Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters.
A/N: Once again I send a thanks out to all that reviewed. My little spat of writers block was bypassed by some gentle nudging from my sister to 'stop asking questions as just write the stupid thing', so that was the end of that. Anyway please review and let me know what you think.
The next few days went by without incident. Alice was with me every second when I was home. She would drive me back and forth from school everyday and leave once it got dark. After that I knew that others were outside guarding me. I wasn't allowed to go see Jake at all, but I wasn't sure he wanted to see me anyway. Whenever I had a break I would call his house, but I always got Billy and he always said that Jake was out. I knew that he fwas avoiding me, but I didn't expect anything less.
Edward had made good on his promise to show me that he loved me. Every time I went up to my room there would be a single freesia flower and a CD lying on my bed. The CD's always had different songs on them. He never left a note but I could tell by the songs that he picked what he was trying to say. The first CD held my lullaby and other music that he had played for me. The second was filled with songs like 'Sorry' by Buckcherry and 'It's Not Over' by Secondhand Serenade. The kinds of songs that make you think about a certain person and regret how things turned out. He really knew what he was doing. Eventually the CD's were filled with random love songs and others that we had listened to together.
I was surprised to find that it was something I looked forward to each night after Alice left. I knew that this was another form of him apologizing; only Edward could do it through music. Edward never said anything about his little presents when we saw each other. Instead our talks centered around what was happening with Victoria and about my upcoming change. At first I was shocked to find that Edward wanted to talk about these things, but then Alice told me that he was trying to get on my good side by keeping me in the loop.
Apparently Edward was going to try and convince the family that it was best not to keep me informed on the Victoria situation. Alice said that she had a vision where she saw Edward and me in a huge fight because of this decision. When she told Edward this he quickly changed his mind and informed the family that he would be the one giving me all the information.
When I learned that piece of information I couldn't help but laugh. The old Edward had tried to keep everything from me, supposedly for my own protection. The new Edward didn't want to hurt me in any way, so he did something that he didn't want to do. I knew it was wrong of me to be happy about that, but I was.
It was Thursday evening and Alice was getting ready to leave when Charlie came into the living room with some great news.
"Hey Kiddo, Alice."
"Hi Dad." "Hi Charlie" Alice and I said at the same time.
"Well I have some news. It looks like your going to have the house all to yourself this weekend. There's some conference up in Seattle that I have to go to." Charlie said looking from me to Alice.
"Oh. Well that's cool with me. Do you care if Alice stays over or if I go stay with her?" I asked after Alice nudged me sharply in the ribs.
"It's all fine with me. I was actually going to ask Alice if she would keep you company. Just don't do anything you wouldn't do with me around. Well, I'm gunna go hit the sack. I have to leave early in the morning." Charlie said before turning and heading up to his room.
As soon as he was out of hearing range I turned to face Alice.
"So, are you staying here or am I going with you?" I asked even though I already knew the answer.
"It's up to you." Alice replied with a look on her face telling me that she was hiding something.
"Spill Alice. I know that face. You're hiding something."
"Not a chance." she replied. "I think it's about time for me to be heading home. I'll see you in the morning Bella." With that she kissed me on the forehead and pranced out of the house.
I hated it when she did that. Well, if she was letting me choose where to stay then I was going to stay here. At least for Friday night, then maybe I would go to the Cullen's. With me staying there at least they wouldn't have to patrol the house every night. I headed up to my room with a smile on my face. Just as I expected there was a flower and a CD on my bed waiting for me. I quickly popped the CD into my player and put on my head phones and slowly drifted off to sleep listening to music.
When I woke up I found a note from Charlie saying that he would be back late Monday night and to be careful. I smiled and finished getting ready for school. I heard a car pull up and knew that it must be Alice. I quickly grabbed my bag and headed out before she got impatient and came in to get me.
I quickly climbed into the passenger seat. "I know I know I was late."
"I don't mind Bella." Replied a voice that did not belong to Alice.
I quickly turned my head to see that Edward was driving the car and Alice was bouncing with joy in the back seat.
