Nightfall
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Goodbyes and Welcomes
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I started walking towards him, pushing my way through the crowd without noticing. When I saw him do the same I broke into a run. He met me halfway. My body collided with his and he lifted me into a fierce hug. I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him back with all my strength. His smell overwhelmed me, his cold skin pressed against mine in the most delicious of ways. He set me down, just so his hands could cup my face. I stared deeply into those beautiful eyes I loved so much.
"Edward." I whispered.
He silenced me with the most wonderful kiss.
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I forgot about everything else. All that existed in my world for a few moments were Edward and myself. I felt like I was floating. And then, it was over. Edward pulled away and frowned.
"Why did you stop?" I complained.
"Your heart stopped beating for a moment there." He smiled and rested his forehead against mine. I breathed in his scent, his delicious smell, his being.
"I missed you so much." I whispered.
"I missed you too, more than I ever thought possible." He used his fingers to dry my tears. I'd forgotten all about my panic attack.
"Not that I'm complaining, but what are you doing here?" My lips were inches away from his own, just so I could breathe in his breath.
He closed his eyes, which made me suspicious. "Well..." he confessed, "I've been here all week."
"What?" I was so stunned I took a step away from him.
"Come on Bella! You didn't honestly believe I'd leave you all alone after what Alice saw a week ago did you?"
My jaw dropped. I wanted to throw something at him. "I was in pain! Physical pain, from being away from you and you've been here all along?" I shrieked.
"You think it was easy for me? Watching you toss and turn all night long, hearing you scream for me and not being able to go to you? Knowing you were depriving yourself of food and sleep because of me? It killed me Bella!"
"Then why did you do it?"
"I had to make sure." He lowered his voice.
"Make sure of what?"
He pulled me close to him and whispered in my ear "Make sure I'm really what you want. I needed to know that being with me wasn't something you were going to regret later on. I had to be certain that this is what you really need."
I looked up into his eyes "You wanted to know if I'll miss my human life once you've change me." It was a statement, not a question. He just nodded.
I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him once more. Then I whispered. "Are you convinced now?" He nodded again. Relief flooded my senses. There was no question about it now, he would change me during the winter break, and he'd do it without regrets.
"Bella I was so scared when I saw that crowd forming around you. What happened?" He placed his cold hand on my cheek. It felt great, and I noticed I was still sweating a little from my breakdown.
"I saw a pair of earrings, the exact same color as your eyes."
He chuckled and rested his forehead against mine once more. "My beautiful Bella, what am I going to do with you?"
"You can start by taking her home." Renee's voice interrupted my little heaven. I closed my eyes and prepared myself for the fit she was probably going to throw. Then she continued, "Home to Forks."
I snapped my head around to stare at her "Mom..."
"Bella, I'm sorry. I've been imposing myself on you. I thought I was saving you from some horrible fate by keeping you here but the fact is, all those rash decisions I took as a teenager did get me something more than regrets, they got me you."
My eyes teared up once more. "I'm not saying you should run off, get married and start a family right now. In fact, I'll kill you with my own two hands if you do. I just realize now that I won't be able to keep you from doing what you want, what you think is right. I should probably just trust your decisions. After all, you've always been the adult at our house."
"Oh mom!" I hugged her briefly. She then turned to Edward. "Now you better take good care of my little girl. If you ever lie, cheat or make her feel bad about herself in any way, I'll chase you around with a frying pan. Are we clear?"
Edward smiled "Very clear. Don't worry. I love your daughter more than I do myself. I'd rather die than hurt her."
My mom seemed satisfied. "Let's go home and get you packed Bella. I'm sure you miss the clouds of Forks already."
"But mom, what about you?"
Renee smiled at me, "I'll be fine." And right then, I knew she would be.
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My mom drove us back to the house so I could pack my things. Edward said something about needing to buy some books for his sisters and stayed behind. I think he just wanted to give us some space.
When we got home I went upstairs to pack. While I was doing that, I heard my mom moving around in the kitchen. Once I knew I'd be allowed to go back to Forks, I felt a little bad about leaving her all alone, so I went downstairs and found her sitting at the kitchen table, a cup of coffee in front of her. I sat down on the chair next to her.
"Hey Bells." She sounded really sad.
