Disclaimer: Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer.
Author's Note: As always, your guys' support blows me away. You're the reason this story has made it this far and I love you guys for it. I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to respond to your reviews this time around, but please believe me when I say that I read and adore every single one. They mean more to me than you'll ever know. Enjoy this chapter!
Alice POV
Junk. Junk. Junk. Magazine. Phone bill. Junk. Junk. Electricity bill. Newsletter. Junk.
With a heavy sigh, I tossed all of the mail onto the kitchen table. After waking up rather late and seeing that Bella and Edward were gone, I took a quick drive to mine and Jasper's house and checked the mail since we hadn't done so in the last few weeks that we had been at the lake house. Esme and Carlisle were lucky enough to have all of their mail forwarded to the lake house when they stayed for an extended period of time and since I was the only one home, I checked the mail for them.
When I placed all of the mail onto the table, I was left with a large manila folder in my hands that read:
From the Law Offices of Timmons and Jones
It was addressed to Edward and Bella. Huh. Why was Edward receiving mail from another law firm? I knew he was working for a criminal law firm called Volturi, Inc, so I was wondering if perhaps he had switched firms. But then why was Bella's name on the folder as well?
With a heavy sigh and shrug, I decided it wasn't any of my business. Maybe later on when I handed Edward and Bella the folder, I could ask why they were receiving papers from a firm that wasn't Edwards.
As I was putting the manila folder on the table, I noticed that the seal flap on the folder was coming off. The rod that was supposed to hold the flap in place seemed to have broken off—presumably when the folder was being shipped and handled—and the adhesive was wearing off. I didn't want what was inside of the folder to fall out and have Edward and Bella lose important information, so I picked up the folder and headed to the den where I knew Carlisle kept his office supplies—I figured I could just tape down the flap with some scotch tape.
I set the manila folder down on the small desk in the den and sat in the black office chair. I opened a couple of drawers and found a ruler, eraser, and glue, but no scotch tape. With a heavy sigh, I decided to go upstairs to mine and Jasper's room, knowing he always had office supplies for his job as a college professor.
I walked into our room and winced when I realized I hadn't even made the bed yet and the sheets were scattered about, half on the floor and half on the bed. I decided to ignore it for now and went to the bedside table Jasper kept his things in. He had a few boxes of unopened scotch tape inside, so I grabbed one and closed the drawer before turning back around and making my way to the door.
I was stupidly looking down at the box of scotch tape, trying to get it open, as I made my way down the stairs. One of my feet, instead of landing on the next step, grazed past it to the step after, causing me to lose my balance. I felt myself falling forward and my first reaction was to grab onto the railing.
Fortunately, I managed to stay upright and not fall on my head—I would have broken my neck no doubt. However, I looked down at the foot of the stairs and saw that the manila folder was now on the ground with half of the papers that were inside scattered about on the floor.
"Shit," I hissed as I hurriedly, yet carefully, walked the remaining steps to where the papers were on the ground. I groaned when I realized that the papers had probably been in a specific order and I had now messed it up.
I decided to at least have all the papers facing the right direction, so I kneeled down on the ground and began picking up all of the papers and stacking them one on top of the other. I was in the process of shuffling them all together so they were facing the same direction, when a word caught my eye.
Divorce.
I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. Edward worked in criminal law, not divorce. But then I thought back to how Bella's name was on the envelope as well and my eyes widened. It couldn't be.
I couldn't stop my eyes as they traveled down a few lines until I saw the names Edward Cullen and Bella Swan in one of the longer paragraphs. I didn't read the full paragraph—I didn't want to—but certain words popped out at me.
Not a reconcilable marriage.
Irresolvable issues.
March.
The paper stated that Bella and Edward had requested a divorce at the end of March. It was now the beginning of July. That meant they hadn't been together for the last four months. But how could that be? They were here…they were together…they were married.
Not a reconcilable marriage.
Irresolvable issues.
What did this all mean?
I slowly finished gathering all of the papers together and placed them back into the folder. I was in a haze, my mind blank, as I ripped a few pieces of tape and secured the seal flap back into place. I got up off the ground and made my way back into the kitchen.
The folder felt heavy in my hand and I didn't like holding it, so I slammed it onto the kitchen table and grabbed as much of the junk mail and magazines and newsletters as I could and placed them on top of it. I didn't even want to know it was there.
I made myself a cup of tea, trying not to think about what I had just discovered. I felt strange, like I was in some kind of weird trance. I didn't know what to think or feel or even do.
