I woke up the next morning still in Edward's arms on the couch. I yawned and rolled over to face him. I pushed a lock of his hair away from his eyes and a small smile formed on his lips yet he was still asleep.
I heard the rustling of newspaper from the kitchen and the sound of a spoon stirring in a cup. Charlie was awake. Crap, Charlie was awake…
I got up from the couch and made my way into the kitchen and grabbed a mug from the cupboard for coffee.
"Hey Dad." I said while pouring the coffee. "More coffee?"
"No, I'm fine." He said folding up the newspaper. "I wanted to talk to you about something. I didn't want to discuss it in front of your friends."
"Oh, yeah? Ok."
"I don't know how comfortable I am with you living with a boy. I know that you are an adult, but don't you think that maybe this is too soon?"
I knew yesterday was too easy. "I know that you worry about me Dad, but I really think that it will be fine. I really care a lot about Edward, and I think that we have made a good decision."
"Well, I can't say that I would be happy if you were alone in that big city. Just be careful, I don't want you to get hurt."
"I will. I'll call you if I need you to come and beat him up for me." I said rolling my eyes.
"Don't think that I won't Bells. I'll be there in an instant if he hurts you."
The phone started ringing and Charlie picked it up quickly from the table. "Hello?" He asked. "Hey, Mark, you have the information already? That was fast."
I stood up and started making myself some cereal while Charlie was "Hmmm-ing" and "I see-ing" through his phone conversation. I sat back down after pouring the milk and saw that Charlie had a scowl on his face. He finished and hung up the phone and sighed.
"How much about this Edward do you know Bella?" He said as I looked up from the paper on the table. His face was hard.
"What do you mean?"
"You're going to get mad, but I need you to understand that I did this to protect you."
"Did what exactly?" He was making me nervous.
"That was Mark down at the station. You remember Mark don't you?" I nodded. "Well yesterday after you got here and I met your friends I went back to the station and…" He stalled. "…I don't want you to get upset."
"Dad what is it?!" I almost yelled. He still looked serious but I could tell that he did not want to tell me whatever he had 'done'.
"I had him checked out."
"Had who 'checked out' Dad? Edward?"
"Yes Edward." He held up his hands to stop me from speaking. "Now before you say anything I want you to know that we found something." I sat there staring at him with my mouth open. "He has a record. A juvenile record. Of course it's sealed and we can't find out what's in it without a court order, but Bella, this is probably not good."
"No, it's not good. It's exactly what you think." Edward said from the doorway. He had his hands in his hair already. "I'll tell you what's in it, Bella already knows."
Charlie looked at me and I nodded. "Edward has had a rough couple of years." I pulled the chair out from beside me for Edward to sit. He sat and we talked to my father about Edward's past and present. A couple of months ago this wouldn't have been possible. Edward has made a lot of progress dealing with stressful situations, and this was definitely stressful.
Later in the afternoon Edward and I were preparing for when Rose and Emmett would be by to pick us up to head home. My dad caught me in the kitchen while I was grabbing a couple of bottled waters for the trip.
"Thanks for not getting mad at me. I can see that you really do care for each other." Charlie said putting an arm over my shoulders. "I'm glad that he came clean and told me about his past. You don't know how many times I've heard this kind of story and the outcome was not as good."
"I know Dad. I'm not mad. A little disappointed that you didn't trust my judgment, but not mad." I said hugging him tight and patting him on the back.
Emmett and Rose showed up an hour later and we were headed back to Seattle to resume our school lives and prepare for our last tests of the school year.
Finals were this week and that also meant that I would be heading to Forks to spend a week with my dad. Edward and I decided that I could pack up all of my things that I wouldn't need in Seattle and take them home.
Every night Edward and I would scour the internet looking for a place to live once we got to New York. There weren't very many possibilities that were near both schools. Edward's scholarship covered his stay at the dorms, but I obviously couldn't live there so he had talked to the scholarship committee about using that money for an off campus apartment. They allowed it, but the dorms were cheaper than an apartment and we would have to come up with the difference.
The best place that we had found so far would be a furnished studio apartment. It had a bed, a dresser, and a small table and two chairs. It was ridiculously overpriced, but it was all we could afford, and since neither of us had any furniture we couldn't be too picky.
"You are going to get sick of me in less than a week in that small place." I laughed.
"I don't think so. Did you see the schedule that they sent me? I don't even think I'll ever get to see you."
"True. I am going to get a part-time job as soon as possible. Maybe on campus. We'll be living together but I'm going to miss you at the same time."
We were lying in his bed in the moonlit room. "Are you sure you want me to come with you?"
"I wouldn't go without you." He said rolling to his side to face me.
He reached out to cup my cheek before he leaned in to kiss me.