"How's the coffee?" I asked.
"Bitter." I could tell we weren't just talking about the hot liquid anymore.
"Look Bella, I'm sorry for acting like such a..."
"Parent?" I interrupted.
She smiled a little "Well, yes."
"Mom it's okay. You're going through a very rough time! I should've been more understanding."
She stared at her cup while she stirred "He's called, you know?"
"Phil?"
"I had so many lost calls on my cell phone, I finally just decided to turn it off."
I sighed and took her hand "Mom, maybe you should talk to him. Hear his side of the story."
She shook her head "I can't go back to him. Once a cheater, always a cheater. Right?"
"But you miss him mom! Besides, he says he didn't do it."
She gave me a sideway glance "Do you honestly think he'd admit it if he had?"
I shrugged. "I'm just saying you should hear what he has to say. You don't have to go back to him, but at least you could get some sense of closure."
She stared into space, lost in her own thoughts. I would've left it at that, but I had a bit of apologizing to do myself.
"Hey mom? I'm sorry too."
She frowned. "For what?"
"Well, this past week I've felt as if I were living in a soap opera. I just got so scared when you told me you weren't going to let me go back to Forks. I tried talking you into letting me go by confessing my feelings for Edward, which probably wasn't the best idea considering your situation. I might have sounded a tad..."
"Melodramatic?" She was laughing at me.
"Maybe just a little." I grumbled.
She giggled and looked back down at her coffee. "You really love him, don't you?"
I nodded "I do."
"That much?"
I felt my face growing hot when I said "Well, weren't you standing right next to me at the mall?"
She started laughing again. "Oh right! What triggered that Oscar-winning performance anyway?"
"I saw a pair of earrings the exact same color as his eyes." I mumbled under my breath.
She snapped her head around to stare at me, her mouth open. "Oh you are such a goner."
I laughed and covered my face with my hands. This was the Renee I was used to, it felt good having her back.
"You know mom, if you need me to stay I can probably stick around for another week or so. Maybe Edward can get a hotel room somewhere close."
"No, that's alright. I need to start figuring things out on my own. You're not going to be around forever."
I bit my lip, trying hard not to let her know just how right she was.
"I'm amazed Edward's parents let him run around the country after you every time you decide to leave." She commented.
I just shrugged. "The Cullens are really cool people, you'd like them."
"Maybe I'll get a chance to get to know them better sometime."
"Yeah, maybe."
She crossed her arms. "They're all awfully beautiful. That girl, Alice, she's a knockout."
I laughed, "You haven't met Rosalie."
"Who's Rosalie?"
"Edward's other sister. She's just drop-dead gorgeous."
My mom raised an eyebrow "I'm intrigued. Don't you have like a picture or something?"
"No, but maybe Edward does."
"Why don't you invite him over for dinner?" She was being nice, but I couldn't say yes to that. She was bound to notice if he didn't eat at all.
"How about you and I go grab something at some fancy restaurant by ourselves? We can have him over for coffee afterwards."
She clapped her hands in excitement "Oh we can get all dressed up and everything! I'm gonna go take a shower."
I smiled as I watched her go. It felt good having my best friend back.
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"THAT is your sister?" My mother gawked openly at the family picture Edward had just handed her. I would've been embarrassed by her actions if I'd never seen Rosalie myself. I knew, however, that my mother's reaction was perfectly natural.
Edward chuckled "I think I have one of just her around here somewhere." He fished around his wallet until he came up with another little photograph. My mom's eyes just about popped out of her head when she saw the picture. It was a close-up of Rosalie standing on the roof of their house, she was looking over her shoulder at the camera and smiling playfully, her hair flying all over the place. No model could ever compare to her radiating beauty.
"Our brother Jasper took that one. He has a bit of a photographic eye. Or so he claims."
We were sitting in my mother's modest living room. Renee and I had gone out to dinner early and I'd called Edward as soon as we'd gotten home. I hadn't even changed out of the little, black, strapless number my mother had forced me to wear to the restaurant. It'd taken me forever just to talk her into letting me take my shoes off.
"Well Edward, your family seems very... nice." Renee was trying to regain her calm. I could see my vampire boyfriend trying hard to hold back laughter. I could only guess it was because of something my mother was thinking.
