A/N: As promised, here is the first of the two chapters for this week. Thank you for reviewing, favouriting and following!

I see warnings for these at the tops of chapters all the time so I guess I should put them whenever it is necessary: there is a mini lemon in this one.

I'll Always Find Peace In The Meadow

Chapter Forty-six: "help" (Bella POV)

Wednesday 12 July 2017

"Great," I mutter grumpily, when I see Rosalie and Lauren's cars in the Cullen's driveway as I drive up toward the house.

I sigh as I shut off my truck and climb out, locking it and dropping my keys into the pocket of my jacket. I check the time on my phone as I walk towards the front door: 4:45PM. Angela let me leave work early when I told her I had plans. She's good like that.

I spent a majority of today doing my chores. It's nice not having a watchful eye on me, putting pressure on me to do my chores in time. I wouldn't mind it if Renee made this trip away a regular thing.

I'm also glad I can do the chores at my own pace because the bruise on my ribs has been causing me quite the bother. Probably because Renee reconnected with it Monday... and then because of what happened after that. Luckily it's not changed in colour, not worsened. It's just a little more tender than before.

Today I had to work on the floors. Vacuuming and sweeping. We have one of those older vacuums that means I have to hunch over to use it. My left side is throbbing now, and my left wrist, which usually only throbs weakly a few times a day, is now pulsing with a constant throb. How convenient that this happens the day I'm at a doctor's place for dinner.

Edward convinced me to skip my chores yesterday, which meant I had more work to do today. Why I let him do that, I'll never know. It probably didn't help that he used seductive tactics to do so.

Yesterday, we spent the entire day, from about 9AM until I had to get to work, at my place being really lazy. We watched movies, had sex, had a nap, I got my keyboard out of the basement so we could mess around on that, watched another movie, had sex again.

As I said after our first time, "practice makes perfect", and I wasn't wrong! The more we do it, the better it seems to get.

It's too bad we couldn't spend today in exactly the same way. That was probably the only day we'll get to be so... unproductive this week. I need to keep up with my chores if I want to avoid my mother's wrath when she returns home Saturday.

I knock on the door and await an answer, holding my breath in preparation for whichever Cullen is the one to answer the door. Please be Edward. PLEASE be Edward!

"Hey, Bella. Come in." Yes! Edward opens the door, waving me in with a large smile on his face. As he swings the door shut, he pulls me into a hug. "How are you?"

"I'm good. You?" I answer after we break apart. I'm glad no one is in the foyer to witness the way our hug lingered longer than necessary.

He pulls a face. "Alice has some friends over. I didn't know they were coming by today, otherwise I'd have tried to negotiate a different day with my mother." With just his mother? What about Mr Cullen?

Before I can dwell too long on his choice of wording, the friends in question round the corner. Alice, Lauren, Jessica and Rosalie are all giggling about something, though their moods soon somber when they see me and Edward stood side by side.

"I forgot she would be here today," Alice says, crossing her arms over her chest. The other three are quick to mirror her stance.

The smile immediately left my face when they came into view, but I give her a forced smile and say, "It's nice to see you, too, Alice." I can see Edward silently shaking with his barely concealed laughter out the corner of my eye, but don't turn my gaze away from his sister, who narrows her eyes at me.

"Edward, maybe it would be best if you and Bookworm ate your dinner down in your room tonight," Alice suggests, not removing her gaze from me. Edward's amusement quickly vanishes at his sister's words.

He barks out a sardonic laugh. "I don't think so, sis. Bella and I will be eating with all of you."

"Ugh. I have to sit across the table from that tonight," Jessica says, a look of disgust reaching her face as she looks me up and down. I want to lower my gaze, but I don't. I don't allow any of my emotions to show on my face - well, maybe a little hatred slips through.

"Yeah. I'll be sure to lose my appetite, and it's not time for me to diet yet," Lauren complains, turning to Alice, obviously looking at her for answers. When her two other friends copy Lauren, Alice looks a little flustered - I take great pleasure in that - and let's her mouth drop open in her speechless moment.

"What do you want me to do about it? It's his fault. Mom didn't even want her here but Edward wouldn't let up," Alice says, pointing at her brother accusingly.

I turn my curious gaze to him. He told me that both of his parents agreed. Alice doesn't seem to have the same recollection. He avoids my gaze, but by his tense stance I can tell he knows he's just been dropped in it. "Mom agreed, Alice. You weren't here for that conversation, but she did agree. It's not my fault your friends have a problem with it."