"Oh. Hi Edward. Not to be rude or anything, but what are you doing here?" I asked rather quickly.
"Considering that Charlie has already left for the conference, Alice figured it would be safe for me to come with you guys today. You don't mind do you?" He said with a smile creeping up his face.
"No not at all. I was just surprised that you were joining us today." And with that the conversation ended. The rest of the ride consisted of Alice babbling on about a shopping trip this weekend. I tried to pay attention to her but I found it difficult to concentrate with Edward sitting so close. He drove slower than was normal for him but we still arrived at the school early.
He pulled into the normal spot and quickly turned off the car. In the blink of an eye we was at my door holding it open for me. I politely smiled and got out of the car. I was trying to be careful as I walked into the school, but I could feel Edward watching me and in true Bella fashion I tripped over something. I closed my eyes waiting for the impact of the fall, but instead I felt two familiar arms wrap around me.
"Falling for me already are you?" Edward asked as my favorite crooked grin spread across his face. I could feel the blush spread across my checks, and my heart beat faster. I hated the fact that he could get that reaction out of me still.
I quickly pulled myself upright and said the first thing that came to mind. "You wish." I knew it was a stupid come back, but he had just dazzled me and it was the best I could come up with at the moment.
"Yes I do Bella." He replied in his velvety voice that made me weak in the knees. Once again I could feel the blush spread and my heart beat up, but this time I kept my head strait. I quickly turned and started to talk to Alice.
"So, I figured that I would stay at my house tonight and then head over to your for the weekend. If that's alright with everyone."
"That's perfect Bella." Alice said clapping her hands together in excitement. "We can have an all girls slumber party this weekend. I'll make all the guys go out hunting or something so that they won't bother us."
"That's fine Alice, the guys can stay. I haven't hung out with Emmett in a while and as much as I hate saying it, I kind of miss him."
"Fine." Alice said looking defeated.
The school day flew by and before I knew it Alice was driving me home.
"Where's Edward?" I asked, noticing that we were one passenger short.
"He had a few errands to run. He told me to drive you home." I could tell by the way she said that that she was trying to hide something from me. I decided that I would pry it out of her tonight so I let it go, for now.
When we got home I was surprised when Alice did not get out of the car.
"Aren't you coming in?" I asked.
"Not tonight. I figured you would want sometime to yourself tonight, seeing as you'll be with me all weekend." Once again I could tell that she was hiding something.
"Alright," I said deciding to play along for now. "What time are you picking me up in the morning?"
"I'll let you sleep in, so just call me when you're awake. Bye Bella." She said then drove off. She knew something, and I was not looking forward to finding out what that was.
I didn't know what to do once I got in the house. I was ahead in all my classes thanks to Alice helping me every night, so I didn't have any homework. The house was completely cleaned, thanks to Alice being so hyperactive. So there was really nothing for me to do. I decided that I was going to check my e-mail and then curl up with a good book.
I must have fallen asleep while reading because I was awoken by a soft tapping on my window. I looked over at the clock, and saw that it was seven o'clock. I quickly got out of bed and went to the window. As I opened the window and looked down below I was greeted with a very unusual sight.
Below my window, surrounded by candles was Edward's piano. I shut my eyes and rubbed them to make sure that I was really awake. When I reopened my eyes and looked back down Edward was now sitting on the piano bench smiling up at me. Before I could say anything he started playing.
He played many songs for me, while I just stared down at him. I could not believe that he was doing this. I felt like I was in one of those cheesy romantic movies, but I couldn't stop the smile that was slowly spreading across my face. When Edward started to play my lullaby I felt the tears start to fall down my cheeks. The whole time that Edward was playing he never once took his eyes off of me.
Once the last note ended in my song Edward simply stood up and smiled at me. I nodded my head and smiled back at him, then I took a step back. In a matter of seconds Edward appeared in my room.
"Thank you Edward. That was beautiful." Was all I managed to say.
"I would do anything to see a smile on that beautiful face of yours love." He said looking intently into my eyes.
