Disclaimer: Do I own Twilight? Nope. How about now? Still nope. In a hundred thousand years? Probably not. Oh, well.
A/N: Chapter six! Woo hoo! This chapter might not be the greatest, because I've been suffering from a nasty bit of writer's block. This is the best I could give you. I hope you like it. Review and let me know!
Jacob seemed content to make the drive home in silence. I don't think he noticed that I was staring out the window, lost in my memories of Edward.
As soon as we pulled up in the driveway, I noticed a black car in the driveway. I recognized it as Emily's. I heard Jacob talking and tried to pull myself away from my thoughts to pay attention.
"…back early," Jacob was saying with a frown.
I frowned, too. "I hope everything's okay."
"I'm sure she would have called if it wasn't," he reassured me. Nevertheless, I hurried inside.
I wasn't upset at all that Emily had let herself in. She knew where our spare key was, and she, Sam, and Zachary were always welcome here. We were practically family.
I was met at the door by my son, Anthony. He threw his little arms around my legs and screamed happily.
"Mommy!"
"Hey, buddy," I said with a laugh.
Until I got with Jacob, I had never thought of myself as a person who could have kids. I mean, I could have them, obviously, but I'd never thought I would. Jacob wanted a family, though, and he made me realize that I did, too. Not just because I wanted to make him happy, but because the idea of having kids with Jacob was really exciting.
Our little Anthony Masen came along just a year after our marriage. He was a quirky kid, and was always surprising us by acting much older than four. We weren't sure if we wanted to have any more children after him. We'd pretty much decided to at least wait until he was six or seven to have another baby when we got the big surprise that I was pregnant again. Our daughter, Lana Danae, was born just over a year ago.
"Jacob? Bella? Is that you?" Emily called from the living room.
"Yes, Em," I called back, "it's us."
She strolled into the dining room slash kitchen, where we were, holding Lana in her arms. She smiled at us and Lana squealed with joy.
"Where's Zach?" Jacob asked, looking around.
She sighed and shrugged. "Oh, I don't know for sure. He's around here somewhere. He and Anthony were playing a game back in his room. He's probably still back there."
I nodded as Anthony let go of my legs and ran off. Emily handed Lana to me.
"So, you're back early from Seattle?"
"Yeah, the zoo wasn't very crowded today, so we looked at basically everything we wanted to see," Emily explained. She noticed Jacob's disappointed face and smirked. "So, Jacob, did I spoil any of your plans?"
He shrugged sheepishly. "Nah, not too much," he lied.
I shared a knowing look with Emily and we laughed.
"Everything went okay with the move, I'm assuming?" she wondered aloud.
"Yes, it went well," I informed her. "It's just a little odd, you know, seeing Charlie in a new place…"
She nodded sympathetically. "I understand that it must be tough for you."
I nodded as I moved to put Lana in her highchair. I grabbed a banana and started peeling it.
"It's a little rattling," I admitted.
Jacob came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist lovingly.
"I think it's more than a little rattling, Bells," he whispered in my ear.
I blushed, remembering how I'd run off, and how I'd basically lied to Jacob to cover up.
Emily spoke up again. "Um, sorry to interrupt your little moment, guys, but, uh…where's Sam?"
I looked over to see her fidgeting nervously.
"Oh, Emily," I said, giving her a hug. "Nothing's happened to Sam. He's just helping Charlie finish the last of his unpacking."
"Right. Of course."
"Honestly, Em, you worry too much," I told her gently. She smiled a little.
"I know, I know. I'm sorry."
"Don't be," I insisted, going back to the counter where I'd left the banana. Jacob had gone to tend to Lana, who was waiting impatiently for her snack. I pulled out the cutting board and begin to cut the banana into small chunks for her.
xOxOx
Later on that afternoon, Jacob got a call from one of his best clients and had to run down to the garage to meet him. By that time, Sam was back from Charlie's, so he, Emily, and Zachary had gone home. It was just me, Anthony, and Lana.
"Mommy, why does Daddy always go to work?" Anthony asked me. We were sitting on the couch in the living room, watching a semi-educational video. It was something I felt guilty about doing, just putting in movies for them, but I had too much on my mind to give them the full attention they needed anyway. I felt even more guilty about that.
"Because, Anthony, Daddy fixes cars, and cars break all the time. So when a car breaks, Daddy goes to fix it."
"But can't Daddy ever say no?"
"Yes, he does, sometimes. But this car is a car he really likes," I tried to explain. It wasn't easy trying to tell a four-year-old how the working world worked. (A/N: rofl. sorry, I couldn't resist the alliteration)
"Oh. Okay." He shrugged and turned his attention back to the movie, giving me the chance to turn my attention back to the Cullens.
I was still surprised that Edward had left things under my floorboards. I wondered why he did that. I wondered when he did that. I had no doubt that he would have had no trouble lifting the floorboards quietly and quickly any time he pleased; that was one of his vampire traits.
Thinking about Edward made me feel all fluttery inside, like I was still seventeen. He was still seventeen. I tried to push that thought from my head.
I wondered absentmindedly why I felt fluttery instead of upset. Hadn't Edward caused me months of heartache? Hadn't I felt incomplete for God knows how long after he left me? So why wasn't I feeling that anguish now? All I felt was a wistful longing for all the good times from my past.
I tried my hardest to sit still and focus on the movie with Anthony and Lana, but honestly, a toddler video wasn't exactly the most interesting thing in the world for me to be watching. Finally, I couldn't stand the curiosity any longer.
I was going to find out what, exactly, Edward had put under my floorboards.
A/N: I really hope you guys liked this chapter. It's so great to see that I've got a few loyal readers. Even if you haven't been reviewing constantly, if you're at least letting me know you like it, that's fantastic. It lets me know that you'd like to see more. I've been doing my best to reply to your reviews, to let you know personally that I appreciate what you're doing. Writers, even wannabes like me, are nothing without their fans (in this case, reviewers)! This chapter I dedicate to two of my reviewers that have faithfully reviewed every chapter: mYBlOodYcRySTalHeaRt and r0b0tic vampir. You guys rock! But everybody else rocks, too. I love you all. xD