OMG u guys, I am SOOO sorry I havent updated!!! I had a D in math which is really bad for me because I'm normally a pretty good student. So I had to bring my grade up and no computer time was allowed.
So now, to make it up to you, this will be the longest chapter of them all and I hope you guys like it. FLUFF ALERT!
Oh and by the way, to lovestruck1990, Jacob is NOT going to do something stupid. I don't like him, but I'm not going to make him do anything OOC. I try to write as much like Stephenie as possible. (And also, what is "done to death" supposed to mean... when you guys give me constructive criticism, make sure I can understand it or it doesn't do me any good, plz.)
Disclaimer: I've said it 6 times, so by now, it ought to have sunk in...
Chapter 7: Wedding Gift
"Bella?"
Edward was gently shaking me awake. "Bella, are you alright?"
I opened my eyes, straining to see Edward's face in the dark room. "Huh?" I asked, trying to clear my head.
"Are you alright, love?" he whispered softly.
"Yes," I replied with a quizzical look. Why wouldn't I be okay?
"You were having a nightmare," he said, now just as confused as I was. "Don't you remember?"
I suddenly became aware of the state I was in... I was sweating, despite the ice cold arms that held me. But, now that I thought about it, I did remeber having a dream. A rather disturbing dream. I remembered something about the moon, sparkles on the water on a beach... and... and...
The dream was too distant to grasp now. I tried as hard as I could to remember, but whatever it was, it was gone. All that I could feel was a since of fear and disturbing inevitability that I couldn't explain...
"You were beginning to get rather loud, I'm surprised that you didn't wake up Charlie," Edward said, his lips right next to my ear.
I turned in his arms to face him. "What did I say?" I asked, hoping that whatever Edward heard would jog my memory.
"It was mostly mumbling and things that I couldn't make out, and like I said, it got pretty loud," he said, a smile in his voice. "But you did keep saying 'I can't help you' over and over again. What was your dream?" he asked, his velvet voice filled with curiosity.
I pondered that for a few moments, but still, I came up empty. "I- I don't remember."
He waited. "Would you like to go back to sleep?" Edward asked after a few seconds. I sat up slowly to look at the clock on my nightstand. 1:20 a.m. Crap. There was no way I would get back to sleep, I wasn't tired anymore. "No, I'm up now," I said with a hint of frustration.
"I'm sorry that I woke you," Edward said apologetically, misunderstanding the source of my frustration. "I should have let you sleep."
"Oh no, that's ok," I said quickly. "It's better than Charlie coming in here to check on me. I'd much rather wake up in your arms." I said, snuggling up closer to his chest. He kissed the top of my head and sighed.
"Bella?"
"Yes?"
He hesitated. "Nevermind... Remind me to tell you in the morning."
"It is morning," I countered teasingly.
"I meant when you wake up," he whispered, giving me a light kiss on my forehead.
"I told you, I'm not tired."
"You will be," he said as he pulled me up against his chest and started to hum my lullaby in my ear. It began to work like a drug. I closed my eyes and was sound asleep within a few short minutes.
I woke up in Edward's arms, just like I did everyday. As soon as he saw that I was awake, he gave me a quick peck on the lips. I sighed, wishing that we could take it a little further than that. But of course, it would have to wait.
"Are you hungry?" he asked.
I rolled over on my back and stretched, completely content. "A little bit," I replied simply.
"Come on, I'll make you something," he said taking my hand and getting up off the bed.
"You don't have to make anything," I said. I knew that he was mildly repulsed by human food. "I'll just have a pop-tart or something."
He picked me up carefully to keep from making me dizzy and brought me to the bathroom, where I ran a brush through my tangled, knotted hair and brushed my teeth. I couldn't help but let my mind wander to that elusive dream I had had... I could tell that it would be nagging me in the back of my mind for a while.
Edward stood like a statue in the doorway, watching me the whole time. I pretended not to notice.
I knew that Charlie wouldn't be home today. He had gone, once again, on a fishing trip with Billy, and Edward and I had the whole day to ourselves.
Like I said, I took out a pop-tart and stuck it in the microwave. Even though I had my back turned, I was aware that Edward was still watching me, and my self-consciousness kicked in. I turned around and looked back at him. "What?" I asked innocently.
He just casually strolled over to where I was standing and wrapped his arms around me from behind. "Nothing," he said after a few seconds. I turned around to look at him questioningly. "Really, what is it?"
