CHAPTER 8

Jacob continued to pester Bella and Edward about seeing E.J. for the following weeks, but when they stopped entertaining him and replying, he stopped reaching out. Bella felt like she could breathe for the first time in a while. Without Jacob pressuring her to see her child, she could relax and enjoy the time she had with her family.

Her and Edward eventually had to talk about Jacob. She cried about it, let herself be pitiful for the first time in years, while Edward held her and told her that nothing was different. She was still his Bella, his strong, brave, loving Bella.

At some point, Edward felt comfortable enough talking about Alice. Bella had happened to see a text from her and asked about it, and he told her all about his spunky younger sister. He had mentioned her in passing, but never went into detail. He also told her about Emmett, too. He loved his siblings so much, and he wished that they could know his family. He wanted them to meet his perfect son, knowing just how much they would love him. E.J. was all boy, just like Emmett, but was still soft and delicate, a trait he got from his mother. Alice would bring that soft side up front.

As Emmett's 21st birthday approached, he asked Edward to come home and celebrate. He wished that he could, so badly, but he didn't want to leave Bella and Ezra. He couldn't bring them, though, not willing to put them at risk.

I really want you to meet Rose, Ed. Emmet had texted him after sending some pictures of his blonde girlfriend. She was gorgeous, but definitely not Edward's type.

Man, I wish I could tell you about my life here, Em. Edward texted back. He looked over his shoulder to see Ezra sitting on Bella's stomach, counting her fingers as she held them up. He was so smart; he was on his way to counting to thirty. I've got it so good.

Got a lucky lady? Emmett texted back, earning a grim from Edward.

I think I'm the lucky one. Send love to Alice for me. That was how every conversation ended. He couldn't tell them about Bella, their phones weren't safe. Nothing around them was safe. He wouldn't subject Bella and their child to that kind of uncertainty.

Ezra spent his nights cuddled between his parents. A one-bedroom apartment was not idea for the family, but they made it work. If they were to get a house, Bella had mentioned, they would have to worry about furnishing much more than Edward's 900 square foot pad. It didn't stress Edward out the way it did Bella, because he knew that a small two or three bedroom outside of Olympia would be in his budget, but then he would be taking Bella away from her job and father. Of course, it wasn't like she couldn't get in her car and drive the way to see him whenever she wanted, but it was a scary thing. He insisted on it more and more every day, though. It would be nice to be able to spend the night alone with Bella without setting an alarm to go pick up Ezra from Charlie's house in the morning.

Eventually, Bella agreed to it. It took months of convincing and house shopping before they found a perfect house for them in Maple Grove, a small community on the lake. It was 45 minutes from Charlie's house, which was close enough for Charlie to come visit, but far enough away from Jacob to where they didn't have to worry about his showing up unannounced yet again. Their house was small, but it was perfect for them. They had a fence, a backyard, and enough room to grow if they so chose to.

After Ezra, Bella got on birth control. Although she loved E.J. very much, she didn't want to be a mother at 20 and didn't have the patience for two children. Her and Edward talked about having children together in the future, after Ezra was a little older, and maybe after Edward had finished med school. That way, they could enjoy Ezra while he was young and give him all the attention he needed in his youth.

It seemed as if as soon as they got settled, things began to fall apart. The second week in their new home, while Bella was starting her new "big girl job" as a receptionist in a big law firm in Port Angeles. She was so excited to dress up every day instead of putting on an apron over her jeans and dragging herself into work. Edward loved to see her smile. He wondered how big her smile would be when he showed her the ring he had saved for her.

It was nothing crazy, seeing as he had to keep up with half a mortgage and bills, but it was perfect for her. A thin band with a half carat diamond, surrounded by smaller ones. He imagined how he would propose. He would have their son's help of course. They had been together for three years and Edward figured that was long enough, seeing as he knew she was the one since the first day he saw her in the gym. His Bella was never one for dramatics. She would probably be fine with him asking her in their kitchen, but he wanted to do something nice for her. If Edward could shout his love for her from the rooftops, he would, but that could cause them some unwanted attention.

Unwanted attention was the last thing they needed. Carlisle, Edward's father, had been texting him and calling him, saying that Edward needed to come back. Edward had been anxious to answer the phone, seeing as they hadn't spoken in almost 5 years, but when he did, he assured his father that he was safer where he was than he would be near them, and if he was coming home for any reason, it would be to take Alice and Emmett back with him. He made it very clear to his father that he had no intention on seeing him any time soon.

