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Disclaimer: I obviously don't own Edward or Bella... any of the characters, really... not even the dirt on the silver Volvo... but I like to play with them a little bit...
So, this is the beta-ed version... Thanks a million to MeteorOnAMoonlessNight for helping me with this story!
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Chapter 8: Two steps backwards?
EPOV
I first went to show her the photos in the living room. There were a lot of photos of me, Emmett, and Alice. Except from the time we were 13, because that was just a difficult time for all of us.
"You guys look so cute when you were younger," she said with a smile.
"So, we're totally awful now, huh?" I teased her and she giggled.
"Not totally, no. Just a little."
"Come on, let me show you the rest of the house." I took her hand and she fixed my cannula with the other before following me to the stairs.
There were pictures all over the walls here, too, but of Carlisle and my dad when they were younger. Of Carlisle and Esme's wedding. And one particular frame that held my first entry at a contest for a drawing. It was of a woman, crying and lying in a garden and every tear made a flower bloom. Everything was black and white except the flowers and the woman's eyes. Bella stopped and looked at me and I shrugged. Esme loved to display our victories, no matter how small they seemed. I pulled her to follow me to the third floor where the library and my room where.
"This is the library, Cullen. I might set camp here and never leave!" she said, scanning her surroundings.
"Tell Carlisle that, he would love you."
Then, while she still read some of the spines of the books closer to her, I left. I was smiling while going to my room, knowing she was going to follow.
"Hey! Edward, don't leave me here alone!" I laughed quietly when she caught sight of me at my door. "Not fair, dude. You distracted me with books."
"Well, you looked quite comfortable and I wanted to be, too, so…" She came closer with a smile and I opened the door "Yeah, this is my room."
She looked at me like she was asking for permission and I smiled while opening the door wider. She spun around once she stepped inside and looked at everything.
"It looks like you," she declared, leaving me confused.
"I'm sorry… what do you mean?"
"Well, you seem so calm and relaxed; that's exactly what this room reflects. The blues and greens and turquoises."
"Aquamarine; according to Alice, anyway. I just liked the color."
"Whatever. It just reflects all that. And the windows! You can see the river from here and it's amazing!" Then she caught the framed photo by my bedside table. "Are these… your parents?"
It was a picture of my family at my last piano recital. I was in a tux, and Alice was dressed like Tinker Bell, since she was performing with the arts department of the school. "Yeah, it's the last family photo we took. That was on December 15th."
She kept staring at the picture. "You look just like your mother, you know?" I nodded. "You have your father's bone structure but the rest is all your mother's. Alice is the total opposite, I see." She set the picture back and looked at me. "I can't still believe her hair isn't black."
"I know. Esme almost had a heart attack when she arrived home one Saturday with her hair dyed. But it makes her happy, so…"
Bella was looking at the floor before asking me, "Edward… I've been wondering… why does Newton call you 'Firecracker'?"
I tensed. I knew this was coming soon but I didn't know how soon. My breath caught and the oxygen machine beeped. Bella's eyes flew to my face and tried to make sure my cannula wasn't being obstructed by anything.
"I'm okay, Bella." She put her hands in the pockets of her jeans. "I just… I was just surprised. Nothing's wrong." She nodded. "Uh, remember when I told you I only confided my story with one person before?"
"Don't tell me it was Mike?" I nodded and she groaned. "I hate that fucker more every day, I swear." She sat on my bed and I chose the piano bench. "Tell me, please. I want to understand."
"It was an accident. I mean, Mike was sort of my friend when we first arrived here. We were nice with each other and sat at lunch together. We also had Biology together and we were lab partners. One day, Mr. Banner asked to use the burners in the lab and I panicked. I'm afraid of fire, and, well, Mike wanted to know what happened when Mr. Banner asked him to take me to the nurse and tell her to call Carlisle." I shook my head and laughed without humor. "I thought he was my friend, so I told him everything."
"And he turned into a jerk," she said, and rolled her eyes.
"It wasn't overnight, but yes. He started hanging around Lauren Mallory and Jessica Stanley. Royce King and James McCain, they're the stars of the basketball team, so when Mike joined the team he went all jerk. He calls me a Firecracker because he knows it was my fault the fire started. So…"
"It wasn't your… ugh!" She threw her hands in the air. "Next time he says something I'm gonna punch him in the face, I swear. What an asshole!"
"Don't get in trouble because of me. I have enough to worry about trying to keep Alice in check." Bella muttered something under her breath but I couldn't catch it.
"Can I ask something else?" I nodded. "Your breathing problem? It's because of the fire, right?"
"Yeah, there was something in the materials they used to build the house that was toxic, so it got into my lungs and the smoke didn't help matters. I was in the hospital for more than a month before Carlisle actually asked my doctor's authorization for me to move here. They didn't think I could manage."
"It was that bad?" she wondered, biting her lip.
"According to what everyone tells me, I coded twice. Once on the night of the fire and the other after they did some surgery to repair my vocal cords and my throat that was burned by the smoke and the hot temperature. So, yeah, it was really bad."
She was trembling, so I grabbed her hand and smiled at her. She had tears in her eyes and I hated that. "I'm glad you survived. I can't imagine not getting the opportunity to meet you."
"I'm glad I'm here, too… you can't imagine how much."
I leaned in to kiss her. I really wanted to. As soon as our lips touched, someone cleared their throat at the door. We both turned and saw Alice there with a smile. "I see everything is going smoothly," she said with a wink. Bella smiled. "Bella, your father's on the phone. Asking if you're going to make it in time for dinner."
Bella glanced at the clock and cursed. "Shit, it's already seven?" She grabbed the phone from Alice.
"You can stay, you know? Esme doesn't mind and we don't either," my twin said, and I nodded.
Esme came to us then and looked at me with an eyebrow raised. "You should rest, Edward. You were weak yesterday," she said while Bella talked with her father on the phone.
"I'm fine. I'm not tired."
"Do you want me to call Carlisle? I will if you don't listen to me."
I sighed. I knew she would do it, too. I went to my bed and unhooked my cannula from Bob and fixed it to the big oxygen machine there. Then I lay in my bed and Bella came back and smiled at me.
"Are you staying for dinner, sweetie?" Esme asked Bella and she nodded. "Good. I assume you'll want to be in here with Edward." Bella nodded again with her eyebrows furrowed. "He has to rest. He had a minor collapse yesterday and hasn't been in bed all day."
"I told you I'm fine, Mom."
"You should rest, Edward," said Bella, coming to sit by my side on the bed and taking my hand. I smiled at her.
"I think I'm gonna rest, Mom."
"Good. I'll bring your medicine with dinner. Alice, you can come with me to help."
Dinner was a blur. Bella was laughing with Alice and Esme about all the evil things we did as kids, telling stories about my parents and Emmett's uncanny way of getting in trouble. But I was feeling sleepy. The last thing I remembered before succumbing to exhaustion was a pair of lips on my forehead and Bella whispering in my ear, "Sweet dreams, sweetheart."
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AN: So, it's officially my birthday this Sunday and I wanted to give you guys a gift. Remember I told you guys the chapter wasn't over? well, here's the rest of it.
Thanks for being awesome and I owned someone a sneak peak because they guessed right! I'll get to that!
Have fun reading!
AYEN!