Chapter Twenty-One

I slept soundly and, even in my sleep, I was aware when Edward joined me. I could feel the coolness of his skin and it was relaxing. Though I was already asleep, that was when the slumber became so deep that I could have slept for years, nothing could have woken me up, and I would have been completely awake in hours alone. I slept the entire night in Edward's arms and only woke as he shifted to move. I caught his smile just as Dad's footsteps in the hall came. I returned it, then closed my eyes, and Edward was gone when I opened them again. Today, I would know my fate. Or so I hoped. I would know part of it anyway. Dad said that today was the day I would return to LA. So far, I hadn't packed, I hadn't heard any arrangements for tickets, no calls from Mom about pickup times, or anything to suggest that he still held to that. Maybe he would let me stay. Maybe there was more than just a thought of it. Maybe it was already set... I could hope.

I rolled over when Dad opened my door. He looked surprised to see that I wasn't crying or even looking depressed. I couldn't be though. Edward hadn't left me a note or a small bouquet of flowers or even a big one. He'd left me the memory of his smile to mull over until one in the afternoon when he promised to come. That was a great thing! Beautiful and the only thing I wanted to remember. I was completely ready to spend the entire day dreaming about Edward if I had to. Seeing him would have been much better. But his smile was always something that could make my heart pound no matter how many times he grinned or laughed. Everything he did was another beautiful thing. Knowing that he was there, knowing that I would be able to see him or even just feel his presence at night was more than enough to keep me from becoming depressed.

I showered, went through my usual morning schedule. Dad had work off, probably because he still looked exhausted. Apparently, an older person like him couldn't recover so quickly from little or no sleep... I made him breakfast and ate at the table with him, thinking about how Dad would react if I actually greeted Edward with the excitement I would feel when he got there. I wondered if I could actually hold it back at all. Probably not. I was bursting to see him, shaking in the anxiety and the tick of the clock couldn't have sounded slower.

I grabbed my iPod from upstairs mostly as a distraction before I went to do the dishes and I started on lunch immediately afterwards, which left Dad watching me like I'd gone completely crazy or like I was wearing my shirt inside out or something completely unlike me. Really, I was just trying to survive until I saw Edward. Knowing that I would soon see him was the worst part of all. I couldn't stand the thought of waiting much longer, and one o'clock was two hours away still.

Dad eventually moved off to go watch tv, which left me alone in the kitchen. I hummed along to myself, so completely happy and none of the depressing songs could have changed that. I just wanted to burst into laughter.

One hadn't arrived, but there was a knock at the front door. I heard Dad's annoyed grunt and went to answer it myself. I pulled the door open, my heart stopped. "Edward," I whispered, my eyes wide. It was only noon! He couldn't possibly be stupid enough to show up an hour early! That would have been the worst thing ever. "What are you doing here?"

"Don't worry. He changed the time, trying to make me late," Edward exclaimed, running a hand through his hair in the pouring rain.

"Oh... Sorry. Come in," I told him, taking his hand. Of course, as soon as I closed the door behind us, I nearly jumped into his arms. I couldn't help it. He was soaking wet. I noticed his Volvo out by the curb, so he'd just walked from the road to the front door human speed and he was completely soaked through. I smiled at him when he pushed my hair behind my ear, watching my face. "Something wrong?" I pressed, handing him a towel once he let go of me--Dad was watching.

"No. No. On the contrary. You look much better, love. Not like you're dead on your feet or starving yourself to death," he said.

I nodded--I felt better too. Not half asleep or dead. I felt more alive than ever. I couldn't stop smiling as Edward took my hand and led me towards the living room. Not even Dad's verdict could have ruined my mood as long as I had Edward there. True, I would probably have a delayed reaction, but that wasn't the same as it completely depressing me and ruining my life. I sat on the couch with Edward, squeezing his hand so he couldn't leave me or wouldn't. I didn't know if Dad was thinking about separating us or forcing me to sit on another cushion instead of my preferred seat--no space between me and Edward. Dad gave an annoyed sigh, but it wasn't completely furious or to a point where he was about to kill Edward... "Timberlee, I want to talk to Edward alone," he announced, and I cringed immediately. There was no way I was letting Edward out of my sight, especially with Dad on a rampage about my disappearance, and then there was how Edward left. I would not let Dad yell at him for something that I'd forgiven him for!

Edward gave me a nod, and I reluctantly let go of his hand. I would stay in the kitchen, listen in so I could easily step in if Dad got way out of hand. That would be something. Edward wanted to face Dad alone if he had to, and I guess he had to. I sat down at the kitchen table, out of sight currently, still able to hear.

"In the past two months, I've seen my daughter go from the happiest she's ever been to her completely being a new person to being happy all over again," Dad began quietly. Too quietly, it made me think there was an explosion coming. "She's been let down too many times. I'm not going to sit back and let you destroy her life again. It's not possible. She's still young, she has her entire life ahead of her, unless you decide to ruin it all over again." I flinched. Ruin it all over again, hadn't Edward already promised not to?

"Chief Stone, I never meant to hurt her at any point. I know I've let her down many times. I realize that I could never deserve someone so wonderful as Timberlee. The only reason I left was because I thought she would be better off without me. I thought she would get over me within a few days, weeks maybe at most. I thought she would have a better life without me. There are other ways to find happiness. I did know that it would hurt her, but I thought it was for the best. She was never the problem. If anything, the problem was that I was too in love with her. She was too good for me, and she still is! I believe that with all my heart. I don't ever want to hurt her, I never did, and I see now that she's not going to give up because that's in her character. I'm not going anywhere this time because I know she needs me, even if I wish she would see that she deserves someone better," Edward replied in a respectful, business-like tone. I smiled a little. I was still nervous, but he knew how to make it seem so easy to say these things, though I knew Dad was probably still about to explode.