Carlisle was still insistent, and even got his siblings to pester him. Alice and Emmett texted Edward every so often to check on him and see if he was coming home. Edward would always reply Only if you need me to come get you. Every so often, he would offer to house their significant others as well, wanting them to have the option to bring their loved ones with them. Edward knew that Alice was thinking about it more than Emmett, because Emmett was the "man" now, taking Edward's place as the eldest live-in son.

"Why don't you just come for the weekend?" Edward asked, his phone to his ear. Bella and E.J. were sitting patiently on the couch, watching him pace back and forth while Edward spoke to his younger sister. "You can bring Jasper, too. I'd love to meet him, maybe tough him up some."

"He's a Whitlock, there's no reason for you to be toughing him up any." Alice said back, her voice laced with humor. The Whitlocks were a family friend, as were the Hales, where Carlisle found Rosalie, Emmett's wife. They married for power and alliance as soon as they felt compatible. If Edward had stayed, he may had ended up with Rosalie. Alice got married the week after her eighteenth birthday to Jasper. She was lucky, because she had gotten to date Jasper for a while before marrying him. Emmett and Rosalie did not have that choice, seeing as they were both eighteen when they met.

"Just come, Alice. We have a spare bedroom that you can stay in. It's really nice." Edward said softly, practically begging. He missed Alice very much, and even though she had Jasper, she was worried for her safety.

"Let me talk to Dad and Jasper." She told him. "I'll let you know."

And so, she did. Edward, Bella, and E.J. picked up Alice from the William R. Fairchild airport, where she was sent by private jet. All Alice saw when she stepped into the building was Edward, so she made her way towards him in a hurry, wrapping her arms around his broad shoulders and allowing him to pick her up. She was alone, which meant that Jasper probably had to stay back and work with his father on whatever was so important that they needed Edward to go back.

When Edward set her down, he shifted out of the way to bring Bella and Ezra into view. They both seemed nervous, E.J. more than Bella, but it calmed their nerves when Alice gave them a big smile.

"Who do we have here?" Alice asked, placing her hands on her narrow hips as she looked between her brother and his family.

"This," Edward said, reaching his arm out to wrap an arm around Bella's waist. "Is my lovely girlfriend, Bella. And our son. Ezra Julien."

Alice smiled, observing Bella and the toddler. Her arms reached out and gave Bella a big hug, introducing herself as she did, then moved to squat down. "Hello Ezra Julien." She said to the young boy who was peeking at the pixie-like girl from behind his mother's legs.

"I'm E.J." Ezra said in a quiet voice, sticking his thumb into his chest. "I'm two."

"I'm Alice. I'm your daddy's sister. Do you know what that means?" Alice asked, moving to sit down on the airport floor.

Ezra shook his head slowly, his eyes not leaving Alice as she moved.

"Me and your daddy have the same mommy and daddy."

Ezra didn't reply. He stayed pretty quiet for the duration of the ride back home, but when Alice got him to feel comfortable, that little boy showed his true colors. He danced, laughed, ran, did all the things a little boy should be doing with his aunt. They had a great time; he even insisted to sit next to her for dinner.

When E.J. went to sleep, the three adults got to sit around and talk. Edward was worried that she was going to mention their family or worry about why they didn't get married before they had kids, so before she could get into any of that, Edward took it upon himself to explain how him and Bella came to be. He looked at Bella when he got to the topic of E.J., and she took over from there.

"Basically, I got married at eighteen," She started, then thought of a good way to word the rest of her monologue so it would be sensitive to Alice, who also got married at eighteen. "we dated in high school and we thought that it was good for us and everyone else to get married. It turned out that he really didn't grow out of his high-school phase and wasn't ready to be fully committed to me instead of his friends. I got pregnant right before we got divorced." Bella was so worried that Alice was going to think negatively of her, but she wasn't ready for just anyone to know how E.J. was conceived. "After I got divorced, things moved pretty quickly with Edward, and we both decided to give E.J. his name because he was going to be his dad. Jacob wasn't going to be in his life at all and Edward wanted to. So, now we're a family." She shrugged at her closing statement.

"Wow," Alice smiled at them. "What a crazy life. I bet it never gets boring here."

"Never," Edward chuckled, wrapping his arm around Bella. "But I wouldn't change anything. Maybe I would have pushed you to leave him sooner, but we may not have Ezra if I did." He noted, reaching up to tuck Bella's hair behind her ear.