For Your Eyes Only

Chapter Twelve - When They Visited Dr Cullen

A few more days passed by, during which Edward and I grew increasingly closer.

It was lovely; we talked a lot more and did more-or-less everything together, and it didn't grow tiresome, as I'd initially expected. He came along with me to the supermarket every time when I had to stock up on the usual essentials and he always kept me company in school. Even though I was getting distracted a lot more often because of this, I didn't really mind.

We laughed a lot more while watching television and everything seemed a lot more relaxed. I wondered if it was because of our chat a few days ago; we'd learned a lot about each other, and maybe that had resulted in some kind of bond? I wasn't really sure but I definitely wasn't going to complain.

I loved having him around. It was simple. There really wasn't any other word for it.

My mind slowed for a moment on the word love. It was certainly a strong way to describe it...

"Bella?" Edward suddenly said, breaking me away from my thoughts. I was really grateful for the distraction.

"Yup?"

He leaned closer towards me on the sofa. "A while has passed and you haven't done anything about those piano lessons."

I groaned. "I had genuinely forgotten all about it, Edward."

He raised an eyebrow momentarily, clearly skeptical. "The piano in your school doesn't look too bad. A bit dusty, but that can be sorted."

"Not with my asthma, it can't."

"Oh. Well, what have you got planned to do today?" he asked, clearly being very persistent.

"Um..." I thought for a moment. I considered telling him a lie, but eventually settled on the truth. "Well... Nothing, actually."

He grinned. "Good. How about you search for a piano?"

"Edward, I-"

We were suddenly interrupted by the sound of my doorbell ringing. I frowned; nobody usually visited here during the weekend apart from Rose, and she was busy with Emmett.

"Have you invited any visitors?" Edward asked.

"No," I replied, heading towards the door. I gripped the handle and opened it and standing there, once again, was Dr Cullen. My thoughts immediately turned to Edward and I didn't really want Carlisle to come inside.

But I couldn't exactly say that. And it wasn't really his fault anyway...

"Dr- sorry, Carlisle," I smiled automatically. "This is a surprise."

He used that charming smile once more, flashing me practically all of his teeth. I wasn't too sure why I was being so observant about this fact, but admired them anyway. In fact, I vaguely wondered about asking for the number of his dentist.

"I'm really sorry to bother you, Bella," he said, pulling his eyebrows together. "Are you busy today?"

"Um... no, no, not really," I stammered lamely. "Why do you ask?"

"Well... um, this is going to sound pretty strange, but please bear with me." He paused and I coudn't help smiling again when he became all flustered; it seemed pretty uncharacteristic og him. "I've done some more research about Edward and myself, and contacted some old family members." I nodded along, completely engrossed, but suddenly noticed Edward appear from the corner of my eye. I met his gaze and saw that he was clearly interested in what Carlisle had to say, too.

"And I've got all the information back at my house and... um, I was wondering if you'd like to come over for the afternoon and see what I've found out? I really apologise if that sounds weird and you can refuse if you like, but I figured it would be nice for you to visit my house instead of me being here all the time. I-"

He was speaking at about a hundred miles an hour and I had to hold up my hand to slow him down. I think he was afraid of me thinking that he was strange man, but he couldn't really be more wrong.

"Woah, lots of information," I laughed.

"Sorry," he muttered, running a hand through his hair. "I just had to get that off my chest without sounding too strange."

Glancing at Edward, I tried to let him see that I needed his opinion.

"It'd be good to go, Bella," he said and I nodded fractionally, aware that we had company.

"That sounds great, actually," I told Carlisle. "If you're sure that is..."

"Of course, of course." He paused. "You could ride in my car if you like, or you could follow me in your truck..."

"I think I'll go for the first option," I said, reaching for my coat. "We've got to save the planet after all."

After a brief chuckle, I followed him to his car with Edward following me warily.

"Well, here we are."

Carlisle cut off the engine and I stared in awe at his house. It was just beautiful...

The place was in the middle of a vast forest and was completely secluded, and this idea appealed to me greatly; having such privacy from the harsh outside world must be wonderful. The house itself was incredibly open, with big, clear windows on most sides, letting natural light flood through. The driveway led to the front of the house and we parked outside a large garage.

There were flowers around the house of all colours and I smiled, imagining Carlisle gardening.

Suddenly, a thought sprung into my mind.

"Oh... does your family mind us, no, I mean me coming here?"

He looked directly at me. "No... it's not a problem. I live alone."

My eyes bulged. Dr Cullen was single? That was just insane.

"Oh, I'm sorry," I stammered. "I just, y'know... I assumed you were married."

"Why's that?" he asked, smirking a little.

I just raised an eyebrow, aware of Edward's presence. This wasn't really the time to be joking about things like this; it was a serious part of his life and I had to respect that. What we were about to find out could really affect him.

We stepped out of the car and Carlisle led me towards the front door. My mouth was more or less dropped open unattractively all the time; I was even amazed at the stairs leading up to the living room.

Edward was right; I was easily amused.

Along the wall were beautiful paintings and the furnishing was incredible. It was my ideal home.

I was so absorbed in it all that I stupidly tripped up the final step, lurching forwards uncontrollably. Luckily, Carlisle caught me in his arms and we both laughed shakily, me thanking him and him looking around awkwardly.

"Only I could trip up stairs," I laughed.

I caught Edward's eyes at this point and nearly shivered at the strange look on his face.

"So, this is the lounge," Carlisle said, opening the door with a breeze of his arm. My breath caught in my throat.