He handed her the rest of the pictures he carried around in his wallet. He had one of us kissing in a photo booth, that one was a little embarrassing. My mother looked through them gleefully. She's a photo junkie. She stopped and frowned at one of the pictures. I had to lean over to see what she was making faces at. It was a picture of Rosalie and Emmett on the roof, probably taken by Jasper too. In it, Rosalie had her legs wrapped around Emmett's waist, it looked like he was swinging her around. They were kissing.
It was a very beautiful photograph. I would have to compliment Jasper later. However, I had neglected to tell my mother about the relationships in Edward's family.
I could see she was looking for something diplomatic to say. Edward, who hadn't seen what my mother was looking at, but could probably guess from her thoughts, glanced over at me. He silently asked me with his eyes whether I wanted to tell her, or should he.
I cleared my throat. "That's Emmett. Rosalie's boyfriend."
"I thought he was her brother." She let out a nervous laugh.
"Well... he is. I mean all the Cullen children are adopted. In fact, Rosalie and Jasper decided to keep their last name, Hale." My mom raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
"Alice and Jasper are also a couple." Edward chipped in. He probably just wanted to get all the surprises out of the way, or at least as many as we could actually tell my mother.
"Oh my!" She giggled. "Well, that must be one interesting household."
"It is," I smiled calmly at her, "There's a lot of love in that house." Somehow, I doubt that sounded as well as it had in my mind.
"We are all very grateful to be a part of our family. The Cullens took us in when no one else would. Emmett and Rosalie are of age, they probably would've moved out already if we weren't all so close."
My mom took a deep breath. Edward's soothing voice and sincere words calmed her down slowly. He gave me a smile, indicating she was probably a little more at ease with the whole thing.
"Anything else I should know about?" She said this in a joking tone, but I could tell she was a little worried.
Well yes mom, Edward is a 104-year-old vampire and he's going to kill me in December. "No, not really" I smiled sincerely.
"Well, when are you two going back to Forks?"
"I was thinking about getting us tickets for tomorrow night. Unless you two want to spend some more time together. I can wait for as long as you need." Edward spoke to me. I shook my head to show him I was okay with leaving the next day.
"You two should probably get going. School is waiting." I groaned. It was hard balancing a normal life and the excitement of being involved with mythological creatures.
"I should probably go to my hotel now. My dad wanted me to call him tonight to let him know about our plans." Edward got up. He turned to say goodbye to my mother and she engulfed him in a hug. Shock registered on his face, but he soon regained his composure and hugged her back.
"It was nice seeing you again Edward. You'll take good care of my little girl, won't you?" She whispered.
"Always." He nodded.
I walked him to the door. He kissed me softly and whispered, "I'll be waiting in your bed."
My heart fluttered at his words. I closed the door behind him and went to help my mom in the kitchen. She was washing the mugs we'd used.
"Don't you think it's a little weird? Brothers dating sisters under the same roof?" She sounded genuinely curious, not judgmental.
"They are not really related mom. Besides, if you could see them... after you spend five minutes in that house it starts to feel completely normal to you. They all love each other very much."
She shrugged. "It's just a little too Woody Allen for my taste."
I laughed wholeheartedly. "Mom, I'm kind of tired. Do you mind if I go to bed?"
"Not at all honey. Sleep well."
"Oh I will." I said under my breath as I hurried upstairs. I was in such a rush to get to my room that I tripped on the last step. I was just about to have a very close encounter with the floor when I suddenly found myself floating in midair, my nose inches away from the soft carpet.
"You should really be more careful. I'm not always around twenty four hours a day, you know?"
"Well you can certainly try." I smiled.
Edward had one hand on my chest and the other one just over my knees. He was holding me horizontally, which was a good thing. It would've probably been very painful if I'd banged my leg on the step. He flipped me around in his arms effortlessly and carried me to my room.
He sat me down gently on the bed and laid down next to me. "Shoes!" I glared at his expensive looking footwear. It took longer for the shoes to hit the ground than it did for him to get them off.
I took his shirt, the one I'd been using for bed, out of the drawer and was about to go change in the bathroom when his cold hand on my bare shoulder stopped me. "Let me help you with your dress." His breath on my neck made me shiver. He took the zipper in his gentle fingers and slowly pulled it down to my mid-back. He moved my straight hair away from the newly exposed skin with his fingertips and placed a small kiss on the middle of my back.