He sighed and took my hand, pressing it against his cold cheek. "I'm going to miss how warm you are," he said softly after a while. I couldn't think of a response for that. I knew how sensitive he was about my transformation and how much he didn't want to do it. I decided not to answer.
Instead, I took out my finished pop-tart and ate it slowly, savoring the taste. When I was done, I remembered what he had said last night.
"What were you talking about last night?" I asked, even though I knew that he didn't need any reminding.
He took my hand and led me to the small table, where he sat down with me on his lap. "Speaking of reminding... when Jacob came over," he said softly, watching my expression, "well... he apparently knew that I was listening to his thoughts and... and he wanted me to remind you about the treaty, specifically you. He knew that I wouldn't bring it up if I didn't have to... he knows me better than I thought."
"But I already know about the treaty, I don't need to be told again," I said.
"The pack wanted him to tell you, but obviously he didn't want to bring it up with you in person. They wanted to make sure that you fully understood the situation..." He hesitated. "... and that it still won't matter if we leave." He watched me, unnaturally still.
I thought about that for a few minutes. Was it really worth it, risking the Cullens' and the werewolves lives just so I could be with Edward? It was, once again, another example of how selfish I was. How far I would go to get what I wanted, no matter what the consequences were. I looked down at my hands. They were shaking.
Edward put his hands over mine and kissed my cheek. "It will be fine," he assured me. "We will figure it out."
"How could we possibly figure it out?" I asked, my voice cracking.
He looked directly into my eyes, his topaz ones penetrating. "We will figure it out," he whispered forcefully, and I could hear the determination in his voice. I couldn't help but to believe him.
My shower was extremely relaxing. The hot water loosened my tense muscles and soothed my troubled mind. I tried not to think about the werewolves, the wedding, the treaty, or anything along those lines... instead, I thought about Edward. I thought about spending eterity with him. I thought about my undying love for him and his love for me. That always soothed me, more than any hot shower ever could.
And then, I thought about my vows.
I hadn't even made a dent in those, and the wedding was less than three weeks away. I didn't necessarily want to work on them in front of Edward either.
He was going hunting today, though, so that should work out just fine. I would work on my vows while he was gone.
Sighing, I turned off the water and dried off with a towel. I didn't feel like fooling with a blow dryer, so I decided to let my hair air dry today. Instead of going out right away, I stood in front of the mirror for a few minutes, scrutinizing my unperfect features. I couldn't wait to be a vampire, to be perfect, to be able to be compared to my angel.
As I walked into my bedroom, something sitting on my bed caught my eye. It was a piece of paper. A note, written in perfect handwritting, Edward's handwriting...
My dearest Bella,
Come outside. I'll be waiting.
---Edward
What is he up to? I wondered. I did what the note said and came outside through the front door.
Edward was standing like an angel, leaning against a car... but it wasn't his silver Volvo. It was a different car. My mouth dropped. "Edward?" was all that I could manage.
"Yes?" he asked mischieviously.
"Y- you... you didn't---"
"Buy you a new car?" he said casually. "Yes, I did."
He strode over to me at an excrutiatingly slow pace, even for me. When he finally got to me, he pulled some keys from the back pocket of his jeans and dropped them into my hand. "It's fast, too," he said with his crooked smile.
It was a blue 2008 Cadillac CTS. Those things started at about $40,000. I couldn't believe my eyes.
"It's mine?" I said, dumbfounded.
"All yours," he whispered. He took my hand and led me over to my new car. I was extremely weak in the knees and I couldn't walk fast enough.
"Would you like to drive it?" he asked, opening the driver's door and motioning inside. It had luxurious gray leather interior and a voice-activated navigator.
"Oh my God," I muttered, still bewildered. "I don't know if I can drive it, what if I crash?" I asked, beginning to cry with joy. I couldn't imagine putting even a scratch on this beautiful car.
"You won't crash," he said reassuringly. "I promise."
"Oh my God!" I yelled excitedly, stumbling into the drivers seat and putting my hands on the steering wheel. It was so smooth. I still couldn't believe that it was really mine.
I put the keys in the ignition and turned. At first, I wasn't even sure that it was on... I was so used to the loud roar of my beat up red chevy. This new car made a low humming sound. It was music to my ears.
I revved the engine a few times, smiling like a freaking idiot over at Edward, who had gotten into the the passenger's seat.
"Just consider it an early wedding gift," he said smiling back. I could tell he was happy that I loved his present.
