Yep, this really is another early update! I've (stupidly)
agreed to an overtime shift tomorrow at work, so I'll be
tired and cranky, and reading any reviews left tonight
or tomorrow will cheer me up :) *hint hint* ;)
So, as always - biggest, most ginormous THANK YOUs to
annaharding and SunflowerFran
Without both of you ladies PP would be a right
ole mess. Thank you both, from the bottom of my heart.
And thank you to all of YOU wonderful people
who take the time to read and review. It truly
does mean a lot to me. I know I'm useless sometimes
at responding, but please know that I adore how
invested you've all become in these characters and
their world. It makes my heart happy!
A lot of you have mentioned Edward and Scarlett,
and their ever-strengthening bond. A couple of people
have questioned the pace of this story, saying that it's
evolving too slowly? I'm sorry you feel that way, but I
don't feel that Scarlett - or Rosalie! - would just 'get over'
twelve years of abuse because a nice boy smiles at them.
Edward IS lovely, but he's not a sorcerer, and their relationship
will evolve both gradually and organically.
*** Tissue Warning***
Mentions of abuse and mild violence in this chapter.
If this makes you uncomfortable, please feel free to
message me and I'll send you a different version with
a summarised section where the abuse takes place. It's
no bother!
~ oOo ~
Summary: When two little girls were allowed to walk
home from school one bright spring day nobody could've
predicted the events that followed. The way two families
were torn apart by the vendetta of a deranged man.
Nearly twelve years on, we'll watch as the two girls stolen
away from their homes at eight years old fight to take
back their lives. If only it were as simple as escaping. AU
Pinky Promises
Chapter Twenty-Three
In the dead of night, a lone silhouette sat solemnly on the patio. Smoke drifted upward toward the inky sky, spiraling through the air in messy swirls. The non-existent breeze left the young man feeling too warm and too sticky in the humid garden, his ribbed black vest clinging unashamedly to his skin. His ears didn't detect the arrival of another until she was standing beside him.
"Edward?"
Dark green eyes met light blue-green, his lips turning up into a lopsided, dimpled grin. "Bella. Can't sleep?"
"Too hot." Scarlett struggled to crouch – her bump larger by the hour, it seemed – but eventually settled herself on the patio, her back beside Edward's against the wall. He hurried to stub out his cigarette. Their legs were stretched out next to each other. A snort bubbled up from his throat when he glanced down to see that her bare toes only just reached his calves.
"Cristo, tu sei piú breve di quello che pensavo."
Scarlett's eyes left the grass, lit only by the moonlight, to find Edward's profile. When his eyes met hers, he realized his mistake, recognizing the confusion within their depths. "Sorry," he chuckled. "Sometimes I forget that not everyone speaks Italian. I said, 'Christ, you're shorter than I thought,' Bella Bean."
In the light of the moon, Scarlett's lips drifted upward into a soft, little smile, her hands resting on her bump. Their height difference of almost a foot was something she'd noticed many times, as well as, his cheerful personality, and the obvious muscles that screamed his strength. In the past few weeks, their bond had steadily grown stronger, and those things didn't scare her anymore.
Loose strings from their childhood had strengthened into the toughest of ropes; steel bindings making them more unbreakable than ever. No-one could have anticipated the way she'd attach herself so inextricably to her older brother's friend; a boy she'd once shared a friendship with herself.
"It's not my fault you're freakishly tall," she teased, liking the way it felt on her tongue and in her heart. She'd forgotten how to tease. Or how it felt to tease, anyway.
Edward grinned, lopsided and bracketed by twin dimples. "I'm actually only a little taller than average. You, on the other hand," he reached out a hand, placing it atop her head so that most of her crown was covered by a large palm and splayed fingers. Instead of feeling restricted, Scarlett felt emboldened by his playful behavior, as well as never-endingly grateful that he didn't handle her with the same kid-gloves everybody else wore in her presence. "You could almost pass for one of Snow White's dwarves."
"There's nothing wrong with Snow White's dwarves, Edward," Scarlett sniffed haughtily, eyes twinkling with the mirth she so rarely felt, let alone showed.
"Touché, touché. So, how're you feeling now? After Kim was here, I mean."