"I don't know how to prove to you that I love your daughter. There may not be any way. But she's the only reason I'm alive right now. I was misinformed. I heard about her accident and that it was intentional," he said quietly. So we were using the accident instead of the cliff diving thing, thank God for that! "I called to see if it was true. Her cell phone wasn't being answered when I knew that she always answered it. Then I called the house phone. Jacob Black answered. I said that I was my father because I didn't want Timmy to hear about me calling if she was alive. He said you were preparing for a funeral, and I thought he meant Timmy's funeral. I thought she killed herself because I left. I couldn't live with that or the fact that she was dead. I went to Italy to escape the attempts my family would make to stop me. Alice came here to get Timberlee because that was the only way I would believe she was alive. I had to see her. Methods didn't matter to me. I just wanted to end my life because I knew what I'd done to Tim." Edward paused, and I cringed. Why did Charlie have to be so damn silent? And he was probably glaring at Edward too!

"Timmy only left because of me. I should have come to confirm the information, and I didn't even ask whose funeral it was. I know Timmy wouldn't have ran off like that if it wasn't for me. She didn't come to beg me to come back either. I came back on my own because I can't let her hurt anymore. That would be more than cruel, and I couldn't handle it. She left to save me, and there wasn't time to work it out with you. They had to fly to Florence, then drive to Volterra," Edward explained.

I could imagine Dad rolling his eyes and being as disrespectful as possible. Then he cleared his throat. "Timberlee," he called, and I immediately jumped up, stubbing my toe in the process. I caught myself on the table, then practically ran into the living room. "You ran off to Italy to make sure Edward didn't kill himself?" he demanded in a quiet tone that was worse than yelling.

I nodded. "Dad, okay, listen," I started and stood because I couldn't stand sitting still then. "The past month and a half, you saw how miserable I was, right? You got so mad at me because I couldn't stop crying, right?" I paused because I knew that was only reminding Edward what he'd done, but better me than Dad. "You were threatening to send me back home, and really worried about how I was going crazy. But that was only because Edward was gone. Just him not being here was horrible. What if he'd died? The only reason I tried to live was because Edward was still alive. I knew there was a chance that he came back," I explained quietly.

"So if you were misinformed of his death, you would have killed yourself?" Dad inquired.

"Yes. And even if it sounds crazy, it's true."

"Chief Stone, Timberlee's had boyfriends before. She never let them take advantage of her or let her down. She may be over forgiving with me, but I don't think she would let herself be in a situation that would hurt her," Edward said from the couch. "She's not the kind of person who lets herself be abused in any way. I'm not going back just so I can leave again."

I smiled over my shoulder at him. An excellent point! It was true. Whenever I was let down by one of my ex boyfriends, they were kicked to the curb almost immediately. I knew they weren't the ones I would marry, so it didn't matter. But Edward had already made his request for me to marry him actually. I just hadn't given him my answer. I turned back to Charlie then, who looked furious still. "Stop blaming Edward because it's not his fault. Do you really think he controls my life, Dad? And anyway, isn't this really my choice anyway? It's not like you can stop it. I'm already in love with him, which you said yourself and you can't deny it. You said that the only reason I was such a wreck was because I was in love. So if I'm in love already and you know how miserable I am without Edward, isn't that a good reason to let me see him?"

"I actually never said that I wasn't going to let you two date," Dad pointed out.

"No, not in those exact words, but sending me back to LA..."

Dad sighed, rolling his eyes. "Your mother won't let you move home," he told me, and I grinned at Edward. "She says that, since Edward is back, you'd be a wreck all over again. So for your mental health and hers, you're staying. Now I can see for myself that you're happy now. That's all I ever want for my girl, but I don't want someone to hurt you ever. I don't like it or him." I glared at Dad. How rude! "But... well, I'd rather know about it than have you two sneaking around. That, however, does not mean that you're out of trouble! Jacob told me about the motorcycles." I cringed again, falling back onto the couch next to Edward. This was bad! "That reaction confirms it then? What were you thinking?"

"They're... fun," I whispered. "And I know how to ride one already, Dad. It's not like I killed myself. We did go riding on them, ya know?"

"Yes, and he said it fell over on you. Plus you dragged Jake into this. He could've been killed." Dad rolled his eyes when I glanced at Edward. "All right. I'll make this short. You're grounded. You're allowed two hours with Edward everyday, that's it. No leaving the house with him. No going to his house. He has to come here. If I say it ends, it ends and he goes home. No more motorcycles. The only reason I'm allowing this is because I want you to be happy, so you're staying here. And I'd better not regret it," Dad finished, glaring at Edward, but I was already hugging him, too happy to care. Two hours a day! That was definitely something. Edward smiled at me and helped me up to my room where we could talk without Charlie glaring at us. Edward pulled me down onto the bed, leaning into him, and I laughed. This was what destiny felt like. That thing that determined the course of the future. Even if I was grounded, this was meant to be, and Edward was the only future I wanted. I could have spent forever with him, and maybe I would. Maybe becoming a vampire was also part of my destiny...

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A/N: Next story in my series is called Bloodlust and it'll be posted pretty soon. Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it.