"We don't have a problem with your mother agreeing, Edward," Rosalie says calmly, speaking for the first time since they walked into the foyer. She flicks her perfect blonde hair over one shoulder as she looks down at me with a hateful glare and then to Edward with a softer look in her eyes. The sudden change, from cold to tender, is startling and takes both me and Edward off guard. I sense him tense up at the same time I do. "We just have a problem with... well," the rancour reaches her voice as she turns her gaze back onto me, "...you."

I don't say anything to that. I glance around at everyone. All four of the girls are glowering at me. When I look to Edward, I see he's extremely angry, but he too doesn't say a thing in response. When I glance back at the girls, I'm surprised to see Bev stood behind them. She appeared out of nowhere.

She has a feather duster in one hand and a frown on her face. She clears her throat. Edward and I are already facing her, but the four girls spin to face her in fright. "I sure do hope you're all being nice to one another," she says sternly, a grave look on her face as she walks around the line of Bitches and stands in the entrance of the family room that comes off of the foyer.

Alice giggles sweetly. "Of course," she says pleasantly. Bev looks to me and Edward for an answer. We both nod hesitantly, and after sending Alice's three guests a suspicious glance, she turns to head into the family room.

Before she is completely out of the room, however, Rosalie whispers loudly to Alice: "You let the staff talk to you like that, Alice?" The judgement is clear in her voice. I can't help but feel sorry for anyone that works for the Hale's, having someone like Rosalie to obey. I glance toward the family room, just in time to see Bev disappear into the room.

"No, of course not," Alice rushes to say. A light blush reaches her cheeks. "She's our only housekeeper. Has been for as long as I've been alive. I like to let her think she has control. She'll do more for me that way, but we both know she's just the hired help." As she says this, she sends a cautious glance over her shoulder, toward where Bev has only just left the room.

I very nearly gasp at her words, but manage to conceal my true emotions. Edward, who cares for Bev very deeply, isn't as successful at hiding what he thought of Alice's harsh words. "Alice!" he exclaims, appalled. His frown is severe, the dip between his brows the deepest I've ever seen it go. "How can you say that?"

"Oh, Edward. Stop being so dramatic and leave us alone, will you? You and your company have caused enough troubles for one afternoon, don't you think?" she replies with a roll of her eyes. He stands still and stares at her for several seconds before he shakes his head in despair.

"I don't know who you are sometimes," he mutters quietly, before looking to me and gesturing behind us. He grabs my hand as he turns and I don't miss how all four girls' attention shoots to the clasp of our hands before I turn my back to them also.

He quickly leads me down the hall, past the dining room, kitchen and laundry room, before sweeping us into the garage, where he practically drags me down the stairs. We make it to his room less than thirty seconds later, where he slams the door shut, locking it quickly. He paces the length of his room while I meekly make my way to his bed and perch on the edge. "Edward?" I ask tentatively. He stops his pacing and turns to me. "Are you okay?" The only reply I get is a grunt and a nod before he resumes his pacing. Well that was very clearly a lie. He is far from okay. I let him walk back and forth for a few minutes. I remove my jacket, tossing it to the chair that's not far off to the side of the bed and then drag myself further back, sitting cross legged closer to his pillows while I watch him carefully.

"Edward?" I try again. He hums but doesn't stop pacing like he did earlier. "Come and sit down," I say, patting the bed beside me. He stops and looks at me for many moments, before sighing and doing as I asked. He stretches out on the bed beside me, leaning back against his headboard. We're both silent for a little while before I find the courage to question him. "Your mother didn't agree easily, did she?" I ask, looking down at my hands. His hand joins my view as he picks up my right hand and laces our fingers together. I look up at him.

"She took some convincing," he eventually says, "but she agreed in the end."

I nod silently, looking back down at our hands. I sigh and slide myself down until I'm led on my side. I pull at his hand and he copies me, laying down beside me. I quickly move my head to his shoulder and lay my hand on his chest. "Why do you let Alice get to you so easily?" I ask after a comfortable silence. I feel him shrug beneath my head.

"I don't know." He seems to think about it a while before answering properly. "I just wonder how we turned out so differently... I mean, we couldn't be more different if we tried." I chuckle at that. It's true. He sighs heavily and without removing myself from his side, I turn my head up to look at his face. He's staring up at the ceiling. "I lied. I do know how." I wait for him to continue for a good two whole minutes. "We've always been treated differently. By our parents, I mean. She's been spoilt since day one, not wanting for anything, receiving gifts and praise just by breathing. I, on the other hand, have had to work harder for our parents' attention, but try not get in the way of Alice." He goes silent, lost in his thoughts. "I guess the difference in the way they have treated us growing up has benefited me." My brow furrows, and though he doesn't see my confusion, he clears it up with what he says next anyway. "It helped me not turn out to be such a spoilt brat, like her."

