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This is chapter 20

Chapter 20

The Windy City

Edward escorted me to the dining room, following the rest of his family. Rosalie stood next to the table and Emmett quickly approached her. If from the outside you could see how much elegant Edward's house is...well, it was more in the inside. I could tell Edward's family is a high class one, a type of social cluster which is interesting to be a subject to social problems. I shook my head mentally. Damn! Even I could think like that in this kind of situation.

Carlisle gestured us to have a sit and we all sat on the dining room chair. I sat with Edward with Carlisle and Esme in front of me and Rosalie and Emmett on the other side of the table. The room suddenly turned uncomfortable.

"Shall we begin?" Carlisle broke the tension.

Seconds later, the sound of fork and knife filled the room. None of us spoke when we ate. I enjoyed my food and sometimes glanced to Edward's family. Rosalie narrowed her eyes on me when our eyes met and Edward smiled softly when our gaze met. I smiled back and continued with my food while my brain was pondering if this was the situation I will involve whenever I have a family dinner with The Cullens. Definitely needs an ice breaker.

"So, Bella...How do you know Edward?"

I was expecting the question was from Esme, but apparently I was wrong. Rosalie asked me the question with flat voice and her calculating eyes stared at me.

"Is that even matter, Hale?" Edward said back with clenched teeth.

Rosalie rolled her eyes. "Of course it is. I mean...I know you're spending your pathetic time in that place and suddenly you come home with that girl."

"Do you have problem with that?" Edward's voice was dangerously menacing now, but she didn't seem affected. Hmmm...interesting.

I glanced around the room and saw Esme rubbed her temple while Carlisle sighed and played with his napkin.

"Oh, come on, Rose. Cut this shit. This is the first time we have a family dinner. You don't have to ruin that, alright?" This time it was Emmett who said the words.

"Ruin? I was just asking Bella how she met Edward." And then, she turned to me again. "Are you one of the troubled kids there? I know there's something wrong with you when we first met."

"Hale! That's enough!" Edward shouted.

"Rosalie!" Carlisle spoke and all of us turned our heads to him. "Will you please not act like you own this family? This is my house. I know you're dating Emmett, but that doesn't mean you own this house."

Ah!

I understand now and I have to repress the urge to smile.

She feels threatened with me being here. She is afraid all the attention will be given to me and no one in this family will pay attention to her anymore.

I also understand why Edward seemed worried about my decision after I met his family. All I can tell is his family really sucks.

"Rose, please," Emmett said, half-pleading to the blonde.

"If you don't quickly to judge, Miss Hale, you will find that this girl is not what you think," Carlisle said again.

I raised my eyebrows. Oh? So, he defends me right now?

Carlisle looked at me and smiled while I returned it slightly. He was sincere...well, half of it...while the other half, he wants to save the pride of his family. I almost rolled my eyes on that one.

"Why don't you tell Miss Hale how you met Edward, Bella?"

I looked around the table and saw Esme smiled at me while from the corner of my eyes, I saw Edward smirked slightly. I took a deep breath. "I'm a volunteer in Our Hearts," I said to all of them, although I was sure they all know...at least some of them.

"A volunteer?" Rosalie asked mockingly.

I looked at her straight in the eye. "Yes. I attend UMD in North Dartmouth, Massachusetts. Majoring in Psychology."

She blinked several times as if she didn't believe me.

"I'm not one of the troubled kids, but I know all of them. I even helped one of them to get a scholarship. Anything you want to know about me, Miss Hale?" I asked sharply.

This time, Edward and Emmett smirked while Rosalie looked embarrassed.

"Next time, ask someone nicely, Hale," Edward spoke.

The dinner ended awkwardly. Rosalie quickly said goodbye and left the house. She didn't even talk to me after her fiasco. Edward showed me their guest room and gave me a quick tour so I could familiar with the house. And then, he left me in the room to give me time to prepare my bed. I took a quick shower and changed my clothes before going back to my room. I looked over to the big window and stared to the night sky. It was a quiet night with lots of twinkle stars, one of my favorite nights. I walked to the window and opened it. I gazed into the black sky. So far, my holiday was great. But, I know there will be more to come. And I know it's not going to be easy.

A soft knock startled me and I turned my head to the door.

"Bella? Are you already asleep?" I heard Edward's voice and I smiled.

"Not yet. Come in," I answered him.

The door slowly opened and he smiled when our eyes met. Edward already wore his sleeping outfit, but he still looked handsome. My heart turned erratic when I realized this was the first time we spend the night together...literally.

