Soooo…you guys totally blew me away last chapter with all your reviews!! I got the most amount of reviews that I have ever gotten!! You guys are awesome…you make my heart beat!
I want to give a big shout out to my beta Yuki Sakura-Chan. She is awesome. Go check out her stories, they are AWESOME!!
Just a reminder I put the links to their outfits on my profile. Check em out!!
Disclaimer: I sadly do not own Twilight or any of the lovely characters. They belong to the wonderfully talented Stephenie Meyer. I do own the original story line and any original characters. But I do own: All of the books, soundtracks to both movies, Team Edward t-shirt, Twilight the movie, New Moon the movie and used ticket stubs to Twilight and New Moon.
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Last chapter:
We sat in silence for a few minutes; I could see the gears working in his head, trying to process everything. After what felt like a lifetime, he shifted closer to me and pulled my hand up and laid it on his chest so that it was resting right on his heart.
"So Bella, who is right for you?"
My mouth, I am sure, was gaped wide open. I guess I shouldn't be shocked by his question, I knew that it eventually was going to come about, but I didn't think it was going to happen so soon.
I thought about how I should answer that. I mean part of me wanted nothing more than to yell "You!" and then jump into his arms and ride off into the sunset together. But I knew that wasn't realistic. It wasn't like I didn't want to be with Edward; I really do, but it's just that there is a bigger part inside of me that was yelling "Protect yourself." It was scared that he would leave again.
I could feel his eyes burning into me; like he was trying to read my mind.
"Edward," I sighed.
"Yes?"
"There is only one person who is right for me."
"And who would that be?" he breathed out while clutching my hand tighter to his chest.
I snapped my head up and took in his face; his emerald green eyes were full of hope.
"You," I whispered. God, I hope I don't regret this.
That word was all it took, his free hand reached out and curled around the back of my neck, staring me straight in the eye like he was asking for permission for what he was about to do, he must have found what he was looking for because before I knew it his mouth was pressed gently pressed against mine. I froze for a second. I knew that this wasn't the first time that we have kissed since he has been back, but it felt different. Before the under lying anger had held me back, but this was different. I jolted back to reality when I felt his tongue slide across my bottom lip, asking for entrance. I granted it, it was so familiar, but completely different at the same time.
His hand drifted up from my neck, he wound his long fingers in the hair at the nape of my neck, causing me to moan into his mouth. He pulled me closer to him, my body pressed tightly against the center console. My free hand crept up his back, and slowly buried itself into his silky locks. I missed this. I fought his tongue for dominance. It was an amazing feeling with his tongue sliding against mine.
When I could no longer go without breathing, I pushed against his chest gently. He released me reluctantly but not pulling very far away. He rested his forehead against mine, both of us panting slightly.
"Wow," he breathed out.
"That it was.
"I've missed you so much, Bella." he said.
"I've missed you too, Edward," I whispered. I could feel the tears starting to build up in the coroners of my eyes. I had missed him. He was my best friend, my lover, my soul mate. Being here in his arms was like being home.
"God baby, I never thought I would get you back," he said pulling back and looking at me. "Please don't cry, love."
"I can't help it," I choked out as the tears began to fall. This day had been too long, and too many emotions had tossed around. I was utterly exhausted.
His thumbs stroked under my eyes, wiping away the tears.
"I should get you home, you're probably exhausted," he said, situating himself back into his seat.
I needed to say one last thing to him, before we left that sanctuary that was around us.
"Edward?" I said shakily.
"Love?"
"I know that I told you how I felt about you, but I still need time to deal with everything."
"What are you trying to say, Bella?" he asked his tone becoming hard, as if he was waiting for some sort of rejection.
"I guess what I am trying to say is that we need to take things slow. I'm not ready to just jump back into a relationship with you,"
"So what were going back to occasional phone calls and lunch dates?" he asked bitterly.
"No, don't be like that," I begged. "I just think that we should take some time to get to know each other again. We have four years to make up for."
"So you want us to date?" he asked his tone lighter.
