I hit the save button on my final essay of my college career just as I hear the door to our apartment open. The sound of Bella's feet skipping down the hall let me know she's right outside the door. As soon as the door opens she runs towards me and launches herself into my arms and onto my lap as she starts talking a mile a minute.
"Oh Edward everything is perfect! We finalized everything today, my dress is finished and the dresses for the girls look just amazing! I can't wait for the wedding baby." She tells me, as she continues rambling on a mile a minute about all the details for our wedding.
Our wedding…Isabella Swan will finally be Isabella Cullen in two weeks. Personally I can't wait, no matter how much my friends tell me I'm giving up my partying years, I know Bella is it for me.
I smile and nod in all the right places…I think….as she tells me about the cake and the flowers and the decorations for the church. I don't really know what is going on with all that stuff, but as long as Bella is happy, that's all that matters…especially after all the fighting we've gone through with her parents.
They wanted us to do the wedding their way. They weren't happy with Bella's dress because it wasn't traditional, they weren't happy with the bridesmaids dresses either because pink isn't an appropriate color for a wedding, or the caterer we chose or the cake. Bella spent too many nights crying over it all until I put my foot down. Bella's parents weren't happy about it and threatened to stop paying for the wedding. When they realized it didn't matter, and I told them that I'd pay for it myself out of my trust fund, they realized they wouldn't be getting their way and begrudgingly just went along with everything, although we were the recipients of a good number of snide comments along the way.
So to see Bella this happy over everything, I don't care if it means I have to hear Bella talk about everything from the seating arrangements to the detailed schedule she's mapped out for us for the day of the ceremony…my girl is happy, and that's all that matters.
The next two weeks fly by, the guys and I go for our final fittings for our tuxedos and I finalize our plans for the honeymoon with the travel agent. Family, friends, and business colleagues of our parents arrive and everything is a blur of activity as we get everyone settled in hotels, have our bachelor and bachelorette parties, and finally the wedding rehearsal.
Now, the night before the wedding, I'm antsy, nervous, excited, and I can't sleep, although Bella not being here with me may be a big part of it. The one thing her parents refused to bend on was her staying at their house the night before the wedding, which is why I am here in our apartment all alone. Sleep finally claims me in the wee hours of the night, only for my alarm clock to jolt me back awake a few hours later.
The morning speeds by as Emmett and Jasper pick me up and take me to the church where we get ready. My jitters are ever present, not because I'm nervous about getting married, but because I'm afraid that Bella will realize that I'm not good enough for her and back out at the last minute. Finally we're told its time for the ceremony to start.
Standing at the end of the aisle, my eyes are trained on the door. My breath hitches as it opens and I get a glimpse of the most beautiful woman in the world walking towards me. I look away for a brief moment, to wipe the tears from my eyes, but when I look back up, Bella isn't walking towards me. Instead I see a coffin being carried forward by pall bearers.
"BELLA!" I start to scream, my chest heaving as I gasp for air, the panic rapidly rising within me.
Everything seems to move in slow motion as I see the pall bearers walk past me and place the casket on the stand in front of the altar, a picture of Bella on a stand to the right of it. I feel my legs give out as the sobs wrack my body and I beg for my wife to return to me.
BANG BANG BANG…I'm startled awake by the banging on the door to my room. I feel my heart racing in my chest and can feel the wetness on my face from the tears I cried in my sleep. As I take deep breaths to try to calm myself, the door opens and Jasper walks in, closing the door behind him.
"Everything okay man? We could hear you screaming downstairs," He asks me.
I just stare at him. I mean really? Asking me if everything is okay? What part of anything that has happened in the past few days is okay?
"The kids…did the kids hear me? I don't want to upset them…I…I need to keep it together for their sake." I mumble as I realize the other part of what Jasper said.
"They're fine Edward. Your mom made them breakfast and took them out on the patio to eat so I don't think they heard anything. They were asking where you were earlier, so we had to show them you were just asleep in here. I think they're worried about something happening to you too."
I just nod my head and sit up in bed. Jasper puts his hand on my shoulder and squeezes. It's his way of saying he's here for me and it means more than I could ever tell him. He and Emmett are truly the brothers I never had.