Edward's and my physical relationship never blossomed further than the night in the bathroom. It seemed that anytime we got close we would get interrupted. When we were at his house one of his parents were always around, and I was already a little skittish around Carlisle. I mean, he saw me in just my bikini underwear! At my dorm there was Alice, and sometimes Jasper. The walls in the dormitories were pretty thin and I didn't need the whole floor hearing what was going on in my bedroom. So we settled for just making out. A lot.
As usual during our make out sessions I would slide my hands under Edward's shirt. I know he liked it when I ran my hands over his bare skin. Most of the time he would just forego wearing a shirt to bed. Edward had wandering hands also and I would purposely wear the smallest tank top I owned to sleep in.
Soon we would be living in a new town in our own apartment and not have to worry about angry dads or nosy roommates. It couldn't be soon enough.
The school year finally ended and I was pleased with my results. As predicted, Edward did exceptionally well without hardly trying. If only I had it that easy in school.
Alice and I packed up our dorm and moved her stuff over to Jasper's apartment. All of the things that I wanted to stay in Seattle were moved into Edward's room. Esme was overjoyed that I would be spending most of the summer with them. Carlisle stayed quiet about my arrival. He had a couple of conferences that he was attending out of town and he wasn't going to be home for weeks at a time.
Once my truck was loaded up with boxes I got in and closed the door. I drove over to Edward's to tell him goodbye for the week.
"I'm really going to miss you." He said into my hair, his arms tight around my waist.
"Me too." I sobbed into his chest. "I love you Edward."
"I love you too Bella." I stood on my toes and moved my arms around his neck. He leaned down to kiss me. He deepened the kiss and I could feel all of his love for me through this one kiss. I didn't know how I was supposed to live without him for a week.
I waved at my dad as soon as I pulled into the driveway. "Hey Dad!"
"I'm so glad you decided to spend some time with your old Dad this summer." He chuckled.
Charlie helped me bring in all of my boxes and my suitcase. I sat in my room that night thinking of how much things had changed over the last year. I was going into my second year of college. I was moving to New York. And I was in love with the most amazing person. The thought made me smile. I shook my head to shift my thoughts away from Edward while I collected my things for a shower.
I went to bed early because I was so tired from the drive and lugging my stuff into the house. I really was exhausted, but I still lay awake staring at my ceiling. I looked at the clock and it told me that it was almost two in the morning. I sighed and rolled over.
The next morning I came downstairs and saw that Charlie had already left for work. I milled around the house for most of the morning looking at the familiar things that were in my childhood home. I guess I missed my room the most and all of my books. The funny thing about it though was that I didn't feel that this was my home anymore. It was my dad's house, not mine. I realized that I had not missed this home as much as I missed Edward and Seattle now.
Alice and Rose were coming back to Forks for a week also. They should have arrived sometime last night.
I called Alice. "Alice, what are you and Rose doing today? I can't even concentrate on anything; I need to be distracted immediately!"
"I know how you feel. I'll call Rose and we can have a girl's day and then you two can spend the night. How's that sound?" I knew that she missed Jasper just as much as I missed Edward.
"Ok ladies we are officially pitiful!" Rose shouted through her open car window as she pulled up to Alice's house. Alice and I climbed in and we headed to the video store to grab a couple of movies before we headed to the mall in Port Angeles.
"I can't believe this mall is so small. It didn't seem this small before." Alice complained.
"You've lived in a big city with several malls bigger than this one for a year now. I'm sorry to tell you this Alice, but you've outgrown our hometown mall." I said with a fake frown.
"Oh, but Bella! Wait until I visit you in New York…" She drifted off into space with her eyes wide and didn't finish her sentence. Rose and I almost doubled over in laughter.
I got pulled in and out of every store and was forced to try on several outfits that I would never buy.
"Come on Bella. Live a little. You could use a new outfit." Alice insisted.
"I can't Alice. I'm saving every cent I own for New York." It was true. We needed to save as much money as possible and I was not going to waste it on clothes that I didn't need.
Later after manicures and pedicures (Rose's treat) we headed back to Alice's for the night.
We all cuddled up on the couch under a blanket and started the first movie. It was a horror movie and I don't have any clue as to why we picked it. We were all very tense and were grasping the couch pillows and hiding our faces with them when something scary was about to happen.
The phone rang loudly and the three of us screamed bloody murder.
Alice jumped up and grabbed the cordless phone and ran back to the couch and back under the blanket. "Hello?" She asked before she jumped up off the couch and walked into the kitchen with a big smile on her face.
Jasper.
Less than a few minutes later Rose's cell phone started ringing. She looked at the caller ID and grinned. "Sorry Bella." She smiled at me apologetically and wandered off to another part of the house.
Edward and I didn't have cell phones. I was planning on calling him tonight before it got too late, but I didn't have a phone to use just now. I sighed and switched the lamp on so that I wasn't sitting alone in the dark and started absentmindedly braiding a piece of my hair.
This was turning out to be a long week, and it had only been two days.