Scarlett's face belied her surprise that he would think to bring it up. But then, wasn't that one of the things she liked best about him? That he didn't tiptoe?
"I…" Frowning in annoyance at herself as well as her inability to voice how she felt, Scarlett trailed off. "I'm okay. It was just a shock, you know? To see his face. And I'd forgotten how much I liked drawing."
Edward chuckled wryly, reaching up to adjust his backward gray cap. "It was amazing. How could you forget a talent like that? Now that I think about it, you were a really good artist back in school. Your dad probably has a bunch of your masterpieces somewhere."
She shrugged, awkwardness blanketing her as she tucked her legs as close to her chest as she could manage with the bump in the way, arms wrapped around them. When Edward glanced down at her, he was hit with the most startling sense of longing to wrap her in his arms and never let go. Her hair was a moonlit, curly, golden halo around her sad face, eyes peering up at him shyly. Her body betrayed her vulnerability, the life she was growing now an obvious presence in the form of an enormous bump. Edward had never felt more drawn to a person.
"Bella, I—"
"Mommy? Ed-wood?" The fact that Scarlett didn't hear her daughter's footsteps until she was standing in the doorway was a testament to how distracting Edward's intense gaze could be.
"Here, baby girl. What's the matter?" Scarlett uncurled her legs, letting Marley perch on her thighs, leaning over the bump housing her baby brother or sister to rest a weary head against her mother's chest.
"Nightmare," Marley mumbled. She'd heard the word before but never said it.
Scarlett wished it was a word her daughter never had to utter.
"Oh, little sweet. That sucks." Edward reached out, gently tickling the shell of Marley's ear. She giggled. It was a sweet, doll-like sound Scarlett already lived for, despite having only heard it a handful times in Marley's five years of life. "Don't you know that nightmares are just pretend?"
Marley turned her head to face Edward, a sweet kink between her brows. "Pretend?"
"It's not real, little sweet. It can't hurt you. You just have to wake up, and the nightmare is gone. Poof!" He mimed a cloud puffing into the air, leaning over to rest the tip of his nose against the tip of Marley's. She giggled again, wrinkling her nose and giving him an Eskimo kiss. Edward admitted to himself that he wanted to hear more of her laughter, see more of her smiles. He'd do anything, silly or otherwise, to earn them.
"Otay, Ed-wood. I just wake—yawn—up."
Edward chuckled and shared a smile with Scarlett, filing away the wistful look in her eyes to be revisited later as she gazed at him with Marley. "I think it's time for sleep, little sweet. You look real tired."
Scarlett struggled to her feet, only just managing it with Marley still clinging to her torso. It wouldn't be long before picking her up would be all but impossible, her small frame already struggling with the heft of her quickly growing midsection. "C'mon, baby girl. Mummy will tuck you in."
"Ed-wood?" Marley reached for Edward, looking between him and her mother pleadingly, her eyes half-lidded.
"I'll come, I promise. Bedtime it is."
Edward paused only long enough to lock the French doors and switch off the outside light, trailing after Scarlett as she made her way up the stairs at a slow waddle, Marley already well on her way to sleep against her shoulder. When they reached Scarlett's room, he switched on the nightlight by the door for her, watching with soft eyes as she carefully laid Marley in her new bed despite knowing she'd be joined in the early hours by a wriggling, elbowing, five-year-old.
"Night, baby girl. Sweet dreams. I love you," Scarlett whispered, pressing a trio of kisses to Marley's forehead as she wriggled down into the covers, only her mussed curls peeking out at the top by the time Edward had crossed the room.
"I guess I'll say—oh, there you are," he whispered amusedly, leaning down to kiss Marley's forehead when she tugged the covers down a few inches at the sound of his voice. "Night, little sweet. Remember, you just have to wake up, okay?"
"Okay, Ed-wood."
With that, she burrowed back down, Scarlett propping the cover up with two of the biggest teddies Charlie had bought her so she could get some fresh air. Then, suddenly feeling shy, she faced Edward.
"So, I guess I'll see you in the morning."
He smiled, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. He noticed the shiver that rippled through her body, attributing it to the chill of his hands after being outside for a while. "Sorry. Umm, yeah, tomorrow. I'll help with breakfast."