"Edward…" Jasper starts to say. "I don't know if there's anything I can say to make this situation any better but…please know that Alice and I, and Emmett and Rose are here for you and the kids. I know we haven't really been around much lately and we should have made more of an effort, but we're not going anywhere on you. Anything you need, any time."
"Thanks man," is the only response I manage to formulate, but I think Jasper understands. He nods his head and leaves me to get ready for the day.
I climb out of bed, and head to the bathroom. I shower and skip shaving again, because really, I'm still not trusting myself with a blade that close to my throat, and get dressed before heading downstairs. As soon as I make my way into the kitchen, my kids rush to my side and cling to me. Now I can see what Jasper meant when he said they might be scared about something happening to me.
Kneeling down so I'm on their level, I say what I can to try to help calm their fears, although I'm sure only time will do so.
"Hey guys. Did you sleep okay? Uncle Jasper told me you needed to see me this morning. That's okay you know. If you guys ever need me, you just let me know and I'll be there as fast as I can. Now I want you all to listen carefully, because I'm going to tell you something very important. I'm not going anywhere on you guys. I will always be here for you okay? I love you guys more than anything."
I watch as all three of them nod their heads, and I hope that my words offer them some comfort, and make a mental note to keep reminding them that I'm not going anywhere.
The four of us head to the kitchen, where my mother has a plate waiting for me. I can feel everyone's eyes on me, waiting for me to break down, but I can't…not now, not in front of the kids.
I finish eating quickly, and get the kids settled with Alice, Rose, and my mother so that I can go back to the hospital. The guys offered to come with me, something I'm extremely thankful for.
Once the kids are thoroughly distracted with toys, video games, and movies, I head out with the guys, tossing the keys to Emmett since I know I'm in no condition to be driving.
A short while later the guys are in the waiting room, and I'm in Bella's room at the hospital and it's as if all breath as left my body. I struggle to make sense of everything…the wires and tubes, the beeping machines.
The information goes in one ear and out the other when I return to the waiting room and the doctors fill me in on Bella's status. Blood transfusions, perforated organs, possibilities of system failure, infection, and sepsis. The only thing that sticks out to me is when the doctor says the next forty eight hours will let them know one way or the other how Bella's recovery will go. Hopefully between Emmett and Jasper, someone will remember all the rest of the details.
An hour and a half after I walked in, I've been updated about everything, and with Bella being in a critical care unit, my time for visitation has ended for the day.
The three of us stop on the way home and grab a quick lunch before heading back to my mother's house. I notice the car as soon as we get into the driveway, and honestly I'm surprised they haven't shown up sooner…Bella's parents are here. Maybe I should have reached out to them once everything happened, but frankly I was more concerned about my own children than them.
Charlie and Renee Swan are truly two of the vilest people I know. Now I know I have acted beyond reprehensibly towards Bella, but her parents really were the front runners in the worst parents of the year contest. Nothing Bella ever did was good enough, in their eyes, Bella could never do anything right, and yet all she ever wanted was their approval, to make them happy.
As Jasper, Emmett, and I walk towards the door, I whisper to them.
"Do me a favor guys and make sure the kids aren't around when I talk to her parents. I doubt it's going to be a pleasant conversation."
Both of them nod, and we walk in to see Charlie and Renee sitting and talking with my mother, and the kids all sitting in the kitchen with Rose and Alice.
Seeing me walk in, my mother excuses herself from the room, and heads towards the kitchen with Emmett and Jasper in toe, asking the kids if they'd like to bake cookies.
Looking over towards Bella's parents, they look picture perfect, as if they haven't even shed a single tear over their daughter. All I can think of is how these people could be so cold.
"Why don't we go talk in the study," I ask, hoping to keep this conversation as far away from the kids as possible.
Bella's parents follow to the study, and we all find a place to sit, me in one of the wingback chairs, and the two of them on the loveseat.
The tension could be cut with a knife, and the three of us sit there in an awkward silence, no one really knowing what to say.
After a while, Charlie finally speaks.
"So…have you thought about how you're planning on handling damage control?"