"Yes,"
"I think I can handle that. How about we have our first date tomorrow?" he asked.
"Okay," I agreed. I was glad that he wasn't going all introverted after my confession.
He reached over and grabbed my hand. "I'm so thankful that you are giving me a chance, I know that I have a lot of work to do to gain your trust back, but I promise to do it. I will do whatever it takes to show you how much I love you still."
And there it was, the 'I love you,' I knew how I felt about him. It hadn't gone away in all of these years, but I wasn't ready or even at that stage that I could tell him that back.
"Edward, I…." I started, but he quickly cut me off.
"I don't expect you to say it back; I just needed to tell you,"
"Okay," I said, as I gave his hand a quick squeeze.
We finished the ride to my apartment in a comfortable silence. I hadn't felt this content in a long time. I was almost humming. He pulled up smoothly in front of my building.
"Can I walk you to your door?" he asked nervously. It almost felt like our first date all over again.
"I would like that," I replied honestly.
He jotted out of his door and was around my side before I could blink. I shook my head to myself and expected his hand that he offered once he had my door open.
"Thank you," I chuckled as we made our way inside.
"My mom did manage to instill a few manners in me," he joked as we entered the elevator.
Once the doors closed, the tension was back crackling around us in the tiny metal box. I fidgeted nervously with my clutch. I don't know why I was acting this way, it's not like I wasn't just kissing him in his car. I peeked up at him through my eyelashes; he was already staring at me intently, looking slightly amused.
"What?" I asked my voice cracking.
"Nothing," he said, his signature crooked smile dazzling me for a second.
Thankfully the bell dinged, alerting us that we had arrived to my floor. Sighing in relief, I stepped out of the elevator and led him to my door.
"So……," I said, turning to face him.
"So……," he mimicked me.
"What time do you want me tomorrow?" I asked, and then realized how I just phrased that. Blushing I stuttered out "I mean, what time did you want to go out tomorrow?"
Chuckling he leaned in closer. "Well to answer your first question, I always want you, but I can wait until five o'clock tomorrow."
I just nodded my head, I no longer trusted myself to speak. He shot me another quick grin, then leaned his head in and pressed his mouth against mine. It was a gentle kiss, full of hope. He didn't try to deepen it, just a few quick brushes from his lips then he pulled back.
"Tomorrow," he whispered.
"Tomorrow," I agreed.
"I should probably let you get to sleep," he said, taking a step away from me.
"Okay," I said reluctantly, I really didn't want him to leave yet.
"Can I use your restroom before I go?" he asked awkwardly.
"Oh, sure," I quickly unlocked the door and waved my hand in the direction of the bathroom.
He disappeared down the hallway. With a sigh of relief I slid my feet out of my high heels. How did Alice always talk me into wearing those death traps is beyond me. Slipping into the kitchen I grabbed a water bottle out of the fridge and took a long drink. I honestly wanted something a little stronger after the day I had, but I didn't want to drink in front of Edward.
Just as I finished up my bottle of water, I heard the soft strokes of a piano coming from the direction of my guest bedroom. Crap, he found his piano. I followed the sound, finding him seated on the bench, his fingers ghosted over the keys, pushing one down here or there.
He must have heard me enter the room, because he looked up at me, with a slightly guilty look on his face.
"This isn't the bathroom," I reprimanded him jokingly.
"Sorry, I kind of stumbled in here by mistake,"
"Its fine," I said, I finished the trek into the room and settled myself next to him on the bench.
"I can' believe you still have this," he said looking at me in awe.
"I couldn't part with it," I admitted.
"I figured that you sold it,"
"Why?" I asked.
"Because you returned everything else to my parents," he said in explanation.
"Oh, I tried to return this, had the movers there and everything, but I just couldn't do it. I needed one thing to remind me that you were real and that you were once mine," I said softly.
"I am and always was yours,"
"Play me something," I asked quietly. It had been a long time since I had heard him play.
He fingers danced across the keys, playing the song he wrote for me so long ago. I could feel the tears burning behind my eyes. I missed this. I missed him.
