Disclaimer - I do not own Twilight or any of the characters, Stephenie Meyer does.
Its been nearly an hour since we arrived home. Charlie insisted that I clean the house so I did my best to make it look presentable before I'd made my way upstairs to shower and attempt to not think of the previous hours with Edward and Carlisle. After about a half hour the water begins to spray from the shower head at cooler and cooler temperatures so I figure it's time to get out and face reality. A half sigh half chuckle escapes as I rethink about the word 'reality' and how all that's passed now should not be considered reality and should only be found in fairy tales and folk lore.
"Bella?" Charlies voice floats up the stairs as I finish drying myself off.
"What?" I call back, losing my balance and nearly falling into the tub as I attempt to dress in a pair of black sweat pants.
There's no answer and for some reason this irritates me to no end. Why would you call my name and then not answer when I respond? With a grunt I pull a t-shirt on with the name of my favorite band, then I proceed to grab my brush from the sink and quickly run it through my damp hair. I really should get it cut, I mean it reaches the middle of my back and it's just starting to become a pain in my ass. Before I open the door I quickly rough my hair up a bit so it doesn't look so flat, like its stuck to my skull.
"Bella!" Charlie barks up the stairs once more and I just roll my eyes, sometimes the man can be so deaf and impatient.
With one last check in the mirror I swing the door open. Without watching my steps I begin to make my way out of the bathroom towards the stairs, before I can start to answer my foot catches on something and I ever so gracefully land face first on the floor, luckily I've place my forearms in front of me to soften the fall. A strange stinging begins its way from my elbows up to my wrists and I swear under my breath. With a sigh I roll onto my back and come face to face with what interrupted my steps.
"Izzy" I groan and the big rottweiler whines, her wet nose pushes on my cheek and she starts to lick my face just as 3 sets of frantic footsteps race up the stairs.
"Bella, are you okay?" Charlie grabs Izzy's brown collar and pulls her off of me while Carlisle bends over to check over arms. I don't even need to look at who else is there, because I already know and my heart speeds up ever so slightly as he quietly chuckles under his breath.
"I'm fine dad, I just didn't see Izzy." I mumble and my cheeks feel as if their on fire "Don't get mad at her its not her fault I'm a klutz" My assumption is right and Carlisle pulls me gently to my feet just as Charlie starts to mumble something about kicking the dog outside.
"It just looks like a slight case of rug burn, nothing to worry about" Carlisle reassures my father "So this is Izzy?" he continues in an attempt to take Charlies mind off of my recent fall, and it works.
"Yeah! Right, she's a rescue dog who just so happened to rescue me." the pride returns to his voice and all traces of anger at the dog disappears. With a wide smile and a fond look at the massive rottie Charlie motions to the stairs and the two men begin their way down towards the kitchen "It's kind of a long story" he begins but Carlisle merely chuckles "I have all the time in the world my friend" Edward rolls his eyes and we both laugh to ourselves about just how true that comment is.
"So.. Did Charlie give you two the tour already?" I drop my gaze towards Izzy as she makes her way towards my room where she proceeds to make herself ever so at home on my double bed.
"Bella." his velvet smooth voice coaxes my gaze to his face. Even as a human he's unnaturally beautiful. His green eyes show impatience and a deep set pain that I can't even begin to understand, a soft stroke on my arm breaks my silence and I jump a little at just how warm his touch is.
"Yes?" it's odd how he still has this hold over me even as a human, and even after he broke my heart only two years ago.
With a sigh his eyes drop to my arms and he gently places his hand on my lower back, where he pushes me towards the bathroom.
"Lets get you cleaned up, otherwise you might get an infection." I can feel his gaze on me as I drop my eyes to look at my arms. Wow, I really did do quite a number on them though I've had worse.
"It's not that bad, I've had worse." He cringes at my words and it takes me a few seconds to realize what memories they may have stirred up.
"I meant I've had worse rug burns... ouch!" my mumbling is cut off by a cold burning sensation as Edward begins to pour antiseptic solution over the burns.
He ignores my pained remark and gets to work cleaning the wounds and only once do I move, just to point to where the gauze and bandages are kept.
It amazes me just how young he looks with his disheveled bronze red hair and a face that has never had the need to be shaved. He finishes with my right arm and I hesitate, wanting so much to touch his smooth delicate yet manly features but thoroughly decide against it and drop it down to my side. My heart gives a small squeeze inside my chest and I have to look away, the tears already begin to brim and I don't want them to be shed. Not now. Not until he's gone.