The lounge was even more beautiful, practically three times the size of mine. It was mostly of a cream palette, with more flowers and paintings and general amazingness. There was a bookshelf completely filled with all kinds of literature and a large television, and so much more. On a table there was a chessboard ready to be played, and I wondered exactly who would be Carlisle's opponent.

I didn't think it was possible to fall in love with a house, but I'd fallen hard.

"This is just... wow," I spluttered. Carlisle chuckled in response.

"Being a doctor does have some benefits," he replied modestly.

After a moment's silence, he asked, "So, shall I show you what I found?"

I nodded. "Please."

"Oh, I'll just get you something to drink first. Would you like a coffee?"

"I wouldn't say no! Thank you!"

He smiled. "I'll be a few moments. Do you have sugar?"

"Just one please."

He disappeared then, leaving Edward and myself standing there alone. It was pretty intense and I spun around slowly on the spot, looking at my surroundings once more.

"Nice place, isn't it?" I murmured quietly.

"Yeah."

Looking at him, he had his arms folded and he was staring ahead at the wall. Basically, he was pretty fed up.

"Edward, what's wrong? Are you still mad at Carlisle?"

He sighed. "No, no. It's not that."

After no explanation, I prompted him. "What is it, then?"

He looked at me briefly and shook his head. "It doesn't matter."

I rolled my eyes in frustration but didn't push him any further. "Are you sure you want to find out what Carlisle discovered?" I asked. "I mean, it might be serious stuff and I really don't want you to get upset about it all."

"I'll be fine, Bella." He smiled weakly. "It'll be good to know."

"You don't sound too convinced yourself."

Carlisle walked back in then, carrying two cups of coffee. He also had a pile of papers tucked under his left arm and my curiosity was prickled immediately.

"Thank you," I said when he handed me my drink. We took a seat and I practically sunk into the sofa; it was luxurious.

"Right," he murmured, sorting through the papers. I could feel my heart hammering already and wondered how Edward was feeling.

It looked as though he'd been making plenty of notes and I could see his scribbled handwriting covering most of the paper. There were lots of question marks and I imagined him staying up late into the night researching this. I looked closer at him and he did seem a little tired.

"I was on a family tree website," he said suddenly, catching me by surprise, "as I told you some time ago, and noticed that there were a few relatives still alive in the Cullen family that might know something."

I nodded along.

"And I managed to contact someone who was apparently my Aunt, although I had no idea. She was pretty surprised to hear from me at first, but I couldn't blame her, really. After she'd gotten over the shock and rambled away about her life, I asked her about my parents and Edward."

He paused, and I urged him along, feeling really anxious.

"Basically, my birth was all one big mistake. My parents didn't want anymore children and they had an argument about whether they should abort or not, mainly because of their financial insecurities. I was basically an accident." I shifted around awkwardly, feeling incredibly sorry for him. "I found out that, at birth, I was actually adopted and never knew about it." He trailed off. "The people who I thought were my parents weren't."

"Oh gosh, Carlisle," I sighed. "That must have been so tough for you."

"Yeah," he breathed, looking away.

"How could my grandparents do that?" Edward suddenly asked, making me jump a little. "They never even mentioned him or anything. Surely my father would have noticed that his mother was pregnant?"

I asked Carlisle this and he sighed. "Edward's father had left home by the time my mother fell pregnant. He would have never known."

"I'm sorry," I said, actually to both of them.

"Thank you," Carlisle murmured. He straightened up a little. "So, that's it, really. I'm Edward's uncle."

"Did you ask your other parents who brought you up about being adopted?"

"That would be impossible," he sighed. "They passed away a few years ago."

"Oh." I'd done it again... "Sorry. They probably would have told you eventually."

He nodded. "I just hope I don't lose Edward now."

I automatically placed a hand on his shoulder, a small attempt at comfort. "That's exactly how I feel. We're in this together now."

We looked each other in the eyes and shared a small smile for a few moments.

"Anyway, I'll be right back," he said suddenly, standing upwards and making my hand flop to my lap.

"Okay."

He quickly left and I wondered if he'd gone to compose himself. Despite this, while I had the chance, I turned towards Edward and took in how he looked. His expression was a mixture of disbelief and a little bit of relief.

"Are you alright?" I asked quietly.

"It wasn't quite so bad as I expected," he admitted. "But I didn't realise my uncle was in such a bad position. And it wasn't my father's fault, which is such a weight off my mind."

It felt wonderful when he called Carlisle his uncle and I smiled, even though he'd had a hard time.

"We can help him now," I continued. "When you wake up, you'll all be a family again."

He looked straight at me. "If I wake up."

"So, do you need to get back now?"

Carlisle suddenly walked back into the room and he looked a little more cheerful. I half wondered if he was trying to get rid of me, though.

"Oh... should I leave?"

"Um... well, you don't have to," he shrugged. "I was just thinking you might want to."

I pondered this. "Well, this is gonna sound really cheeky but... I was basically wondering if I could please have a tour of the house? I'm just so curious and it's all so amazing..."

He smiled. "Sure. Follow me please, ma'am."

I think I actually giggled at this point and cringed at my behaviour.

"Here is the bathroom," Carlisle announced, opening the door and revealing an aquamarine paradise. I nodded in approval.

"Here is the study," he continued, showing me a smaller room with a computer, more book shelves and general objects that belonged to this type of room.

We explored a few more rooms and I looked around in interest, and a few minutes later we came to what I assumed was the last one.

"And here is the spare room."

He flicked on the lights and I gasped, straight away catching sight of the object right in the middle of the room.

A piano.

I met Edward's gaze automatically and, for the first time since we'd been here, he smiled widely, his eyes lit up with excitement.

"Fantastic," he murmured.