She Rocks My World

80's Rocker, Edward Cullen, is the frontman for the enormously popular band, Cullen.

He's every woman's dream; handsome, wealthy, and talented, but the elusive rocker has something to hide until an overwhelmingly gifted, doe-eyed beauty steals his heart at first sight and sound.

A/N: I continue to love my Fran. I am grateful to have her. I just finished this chapter. Fran is on a short trip, so we are unBeta'd. Please, try to overlook my mistakes.

A/N: My astrology advice: Mercury is retrograde (March 22 - April 15). The planet is in reverse motion. Not a time to start anything new. Time to finish up and end things. Just be watchful and avoid arguments.

Chapter Nineteen: The Juggling of Edward

BPOV

Somehow, I manage to straighten myself up and squarely look into Edward's eyes. "I do forgive you." I sigh. "But you have a long road to regain my trust. You lied to all of us. For days, you kept up the facade of eating, resting, and becoming ill by the second."

He sadly whispers, "I know."

"And if you hadn't passed out, I wonder how long you would have continued starving yourself."

He's silent.

"You've pissed everyone off."

"I know."

"And you've forced us into making a decision."

He frowns. "What kind of a decision?"

I close my eyes, take a deep breath, look at him and say, "You don't get a second chance. To work this tour and to lead your band, you have to be at one hundred percent. Ali has revamped the starting dates, promotions and pr to give you the time to get your strength back at a normal range. Christy has reassured us, along with Dr. Ye` and your dad that you possibly can do this within sixty days."

He interrupts, "But we're scheduled for five weeks."

I shake my head. "No, not going to happen in your current state. You need that extra three weeks. And with a grueling tour schedule, you have to keep up your maintenance. There's no room for error, Edward. We've all put our foot down … even your mother. Your bad boy image is gone. The cat's out of the bag. We were lucky Kurt Loder was decent about the article which comes out in a few days."

"You talked with him?"

"He sent Ali a copy per her request. It's downstairs. I'll bring it up to you later."

He nods. "I'm sorry, Bella."

Tears roll down my cheeks. "Me, too."

He reaches out for my hand and I place mine in his. "I'll make this up to you." He kisses around my knuckles and wrist. Then, wipes my tears.

"This is not about me." I huff. "You don't seem to understand if you're unhealthy, so are we."

"Come sit by me, please," he begs. "I need to hold you."

Edward hands me his guitar and I secure it against the wall. Crawling over to his side, I lay my head on his shoulder, as he wraps his arms around me.

"I don't have any excuses for my behavior other than habit. I tried not to think about my health. Thoughts become very dark when you don't have a clue."

I sit up and look at him. "But you do have a clue now and a plan. I can't pretend that I don't know what you're going through. I was alone in China when I became systemic. I had no breath, no energy. I sadly kept my condition hidden from everyone, especially Ali," I whisper/rant. "I just knew she would hop the first plane to take care of me. I feel so guilty because she feels terrible that I was alone and without any anger towards me. I always wondered how I would have handled it if the roles were reversed. So, I take a page from her story to deal with you, Edward." I give him a slight smile. "I do understand your passion for your work. I know the feeling. I was unstoppable for my thirst for new instruments learning their structure and techniques to play and create a different form of music. I was relentless. But when I was hit hard, I had to stop. I had to recondition myself to my failing body. I had to slow my thoughts. I had to realize I was limited."

He takes his hand and cups the side of my face. "It wasn't easy for you."

I shake my head, take his hand and kiss it. "No, it wasn't."

"And you were all alone in a foreign country."

"When I found Dr. Ye`, I was a mess. I could barely stand straight because of joint pain, and keep any food down from nausea. I had red-hot hives all over my body and they drained me of any energy. It took weeks for the medications to work, and months for the hives to fade. Edward, it will be a struggle but you don't have a choice."

He nods.

I reach over for the tray, spike a piece of meat with the fork and offer it to him. "Eat!"

He does.

~*~SRMW~*~

I walk into the kitchen with Edward's tray to find Ali sitting with Christy at the island with their heads together.

"I got him to eat all of his food and he's fast asleep," I announce as I place the tray by the sink and sit next to Ali.

Christy smiles. "He should be I put Inositol Powder in his food."

I frown. "What's that?"

"I don't want to get all technical, but it's part of the B-complex family. I'm using it for calming effects and rebuilding Edward's immune system. Within a few weeks, he should feel stronger," Christy answers.

Ali giggles, "It's like a sedative in a way. Right, Christy?"

