Chapter Fifty: Bella
May 10, 2023
Cambridge, England
It turns out that being pregnant has unlocked a level of brattiness I didn't even know I was capable of.
Edward deserves a fucking medal for putting up with my ass.
I'm so annoying right now, that I'm even annoying myself.
I'm within a week or so of my due date, and honestly, it can't come soon enough. I got over this pregnancy about a month ago. It's been without a doubt, the worst month of my life.
And I've been complaining nonstop so that everyone around me knows it.
Edward walks by where I'm sprawled out on the sofa, his keys in his hands, and though I don't blame him for wanting to get away from me, I'm immediately insulted.
"Where are you going?" I demand.
He stops, looking at me. "To pick up my mom."
I frown. What is he talking about?
"What, are you going to drive over to Chicago?"
Edward takes a deep breath. "She landed in London a few hours ago. Her train is due in…" he checks his watch. "Ten minutes."
I blink. I totally forgot that Esme was coming early to be with us when the baby is born.
"Oh," I sigh. "Okay well…"
Edward waits for me to have more to say, but I shake my head, leaning back on the sofa.
"Do you need anything while I'm out?"
"Yeah, I need this fucking Spawn out of me."
Edward, patient as ever, isn't goaded by my bitching. "I'll be back in about twenty minutes," he says, leaning over and kissing my forehead. "I have my phone if you need anything."
I reach up, clutching his wrist. "Wait, don't leave me." Tears have suddenly sprouted in my eyes even though I think I'm supposed to be feeling bored? Or maybe angry? I can't remember.
"Babe, I'll be right back," he says gently.
"You can't wait to leave me," I hiss, my tears turning to anger. Edward isn't even fazed.
"I love you. Call me if you need anything."
He kisses me once more before leaving. The moment he's gone, I burst into tears, picking up my phone. I call his number and he picks up after the first ring.
"Yes?"
I hiccup. "I love you too."
I hear him sigh. "I'll be right back, Babe. I promise."
I sniff. "Okay."
He waits for me to hang up, and after a minute, I sigh. "Okay, I'll see you soon." I have to force myself to hang up.
The moment I do, I'm crying again.
I have no idea why the fuck I'm like this. I don't think it's normal for women to be this insane right before giving birth. Maybe being pregnant has just unlocked the true craziness within me, my ultimate crazy potential.
It's fucking annoying.
I try watching a show on Nextflix, but my computer is too small and everything is dumb, so thirty seconds in, I turn it off.
I get up off the sofa, groaning at the weight on my body that Spawn has become. "You're a damn tumor," I complain, looking down at my swollen and stretched out stomach. My body is seriously never going to be the same after this.
My hand comes down, rubbing Spawn, and I feel a kick meet my palm. It makes me burst into tears again, and I have to sit back down.
As absolutely terrified as I am about Spawn, part of me also cannot wait to meet the little Duckling.
I'm also more than ready to be done being pregnant.
Thankfully, during my thirtieth meltdown of the day, I'm distracted enough that I don't notice time slipping by, and soon, Edward and Esme are coming into the apartment.
I burst into tears when I see them, and though Edward is used to this as I cry the moment he enters or exits any room I'm in, Esme rushes over to me.
"Sweetheart, look at you!" she coos. "Oh, you look miserable. What do you need?"
Her maternal energy is almost immediately soothing, and I feel myself take a deep breath and pull myself together.
"Nothing," I say, shaking my head and reaching up to wipe my tears. "I'm fine, really."
She gives me a sympathetic nod.
"Oh, I remember being miserable with Edward," she says, glancing across the room at her son. "The first is always the worst, if for no other reason that you just don't know what to expect."
I take a deep breath. Even the thought of going through this all again sounds like my personal nightmare, but I feel like it's probably not the time to point that out to my mother in law.
"It's all right, dear," she says, patting my shoulders. "I'm here as long as you need me."
Her kindness brings fresh tears to my eyes, and I nod, grateful.
"Thank you, Esme."
She smiles, stroking the hair out of my face. "Of course, Sweetheart. You need a mother right now."
I let a few tears drop. She's right, and I can't think of anyone else I'd rather have here, being my mother through all this.