My heart raced, I worked on controlling my breathing while he kissed every inch of my pale skin he could reach. For a moment I thought he was going to pull the zipper all the way down to my waist, but he never did.
"You should probably go change now." He whispered so close to my ear his breath tickled me.
"I don't think I can stand up." I'd closed my eyes when he'd started the seducing process and I was unable to open them yet.
He chuckled, his deep laugh made me catch my breath. "Okay then." He lifted me into his arms, careful not to move the dress even an inch lower, and carried me to the bathroom. I changed into his shirt and a pair of small shorts quickly and brushed my teeth. I debated for a moment on whether to wash my face or not. I decided against it, my mom had done a great job with my makeup. I decided to squeeze the hours of girly torture for all they were worth.
When I walked back into my room, Edward was resting comfortably on my bed, wearing just his slacks. I stood at the door and smiled, leaning against the doorway to hold myself up while I admired his perfect form.
He turned his face around gracefully to look at me, and his breath caught in his throat. Thank you mom.
"Oh god, Isabella. You will be the death of me." He took his eyes away from me and stared at the ceiling. I could tell he'd stopped breathing. I smiled and joined him in bed.
"Is something wrong Edward?" I asked innocently.
"Yes. God yes. No one should be allowed to look that good." He bit his lip.
"Right back at you, love." I was surprisingly having fun with this little torture game I'd just come up with.
His eyes instantly fell on mine. I could almost see the wheels turning in his head. I should've known vampires couldn't take a little competition.
He flipped me on my back and covered my body with his own. "You are playing with fire here, beautiful."
I smiled. "I wish it'd burn me already."
He growled and buried his face on my neck. Holding my hands above my head, he ran small kisses all the way from my forehead, down my nose, past my mouth to my throat. Then he used his free hand to pull the fabric of the white shirt I was wearing away from my lower neck. He undid the top button and showered my skin with kisses.
My breathing became erratic. He let go of my hands only so he could move lower. He surrounded my waist with his arms and laid his head on my chest. He was listening to my heart pounding.
"I win." He said against the material of the shirt.
"Well that's not fair, you have much better self control." I grumbled.
"On the contrary, Bella. It takes a monumental amount of effort to stop every time."
I smiled "Just think, in a few months you won't have to."
He unwrapped his arms from around my waist and laid down next to me, taking me into his embrace. "I'm actually looking forward to it."
"Well you better be." I grinned. He gave me a crooked smile in return.
"Sleep Bella, I know you haven't done that in days."
"If I have the nightmare again..."
"I'll wake you up." He kissed my forehead. "Don't worry about a thing. You're safe with me."
I knew he was right, so I allowed my eyes to close.
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"You know, I never pictured you as that kind of guy." I crossed my ankles in the air as I rested most of my weight on my stomach and elbows.
"What kind of guy?" Edward murmured. He was slowly driving me insane by running his hands up and down my back.
"The kind that keeps pictures in his wallet." I had the small photographs spread in front of me on my pillow, and I was looking at them carefully.
"Well it's important for me sometimes, having my family close. It helps keep me sane."
I held up the picture of us. He smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "You are my family now, Bella."
I smiled in contempt. "Speaking of families, what was my mother thinking last night?"
"Well she was awed at first, Rosalie can have that effect on people."
"It's not just Rosalie. You've been known to dazzle a few people yourself."
Edward, who was lying on his back next to me, leaned over to give me a kiss. "Yes, well that was before she saw the passionate fraternal kiss."
I giggled. "How bad was it?"
Edward shrugged. "She was pretty freaked out at first. She couldn't believe our parents would allow that. She calmed down quickly, though."
I looked out the window. The sun was already rising. Edward would have to leave soon.
Something suddenly occurred to me. "Hey Edward?"
"Yes?"
"You've been here all week right?"
"Yes."
"And you were watching over me? All the time?"
"As much as the sun would allow, yes."
I blushed scarlet. He pushed himself up on his elbows. "What?" He asked.
"You saw all the drama I pulled?" I was deeply embarrassed. I must have sounded clingy and obsessed.
