. I scowl.

"I know." But I can't quite convince my body of that. My fingers are tapping anxiously against my hip, and I shift my hands so I'm sitting on them.

Okay, I'm fucking scared. I'm scared of getting on a plane that has to cross an entire fucking country before crossing an ocean that took out the fucking Titanic-not that the Titanic actually sank, it was an insurance scam at it's finest.

I feel my thoughts spiraling out, trying to distract me further and further. Because it's not just the flight I'm scared about. I'm scared about starting a life in a new country with my husband. Whose fucking life am I living right now?

The weight of the ring on my left ring finger is heavy, and still a little foreign. I brush it with my thumb before glancing down at it. Edward picked that ring out because he loves me, and he promised he'd be there for the rest of our lives, through all my crazy.

Most of me believes that, but part of me wonders if—when we're in a new country and he's under a new strain of his PhD program—I'll be too crazy for him. What if I drive him away because I can't keep my shit together? He's the only person I know in the entire fucking country, and what am I supposed to do if he fucking leaves me there.

"Bella!" Edward's hands come around me, holding me from behind the front seat, and I gasp. "Baby, breathe. You sound like you're going to pass out."

The weight of his arms anchors me, and I suck in a deep breath. Holy shit, is this a fucking panic attack?

I feel like I'm choking on my stomach and my heart is going to either burst out of me or stop all together. Can hearts cramp?

"Fuck, Alice pull over."

What the fuck am I going to do? I know I'm certifiable. Edward says he likes me as a person, but we were in a fucking pandemic when we first got together. What if he just didn't have any other option?

I feel Edward's arms move from around me and I'm choking again, trying to calm the hell down, or maybe I need to speed up? Is my heart slowing? I can't fucking tell.

The door next to me opens, and then Edward is tugging my seatbelt off and turning me to face him.

"Babe, talk to me," he pleads, his palms coming up on either side of my face. He's filling my vision, blocking everything else out, and I feel like I can finally fucking breathe.

I suck in a shaking breath and my fingers scrap against his shirt, trying to hold onto him. He pulls me into his arms, solid against his chest, and the smell of his soap and our detergent and that perfect smell of him starts to ground me.

"Hey," he whispers, and I feel his lips move against my hair. "Talk to me."

I take a deep breath and burrow into him further. "I'm so fucking crazy and I don't know anyone in Europe and you didn't even look for other options after lockdown," I groan, my words stringing together.

Edward pauses, then his arms tighten around me and he lets out a breath that sounds a little like a laugh.

"Bella," he sighs. "God I love you." he kisses my hair again. "Baby, the fact that I even know what the hell you just said just goes to show how much I love you," he pulls back a little, holding my face in his hands again. "I could search for the next one hundred years and never find someone more perfect for me than you." His thumbs brush across my cheeks, and I realize I'm fucking crying. "I know you're scared about starting a new life over there. I'm scared too," he admits. "But we're in this together, and if being with you has taught me anything, it's that you and I can make it through. No matter what happens."

My lips are trembling so hard, I can't even try to speak. He leans down to kiss me gently. "Babe, we don't have to do this."

His words are like a jolt of electricity, snapping me back to life. I suck in a deep breath, looking up at him. "Are you kidding me?" I croak, blinking back the remaining tears. Edward's watching me uncertainly. "You have to go be smarter than all those stuffy old history dudes and nothing can stand in the way of that. It's too important." My fingers fist against his shirt.

"You're way more important than any of that," he says gently. I take another deep breath.

"Okay, well I want to go to England and learn what the fuck a crumpet is while you go teach those snobs at Cambridge what's what."

Edward's smile crinkles the edges of his eyes. "Are you sure?"

I tug him down to kiss him hard. God, I love him. He's so fucking calm and steady, even when I'm a disaster. Maybe especially when I'm a disaster. "I'm sure of us," I say, pulling back from him. "The rest I'll figure out."

Edward's eyes scan my face, and after a moment he nods. "Okay." He smiles a little wider and the things it does to my fucking heart. "I love you."

I let out a breath. "I love you too."

His smile whenever I say it just wrecks me. He kisses me one more time before stepping back. It's then I realize we're in a McDonald's parking lot. I shift in the front seat to see Alice staring at me. Edward shuts my door and I look at her.

"It'll be okay, right?" I ask.

She smiles at me. "Bella, if anyone can handle being thrown into this situation, it's you. You'll have Europe on it's head in no time."

I let out a small shaky laugh. "Right."

She nudges me with her elbow. "And, if you need help ever, you know Rose and I are one flight away."

I have to blink back more stupid tears when she says this. I sniff and nod as Edward climbs back into the back seat. "Thanks, Ali."