Edward, with me still in his arms, zoomed us up the stairs into my old room and shut the door behind us. I let out an inaudible gasp.
I inhaled deeply, a scent, faded with age, somewhat familiar, and similar to Charlie's but much more floral. Could it be? I was smelling myself.
Everything was exactly as how I left it. The bed, the dresser—everything was where it was five years ago. Did Charlie really miss me that much? Was it too hard for him to lose both a wife and a daughter? If I could cry, tears would be streaming down my porcelain cheeks right then and there. I realized that I would only be making a couple more visits like this, before it became too obvious that Edward and I weren't and wouldn't be aging.
Edward put me down and stood quietly behind me as I took everything in. I let out a shaky sob. Edward's hands snaked themselves around my waist, and he buried his nose in my neck, resting it there, but kept silent. We had both come here, knowing that I would have to go through this process, and even though I was ready, that didn't stop the overwhelming realization of what I had done, what I would never see or live and what I was eternally damned to.
I calmed down slightly after a while. Edward gently and slowly kissed up and down my neck, his hands still wrapped around my waist. He whispered softly into my ear, "My Bella, I am so proud of you, so, so proud of you."
I responded by nodding my head slightly. He spoke again. "You never cease to amaze me, love. You strength, your courage—it's beyond anything I could even hope to achieve."
I turned around in his arms and pressed my lips to his. Since neither of us needed to breathe, the sweet, romantic kiss lasted longer than any normal human kiss. But I broke away, but only just enough so that our lips were still touching, and I whispered, "Edward, you're the brave one, the courageous one. Without your strength I would not be standing here today."
He pressed his lips to mine, reaching his hand up from my waist to knot itself in my hair. "Well then I guess we were meant for each other" he whispered.
And our lips moved against each other once again, sweetly at first, but growing stronger with passion every minute. Edward, to my dismay, pulled back all too soon.
"I don't think we should let ourselves get carried away. Charlie would probably not appreciate it." Seeing the pout on my face, he added with a chuckle, "I swear, you're becoming more and more like the old Bella Swan that I knew."
"Really now?" I replied coyly.
"Indeed…although, from what I remember, I was deeply in love with her."
"Oh?" I said, taking his hands in my mine. I led him over to my old bed, and had him sit down beside me. "Well then you know what?"
"What?" He smiled in anticipation, and squeezed my hands gently, wondering what on earth I was going to do next.
"I think I need a human moment." I said, trying to conceal the grin that was threatening to take over any second.
Edward laughed softly, so as not to wake up Charlie. In a split second human eyes couldn't hope to catch, he wrapped his arms around my waist, placed me in the center of the bed and laid himself on top of me, to hover over me, breathing his cool breath (which now felt warm to me) onto my face. I giggled silently. "Why, Edward, you're making things rather difficult for me, because you see, now I am unable to get up for my human moment,"
"And what if I don't want you to get up?" He asked, his topaz eyes twinkling in the moonlight.
"Well then I guess I better make myself comfortable." I said.
I pushed him gently off my chest, my strength now matching his perfectly and his body no longer resembling a concrete block. I pushed him onto his back, smiling down at him. I gave him quick peck on the lips, them laid down beside him. He wrapped his arms around me, just like he used to do every night before I went to sleep. He stroked my hair softly, and began to hum my lullaby. Though it didn't help me fall asleep anymore, it always brought me peace and calm to hear it, tonight especially, as it we were in the same place as the night when he first sung it to me.
"And what about the new Bella Cullen?" I asked.
"What do you mean?" He asked, puzzled.
"Well, you said you were deeply in love with Bella Swan, so what about Bella Cullen?"
"As I have repeated a hundred million times, and as I will repeat another billion, I love her more than she or anyone could ever possibly imagine." He replied, a smile appearing on his face and growing wider every second.
"And she adores her beloved Edward and cherishes him more than anyone cherishes anything in the world—more than he even cherishes her."
"Nonsense. He would die for her a hundred million times, would cross oceans, climb mountains, find a way to travel the galaxy, if it meant the slightest to her." He whispered, now barely audible for even my ears.
"They would do it for each other, jus the same." I replied. I leaned over and brushed my lips against his. I laid my head on his shoulder, my nose buried in his neck. Nothing more was said between us. We never needed to say it, but it was wonderful to say it just the same.
Edward rubbed his hand up and down my arm, holding me close, protecting me. We stayed like that for the rest of the night, and until the late hours of the morning. We watched the sun rise through my bedroom window, and listened for the sounds of Charlie finally waking up.
When he did, Edward insisted on making breakfast, as Charlie had already done so much for us. I knew it was so Charlie and I could talk some more, but I didn't say anything.
We chatted over the breakfast table, Charlie asking about more plans for the future, until another unexpected question popped up.
"Just out of curiosity…are you guys planning on starting a family anytime soon?"
Edward and I looked at each other. I quickly made the pan from the stove tumble to the ground. Charlie shot out of his chair and ran to pick it up. Edward and I looked at each other, sharing a moment of silent communication. I would be the one to speak.
"Oh yeah…um…well, you know, we haven't put that much thought into having kids. We're still in school and everything. We'll probably wait a few more years before deciding…" My voice trailed off.
Charlie returned to the table. "Oh, right. Well, you know your mom and I had you a little early. I suppose it's really responsible of you to wait, and properly think about it."
Edward and I nodded silently. Charlie finished his omelette in silence.
It was soon time to say good bye. I hugged Charlie, much more carefully than the night before. Unexpectedly, Charlie pulled Edward in for a hug too. I watched, sobs threatening to emit from me loudly and violently. Now, on probably one of out last visits, do my husband and father decide to finally put their differences aside and truly accept each other (for Charlie, at least).
Edward and I climbed back into his Volvo silently, and drove back to the Cullen residence, where we would spend the next few days, along with the rest of the Cullens planning our return to human society, after I was finally ready to be around humans for long periods of time.
It was time for me to go to school.