He smiled. In a second, I found myself on top of him. He was looking up at me through those amazing eyelashes. "My temper tantrums were way worse."
I frowned. "How come?"
"Well, every time I heard you fight with your mother or cry I just had to punch something. I knocked down a tree a couple of blocks from here."
My eyes widened. I'd seen that tree. It was huge! "That was you?"
He gave me a crooked smile. "I told you mine was worse." His face became serious "But at the mall, I just couldn't take it. I was afraid you'd collapse from the lack of oxygen."
I nodded "I probably would have if you hadn't decided to reveal yourself to me."
He took my face in his hands. "Its too hard, trying to stay away from you. I don't ever want to do it again."
"And I don't want you to even try."
He captured my lips with his own for a brief moment before his eyes shot open. "Oh crap!" I heard him whisper under his breath and suddenly I was all alone in my room.
The door creaked open slowly. "Bella? You're up?" My mom stuck her head in. I frowned.
"Yeah, I am, but why are you awake?" I glanced down at the pictures I'd been looking at, only to discover they were no longer there. Edward could be pretty handy in a crisis.
"Well I heard you talking. I thought you were on the phone or something." Renee opened the door all the way and walked in. She looked around suspiciously.
"Nope, I was singing to myself."
"I could've sworn I heard a deeper voice." She raised an eyebrow suspiciously.
"I was singing a duet." I mentally slapped myself for my terrible lying skills. She said no more about that though, and just sat down on the edge of my bed.
"How did you hear me anyway? You were already up weren't you?" I sat up and rested my back against the headboard.
"I've been thinking a lot about Phil. I think I'll call him tonight after dropping you off at the airport." She curled her fingers around a loose thread on my comforter.
"Don't you want to call him while I'm still here? I could help you through it."
"No, it might get ugly. I'd rather do it alone." I felt very proud of my mother right then.
I patted the space next to me on my bed, the one Edward had just been lying on. My mom stretched out beside me gratefully.
"I'm going to be fine, right?" She asked.
I was being sincere when I said, "Of course."
The phone rang then. My mother frowned as she reached out to get it. "Hello?" She asked, confused by the early caller. "Oh Charlie! Hi! Yes, I've been leaving messages since yesterday for you. Oh, no kidding? Sure, talk to her yourself."
My mom handed me the phone and I frowned "Dad?"
"Bells! Are you alright? I just checked my messages. What's going on?"
"Where are you?" I asked. He sounded very far away.
"I'm fishing. I rented a cabin for a few days."
"Well I just wanted to let you know that I talked things over with mom and I'd like to go back to Forks, if that's okay with you."
"Really?" He sounded so hopeful my heart went out to him. I'd never really noticed how lonely he could get, living all by himself.
"Yes. I'll be there tonight or maybe early tomorrow."
"Oh." He was disappointed.
"What's wrong?"
"Well, remember how I told you I rented a cabin?"
"Yes" I raised an eyebrow.
"Well, I'm a little far from Forks right now."
"How far?"
"At least three days away."
I opened my eyes wide in shock. "Why did you go so far? It's not like there's no good fishing near home!"
"I kinda didn't feel like being near home much."
I just had to smile. I was doing the right thing by going back, not only for myself, but for him too.
"Is there any way you can stay there for a few more days?" He asked worriedly.
"Well I think Edward already bought our plane tickets."
The line was silent for so long I had to ask, "Dad?"
"Edward is there?"
"Yes, he came to get me."
"Yeah, he does that a lot doesn't he?" Charlie murmured.
"Anyway, I can probably stay at the Cullens for a couple of days. I'm dying to see Alice."
My father sighed. "Are Carlisle and Esme going to be there?"
"I think so."
"I'll call them to make sure. If they say it's okay, then you can stay there."
I smiled. A weekend at the Cullens, I could think of nothing more relaxing.
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Saying goodbye to my mother was more difficult than I'd anticipated. She took an incredibly long time letting me go when she hugged me, and I wasn't so sure about leaving her there either. But once I was finally seated on the plane next to Edward I started to relax. I fell asleep with my head on his lap after they turned off the seat-belt sign, only to be woken up by him when I started having the terrible nightmare again. I could tell he wanted to comfort me properly and probably talk to me about those dreams, but we couldn't call attention to ourselves in a place as small and crowded as a plane.
