LHM
Jacy cried herself to sleep in my bed, lulled by her tears, finally peaceful. Edward poked his head around the door, checking to see if it was safe for him to come in. I crooked a finger at him, and he helped me slide out from underneath her
We retreated to the bathroom, the door shut behind us.
"Jesus," he sighed, throwing his hat on the floor and rubbing his hands through his hair. "That girl is something else."
"No joke. You did well." I started mindlessly tidying up, giving my own hands something to do. I was full of anxiety lately, a constant nagging feeling that I'd forgotten something standing just off the edge of my memory. It was infuriating.
"Did I? I feel awful."
"She needed that from you." I scrubbed something gross off the mirror and arranged some more things on the counter. "She wants to move into the basement."
Edward immediately shook his head. "No."
I laughed. "That's what I said. It's gross down there, and there's probably spiders. What if there's a black widow? Or one of those spiders that makes your face rot off if it bites you? I like her face. I don't want it to rot off."
Edward snorted. "If you ever wonder where your daughter's ability to ramble came from, just record yourself some time." He was silent for a moment, watching me arrange makeup into a pile with a frown on his face before he stepped close and grabbed me by the wrist.
"Will you cut it out for a minute and pay attention?"
He took a deep breath. A really deep breath. And let it out so slow it hummed low and long in the air between us. He put his hand on my thigh and looked down at me, the glimmer of an excited kid poking his head to the surface for a fleeting moment.
"I don't want her to move into your basement because I want her to move into my basement."
"That sounds creepy. Don't ever say that out loud again. Someone will arrest you."
He laughed. "You gotta lay off the podcasts, crime junkie. You know what I mean."
"But, you have roommates."
"I kicked them out."
My mouth fell open. "No, you didn't."
"I did. This morning. I'm in the market for some new roommates." He winked.
"But what about Mike? And Jared?"
"Mike thinks we're gross, and Jared wants to beat the shit out of me because his girl just dumped him, and he's heartbroken, so I have to be extra miserable because I'm so happy, apparently." He rolled his eyes. "They both practically begged to go."
"You're just gonna take her to your house so you two can skate all night long and eat nothing but junk food all day."
"Jack's a sweet bonus, but she's not the grand prize." He all but glared at me. "Come on, Bells. Listen to what I'm saying; listen to what I've been trying to say for a year."
Bells.
Only Jacob ever called me that.
He stepped away so fast, I wondered if I had said that out loud.
Edward slouched on to the edge of the tub, staring at his feet for a long time. "I'm down so deep for you. And I'm not coming up. Please, just drown me already, put me out of my misery. I am holding my breath down here wondering what it is we're doing, what you'll let me do." He finally looked at me. "Just dying slow at the bottom of the ocean, B, wondering when you're gonna let me up for air."
"Up for air?"
"I'm ready to dive deeper. Just fucking let me." He stood, stepping close. "I know you're scared. It's scary. I get it. I'm kind of scared too. But I want you to do this, Bella. For me. For you. I just want you closer. I'm better with you around." He squeezed my hands. "And Jack won't want your basement when she sees Mike's old room anyway. Spider-free."
I opened my mouth, mind racing.
"Don't say it. Don't say anything. Not yet. Just…" He put something in my palm and and curled my fingers into a fist. "I'll go home; you should be with Jack. Call me tomorrow."
He kissed me quickly and had his hand on the doorknob before he was gone with a click of the door and my palm burning brilliant and bright as a square cut diamond.
AN
*le sigh*
Mad props to HH for putting up with my run-on sentences, overzealous comma usage, and general mental instability.
Thank you for reading.
HBM