Big Day, again

In fact, it could be arranged- all it took was about a minute conference between Edward and Carlisle on the other end of the phone line while I waited impatiently. Having prepared for my transformation for the next day anyway, he had all the supplies that he needed. Seeing that my state was going to be….tempting, the rest of the Cullen crew had gone out hunting; however, most of them had been gone since Thursday and were well satisfied, so it was no big deal at all to cut the trip a day short.

The biggest loose ends to tie up had actually come on my side. Saying goodbye. Though really, this wasn't as difficult as you might expect. I had seen everyone I loved at the wedding, had said all of my goodbyes then, thinking that it would be the last time I would ever see anyone. Only a select few even knew that I was back from my honeymoon. And of those who did, most of them thought I was leaving tomorrow anyway. I thought of Angela, Mike, Renee. A simple phone call in a week or two, as soon as I was feeling up to it, would remedy any worries that they would have about not talking to me before I left. I was too busy packing, I would say. I was too nervous about going away- it slipped my mind. They would understand. And Jacob- I cringed again. It's not like I needed to say goodbye to him. I would be lucky if he noticed that I was gone. The biggest, most important goodbye was still in bed. Charlie. I wanted to leave, get to Edward's place as soon as possible, and get as far away from my doubts and as close to comforting arms as I could. But I couldn't leave without saying goodbye to Charlie.

I took a few minutes, packed a bag. What would I need? Not much, I suppose. Besides, I chuckled to myself; this room will probably stay exactly the same for the next fifteen years. Plus, I would probably be able to sneak in, with my super-vampire abilities, snatch whatever I want, and slip away without Charlie being the wiser. I settled on a single overnight bag with a change of clothes, some toiletries, and a few small valuables. As I rooted through my jewelry box, I noticed the bracelet with the charms that both Edward and Jacob had given me, decided to pack it. At that moment, I realized that I was still wearing Jacob's necklace. Impulsively, I took it off, flung it across the room as hard as I could. It hit the wall, pretty hard, before sliding to the floor next to my shoes. Feeling weak, I went over and picked it back up- I couldn't leave it there. I stuffed it deep into a side pocket of my bag.

The rattling noise was enough to wake Charlie. Within a minute, I could hear him get up, lumber down the hallway, knock on my door.

"Bells? Is everything all right?"

"Sure, Dad, everything's fine," I said smoothly, not sure if I sounded convincing. I opened the door.

Charlie was standing there in his bathrobe and slippers, hair sticking up. He smiled at me for a moment, but when he saw that I was doing, he quickly looked concerned. "What's going on, Bella? Why are you packing?"

"Uh, I'm leaving today, Charlie," I lied quickly. "Edward….needs to get to campus and…uh, meet with his advisor," I said.

"On a Saturday?" Charlie looked confused.

"Um, we're driving. We need to uh….get on the road today if we're going to get there by his appointment on…" I did my best mathematical calculation based on how many miles I thought I could drive in a day versus about how far away I thought Dartmouth was from here… "Thursday morning." There. Hopefully that was convincing enough.

"Bella, why are you only bringing an overnight bag?" Charlie asked suspiciously. Whoops. Didn't think about that part.

"Uh, um…." I stammered, stalling, trying to think of something to say. "….because…..I want to keep my room here the same. I plan on visiting a lot." I took the sentimental route- prayed he would buy it.

Charlie looked touched, yet a trace of skepticism remained behind his eyes. He pulled me in for a hug. "Thanks, Bella. I would love to have you anytime. Even if that means having Edward here, too- you guys can both share this room if you want. You're married now." He looked a bit pained as he said it.

I squeezed him hard. "Thanks, Dad," I whispered, "I do plan on coming a lot. Thank you so much for letting me stay here these last two weeks. It's been….great to spend this time with you."

Charlie's eyes misted up just a bit. "Sure thing, kiddo," He said gruffly. "Good luck in school. I know that you'll do fantastic. I'm actually….glad that Edward will be with you- I know you'll be taken good care of. But if you have any questions, just call me, okay? And keep in touch, even if you don't." He returned the hug's intensity for a moment. Then, looking like he was going to cry, and desperately not wanting to do it in front of me, he turned around and started to exit out of my bedroom door. I could barely catch a "Goodbye, Bella," from his general direction as he strode back to his room.

Whoosh. I felt a surge of emotion leave my body. I looked around my room- I had packed everything that I really cared about. And Edward had the money to take care of the rest. I shut the door; left it all behind.

I walked down the stairs, surveying Charlie's house. I had taken all of the material possessions that mattered, but this place had accumulated so many…memories. I looked in the living room. Where Edward had spent so many evenings with me after I was grounded for possession of a motorcycle. The kitchen. Where Jacob had washed dishes with me, and I saw his werewolf-healing abilities for the first time. By the downstairs phone, where Jacob and I nearly kissed before being interrupted by that life-changing phone call. Wow. I was going to miss it. On the bright side, memories of Jacob were only going to hurt- a knife digging deeper and deeper. Maybe it was better that I was leaving it all behind to start fresh.

I hopped into the Guardian, sped away from the only house I had really known in the last couple of years. At the moment, I couldn't get away fast enough.

I arrived at the Cullens' a little while later, checked my watch. 8:17 a.m. Edward was waiting for me outside; of course Alice had seen me arriving. He approached me slowly, his arms out ready for an embrace. I literally sprinted into them, crashing into him before allowing him to hold me tightly. We hugged for several minutes, me taking in as much of his cool, hard body as I could. He let me go after a while, but grabbed my hand, and let me inside. The first thing I noticed was how good it smelled.

Esme was preparing me breakfast- I shouldn't have been a bit surprised. Fresh squeezed orange juice, coffee, a half a grapefruit, and….it looked like she was making Eggs Benedict. I groaned- it triggered all the wrong sorts of memories. Um, like you spending eighteen hours in bed with a werewolf while your vampire husband was out hunting? Yeah, those very ones. I faked a smile. "This looks wonderful, Esme," I complimented sincerely, not having to lie. They really did look fantastic- better than my version. However, this didn't make me want to eat them. I focused instead on the grapefruit, taking a spoonful of sugar from the bowl in front of me and starting to lightly sprinkle it on top. Edward sat next to me and observed. I started eating it slowly, section by section.

Esme bustled around the kitchen, cleaning up the dishes. Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmett briefly came through to welcome me, but they all had other things to get done before the "ceremony", seeing as I disrupted their plans for today, they all said to call them once we were ready. After a few minutes, Carlisle came into the kitchen.

"Okay, Bella, I think it's all set up. We're going to do this in Edward's room."

"Edward's room?" I asked, astonished. Why on earth would we do the transformation in there? I wondered.

"It should be somewhere comfortable for you," Edward explained softly, shooting me a wink and a grin. "Carlisle has heard that you might have a better reaction that way." He looked at my meal, saw that I had finished eating and had put my spoon down. My half-eaten grapefruit lay unfinished on the plate; everything else was untouched. He held his hand out to me, looked into my eyes, then over to Carlisle, then back to me. "Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," I said slowly. I let him lead me up the stairs.