Once we landed, we found Carlisle and Esme waiting for us at the airport. Alice had wanted to go too, but Jasper needed to go hunting and she decided to go with him instead. Esme assured me that she'd be waiting at home for me though. I really had missed her, and couldn't wait to see her again.
The drive home was quick and quiet. Carlisle asked about my mother and my stressful week. I answered as wholeheartedly as I could, but I really didn't feel like talking much.
It was already dark when we pulled up the driveway. I was amazed at how right it felt, being there. Alice was waiting for us on the porch. She started jumping up and down excitedly when she saw us, and had my door open before the car had fully stopped.
"Careful Alice, she's human, she breaks." Edward warned. He was probably just upset he hadn't gotten to open the door for me himself. Or maybe it was something else. I frowned at him.
"Oh shut up, you party pooper!" Alice pulled me into a hug and started talking a mile a minute.
"Oh just wait until you see everything I got for you this week. I figured if you're going to become a vampire, you better start dressing as one. I started making a list about all the things we need to do before you join the cold side. We have to start by growing your nails, you don't want them to look like that for all eternity do you?" She stared at my fingers. A week without Edward had made me chew down every available inch. Some of my nails even looked red, as if they'd been bleeding at some point.
Alice was pulling me in the direction of the house, but Edward stopped her by taking my arm. She felt the tug and turned around.
"Could you give us a little alone time, sis?" He asked politely.
Alice pouted. "But you've been with her all day!"
"Yes. But before last night, I hadn't been with the love of my life for almost a week."
Alice growled but marched upstairs, mumbling incoherent things all the way.
"Think whatever you like!" Edward called after her. Okay, so maybe they were just incoherent to me.
He smiled at me and walked me to his room. His smile was soft, which made me feel like he really just wanted to spend time with me, although part of me suspected there was something more.
He closed the door behind us and guided me to what was now our bed. He lifted me by the waist and placed me on the soft cover before joining me. He laid down next to me, and then sat me on his lap. I ended up straddling his waist.
"Edward?" I asked.
"Yes?"
"What's going on?"
He let out a soft laugh and sat up. His arms quickly found their place around my waist and he kissed my lips softly.
The door suddenly burst open. I glanced up in surprise, but Edward just looked aggravated. Emmett waltzed in and sat down on the brown leather couch.
"So Bella, you're a girl right?" Not even a hello. He was tossing a baseball up in the air and catching it before his superhuman strength propelled it all the way up to the roof. The movement was disturbingly fast, all I could see was his arm blurring up and down.
"Last time I checked." I tried to untangle my body from Edward's, but he wouldn't let me.
"Hey Emmett, we were having a moment here."
Edward's cocky brother raised his eyebrows. "If you wanted privacy you should've closed the door."
"I did." Edward pointed out. Emmett just shrugged. "I have an emergency. I really need Bella's help. It's a matter of life or death."
"What's wrong?" I was genuinely curious.
Emmett dropped the ball on the floor and stretched out on the couch. He crossed his arms behind his head and sighed. "Rosalie is mad at me. I need to get her something."
Edward let out a frustrated growl. I just had to chuckle. "Emmett, this is not exactly my area of expertise. Have you tried the typical flowers?"
"Those won't work." It looked like he'd given it some thought.
"Well why don't you ask Alice? I'm sure she can tell you a lot more than me."
"Alice is off limits when they fight." Edward sounded very bored by this whole thing, he'd probably seen one too many of those fights to be interested in any way.
"Why?" I frowned.
"Well she knows what will make Rosalie happy again but SHE WON'T TELL ME!" Emmett raised his voice on that last part. I could hear Alice's laughter coming from somewhere a few doors down the hall.
"So how do you know flowers won't work?"
"Ah! Well you see, she can't tell me what to get Rosalie, but she can tell me what not to get her. I've been pacing outside her room all day, thinking of things for Rose. Every now and then I'll peek in and Alice just shakes her head. It's driving me insane."
"Well, how about cooking her dinner?" I asked innocently. Emmett just raised an eyebrow. "Fine, how about catching her dinner?" I corrected.