"You better," she teased, fatigue settling over her like a blanket sent to lull her to sleep. "Night, Edward."
"Night, Bella Bean."
Edward left her in peace, using the bathroom before readying himself to head downstairs to his sofa for the rest of the night. As he passed her room, he couldn't help but peek in; pausing to take in the heartwarming sight of Marley and her mother snuggled together. It had taken Marley all of a few minutes to worm her way into Scarlett's bed, the duo asleep on top of the covers. Marley was sprawled out in her Dalmatian print, all-in-one pajamas, arms and legs akimbo, Mr. Eddie tucked under one arm while soft snores reverberated around the room.
Creating a protective barrier between her and the doorway was the young woman slowly implanting herself under Edward's skin. Her hair was fanned out around her on the pillow, one arm under Marley's head while the other rested along her side, her hand cupping her bump. Dressed in a different pair of his jogging bottoms, and a hoodie with the sleeves pushed up, she was just about the most adorable sight he'd ever seen.
Edward smiled as he finally pulled himself away from the doorway, heading downstairs to the sofa he'd claimed as his own.
As he drifted between awake and asleep, Edward found himself imagining a petite silhouette wading through the shallow ocean waves on Eastbourne beach. Golden blonde locks with a hint of strawberry flew free in the breeze. A little girl with hair as rich as chocolate bounced along at her side, a baby stumbling along in the sand ahead.
Only as he slipped into a deep slumber did a man appear.
A man with copper colored hair and green eyes full of love for the trio he followed.
~ oOo ~
American Independence Day went uncelebrated in England, but when the Fourth of July arrived, Scarlett and Rosalie were awake in their respective houses without the help of alarms. Rosalie had crept through the broken fence panel an hour before the sun met the horizon, letting herself in with the spare key. As she expected, Scarlett was there waiting.
Palms resting shoulder-width apart on the counter, eyes trained intently on the darkened garden through the kitchen window, she was still and silent as a statue.
"You too?" Rosalie asked solemnly. Scarlett nodded as Rosalie slid a hand around her waist, resting it on the side of her bump. Their heads tilted in unison, strawberry-blonde locks twining with Rosalie's sunnier toned strands. The sun had lightened her hair considerably, the red tint almost gone.
"I need a favor," Scarlett said after a little while.
"Anything," Rosalie promised, confused at first when Scarlett explained what she wanted, but understanding once she'd heard her reasoning.
The girls were just finishing their task two hours later when Charlie's alarm told him it was time to get ready for work. He trudged downstairs in paint-splattered jeans, an old t-shirt, and hoodie, and thick socks to pad out his work boots. To his surprise, the girls were already in the kitchen when he tiptoed into the room, mindful not to wake Edward on the way past.
"Oh, you're u—" He cut off abruptly when he caught sight of Scarlett.
She stood near the sink, drying the ends of her hair with a towel. The hair, which had been his strawberry-blonde when he left her last night, but was now Archie's rich chocolate brown.
"Please don't be mad," she rushed out quietly, beseeching him with her eyes to listen before saying anything. He remained silent, so she continued. "I needed a change, Dad. I kept looking at myself in the mirror and seeing a victim. I don't want to look like that anymore, does that make sense? I just need to be different."
Charlie wasn't sure what to make of his daughter's drastic hair change. Obviously, she looked the same otherwise, facially and still all-belly, but he was struggling to get his head round the darker locks surrounding her mother's face.
Until he realized something crucial; she was different. She'd been different to what he'd expected to find when he boarded that plane to Montana two months ago, and she hadn't stopped surprising him since then. Nothing about Scarlett was how he'd expected, except perhaps her fierce strength, so why should this be any different? Why should dying her hair be a big deal in light of all the other, far more life-changing, differences he'd already accepted?
"I like it," he realized, saying it aloud as he thought it. "It suits you."
Scarlett's nervous wince transformed into a pleased smile, like a chrysalis into a butterfly. "You do?"
Charlie nodded, coughing gruffly. "I do."
"All right, then. Breakfast?"
Before he could respond either way, she was shoving her towel into the washing machine, pulling bacon from the fridge and bread from the cupboard. All Charlie could do was watch, as within a few minutes, bacon started to sizzle atop the stove, and bread appeared on the table buttered and spread with tomato sauce just the way he liked it. Exactly eleven minutes after stepping into the kitchen, Charlie found himself at the table, a bacon sandwich in front of him beside a mug of steaming coffee.