As I sat on a barstool at the kitchen counter contemplating, the house phone rang. I looked up to where it was sitting on the granite countertop by the refrigerator, but I couldn't bring myself to get up and answer it. So I just sat there and sipped my tea for the next couple of hours.
Not a reconcilable marriage.
Irresolvable issues.
Divorce.
XxXxX
I heard the garage door open, but I didn't move from my spot. I didn't move when Bella and Edward walked in. I didn't move when Bella greeted me. I didn't move when they asked me if I was okay. I remembered speaking to them, but my mind was in such a haze that I wasn't even sure what I said. My only thought was getting the hell out of there. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do with this newfound information, so I rinsed my cup in the sink and started to walk out of the kitchen.
For the last few hours, I hadn't felt anything. But suddenly, the anger and betrayal I felt bubbled up inside me and I swiftly turned around, and in the most condescending way possible, I made Bella and Edward aware of the fact that their secret was out.
I didn't even stick around after I shoved the folder into Bella's hands and exited the kitchen. I didn't need to. There was nothing left to say. There were so many things I wanted to know, but I couldn't bring myself to even be in the same room as them at that moment. I needed to be away. Far far away.
Alone with my thoughts and lying on my still unmade bed up in mine and Jasper's room, I allowed the hurt that had been masked by my anger come to the surface. Tears streamed down my face as I silently cried. I wasn't sure why I was crying—I wasn't the one getting a divorce—but that didn't stop my tears.
Bella POV
Alright…okay…breath…just breathe.
Fuck.
How did Alice know these were our divorce papers? Better yet, what were they doing here?
I remembered having a quick discussion with Felix before we left to come to Seattle and he had mentioned that Edward suggested having the papers mailed to the lake house since they had to be done in a certain time frame and we wouldn't be home. But then I remembered him saying he would call…to remind us. Surprisingly, I had forgotten he was even supposed to call. I had forgotten we were ever getting a divorce.
But why hadn't Felix called?
I finally looked up at Edward, realizing I had been staring down at the folder in my hands for what felt like an eternity. He was watching me intently, his brow creased with worry.
"Why are these here?" I whispered.
Edward swallowed a giant lump in his throat and averted his gaze to the folder in my hands. "Felix said he was going to send them to the lake house," he murmured quietly, refusing to make eye contact with me. "He said he told you before we left—"
"He did," I interrupted. "But he also said he'd call."
Edward seemed to wince slightly at my words and I wasn't sure why. I wasn't using a harsh tone; in fact, I was speaking so softly that I was surprised he even heard me.
"And he did," Edward finally whispered, moving his eyes up to meet mine once more.
I felt my own eyes widened slightly and my breath catch as what he had just said sunk in. I didn't remember a call…
Edward had taken to studying his shoes and was once again avoiding looking at me.
"Edward?" I said quietly, not sure what was going on. He didn't look up. "Edward," I said again, firmer this time.
His head snapped up and it seemed like he was looking at the collar of my shirt to avoid looking me in the eye. "What, Bella?" he whispered brokenly. "What do you want me to say? That Felix called me and I kept it from you because I didn't want you to sign the papers? That he called last night to remind me and I listened to his message while we were sitting at breakfast? You were right in front of me, and I kept it from you. Is that what you want to hear, Bella? Because that's exactly what happened. That's it," he finished just as quietly as he had started, still not looking at me. I let what he had just said process for a minute.
Felix had called about the divorce papers and Edward hadn't told me. Felix had called again last night and left a message…and Edward hadn't told me.
"When did he call?" I finally managed to ask.
"Which time?" he rasped out, once again taking to staring down at his shoes.
"The first time. When he first called. When was it?"
He let out a heavy breath and I could tell he was stalling. "Shit, I don't know. The first…second week we were here?" he shrugged.
"And you didn't tell me." It wasn't a question.
"No," he replied somberly.
"Because you didn't want me to sign them." Again, not a question.
"Yes."
I sighed and brushed passed him and into the living room. After a few moments, I heard his footsteps right behind me.
"Fuck, Bella, what are you doing?" he asked, sounding worried and exasperated.
I whipped around and stared him square in the eye. "Edward, why would you keep this from me? What are we supposed to do now? Alice knows. She knows," I said, raising my voice a bit, but not loud enough that Alice would hear—wherever she was.
"Don't you think I know that? Fuck." He ran a hand through his hair roughly before fixing his gaze on me again. "So what, if I had told you, this wouldn't have happened?" he asked incredulously.