I laugh, earning a smile from Edward, who glances down at me. His smile disappears the longer he stares at me, confusing me once more. When his hand comes up to my face and he brushes his thumb across my cheek, where my freckles are hidden beneath the makeup I had to put on today to hide the small penny sized bruise on my face, understanding dawns on me. "I'm sorry for complaining," he says. I shake my head but he doesn't let me protest. "You have your own troubles, and they're much more severe than mine."

Still, I shake my head. "No, Edward," I say, pushing up onto my elbow so I can look down at him instead of up. "Your troubles are just as important as mine. I want, no, I need you to open up to me. I can't tell you about what happens to me with Renee if you're going to start holding things back. You can't. Not because of me, not because of what you now know. You still need to be able to talk to me, even if you think your problems are inferior to mine, which they're not."

I look at him, waiting for something. His agreement, his assurance, something, anything. I'm left waiting for a while before he slowly nods.

His face is all wrong. His whole aura is wrong. The altercation with his sister in the foyer earlier has really gotten to him. He's stressed, I can feel it radiating off him in waves.

I want to help. I try to think of some way that I can, and the only thing I can think of is our newfound connection. I know we can't go all the way right now - I am here for a dinner with his family after all - but I want to help him relax in someway.

I reach up to kiss his cheek tentatively. He looks at me and I smile with what I hope is reassurance, before I press another kiss, closer to his jaw line. I trail small kisses across his jaw and down to his neck, which he gives me access to by turning his head away. I contemplate giving him a hickey, just like he did to me Monday - what fun that was to try and hide with yet more makeup - but decide against it. It wouldn't be as easy for him to hide. I thought I'd be angry at him for marking me like that, especially with what I have to live with from Renee, but I actually liked it. Edward did apologise when he saw it Tuesday morning, but I told him there's no need. I have a couple more now, but closer to my chest instead of on my neck.

When my hands start to tug at the hem of his t-shirt, he grips my hands and pulls his neck away from me. "Bella?"

"Yes?" I reply innocently. I add a bat of my eyelashes for good measure. He narrows his eyes at me - eyes which are showing the affect I've already had on him.

"What are you doing?" he asks hesitantly.

I look down, and after thinking about my next move for several beats of a minute, with a mix of real and fake confidence I reach out and stroke the tip of my index finger down the zipper of his jeans. He sucks in a deep breath of air. I look back up to him and say, "I was just going to help you release some stress." I hold my breath and wait for him to say something. He just stares at me for a while, his eyes jumping between my eyes and lips, before he slowly nods, inhaling another deep breath which he gradually releases as he let's go of my hand.

I make quick work of removing his shirt, before I begin on his jeans and boxers. I only pull them down his thighs enough to release him. All of this I do without moving very far from his side; he helped a bit. My hand hovers in the air for a second due to my nerves, before I take the plunge and reach out to wrap my hand around him.

"Shit," he curses quietly, and I quickly tear my eyes away from my hand wrapped around his cock to see what the problem is. I'm scared I've already done something wrong. His head is buried far into the pillow and his eyes are clenched tightly shut. When I don't move, he raises his head to look at me. At least I'm assuming that's the reason, especially when he nods silently, and kind of desperately, telling me to continue.

I look down at him in my hand. It doesn't at all feel like what I expected. He's a heavy weight in my hand, warm and hard yet there's a silky softness to him. Out of curiosity, I pull my hand up and he groans, much louder than before. "Ssshh!" I hiss, glancing quickly at the door across the room. When he looks at me, I drag my hand back down and a pained look crosses his face. "You have to tell me if I do something wrong. I-I've never..." I trail off when he nods.

"S'fine," he says, barely audible. "Just don't stop." I take that as an affirmative I've done alright so far, and concentrate on the task that's literally at hand. At first my actions are slow, hesitant. Once I've gotten a hang of the whole up and down motion, I pick up speed. He seems to like it when I twist my hand on the down motion. The first time was an accident but I throw that action in every now and then.

Edward's hand gripping at the sheet beside him catches my eye and I smirk, looking up at his face without stopping the movement of my hand. His breaths are coming in quick, his eyes are closed and he let's out a barely controlled quiet moan every few seconds.