"You've had it tuned," he stated after he finished the song.
"Yeah," I said "I have it done every couple of months."
"Thank you," He said smiling sweetly at me. "I have something else I want to play for you."
He started playing a tune that sounded vaguely familiar. I couldn't put my finger on it though, it snapped into place once his velvety voice joined the soft tinkle of the piano.
He turned his head and looked me directly in the eyes as he sang.
When the rain is blowing in your face
And the whole world is on your case
I would offer you a warm embrace
To make you feel my love
When evening shadows and the stars appear
And there is no one there to dry your tears
I could hold you for a million years
To make you feel my love
I know you haven't made your mind up yet
But I would never do you wrong
I've known it from the moment that we met
No doubt in my mind where you belong
I'd go hungry, I'd go black and blue
I'd go crawling down the avenue
There's nothing that I wouldn't do
To make you feel my love
The storms are raging on the rollin' sea
And on the highway of regret
The winds of change are blowing wild and free
You ain't seen nothin' like me yet
I could make you happy, make your dreams come true
Nothing that I wouldn't do
Go to the ends of the earth for you
To make you feel my love
As the last chords faded, I could feel the tears sliding down my face.
"That was beautiful, Edward," I whispered
"It reminds me of how I feel about you, Love," he said, his hand reaching up and brushing my tears away. "It's everything that I was trying to tell you in the car."
I decided against saying anything, I didn't want to ruin the moment by over talking the situation. Instead I chose to wrap my arms around his waist and bury my face into his chest. He wrapped his arms around me and held me tightly to him.
I don't know long we sat there like that, but I wasn't willing to move. Finally a yawn alerted Edward to my growing drowsiness.
"Okay, Love. It's time for bed," he said, releasing me slightly.
"I don't want to," I mumbled incoherently into his chest. Wow I didn't realize how tried I was.
I felt his strong arms swoop me up and off the bench, cradling me against his hard chest.
"Let me get you into bed," I heard him say through the fog that was surrounding me.
"M'kay,"
I felt him chuckle and then I felt my soft bed under me. He pulled a blanket over top of my body and then placed a soft kiss to my forehead.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Love," he whispered. "I'll lock the door on my way out."
"Mmhmm,"
I heard one more soft chuckle, then a few moments later the muted sound of my front door shutting.
I woke the next day with a smile on my face. For the first time in a long time, I felt light and carefree. I hummed through my morning shower and through making a pot of coffee. I full blown singing by the time I settled down at the table with my breakfast.
I couldn't help my laugh at myself, but the laughter was cut short when my cell phone started ringing. I checked the I.D. before I answered it. I almost gasped in shock, it was Riley. I thought that he needed time.
"Hello,"
"Bella, hey it's Riley," he answered awkwardly.
"Hi," I replied, probably sounding even more awkward then he did.
He cleared his throat softly, "I just wanted to make sure you got home okay last night, "
"I did. Thank you, though," I said softly, my heart swelling a little from sadness. He might not have been the right guy for me, but he was amazing.
"I was worried, I would have called last night but I just couldn't," he admitted.
"I understand,"
"Bella," he started. "I just want you to know that you are an amazing women and I wish that I could have been what you needed."
"Riley," I sighed. "You are an amazing, kind, generous man. If anyone should be wishing that they could be different it should be me. I wish that I could have been different for you."
He didn't say anything for a minute; I could hear his soft breathing coming through the phone.
"I think I need to tell you something," I said, breaking the silence.
"I don't know if I like that statement coming from you anymore," he said, sounding like he was partially joking.
"I can't blame you there," I said with a sad chuckle. "But this doesn't really have anything to do with me or I guess us. I just can't not tell you."
I knew that I was babbling but I wasn't sure how to broach the subject of James and everything he told me last night.
"Okay, what is it?" He asked, curiosity saturating his voice.
"Last night, when I was outside waiting for my, um, ride, your brother James was outside also…"
"Did he do something to you? God so help him if he did," he interrupted me.