"Uh, thanks, honey," he murmured in bemusement, tucking in slowly.
Scarlett acknowledged his thanks with a dip of her head, re-joining Rosalie at the counter. Rosalie gave her a look, then gazed pointedly at Charlie.
With a sigh, Scarlett caught his eye. "Um, Dad? There was something else I wanted to ask, too…"
Swallowing a bite of his sandwich, Charlie nodded and waved a hand in a 'go on' sort of gesture.
"Well…I'd really like to…what I'm saying is…argh, basically, can you just…"
"She wants to be called 'Bella,' not 'Scarlett,' Uncle Chuck," Rosalie interjected when it became obvious Scarlett wasn't going to be able to get the words out.
Charlie paused mid-chew, setting his sandwich down slowly. His mind worked quickly, and he came to the same conclusion as he had on the hair situation. "That's fine, Bella. No problem."
Rosalie and Scarlett—Bella, smiled at each other, gazing out of the window to watch the sun climb into the sky, arms around their waists in silent support.
A pattern emerged as the other occupants of the house trickled into the kitchen. Marley and Carl-Roman were first, Peter letting himself in through the French doors less than a minute later, Edward stumbling into the kitchen only a handful of minutes afterward. The little boy bounded into his Pawpaw's lap, Marley taking her place on Bella's hip, Peter and Edward taking seats at the table. It wasn't until they were all sitting together, Charlie waiting with a secret smile on his lips that the three newcomers noticed.
"You have new hair, Auntie Scarlett!" Carl-Roman cheered, wide-eyed and grinning.
Bella twisted with a nervous smile, tucking a lock of her 'new hair' behind her ear. "I do. Do you like it?"
Carl-Roman contemplated this for a moment, then nodded decisively. "It's pretty."
"Thank you," she whispered, catching Edward's stunned expression for a second before she returned to the breakfast preparations. He stared at her back, at the long, dark waves tumbling over her shoulders to the middle of her spine. It was pretty, like Carl-Roman had said. It suited her. And when she spun to take something from the fridge, Marley content on her hip, their hair tangled together in the exact same shade. He wanted to take a photo to savor forever; they were like clones of each other.
Peter shot a quizzical look at Charlie when he realized the girls were silent again, moving in tandem to serve up breakfast for everybody. Eerily, they made no noise other than the quiet hissing of the bacon fat as it cooked.
"Thank you, girls," Peter said quietly, watching as Rosalie set a bacon sandwich and his usual tea with two sugars in front of him.
Aware that Heidi and Pippa were at school, and Archie was working until ten a.m., the girls turned off the kitchen appliances and drifted out in the garden, Marley still clinging to her mother.
"Did something happen last night?" Charlie asked after a silent pause.
Edward glanced at him, peeling his eyes away from the French doors. "I don't think so. Scarlett was up late last night, but she and Marley went back to bed and seemed fine."
Feeling Charlie and Peter's eyes on him, he tried desperately not to show his disappointment at missing out on what had become his and Bella's new routine; making breakfast together was his favorite part of the day. He was disappointed, but he was also hurt she hadn't included him.
"Could she have had a bad dream? I know Irina said Rosalie should start staying home more, but maybe we're rushing it."
The men looked at each other, their confusion tinged with sadness. They'd all been warned, of course, that the girls would have bad days as well as good ones. It was inevitable. Either way, nobody felt inclined to eat their breakfast with smiles on their faces. Charlie took it upon himself to explain to the group about his daughter's wish to go by 'Bella' from now on, everyone taking it in stride. In light of all the changes and trials they'd faced together so far, trying to remember to call her 'Bella' instead of 'Scarlett' was relatively simple.
Before leaving for work, Charlie and Peter poked their heads outside to say 'goodbye' to Bella, Marley, and Rosalie, rewarded only with waves and whispered 'goodbyes,' leaving Edward to look after Carl-Roman and Chase – who was still sleeping upstairs – until eight, when they went to daycare.