Without stopping, I lean down and press my lips to the bare skin of his shoulder, slowly trailing open-mouthed kisses up to his neck. "Ah, fuck. Bella," he breathes out. I smile into his neck, moving up to behind his ear. I kiss him once there before, out of instinct, moving my mouth to the lobe of his ear. I wrap my lips around it and scrape my teeth down it lightly. This causes a shudder to run it's course through Edward and he groans dangerously loud, his breathing now laboured. "Shit, Bell... aaah... I'm gonna..."

When I soothe the sting of my teeth by sucking on his ear, he sharply inhales one final time before shuddering more violently than before. I move my head away from his and look down just in time to see him release all over his stomach and chest.

He sinks into the bed, relaxing instantaneously. It's several minutes before his breathing returns to normal and he finally opens his eyes. "Wow..." he breathes. I smile triumphantly. He turns his gaze to mine. "Your hand feels so much better than mine," he admits around a breathless chuckle. I blush and look down.

"Um, do you need me to..." I trail off as I gesture toward the mess we've made on his stomach. He shakes his head and reaches down for the drawer of the nightstand on his left. His hand reappears holding a tissue and my nose wrinkles as I watch him clean himself up. "Do I want to know why there are tissues in your nightstand?"

"Probably not," he replies with a low chuckle, side-glancing at me. I shake my head, suppressing a smile as I move to lie down beside him on my back.

For the next half an hour, Edward and I talk. Not about anything in particular; it's a random conversation. We start on the topic of books and end up discussing foods. Don't ask me how. I think we're both just really looking forward to dinner.

My stomach is the first to rumble, but half way to having a tomato red face thanks to Edward's laughter, his stomach echos mine, halting his guffaws and beginning mine. To distract us both from dinner, Edward asks if I'd like to have a go on the piano, and as much as I'd have loved to sit at that beautiful instrument and play until I was forced to leave, I declined the offer. Playing the piano is not something I want to do when the devil-duo and Queen Bitch are somewhere in the house.

"Do you have many chores to do tomorrow?" Edward asks me after a few minutes of comfortable silence. I've moved to sitting up against the headboard again, and Edward had sat up with me but has since moved to lounge across the bottom of the bed.

I don't even have to think about his question. Chores are second nature to me, I know what I have to do each day of the week off by heart now. "I've gotta mop the hardwood floors and dust tomorrow. Oh, and I've still got a bit to do from Tuesday that I didn't get done thanks to someone," I say, giving him a pointed look.

He genuinely looks guilty but relaxes at my smirk, which I held off showing for a moment just to watch him sweat a bit.

"Does that mean we won't be able to do anything together tomorrow?" he asks and I shake my head, disappointed.

"No. Sorry."

~I*A*F*P*I*T*M~

"Do you want to pop into the kitchen to see Bev for a minute?" Edward asks me as we pass the laundry room after leaving the garage. We used the stairs that pass through the garage instead of the ones that lead to the foyer; we could hear Alice and her friends' boisterous conversation from the floor below. I nod my assent - I'd agree to anything that prolonged the time before the moment I have to see the other Cullens. Luckily, seeing Bev is actually something I wouldn't mind doing.

"Hey, Bev. Dinner smells good," Edward announces as he walks in, me following closely behind. She turns away from the grill at the sound of his voice, a large smile on her face. Instead of looking at Edward, the person that spoke, she addresses me.

"Ah, hello, Bella. I hear you're staying for dinner?" she asks. I grin back at her, her happy mood contagious.

"Hey, Bev. Yes, I am. The Cullens were nice enough to invite me," I reply. Edward's scoff is only loud enough for me to hear, as I'm stood right next to him. I stealthily elbow him in the side. He looks down at me and raises his shoulders, mouthing "what?"

"How wonderful. I hope you like grilled chIcken?"

"I do. It smells delicious."

"Oh, thank you, dear," she replies.

Edward scoffs again, this time loud enough for Bev to hear, too. This makes her finally glance at him. "What am I, an apparition?" he questions, mock hurt on his face as he places a hand to his chest. Bev looks confused. "I said it smells good, too, Bev. Where's my thanks?"

Bev rolls her eyes, though her smile shows she can detect that he's jesting. "Don't be so dramatic, Edward."

"Yeah, don't be so dramatic, Edward," I repeat, smirking at him as I walk toward the kitchen counter by the sink. Edward, as mature as ever, sticks his tongue out at me, making me laugh. When I look back to Bev, she has resumed her tending to the food, but still has a large smile on her face. "Is there anything I can do to help?" I ask her. Her eyes are quick to meet mine, the smile less broad as she stares at me with shock clear on her face. I've cooked dinner everyday for about six years, unless Renee wanted to order takeout. It's strange not needing to cook the meal myself.

