Seventeen
After a fitful night of sleep, I welcomed the aroma of coffee that invaded my nostrils the next morning. I had at least four hours of rest, not nearly enough considering what I was used to. I was beyond exhausted; the nightmares of Charlie not making it kept me awake most of the night. I allowed my fears to get the best of me and now I was paying for it. I rubbed my eyes, looking out the window at the sky. It was still considerably cloudy but the rain had stopped. I stood and stretched out my tired limbs, slipped on my house shoes and went down to the kitchen. I found Seth eating at the kitchen table, a hearty plate of French toast, scrambled eggs and bacon that he was scarfing down like it was his last meal while Leah was pouring herself a mug of coffee.
"Slow down killer, your food is not going anywhere," I joked. I really always wondered where the hell he put it; he never worked out a day in his life and was in exceptional shape.
"It is going somewhere. . .my stomach," he garbled between bites. I giggled and Leah rolled her eyes, a small smile playing on her lips.
"Good morning, sunshine," Leah chirped while looking me over, "although you look like death warmed over." Leah always had a somewhat brash sense of humor.
"Gee, thanks Leah and morning to y'all too," I said sarcastically. I went over to the coffee machine and poured me a heaping mug of pure morning goodness. I added my sugar and cream, sniffing the robust aroma before taking a sip. I sighed in satisfaction as the liquid worked it's wondrous magic. I desperately needed this to get through the day.
"Feel better now?" Leah asked.
"I'll manage," I replied with a shrug. I sat down at the table with my mug in tow. "Where's Sue?"
"She's still at the hospital, she never left," Seth answered while he got up from the table, his plate now devoid of food. He went to the sink and began to wash everything he used.
"Did she call?"
This time Leah answered me. "Yeah she did. Charlie is still in a coma, but he's stable." I sighed in relief, praying to God that nothing would change; I couldn't lose my father. "Oh and Renée also called. She was asking have we heard from you because she was trying to get in contact with you and you weren't answering her calls. I told her you were here and what happened and she said she was taking the first flight out here. Why didn't you tell her?"
I internally slapped the shit out of myself. How the hell did I forget to call my mother? "Oh my god, I can't believe I forgot. I swear it slipped my mind. . .FUCK!" I shot up from my seat, my morning coffee forgotten as I took two steps at a time up the stairs to grab my cell phone. I went through my phone, seeing notifications of multiple missed calls from my mom on the home screen. I quickly tapped her number and pressed call. I didn't have to wait long for her to answer and she was not happy.
"Isabella Marie Swan," she said with authority in her tone, causing me to cringe at the use of my full name. She was pissed and had every right to be. "Why on earth didn't you tell me what was going on with Charlie? That was some serious information that should've been conveyed to me HOURS AGO!" My mother rarely yelled and I felt even worse.
"I'm sorry Mom," I apologized profusely, my tone timid and sympathetic. "I totally forgot; there was so much going on at the time. I swear I didn't mean it, you know that I would never do that. I'm really, really sorry Mom. I promise it won't happen again." I still wanted to slap the shit out of myself because I knew that I had undoubtedly hurt her feelings. I heard a slight sniffle over the receiver and I felt even more like shit. I chided myself and spoke softly to my mother. "Mom, please don't cry. I'm so sorry."
"I know baby. I'm not so mad anymore, I'm just upset for Charlie. He's the father of my child and he's sick. I would be devastated if something ever happened to him," she said with another sniffle. I understood wholeheartedly what she meant; they were no longer together but they were still tied to each through me, their only child. They still cared and respected each other, managing to co-parent with ease when I was growing up.
"Bella are you listening to a word I've said?" My mom said through the receiver, annoyance evident in her voice. I snapped back to reality and focused.
"I'm sorry, Mom. What we're you saying?"
"I said that I'm taking a plane out there and I should be there in a few hours. Will you pick me up from the airport when I get there?"
"Sure thing. I'll see you soon. And Mom?"
"Yes honey?"
"I love you."
"I love you too, sweetheart. See you soon," she said tenderly.
"Bye." I ended the call and paced the room, tapping my phone against my palm as I thought about everything that had transpired over the last twenty four hours. At that moment, my phone rang, interrupting my thought process. I looked down and Edward's name flashed across the screen. I answered quickly.
"Hello?"