Unsure what to do about the girls, but unwilling to foist his company upon them if they didn't want it, Edward set Carl-Roman up in the front room with his trains and cartoons, Chase in his highchair with a wooden spoon while Edward set about doing the dishes. That he found himself washing and drying up alone was a testament to the girls' obvious distraction, because nobody but the girls had done any kitchen chores since they arrived home.
Though nobody was comfortable with the way Bella and Rosalie were insistent upon doing all of the housework, Irina had told them it was simply their coping mechanism; something familiar. For the moment, she didn't see anything wrong with them clinging to it in the wake of their rescue, so their family and friends were doing their best to come to terms with it. After all, they had more important things to worry about than the girls wanting to do the housework.
It could be worse, was the mantra they'd all adopted.
~ oOo ~
It was nearing lunchtime when the girls finally entered the kitchen. Carl-Roman and Chase had been dropped to daycare, and Edward had returned to Charlie's to keep a watchful eye on Bella and Rosalie, worried for them. All morning, he hung around in the kitchen on the laptop his parents had shipped to him when he called to apologize for his prolonged absence.
Enrico and Contessa – or Connie, as she preferred to be called - Cullen were kind, giving, compassionate people, and didn't hesitate to send their well-wishes to both families. They also sent some of Edward's possessions, Enrico telling Edward to stay in England as long as he needed before returning to Italy; he would look after his house for him.
Telling himself he was thirsty, Edward lifted himself from the table, his legs protesting the long period of sitting still. His eyes swiveled around the garden, landing on the lounge chair the girls had occupied for the past few hours.
To his surprise, the chair was empty.
"Oh, shit," Edward muttered, setting the glass in his hand on the counter with a thud.
"We're here."
Edward spun, cursing a storm at the soft, slightly amused voice behind him. Rosalie's eyes twisted up into a semi-smile, red-rimmed eyes twinkling with amusement.
"Sorry for swearing, but cazzo, you scared me!" He huffed, reaching up to tug at the peak of his cap.
Rosalie's smile widened. "Sorry. It was getting windy, so we came in."
Edward's eyes swung around the kitchen, subconsciously searching for the girl who'd danced behind his eyelids every night as he slept.
"She's gone for a bath, with Marley," Rosalie said, knowing who he was looking for without him having to speak.
"Oh, okay." It was hard for Edward to quell the disappointment he felt. Judging by Rosalie's smug half-smile, he'd failed. "Do you want a drink? Something to eat? You haven't had anything today."
"No, thank you, I'm good." Her smile fell as she spoke, taking a seat on the sofa. Edward suspected she was far from 'good.' He joined her hesitantly, grinning when she rolled her eyes at him. "Don't worry, I don't bite."
"Hey, I just don't want to upset you. It seems like something's done that pretty well already today."
Rosalie turned, eyes narrowed, and Edward cursed his lack of mental filter.
"Sorry, I need to work on my brain-to-mouth filter."
"Quit apologizing, you're fine."
Edward nodded contritely. Rosalie cocked her head to one side, now amused. "I sorta see why Scar—uh, Bella likes having you around so much."
It took a few seconds for her words to sink in and when they finally did, Rosalie was almost struck dumb by the so-very-handsome smile he graced her with. He hadn't shaved in a few days, so his jaw was covered in a smattering of dark scruff; the overall combination of that, his messy hair sticking out from beneath his trademark baseball cap – she was sure it had been surgically attached to his head –, and the grin on his face was downright indecent.
For Rosalie, a girl who'd spent years silently observing while Bella looked out for her, it wasn't hard to see there was something developing between Edward and Bella. Something stronger than all of them, something unstoppable. Their bond was visibly stronger than a simple friendship, that was for sure. It was the only reason Rosalie had agreed to start sleeping in her own home again because if it weren't for Edward's presence, she wasn't sure Bella would be coping as well as she was. It had been days since her last panic attack, almost a week since a nightmare attacked her sleep, though Rosalie knew she'd come perilously close to fending off a panic attack earlier that morning. Goosebumps erupted all over her body at the thought of the date.
The Fourth of July…
Unbidden, a memory stole away her senses, catapulting her back there.
The strong, acrid smell of cleaning fluid stirred the young girl awake. Blue-green eyes peeled open slowly, their groggy owner groaning quietly as the throbbing in the back of her head became more noticeable.