"Yeah, given enough, it's a great sleep aid."

"You're drugging him?" I question in horror.

"Bella, they're no drugs involved. It will calm Edward to the point of being a sleep aid, as I said, with no side effects. He can take this with any prescription meds because it's all natural."

"Then, it won't hurt him?"

"Of course not. Do you think we would jeopardize his recovery?"

I shake my head. "I know you wouldn't, Christy. I just understand his frustration."

Ali admonishes, "Hey, no getting soft. He needs tough love."

"I-I think we've gotten to him. He understands it's a do or die situation."

"He's one stubborn mofo. We have to be unified on this," Ali presses.

"We talked about China."

"Ali told me what you went through. Sorry, Bella."

"Thank you, Christy."

"It's good you shared it with Edward. Doesn't leave him much room for any error with you around."

I laugh. "I don't think he wants to mess with Ali, either."

"He sure as hell doesn't," she says with a wicked grin crossing her arms over her chest.

"Well, when he awakens, I have a snack and his meds. You could sit with him on his terrace."

"Yeah, it's a nice day. The fresh air will do him good. I know he's going stir-crazy in bed. Oh, Ali, I promised to bring him Kurt's interview."

"It's on his desk."

~*~SRMW~*~

Ninety minutes later, Edward sits up in bed with his guitar on his lap. He stops strumming when I enter the room with a plateful of cubed turkey, chicken and beef. "Whatcha got their, beautiful?"

I show him the contents and he reached for a cube. "I don't know what Christy does with this, but it's so good." He chews and I place it in front of him.

Walking over to the French doors, I slide the sheers over opening them and allowing the fresh air to seep into the room. "You want to sit on your balcony?"

"Is this Christy approved?"

"Smartass, it was her suggestion."

"I've been given a reprieve from the bed?"

I roll my eyes.

He slowly crawls out of his bed with the bowl and his guitar in hand.

The sun falls behind the clouds, as we sit on the two lounge chairs.

"You're too far away." He chews on a cube.

"I'm right next to you."

"But I can't touch you."

I huff. He moves his legs on each side as I face him sitting Indian-style between them. "Better?"

"Much."

I hand him the faxed copy of the article and pictures. He glares at the first shot of him watching me glide down from the rafters onto Radio City's stage with horror on his face.

"That's attractive."

"You look stunned."

"I was scared shitless, but the smile on your face was daunting."

He mumbles as he reads, "From Bad Boy to Romantic?"

"Keep reading," I urge.

Edward flips the pages as he sinks into the article and gripes, "We're that obvious?"

"Apparently."

He laughs. "You're a classical princess. Yeah, I agree with that." He reads further. "Ha, I'm the horny toad who you turned into a prince."

I smile and nod. "Of rock 'n roll."

"I don't know if I take any comfort in that."

I kid, "You don't like being compared to Kermit?"

He reacts with a snide remark. "And that would make you Ms. Piggy?"

I imitate the pig with my hands fanned over my chest, "Moi?"

Edward drops the stapled pages and leans forward. "So when does this come out?"

He stares into my eyes sliding his hands up and down my arms.

"A week before we open in Seattle, and the TV special will air the night after."

He nods. "This is great for the tour."

"Kurt says people will be fighting over tickets to see America's royalty," I breathlessly relay. "That's in the article."

"Come here … Princess," he mumbles into my neck and lifts me closer with my legs over his and our bodies close together. "I can only be so good."

His lips touch lightly against mine. "I promise you that we'll have our tour. I'll do what you want me to do. I'll check and recheck every mistake I've made and not repeat. I won't disappoint you, Bella. I won't disappoint my family or my band."

I hug him close, as he sings quietly in my ear.

EDWARD

Fun Day

I don't want to look backward.

I'm for the here and now.

I don't want to look ahead.

But it's about the how.

How do I see the sunshine?

Feel the warmth on my face?

How do I hear the music?

Hear the sounds in my space?

I want to have a fun day

Without any trouble.

I want to be together

Create our own bubble.

How do I make it all work?

Learn to slow myself down?

How do I stop my habits?

And take away your frown.

I'll do anything you say

And do as you all wish.

I'll make it all up to you.

Give me a little kiss.

I want to have a fun day

Without any trouble.

I want to be together

Create our own bubble.

He smiles. I look from eye to eye, and I kiss his lips.

A/N: So, do you think Bella got to him?

A/N: Not all GRs are nasty.

From: Guest

:They will get there when they are supposed to!

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