A/N: Hi! *Waves* Thank you for being a part of this road to redemption. Your support astounds me. :*

Chapter-12: A Beating Heart

EPOV

I felt like a creepy fucker. Let me go back a few minutes and explain. When I was about to roll into the street in front of Isabella's home, I stopped. I still had three minutes before I was supposed to pick her up.

So like the creeper I was, I sat in my car and listened for any voices in the area surrounding the house.

Nothing.

I tried to tell myself that I was doing this just out of instinct, but if I was being honest, it had more to do with wanting the girl inside the house safe from anyone who might harm her than just my predatory instincts.

With one minute to spare, I parked in front of her house and waited for her to come out. When she didn't come, I honked the horn twice to let her know that I was here.

I saw the curtains move a little, hinting me to the fact that she had seen me. So I waited.

Six thirty came and went and she didn't come out of the house.

What the fuck? Did she change her mind?

Wondering what she was doing, I got out of the car.

"Just a moment," I heard her call out from inside the house when I rang the doorbell. I chuckled under my breath as I heard her feet patter across the floor to get to the door. Then the door opened, and for the first time in my existence, I felt like I had swallowed my tongue.

Because in front of me stood the most beautiful girl I had even laid eyes on. She wore a dark blue dress that stopped just above her knees, giving me the first look at her perfectly shaped legs. She had left her hair to cascade down her back with the locks lining her face pulled back. She was more than beautiful … she was exquisite.

"Hey." The sound of her voice made me stop the way I must have been ogling her, and I couldn't bring myself to ask her why she didn't come out earlier. Instead, I found myself smiling at her. "Hi, nice place," I remarked like social convention dictated that I should've done.

She laughed. "It's been empty for a long time. It's barely habitable, but it's home," she said as she stepped out onto the porch with me.

I didn't tell her how I'd have liked nothing more to live all alone and away from the thoughts of people—humans and vampires alike. Instead, I held my hand out to her and once her hand was in mine, I walked us to the car.

"Nice car," she said when I opened her door for her. Once we were both seated, she surprised me by brushing her hand on my cheek. "Thank you for picking me up."

Her words made me think and I looked at her suspiciously. "Were you having second thoughts?" I had to know.

She shook her head. "I think I should have, considering the fact that I barely know you, but no, no second thoughts."

"Then why didn't you come out at first?"

She lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug and replied, "I said you can pick me up. I didn't say that you could honk your horn at me."

Are you kidding me?

Completely disregarding my shocked expression, she reached for the lonesome daisy I had picked up from Esme's garden for her from the dashboard. "It's a pretty flower."

"It's for you." The words were out of my mouth before I could think.

A sweet smile came across her face as she held it close to her. "I love it," she said. "This is the first time I've ever been given a flower. Thank you."

I opened my mouth to speak, but she shut me up by throwing another smile in my way. "For this, you're excused for not coming up to the door in the first place."

I didn't tell her that it was my first date ever so I might be a little lacking on the dating norms.

Wondering what it was about her that was reeling me in like this, I started the car.

~*~*~*RoALS*~*~*~

The whole way to Port Angeles, I kept stealing glances at her, hoping, wishing that our close proximity would let me in on her thoughts.

But nope, nothing.

It didn't help that the intensity of her smell increased ten-fold inside the closed car. The scent alone had the power to drive me insane. She smelled so fucking good … in a very non-food way. So maybe she's not my singer, I contemplated. But that led to a much worrying question: was this girl really my mate?

BPOV

The car stopped, pulling me out of the thoughts that had been running through my mind … thoughts concerning a certain handsome man who happened to be sitting right next to me.

He didn't give me time to get my door opened before he was there next to me, opening it for me. I hid the smile threatening to escape me.

He was a gentleman underneath it all.

I had no idea why it mattered to me that he should have come at my door to pick me up, but it did. Maybe because it was my first date? Or maybe because it was with him? Who knew?

When I saw the name of the restaurant he took me to, I was shocked to say the least. Bella Italia? Really?

"How did you find this?" I asked him, wondering how he could have known what my friends called me.

He frowned. "Google map, actually. I've never been to this place, but if you don't like it then we can …"

"Don't!" I said to stop him. "I was just surprised to see the name, that's all."

He raised his eyebrows in question, and I blushed. "My friends call me Bella. So …"

A slow and slightly lop-sided smile found its way to his face as he reached up to take my chin in between his fingers and tilt my head to the side. "Bella," he whispered. "It suits you. Does it mean that I get to call you Bella from now on?"

His touch made me feel bolder … braver than I thought I would, and I found myself whispering back to him, "I was hoping you would be something other than my friend, Edward."

There's shock on his face for a brief moment as my response registered on his mind and then, he smiled. "Let's go inside."

He reached for my hand and I thread our fingers together, not minding how cold his hand felt in mine. I wanted to warm him up just like I did the night we met.

~*~*~*RoALS*~*~*~

I looked at Edward like he had lost his mind. "You're really not gonna eat?" I asked.

He shook his head. "No, I don't like Italian."

I'm at a loss over his response. "Then we could've gone for something else." If he doesn't like Italian cuisine, why take me here?

"No," he said quickly. "This place sounded good." My are-you-insane-look seemed to make him think like he needed to explain himself to me so he added, "I'm not hungry anyway."

I considered getting him to switch restaurants, but before I could do so, our annoyingly chipper waitress leaned toward him—most likely trying to give him an eyeful of her boobs. "Would you like anything else, sir?"