"No, he didn't do anything," I lied quickly, if I told him about that I would have to explain Edward being there and that wasn't something that I wanted to get into. "He just told me some things that I felt like you had a right to know."
"Go on,"
I blew out a quick breath before I jumped in. I proceeded to tell him everything that James' had said last night. I told him about that lies, the seeds of doubt that he planted in Megan's head, and lastly I told him about the underwear James's had planted in his apartment to make it look like he was cheating on Megan.
He was quiet for a few minutes after I was finished. I could hear his breathing; it was coming out in deep angry pants.
"Well that explains a lot," he finally said.
"I'm sure it does,"
"I remember the night that they announced their "relationship", I confronted Megan when we had a moment alone, and she kept going on about underwear and how she wasn't going to be made a fool of. I really didn't understand it, but now I do." His voice was so sad. "I should have known that he manipulated her, I knew that he was interested in her. The way he would look at her, he watched her like with a look of possessiveness. I always pushed it away, thinking that he was my brother he would never try anything with my girl. I was so fucking wrong."
"Well now you know," I said, not really knowing what to say. "Megan was wrong for believing him, but she didn't ever stop loving you."
"But is it that easy?" he asked sharply. "Can I just forgive her for her lack of judgment? I mean I know what my brother did was shady, but she didn't have to believe him. She could have just talked to me. She could have relied on me to tell her the truth."
And that was the heart of the issue for both of us. Megan and Edward were more alike than I thought. Both of them tucking their tail between their legs and running. If they had both had the faith in us, the way we had it in them, then things would have been so much different.
"Nothing is ever easy, Riley," I said "Even if you chose to forgive her, that won't be the easy choice, because you will actually have to do the hardest thing that there is, which is to forgive and forget. So don't for a minute think that walking away would be the hard choices, because you would be sorely mistaken."
"I guess I never thought about it that way," he admitted. "I just don't know if I can get past everything."
"Then take it a day at a time. Talk to her, get to know her again, and find out why it was so easy for her to believe James. There has to be some underlying issue that caused her to accept his lies so easy. But if you still love her, even a little, don't give up."
"Is that what you are doing with Edward?" he asked with a trace of bitterness in his voice.
"Yes," I said bluntly. There was no need to beat around the bush. "We have a lot of things to work through, but I think that it will be worth it in the end."
"You know what's funny?" he said with a soft chuckle.
"What?"
"When I first met you, I could tell that you still belonged to him, that after all of this time you still held out some sort of hope of his return. And I thought to myself that I was lucky that I was in such a better place, a more understanding place, with my breakup with Megan. I almost felt a little bad for you and now the tables have turned. You are the one who is in a better place, it's ironic I guess."
I didn't say anything back, because his admission kind of stung. Even though I knew what he said was true, I had never thought about what I had looked like to other people. I didn't realize that it was obvious that I was holding onto Edward for so long.
"I'm sorry for not being more honest with you," I admitted.
"That would have made things easier, but we wouldn't have had the same end result."
"What do you mean?"
"I guess what I am trying to say is that I just want you to be happy, be it with him or me, happiness is what I have always wanted for you. Plus I think I see some happiness in the future for me too, it's just going to take some work to get there," he said.
"I want that for you also," I said softly. Riley deserved to be happy.
"Thank you," He said after a minute. "I guess I'm going to say bye now, we both have things we should be doing."
"I'm going to miss you." I admitted.
"I'll miss you to Bella, but I promise this isn't a final goodbye, we'll talk again."
"I hope so." I said, I really did.
"Bye Bella."
"Bye Riley."
Then the phone went silent. It was almost like I could feel the page turning in my book. Life was going on, endings always bring new beginnings and for once the future looked a little brighter.
Reviewers get a teaser!!!
This is not the end, I promise. I know that it sounds like it, but it is not here just yet!
So I'm gonna pimp myself out, I have another story on here that I am also working on called "The Other Twin" if you're bored and you love me, please check it out. It hasn't gotten a lot of attention and it's feelings are kind of hurt…lol…but in all seriousness if you feel like it, give it a read and let me know what you think.
XO-
Symphiann