Gone.
The one word hurts me so much and I quickly shake my hair in front of my face with the hopes that Edward hasn't seen the silent wet streaks on my cheeks.
"Did I hurt you? Bella, I'm sorry I tried so hard not to. I thought I was being careful..." there's such sincerity in his voice that I yank my arm away and place both of them around my body, a futile attempt to hold the hole that begins to rip open even more in my chest.
I turn to face the black marble sink and lean against it to keep my balance while all the words that I've wanted to say for these two long years begin to spill out.
"Yes you did hurt me, but not now. Not with the rug burns. Edward I've been living in hell for the last 2 years, never knowing the exact truth to why you left. Sure I had ideas but no one to tell me whether I was right or wrong. So do you know what I decided was the actual reason you left?" I take a deep shaky breath to gain control of my voice before continuing. "You didn't love me and you never did. I mean hell, you even said it yourself. When you left it was like you took a part of me and I stopped caring what happened to me. Charlie told me that he had been tempted to send me home to Renee because he didn't know what else to do with me." I keep my gaze on the water spotted faucet
"Bella I..." he tries to speak but I raise my hand to silence him.
"You know what the funny thing is?" With another shaky breath I lift my gaze to stare at his reflection. The corners of his mouth are curved slightly down, and with a shock I realize he's silently crying.
"I don't hate you. Oh God knows I tried, but... I just couldn't bring myself to hate you, Edward." I turn to face him taking a step towards him so our bodies are mere inches apart, I force myself to smile while I bring my hands up to rest on either side of his face, wiping the tears away with my thumbs
"I love you Edward Anthony Mason Cullen and I always will. Its a fact and it's something I'll have to live with for the rest of my life. So don't feel like you have to stick around because of how I feel." all the anger and pain that I've felt has dulled down, so now instead of a lions roar all I feel is the soft meow of a kitten.
His eyes close for a moment and he takes a deep shaky breath before placing his hands on either side of my waist.
"Bella." he sighs and his eyes open to look deep into mine
"What I told you there in the forest... It was a lie. It hurt so much that you believed me, and I wanted so badly to hold you when it all fell into place, but my family and myself... We had to leave, it was to dangerous from the start and I had been to selfish. When Jasper lost it... I just didn't know what else to do, I couldn't put you or him in a similar situation. I always loved you and I will never stop loving you Isabella Marie Swan." during his out pour of emotion I had moved my hands to rest on his chest, his grip on my waist had tightened slightly.
"Never forget that, please..." I cut him off as I lean in on my tip toes and press my lips against his his shirt gripped in my right hand as I bring my left hand up to rest on his cheek. His lips so warm and soft, its such a change from the Edward I'd known only two years prior. His shock lasts no longer than a heartbeat and he begins to kiss me back the same soft way he was used to. I can feel him smile slightly into our kiss and as places his arms fully around my waist to pull me closer to him as his lips begin to move more fervently, with a small sigh I quicken my pace to keep up with his. After what seems an eternity I, not so willingly, pull away.
"You didn't forget to breath." he smiles crookedly at me and I lightly bite my lower lip to hold from kissing him again.
"Neither did you." I giggle as he nods in agreement "I suppose I have to worry about that now to... Well.. For a little while anyway." His face becomes more sober and he lets a frustrated sigh escape.
Gently he takes my hand in his own and I follow him out of the bathroom into the upstairs landing where he quickly guesses where my bedroom is and leads me towards my bed.
He glances around my room and a curiosity mixed with a bit of surprise flashes in his eyes. I suppose my room in Forks was pretty dull, but here in Calgary I've made some friends that will actually do things and there's places to go. So of course I have a few pictures of friends and myself, some from bar nights some from the mall, and others are of family. The floors a little dirty with some clothes I had been rifling through in the search for a cute outfit that I could wear to a concert that had been on Saturday. My double bed, where Izzy now softly snores, has white sheets with black and purple stripes with a matching comforter though instead of white it's black with stripes.
I take a seat on the edge of my bed and wait for him to speak.
A/N - So here's chapter 4! I decided to make it slightly fluffy for those of you who enjoy fluff! RnR! Hope you guys enjoy it!