"Damage control?" I question, immediately knowing where he's going with this.
"Well surely you've got some sort of idea of how you're going to spin this to the press. Neither you nor we need this sort of bad press, and I think the best think would be for you to just tell us when she's getting out of the hospital so we can ship her away again, perhaps spin this as some sort of stress related breakdown," chimes in Renee.
It's enough to make me snap. The two of them, not even concerned with how their grandchildren are coping with the whole situation. All they care about is their precious public image.
"Bad press," I shout. "That's all you're worried about. Bella is your daughter for Christ's sake, and all you care about is your fucking public image. What about your grandchildren? Have you even thought about them? Are you even feeling anything over Bella's suicide attempt? Are you even capable of feeling anything at all? And as for my wife and her condition, I will not sweep it under the rug like some dirty little secret. We lived most of our lives doing that with our problems and look where it's gotten us. No more! Anyone who asks, aside from the children, will be told the whole truth of what happened. Bella deserves at least that much respect from me, considering I failed to show it to her in the past. I will not hide her away like she's something to be ashamed of. No more secrets and lies and pretenses just so we can look good."
"How dare you talk to us like that," Charlie snarls at me. "What Bella did was a sin, that much can't be ignored. The Church is clear on that fact. Its best we just move on from this. As for the children, with how fucked Bella was in the head, they would probably be better off without her. And as for you pointing fingers and blame at Renee and I...you're just as much to blame in this whole damn mess. You never paid her any attention. She was always complaining and whining about how you were never home, how you never showed her you loved her. You may as well have pulled the damn trigger yourself!"
Charlie's words cause me to see red and I launch myself at him, my right hook landing square on his jaw. I have him pinned to the ground, pummeling him with punches and smacks as I shout.
"Don't you think I know I'm responsible? Don't you think I wish I could do it all different? That's the difference between you and me. I've realized my role, accepted my responsibility and now I'm trying to be a better man so I can be a better father to my children, and a better husband to Bella should she make it out of this. I owe Bella at least that much, but you…you'll never change. That's why after the today, you won't ever see my kids again. I won't allow you to poison their lives the way you did Bella's."
My swings slow as I run out of breath and tire out. Charlie's face is bloody and looks like ground beef. In an instant, he swings us around and is on his feet, pulling me with him and slamming me against the bookcase, his hands tightening around my throat. I'm gasping for air and clawing at his hands, as he screams at me.
"I swear to God Almighty I will kill you."
I feel my air supply cutting off when I hear a small voice laced with fear crying out.
"Please don't hurt my daddy away too," Michael pleads.
Charlie's hands drop from my throat, and I cough as I attempt to inhale much needed air as I notice Rosalie and Alice trying to pull all three kids from the room.
"I'm so sorry" Alice whispers. "We all heard the shouting, but they ran so fast and got here before we could stop them."
I nod in understanding, knowing that if they could they would have kept the kids away.
After Alice and Rose get the kids back in the kitchen, I head towards the living room to see the Swans out.
As they walk out the door, I remind them of what I said.
"Bella is still in the hospital, you are not to show up there without letting me know before hand. I will not have you around my children anymore. I meant what I said. After today I don't want you coming around anymore."
"You can't keep us from our grandchildren" hisses Renee.
"I can and I will. I may have failed Bella once, but I won't fail her again. It's up to me to protect our children, especially from people as hateful as you. I won't hesitate to call the police if you so much as think of trying to come near them," I growl in response.
Bella's parents say nothing else as they turn and leave. The only regret lingering in my mind over everything that happened today is that it didn't happen sooner. Maybe then things might have been different.
I try to push the maybes and what ifs out of my head as I walk towards the kitchen so I can check on Elliot, Michael, and Sammi. There's a lot we need to discuss…how Bella's doing, when they can see her, but the most important thing being the fact that tomorrow we are going back home…to our house, the house where my entire world was both created and shattered into a million pieces. I just hope I'm strong enough to get through it.
A/N: Ok so….we finally got to meet Bella's parents. Not the most pleasant people are they? I'd love to hear your thoughts on how Edward handled everything. Next up we'll see how Edward and the kids handle going home.