"Bella, I'm in Seattle. I called Garrett and he can bring me to you. What is your address?" Edward was close and I couldn't wait to have him with me. I gave him the address and he promised that he would be here in a couple of hours. When I hung up with him, I hopped in the shower and got ready. I threw on a v-neck tee, ripped jeans, and converse sneakers and went downstairs to talk to Seth and Leah. I filled them in on Renée and told them about Edward. Both were not shocked to find out about our relationship, saying that Billy had already spilled the beans about that all thanks to Jacob fucking Black. According to them, everyone knew and that they were just waiting for me to come clean. I promised that I would explain the actual story of our new founded relationship, sans the whole 'we met at sex club and friends with benefits until we fell on love' tidbit. I would take that to the grave with me.
"So when should he be here?" Leah asked. Her curiosity was piqued and I couldn't blame her; the last time I had a real relationship was with Jacob when I was still a teenager.
"In a couple of hours; he's on his way here from Seattle as we speak."
"Where is he gonna stay?" Leah and Seth asked in unison.
I couldn't help the smile that broke out. "Knowing Edward, he has a place already lined up." They looked at each other, sharing unspoken thoughts and returned their attention back to me. "What's with the looks?" I was slightly annoyed, hating to be left out of the loop of whatever internal debates they had.
Leah was the one to speak first. "So you're telling us that he's on his way to Forks and that he came all the way from the other side of the country to be with you, no hesitation?"
"Uh. . .yeah," I answered, a little annoyed by the question.
"Wow, he must really love you," Seth said in awe. Finally everything clicked in to place; I finally got why they looked so confused. I stealthily avoided relationships like the plague for several years and now here I was, in a serious relationship and head over heels in love.
"I do and it's so crazy," I admitted. Being in love with Edward was emotionally overwhelming but in a really good way.
"That's really great, Bells." Seth grinned widely, pure honesty ringing through his words, "we're really happy for you." Leah smiled and shook her head in agreement and I couldn't stop smiling. I gave both of them a hug, happy that they were excited for me. I swear I was giving out hugs ever since I met Edward; he brought out something in me that I no longer thought existed, affection. I cared about my family and friends but I didn't go out of my way to give people hugs. They accepted that was how I worked but now they saw the subtle changes in me and I was starting to see them myself. It felt really good, too. Slowly but surely, I was becoming myself again and Edward's love brought it on. At that thought alone, I fell even harder for him.
After our talk, I sat down and ate the delicious breakfast that Leah made and helped clean up before they took off to run some errands before the went to the hospital, leaving me alone in the house. I promised that I would see them as soon as Edward got into town. I went into the living room and clicked on the TV, surfing the channels until I stumbled across one of my favorite movies, Mildred Pierce, starring the iconic Joan Crawford. It was made way before my time, hell, it was made way before my parents were born, but I fell in love with it when I watched it one day with Alice on a rainy Sunday afternoon a few years back. Alice has this obsession with old Hollywood films and I decided to join in on her movie marathon that day and I was not disappointed.
About an hour into the movie, I heard the sound of gravel crunching in the driveway and I hopped up and ran to the window, the movie forgotten. The SUV that Garrett drove was parked and I sprinted to the front door, yanking it open and stepped out. Edward got out from the back and my heart by began to flutter as warmth covered my body, hyper aware of his affect on me. His green eyes met mine and? the flutters in my belly intensified. I watch as he stealthily approaches me, a broad smile tugging at his lips. I loved to watch him walk towards me, the exuberant swagger and confidence in every step he took left me breathless.
"Hi beautiful," he crooned once he stood in front of me.
"Hi," I said back. I noticed the lightness of my voice, my breathing shallow as I stared at the man in front of me, in awe of the radiance he basked me in. God, I really love him. He gently cupped my face as our lips met in the sweetest kiss I've ever experienced. I never truly grasped the concept of true love; never understood the intensity and realness of it. But now, in this moment, this kiss shared just between us was the embodiment of it and I never wanted to this feeling to ever end. I knew that Edward was the one and I was never letting go.
"Wow," I gasped when we stopped kissing.
"I know," he agreed softly. My eyes slowly fluttered open to meet his and we both smiled, happily in our own little bubble.
"Thank you for coming to me."
"I would do anything for you, Bella. I love you."
"I love you too," I whispered. I folded myself into him even tighter, content just being wrapped up in his arms. I felt safe and for the first time in my life, I truly felt at home.
A/N: Mildred Pierce is a 1945 film noir starring silver screen gem Joan Crawford and is actually one of my favorite movies. I heartily recommend anyone who likes older movies to watch it. I also have this insane obsession with anything that deals with the 20's and the 40's, as i find everything to be pristine, glamorous and debonair. They were so classy back then. In this chapter, I really wanted to focus on the love between the main characters.