Chapter 22: Dreams and Explanations
The area around us was completely black. Only a circle of light broke the darkness. The illuminated circle was about 10 feet in diameter. Bella stood across from me, watching me intently. Her soft pale skin shone as it reflected the soft rays of light. Her eyes were a rich dark brown. Like liquid chestnut – the colour seemed to intensify as she gazed at me now. How many times had I imagined myself lost in those deep wonderful eyes, I wondered. And now she was here. I let out a sigh. My gaze flickered over her hair. She smelled of strawberries, and each strand of her dark locks was like the softest silk. Her lips were light pink, and so inviting. They were – like everything else about her - soft, and so very delicate. I longed to kiss her now, but I couldn't. I would never be able to kiss her, I realized sadly. She looked up at me now, and sighed. She spoke then, and her voice caused my eyelids to flutter.
"Chris? Why haven't you written about me on fanfiction lately?" She asked with a worried expression.
"I'm sorry" I apologized. I had missed writing about her in the last few days, but as often happens, other responsibilities get in the way. But, I had to reassure her that although I was busy, the writing would continue. "Bella, you know that I love you...but I don't have the time right now." I spoke honestly.
Bella froze, and her eyes narrowed at me. She cocked her head slightly, as she processed the words I'd just spoken. She was surprised at how easily my reply escaped my lips. I'd never told her that before.
"You...love...me?" she asked slowly, surprise echoing in each syllable.
"Yes Bella...I love you. I've always loved you. From the moment I first read about you, I was hopelessly in love" I admitted.
There was an awkward tension now, as Bella didn't know what to say. She looked down at her hands, and bit her lip nervously. I broke the silence.
"Of course I love you. Who else knows exactly the shade of your cheeks right now?" I said as my hand reached for Bella's gently pinking cheeks. I ran my fingers across her delicate skin lightly, and sighed. She was so beautiful.
"Who else knows the colour and texture of each of your wondrous strands of hair?" I continued – my fingers working through the silky softness of her hair. She made no motion to stop me, as my fingers worked through her strawberry scented hair.
"Who else knows exactly what you are thinking, and how to make you happy?" I asked her plainly. Her forehead creased slightly, as she weighed her response.
"Edward makes me happy..." she said in a whisper.
"That I do know Bella. And I do want you to be together with him. I think so far, the story I'm writing is proof of that." I said honestly. She looked at me then, sadness in her eyes.
"But..." she said softly.
"Yes...but..." I smiled softly at her now. "But that does not mean that I am still not in love with you." I finished the thought. Bella stood in silence for a moment. She looked up at me then, her deep eyes searching my face. She didn't want to hurt me, I could tell. Silly Bella...you could never hurt me, I thought to myself.
"But you will keep writing about me? And about Edward too?" she asked, with a pleading tone.
I moved to her then, and felt my hands wrap around her back. I kissed her softly on her deliciously smooth cheek. Mmm, I thought, she really does smell like strawberries!
"Yes, I will. I'm just busy for the next little bit, so won't be able to update my story as often as before." I explained to the vision of loveliness in my arms.
Bella rested her head against my shoulder, and sighed again. "Thank you..." she then said, as soft as a whisper.
I released Bella then, and headed towards the fringe of darkness that surrounded us. I heard her voice then, and turned to look at her. She smiled her beautiful smile.
"Chris – do me a favour?" She asked questioningly. I arched my eyebrow at her in reply. " Make it good..." she said with a chuckle.
I shook my head laughing at how she could voice such a ridiculous request. "You know me Bella! It will be good..." I said, my voice full of love. I drifted out of the circle now, my last vision – the vision of my Angel.
A/N: Okay, so I inserted myself into this story in a dream? Why? Because I can! LoL Just kidding. So this didn't happen of course. It's just my way of letting everyone know that I won't be able to update this story as often as before. And Author's Notes are forbidden as chapters, so I was forced to do it as a dream in which the fictional Bella was speaking to me. LoL. So don't expect a chapter or two a day anymore. The real world is invading my time! Boooo. :-( But I will update as often as I can. Once or twice a week should be possible. I'll try to do more. In fact, because I will have sporadic internet, that is the real problem. I am a Marine Engineer, and work on a ship obviously. So since we travel around, and are not always in the same place...I don't always have an internet signal. I've been in drydock the past two weeks, so it has not been an issue. But we are leaving tomorrow, so I'm not sure how often I will be able to go online. But the good news is I will still be writing. So if you don't see me for four days...I may have written 3 chapters! Soat least I can upload them all at once. We'll see how it goes. Sorry for the confusion, and the long Author's Note. Oh ya, and by the way.... I really do love Bella more than Edward does! ;-) LoL!