He sat up, thinking hard. "You mean like tying up a bear for her? What would be the fun in that?"
"It's a romantic gesture. She might like it."
"Oh kid, you have a twisted mind. I love it!" Emmett jumped up and ran out of the room so fast I didn't even see him. I turned back around to face Edward. He had a weird smile on his face.
"What?" I asked.
"A tied up wild animal for dinner? He's right. You are twisted."
"You know my theory, the one about you guys being in a better mood after you've eaten. It might apply to her too."
From the floor below us, we suddenly heard a whoop. "Oh Bella I love you!" Emmett yelled his gratitude. Alice had obviously agreed with me.
"Hey!" Edward yelled back, but he wasn't the only one. A girl's voice said that exact same thing somewhere downstairs.
"Oh Rosalie, you know I didn't mean it like that!" Emmett sounded repentant.
"Didn't you? You know what? Go be with her. GET OUT OF MY ROOM!"
"It's Our room honey!"
"Who are you calling honey!" A door slammed shut.
"Kids! Do not slam those doors! Don't make me go up there!" Esme yelled from the kitchen.
Edward rolled his eyes and threw a pillow at the door. It closed with a bang.
"What did I just say?" I could faintly hear Esme complaining.
I giggled. Edward tucked a strand of hair behind my ears and frowned. "What are you laughing at?"
"Your family can be so normal sometimes. It's fun!"
He shook his head. "It gets old pretty quickly. Those two squabble over the smallest things."
"Have they ever broken up?" I asked, surprised.
"Are you kidding? Of course not. They can't live without each other. They just yell at each other for hours and then have really great..." He stopped suddenly.
I frowned. "Really great what?"
Edward sighed "Well, really great makeup sex." he said matter-of-factly. I blushed a little. Other people's sex life could make me uncomfortable rather easily.
"Jasper don't you even dare!" Rosalie shrieked. I could only guess what was going on one floor below. Alice's graceful laughter waltzed up the stairs towards us. She locked herself in somewhere down the hall.
Edward pulled me closer to him once again and tucked my head between the pillows and his own. His cheek pressed against my ear successfully blocked out all the noise. I closed my eyes and breathed in his delicious scent. He traced circles on my back while we cuddled.
After a few minutes he moved his head to rest it on the pillow next to mine. We were so close our noses touched. I could no longer hear any yelling, although Edward assured me the arguing was still going on, just in a much lower volume after Esme's last warning.
Edward stared into my eyes as he ran his fingers over my face. He traced my forehead, my nose, my mouth, my cheeks. "I'm really glad you're here Bella. I like not having to sneak around every once in a while."
"I really like it here too. I feel more at home at your place than I do at Charlie's." I was being honest. The Cullen residence had become a safe heaven for me. It was a place where I could be with Edward without anyone staring or checking up on us. Furthermore, it was the only place where he could be himself, and that was something I loved watching.
Edward kissed the tip of my nose. "I cleared another drawer for you in my closet." I smiled at the gesture. As grown up as that sounded, I couldn't bring myself to be freaked out by how fast things progressed with us.
"I'll have to get some clothes from home to fill it, then."
Edward rolled his eyes. "Yeah, like Alice would let that happen. That drawer is already full. Apparently she had a lot of fun while we were away."
I shook my head "You guys have to stop spoiling me."
"Try telling her!" He chuckled, but all of a sudden he stiffened. I frowned.
"What's wrong?"
"How about a picnic? You must be starving." Edward lifted me in his arms and ran to the door.
"Actually I'm fine, thanks." I was so surprised I didn't even have time to come up with an appropriate response to his sudden actions.
As we were flying down the stairs, I heard a deafening bang that made me jump out of my socks. Edward just gripped me tighter and ran faster.
"Edward what was that? Are we under attack?" I shrieked.
"That," Edward smiled, "was Rose and Emmett making up."
I asked no more.
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Esme had practically thrown a basket full of food and a blanket at us as Edward ran past her. I giggled, I would have to get used to Rosalie and Emmett if I was going to start living there soon.
Once we were considerably far from the banging noise, Edward sat me down on the cool grass and spread the blanket for us to lie on. I looked around. We were in what could be considered as his back yard. The forest was just a few feet away.
"Well, that was... interesting."
