All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer
Charlie came home only minutes after Edward left. I rushed up to my room to take care of my things so that I could make dinner and see Edward that much sooner. I already missed him.
"Bells?" I heard Charlie call from the bottom of the stairs.
"Yeah. I'm home. I'll be down in a minute to cook dinner."
I heard him mumble something in return but it was too low for me to catch. I threw my books onto my desk without a second glance and went downstairs. Within a few minutes I had fish frying in a pan.
I was antsy all through dinner, eating very little. My hopes of Charlie not noticing were dashed as he appraised my half eaten plate of food and then me.
"Are you feeling ok?"
"Yeah, I'm perfect. Why?" I asked innocently.
"You haven't eaten hardly anything." He observed.
As if to contradict his observation I scooped a huge fork full of fish into my mouth and smiled.
He frowned sighing. I forced myself to finish all the food on my plate as to keep Charlie's worries and suspicions at bay.
"So any plans tonight, or this weekend?"
"I'm too tired to do anything tonight." I offered hoping he would not press about my plans for the weekend. It was not that I didn't want to tell him about my plans with Edward. With Charlie less was better.
"You don't seem very tired." He stated raising his eyebrows at me.
I shrugged as I got up to take care of his plate and my own. He didn't say anything but I could feel his eyes on me as I rinsed the plates off.
"If you're really tired Bella I can take care of the dishes tonight."
I turned and smiled at him over my shoulder. "It's fine. I can handle it."
He nodded. "Do you have any plans this weekend?"
I shrugged. "I was planning on going to check out a few bookstores." I did not feel the need to tell him where and who I was going to be with. It would only cause him to ask more questions. "Do you have plans?" I asked trying to change the subject.
"I was planning on going fishing with Billy this weekend."
"Oh, well have fun." I secretly rejoiced knowing he would not be around when Edward and I left for Seattle. I turned to smile at him as I walked to the stairs. The dishes were done and drying on a towel. He opened his mouth to say something but I cut him off. "If you don't need anything dad I'm going to bed now."
"No. I'm fine go to bed." He said as he got up and made his way to the living room.
I forced myself to walk slowly up the stairs as not to trip or alert Charlie to how I was really feeling. I took a quick shower and towel dried as fast as I could. I took my towel and whipped the steam from the bathroom mirror to get a better look at myself. My face was red and blotchy from the heat of the shower. It was the most color I had seen in my face in a long time. I still had deep circles under my eyes and they looked hectic and unsure. Would he come back? How long would I have to wait? What if he changed his mind? I shook my head from side to side dispelling my thoughts. He promised to return soon and he would.
As I was entering my room I stubbed my foot on the threshold. "Ah!" I cried as I grabbed my foot and half hopped half walked to my bed. It was throbbing terribly.
"Bells? You ok?" Charlie called from the bottom of the stairs.
"Yeah. I just stubbed my toe." I yelled back through gritted teeth. "No big deal."
I heard him grunt in reply and walk away from the stairs.
I brought my foot closer to me to inspect the damage. My toe was very red, but there was no blood. I winced as I touched the afflicted area. 'Great,' I thought, 'just what I need.'
I felt a cool breeze and then something cold on my arm I gasped snapping my head up and found Edward standing next to me. I breathed a sigh of relief as I watched him kneel before me and remove my hand from my foot. He gingerly stretched my leg out to inspect the damage for himself. He frowned as he trailed his fingers across my foot. His touch was so soft I could barely feel it.
"Can you flex your toes?" He finally asked.
I winced as I curled my toes for him.
"I don't think anything is broken. It may be tender for a few days though." He explained. He dipped his head down placing a small chaste kiss on my foot.
I blushed as he turned back to look at me with a smile on his face. We stared at each other for a while saying nothing. I could feel my heart racing as he rubbed soothing circles into my foot. His cool touch felt good as the throbbing sensation spread throughout my foot.
He sighed. "What am I going to do with you?" He asked softly.
My face reddened again as I smiled in return.
Eventually, he dropped my foot to sit next to me on the bed, never breaking eye contact with me.
I smiled. "You came back."
He grinned. "I promised I would."
He reached out for me and took me into his arms and I sighed happily wrapping my own around his back. He dropped his head to bury it in my hair inhaling deeply.
"Mmmm."
I pulled back to look at him with a confused expression on my face.