"What are you doing?" he asked me after standing next to me.

I returned my gaze to the night sky. "Looking at the stars. They are beautiful."

"Yes, they are," he said back in dreamy voice.

I looked back to him and he was staring intently at me. That was when I realized he didn't talk about the stars at all. I blushed slightly.

Edward smiled and stroked my cheek. My heart beat increased. "I miss your blush."

I smiled slightly.

Edward scooted closer with his hand still in my cheek. I couldn't tear my gaze from him. He looked at me lovingly. "Can I kiss you?" he asked me, barely audible.

We were so close, our faces almost touched and I could feel his breath on my face. I lost all the reasoning and could only nod.

His lips met mine and gently began to kiss me. I kissed him back and wrapped my arms on his neck while his hands wrapped my waist. Edward deepened the kiss and hugged me closer. I couldn't fight at all. My brain told me to stop, but my body betrayed me. He felt so warm and his smell was so masculine, it made me dizzy. My hand moved with its own will to his hair and knotted on the bronze tresses. Edward groaned lightly and ended our kiss. He leaned his forehead to mine. Our breathing was still haggard. The kiss was amazing. I closed my eyes to control my breathing and my thumped heart.

"Are you alright?" I heard him asked me.

I opened my eyes and smiled at him. He looked at me with bright green eyes. "Yeah, I'm alright."

Edward breathed a sigh of relief. "I hope you didn't find me too forward."

"No, it's ok. I miss you too. It's just...we need to settle things first," I comforted him.

He nodded and stroked my cheek again. "I know we've never talked about our personal life before, but...have you...you know?"

I chuckled lightly. So, we will have this 'talk'.

"I don't know if you believe me, but no. I'm a virgin," I said to him and biting my lip, feeling my cheeks getting warm again.

Edward smiled slightly. "A beautiful girl like you?"

I raised my eyebrows. "Beautiful?"

"Yes, you're beautiful. That's the one thing I notice when I first saw you from the window."

I studied his face and stroked his cheek. "How about you? Have you ever...?" The thought of him doing that kind of thing with other girls almost pained my heart. But, he's a guy and human. I needed to be brave.

Edward smiled slightly. "No. Never."

I blinked. "Really?"

This time it was him who raised his eyebrows. "You don't believe me?"

I shrugged. "Well...I mean, you're handsome. I just can't believe you never do...that."

He chuckled and sat on the window. I followed his move and we sat next to each other. "I want to do that with someone I really love. I want it to be special."

"That's so classic," I joked.

We both laughed and then he sighed. "I'm sorry about Rosalie. I have no idea why Emmett invited her to dinner."

I smiled. "It's ok. It's not like I didn't get that kind of treatment for the first time. I'm getting used to it."

He frowned. "You've always said that when someone treated you bad. I start to think you really do have brave heart and strong."

I looked over to the night sky. "In Psychology, I learn there's always a motive behind someone's action. I learn not to get emotionally so quickly."

"Do you do that all the time?" he asked me.

I looked at my hands. "Most of the time."

"How about your feelings?"

My head shot up.

Edward smiled softly. "I've read it somewhere. Sometimes you need to express how you feel. Even it's anger or disappointment." He caressed my cheek again. "And mostly...love."

I almost gasped.

And then he dropped his hand and looked over the window. "But, hey...you know yourself better. It's only one stupid article, though."

No.

The article is not stupid.

I've been thinking about it too. Should I give a chance to my heart to express my feelings? If I did, could I go back to think rationally? This feeling...the feeling I feel for Edward is new to me. I care about him, I want to see him happy and it's not only because he is my subject. Because I know deep down inside he means a lot to me.

"Bella?"

I raised my head to look at him.

Edward smiled again. "You are amazing, Bella."

"Thank you." Honestly, that was all I could say to him.

Edward held my hand and looked again to my eyes. "What would you say if I take you to see Chicago tomorrow?"

I smiled. "I'd love too."

Edward woke me up early in the morning. After having my shower and changed my clothes, I ate my breakfast prepared by Esme. Edward and I ate in the dining room, just the two of us. I felt bad because I didn't get the chance to spend time with Edward's parents, but Edward didn't seem to care either. He already showered too and changing his clothes. We were ready for our day.

I was expecting to see expensive cars, but he took a bus instead. Not that I minded. But, still I was curious.

"Don't you have a car?" I asked him when we sat on our seats on the bus.