That's the moment I felt true jealousy for the first time. I wanted to rip the woman's hairs off for being inappropriate. Thankfully though, Edward didn't even bother to look down the front of her shirt. Instead, he pulled the menu from under my hands and held it in front of his face, effectively shutting out the slutty waitress from his line of vision.

"Nope," he replied after a moment. "Nothing here tempts me." He removed the menu card and let his hand cover mine over the table. "I have everything I need. Thank you."

Can you feel like molten cheese? That's how I felt in that moment.

"You want anything else, baby?" The sound of his voice and the sudden term of endearment made me come back to the now and present from my state of Bella-goo.

I wanted to say that I need the wait-stuff to keep their beanbags to themselves and not shove them in his face, but that was jealous Bella talking, and I didn't think he'd like her very much.

So shaking my head, I gave his hand a squeeze and repeated his sentiment. "I have everything right here."

I thought I saw the woman pretend to gag, but I really couldn't be sure because it was impossible to look away from those green eyes boring into mine.

She turned around to walk away and I saw Edward's eyes glance at her back, his features morphing into one of anger for a heartbeat.

"Hey," I said. "What is it?"

"I don't like that woman," he replied. "She called you names and said you're egotistical."

"How do you know that?"

He's silent for a moment before he said, "I heard her mutter under her breath." There's a frown on his face as he answered me, and I didn't like it.

So I took his hand and held it between my own. "It's our night. Let's not worry about what she said, please?"

My request made him sigh, and then he nodded. "If that's what you want."

The rest of the dinner was filled with small talks as he asked me about my life before Forks. When I told him that I grew up in a group home, he looked angry again. "Why would people send you there?"

"My parents were dead," I said quietly.

"But you must've had someone to take the trouble to make sure you got to the home," he countered. "They could've been your family, Bella. You didn't have to grow up alone."

I tried to smile, to wipe off the worry from his face. "I didn't grow up alone. I had twenty three other people to grow up with. They have been my family for as long as I can remember."

"Then why did you leave them?"

His question sounded like an easy one, but was so damn hard to answer. I thought for a moment before deciding to be honest with him. "I wanted to know my parents." He opened his mouth, but I carried on, wanting to confide in him. "They're dead, I know. But the house they lived in is still there. I thought I'd find out what kind of person they were if I came here."

His voice was soft when he asked, "What did you find out?"

"Not much," I replied sadly. "He was a cop, she was a florist and they were both killed in a car crash. That's all I know."

He looked thoughtful as he played with my fingers, entwining them with his before looking at me. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

He sighed. "It feels unfair that you didn't get to know who your parents are."

I started to say that it was okay, but he shook his head. "It's not ok. But I promise to help you find out as much as we can about them."

I gasped in shock. "How did you know what I was about to say?"

He smiled, the lines on his forehead smoothing out. "I don't need to be a mind-reader to know what you're thinking, Bella. Your face is becoming my favorite book to read."

EPOV

As soon as we walked out of the restaurant, the ever present clouds in the Washington area decided to greet us.

"Shit!" I cursed under my breath as the first drop of rain hit my skin. I needed to get her back home and out of this wretched rain. "Let's get you home," I said, putting my hand on the small of her back to lead her to my car.

However, Bella being Bella, moved out of my reach. "Rain's coming," she said, looking up at the sky.

"Yes …"

"I love rain," she said. "Can we stay here for a few minutes?"

The pleading tone in her voice was already breaking my resolve when I tried to be reasonable … for her. "You'll catch a cold."

"It's a good thing that I know a future doctor who can fix me up then," her comeback was quick and it made me laugh.

My girl is all about spontaneity.

In that moment, the skies opened up and it started to rain. Unlike the humans around us who were running for covers against the rainfall, Bella stood there with her arms outstretched—as if she's greeting the rain.

And I found myself getting lost in awe of this perfect human all over again.

"Dance with me?" she asked me, holding a hand out to me.

I chuckled at how crazy this was and said, "There's no music playing."

She didn't seem at all fazed by my answer as she tugged on my arm. "Listen to our heartbeats. That's a pretty perfect song right there."

I let her pull me to herself. I allowed my arms to wrap around her waist. I reveled in the warmth of her skin against mine as she looped her arms around my neck and then I did just what she asked me to do.

I listened to her heartbeat. And in that moment, I decided that I would do anything I had to in order to keep that heart beating because it was the most significant music in my ears.

~*~*~*RoALS*~*~*~

The woman moved farther into the shadows, keeping the dancing couple in her sight as she did so.

Her employer had been worried about the boy the girl came to the restaurant with. They had been tipped off about their arrival in there. That's why they had asked her to try to seduce him to break them up.

Unfortunately for her, the boy didn't seem to have eyes for anyone but that girl.

A sneer came on the woman's face as she remembered the anger in the girl's eyes as she watched her stick her tits into the boy's face.

It's gonna be fun breaking that egotistical bitch's heart, the woman thought as she drew her coat tighter around her.

What she didn't know that she wouldn't live the night to report back to her employers because unbeknownst to her, Edward Cullen was listening in on her thoughts, and he was going to do whatever it takes to make sure his girl was safe.

A/N: So thoughts?

Share them with me and leave a review.

I'm sorry but there's not gonna be a DreamWeaver update tonight, but I promise to get you TWO updates tomorrow.

Song rec for this chapter: Heartbeat Song by Kelly Clarkson.

Thanks for reading.

See you next week.

Take care.

Ann