He shrugged shyly. "You smell good, especially when you're wet."
My cheeks burst into flames as I dropped my head.
He chuckled pulling me into his arms. Before I knew what was happening he cradled me in one arm as he lifted me from the bed, and turned down my sheets. He placed me down on the bed ever so gently as he tucked me in.
"You should sleep. We have a big day tomorrow and you look exhausted." He whispered with a stern look in his eyes. He sat on the very edge of my bed as he stroked my hair lovingly before kissing me softly on the forehead. He got up to leave but I grabbed his hand forcing him to sit back down.
"Stay." I pleaded.
"I am." He replied a little confused.
I bit my lip nervously and could feel my cheeks once again get hot. "Stay here." I clarified scooting over to make room for him next to me on the bed.
He smiled warmly at me and kicked off his shoes. He slid effortlessly into the space next to me wrapping his strong stone arms around me. I sighed contently as I scooted my body closer to him. I tried closing my eyes to sleep but my mind was racing. Edward was in my room, and in my bed. I blushed at how scandalous the whole situation seemed when something occurred to me, Edward never told me what he did at night? What would he do while I was sleeping since he couldn't?
"Edward?"
"Mmmmm." I could feel his face very close to mine and hear him inhaling deeply every so often.
"What do you do at night? You never told me."
He paused briefly. "This."
"What?" I asked perplexed. I turned to see his face and he smiled. He raised a hand to my face and began softly tracing my features with his fingertips leaving my skin tingling in their wake.
"Mostly I come here and watch you sleep."
I furrowed my eyebrows at him. "Why?" I was shocked. What could possibly possess him to do that? I wasn't even that interesting when awake I could only imagine how boring I must be when asleep.
"You're so beautiful when you sleep, like an angel, and sometimes you talk."
My eyes widened and I could feel my heart rate accelerate. "No." I breathed as I brought my hands to my face to hide myself from him. I knew I sometimes talked in my sleep I just never thought it would be a problem until now. I could feel myself turning deep red as I shook my head back and forth.
He tensed next to me, and the room grew silent. I refused to look at him. I was too embarrassed. I tried to remember all that I had been dreaming and my face grew even redder. As of late almost every dream I had was about Edward. There was no way I had not said his name at least once.
"Tell me what you're thinking?" He asked in an anxious tone after a few minutes had passed.
"I'm trying to figure out what you could have heard." My hands muffled my voice, but I knew he had heard every word.
I felt his hands cover mine as he removed them from my face. I averted my eyes from him too embarrassed to meet his gaze.
"Please don't be self conscious. You have nothing to worry about. You talk a lot about your mother. You worry about her being happy."
I sighed resigned and looked up at him. "Anything else?"
He smiled gently and laid his hand to the side of my face affectionately. "You did say my name."
I groaned. "How much?"
He shrugged and I groaned again. If he wasn't willing to tell me it had to be a lot.
He pulled me to him and held me tight. "Please don't worry. If only you knew how it made me feel to hear you say my name." He mused as he started kissing me down my face. My eyes closed on their own accord as his lips trailed across my jaw and down my neck, and back up again.
"Bella." I heard him barely whisper, his lips only centimeters from my own. My breath caught in my throat as his lips crashed into mine with such passion I could feel myself becoming light headed. Our lips moved in perfect synch as we held each other close. Just as I thought I was going to lose consciousness he pulled away and I gasped for air.
He chucked as he bent down to place his lips to my ear. "If I could dream at all, Bella love, it would be about you." He paused to kiss me once more on my forehead. "I love you."
"I love you too." I whispered back still a little breathless from the amazing kiss we had just shared.
Once again he pulled me close to his chest wrapping his arms securely around me. I could feel my eyes growing heavy, but I was still too jittery to sleep. "Sleep now. I promise to be here when you wake. I'll keep you safe."
I closed my eyes only to open them seconds later. "I can't, not with you here."
He pulled away a little. "I can leave." He offered.
"No. Don't." I said too loudly pulling him back down to me.
He chuckled and wrapped his arms back around me. "Try Bella." He whispered into my ear. His sweet breath caused goose bumps to break out along my neck. Never had I felt so secure as I did tonight wrapped in his arms. A feeling of peace and contentment washed over me as he began humming a song to me. I had never heard it before. It was very soothing and so beautiful; before I knew it I was fast asleep.