At that moment I was unsure of what to do. My head was telling me to be careful, that he could hurt me again. However my heart was telling me that Edward and I belonged together and that he would never leave me again. So I just stood there like an idiot, rocking back and forth on my feet as my two sides struggled for dominance.
As if sensing my dilemma Edward made the decision for both of us. He quickly closed the distance between us and brought me into his arms. I was completely at his mercy once he did that. My breath caught in my thought and my heart felt as if it was going to burst out of my chest.
It was as if something inside of me snapped and one side finally took over. My heart stared to beat even faster, if that was at all possible, as it rejoiced in victory. I pushed my body as close to Edward as possible knowing that at any moment now I would give into the desire that was starting to build within me. Edward must have sensed the change in my behavior because he suddenly flashed me my favorite crooked smile and leaned in to kiss me.
The kiss was not as careful as the ones we had shared previously, not that I cared. I decided that if I was going to do this than I wasn't going to hold back, so I kissed him back. I quickly moved my hands so that they were entwined in his hair, pulling him as close to me as I could. I was in desperate need of a breath so I pulled back from the kiss. Edward took this time to move down and start kissing my neck, whispering my name as he moved up and down. Once I had caught my breath he quickly reclaimed my lips.
After a few more minutes of kissing like this Edward started to slow down the kiss. Knowing that at any moment he was going to pull away I put everything I had into the kiss. He started to chuckle as he pulled away.
"Always so eager aren't we. I'm glad that some things never change." He said as a smile started to creep up his face.
I knew that I must have been the deepest shade of red that I had ever been so I quickly buried my face in his chest. I breathed in his scent and felt my heart begin to slow. Everything felt so right at the moment.
"Edward. . ." I whispered in his chest. I didn't know how to say what was going through my head, but I knew that I needed to say it.
"Bella. You don't have to say anything right now, this moment was enough." He said as he placed a gentle kiss on my lips.
"It's okay Edward. I think I'm ready to talk about us."
"So there's an us now?" He asked as another smile started up.
I playfully slapped his chest as he stifled the laughter that was threatening to erupt from his chest. "You knew that this would happen."
"Of course, it doesn't hurt to have a physic pixie on your side."
I thought about what he said and then everything clicked into place. This must have been the vision that Alice had had. I knew that something was up with her, there was no way that she would just give me a night off. I would have to thank her later.
"I'm sorry that it took so long for me to get to this point. All I could feel when you came back was the pain that you caused me when you left. And then you were so sure that we belonged together it just made me more upset." Edward looked at me as though he was going to interrupt so I just put my hand up and silenced him.
"I see now that you were only trying to convince me of something that you already know was true, but at the time I just didn't want to see that. I couldn't understand why you left if you loved me, I always thought that if you loved someone than you would not want to cause them pain. But I guess it makes some sense now. You left me because you loved me. In your mind you were the main cause of my pain, so you left." I took a pause in my little speech to look up into Edwards eyes.
"We were both hurting but you did it because you thought it was best. It reminds me of what I did with Renee. I moved here because it was only hurting her to stay away from Phil, but it ended up being the best decision I've ever made. But there was one huge difference Edward. Renee and I talked about it before I left, you just took off." My voice broke at that point, and I couldn't continue.
"Bella. My beautiful Bella. I will never forgive myself for leaving you. But that is the reason that I left. I know I've told you all this before, but I will tell you as many times as I need to. I love you Bella, and I don't think I'll ever be able to stop. The time we spent apart was unbearable for me. I wish that I could take it back, but that my love, is impossible." He said slowly running his fingers up and down my cheek.
After that Edward left saying that he needed to go clean up his surprise. Once again I thanked him for doing that and he just smiled. It was lat by the time that he left so I decided to go take a shower then go to bed. Tomorrow I was going to stay at the Cullen's, and I was excited to see Edward again. As I got comfortable in bed a sudden thought hit me. Were Edward and I dating again? I guess I'll have to talk to him about that tomorrow.