I hesitantly put it in reverse and carefully backed out of the tiny driveway. I was surprised the car didn't shoot backwards at 60 mph judging by how giddy I was at that moment. Before I knew it, we were on the main road, my new Cadillac running smoothly along, and me still smiling like an idiot.
"I still can't believe that you did this, Edward," I said as we cruised through the public streets of Port Angeles. That thing rode so smooth and it was a lot of fun to drive. Pedestrians walking on the busy sidewalks turned and watched as the shiny new Cadillac zoomed around a corner. I smiled. It felt like I was flying.
"You did say that a new fast car was allowable," he reasoned. "This one happens to be extremely fast."
I stopped at a redlight and revved the engine again, turning more heads.
"But it's a Cadillac, Edward. They are so expensive!" I complained.
"It wasn't just me, we all pitched in a little," he explained. "And besides. We have more than enough money to last us for another century or two."
I gave him a dark look.
"Don't worry about it," he told me with a smile.
We were quiet for a few minutes. Then an idea hit me.
"Hey, can we stop for a little bit?" I asked sweetly. "I'm kind of hungry."
"Of course," he replied, as I knew he would.
I wondered how he would react to where I was taking him. After all it was the place where I learned the truth. Well, confirmed it anyway. It was where we went to be alone, truly alone for the first time. I tried to keep my eyes on the road while still measuring Edward's reaction as we pulled into the parking lot of an Italian restaurant. The one that we went to when he saved me from those four thugs. I turned off the ignition and smiled over at him triumphantly. He was grinning back at me.
He leaned over to my side and gave me a long, passionate kiss. And I'm not ashamed to say that we crossed the boundaries... just a little bit. His fingers ran through my hair, his tongue brushed my lips. I had to break the kiss every once in a while to breathe, but other than that, our lips never broke apart. Too bad we had to break apart eventually.
Edward leaned back and said softly, "You were hungry?"
"Not anymore!" I complained.
"Come on," he whispered as he got out of his side and walk at human speed (there were people everywhere) over to my door to open it. Always a gentleman, I thought. We walked hand-in-hand into the restaurant.
There weren't many people there at all. Edward requested, politely of course, the same exact booth that we had sat in the first time we came here. And who walked up to the table? None other than Amber, the girl who waited on us before. We both looked at each other and smiled at the irony.
As she came up to the booth, she was once again stunned by Edward's perfection... and once again, she didn't even notice me.
"What can I get you to drink this afternoon?" she asked dreamily.
Edward, apparently noticing her preoccupation this time, left it to me to order. I just had a glass of water.
When I was done eating, we just talked. About the wedding, and what he thought about it, and what I thought about it. It was nice to just talk.
Suddenly, Edward reach across the table and pulled my face to his, giving me a deep kiss. I would have broken away saying something along the lines of, not in a restaurant. But I had lost control of my better judgement. When Edward leaned back again, he glanced toward the kitchen door, where our waitress was watching us, trying to be inconspicuous.
"That was mean," I said, realizing the reason for the kiss.
"Well, she should know that I'm taken, shouldn't she?" he said, with a mischeivious gleam in his topaz eyes. He took my left hand in his and kiss the ring on my third finger. I laughed.
Amber came back to our table with a sullen look on her face to pick up my plate. I gave her a smile and she smiled back half-heartedly. As I stood, she leaned over and whispered in my ear, "Your really lucky, you know that?"
"Yeah, I know," I replied, not able to think of any other response. I did know how lucky I was.
As we walked away, Edward winked at her to cheer her up. It worked. When we walked out of the door, she had an huge grin on her face.
"Can I drive?" Edward asked eagerly when we got to the car.
"Yeah, yeah," I sighed, and handed him the keys. He had a great time the whole drive home. Not me, of course. He was going about 130 miles per hour the entire time. I'm surprised that I didn't tear the arm rests off the seat, I was gripping them so hard.
When we pulled up to the Cullen mansion, Edward began to look tense. What now? I thought. We had enough to worry about already. I wondered what Alice had seen.
All of the Cullens were sitting in the living room when we walked inside. They all turned to look at me with a grave look on their faces. Edward hugged me gently and said, "I'm so sorry, Bella."
You know what, I'm sorry too cuz I'm giving you another cliffy! But be happy cuz I gave you a whole lot to wok with this time! If you want to see a picture of Bella's car, go to Its red in the picture but you can just click on the CTS icon at the top and it will show you Bella's new car!
PLZ review! I love it when I have new reviews, it makes my day. If your gona read it, take the time to review and help make the story better! Remember, Edward 4ever rox my sox!!!