"No, it wouldn't have. Because I would have remembered they were coming. I would have picked up my phone. I told you last night to answer it," I pointed out, becoming angrier, but making sure not to speak above a whisper-yell.
"Well, guess what, Bella? I haven't been spending the last couple of weeks keeping track of divorce papers. I've been trying to enjoy the time I have with my wife," he shot back, careful to keep his voice low as well.
I let out a heavy breath, hating that we were arguing. "What are we going to do?" I asked, my voice shaking slightly.
"I don't know," he answered honestly. "Bella—"
"You should have told me," I interjected. "Even if it wouldn't have made a difference, you shouldn't have kept something like this from me."
"I know, but, Bella, at the time all I was thinking about was…trying to find some way to fix us when it seemed like there was no hope. I had no choice," he whispered, defeated. "I honestly thought that if you knew the divorce papers were coming…that if you knew you could finally finish what we had…then I had no chance of getting you back. And then when things got better with us, I just forgot about them altogether because…I don't know…I guess they weren't important anymore. Divorce was the furthest thing from my mind." He paused and glanced at the wall behind me as he added softly, "I'm sorry for what I did, I should have told you."
I shook my head, taking a step toward him. "Edward, it wouldn't have made a difference if I knew those papers were coming. It wouldn't have changed how I feel about you…and it wouldn't have changed how far we've come. It changes nothing," I murmured. "I just wish I knew…so that I could have prepared for this."
He nodded and took a step toward me, but I took one back. "I can't," I whispered regretfully, meeting his confused and hurt eyes. "I need some space right now. And I need to talk to Alice."
"We both do," he pointed out.
I sighed. "I know, I just…can I talk to her alone first? Please?" I pleaded hopefully.
He let out a heavy breath. "Fine," he sighed.
"You and I…we can talk tonight, okay?" I assured him gently.
He furrowed his eyebrows and looked down at the ground, but nodded nonetheless. I sighed and nodded as well as I made to walk past him, but he grabbed my arm and before I knew it, his lips were crashing down on mine.
"I love you," he breathed against my mouth. I was panting heavily when he finally pulled away and I just stared at him for a moment.
"I know," I replied softly. I offered him a small smile before walking past him and up the stairs.
I had to talk to Alice.
I walked up the stairs and down the short hallway to her and Jasper's room; as expected, the door was closed. I softly grabbed the doorknob, but sure enough it was locked. With a heavy sigh, I lightly knocked on the door.
"Alice, I know I am the last person you want to talk to right now, but please open the door," I called out.
Silence.
"Alice, please," I begged, my voice breaking softly as tears suddenly filled my eyes. "Please," I whispered again, placing my hand on the door and resting my forehead against it. Abruptly, the door was pulled open and Alice stood there, panting heavily, her eyes red and puffy—she had been crying.
"Alice," I said after a moment of intense silence and staring.
"Bella," she acknowledged coldly. Her voice sounded different, distant…wrong.
I swallowed an enormous lump in my throat. "Can I talk…I mean, can we just t-talk?" I stammered out nervously. I took a deep breath and met Alice's stare head on.
"About what?" she asked, her voice eerily calm.
I gave her an incredulous look. "You know what," I said a little harsher than intended.
She shook her head and smiled dryly. "Bella, we haven't really talked in three years. Why should we start now?" she questioned cryptically.
I opened my mouth in confusion, ready to respond, but before I could say anything, she shut the door and left me gaping in the hallway.
We haven't really talked in three years.
Alice's eerie voice echoed in my head as I finally stepped away from the door and made my way to mine and Edward's bedroom. Stiffly, I climbed into bed and lay down as I tried to make sense of Alice's words.
We haven't really talked in three years.
We hadn't talked in three years? What was she talking about? We spoke on the phone almost every night ever since Edward and I moved to New York. Okay, so the phone calls had decreased to maybe once or twice a week over the last couple of years, but that was because real life got in the way.
And then there was the strangely calm demeanor she had put on for me. It was so unlike Alice that it was scary. I knew she had been crying, but obviously she was trying to hide her emotions from me. I couldn't handle that, though. I needed to know what she was feeling and I needed her to know what was really going on. It had to make a difference that Edward and I weren't getting a divorce anymore…didn't it?
But I knew deep down that that wasn't the real issue. The real issue was that Edward and I had kept something like this from Alice…from everyone. There was nobody to blame but ourselves.