"Scarlett? Scarlett, he's gone. P-please wake up, Scarlett. I'm scared."
Rosalie's terrified face moved into Scarlett's line of vision, her wide baby-blues overflowing with tears. They fell onto Scarlett's scratchy, too-big, gray t-shirt.
"I-I'm awake," she rasped, shifting onto her elbows. The movement sent a ringing, stabbing pain through her entire body, nausea churning in her gut as she tried to stay upright and conscious. My sister needs me, she repeated on a loop, over and over. Rosalie helped her sit up with trembling hands. "What hap-happened?"
"He h-h-hit you. You f-fell and hit your head o-on the floor. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. I'm good. Help me up, please?"
Rosalie hurried to her feet, gently pulling Scarlett with her. The girls pressed themselves together, the small girl having to hold her pseudo sister as she shook under the strain of keeping her stomach settled. "All right," she breathed shakily, "let's get up to our roo—"
A loud, menacing voice cut her off and sent shivers down their spines. Their hearts raced with fear. "You're not going anywhere until you've cleaned up this mess. Get it done before I go to bed or there'll be hell to pay, you hear?"
Neither girl could stomach looking towards the tall man in the doorway, let alone talk to him, so they nodded jerkily and whimpered once he'd left them alone. As soon as they heard the study door close down the hall, Scarlett fell to the floor, Rosalie's support not enough to fight the agony of her pounding head.
"Scarlett!" Rosalie hissed tearfully, sinking to her knees. She didn't know where to put her hands, or what to do to help.
"Just give me a second…" As Scarlett fell, her arm shot out in a weak attempt to hold herself up, knocking over a bowl of pureed raspberries for the dessert he had insisted upon. As Rosalie's hands hovered nervously over Scarlett, the red puree spread across the floor around her in a sticky, oozing mess.
The symbolism wasn't lost on either girl. Neither was the date on the calendar hanging a few feet away.
July 4th, 2004.
"Hey, are you okay?" Rosalie snapped back to the present with a gasp. It confused her when Edward was blurry, the hand he placed on her forearm out of focus. It took a minute for her to realize why; she had tears pouring from her eyes.
"Oh God, sorry. I didn't mean…"
"Hey, now who needs to quit apologizing?" Gently handing her a bunch of tissues from the box on the side-table, Edward smiled softly at his upset friend. Rosalie tipped her head up to smile, grateful for his innately friendly nature. It was at times like this one she saw why Bella liked him so much. He was an easy man to love.
"What? What's wrong?"
Rosalie stared at him with wide, new eyes as she reconsidered her own thoughts. She loved him, of course, but as a friend. A pillar of support, fun, and smiles when times were tough – both now, and in the past. But thinking back on the way he and Bella interacted, the way they seemed to seek each other out without even realizing…Could they be heading towards less-than-platonic love?
It was a startling thought; one Rosalie would often ponder in the coming days.
~ oOo ~
True to the promise they'd made earlier in the morning, Charlie and Peter arrived bang on five 'o clock with Archie and Kristen in tow. Having met their older brother's fiancée a few times by then, Bella and Rosalie were relatively comfortable with her presence, though due to her chilly nature neither of them harbored particularly fuzzy feelings towards their future sister-in-law.
Charlie and Peter headed straight to the kitchen, where they joined Edward, Rosalie, Bella, and Marley. Archie and Kristen paused in the living room so Kristen could greet her sons. She'd been away in New York with her boss, one of the downsides to being his assistant being the travel that so often took her away from Carl-Roman and Chase. Archie forced his mouth closed into a tight smile when he spotted the disapproving frown on his fiancée's face, clearly unhappy about Carl-Roman's outfit. Having come from a family of lawyers, bankers, and doctors, Kristen would much rather her sons be dressed smartly at all times. In a simple pair of soft jeans and a cotton, check shirt Chase would avoid scrutiny.
Unsurprisingly, the lime green and bright blue t-shirt and comic strip printed board shorts weren't up to scratch, nor were the navy surfboard patterned shorts Archie was wearing; she knew better than to tell him what to wear, though.
"Evening, buddy," Edward said jovially as he passed Archie, Kristen, and their boys in the hall. He smiled at his friend's fiancée. "Kristen, you look pretty today."