Edward snorted in that graceful way that only he could muster. He was looking inside the picnic basket. He smiled when he handed me a tuna fish sandwich and a box of apple juice.
"Esme bought juice boxes for me?" I was touched, I really was, only I suddenly felt like the baby of the house, which I was, in more ways than one.
"Well she just thought they'd be practical for situations like this." Edward crawled over to where I was sitting. His cat-like movement left me breathless.
"You mean for whenever Rosalie and Emmett want to have sex?" I asked once I regained my ability to breathe in.
"Not just that. Just for whenever we have to go to a place where stores might not be available." I raised an eyebrow. In these day and age, where exactly would that be? He chuckled. "Yeah, she'd just been waiting for an excuse to buy those things for decades. She thinks they're cute."
I laughed and nibbled at my sandwich. I was suddenly aware of the fact that I could see my food, even though there were no lights on. I looked up and discovered a very bright full moon directly above us.
"Oh wow." I laid down on my back and stared.
"Look at that! How long had it been since we'd seen stars?" Edward lifted me up gently so he could put his arm under my neck. I used his chest as a pillow while I continued to stare at the sky.
"So, what does the rest of your family do while those two make up?"
I could've sworn I could hear Edward's smile when he said "They are not usually that loud, Bella. Today, Jasper and Alice ran off into the woods. Who knows what they're doing. Carlisle isn't due back from the hospital for a few more hours, and Esme is ironing. She'll finish soon, and will probably go visit Carlisle."
I snuggled closer to him and chuckled. I took a bite of my food and closed my eyes.
"Hey Edward?" I hated ruining the perfect moment, but his actions from earlier were bothering me.
"Yes?"
"Is something wrong? You've been acting really weird today."
"Everything is fine, Bella. Drink your juice." He handed me the little box with the straw already hanging out. I took a sip
"You've never been a good liar with me. Am I in danger?"
"Aren't you always?"
"You know what I mean. Did Alice see something more?"
Edward sighed. I knew he'd given up when he started to spill. "No, the exact opposite actually. She can't see any vampires coming anywhere near here any time soon."
"Well that's good news. Exactly what is bothering you?"
"Well..." he sighed, "It's your dreams."
I turned on my side to face him "Excuse me?"
"Well I'm no expert! I haven't had one of those in almost a century, but it can't be normal for you to dream the exact same thing almost every night, can it?"
I shrugged. "Well I'm not sure. Do you think I can see something that Alice can't?"
"No, not exactly. Alice is almost never wrong about these things. She can sense where people's decisions will take them even before they know themselves. You know her gift is even more sensitive to vampires. If she says she sees nothing, then there's probably nothing."
I frowned. "Well if you trust Alice's visions so much, why are you worried about my dreams?"
He sighed again. "Well I'm afraid... I'm afraid you haven't completely gotten over the whole James incident. You repress so much fear I'm starting to believe it's manifesting itself through your subconscious."
I rolled my eyes and turned over to rest on top of the loving creature next to me. "Oh Edward, I don't repress fear! I just don't experience it. I feel totally and completely safe with you. My subconscious can't manifest something I don't feel."
He surrounded me with his arms. "Well I hope you're right, because this is not the kind of thing you can tell a therapist about without getting yourself committed."
I chuckled and kissed his forehead. "You worry too much."
"Yeah, I probably do." He sat up, with me still on his lap, so I crossed my ankles behind his back, holding him as close as I could.
As I stared into the woods, I thought I saw a pair of electric blue dots, like frozen eyes. But when I looked again, I found nothing but darkness. I rolled my eyes at my paranoia. Edward started kissing my neck and I lost myself in his caresses, completely forgetting about those blue spots in an instant.
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Oh, hehe sorry, I
assumed everyone knew but I guess you guys really have no reason to.
TOEFL Test of English as a Foreign Language. When you live in a
country that doesn't have English as it's first language, and you
want to study at a school that does (mostly college in a different
country) you need to take that test and get a certain score,
depending on the university. I took the test on Saturday and I think
(it's really more hoping than thinking) I did well. Anyway, thanks
for your good wishes. I get my results in two weeks.
Hope you liked this chapter, even if it IS a bit on the fluffy side. I'll post more ASAP