All of the exhaustion from the day had finally caught up to me, and I allowed sleep to overtake me as I lay there in bed. I wasn't sure how long I had been sleeping, but when I finally opened my eyes, I knew it must have been at least a couple of hours because I looked out the window and noticed that it was now dark outside.
Voices began flitting up from downstairs. I heard Rosalie come home…and then Emmett…and Esme…and finally Carlisle and Jasper. I vaguely heard Rosalie calling Alice and I down for dinner and Alice's door opening. I heard her footsteps as she made her way down the stairs, but I didn't budge. I stayed where I was and stared blankly at the ceiling.
A few moments later, Rosalie walked into the bedroom and stood by the bed, placing her hands on her hips. "What the hell, Bella? I know you heard me, so don't even pretend you didn't."
"Alice knows," I croaked out, my voice still dry from sleep.
Rosalie's eyes widened immediately and she quickly dropped her hands to her side. "What? You mean about the divorce?" she asked, shocked.
I nodded.
"How? Did you tell her?"
"No, she found the papers," I whispered, sitting up and leaning against the headboard.
"What papers?"
"Divorce papers," I replied quietly. I saw Rosalie's confused look and I knew she was going to ask why the divorce papers were here, but I didn't want to get into that now. "I'll explain later," I said quickly. She fixed me with a hard glare, but let out a heavy breath and nodded, relenting. I patted the spot next to me and she sat down.
"Edward's worried about you," she murmured after a moment of silence.
My head snapped to her, confused. "What? Why?"
She shrugged and looked down at her lap. "He said he came in to check on you three times, but you were fast asleep. I didn't understand why he was so worried, but I guess I do now."
I nodded, berating myself for making Edward worry about me when we had more important things to be worrying about.
"Are you going to come down for dinner?" Rosalie asked me, bringing me out of my thoughts.
I looked at her and nodded. "Yea…yea, of course."
I got off the bed and followed Rosalie down to the dining room where the rest of the family was placing food on the table. I noticed immediately that Alice and Edward weren't there.
"Bella, did you enjoy your beauty sleep?" Jasper teased me.
I managed a weak laugh and nodded. "Yea, um, where are Edward and Alice?" I asked as casually as I could.
"Oh, they're in the kitchen," he shrugged. "I think Edward pissed her off or something." Jasper laughed quietly, but I couldn't bring myself to join him. I deftly walked past him and into the kitchen where I spotted Edward and Alice standing across from each other.
"I said I don't want to talk to you, Edward," Alice was saying.
"Alice…" Edward said dejectedly. "You need to let us explain."
Alice was facing the direction of the doorway and Edward's back was to me, so when Alice caught me spying, I knew the conversation was over.
"Your wife's here," she said sarcastically, walking past Edward and then me as she grabbed the bottle of wine off the counter.
I watched her go before turning to look at Edward. My heart broke for him as he stood there, watching me with an uncertain expression on his face. Alice was pushing him away…and I had pushed him away earlier when he wanted to talk to me.
Before I could even give it a second thought, I moved all the way across the kitchen to Edward, placed my hand on the back of his neck, and pulled his lips down to meet mine in a firm and passionate kiss.
Edward responded quickly, grabbing my waist and pulling me closer to him, eliciting a low moan to escape from my mouth. I pulled away just far enough so that I could still feel his breath on my lips.
"I love you," I whispered fiercely, because in that one weak moment, I knew that Edward needed the reassurance that I wasn't going anywhere. That we would get through this together.
His eyes were closed and his jaw was clenched as he rested his forehead against mine, but he nodded, and I knew that he understood the deeper meaning behind my simple words.
We finally extracted ourselves from the kitchen and joined the rest of the family in the dining room. I seated myself between Edward and Rosalie, Alice sitting across the table from me. I stared at her for a couple of minutes, but when I realized that she wasn't going to look at me, I gave up.
No one seemed to notice Alice's aloofness during dinner because conversation flowed easily and naturally around the table, just like any other night. Every now and then I would catch Alice's eye, but then she'd look away quickly and show no emotion whatsoever. It would be better if she would at least yell at me, tell me off—something. But she didn't give me one damn thing. After a while, she wouldn't even look at me anymore. Not a glance, not even a glare. Nothing.
I did notice that she was drinking glass after glass of wine like it was going out of style. It wasn't until Esme started talking about the wedding that things began spiraling down.
"Can you believe that in less than one week you're going to be married, Alice?" Esme asked her, smiling widely.