Archie huffed in amusement when Kristen barely managed to conceal her grimace. "Still the same old charmer, I see."
"Of course!"
"Uncle Edward, can I be a charmer, also?"
Edward chuckled, scooping Carl-Roman into his arms.
"Course you can, campione." Thanks to the amount of time they'd spent together in recent weeks, Carl-Roman knew that 'campione' was simply 'champion' in Italian, so he beamed, directing Edward back towards the kitchen with his parents and baby brother close behind them.
The unhappy expression that had taken up residence on Bella's face melted away as soon as Edward re-entered the room with Carl-Roman grinning from his arms. The sight was heart-warming to say the least, the pair of them sporting mile-wide smiles, Edward purposefully jostling the little boy until his giggles filled the room. Warm butterflies erupted in Bella's stomach, her hands drifting to rest over the spot where her baby wriggled. He or she always seemed to move when the children laughed, or when Edward was around.
Her eyes followed Edward's face as he tipped it back and let out a playful roar. Despite her fear of loud noises and hatred of being around lots of people with no way to keep track of everybody, Bella felt content with her family around her. Sure, her heartbeat was slightly faster than it should have been, and okay, so maybe her eyes were running routine patrols of the room, cataloguing even the most minute adjustments in people's positions.
But those routine scans of the room? They were every few minutes now, instead of the continuous loops she'd been doing a week ago. And her heart was calmer than it had been in weeks. There was a long way to go before she'd be comfortable in a group, but there had been so many improvements that it was becoming increasingly difficult to see the things that were still wrong.
"What do you think, Bella? Do you think we should put this one in there and have him for dinner?"
Edward pulled Bella from her thoughts by tipping Carl-Roman upside-down to make him shriek in protest. His eyes – her eyes – widened in his little face, his mouth in an adorable 'o.'
"Hmmm," she hummed, smirking at her nephew and friend. "Do you think he's chunky enough? There's a lot of us eating tonight."
Edward frowned playfully, tipping Carl-Roman back so he could inspect his tummy. "I'd say so. There's plenty there for us all to nibble on."
"All right then," Bella said, playing along. "I'll get a bigger pot."
"No! Daddy, save me 'fore Auntie Bella and Uncle Edward cook me!" Carl-Roman wailed in a mixture of horror and childish delight, squealing and rolling and trying to buck himself free from Edward's hold. Bella and Edward both laughed as Archie plucked him from Edward's hands, the six-year-old bestowing the best stink-eye he could manage upon the chortling pair. "Meaners," he mumbled, sticking his tongue out over Archie's shoulder as he carried him to Charlie and Peter, who were laughing heartily by the French doors.
"Yeah, Edward, you're a meaner," Bella teased, turning back to the bolognese on the stove.
"Oh, but so are you, bella ragazza. So are you."
Ducking behind the curtain of her dark hair, Bella felt the apples of her cheeks pinking. Bella ragazza…pretty girl. It had become Edward's go-to nickname when he didn't use 'Bella' or 'Bean' and despite not understanding why, Bella couldn't help but admit to herself that she preferred when he slipped into his first language. The sound of his lips wrapping around the foreign words…it made her warm and tingly. Though surprising, the term of endearment he'd begun using without seeming to realize was in no way unwelcome, nor was the silky-soft but somehow rough timbre he used when speaking Italian.
"So, is there anything I can help with, chef?"
"Um, I suppose you can lay the table? Marley will probably help."
Edward loosely draped an arm around Bella's shoulders, his hand squeezing her upper arm before he released her. "I want to help. Quit worrying I'm going to get offended or something."
She tipped her head to the side just enough that she could see his face. She wanted to see if he was telling the truth. His sincere expression as he bent at the knees to make their faces level said it all.
"Hey, I mean it. I'm not going anywhere." With that, he smiled and left her to get on with dinner, scooping Marley from the breakfast bar to help him with the table. She was only too happy to help her idol.
It was then, watching Edward chat cheerily with her daughter and the rest of their family that the realization slammed into Bella's gut with the force of a wrecking ball.
If there was one thing she wanted, one thing she could ask for, it was for Edward never to leave her side.
The realization both terrified her and electrified the blood in her veins.