Edward looked at me in surprise, but smiled seconds later when he saw my curious eyes. "I do. But, my dad took away my driving license before I got in into Our Hearts." He shrugged. "Even though I still have the license, I will prefer to use the bus." He smiled at me and held my hand. "It feels more intimate."

And I blushed while he was chuckling.

He took me see the famous Lincoln Park. The one thing I remember about this place is this is where Linkin Park got the name for their band. And then, he took me to see some famous buildings, places and of course The Harpo studio.

"You watch Oprah?" I asked him in disbelief.

Edward grinned. "Not me. My mom likes the show."

I rolled my eyes.

We had our lunch at the cafe in town and then continue to walk on the park. Edward bought me ice cream and we sat on the bench in front of the small lake. The sun was blazing, but it was not too hot. The strong wind made the weather was still nice. No wonder Chicago was also known as The Windy City.

We watched people around us and I watched a family with their baby not far away from us. They looked so happy and I smiled involuntarily.

I finished my ice cream and ready to tell Edward we could continue our walk when suddenly he asked, "Why are you asking about the car?"

My eyebrows shot up and I turned my head to look at him. "Huh?"

Edward took a deep breath. "When we were on the bus, you were asking about my car. I just want to know why."

Oh.

I shrugged. "Just curious. People like you usually have expensive cars and show it off to other people. But, you didn't. And it made me curious." I frowned. "Why did you ask?" A strange gut in me screamed he thought of me as a gold digger.

He sighed and run his hand on his hair. "Nothing, Bella. For all my life, people around me always look at me as Dr. Cullen's son who owns everything. They never see me for who I am." He looked at me and smiled. "I'm so relieved to have one true friend like you."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "You were thinking about me being a gold digger, weren't you?"

His smile faltered and guilty flashed on his eyes. "For a moment, yes. I'm...I'm sorry...I didn't mean to..." He sighed and pulled his hair. "Damn it!" he muttered.

I sighed and gently pulled his hand from his hair. Edward looked at me immediately. His eyes full with guilt. I smiled. "I'm not angry. It's normal for you to think that way. That means you still have your consciousness with things happen around you and you're not living on your own world." I sighed. "But, please. You should have known me better."

He nodded frantically and held my hands. "I know, Bella. I know. I'm sorry...please, forgive me."

I smiled. "No, it's alright." I pursed my lips. "Although, you can do something for me."

Edward blinked. "Um...what kind of something?"

I titled my head. "Well...I've heard about the famous deep-dish pizza. I want to taste that."

He grinned and his eyes shone brightly. "As you wish, my lady."

I grinned back and we laughed together.

We returned to Edward's house when sun already set and he held my hand the entire way home. We talked about random things and it was nice to see him so free. He was not like the Edward I knew from Our Hearts although I know he's still there somewhere.

When we reached near his house, suddenly he stopped and his body turned rigid. I furrowed my eyebrows and looked over to his house. There was a black Audi in front of his house.

"Are you expecting a guest?" I asked Edward.

"No," he answered shortly through clenched jaw.

My heart skipped a beat. This is not good.

"Okay," I said in low voice.

Edward pulled my hand slightly and we continued to walk to his house. He glared at the black car and then opened the front door. We walked in and Edward didn't even tell his family we're home. When we walked to the living room, I could see Edward's family and Rosalie along with four other people I didn't recognized. Their hair were blond and dark and all of their heads turned into our direction. Edward gripped my hand and I realized we were still holding hands. I tried to remove my hand from him, but he didn't budge.

Two of the younger family members smiled at Edward while one of them, the one with strawberry blond hair approached us quickly, but she stopped when she saw our hands. She narrowed her eyes slightly and looked at both of us. She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes.

"Edward, it's so glad to have you here. Why don't you tell me you're coming home?" she asked Edward sweetly. Way to sweet, I might add.

"Who told you that I'm coming home?" Edward ignored her sweet greeting and his eyes flashed to Rosalie. "Hale?"

Rosalie shrugged as like nothing happened, but I knew better. She knows this woman and probably she knows this woman has feelings for Edward. I sighed internally. My holiday just keeps going better.

The blond woman frowned. "Why are you so rude, Edward?" And then, she looked at me. "And who is she?"

Suddenly the room felt heavy. I glanced at Edward sideways, wondering how he will answer the question and I was sure everyone in the room was feeling the same.

Edward smirked. "She's my girl."

So, who's the woman? Well...find out on the next chapter, of course :D

The links to Lincoln Park and the deep-dish pizza are on my profile :)

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