Alice looked up at her mother and smiled in return. "I know, I can't wait," she replied, turning to give Jasper a long, loving glance.
"Oh, you'll be so happy. Have your siblings given you any advice?" Esme teased. It was an innocent joke, but Alice did not take it lightly.
"No, they haven't," she answered, turning to look at me. "Got any advice, Bella? I mean, since you and Edward have such an…amazing marriage." Sarcasm dripped from her every tone and I prayed that no one else would notice.
My mouth fell open slightly as I stared at her, shocked that she was really going to do this.
"Nothing?" Alice quipped. She shrugged and slouched back in her chair. "Figures."
"I'm sure Bella and Edward have some excellent advice," Carlisle countered, smiling at us blissfully. "Just look at them, they've been happily married for the last three years."
Alice let out a very un-ladylike snort as she stabbed her fork into her food with a little too much force. "Right," she quipped. "Good one, dad."
"Alice, would you like some water?" Rosalie offered quickly.
Alice shook her head and picked up her wine glass, tipping it towards her. "No thanks, I'm good," she said before taking a long swig.
"Alice, slow down," Esme chastised teasingly. "I know you're stressed out about the wedding, but do you really want to be hungover during your rehearsal dinner tomorrow?"
Alice let out a long sigh and shook her head. "No, of course not," she replied.
"Bella, can you pass me the water please?" Edward asked me gently. I grabbed the water glass on table carefully and handed it to him. "Thank you," he whispered, kissing my cheek softly.
Alice started laughing and we all turned to look at her questioningly, but I noticed that she was watching Edward and me.
"What?" I asked her cautiously.
"What was that?" she asked, smiling goofily, seemingly amused by something.
"What was what?" I questioned her, baffled.
"That," she said, motioning between Edward and me. "With the water glass…and the kissing…I mean, for two people who are getting a—"
"Ow!" Rosalie suddenly shrieked out, causing everyone to stop what they were doing and look at her worriedly.
"What is it?" Esme asked her, concerned.
"Nothing, nothing," she waved off. "Emmett's chair just went on my foot."
"It did?" Emmett asked her, looking horrified. "I'm so sorry, baby, I didn't see it. Does it hurt, let me look," he stammered out.
Rosalie waved him off when he tried bending down to examine her foot. "It's fine, Em, really," she said, looking at him pointedly and hoping he'd get the hint that it was merely a diversion.
I sent her a grateful look and thankfully Alice mellowed out for the rest of dinner. Jasper convinced her to switch to water and she did so without a fight. Alice didn't usually drink so much, but I had noticed she had been doing it a lot more since her wedding preparations had begun and I knew it was because she was stressed out.
But I still couldn't believe that she had almost drunkenly blurted out our secret for everyone to know. If Rosalie hadn't stopped her, who knows how the rest of the night would have turned out.
I helped Esme and Rosalie with the dishes while everyone else went into the living room to watch a movie. After about an hour or so, Carlisle and Esme called it a night and Rosalie and I were left in the kitchen, putting away the last of the dishes.
"Hey, is there any way you and Em can get Jasper out of the room so Edward and I can to talk to Alice?" I asked her as she closed the cabinet and wiped down the counters.
"Bella," she sighed once she finished, crossing her arms over her chest and looking at me regretfully. "Alice obviously isn't in the right state of mind to talk right now."
"I know, but what if she never is? I can't go on like this. I mean, who knows when she'll finally be ready to talk us?"
"Oh, no, I mean she's not in the right state of mind because she's a little tipsy right now and probably won't register anything you guys say," Rosalie explained.
"Oh," I replied, having not even thought about that. "I guess you're right," I said, sounding extremely unsure.
"Talk to her tomorrow."
"Before the rehearsal dinner?" I asked incredulously.
"Bella, the wedding is in three days. You have to clear this whole thing up before she walks down the aisle."
"I know that," I sighed. "I know, but she doesn't seem to want to talk to either of us. I mean, this is so unlike Alice. Usually she is the one trying to get to the bottom of everything and figure stuff out. But right now she's just so…cold…and distant. It's scaring me."
"She probably just feels betrayed," Rosalie shrugged. "I mean, you guys have been best friends forever and you kept something like this from her. Not to mention that Edward is her older brother and she looks up to him more than he even knows. I don't blame her for shutting you guys out."
I narrowed my eyes at her. "Gee, Rose, thanks," I snapped sarcastically.
