Thanks to my team and all of you.

Just us.

I try to downplay those two words and the way Edward said them in my head, even though that familiar feeling I felt in my stomach yesterday comes back again now.

"No witnesses in case I accidentally shoot you?" I joke, setting my bag down on the grass. I look over at Edward with a smirk. "You're braver than I thought."

He rolls his eyes just like I thought he would. "I know what I'm doing," he answers, placing his own bag down next to mine. When he stands fully upright again, he's looking me in the eyes, his face softening as he speaks. "Trust me on this."

I swallow, wary of taking this next step but curious to see what would happen if I did. I hear Rose's voice in the back of my mind telling me it's okay to trust someone—it's okay for me to want to spend time with someone after being kept in a cage for as long as I was in Rhode Island.

It's okay, maybe terrifying, but it's okay to live my life. Edward is still watching me, almost as if he knows I'm about to push down some self-imposed barrier.

I nod. Do I trust him? "I do."

"Good," Edward says softly. "We couldn't do this if you didn't."

Inhaling to ground myself, I nod in understanding and look over at what he placed on the ground next to my bag. "What's this? Did you make lunches?"

I kneel next to what looks like a cooler, and soon enough, Edward kneels next to me, so we're at eye level.

"I went to the deli in town this morning," he says and unzips the cooler to show me what he's brought. He laughs and points to the wrapped sandwiches inside. "That's usually the extent of my cooking."

"It's perfect for today, actually. They look delicious."

"My dad always thought so. Or maybe he just told me that to make me feel good; I don't know."

I note this is the second time he's brought up his dad since we've been here, so this trip up here must hold meaning for Edward today, too, and not just me.

"Smart man. He knew he didn't want to give you a gun and piss you off," I joke. Edward chuckles, a sound that blends into the air around us like the birds chirping from above.

"I guess I should do the same, huh? Around you?" His eyes still squint in the corners when he laughs, and it's such a warm sight to see in another human that I feel my own walls loosen around me.

"It's not you I'm pissed off at," I spit out too soon for me to stop it.

His fingers that were playing in little patches of grass, still, and he looks over at me. He's quiet, studying my face as if trying to figure out how to read me and proceed with caution.

I already know he's not judging me. He clears his throat. "You're here now. You don't have to be pissed off at anything anymore."

I scoff. "I think I'll always be pissed off."

He's silent before he starts to laugh softly next to me.

"So I'm about to teach a perpetually pissed-off woman how to shoot a gun," he confirms with an exasperated shake of his head. "Wonderful."

Poor Edward HAH.

See you tomorrow!