"No, I'm fine. But thank you for offering," Bev replies once she's recovered. Sometimes I forget that she's the Cullens' housekeeper, who obviously cooks for them some days, and that to her and this family, having the children (whatever age they might be) help around the house isn't ordinary. I glance at Edward who doesn't look shocked or confused, just really sad. I'm sure if he hadn't found out what he had on Monday evening, he'd have been showcasing the two former emotions instead.

"Are you sure? I really don't mind," I say, trying to be insistent without being rude.

"No, really, I-"

"I'll help, too," Edward interrupts, shocking me. I look at him, wide-eyed for a moment, and then I smile. "If that's okay," he adds when he sees both mine and Bev's attention is solely on him. Bev looks more shocked at his request then she did at mine.

"Well, I, um..." she glances around at the kitchen worktops around her. I've never witnessed Bev be unsure like she is now. She's always so confident and, despite her job, bossy and strongly-spoken. "I still have the salad to do. If you two want to, you can do that?"

I nod agreeably, and after tying my hair up into a messy bun on top of my head, I immediately turn to the sink I'm stood close to so I can wash my hands. I pass Bev to stand at the countertop that's facing the kitchen island, where the salad ingredients have been gathered. I grab the lettuce as Edward comes to stand beside me. He stands clueless for several moments, just watching me, before he reaches for a tomato. Before his fingers can even graze the tomato, however, I slap his hand just as Bev cries, "Don't you dare touch that before you've washed your hands, boy." I look up at his guilty face with a raised, accusing brow. He flushes as red as the tomato he was reaching for and quickly goes to wash his hands.

I chuckle with a shake of my head as he returns to my side. He jabs his elbow into my side which increases my chuckling, but when I look at his face again, his eyes are as wide as saucers, a mortified look on his face. His gaze flits down to my side where his elbow just connected, with hardly any force might I add, and I finally understand. He thinks he just elbowed my bruised side. Fighting back the urge to hug him fiercely in thanks for caring so much, I quickly glance at Bev who's focused on her task, and then raise onto my tip toes. "Don't worry. It's the other side. You didn't hurt me," I whisper into his ear. The look of relief that relaxes his tense expression adds to my fight against my urges.

It's a slow process, teaching Edward how to slice and chop properly, but we manage to complete the salad just in time for dinner. When his mother walks into the kitchen, just as we're finishing up, there is nothing that could mask her astonishment at seeing Edward stood with me and Beverly in the kitchen helping with dinner.

"Edward! What are you doing?" she demands, fuming. "Are you cooking?"

"Well, I wouldn't call it cooking. It was only a salad and Bella did most of the work," is his answer.

She stares at him, eyes wide, face red. She looks like she's about to burst. Her eyes briefly flicker to Beverly and then fall on me, which is when they narrow as her shocked look turns to one of abhorrence. "Edward," she says around a heavy sigh as she slowly looks back at him, "we aren't a family that make our children cook for us." When she says this, she looks at me with a quick, pointed look that has my cheeks burning red, though I don't lower my gaze from hers. "That's why we have Beverly on days I don't cook, so you and Alice don't have to."

"But I wasn't forced," Edward avows. "I wanted to help."

Mrs Cullen's jaw ticks as she once again begins turning into a bomb that's about to explode. "Well I don't like it, so out of respect for me, please don't."

Edward's responding sigh is too quiet to be heard by his mother, but not by me. I quickly glance at him to see a look of sorrow on his face. "Fine," he answers quietly, lowering his head as he turns and walks out of the kitchen. I linger for only a second, quickly smiling at a sad looking Bev before I follow him out. I don't even chance looking at his angry mother.

I find him in the hallway, leaning against the wall. I stand awkwardly beside him for a moment before I reach up and pat his shoulder. "You okay?" I whisper.

"Yeah," he replies just as quietly, and after offering me the barest of smiles, he turns and walks toward the dining room, where his father, sister and her friends sit waiting.

A/N: Question: is it called a lemon only when they go all the way or is a lemon used when referring to anything sexual that happens in a chapter? When is it known as just 'fluff'? If it's not a term used for what happened in this chapter, then I'm sorry for the mix up.

Let me know your thoughts on this chapter in a review! I'd love to hear from you! I know not much happened in this chapter. Just a lot of talking, to be honest. Next chapter is an important one - I think so, at least. I'll aim to get it to you on Friday! Until then, buh-bye!