"Hey, we've known each other long enough for you to know that I don't sugarcoat shit," she defended, holding up her hands in mock surrender. "Also," she started, dropping her hands by her side. "You need to tell everyone else, too. I don't know when you guys were planning on doing that, but I think you're only choice now is to come clean with everyone after you set things right with Alice."
"And if Alice doesn't let us set things right with her?" I asked her dejectedly.
Rosalie shrugged and sighed. "Well, then you always have me," she teased.
I rolled my eyes and playfully bumped her shoulder with mine. "I love you, Rose."
"I love you, too, Bella. And don't worry. Things will work out. I know it."
"How do you know it?" I asked her, unconvinced.
"Because it just has to," she reasoned. "And if it doesn't, then I'll just make everyone get along."
"You seem to think people are really scared of you," I joked.
Rosalie threw her head back and laughed loudly. "Oh, but they are, young Swan. They are. Goodnight," she said, kissing my cheek and walking out toward the living room.
"Night," I quietly called after her. A few minutes after I heard Rosalie and Emmett head upstairs, Edward walked into the kitchen.
"What are you doing, baby?" he asked tiredly, yawning as he walked over and placed his arms around my waist from behind.
"Nothing," I replied, shaking my head. "Is everyone asleep?"
"Yes," he whispered. "Are you ready for bed?"
"Mmhmm," I murmured.
"Rosalie's right, you know. Things will be okay. Let's just not think about it tonight, and tomorrow we'll talk to Alice," Edward reassured me softly.
"Eavesdropping were you?" I accused playfully.
"Hardly," he snorted. "You guys weren't being very quiet.
"Does that mean Alice and Jasper heard?" I asked, trying to mask the worry in my voice, though even I knew that some seeped through.
"No, everyone else is asleep, love," he said quietly. "Come on." He tugged on my hand and led me upstairs, into our room, and we slid into bed. We were both too tired to change into our pajamas, so we climbed under the covers and I pressed my back to Edward's chest. He put his arm around my waist and we fell asleep in each other's arms.
But the nightmares plagued me, making it impossible to have a restful sleep. The scenarios kept playing out one after another, each one worst than the one before. In every single one, however, there was one consistency—the family hated Edward and me for keeping such an enormous secret from them. I couldn't handle the shameful glares they were sending me in my dreams or the hateful words.
I found myself waking up with a start, panting for air and sweating immensely. I glanced at the clock on the nightstand and saw that it was barely three in the morning. I looked behind me at Edward's peaceful face and smiled slightly, hoping that he was having a restful sleep and not being bothered by the same nightmares that I had been facing.
Carefully, I slid out from under his arm and quietly made my way across the room and onto the balcony, closing the sliding glass door gently behind me. I made my way to the large cushioned lounge chair—the same one I had slept in the night after Edward and I had our first fight at the lake house.
I pulled the fleece blanket off the back of it and pulled it over myself as I lay back on the comfortable cushions, sighing contently and gazing up at the stars. It was peaceful out there…quiet. For a moment, I became lost in the darkness and forgot about all of my worries and all of my fears. For the first time since the divorce papers had turned up, I felt calm.
I wasn't sure how long I lay there staring up at the stars before the sliding glass doors opened and Edward stepped outside.
"What are you doing out here?" he asked me, his voice raspy with sleep as he walked over to the lounge chair.
I sat up and scooted forward, hinting at him to slide in beside me. He understood what I wanted and sat down behind me, pulling me back into his chest and between his open legs. I pulled the blanket over both of us and snuggled deeper into him. Now I felt whole.
"Did I wake you?" I asked guiltily.
"No, I just know when you're not with me," he whispered, placing a kiss on the top of my head.
"Tomorrow is going to be hard, Edward," I groaned, reminding him about the inevitable conversation we would have to have with Alice…and most likely the rest of the family.
"I know," he agreed softly. "But just for now…let's not think about it. I just want to sit here with you and look at the stars, okay?"
I turned my head and looked at him, hating the tiredness and defeat I saw in his eyes. All I could do was nod, place a gentle kiss to his neck, snuggle deeper against him, and sit there with him, looking up at the night sky. I was pretty certain that we were both waiting for a shooting star that we knew would never come.
Author's Note: I know Alice is going to get some serious hate for this chapter, but I hope you can all understand that things can't get fixed in one chapter; it just isn't realistic. I won't make the angst last long, though, I promise. Just a little heads up, we have about four chapters left including the epilogue—I know, sad :( It might turn into more, but as of now that is what I am predicting it will be. Thanks so much for reading! You guys are amazing.